Do you love reading? Enjoy free stuff? Like Money? I'm so excited to be partnering with a whole bunch of other bloggers and businesses to bring you this HUGE giveaway.


You are not going to believe this prize package.

Seriously.

Now that the kids are back in school, maybe you find yourself with a little extra free time for reading grown-up people books with grown-up people words in them. Maybe, as the autumn air gets chillier, you’re looking for an excuse to snuggle up inside under a blanket. Whatever the reason, one thing’s for sure: you need some great stuff to read. Thus, we bring you…

First off, we’ve collected practically an entirely new library for you – nine (9) (NINE!!!) new books to make you laugh, cry, and forget that you were supposed to turn on the crockpot because you’re just plain having too much fun.

You Have Lipstick On Your Teeth, the long-awaited first humor anthology from In The Powder Room, is the #1 Hot New Release on Amazon for good reason – it’s packed with 39 (mostly) true tales by women, for women, about being women—bodily changes, relationships, careers, motherhood, aging, illness, and more—written with the humor and grit that proudly sets In The Powder Room apart. The winner’s shiny new copy will be signed by none other than Lipstick co-author and editor, Leslie Marinelli of The Bearded Iris!

Do you have a copy of the hilarious best-selling collection of hilarious essays, I Just Want To Pee Alone, yet? Well, I bet you don’t have a copy signed by four of the co-authors – Amy Bozza of My Real Life signed one with Kim Bongiorno, Kim Forde and Anna Sandler, and she’s willing to part with it JUST FOR YOU! It covers every parenting topic from planning for your baby, to being driven insane by your children, to… wait, are there other parenting topics? Yes, don’t be silly, of course there are. I’m pretty sure.

From Abby Has Issues, you’ll get a signed paperback copy of Abby Still Has Issues, the 5-star rated second installment of award-winning humor writer Abby’s compiled blogging neurosis – everything from the drama of a cab ride with Aunt Mable to her quest to become a naked sushi model.

Carriage Before Marriage has two stories in the hilarious, irreverent anthology What Was I Thinking: 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories featuring essays from Carrie Fisher, Sex and The City producer Cindy Chupack and more. Romantic disasters spun into comedy gold for your entertainment!

Janie Emaus is offering up a autographed paperback copy of her smart and compelling young adult book, Mercury In Retro Love – a story about crushes, conflicts and astrological confusion.

Kim Bongiorno, of Let Me Start By Saying, has generously added an autographed paperback copy of her 5-star rated “Part of My World: Short Stories”, a book that allows the reader to escape into 21 unique, exhilarating worlds.  To boot, she’s including a “How Being a Parent is Like Being a Rock Star” note card, based on her hilarious graphic that’s gone viral (blank inside, with envelope).

You’ll also win an autographed copy of Not Your Mother’s Book…on Being a Parent, co-authored by Stacey Hatton of Nurse Mommy Laughs. These new anthologies are edgy “poultry for the chakra” books and will have you laughing instead of crying.

Of course your library won’t be complete without a signed paperback copy of the best selling debut of humorist Paige Kellerman, At Least My Belly Hides My Cankles – a touching story of cankles, gestational diabetes, and one woman’s quest not to pee her own pants while carrying twins.

Still want more parenting laughs? Parenting Gag Reel – Hilarious Writes and Wrongs (from the popular Life Well Blogged series) is for moms and dads who’ve fought to get little ones down for a nap, worn their pajamas to drop off the kids at school or can name at least ten shades of poop. If that’s you, you’re in the right place for an afternoon of laughter, thanks to some very funny bloggers, including Snarkfest.

But wait – that’s not all! Because we love you and we know that just WANTING to read doesn’t always get you the time, setting, and accessories that make it possible, we’re also including all of this:

Because it’s hard to concentrate on reading while the kids are awake, we’ll set you up with the customizable kid’s photo clock of your choice from ZAZOO KiDS! In addition to allowing you to upload your own photos, video and music, it has pre-programmed image alarms to show a child visually when they can start the day or when it is time to rest. Brilliant! For maximum reading time, we recommend setting bedtime to 4 PM.

Because they might still need a little help staying in bed, there’s Duck Tape. Everyone can find a fun and creative use for Duck Tape, from crafty tweens to practical DIYers, to mamas who just want to read for a minute, for Pete’s sake. We’re giving away an awesome prize pack of Duck Tape in assorted colors and patterns.

Because sometimes Mama needs a little glass of something while she reads, you’ll get a monogrammed Vino-2-Go (Wine Sippy! Right? RIGHT? Awesome.) for those special times when you need to be the classiest bitch at a party, or when you’re just afraid you might spill some precious vino on your precious book.

Because you need to be comfortable while you read, we’re bringing you your choice of one throw pillow from Sewn, Inc. Sewn is a small design atelier in Brooklyn, NY, specializing in dressmaking, custom Halloween costumes for children, home decor accents, and quilted Christmas stockings.

Because you might be out and about while you’re reading (hey, it could happen), the winner will also get a $30 gift certificate to the Jennifer Ladd shop on Etsy, which is chock full of gorgeous handbags and change purses.

Because you’ll need something clean for your kids to wear if you hope to put off the laundry one more day, let us introduce you to Nostalgic Graphic Tees by Elizabeth Horton. Brushed for softness and screen printed using multiple layers of environmentally friendly ink, you’ll be happy when this becomes your child’s favorite shirt because it’ll stand up to life and washings and still look good enough to hand down to a little brother or sister. Winner gets to choose any tee from the Etsy site. That’s winner’s choice! You just have to pick from a size in stock.

Because you’ll need something cozy to “borrow” from your husband’s closet while you read (or because you’re the husband whose cozy stuff keeps getting “borrowed,” or because you just happen to like reading and comfort), Cool Dads is providing one of their tees. They work hard to make tees that their kids would dig, and that they would be proud to wear too. They feature a tailored fit, custom stitching, and high quality bamboo viscose material that makes their shirts softer than the softest cotton, keep you degrees cooler, and even repel sweat to keep you dry.

Because people are always trying to take the few things around the house that aren’t made by Fisher Price (like your new fantastic book collection) and claim them as their own, label them in style with Name Bubbles. These sturdy, water-resistant and dishwasher safe labels come in a variety of colors, sizes, and fonts so you can personalize them just the way you want. We’re giving away a School Labels Pack, an assortment of over 80 labels!

Because we know you’ll get interrupted while you’re trying to read, you’ll get a $40 gift card to Snappin Studio, where they make unique hand stamped metal keepsakes like beautiful copper bookmarks. What a stylish way to keep track of where you left off, until you’re finished getting the kids just one more glass of water at 10:30 PM! Shop for gorgeous hand stamped metal gifts such as personalized guitar picks, unique anniversary gifts, handmade wedding favors and more.

Also, because we know we’re all just barely holding it together ourselves, we’re including a canvas I Just Want To Pee Alone tote bag so YOU can hold all this stuff together – super rare and totes adorable, you’ll be able to carry all this incredible loot in style.

And finally, because we know we might have forgotten something (Who, US???), the lucky winner will also get a $175.00 Amazon gift card, to spend however he or she wants, although we strongly suggest using it to buy the giveaway hosts something pretty.

That’s almost $700 worth of fantastic prizes!

NOW FOR THE NITTY-GRITTY:

To qualify: You must have a deep, burning desire to own all or part of the stuff mentioned above, and live in the United States. (So sorry, non-United States friends – we love you big time, but we don’t understand your sweepstakes rules and don’t enjoy serving jail time. Also, POSTAGE. Gah. It’s, like, more than college tuition.)

Required: Do the little Rafflecopter thingy. Winner will be chosen at random and notified after the giveaway closes on Saturday, October 5. If there’s no response from the winner within 24 hours, another winner will be chosen and so on until I decide just to keep everything for myself. (I’m kidding, of course. OR AM I? Yes, I’m kidding.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


We still have 4 more weeks before our new house is scheduled to be finished, but we have been spending a lot of time in the neighborhood visiting our construction site and taking Nicholas back and forth to school.

The other day I brought my camera along so that I could show you some pictures of the ‘hood. (That is probably the one and only time in your life that you will hear Central Pennsylvania referred to as “the ‘hood.”)

This is what we see as we walk across our acreage to pick up Nick from school…

Around here it’s pretty normal to see a tractor parked in your neighbor’s yard.

I’m very jealous of this neighbor’s gazebo garden.

Our mailbox is at the end of this gravel road, which dead ends right into the parking lot of Nick’s elementary school. 

This is our view on our walk to the mailbox.

And this was taken from the same spot, looking in the other direction.

Lately, if Nick has a “smiley face day” we go to a park about two blocks away after school. The kids like the river that runs through the park. 

I’m not sure why, but there is hardly ever anyone there. It’s really nice to have the whole place to ourselves.

My school guy is getting big!

I can’t wait to share more pictures of the neighborhood once we are settled!

I have a feeling that the Whole Foods Moms are not going to love me after this post.

But here’s the thing, I named my blog Binkies and Briefcases because I believe in balance. Even though I’d love for my whole family to eat 100% organic whole food all of the time, at this stage in our lives that’s just not realistic. We have active kids, busy schedules, and we are in a temporary living situation until our new home is finished. 90%of my kitchen supplies are still in storage. To give you an idea, I made fried zucchini the other  night using a plastic fork to flip them during the frying process. Sadly, the fork did not survive. Happily, I managed not to burn myself.

You get the idea. Anyway, the point is, sometimes we just need the, well, convenience of convenience food.  

I’ve been really paying attention to the labels at the store lately, and I’ve found a few products that we really like because they are easy, not any more expensive than their less-healthy counterparts, and they taste good. 

This is not a sponsored post (although I wouldn’t mind if these brands decided they want to send me a check), I just wanted to share because we’re crushing on them right now.

Utz Potato Chips

These are a local product. They are made right in my grandparents’ neighborhood. If you’re not in the mid-Atlantic region, then I’m sorry for your loss because these really are yummy. We have always bought these chips anyway because they taste good and we grew up on them, but even after I started worrying about switching our family to whole foods I just kept right on buying them because…

They only have 3 ingredients: potatoes, oil, and salt. I only buy the original or ruffled version, which has the same ingredients list, because the other flavors have more ingredients. Granted, cottonseed oil isn’t the best kind of oil in the whole universe, but I’m okay with giving these to my kids as a sometimes food.

The next convenience food I wanted to share with you is 

Annie’s Homegrown Mac & Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese is my middle daughter, Abby’s, favorite food in the whole entire world. She would eat it every day. Often, she does. It’s MUCH cheaper, not to mention easier and faster, to buy a boxed version than to make it from scratch. 

I buy this at Target.You can also buy it here. This week at Tar-Jay the stove top kind was on sale for $1/box, which is only a few cents more than other well known brands. I also really appreciated that they had a box with a character my children recognized. It can be hard to explain why we aren’t buying “the Monster’s Inc. kind” or “the one with the Transformers on it.” 

I like that the pasta is organic, the cheese is real (“Cultured Pasteurized Milk, Salt, Non-Animal Enzymes” as opposed to “WHEY, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, PALM OIL, MILKFAT, SALT, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES, SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE, CITRIC ACID, GUAR GUM, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, NATURAL FLAVOR, LACTIC ACID, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, ENZYMES, CHEESE CULTURE); MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, ACETYLATED MONOGLYCERIDES, SALT, MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES, APOCAROTENAL (COLOR).”-actual ingredients  for the “cheese” in the other brand.)   and that there aren’t any hormones or artificial colors or flavors.

Abby and Penny both ate the microwavable kind for lunch today. I believe it was $3.50 for a box of 5 pouches, which is about $0.70 per serving.  I tasted it and was surprised that it tasted very familiar, much like the stove top version of the brand in the blue box.  

I also buy other Annie’s products at Target, although I do find that many of them are more expensive than the non-organic versions of the same snack food.

I’m sending 3 boxes of Annie’s snack mix bunnies for the kindergarten class snack tomorrow. It would have been cheaper to buy something else, but I feel better knowing that I’m not giving the kids hormones and chemicals.

Have you tried any of these products or are there others that you can share?