A clue; sorry, it’s not a Oprah-esque giveaway! 

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This post isn’t really sugar related, but I do have other things I love besides my sweet hobby; a few of which I’ll share with you:

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1.  Anne Taintor Products

Her name is Anne Taintor and she runs a humorous business selling greeting cards, notepads, magnets, purses etc., which, to quote the words on her site, “…give voice to modern women’s secretly subversive thoughts.”

I just knew that when I found this charming Anne Taintor I Don’t Recall Asking notepad, it would be a perfect gift for my female colleagues studying Culinary Arts in Kingston this past summer.  We definitely did enjoy some interesting, insolent humour together.  (That’s Liz and Delia below):

They did get a kick out of their parting gift from me.  (Notepad above). You can find Anne Taintor’s hilarious items on her site here or if you’re an Amazon fan, at my affiliate link here.

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2.    Kindle

This one’s on the wish list.  Ever since I used a Kindle (a wireless reading device), at a friend’s place over the Christmas holidays, I’ve been thinking of getting one.  If you have one I’d love to hear what you think of it in the comment section.

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3.    iPhone

The iPhone… Also don’t have one of these yet, but I’ve certainly looked at them longingly a few times.  I’ve pledged not to get one until my old phone dies, but I’m really looking forward to that day.

You should see my phone.  My students think it’s so old and retro that it’s ’sick’.  Here’s a pic:

Pretty battered huh?

I’m glad this pic is in my favorite things after all.  This phone has lasted me a long time, and (my DH will laugh at this), it has great reception.  Let me tell you, there’s been many a time that all the BlackBerries in the room didn’t get a signal and I did.  It is analog-digital after all.

Ahem… on to another favorite thing.  This one is a gadget as well – seems like I like a lot of them.

This one has helped me take better pictures this year.

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4.    Canon Rebel Xsi Camera

The Canon Digital Rebel XSi is what I use.  I’m still learning lots on how to use it, but even on the automatic settings it does a great job!

I really do dislike getting my picture taken - it rarely works out.  So, only because I wanted to post a pic of the camera and needed a mirror to take a its snapshot, I’ve put a photo of me in here with it. (Okay, and because I actually paid some attention to my hair this day I was out with my friend.  I was waiting in change room for her to try on some clothes and I had recently acquired the camera).

Anyways, on to the next item.

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5.  MACRO LENS

With this Canon Macro Lens you can easily get great close-up shots; I used it to take this next photo:

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6.    Cupcake Charm

Of course something sweet related had to sneak in here.  I gave this cupcake charm to my friend Kim earlier this year… she’s a sweet-nut as well.  I don’t have one yet but might just head over to Amazon to order one.  They’re $17.99   (Guess you know now Kim.  Actuuuually, really they were SO expensive when I went to buy one.  They’re on sale now).

Ahem.

The next fave is, alright, another sweet related item.

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7.   KopyKake Projector

Not a very pretty looking thing, is it?

It’s big, it’s awkward-looking, (although it doesn’t look quite as bad with the table clamp option), but I know I couldn’t have created many of the cookies I did this year without this Kopykake Projector .  If you’re new to visiting Sweetopia, you can find some examples of cookies I made using the projector by clicking these links:

Tea Party Cookies

Princess Cookies

Halloween Cookies

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8.  My Winter Coat

What is there to say?  I love it!  I have to wear it every day in the climate I live in and never get tired of it.  (I don’t think I look like her in it though!)

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9.  EMU Australia Winter Boot

These boots keep me so snuggly warm!  Enough said!

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10.  Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes Book

I’d like to practice more of my cake skills in 2010 and am going to use this inspiring cake book by Martha Stewart and Wendy Kromer.  Here’s a small sampling of what you’ll find inside:

Excuse the crooked images; I took actual pictures of my book.

Wendy Kromer, the creator behind many of Martha’s cakes, is coming to the Bonnie Gordon School in April.  I’m so excited to be signed up for one of her classes and will keep you posted on that!

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Now that I’ve shared my current 10 favorite items, it’s time to have a giveaway for TWO of them!

Wish I could be like Oprah, but even though they aren’t a KopyKake Projector or a Kindle, they are FREE!  (If you win!)

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Martha Stewart Wedding Cakes and Cupcake Charm Giveaway!

If you’d like the chance to win a copy of Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes & a Cupcake Charm Necklace, leave a comment below, maybe sharing one of your favorite things or whatever you’d like to write!  CONTEST CLOSED

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• Another way to enter is to retweet this post on twitter.  You can tweet as many times as you choose; they will be added to the draw!   CONTEST CLOSED.
• The contest is international
• The draw will be held on Sunday, February 7th, at 7 pm EST
• I’ll be using www.random.org to draw the winning comment.

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Good luck!

xo,

Marian