review

Giveaway // 17th Annual Red & White On Thursday Night — 2014 !!

January 9, 2014 by Rachel 7 Comments

The 17th Annual Red & White On Thursday Night is coming up on January 23rd and Chad + I cannot wait!!

We went to the event at Quaker Station for the food & wine tasting event, presented by Akron General and benefiting The Arthritis Foundation, Great Lakes Region, Northeastern Ohio and we enjoyed every. single. bite. and sip. and second of that night!

It was our first real night out after Ari was born.

And I am SO happy to be going to the 17th Annual event in just a couple of weeks!!

Plus I’ll be giving away TWO tickets for a lucky reader and their guest!

Here are the details on the event:

Sip and Sample at the 17th Annual Red & White On Thursday Night event: Akron’s premier wine and food tasting event. Presented by Akron General, this strolling wine and food affair benefits the Arthritis Foundation, Great Lakes Region, Northeastern Ohio and will take place on Thursday January 23, 2014at Quaker Station at The University of Akron from 5:30 – 9:00 p.m.

More than 750 guests will enjoy food from the area’s finest restaurants and tastings from international wineries. In addition, highlights of the event include a wine bottle raffle, silent and live auctions and much more.

General Admission (pre-sale): $85

General Admission at the door: $95

VIP Lounge (pre-sale): $125 (includes general admission to event)

VIP Lounge (at the door): $135 (includes general admission to event)

Join us in the exclusive VIP Lounge where the University Catering chef will be on hand pairing delicious food and wine tastings. Specialty cocktails courtesy of Brown-Forman and more await you in the VIP Lounge!

General Admission includes a hearty sampling of award-winning restaurants cuisine, plus a selection of delicious wine from international vintners.

Event proceeds will support local programs and services for the nearly 1.3 million Northeast Ohioans with arthritis and fund critical arthritis research conducted at local institutions in Northeastern Ohio.

Purchase tickets at http://RedandWhite-2014.eventbrite.com/ or by calling Courtney Winnen at 216-285-2829.

And here’s what *I* can tell you from my experience last year:

The wine is a-plenty! I expected it to be a small amount of wine vendors serving teeny sips of wine, but there were hundreds of wines to taste!

And it looks like some of our favorite restaurants will be returning to the event this year, plus some new ones!

Nuevo Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar is set to open this winter in Downtown Akron and I’m SO excited to see what flavors they have in store! It will be great to check them out.

And of course, Saffron Patch in the Valley (yummmm! Kashmiri Naan + tandoori chicken!), The Lockview (grilled cheesus I love me some cheese!), Sushi on the Roll (sushi burrito please?? :), & Chad’s personal fave — Chocolates By Erin.

OK, enough with the babbling about food + wine (which I could do all day!).

Enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget below! And see you there!

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** Winner will be announced within 24-hours of giveaway close. I was not compensated for this post, but did receive two complimentary tickets to the event. All opinions herein are my own. **

REPREVE // Review + Giveaway

January 3, 2014 by Rachel 9 Comments

I’ve been called a hippy a LOT. I, in fact, prefer to be referred to as ‘crunchy-granola.’ Why? Because that means absolutely nothing to most people. To us it means that we’re very eco- and health-conscious and do things that may seem ‘weird’ to other people.

I love finding companies who share the same philosophies and put them into action, which is why when I was introduced to REPREVE I fell in eco-love!

REPREVE is a recycled fiber that helps turn plastic bottles you recycle into cool stuff you can wear and use every day. Now there’s no excuse not to recycle!

A lot of brands you love use REPREVE to make their products greener:

• Volcom graphic t-shirts are made with REPREVE, using 2 recycled plastic bottles.
• One Patgonia fleece jacket with REPREVE has 40 recycled plastic bottles, so you can be a real “active-ist.”
• Life Khaki by Haggar uses REPREVE to put 7 recycled plastic bottles in every pair of pants; so wear what you believe.

Other brands made with REPREVE: The North Face, Polartec, Patagonia, Beija-Flor, Lauren Conrad’s XO(eco) by Blue Avocado, Swiftwick socks, and more.

I was already a fan of companies like Patagonia and The North Face for their philosophies on nature and love of the outdoors, so to find out that these companies are also acting responsibly. And it’s nice to hear that all of our recycling efforts are not in vain! Our bottles are being turned into fabric which is being turned into awesome clothes!

REPREVE will take recycling to new heights with a special green event at the 2014 Winter X Games Aspen (Jan. 23-26, 2014).

It’s not just about free swag, though. This is an event with a serious mission: to show the world that we have to get everybody involved in recycling—to create a reprieve for the planet.

The luckiest plastic bottles get made into a recycled fleece beanie made from REPREVE. One REPREVE green beanie is made from 6 recycled plastic bottles! SIX bottles!

I have one of these amazing beanies and it’s been keeping this pixie cut head warm for the last week! Comfort + style + eco-friendly = HUGE win!

PLUS I have a second beanie for one of YOU! Use the rafflecopter widget below to enter to win a REPREVE Fleece Beanie of your own!

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Good luck, friends! And keep trying to #TurnItGreen!

BAMR Bands // Review + Giveaway

December 29, 2013 by Rachel 3 Comments

Katie from Healthy Heddleston has her hands full — she’s a mom of two, a dietician, fitness fanatic, and owns and operates her own company — BAMR Bands (Bad Ass Mother Runner Bands)!

Not only is the name BAMR Bands something I can totally stand behind (love a company/anyone who refers to bad ass mothers!), but the product is, too!

Now that my hair is pixie cut, I end up running and having sweat get into my eyes (it’s not pretty, but it’s the truth). And without a ponytail option available, I’ve been using headbands to keep the wispy hairs in place. BAMR Bands come in fun colors and patterns, plus they’re made with a non-slip material to keep them in place (especially important — since it’s awful to have to adjust accessories during a run!).

The headbands measure 7/8 inches in width and $1 from each headband purchased is donated to the charity Every Mother Counts.

I’ve been wearing my headband nonstop since I got it. I specifically chose it in this color because I can match it to non-fitness apparel, too! 🙂

And now you can enter to win one for yourself!

Head on over to the BAMR Bands shop here and then enter using the Rafflecopter widget below!
The giveaway will run through 12am on January 4th!
The winner will be notified within 48 hours of the giveaway closing.

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