As you may recall, my husband and I make our own wine. Well, he mostly makes it and I mostly drink it. I can’t act like I do much of the work.

The problem with wine making is that it takes time. You want a glass of sweet blackberry in June? Tough. You’re going to have to wait until fall.

This means in order to fill in the gaps, we also buy a lot of wine. We both like sweet whites, and I throw in a red now and then to keep things interesting. Once or twice a year, we attend wine tastings to expand our palates and find new wines we might not have tried otherwise.

Our palates like to stay informed. Just sayin’.

This is why I jumped at the chance to sample Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Cabernet and Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling, both from the Columbia Valley wine region. BlogHer gave me money to buy two bottles. I bought four. My palate? It approves.

I bought four bottles, because I was trying to figure out what I would define as my “chateau” which was part of the assignment. It was for research!

Believe it or not, it took me awhile to decide. Sure, a beach in Hawaii would be ideal, but it’s not realistic. If I’m going to have a chateau, I want to be able to get to it once in a while. Nothing makes wine taste better than sipping it in a relaxing place.

If I had a nice bathtub, that would be a good sanctuary, but our tub is little and when I put my head back I see the paint peeling off the ceiling. My bed and a really good book are nice too, though there are always clothes lying around and dust on my nightstand.

That’s why there is nothing I enjoy more than sitting on my patio with friends and enjoying a glass of wine. It’s outside; dirt is to be expected, toys are meant to be strewn, kids are free to roughhouse and yell at each other. I don’t even mind if the dog poops!

Me + A Glass Of Wine + Friends and Family + My Patio – My To Do List = My Chateau Where is yours?

Share what makes up YOUR Chateau in the comments, for example: Me + A glass of wine + _______ – _______ = My Chateau, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!

Also visit the Chateau Ste. Michelle Facebook app where you can make a visual which represents your Chateau.

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 (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the

following unique term in your tweet message: “”#SweepstakesEntry””; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post”

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, 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 (except residents of California, Colorado, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Utah )age 21 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.

This sweepstakes runs from 9/5/12 – 9/30/12

Be sure to visit the sponsor’s brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

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Who couldn’t use a $1000 SpaFinder gift certificate? Yes, I said $1000. Read on, my friends, read on.

When I used to work in a school kitchen I had to wear a baseball hat every day. There is nothing worse than hair in your chicken and noodles and keeping a cap on my head, along with a tight rubber-band around my ponytail, prevented the students from walking away with a tray full of hair. You’re welcome, kids. You know you miss me.

The only problem with this hair-do was that when I took my hair down each afternoon, quite a few strands would come right out of my head; and those that were left behind starting tearing and became short, frizzy stubs. I have super fine hair and the slightest breeze causes my hair to rip away from my scalp.

Since my job change I have been using a lot of different products in an attempt to repair my hair. I’ve tried expensive (Note to self: When the pharmacist tells you not to try a conditioner because it will leave your hair a tangled mess, listen to her) and I’ve tried stuff that sounded fancy. What I didn’t try is my tried and true bath and shower product; Dove.

Maybe it’s because I never thought of Dove for hair before, but if it’s all I use to take care of my skin then why shouldn’t I try it on my hair?

So, try it I did. And, you know what? Dove Damage Therapy Conditioner works really well. The bottle says lots of important stuff like patented Micro Moisture Serum and Fiber Actives, but what stood out to me were Intensive Repair and Prevents Split Ends and Breakage. See that? Prevents breakage. Now we’re talking.

What is your biggest hair care concern? Is it too dry, too oily, do you have split-ends or heat-damaged hair, or like me, fine and prone to breakage?

Enter to win a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

COMMENTS TO THIS POST ARE NOT SWEEPSTAKES ENTRIES. PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR ENTRY METHODS FOR THIS SWEEPSTAKES.

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

a) Follow this link, and provide your email address and your response to the Promotion prompt

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that Tweet.

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that post.

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. Winners will have 72 hours to claim the prize, or an alternative winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 9/4/2012 – 9/30/2012

Be sure to visit Dove^®Hair.com to get a coupon for $1.50 off Dove Hair Therapy products.

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I have been known to worry. A little. Okay, a lot. In all fairness to myself my worrying is not for naught, because I am also graced with really bad luck.

My husband is always quick to tell me to stop with the hand-wringing, already. Sure, it would be nice if he gently smacked my hands when I’m picking at my cuticles or if he would quietly tell me to have a seat if I’m pacing the floor. Instead he says, “Quit freaking out!” and leaves it at that.

Last week, we were getting ready to go to my mom’s house for dinner when my 13 year old daughter came downstairs wearing athletic shorts, a t-shirt, running socks and dressy, black flats.

I wouldn’t want her to have to go upstairs and change, or anything, because OH, THE EFFORT, but I couldn’t just let her walk out the door looking like that. I said, “You can’t wear those shoes with that outfit.”

She looked down and had apparently lost her vision, because she eyed her feet and then asked, “Why not?”

I shook my head. “Because! Do you really want someone to see you like that? What if we get in an accident on the way there?”

My husband countered with his anti-anxiety speech, “Seriously, you’re worried about that? What if I die on the way there!”

And even though no one asked him, my son looked at his dad and said, “Well, then I’d ask Mom to drive.”

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My 13 year old daughter has a bi-fold door for her bedroom closet and when it recently came off the track she picked it up and carried it to the hallway. This seemed a perfectly acceptable place for it, given that the additional space in her room is covered with piles of clothing. And, nailpolish. And, possibly a bag of chips.

It probably also seemed a perfectly acceptable place because it’s also where my husband and I put our footboard and side-rails after we got our new bed. A year ago. That’s right, we used our upstairs hallway as storage for over 12 months. Don’t judge me!

So there my daughter’s closet door stood, perilously rested against the edge of her doorjamb. Last night before I went to bed I thought, I need to move that door, because if she gets up in the middle of the night she’s going to run right into it. Then I edged past it and crept to her bed where I gently removed the text books piled up next to her as she slept.

Then I turned around and walked right into the closet door.

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