Discovering new blogs: A giveaway!

Good morning all! I hope your Saturday is filled with watching football, sipping coffee, reading, hanging out with friends, soaking up the last rays of summer, and/or whatever else makes you happy. AND, I hope this chance to win $100 makes your Saturday a little better! ;)

Allie from Call Me Sassafras contacted me this past month to pitch an idea: A giveaway where participants not only needed to mindlessly click through social media links to join, but actually had to get to know us a little better in the process. Doesn't that sound fun? Plus, it's a great way to find new blogs! I've been reading Call Me Sassafras for as long as I can remember, and Allie is always funny and honest and writes about neat topics that I can't find anywhere else in my Bloglovin' feed (e.g. useful science!). In fact, you should definitely check out her giveaway post today, which includes four easy and effective ways to discover new blogs.

And now, for the main dish, here is the blog scavenger hunt to help you discover and love some new blogs!

Giveaway! A picture is worth a thousand words.

A few months ago, I was pleasantly surprised to learn I had been voted the "Bookish Babe Blogger" for Angie's annual Best of Blog awards! As part of my award, Angie graciously offered me free ad space on her blog and the chance to participate in her monthly sponsor giveaway. This month, the prize is an adorable Fujifilm Instax Mini 8. :) Continue reading after the jump for giveaway details.

More & Less in 2015 {Plus $150 in Paypal Cash!}

I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions. (Except this one, of course, but that's more of a daily resolution.) But as I look ahead to 2015, there are some things I am hoping for. In the upcoming year, I want to:

see more sunrises

spend less time watching television
spend less evenings at home and more time exploring the Bay Area

read more nonfiction

make more phone calls and send less text messages

write more cards and send less emails

spend less money on myself and more on supporting causes I admire
sweat more
floss more
drink more water
accept more and judge less
love more and argue less
practice more random acts of kindness
be more patient and more forgiving

And if one of your New Year's Resolutions is to be more fiscally responsible, maybe this giveaway can start you off on the right foot! :) Check out the other 11 lovely bloggers below and enter to win $150 using the Rafflecopter after the jump. The giveaway ends next week. Happy New Year!

My first "real" giveaway: Paypal Cash!

I know I've been a little absent from this space lately, but I've still been brainstorming ways to expand my content and grow my blog after I finish a few other life projects and can jump back into the blogosphere. Given this thought train, imagine my delight when I found an email from the lovely Amanda inviting me to join her giveaway! This is my first "real" giveaway with other bloggers, and I have to tell you, there are some pretty great peeps in here. :) Please take a minute to at least visit the home page of all the lovely ladies in this giveaway; I guarantee you'll find at least a few new blogs to add to your feed (if you're not reading them all already)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

100-Follower Giveaway!

It's time! I have three wonderful sponsors for my 100-follower giveaway, and we have some great prizes for y'all. The contest will run through 12:01 a.m. EST on August 1. There are no mandatory entries because I don't want anyone to follow a blog, Twitter account, etc., just to win a prize and then unfollow it after. Rude! However, I will not be personally contacting the winner. Instead, I will announce the winner on my blog sometime before August 6 and give him or her one week to claim the prizes. If they are not claimed, I will select someone else. I have to give you a little incentive to keep coming back! :)

Without further ado, here are our prizes:

Blog | Twitter

Blog | Twitter | Facebook

That's me! :) I'm also offering one featured/guest post on Semi-Charmed Kind of Life and your 200x200 button in my sidebar for the month of August.

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Joslin will feature the giveaway winner with a special "about me" page on her blog for an entire month!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thank you to my wonderful sponsors for helping with this giveaway! Good luck!

#31: Have 100+ followers on my blog.

Hi friends! I promise to update y'all soon on my first days of training as an Alpha Delta Pi Leadership Consultant, but right now I wanted to share some different news with you....

How did I not notice that I've hit 100 followers? I know I've been a little MIA from my blog lately, but I still think I would have noticed a milestone like that. In fact, I've had getting 100 followers on my bucket list for quite a while.

I'm actually sitting at 107 right now. Eep!

I know the number of followers isn't the most important part of a blog, but it is fun to know I've become part of such a great community. A while ago, I noticed I was getting close to 100 followers on GFC and considered hosting a giveaway to celebrate when/if I reached this point. Now that I'm here, I wanted to offer all my readers the opportunity to help make this a group giveaway! Here's what I'm thinking:

• I ask that each participant offers a prize valued at $10 or more. This can be free ad space, a gift card or a physical item — whatever you want to offer!
• I will give each participant up to four entries on the Rafflecopter: One will be following your blog, and you can pick which social media accounts you would like the other three entries to be (Twitter, Facebook fan, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.).
• The giveaway will run from next Tuesday, July 24, to Tuesday, July 30. The winner will be announced as soon as I can verify the entries; hopefully that first weekend of August.

So, what do you think? E-mail me at semicharmedkol@gmail.com or tweet me at @SemiCharmedKoL if you want to participate! Please let me know by this Sunday, July 22, at 3 p.m. EST so I can get the Rafflecopter set up by Tuesday. Thanks!