I thought I’d have a little giveaway to add some sunshine to the February blahs! The giveaway includes two of my wishlist/favorite things here… I’m sure you’ll guess by the end of the post which ones they are.
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:
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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
Breanne says
I would LOVE a nice camera like yours. I’m still trudging along with my point and shoot. Maybe for my birthday!!
Alicia ringrose says
I love it all..thanks for sharing!
Amy H. says
Those certainly are wonderful things! I found a coat that I too love at Victoria Secret’s this season. It’s a pink, black and gray plaid short peacoat. Its not nearly as cold here where I am in the states but it sure does keep me warm!
Krista L says
Cupcake charm – so cute.
Love you blog. I check it out for inspiration every week.
Krista in Calgary
Gisele Jaquenod says
Me me me me 😀 😀 😀 and I LOVE THE WINTER COAT! xD
Corynn Chan says
http://twitter.com/corynnchan Last tweet 😀
Joanne says
Ooooh I want these sooo bad ; )
http://twitter.com/Pippinness
Denise Medeiros says
My favorite things right now are disco dust and sprinkles!!
jessica says
i ADORE you sweetopia…found you a few months back & .fell in love with your cookies and creations!
Kiley says
I just love your site, and what you do. I visit often and would love to win the book and charm, I am obsessed with cupcakes!
Charity says
cupcakes have become my obsession. what a sweet little charm!
Annette says
I love the cupcake charms!
Cupcake Forum says
Darn, I missed this contest! Oh well, you have a beautiful web site; I’ll definitely be returning in search of more cake & cupcake inspiration!
JOSH says
hey yall,
i love yall website it’s darlin i have learned so much from it
debbie says
hey yall,
your website is like my savior it’s just so cool. so heres how it all happened i told my friends “hey yall i can make the cupcakes for you don’t worry i won’t let yall down.” but when i tried to make them cupcakes they came out ruined and horrible every time. so i started to get scared that i might have to tell my friends that i let yall down because i couldn’t make them cup cakes. so i finally decided to look up some ways too make them cup cakes when i stumbled upon yall website and and guess what yall, it saved me!! them cup cakes were a hit and all them partie goers said they were just darlin! Thanks so much yall for saving me i am offically a worshipper of yall site and i have told all my friends about this site. We love Yall!!!!
valerie weisselberger says
SOOO glad I’m one of the “few” to write here, hahaha
I saw that you wanted feedback on the kindle, and wanted to comment that my aunt has one and loves it, she will never go back to paper. Something I thought was cool about it, is that you can actually share any book or magazine, etc that you buy with 3 or 4 others, thought that was pretty cool 😉
I came across your cakes on flickr, and would love for you to see the few cakes that I have made, my screen name is valerie.w.l
Good luck on achieving the wish list!!!!
Marian says
Thanks so much Valerie and THANK YOU everyone for your comments, input, and compliments! I REALLY appreciate them!
Kathy says
Hi 🙂
just found your website tonight so I’m browsing through. I must tell you that I LOVE your winter coat! Can you please share where you got it??
Thanks!!!
I’ll be reading!!
Marian says
Hi Kathy,
I forgot to put the winter coat link in this post but I put it in the giveaway winner announcement here.
melanie says
love your cookies totaly fabulous i will surely do some this after noon luv ya blog
noufe says
am in love with this blog,,,you do such an amazing job
estefania says
i would love to enter to win any of these things and i adore this website it gives me great ideas of things to try
Mary K. Fetzer says
My sister Ansa just inrtroduced me to your website. I love and I mean LOVE you site and I know I will find it soooo useful (sort of like a kitchen gadget) I am going to learn so much from you – did you knw that? My daughters (ages 7 & 8) love your site and especially your owl cookies. I’ll keep you posted on how I’m doing and to win one of your giveaways, well, that’s just a bonus! Mary Fetzer
marian says
Hi Mary,
Well nice to ‘meet’ you! I’m so glad to hear that you and your daughters are enjoying my site! Welcome!
Have fun learning and keep in touch.
I’ll hopefully have a great giveaway soon.
=)
Marian
sheri amos says
how detailed are the instructions for the eyelet cake on page 109? I am trying to decide whether to get the book and have been asked to make that cake for a wedding in early june.
marian says
Not detailed at all! It’s a coffee table/picture inspiration book really!
sheri amos says
Sorry, in the Martha Stewart Wedding Cakes book, i was wondering how detailed the instructions are (i.e., how to get the fondant that has been prepared to look like eyelet, onto the cake without distortion; how to make the sugar work ribbon, etc.
Carmina Nugent says
I am kind of disappointed that I only just discovered your blog a week ago. But, Concerning added you to my Google Reader, right next to my own feeds, as well as in between a couple Arbitron feeds. Keep feeding my brain. Thanks a ton