Blog Giveaway Winners Announced

Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaways this past week or so.  A special thanks to our sponsors!  The winners are:


The winner of the Gingerbread bath goodies from Wicked Soaps is: Huguette!

The winner of the Triskele Pendant from Gypsy Moon Art Studio is: Leathra!


The winner of the Abigail Necklace from Room 3 Designs is: I'm So Pretty!


The winners have 7 days in which to contact me with their shipping information.  After 7 days, an alternate winner will be selected from the entries for that giveaway.


Congrats to the winners!!

Summer Solstice Sangria (Tasty any time of year!)

When you research the sabbats, you can find a long list of “traditional” sabbat fare. The foods listed may or may not be something that you really want to cook and eat, though! I think it is up to the modern domestic witch to come up with food and drink that celebrate the ideas behind the sabbat, but still create a delicious and inviting menu.


This is one of my favorites.,  Summer Solstice Sangria! There are as many versions of this drink as fish in the sea, but this is the one I reach for in the summer. While this version does contain alcohol, it is easily modified to create a non-alcoholic version. And it’s easy enough to make a batch of each to cover all your party guests! To make it easy to tell the difference between the two, create one with a red wine, and one with a white grape juice (or vice versa) and clearly label which is which. This will usually prevent any mishaps.

The ingredients you’ll need for this drink are: a bottle of your favorite table wine, peach schnapps, pomegranate liquor, and seasonal fresh fruits of your choosing. For the non-alcoholic version, substitute a good quality grape juice (white or red), pomegranate juice, and the juice from a can of canned peaches (you can use the peaches in the drink as well). Just substitute the same amount of corresponding ingredients in the recipe.

Fruit juice is a traditional drink for the Summer Solstice and wine is always a good substitution for adults. Peaches might not be quite in season by the end of June, but for me, the smell of peaches just brings summer to mind, no matter when I smell them. I add pomegranate as a tip of the hat to Demeter and Persephone (not summer goddesses per say, but goddesses I think of every time there is a change of season) and the changing seasons – it also lends a real depth of flavor and tartness to the wine. Fresh fruits celebrate abundance, the season, and, depending on what you use, can be used symbolically.
I start out cutting up my fruit and adding it to a nice glass pitcher. I cut citrus fruits into wheels, symbolizing the turn of the seasonal wheel, and the sun. Be sure to remove as many of the seeds as you can from the fruit before putting them in the pitcher.

A nice tart, granny smith apple is cut horizontally to show the five pointed star, representing the pentagram.

Almost any fruit that will hold it’s shape while sitting in a liquid can be used in sangria.

Next up, I add a shot glass (a standard shot is 1.5 oz.) (yes, my shot glasses are on the bigger side, lol!)  of of the pomegranate liquor (this one is called Milady, which I thought was appropriate!):

and then a shot of the peach schnapps.

Fill the pitcher with wine:

and refrigerate for a few hours to chill and let all the flavors marry and soak into the fruit.
Serve and enjoy responsibly!

This is post copyright to the author. It may not be reposted, reprinted or distributed in it's entirety without express written permission of the author.

All Giveaways Extended to November 30

Due to some personal issues going on at home, I've extended all of the giveaways to November 30 at noon EST.   Can't get into too much detail, but I'll share a little tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for your understanding.

Where The Hell is Tanner... New Years Came a Little Early Edition

At least she has decent taste in beer....

Winner of the Pagan Cross-Stitch Pattern from Sherry Sincar Designs

Thanks to everyone who participated and a special thanks to Sherry for donating such a lovely prize!!


The winner is: Annette from The Ward House!
Please contact me with your info so I can forward it on to Sherry!  Congrats!

Blog Giveaway from Room 3 Designs!

This giveaway is brought to you by Room 3 Designs!

The Abigail Necklace - Black beaded net necklace/choker with fire-polished Czech drops!

Shiny Jet Black Toho seed beads create a net design with fire-polished faceted Czech glass drops for added richness. This necklace is pure gothic romance....

It measures 14 inches in length and has a 2 inch sterling silver chain for adjustability. Closes with a sterling silver lobster clasp. There is a Czech drop as a stopper on the end of the chain.

To qualify to win this prize, you must comply with all of the following requirements:
Just a small reminder, that due to the new Facebook Terms of Service, Facebook can NOT BE MENTIONED in blog giveaways. Please read all entry rules. If your profile is private you MUST leave an email address with each entry, or your entries do NOT count. Entries must be left in separate comments to count. Entries listed together in the same comment will count as 1 comment.

• Have an accessible blog or leave an email address with each entry.
• Visit Room 3 Designs and comment on the piece you like most!

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

• 1 entry (available daily) - Twitter this message: RT @MrsBsConfession Enter to win an @room3designs black beaded necklace! Visit silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com
• 1 entry (each) - Comment about this giveaway (include the URL to this post) on Myspace, LiveJournal, or your blog, leaving the URL/s to your post/s in comments
• 1 entry - Be or become a follower on Twitter of @room3designs
• 1 entry - Be or become a friend of the artist on MySpace
• 1 entry - Be or become a follower of the Room 3 Designs blog.

This giveaway will end at noon EST on Nov. 30.  The winner will be chosen by an online number generator, and announced soon afterwards.

Book Review: Magus of Stonewylde by Kit Berry

I want to live in Stonewylde.

If you haven't heard of Stonewylde before, it's a fictional, modern Pagan community in the Stonewylde book series by Kit Berry*.  I just had the opportunity to read the first book in the series, Magus of Stonewylde.  The series will include five books total, with the first three having been released in the UK, and the first being released in the US.  This book is fiction, not fantasy - the people of Stonewylde follow the Old Religion; there are no flashy spells or magical beasts.

Stonewylde is a community nestled in rural England, hidden from Outsiders.  The inhabitants of Stonewylde live in harmony with nature and celebrate the Pagan sabbats with joy (though there are some customs and traditions that are unique to Stonewylde).  Earth magic abounds.  It should be a perfect refuge for Sylvie, a girl with failing health who catches the eye of Sol, the current leader of Stonewylde - the Magus.  He recognizes Sylvie as a descendent of one of the Stonewylde families, and convinces her single mother to come live and work at Stonewylde.

At first Sylvie sees Stonewylde for what it should be: an idyllic Utopia full of healing energy, magic and acceptance.  After befriending Yul, one of the village boys, she comes to realize that Stonewylde is a modern feudal system, in which the Villagers are kept in their places: uneducated, lacking modern conveniences, with little chance to move up in the world, or to even ever leave Stonewylde.  Though the Magus is kind to Sylvie and her mother, she realizes that he has another, darker side and that it's often focused on Yul.

I don't want to give too much about the book away, because this really is a must read.  For anyone who loves the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Narnia series, this is right up your alley.  For anyone who follows a Pagan path, you will love this book and wish that you could find your own Stonewylde to live in.  Magus of Stonewylde is so well written, so encompassing of so many great themes (romance! conflict! magic! coming of age!), that the only people I can see not liking this book are those who think that the Harry Potter series is going to turn all our children into witches, lol!  Yeah, those people will really hate this book.  (Doesn't that make you want to read it even more?)  I was completely enthralled with this book!

To find out more about the Stonewylde books, the author and how to purchase the books, check out the Stonewylde website.  You can sign up for newsletters that correspond to the sabbats, find book club discussion topics, and find links to the author's Twitter and blog sites.

Make this one a Yule present to yourself (if you can wait that long to read it - I suggest getting it today ;O) or get it for your teen.  If they liked Edward and Belle, they are going to love Yul and Sylvie!






* I received a copy of this book from the author for review.  I was not paid for a positive review, it was freely, honestly and happily given!

Looking for an Online Deal?

If you are looking for a deal on something amazing, check out Etsy's Dark Side Street Team!  They have a listing up of the Dark Side members who are offering Black Friday to Cyber Monday online deals!

You might remember several of these artists from their participation in the 31 Days of Halloween, and there are many more to check out!

What could be better than getting a deal on a independent, handmade item to give to someone for the holidays??

Click here to visit the listing and get shopping!

Blog Giveaway from Gypsy Moon Art Studio!

This giveaway is brought to you from Gypsy Moon Art Studio.  I've had her Copper Spiral Ring on my favorites list for some time!  *cough.mr.b.size10.cough*


Today the artist is giving you a chance at this: 

The pendant is handforged copper that has been torched, hammered, and woven into a Celtic Triskele.

This ancient symbol has been found in many cultures including the Hopi Indian, Greek, Central American, and Celtic cultures. It's three arms have many meanings to different people, but the most popular are life/death/rebirth, maiden/mother/crone, earth/water/sky, and mind/body/spirit. 

My copper representation measures 1.5 inches at it's widest point, and is slightly less than 2 inches tall including the bail.

To qualify to win this prize, you must comply with all of the following requirements:
Just a small reminder, that due to the new Facebook Terms of Service, Facebook can NOT BE MENTIONED in blog giveaways. Please read all entry rules. If your profile is private you MUST leave an email address with each entry, or your entries do NOT count. Entries must be left in separate comments to count. Entries listed together in the same comment will count as 1 comment.

• Have an accessible blog or leave an email address with each entry.
• Visit Gypsy Moon Art and leave a comment here about what piece in the shop you like!

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

• 1 entry (available daily) - Twitter this message: RT @MrsBsConfession Enter to a triskele pendant from @GypsyMoonArt Visit silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com
• 1 entry (each) - Comment about this giveaway (include the URL to this post) on Myspace, LiveJournal, or your blog, leaving the URL/s to your post/s in comments
• 1 entry - Be or become a follower on Twitter of @GypsyMoonArt
• 1 entry - Be or become a follower of the Gypsy Moon Art blog

This giveaway will end at noon EST on Nov. 29.  The winner will be chosen by an online number generator, and announced soon afterwards.

Friday Mumblings...

Woohooo!  It's Friday!  Hurray!  My favorite day of the week!  Well, besides Saturday and Sunday....

After days and days of crap weather, today is gorgeous and it looks like the weekend might be as well!  Looks like some gettin'-out-of-the-house time is in order.

I'll be off enjoying the family the next two days, but make sure to check in on Monday, when I'll be starting another awesome giveaway.  In fact, check in later today for the start of one, also!

I have to say, though the giveaways can cut in just a smidgeon on the day-to-day postings, I love doing them.  So many people are going through rough patches, and winning something so nice can really put a smile on your face, can't it?  I really have to thank all the nice folks who donate :O)

I also want to mention that I've started doing some daily "What's going on with Pagans/witchcraft in the news" posts through my Facebook fan page.  Of course they are mixed in with the occasional "Hey look, it's a 100 year old guy who still mows his own yard!" posts - otherwise you might go nuts, as many of the news articles can take on a rather serious tone.  (For silly posts, farmville (lol),  what I'm cooking for dinner and such, friend me at my regular page :O)

Oh, and I have to mention I'm mid-way through the book Magus of Stonewylde!  Loving it!  I think I might have a little something in store down the line with this, as well... stay tuned!

I'd also ask for a few healing thoughts to go out for my little nephew.  He's just a little fellow and has been pretty sick this week.   Also for my uncle who is not doing so well.  All thoughts/prayers/healing vibes/etc. are much appreciated!

See you folks on Monday, and have a wonderful, joy-filled weekend!

Blog Giveaway from Wicked Soaps!

Let me just say that I've personally ordered from the creator of Wicked Soaps, and I can vouch for how awesomely luscious her products are!  I've ordered lip balms, soaps and body butter, and oh, the yum.

Today's giveaway is one of my all-time favorite flavors/scents: Gingerbread!

Wicked Soaps will send the winner of this giveaway a bar of gingerbread soap and a jar of gingerbread  body butter creme!  Believe me, you'll love this stuff (and if you're reading, Mr.B.,  this would make a perfect stocking stuffer for you favorite witch.....).

To qualify to win this prize, you must comply with all of the following requirements:
Just a small reminder, that due to the new Facebook Terms of Service, Facebook can NOT BE MENTIONED in blog giveaways. Please read all entry rules. If your profile is private you MUST leave an email address with each entry, or your entries do NOT count. Entries must be left in separate comments to count. Entries listed together in the same comment will count as 1 comment.

• Have an accessible blog or leave an email address with each entry.
• Have a mailing address in the US or Canada
• Visit Wicked Soaps at Etsy.  Leave a comment here about what you'd love to try out from the shop!

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

• 1 entry (available daily) - Twitter this message: RT @MrsBsConfession Enter to win gingerbread soap & body butter creme from @wickedsoap Visit silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com
• 1 entry (each) - Comment about this giveaway (include the URL to this post) on Myspace, LiveJournal, or your blog, leaving the URL/s to your post/s in comments
• 1 entry - Be or become a follower on Twitter of @wickedsoap
• 1 entry - Be or become a follower of the Wicked Soaps blog

This giveaway will end at noon EST on Nov. 27.  The winner will be chosen by an online number generator, and announced soon afterwards.

What's Going on Today?

I've got a few things going on today, and I'll be updating this page when I get them all squared away :O) Stay tuned!


But for now, have you been participating in Good Mourning, Glory!'s Peace & Coexistence Celebration?  She's on day 3, and has guest bloggers and giveaways going on!  Be sure and check it out and join in the peaceful fun!
And be sure to check out the past giveaways for the last 2 days, as all the giveaway winners will be chosen at the end of the month!  My favorite so far is the one from Emilina Ballerina!

Check in later to see what's cookin'!

UPDATE:  

Assuming you are an adult, lol, check out my blog post for today!  It's a gift review of a different color, something free and for yourself (and maybe a partner :O).

Winner of the Shadow of the Goddess Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who participated, and especially Lisa from Shadow of the Goddess!

The winner of the Dark Fairy-Witch Pendant is: MoonChylde!  Please contact me with your shipping information.  Congrats!

Recipe: How to make the perfect roasted chicken breast

There are tons of ways to cook chicken and tons of different cuts of chicken to cook.  This is my favorite way to do it.  Using a skin on, bone in chicken keeps the meat super juicy and flavorful (I always remove the skin before eating it :O).  Even better, if you cook up a mess of these at one time, you can take the meat off the bone, cut it into cubes or strips make several really delicious meals from it.  More on that later, but let's get on to the recipe.

The ingredients are simple.  Bone-in, skin on chicken breasts, olive oil, salt and pepper.  The amount of chicken you cook at one time will depend on what you are doing with it and how big the breasts you buy are. Just going to eat it today for dinner? Making enough for meals for the week? Having company? Are your kids little or voracious teens?

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Give your chicken a quick rinse, and dry it off as well as you can.  Dry = crispier skin and well rendered fat, which brings a lot of flavor to the table.

If you like, you can spray some non-stick spray in your pan, just to make clean up easier, but it really isn't necessary.  Place the chicken, skin side up into the pan.  Drizzle on the olive oil and smear it all over the breasts.  You want a nice coat, but you don't want it swimming at all.  Heavily salt and pepper the skin.

Pop the pan into your well heated oven, and cook for 30-40 minutes (again, depending on the size of your breasts).  The chicken is done when a cooking thermometer placed in the thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees F.  Once it's reached the proper temperature, remove the pan, cover the chicken with foil and let the meat "rest" for 15-20 minutes.  This lets all the juices in the meat redistribute, making sure that your meat is super tender and juicy.  You should never skip the resting stage with any roasted or grilled meats.

You'll end up with a delicious, perfectly cooked, juicy chicken breast.  Serve as is and thicken the  pan juices for gravy.  Alternately you can use it (or cook extra for later in the week) and substitute the roasted chicken for the grilled in Fusili with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Chicken,  throw it in with some romaine lettuce and whip up a dressing for Caesar salads,  or combine it with mayo, celery, a tsp of Dijon mustard and some fresh tarragon to make the ultimate chicken salad.   With it's simple flavors, this chicken can be used for darn near anything!

And once you've roasted chicken with the skin on and the bone in, you'll never, ever go back to those plain, dried out, flavorless boneless, skinless breasts.  Guaranteed.

Blog Giveaway from Sherry Senicar Designs!

Today starts a giveaway for an awesome cross stitch pattern from Sherry Senicar Designs!  

About the artist:

I ship world wide.  I am a happily divorced and proud mother of 2 sons and grandmother to 1 adorable little boy who is almost 16 months old.  I grew up in an Anglican family who went to church weekly, did Sunday school, choir, teaching etc but always felt there was something else out there for me and 3 years ago I discovered my first Scott Cunningham book and after MUCH reading and practicing I am PROUD to  call myself a practicing solitary Wiccan.  I started cross stitch designing in 1992, mostly mainstream charts however I noticed other than dragons and Halloween patterns there were very few that fit me Spiritually so 2 years ago I started designing charts that spiritually spoke to me.  I have other charts in the 'works' just need to get them to my model stitcher.  (I've also designed a line of Gay Pride charts)

To qualify to win this prize, you must comply with all of the following requirements:

• Have an accessible blog or leave an email address with each entry.
• Be or become a follower of the Sherry Senicar's Wiccan-Pagan Designs blog.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

• 1 entry (available daily) - Twitter this message: RT @MrsBsConfession is giving away a Pagan cross stitch pattern! Visit silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com
• 1 entry (each) - Comment about this giveaway on Myspace or LiveJournal, or your blog, leaving the URL/s to your post/s in comments
• 
  1 entry - Leave a message for Sherry at the Sherry Senicar Designs Wordpress blog.

This giveaway will end at noon EST on Nov. 23. The winner will be chosen by an online number generator, and announced soon afterwards.

You can also find Sherry's more mainstream patterns at her 1-2-3 Stitch! shop and at Down Sunshine Lane page.

Facebook Changes terms of service and how it affects giveaways

As Facebook had changed it's terms of service to make it a violation to mention FB in any giveaway (whether it be listed on FB or not), from here on out, no giveaways on CoaPSM will mention FB or have bonus entries for posting on FB or joining a fan page, etc.

All current giveaways have been updated to reflect the new terms of service.

Please note that you can still direct readers to your giveaways from FB, as long as the giveaway isn't run from FB and FB is not mentioned on your giveaway page.

Also, you CAN run a giveaway from FB if you are willing to pay for ad space: $10,000 for 30 days.  Yeah, I think I'll pass.....

You can read more about it here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10397757-36.html?tag=mncol;title


Thanks!

Monday Random Mutterings

Good morning folks and happy new moon!  Yesterday was Mr. B.'s birthday, and we spent such a great family day!  Friends called and dropped in, I cooked one of his favorite meals and baked a pumpkin spice cake with candied ginger frosting (oh, the yum!).

Today I'm getting caught up with some household cleaning and laundry.  Yesterday I roasted a huge pan of bone-in chicken breasts, using some for yesterday's meal and some for tonight's Caesar Salads.  I also got a new baking stone (mine cracked in half a week or so ago! Grr!), and started back to my bread making.  Nothing smells so good as bread baking in the oven!

In a few blog/blog related notes:
If you were a friend on Facebook, today was the day that my old FB page was shut down.  From here on out, I'll be using my fanpage and my new profile.  If you have a facebook account and want to keep track of the little extras that I post there (and my random daily BS, lol!) send me a friend request!

Later today I'll be posting a new giveaway!  It's just great, and you won't want to miss it!  If you haven't entered already, make sure you enter the Shadow of the Goddess giveaway that ends tomorrow!  There's also the Donna Dolls giveaway that ends on the 19th.  They'd make great holiday gifts for someone (maybe you, lol!).

In one last note:  I'm working on a post about "cyber Monday".  If you own a shop that will be offering cyber Monday deals and would like to be listed in my post (and possibly an Examiner article), please use the contact form at the top of this page to leave me the following information:

• The name and URL of your shop
• What kind of specials/coupons/deals you'll be offering (can be general information, such as "multiple sales", "25% off selected items", etc.)
• Any coupon codes that you'd like to offer CoaPSM readers (optional)

Entries for inclusion on the article must be submitted by Wednesday, November 25.  The listing will go up on Friday, November 27th.

Please note that that CoaPSM and/or Mrs.B. are not responsible for the purchases/sales from these shops. This blog/ger is not responsible for payments, delivery, etc. for any of the shops/sellers/purchasers for the shops that will be listed. Please contact the shops/buyers directly.

Holiday Gift Guide: New Eebee book and DVD for new and expecting parents!

While I don't have tiny kids anymore, I do have a little nephew and know quite a few expecting parents, so when I got a chance to check out the new eebee's Mix&Mash adventures in the Kitchen for Baby & You book and DVD based on eebee's adventures, I knew it was something I could share with my readers and friends!

eebee's adventures is a critically acclaimed series for infants and toddlers, starring eebee, a cute toddler that helps parents and babies find ways to play and learn together.  In Mix & Mash adentures, you learn a few simple recipes and how to include your baby in "cooking" them.  Each recipe is designed to to get parents and babies interacting and to enrich and build language skills.  I so wish I had this book when my kids were tiny!  What a great way to start teaching the smallest kids in the family - through interaction, cooking and play!  I would have never thought to bring a baby into the kitchen like this.  What a great opportunity for families!

The recipes encourage you and your baby to squish, shake and stir.  Super simple, nutritious, and fun! The book itself is bright with big bold pictures and is coated to be able to wipe off easily after your cooking fun.  Recipes include ingredients like tofu, blueberries and rice.

Included with the book is a DVD, which explains the learning behind the book.  It's based on a play curriculum, because, of course, babies learn through play and interaction.  They even explain the "PLAY" mantra, which stands for play, language, action, and yuks!

If you aren't familiar with eebee's adventures, you can check out their website here.  Not only can you purchase the book and DVD, but there are also activities to try (which also explain exactly what baby can learn from doing them), printables, a ton of parenting information and blog where you can read and share ideas.

This baby cookbook and dvd set would be perfect for any new or expecting parent, especially those who might be considering homeschooling, or are really big on books and education (shouldn't all parents be big on that?).  I think it would be great for parents who work as well, who might be looking for ways to really  use the time they have with their baby to engage and bond.  A much better gift, I think, than another plastic toy or something to be outgrown in a month.  This is a gift that is fun, educational, promotes family time, and leads to trying new, nutritional foods.  Could there just be anything better?