Sep 07 17 comments
The818 Giveaways

REI, $100, and You.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1000 times…REI is THA BOMB. (That’s right, I wrote it ’90’s style because that’s how serious I am about this shiz.)

So you already heard about my shopping trip to buy goodies for our big beach camp-out in Malibu Carpinteria (it’s hard to get a camp site this time of year in SoCal!)  And guess what? Now you’re going to have to hear about that camp-out, and how freaking awesome it was, and how freaking grateful I am to REI to encouraging me to get out there and enjoy all that LA has to offer this summer…because this is one hell of a city if you rock it right. We’ve got mountains, and oceans, and forests, and valleys (can I get a woot woot?!) and thanks to REI Scott and I are that much more dedicated to making sure that Delilah, the pups, and us get to enjoy them all.

We dragged Jodi & Neal as well as Sara, Sean, and the boys along with us, and had an awesome night cooking out and sleeping under the stars of Santa Barbara (the actual celestial bodies…and also the celebrities who’s mansions looked down from above) with our kiddos…our first real trip as families with my college besties. Memories were made.

So…what did I spend my REI wad on? A family cabana, because it makes not only for a great camp-out (or day trip) accessory on the beach (we also brought our eight-man-tent) but a great chill-out accessory in our own backyard. This summer, we got serious about bringing the outside in, and we made out tiny backyard a giant playroom for miss Delilah George. Thanks to REI, we may never go inside again.

I also splurged a little and snagged myself a Joby rugged with ball head. Ryan and Rachel (my internet photo gurus) insisted that I get myself a proper tripod and keep it on me at all times, so when I saw the Joby in stock at REI I had to have it. Scott and I are both avid photo-hobbyists, and with our own little model du jour (that’s Delilah, I’m trying to be fancy) we can’t stop snapping.   The Joby killed it in our beach environment (as did the protective electronics bag I grabbed) and continues to capture family moments from all angles…in focus.  Amazing.

Anyway…What outdoor activity do you pledge to do with your family this summer and how would a $100 REI gift card help you get there? Take the REI Outdoor Pledge and submit your comment to be entered.

RULES RULES RULES…
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older and runs from 9/7 – 9/27 .
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.
You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here
Head to the BlogHer Roundup Page for more chances to win.

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Apr 14 146 comments
Rave, The818 Giveaways

My New Best Friend

I am officially the most awkward self-portrait taker on earth.  Sorry.

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and OLAY.

Okay, so I’m pretty sure this is one of those things you DON’T tell people, but I have trouble pinpointing that line sometimes, you know?   Plus, I think I may have already mentioned this nasty little trick in passing when talking about my newfound love of styling my hair.     But here it is:

Sometimes I don’t wash my face in the morning.

I know.  I’m a frat boy.  It’s disgusting.  But here’s the thing:  I have limited time in that bathroom before Delilah wants in on whatever I’m doing.   And if I took a shower the night before, my hair is going to be a disaster, and my face is going to have only touched my clean pillowcase.  Y’know?   And if I didn’t take a shower the night before, then my hair is probably an EXTRA disaster, and the mascara residue under my eyes can be passed off as an intentional “smoky eye” while my bedhead is just…pretty much a dead giveaway that I slept through my alarm and/or was running late for our meeting.

Stop judging me right now.  Do you have kids?  When you have kids and work from home, trust me when I say that your beauty routine is one of the first places you look to find that extra time you need to get that project done.  But here’s the thing about being a screenwriter…Hollywood has this bassackwards idea that we should be able to perform our movies for them before they hire us to write them.   We who got into this profession to sit in the dark by ourselves, are expected to get all spiffed and be funny for 20 minutes (and dammit not a second longer or that studio executive is going to wear the buttons out on his blackberry sofast) before we’re allowed to do so.   It’s like slow torture.   And it’s nerve wracking as hell.   So I want to at least make sure I go in there looking good, because as soon as I open my mouth, it’s a crap shoot which direction this thing is going in, and if I look like the housewife from hell, I’m a lot less likely to get by with a giggle and a “oh, MAN – my kid was up all night, let’s start over, shall we?” than if I show up like I know my ass from my elbow and did my best to appear human.

But with the right tools, no one is ever any the wiser anyway.   (Except me and my grimy face.   But that’s another issue altogether.)   IT’S LIKE THEY CAN’T TELL I’M HALF ASLEEP. So since I now shop in the anti-aging section, allow me to introduce you to my new best friend Olay Total Effects Brush Guy.   He’s my new go-to “days when I don’t want/have time to wash my face” guy.

Probably not getting any spokesmodeling gigs any time soon.

I mean…don’t get me wrong ~ he’s there for me on the days I *do* have time to wash my face too (as if!) but when I don’t?  He’s a damn magic marker of anti-aging, anti-parenthood, anti-overworked elimination.   It’s freaking awesome. The sunk-in look goes away and I can speed on through my day-time-smokey-eye courtesy of one of those idiot-proof Sephora kits and be on my way.    My eyes are lookin’ so fresh and “25 again!“  (I’m 29, for the record) I barely want to put my shades on.   And I actually have a relatively massive and kick-ass collection of sunglasses so I ALWAYS want to put my shades on.   That’s how good this guy is.

Okay, so tell me – what’s your dirtiest beauty secret? If you do, there’s a $100 Spa Finder Gift card in it for one of you.

*Swoon* $100.00 to Spa Finder. So nice. Want to enter more? Visit the BlogHer roundup page for a bunch of other chances to win.

Here’s the official rules:

Giveaway ends 5/14.  No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected.

The Official Rules are available here

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Feb 16 89 comments
Rave, The818 Giveaways

Like crack without the negative side effects.

I’m like a walking ball of anxiety. Even before it all cropped up on me this year, I’ve always been high strung and really really into relaxing. So I will pretty much try anything aromatherapuetic to take the edge off my crazy in an effort keep myself from becoming a full-blown drug addict. {You know what I mean.} My nose candy of choice?  Saje Natural Wellness. BEST. AROMATHERAPY. EVER.

Aside from the fact that their conditioner got my hair back to brushable after the havoc breastfeeding wreaked on it, the thing of theirs that I am the most obsessed with is this Rose Facial Mist - it smells so good, and it helps me CALM THE EF DOWN when I start to feel that awful sweaty panicky feeling creep up around my hairline. (Does that happen to you? No? Just me? Oh good.) And don’t even get me started on the body butter, because I won’t stop. No seriously. I’m smelling my arm right now. [And yes, that is a picture of my Saje Mist where it lives on my desk next to my other vice: lattes.]

Anyway – I’m not just bragging about how much I love this tranquil, luxurious, spa-day-in-my-house line of Natural Wellness products – I actually have some to give to one of you guys!

Saje wants to give one lucky reader of The818 a care package of their team’s favorite goodies PLUS a 25$ gift certificate to spoil themselves with some of the finest essential oils the globe over.   No, really – this is some seriously refined natural wellness.   I wish I could win it myself, because I am hooked on Saje for life.

Want to win!?  Comment below telling me why you need a little aromatherapy in your life.

Want a second chance to win?   Sure!    Tweet:  I’m entering to win some sweet aromatherapy goodness from @The818 and @SajeWellness and you can too: http://ow.ly/3XRl7

That’s it!!!  Good luck!   Winner will be selected one week from today!

UPDATED: The original winner never claimed her prize so, Toni?  Looks like her loss is your gain ~ you’ve got some Saje goodness coming your way!!!

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