BIG Ol' Giveaway!

You know I love aprons. You know you want one (or five) because I influenced you with my awesomeness, right?

*ahem*

Anyway. Moving right along....
Check out this awesome giveaway from The Apronista. It's totally cool, even if I'm not.

To wit, and I quote:

Prize Package ($85+ in value) includes:

• Sweetheart Bib Apron from Sassy Apron ($29 value)
• Mommy, Dolly & Me Apron pattern from LilacLane ($12.95 value)
• Ruffle Apron Set from Sew Sweet Patterns ($10 value)
• NEW Happy Girl Apron from Marie-Madeline Studio ($11.95 value)
• The Christmas Table cookbook from Gooseberry Patch ($16.95 value)
• Brassy Apple’s Kitschy Corset Apron from You Can Make This ($7 value)

Click this link to enter to win your goodies!

Gettin' Flirty with the Swappin'

I joined Flirty Apron Swap several years ago and really enjoyed it. Life got crazy and I didn't join any more apron swaps. This year, Mama needs some extra lovin', so it's time to get flirty with the swappin'!

Here's the deets:

Shawnee's Secret Santa Swap

Register by: November 3
Mail between: November 15 and November 30

Your Secret Santa Swap package should be a minimum of $15 in value before postage, and include the following:

At LEAST One Handmade Item
Something to Read (book, magazine, poem)
Something for the Tree (garland, ornament, topper, skirt)
Holiday Goody (candy, cocoa, tea, coffee, chocolate)

Challenge: Include one gift for each letter needed to spell out a word from the season (SNOW, JOY, FAITH, LOVE, HOPE, GIFT, TREE, JESUS, STAR, SANTA, etc). We've done this last the two years and it was SO MUCH FUN! Of course, the perfect gift for an "A" is an APRON.

Then, make this a special box -- gift wrapping, bows, the whole nine yards! Include a note identifying yourself with your email and blog address so your partner can contact you with her grateful thanks.

An additional requirement is to answer a questionnaire about yourself. Look, Santa, I'm being a good girl and following the rules! ;)

Shawnee's Secret Santa Swap Questionnaire

What are your hobbies?
crochet, making ATCs, making cards, papercrafting, swapping on Swap-bot

What are your favorite colors?
muted, rustic greens described with words like cypress, thyme, moss, lichen, putty, olive, and avocado

Do you collect anything?
naps
hugs from all "my" kids
yarn (unscented)
old books - I love the ones that are written in or falling apart.

Are you allergic to any fibers or animals?
no

Do you have any pets?
If by pets you mean children with fur, then yes. I have three children of the feline species and one of the canine species.

Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate?
Tea and chocolate!
Favorite teas: Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Irish Breakfast, English Breakfast, Chamomile, Mint Medley, Sleepytime (not a big chai or spice tea fan)
Hot chocolate is wonderful with mini marshmallows or stirred with those old-fashioned peppermint sticks.
Favorite chocolate to chew: Mr. Goodbar, Peanut M&Ms, KitKat, Hershey's, Mounds

What do you like to read?
Trivia, nerdy, encyclopedic stuff, and the classics. I'm halfway through reading Austen's works chronologically.

Do you prefer Cookies or Candies as a sweet?
Probably cookies, even though I eat candy more often. I like soft, gooey, warm cookies. Chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin are my favorites.
I think I just felt another pound appear on my hips...

What is your favorite holiday treat?
My mother's homemade bonbons. Edible Heaven.

Describe your favorite holiday tradition.
Finding the package marked as being from Santa. (see next question for reason)

Did you believe in Santa as a child?
Yes. My mother continues Santa's generosity these days. ;)

When do you open presents?
Usually Christmas Eve, then stockings on Christmas morning.

Do you put up a tree and when? If not, how do you celebrate?
Usually. I didn't last year because of depression, which was more depressing. When I'm not fighting depression, the tree goes up mid-November. One year it was Christmas Eve before we got around to putting up the tree. Yeah, Depression sucks. Fight it! Go see your doctor! Find help! Don't let fear of stigma destroy your life!

Does your tree have a theme?
Memories. The ornaments are either handmade or have a story behind them.

What has been your favorite gift to give? to receive?
I don't really have a favorite gift I've given. I love to give gifts, so my favorite is any that the recipient just loves because it's the "perfect" gift.
My favorite received gift is the teddy bear a beloved cousin sent home for Christmas after he'd graduated from high school. We'd hung out the entire year before and he adopted me like a big brother, so I was really missing him. It made my day when my grandmother produced a big teddy bear and told me he sent it to me. I carried it around the rest of the day. Teddy went to the hospital with me when my first child was born (he's been the perfect belly support through four pregnancies) and he still sits next to my bed.

Happy holidays!

Retread: It's Wear Your Apron Day!

A note to my readers: This post was originally posted on May 11, 2009. Wear Your Apron Day 2012 is Monday, May 14, 2012. I haven't decided which apron I'll wear this year - we'll just see which one strikes my fancy when I'm getting dressed.

Apron Evangelism helped spark my love for aprons. Some may find it old-fashioned and patriarchal; I find that several of the values represented there resonate deeply with me. I encourage all mothers and homemakers to read it as inspiration for you to strive to fulfill whatever it is that means reaching your ideals for you.

Sadly, I have distributed all the vintage aprons I had, so there will not be a giveaway this year. If the outcry for one is overwhelming, I will get my hands on one to give away. Aunt Crystal hates to disappoint!

And finally, a bit of kitchen humor for you:

---

Did you know that today is Wear Your Apron Day? I learned about it from one of my favorite  blogs, The Apronista. Yes, The Apronista, as in fashionista but with cooler prints and more cleanliness. More values could be argued, too, but I don't feel like going there, so I won't.

So how do you celebrate? Easy: wear your apron all day long. Wear your favorite one, or the one passed down to you from your grandmother. Maybe it'll be the one you made from a tea towel. Or the vintage one you found on eBay. It doesn't matter as long as you wear your apron.

I'll be wearing my favorite apron. It's one I found on eBay in my favorite cut and the cutest fabric. It's a goldenrod orange-yellow with bees all over it and green plaid binding. I'll try to get a picture of it to post for you all. This picture from Wikimedia Commons shows the style of it:

Ok, who said that? Did I actually just hear you say you don't have an apron?? How have you made it to this point in your life without an apron??? Never mind. We'll fix it. I have a box full of vintage aprons literally right here behind me.


***Prize Alert!***
I'll send an apron to one of you poor, deprived waifs that have suffered through life without an apron so you'll be ready to celebrate next year. Wear Your Apron Day is always the Monday after Mother's Day, so be sure to mark your 2010 calendar now.


How to Enter:
Leave a comment telling me why you want an apron and about your favorite style (ie: half aprons, full aprons, cobbler aprons, etc.).


Extra Entries:

• Second Entry: Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment with a link to the tweet.
• Third Entry: Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know your Twitter user name.
• Fourth Entry: Subscribe to 3Stairs and leave a comment letting me know if you subscribed with RSS or via e-mail.
• Fifth Entry: Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with a link to your post.
• Sixth Entry: Add a 3Stairs button to your blog and leave a comment with a link to your blog so we can admire it! (your blog, not the button)

I'll let Random.org choose a winner next Monday morning, May 18, so get your comments in by then!

We have an apron winner!

Congratulations to GAhome2mom - she'll be getting a full apron like her granny wore sent to her this week! Be sure to stop by and visit her blog and enter the giveaways she's hosting right now!

Thanks so much to all of you that entered. This was the biggest response I've gotten on a post ever! Welcome to the new readers - let me know if there's something you want to read about here. I'm always open to suggestions and ideas.

Apron Porn - But Not *That* Kind!

As promised, here's a picture of me celebrating Wear Your Apron Day:

Please ignore the ridiculous face I'm making. I almost edited it out, but headless pictures give me the willies. Michael cracked some joke just as he was snapping the picture, to which I (appropriately) cracked up.

Anyway, back to the apron:

I got it on eBay a year or two ago and I love it. The fabric isn't Mary Engelbreit, but it certainly has an ME-esque feel to it. Throw in the fact that the binding is plaid, and I'm all over it. Green plaid, to be exact. Oh, aprony heaven! The straps criss-cross over the back, so there's no tugging on my neck. Another great benefit to that is that my rear is covered, which is awesome, because I have a tendency to wipe my hands off on my hips as I'm cooking and most aprons don't cover far enough back were I "clean myself." Don't let your brain go too far on that one - it's a scary, scary place.

So yes, I have an apron, and I wear it. Frequently. And in public, even. And you know what? I don't care if anybody looks at me funny, or points, or even laughs. Know why? Cuz it makes me happy.

And that's all that matters.

It's Wear Your Apron Day!

Did you know that today is Wear Your Apron Day? I learned about it from one of my favorite blogs, The Apronista. Yes, The Apronista, as in fashionista but with cooler prints and more cleanliness. More values could be argued, too, but I don't feel like going there, so I won't.

So how do you celebrate? Easy: wear your apron all day long. Wear your favorite one, or the one passed down to you from your grandmother. Maybe it'll be the one you made from a tea towel. Or the vintage one you found on eBay. It doesn't matter as long as you wear your apron.

I'll be wearing my favorite apron. It's one I found on eBay in my favorite cut and the cutest fabric. It's a goldenrod orange-yellow with bees all over it and green plaid binding. I'll try to get a picture of it to post for you all. This picture from Wikimedia Commons shows the style of it:

Ok, who said that? Did I actually just hear you say you don't have an apron?? How have you made it to this point in your life without an apron??? Never mind. We'll fix it. I have a box full of vintage aprons literally right here behind me.

***Prize Alert!***
I'll send an apron to one of you poor, deprived waifs that have suffered through life without an apron so you'll be ready to celebrate next year. Wear Your Apron Day is always the Monday after Mother's Day, so be sure to mark your 2010 calendar now.

How to Enter:
Leave a comment telling me why you want an apron and about your favorite style (ie: half aprons, full aprons, cobbler aprons, etc.).

Extra Entries:

• Second Entry: Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment with a link to the tweet.



• Third Entry: Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know your Twitter user name.



• Fourth Entry: Subscribe to 3Stairs and leave a comment letting me know if you subscribed with RSS or via e-mail.



• Fifth Entry: Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with a link to your post.



• Sixth Entry: Add a 3Stairs button to your blog and leave a comment with a link to your blog so we can admire it! (your blog, not the button)

I'll let Random.org choose a winner next Monday morning, May 18, so get your comments in by then!

Oh, Have Mercy - I'm in Trouble

Yeah, I know I haven't been posting much lately.

And I just posted.

Here's another one anyway, 'cuz I'm in deep doo-doo.

There's another giveaway I want. It's an apron. I know: I need help. I'm in denial about it, though, so it's okay.

Amy Quarry is giving away not one but two items from her shop to celebrate the arrival of warm weather at her house. There's adorable pants for the tots, and an apron that I've fallen in love with. I'm not telling which one so that way the chances of someone snatching it from my yearning hands is lessened. Go check out the post for entry details, then head over to the shop for some of your own yearning.

It's a Big-Un!

You know me: I love me some aprons. I also love giveaways. Throw in some good ol' country twang and my brain turns to mush.

Well, I'm gonna be all nice-like and tell ya a secret: Calamity Kim is giving away a BUNCH o' stuff to celebrate being featured in Apronology magazine! There's the magazine (signed), a cookbook, markers, dolls, butterflies! Go check it out to see all the loot! Just don't enter so my chances of winning are better. ;)

And here's a sentence that doesn't end with an exclamation point.