On Borrowed Wings - Review and Giveaway

There are times when I want a quick, easy, light read. And then there are times when I want something depper, more literary.

I was definitely in the mood for the latter when I started reading "On Borrowed Wings" by Chandra Prasad. You just feel smarter when you carry that book around with you!

If Oprah were still selecting books for her book club, I think this one would've made it in. The writing flows so smoothly with intelligent prose and it leaves you with a deep message on women and history.

The book definitely made me appreciate the opportunities that are availabe to women today that weren't available in the past...things we often take for granted. My daughter being able to go to college next fall being first and foremost, unlike the main character in the book, who must pose as her deceased brother in order to attend Yale.

The characters are so well-written that you feel like you're back in time, hanging out with Wick, Phin and Harry and going on all of their adventures with them.

There are many unexpected adventures, at that, some of which will leave you shouting at the main character, Adele, "What are you thinking?!" Even with some of her questionable choices, you'll still find yourself rooting for her.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants to curl up on a cool, fall day with a latte in one hand and "On Borrowed Wings" in the other. Try it in Starbucks and tell me you don't feel hip and all literary-like, lol.

I have one, hardcover copy of the book (gorgeous cover and all) to give away. The book might be authographed, but I haven't confirmed that yet. And to enter, all you have to do is leave a comment here. That's all!

A link back to this post IS NOT required, but if you do link, I'll put you down for a bonus entry. Just be sure to let me know you linked in the comments so I can give you credit.

Deadline to enter is 11:59 PM on Friday, September 21. Winner will be announced the following Saturday.

Good luck and happy reading!

My Little Piggy's Contest Winner

Note: In honor of 9/11, my next contest will not be announced until Wednesday, September 12. Please visit my personal blog to read my 9/11 tribute and memories. Thank you.

Congratulations to Carrie from Carrie and the Koehmstedts! Your name was selected at random through Random.org as the winner of a $100 gift card to My Little Piggy's!

Thank you to all who entered and be sure to check back here on Wednesday as I have another HUGE contest lined up that you are going to looove!

And if you didn't win, don't forget that readers of So a Blonde Walks Into a Review get an exclusive discount! Simply enter the code "BLONDE" (all caps, no quotes) at My Little Piggy's to receive a 10% discount on your entire purchase!

Thank you to our contest sponsor Maria Katsaros for her generosity!

Update: While going through my emails to contact Carrie, I noticed that she won my last two contests (at my other blog)! I've never had to consider not allowing someone to enter a contest of mine before because...well, what are the chances of someone winning three in a row?! But, Carrie, you're going to have to sit the next few out I'm afraid, lol.

I guess from here on out I will institute a new rule. If you win a contest here, you will be ineligible to enter any future contest for a period of one month. Does that sound fair? I hate rules, but obviously I need to start considering them to be fair.

I promise to all that the picks are ALWAYS drawn randomly. I manually type each entrant's name into Random.org and use their list randomizer to select the winner. It just so happens that Random.org seems to like Carrie!

And really...if I was going to rig this I wouldn't be that obvious, lol. AND, I would've chosen my good friend Flip Flop Mama who is giving birth as I type this. Not that I don't love you all, of course, but she IS giving birth after all! :)

Thanks again for entering and remember to come back Wednesday for the next big contest announcement (except you, Carrie...lol).

My Little Piggy's Contest

Note: This post will stay at the top of this site until the end of the contest. Scroll down for other posts. Thank you!



Happy Labor Day, everyone! What better way to celebrate the holiday than to honor those who've "labored"...namely mothers!

I'm pleased to announce So a Blonde Walks Into a Review's first contest sponsor: My Little Piggy's, "where designer style and fine quality meet for a playdate."

This trendy, upscale, high-end boutique has a WIDE range of gorgeous products for those wee ones we spent so much time laboring to give birth to!

Created by mom Maria Katsaros, the site offers products that are high-quality and functional. From Maria herself:

MyLittlePiggys.com is really about saving time. It's about finding hot little outfits and accessories that will last wash after wash, week after week. And because shopping ease is so important to me, I made it important on this site. In fact, my site thinks like you do, so you won't have to walk through the "shoe department" to find "onesies", for example.

You really have to see these products to appreciate how gorgeous they are, so let me take you on a little tour:



These crib and stroller blankets are the perfect accessory for the hip momma and her baby! Don't you just love the patterns?



Your little one can bathe in style with these hooded towel and washcloth sets! The towels have snuggly cotton prints on one side, and deluxe, absorbent terry on the other. Matching washcloths included!



These Sleepy Time Infant Goody Goody Slippers took my breath away! How precious are these? Slip them on your wee one's toesies at night and she'll be the perfect little princess! (Psst...I would SO have my baby wear them during the day, too! Makes me want to have another baby just so she can wear these!)



Expecting a new baby and don't know the gender yet? How about trying out this chic unisex Avery crib bedding? The all-cotton set comes with extra long bumper ties so you can tie double the knots for added safety. Extra-long (16") bedskirt hides away under-the-crib supplies, and the 32-inch square blanket provides plenty of coverage. AND everything is machine washable, including the reversible, zip-out slip-covers on the 12" high bumpers!



And what mommy doesn't need a functional, stylish diaper bag? This Kane Carry All has a sleek, smooth exterior with a funky, purple dot interiror (I heart purple and funky! Can you tell? *grin*)

I could go on and on. In fact, I had such a hard time choosing just a few items to share with you all. So head over to My Little Piggy's and check it out for yourself. There are shoes, outfits, bibs (with sleeves!), sleepwear, and more!

Now for the best part. YOU have the chance to win a $100 gift card to My Little Piggy's!! Are you as excited as I am?!

One lucky winner will get their very own shopping spree at an adorable, high-scale boutique!

Here are all of the contest details:

Deadline: Enter by 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, September 10. Any entries after that time will NOT be accepted. Winner will be drawn on Tuesday, September 11 and announced that day.

To Enter: Simply announce this contest on your blog with a link back to this site and to My Little Piggy's, then leave a comment here (Haloscan and Blogger comment entries are both accepted) on this post with your link. Be sure to visit My Little Piggy's and tell us what your favorite product is, too!

NO DUPLICATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Non-bloggers are more than welcome to enter by leaving your name and contact information in the comments, along with your favorite item from My Little Piggy's.

That's it! Easy enough, right?

But that's not all! Readers of So a Blonde Walks Into a Review get a special discount, too! Anyone wishing to place an order at My Little Piggy's can use the code "BLONDE" (all caps, no quotes) to get 10% off their order!

Happy entering!
************************
Not required, but I would be very grateful if you would share my link button when you mention this site:



Simply copy and paste the code below into your post:

<a href="http://blondereviews.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b68/WriteWingNut/blondereview-premade3-1-linkb1.jpg"></a>

Thank you!

Kajeet Cell Phones for Kids

My 11-year-old son Matthew was recently asked by the great moms over at Mom Central to be a Beta tester for Kajeet. Kajeet is an adorable and practical cell phone service for kids.



Matthew got this sweeeeet cell phone, valued at $99.99 for free, along with a $20 gift card for trying out the service. His phone is a Sony Katana and is way nicer than any cell phone I ever owned!

Check out the features:

• Digital zoom camera phone equipped with unique picture effects
  
• Large internal screen (1.3x1.8 inches) delivers sharp, bright and clear images
  
• Bluetooth compatible for convenient hands-free talking valued at 99.99

Since this phone is only for us to keep in touch with Matthew when we need to, Kajeet is the perfect service. We trust Matthew to use the phone in the way that we say it should be used, meaning no text messaging, and any ring tones, games etc., must get our approval before being downloaded.

If, however, we wanted more control over the phone, we could easily log into the "configurator" and input all sorts of restrictions and rules. Parents can have the phone only function at certain times of the day/night to ensure homework is being done instead of phone calls being made!

Parents can also set up a list of who is and isn't allowed to call the phone, and who your child can or cannot call. You can also keep a check on account activity to be sure there isn't a running tab on ring tones or wallpaper purchases that you weren't aware of.

Yet the phone is just as kid friendly, with cute characters on the website, and child voices to greet and guide them through applications (such as setting up voicemail).

Matthew LOVES the phone! He's already set up his ringtone ("You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban in honor of his grandfather who passed away in March), purchased two games and called us a few times while he's been out playing.

Check out Kajeet yourself to find out how kid and parent friendly this service is!

First Contest Tomorrow

Keep an eye out here for my first contest which will kick off on Labor Day. What a way to celebrate the holiday!

You all are going to LOVE this one, so be sure to tune in tomorrow!