Skip to main content

My Vacation, A Celebration and A Giveaway

My Vacation

If you've been wondering why I haven't posted a new blog or stopped by to comment, recently, it's because I've been on vacation.  I know, I didn't tell you I was going on vacation, but it was a last minute kind of thing.  I think it's almost always that way when you take a vacation............from sanity.

Yes, friends, that's where I've been.  At home and losing my mind over an endless stream of unexpected expenses, pricey auto repairs (on every vehicle we own), damaged kitchen countertops, an early spring thaw (can you say mud?), an overwhelming winter storm (can you say knee deep snow?), and one particularly clever field mouse that snuck in the house and evaded capture for over a week.

When I shared on Facebook that it was raining lemons around here, a friend suggested that I make margaritas.  Wouldn't you know that we were out of tequila?  Such is life....


A Celebration

Today is a day of celebration in our house because it's our son's birthday.  As hard as it is for us to believe, he is now eighteen years old.  The time has gone by so fast.

It's quite possible that you're thinking "My goodness, Willoughby, you don't look nearly old enough to have an eighteen year old son!".  I probably wouldn't argue with that statement.  Take a look at a recent picture of me:


I look far too young to have an adult son, don't I?  The same could be said for Mr. Willoughby.  See for yourself:


Judging by these pictures, I think we look just as young as we did on this day eighteen years ago. 

Happy Birthday, Son!  From your not-so-old parents!


A Giveaway

When we built the bar on our back porch, we spent weeks searching for bar stools that were just the right style and size.  Eventually, we compromised and chose a set that are great looking and comfortable, but a little shorter than we would like.  This spring, I'm hoping to replace them with taller, or adjustable bar stools.

So, now, you're wondering why I'm talking about bar stools and what they have to do with the giveaway I mentioned.  Well, CSN Stores have lots of fantastic bar stools and they have given me a $40 gift certificate to award to one lucky winner.  You can use it toward any item (not including shipping) on their website.

I will draw one winner, at random, on March 1, 2011.  Please be sure that your email is linked to your blog or that you provide a contact email in your comment on this post.

To enter:

1. You must be a follower of This Stop Willoughby, or become one.

2. You must click on the link above, browse the items in that category, and then come back and leave a comment on this post telling me about one of your favorites.

3. You may leave an additional comment (one per day) telling me about a favorite item from any category on CSN Stores.

4. If you would like to earn a bonus entry, mention my giveaway on your blog along with a link to this post. Please be sure to leave a comment (with link) letting me know that you've done so.

5. This giveaway is limited to the United States and Canada (sorry!).  Don't forget that you are responsible for shipping charges.

Good luck!


Willoughby

Comments

Unknown said…
You and Mr. Willoughby are ageless!

Okay, I'm game: I'm already a follower and just now perused the barstools. There are some crazy whacked out and pretty cool looking stools they have. Unfortunately, most do not go along with my decor. I love the diner style stools, though and the Chantilly or Linon styles are probably closest to matching my decor.

I have a few items I've been eyeing from their on line catalog but I will use them for other entries.
Jenn Erickson said…
Ugh, definitely not the sort of vacation I would have wished for you, my friend! Now that the auto repairs are done, the storm is over (I hope) and the mouse has been caught, I hope you can kick back, relax, enjoy a glass of good wine, some fabulous cheese, and savor the calm.

I love CSN stores and enjoyed looking at the adjustable bar stools. I love the chic modern look of the "ItalModern - 0435X - Alex Adjustable Barstool
SKU #: EY1367". I've always said that if I could have two homes I'd have one in the country, and then a totally modern loft in the city!
Jenn Erickson said…
If I had a shopping spree at CSN Stores, I'd definitely go for the
"H. Potter Accent Wardian Case" (it's a glass house terrarium).

http://www.allbarstools.com/H.-Potter-WAR117-HR1046.html?cv=
Domestic Diva said…
I follow on gfc

lovelydomesticdiva (at) gmail (dot) com
Domestic Diva said…
I like the Winsome airlift barstool

lovelydomesticdiva (at) gmail (dot) com
Ashley said…
I'm a gfc follower.

hewella1 at gmail dot com
Ashley said…
I like the winsome adjustable airlift barstool set.

hewella1 at gmail dot com
Ashley said…
I love the paula deen cookware.

hewella1 at gmail dot com
Bill Lisleman said…
Ok I've been a follower for awhile. I like the Buffalo Tools one because it looks very sturdy and I need sturdy.

Your shoes look young.
Rusthawk said…
I like the old fashioned soda fountain barstools by Buffalo. I'm following on GFC @rusthawk. Thanks!
Rusthawk said…
From CSN, I'd love to get the zester and the adjustable slicer from Microplane.
abby jenkins said…
I got so wrapped up on the allbarstools website I forgot to comment on your post! Who knew there could be so many different styles of stools? great resource for me dressing kitchen sets. Thanks!
Jenna said…
I like the Winsome - 93489 - Kallie Air Lift Adjustable Stool in Cappuccino.
Liz said…
I like the Winsome Airlift bar stool in black!

eemoody77 at gmail dot com
Danielle K said…
I really like the Zuo Modern barstools.

danielleaknapp at gmail dot com
Domestic Diva said…
I like this light:
http://www.csnlighting.com/Maxim-Lighting-5520CDPT-MXL9078.html

lovelydomesticdiva (at) gmail (dot) com
L.B. said…
Hmmm... I remember reading this post but don't recall the giveaway. Dang, I'm losing my mind!

Anyway, I'm a proud follower of your fantastic blog.

I like the Winsome Kallie Air Lift Adjustable Stool. I wonder if you can move it around or if it's fixed. That's the only question I have. The one that's a top seller, well, the one next to it anyway, doesn't look that sturdy. I'd really like a stool in my kitchen I used to have one, two actually, but they broke on me. Slowly, over time, not in one sitting. I liked to sit in the kitchen on my laptop and then stand up to do other things. Anyway, that's what I'd choose.

Great giveaway!

Popular posts from this blog

Skip Breakfast And Have An Adventure

We're skipping breakfast again.  I know you were expecting Mr. Willoughby to dazzle you with his cooking skills, but he doesn't feel like cooking today.  He wants to go skydiving. Yesterday, a friend sent us a link to an article about a new place to skydive in Michigan.  When I clicked on the link, I was surprised to see a familiar face. We'll get to that in a minute. You may recall that Mr. W started skydiving by taking a tandem jump a few years ago.  With a tandem jump, having a great instructor makes the difference between a fun experience and an amazing experience and Mr. W had Josh Sheppard; one of the best.  Josh is experienced, enthusiastic and passionate about skydiving.  Mr. W had such an amazing experience that he decided to take the AFF course (to learn to jump solo) before they were back on the ground.   So back to that article, the familiar face I saw was Josh.  He and his brother Abe have started a new skydiving business in Owo...

Timeline

I made Spaghetti with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce and Chicken Parmesan for dinner last night. It's not a difficult meal to prepare, but it does require the oven and multiple burners on the cooktop so it heats up the kitchen. After dinner, it was still awfully warm inside, so I left all of the dishes right where there were and my husband and I went outside to sit on the back porch and cool off. We had eaten rather late, so it was already dark outside. Our neighborhood was uncharacteristically quiet and the only sounds were that of the crickets chirping and the faint whoosh of cars passing by on Main Street. It was a perfect summer evening, the sort that you dream about in the middle of February. I asked my husband what he thought we might have been doing at that exact moment one year ago. Had we been sitting in the same place enjoying similarly beautiful weather? Had I made the same meal for dinner? What about five years ago? How about 10, 15, and 20 years ago? I know I've taken a ...

Public Service Announcement

I'm not quite ready to come back yet, but I wanted to take a few minutes to post my version of a Public Service Announcement.  As many of you already know, I've been away from blogging due to illness.  However, what you may not know is that the illness is H1N1.  Yep, the Swine Flu. I can honestly say that I've never felt so terrible in my life.  I had heard that for most people, H1N1 is no worse than the regular seasonal flu.  I guess I'm not most people.  After 15 days, I'm only now beginning to feel slightly human.  I was unable to get vaccinated because our area ran out of vaccine months ago.  I understand that it has recently become available again, but it's too late for me.  It's not too late for you, though.  If the vaccine is available in your area and you haven't gotten it yet, I beg you to drop what you're doing and take your family to get vaccinated. If you ignore my advice and decide to develop your immunity by gettin...