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Giveaways

Giveaway: Sol Republic DECK Wireless Speaker

August 8, 2014 43 Comments Giveaways

Disclaimer: I was sent the Sol Republic DECK for purpose of a review and giveaway. All opinions are my own. I’m excited to bring my readers the opportunity to win one! Thank you for reading the sponsored content that helps keep this blog running!

People are all talking about heading back to school again. It is all over the blogs I read and filling my email inbox with press releases. Because I’m out of college, not a teacher, and a mom of a toddler I haven’t really been thinking about the whole back to school rush. Instead… I’m dreaming of perfect camping supply lists and scheming ideas for this upcoming holiday season. Then I realized, really… that is my back to school! This time of year out come my notebooks and pens ready to study up and plan for ALL THE PARTIES.

A new addition to my study sessions is the Sol Republic x Motorola Deck wireless speaker. I was super surprised when opening up this little, portable speaker to find that it packs a punch. It would be perfect for using at home, camping, parties… the list goes on and on. Speaking of Back-to-School… I would have been so pumped to have this little speaker in my dorm room instead of the HUGE speakers that I had to get the same kind of sound back 10 years ago.

After using this awesome device for the last two weeks I am beyond excited to be able to introduce it to you and offering you a chance at winning it! It would make for a great gift to someone heading off for college, getting married, celebrating a birthday, or having a baby (white noise machine!).

Cool facts about the Sol Republic Deck Wireless Speaker:

Indoor and Outdoor settings
Connects to your music player of choice via NFC/bluetooth or by a cord!
Wireless connection has up to 300 feet range (meaning you can dj from another room!)
Up to 5 people can “heist” the music and take turns playing DJ
For the control freaks out there … there is also a single player mode
It is also a speaker phone! Hook it up to your cell phone and have a conference call!
Charges like a cell phone. Super easy to use.
Talks to you when turning on, connecting to a device, and changing modes
Comes with nifty little case
Can be purchased through Radio Shack (check out all the cool colors)

Sol Republic Deck Wireless Speaker Giveaway:

Okay, here is the fun part… the giveaway! I know I’ve gushed a lot about this little guy. Maybe it is because I’m OLD and remember getting my tunes from a huge cassette player that had to be plugged in. Or, maybe it really just is that cool. You’ll have to try it out yourself to find out! A big shout-out to Sol Republic for providing a Deck Wireless Speaker for one of my readers! Thank you!

* This giveaway is for readers 18+ in US and Canada only. The winner must not have won a Sol Republic giveaway in the past 6 months (spread the love!). Entries will be accepted until 12:00 AM Tuesday, August 19, 2014. The winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond, the prize will be awarded to someone else. Please read all of the rules and regulations of the giveaway. This giveaway is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Twitter or Facebook.

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Good luck!

Portland

Portland Pairings – Unique Wine Tasting Class

August 7, 2014 5 Comments Portland

I’ve been to a lot of wine tastings in my day. Heck, I’ve even hosted several in my job as a trainer at an Italian restaurant. However, this was my first time ever experiencing a wine tasting quite like this… the Pairings Portland Wine Shop invited myself and my fabulous friend Bee to try out their Pairings Basics tasting class so that we could share the experience with readers. I’m so glad I got to experience it!

I’ll start by saying that there is nothing typical about the Pairings Portland Wine Shop. As soon as you walk in you get a feel for the different type of wine experience that you’ll be getting. Instead of wines categorized by variety and price point, the wines sold throughout the store are paired with moods, foods, TV shows, music, weather, and more. When signing up for the Pairings Basics class, be aware that you aren’t signing up for a typical tasting either! You’re signing up for an experience of learning a lot more about what you like about wine and why you like it. You aren’t going to sit there listening to someone talk about the things YOU should be tasting or things YOU should be smelling. Oh, and you’ll only be tasting ONE wine.

What!?

That is what I thought too… but, you’ll be tasting that wine over and over again and trying it with different things. Without sounding completely over-the-moon about things… this was a revelation to me! It was amazing seeing how one wine was changed between the simple change of an acid or a fat. To me, someone who throws a lot of parties that include wine and food, it made me realize how I can modify a dish that just doesn’t quite match a wine the way I want it to!

The description of this class says, “you’ll discover the magic of wine and food pairing.” I think the class totally delivers on that description.

More about the Pairings Basic Class:

Cost: $25/person
Size of class: MAX 18 people
You’ll try a wine to see if you like/dislike it
You’ll then try the wine with 7 different elements, marking the changes that it made in the wine
In the end, you’ll leave with a knowledge of how food and wine interact with your taste buds.

Wanna see Bee’s review of the class? Check out her thoughts on the Pairings Basic class at The Spicy Bee!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary class in exchange for my honest opinion of the experience. All thoughts are my own. I am a big believer in trying out and supporting local businesses as I am able and I think will interest my readers.

A Well Crafted Pantry

Fire Roasted Corn on the Cob with Amaize Corn

July 29, 2014 8 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

Disclaimer: I was offered compensation for my work on this post about Amaize Sweet Corn. The below idea for how to cook and eat Amaize is my own. All opinions are my own. Thank you for reading, sharing, commenting, and interacting with sponsored posts on my page. This helps support this blog and keeps original content coming your way!

Little known fact about me… I went to high school in the middle of a corn field. My senior shirt had a caricature of my entire class (all 40 or so of us) in the middle of corn with the caption “Children of the Corn!” Besides being a little bit creepy… it was great growing up with farms all around us! I was raised on tasty corn on the cob, creamed corn, sweet corn, pop corn and the likes. While I don’t eat as much corn as I used to, I do like to dress up salads, garnish tacos, or just eat a perfectly cooked corn-on-the-cob in the hot summer months.

When I received a box of Amaize, a sweet corn, right before heading out camping I knew that I wanted to try roasting it over a fire. Pretty much everything tastes better over a fire while camping. But, I gotta say, cooking over a fire isn’t always the easiest! The heat is constantly changing, you have to make sure your food doesn’t catch on fire, and you have to sometimes deal with smoke. These corn on the cobs were SO worth it though!

How to Make Fire Roasted Corn

Ingredients:

Corn with husks (I used the Amaize Sweet Corn)
Contained fire with grill grates positioned above it. (Tip: Make sure the fire is burning completely and fairly consistently. I usually wait until some of my wood looks more like charcoal before throwing down some food on the grill.)
Tongs
Sharp Knife & Cutting Board
Butter & Seasonings of Choice (I used salt, pepper, and an italian seasoning blend)

Directions:

After your fire is burning fairly consistently (not huge flames!) put down the corn husk and all on a grill grate above the flames. That is right… you don’t need to peel back the husks, don’t need to de-silk the corn, and you don’t need to wrap it in anything. Bonus, if you accidentally drop an ear in the dust it won’t matter because it is protected by a husk! Don’t worry if your husks are getting a little singed. Your corn will still be great unless the husks begin to come off completely.
Roast for approximately 1 hour— rotating your corn every 10 to 15 minutes. This is absolutely not precise! Fire burns at different temps depending on a lot of different factors. Test the corn by squeezing with your tongs or sticking a fork in them. If it feels like there is some give or juice comes out then it is a safe bet that they are done. When I feel like the corn is done I typically pull one out and cut it up to test. If it isn’t quite done then you can always wrap the corn in foil and cook it a little longer.
Using tongs, put a corn on the cob on your cutting board. Slice off the back end of your corn.
Then, holding the corn husk firmly at the top of the corn, squeeze the corn out of the husk. (Saw this little corn trick via Instructables using microwaved corn. It totally works on roasted corn as well! Changed my life.)
Doctor your corn with butter and seasonings… enjoy!

More About Amaize Sweet Corn:

Amaize Sweet Corn was created using traditional, natural breeding methods through hybridization meaning this corn is never genetically modified. (Non-GMO)
The corn is sweet and crunchy… it didn’t get gross and mushy after cooking!
The corn had a 22 year development period. Seriously, so cool to think about how many different variations and flavors were created to get to this sweet and crunchy corn.
Amaize is available from June to September and is currently being sold for a limited time exclusively in Portland at New Seasons Market.
Follow along on their Facebook page to learn more!

PS. Please be careful of fires this time of year and pay attention to your local burning laws!

Sponsored Post

Cool facts about the Sol Republic Deck Wireless Speaker:

Sol Republic Deck Wireless Speaker Giveaway:

Good luck!

What!?

How to Make Fire Roasted Corn

More About Amaize Sweet Corn:

What do you like cooking over a camp fire?