May 31, 2011

Shopping Spree with Friends at HomeGoods!

As if traveling to Atlanta for the BlogHer Food Conference wasn’t awesome enough, I was invited to take part in a special Private Homegoods Shopping Extravaganza with several of my blogging buddies! On Saturday morning, we crawled out of our Westin Heavenly Beds at the crack of dawn, threw on some clothes (no, that red shirt is NOT the one I slept in, um, okay, yes it is), then headed down umpteen flights to the van. Once we were all loaded up, we took off for the new Homegoods in Atlanta, anxiously awaiting all that was in store for us (no pun intended!)!

Upon arrival, we were greeted by a gorgeously arranged and displayed store, as well as a nice breakfast spread – delish! We all chatted and ate, and scoped out what we were going to buy once we got our carts. It was torture, that waiting!

I took Brandi, from Bran Appetit, Carrie from Fields of Cake, Julie from The Little Kitchen, Sheri from Tickled Red, and my roomie, Leslie, from The Hungry Housewife. We made out like BANDITS!

For about 30 minutes, I carried around the most beautiful Breville Juicer I have ever seen. Brandi started eyeballing it, and she’s just so cute. We googled it to see the MSRP – and it turned out to retail for over double what Homegoods charged, and $50 more than Homegoods on Amazon, where we almost always find better deals. I was shocked! After asking the store manager if there were anymore in stock in the backroom, I passed the juicer on to sweet Brandi. She really wanted it, and lucky for me, she lives a mere 5 minutes away so I can still get all the juice I want, and now she OWES me!

I stocked up on the softest white bath towels (they were $5.99 each!) and a rug that feels like rabbits. No joke. Rabbits. Not that I go around rubbing my feet on pristine white bunnies, but if I did, this rug is what they would feel like. It’s amazing, and it’s the full length of our bath tub. It was only $24!

I also bought a Microplane chocolate zester ($7!!), toys for Seven from Melissa & Doug (half price!) and every single flavored oil the store offered. White Truffle Oil, Almond Oil, Walnut Oil, and Hazelnut Oil. I feel so lucky to have found all that – what a treat! Another cool thing? A stiff, fabric covered handbasket to cart everything (well, lots of stuff) home in – it’s giant and so practical! It will hold all of my crazy extra cake pans out of the way so that I can keep my cabinets more organized…or, I may use it to take to the Farmer’s Market this summer. it’s too cute to hide away!

If you are lucky enough to have a Homegoods near you, I highly suggest you take a look at what they have to offer! And, if you don’t have one, be sure to check the store locator on their website, as LOTS of new stores have recently opened, and you too can grab some amazing deals! To help pay for the goodies you are bound to find, I am thrilled to be able to offer you a $100 Gift Card from BlogHer! To win, just let me know this – What would you buy if you had an extra $100 to spend at Homegoods? A rug? A piece of All Clad? 14 towels, salt, a picture frame and a Buddha shaped wine glass? What would you BUY?

Rules:

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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.

Contest is open from May 31st to June 10th.

The Official Rules are available here.