Archive for the ‘blogging’ Category
and the winner is . . .
Yesterday the sun rose:
The girls frolicked:
The sun set and the moon made an appearance:
And a few hours later, I used the Custom Random Number Generator to choose a winner of the $30 Amazon.com gift certificate as promised in the contest post here.
Can you believe the winner was Lucky Number 7?
FYI, I used 161 for the upper value as it was the number of total comments, then started from the first comment counting down only those eligible, i.e., those that told me they had linked/relinked and/or subscribed/resubscribed (or that they were going to these things and then in fact did).
And the winner is . . .
none other than my most favorite baseball player in the Bel Paese:
I’ll be in touch Lango!
With all the work you’ve put into .italiaball.com recently, you certainly deserve it!
A lot of you probably don’t know how much I *love* baseball, but it’s definitely one of the things I miss most from America (read about what else I miss here); Lango’s site and stories help fill that void a bit, although I wish someone would build a field around here so I could go to some games. Where’s Kevin Costner when you need him?
Anyway, thanks *so* much to everyone who stopped by, commented, and made the transition to the new place such a wonderful experience.
And I hope those of you who were unsure of the change are getting used to it. Because honestly, I just don’t have it in me to change looks again anytime soon.
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[tags]contests, italy, expats in italy, expats, dogs, sunrises, sunsets, calabria, badolato, ionian sea, moon, custom random number generator[/tags]
Announcing World Nutella Day 2008!
***Be sure to check out NutellaDay.com for the most up-to-date info!***
Who can remember the first time they were allowed to eat chocolate for breakfast?
Nutella is more than just a “chocolaty hazelnut spread,” it is a way of life. From childhood memories to oozing hot crepes, from breakfasts on vacation to free-spooning sessions on the couch, Nutella is prominent in the memories of many children and grown-up children in the world.
Last year we gave it its own holiday, and this year we’re continuing the tradition.
Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso (and Shelley from At Home in Rome, in spirit) solemnly declare February 5th “World Nutella Day 2008” – a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella.
How to participate:
- Make a recipe using Nutella. Take a picture of yourself eating Nutella with a BIG spoon. Make art with Nutella. Wax poetic about Nutella. Re-live your first experience eating Nutella. Have a Nutella-eating contest or a Nutella party!
- Take pictures, upload a video, and blog about it from now until February 4th, 2008.
- Email nutelladay [at] nutelladay [dot] com. with Subject: Nutella Day Entry and include your name, your site name, and your permalink/URL by February 4th, 2008. You can also attach one 100×100 pixel photo of your dish, etc. to be included in the roundup. We’ll be posting the round-up on the 5th of February.
- On your blog, please include the Nutella Day 2008 badge and/or a link pointing to this post so others can participate, too!
- Tag/categorize your post with “Nutella Day.”
- Flickr: Add your photos to the Nutella Day Flickr pool
- YouTube: Add your Nutella-inspired video to the Nutella Day YouTube station
For some inspiration on Nutella recipes, read:
- Last year’s World Nutella Day roundups – Part 1 and Part 2
- Steamy Kitchen with Nutella twisted up in her no-knead Challah
- Novice Baker’s Nutella Two-Tone Cookies
- Dessert First examining her love affair with Nutella and Pierre Herme’s Nutella tart
- Last year’s World Nutella Day introduction post with more information, history, and recipes!
Hope to see you around for this year’s celebration!
welcome to bleedingespresso.com!
Ta daaaaaaaa!
I still have some tweaking to do, but please look around and let me know what you think. Be kind, though, because my eyes are literally crossing after many, many days of learning many, many new things in front of the computer.
Now the fun part.
To celebrate the move and new look, I’m going to give away a $30 (thirty US dollars) Amazon.com gift certificate to one lucky winner. If you win and can’t use an Amazon.com gift certificate, we can discuss an equivalent prize.
Here’s how to enter the drawing:
1. Link to me in your blogroll OR if you already link to me, update your link to http://bleedingespresso.com.
2. Subscribe to my new feed OR if you’re already a subscriber, sign up to the new feed; really you should be automatically transferred shortly, but you can never be too sure, right?
3. Comment and let me know that you’ve done either or both of the above by 11:59 p.m. CET Monday, January 21, 2008. You can comment as many times as you like, but only one comment will count for the drawing.
Along with a new look, I’ve come up with lots of exciting ideas for this year to be discussed soon, and I do hope you’ll come along for the ride.
As always, thanks so much for reading, and best of luck in the drawing!
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[tags]contests, moving to your own domain, new blog designs[/tags]
almost there
I hope you’re not worried that something is wrong or that my Internet service has cut out (knock on wood) or that anything else nasty has happened . . . I’m just taking some time to work on the new blog, which will be revealed on Monday.
Here’s a sneak preview of the new look:
Y’all come back now, ya hear?
Buon weekend!
[tags]blog design, new look, coffee beans, espresso beans, espresso[/tags]
bloggers’ generosity (plus more contests)
The other day I mentioned how kind the blogging community has been to me lately. Now I’m going to give you the details.
First, just before Christmas I received a care package of a crazy amount of cross stitch goodies from my friend Concetta of An Italian-Scot’s Stitching Journal.
Check out my favorite, “The Dreamer,” which some of you may remember is what “Sognatrice” means in Italian:
As I told Concetta, I think this would be gorgeous in a little girl’s room. Now I just have to get me a little girl . . . .
Grazie mille Concetta!
Then the Italian postal service continued to bless me with actual delivery when My French Life by Vicki Archer arrived just after Christmas. I had won this book in a contest over at Robin’s place My Melange.
This book is *gorgeous* and if I didn’t want to head to France to visit my expat Froggie bloggie buddies, I sure do now (although truth be told, I did before anyway).
And then I got news that I also won a contest over at Valerie’s 2 Baci in a Pinon Tree. I know! What did I step in, right?
Valerie was compiling a list of expat bloggers in Italy and offered up some fabulous prizes: a copy of Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well by Pelligrino Artusi (English translation) and–get this!–“hand-crafted chocolates from the best darn cioccolateria in Le Marche.” Woohoo! *So* exciting!
And then I read that Geggie of So…What Else? What Else? What Else? is having a contest giving away some Burt’s Bees goodies. Well I’m on a lucky streak, so of course I had to enter–and you should too!
CLICK HERE TO ENTER TO WIN BURT’S BEES GOODIES
But wouldn’t you know it? I’m already a winner! In the contest post Geggie asked for a little technical help and has now offered to send me some fun stuff as a thank you. Thank *you* Geggie!
Speaking of contests, head on over to Grace’s Sandier Pastures and leave a comment explaining why you need a new blog design–and you just might win one.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER TO WIN A FREE BLOG DESIGN
And finally I got a big ole virtual bacio from Jenn at The Verge. She wrote some truly wonderful, heartwarming thoughts about me which mean so much coming from a blogger who I just love visiting.
So I’m passing along this:
to Concetta, Robin, Valerie, Geggie, and Grace (and back at Jenn) for their generosity and kindness not only to me but to all of us who are lucky enough to have found them.
This blogosphere just keeps on giving I tell you, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of it.
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[tags]cross stitch, contests, my french life, vicki archer, blogging awards, science in the kitchen and the art of eating well, pellegrino artusi, burt’s bees, free blog design[/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
