giveaway Archives - Don't Mind the Mess

Fun Book Club Picks

October 19, 2016 3 Comments

I love book clubs. But have you noticed how this thing tends to happen in your book club where every book is about death, war, adultery, loss, grief, etc., etc.? Sometimes you just want to get together with your friends to talk about a book that didn’t leave you heartbroken and sad, am I right?

affiliate links pic Today I’ve got a roundup of picks for your book club or your personal reading. I know that when I’m in a slump or if I’m feeling down, I want a book that’s a little more of a pick me up. And it’s hard for me since my tastes tend towards the dark and twisty. So even my fun and light picks need some meat on their bones, which is essential for a good book club pick that’ll give you an interesting discussion. (Links below are affiliate links that help support the blog.)

The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang. This is a newly released debut novel, one of the big ones of the Fall and it’s a great club pick for so many reasons. If you enjoy watching complex family dynamics play out, this will be right up your alley. Charles Wang is a Chinese immigrant who made his fortune in cosmetics, and has just seen it come crashing down. Now the family he raised in luxury doesn’t know they’ve been ruined and Charles decides that what they all need is a road trip. This kind of story could be a downer, but instead it’s full of humor and laughs. And extra special bonus! Scroll down to enter to WIN a copy of The Wangs vs. The World provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt!

You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson. The book of essays by funny women is becoming its own genre, but this is one of my favorites of the bunch. Robinson, who you may know if you listen to the 2 Dope Queens podcast, is a stand up comic and she does not hold back in making sure she squeezes in as many jokes per page as possible while also talking seriously about what it’s like to be black, and a woman, and a comedian in the modern world. Some books of essays are inconsistent, but this one regularly delivers. (Note: Robinson is definitely a millennial and I definitely foresee a potential generation gap if your book club readers are 40+. In that case, go with my other favorite funny woman book that’s also great though more heartfelt: Yes, Please by Amy Poehler.)

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale. If you want a book that manages to be both very real-life and very escapist, somehow this one manages to be both. Becky is a housewife, a mother of three with baby #4 on the way, when she meets movie star Felix. In a brief chance meeting something clicks, and these two most unlikely allies become best friends. My favorite thing about this book is the way it plays with your expectations about what’s supposed to happen in this kind of story, the way you never really know what will happen between these two. If you want to have some real discussions about whether men and women be friends without romance coming into play, the twists and turns of Becky and Felix’s relationship will give your book club a lot to talk about.

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell. If you don’t read a lot of nonfiction or history, Vowell is a really enjoyable way to learn a lot of fascinating history. I’ve read a whole bunch of her books and this may be the best book club pick, since everyone thinks they know all about the Revolutionary War but it turns out what you learned in school isn’t a very accurate picture. Also if there are any Hamilton lovers in the group, they’ll get plenty of Washington and Lafayette (and a little bit of our man A. Ham as well). I promise that Vowell’s books are so funny and enjoyable while also making you feel smart and informed.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradahl. This one should be an easy sell to your average suburban lady book club. Food! Family! Midwestern accents! But this book takes you by surprise. It is incredibly charming and it’s one of those gimmicky books where every chapter is from a different character and seemingly random lives end up being intertwined, with a big fat bow on top at the very end. Looking through so many different sets of eyes guarantees interesting discussion, and underneath this book’s sweet demeanor is a lot of interesting commentary on modern life. Plus the extra bonus of several recipes you can make and bring to your book club feast.

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes. If anyone in your club watches Scandal or Grey’s Anatomy or HTGAWM, odds are they will be very very happy about this pick. But you don’t need to be a Shonda fan to enjoy this book. Honestly, you don’t need to be a self-help fan to enjoy this book. I hate self-help books. Hate them. And I adored this book so very much. Want to talk about goals? Want to talk about work-life balance? Want some pinterest-worthy inspirational quotes? This book will give you all those things, and even if you have a cold, bitter heart like me, you will be won over by Shonda. You can’t not like her. She is so funny and personable and honest.

And now for our giveaway! One lucky reader will win a copy of The Wangs vs. the World, the new novel by Jade Chang. To enter, just leave a comment below with your light or funny book club pick. Entries are open until Wednesday, October 26th.

Rules: No purchase necessary. By leaving a comment you agree to the rules of this giveaway. One entry per household. Limited to entrants over 18 in the United States. Contest begins as of the time of this post and ends on 10/26/16 at 6 pm Eastern Time. The winner will receive a copy of the novel The Wangs vs. the World. The number of eligible entries received will determine the odds of winning. The winner will be chosen randomly using the plugin And the Winner Is… Winner will be notified by email and must respond within 48 hours to receive their prize. If the winner does not respond within that time, a new winner will be chosen. The prize will be provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Don’t Mind the Mess is not responsible for any problems with receipt of the prize. This contest is governed by the rules of Massachusetts, void where prohibited.

Disclosure: Thanks to HMH for providing the giveaway prize for this post!

Introducing Graham. The Other One.

November 19, 2013 18 Comments

(Psst. There is a giveaway at the end of this post… Keep reading…)

My kids love animals. A pet was not exactly in the cards. Between the two of them and work and my half a billion projects a pet didn’t seem like a good idea. But then we found the perfect pet:

This is Graham. (Guess who named him?) He’s a hot pink betta who’s happily living in our house. Fish are the bestest pets when you have little ones. No walks, no picking up poop, no chewing on furniture. Of course, this doesn’t stop me from worrying about Graham. Is he getting enough food? Is he getting too much food? Is he happy? Is he lonely? (Betta’s don’t do well with other fish but I’m wondering if he’d enjoy having a snail to keep him company.)

But I still put off getting a fish for a long time. Buy a giant tank! Clean the giant tank! These were obstacles I didn’t have the energy to surmount. If you are in a similar position then I have a solution for you:

It’s the Aquafarm! I will tell you why I immediately said yes when given the opportunity to review it.

Tank Made Simple

I am not an experienced fish buyer. I never had them growing up. This is my first fish too and I want it simple. I want a tank where I don’t have to spend a lot of time worrying about cleaning. That was the thing that held me back from buying a fish for years. But the Aquafarm has an awesome system where water goes back and forth from the fish tank up to the top. The fish provides nutrients for the plants. The plants clean the water for the fish. You don’t have to clean your tank. BOOM.

The tank is a good size, nice and sturdy but won’t take over the surface you set it on. Plus it comes with all the instructions you need and all the tools you’ll use to get it ready. We did it in less than an hour. (Not counting the time it took us to go pick up Graham the Fish.) Y’all know I’m not exactly a big ball of energy in the evenings, but it was totally doable, even for me.

Plants That Grow

At the end of the last school year, Graham the Boy brought home a potted bean plant. It grew. And grew. And grew. Until I forgot to water it. And then it died. I have that effect on plants.

But the Aquafarm gives you plants you don’t have to water! Another crowdpleaser with the kids. Our Aquafarm came with seeds for wheatgrass and basil. The wheatgrass is great for the kids because it grows FAST. This was ours less than a WEEK after I planted it.

Seriously, the only upkeep is I have to trim the wheatgrass once it hits 5 inches or so. If you’re a juicer, you can even use it!

The other pods I use for the basil, which is just for Mama. Because fresh basil at the store costs a bajillion dollars. It’s a super cool system. You grow the seeds in these porous rocks instead of dirt, so less mess.

Problems? No Problem!

So while I did a great job and won my Mother of the Year medal presenting my kids with both a fish AND a set of growing plants, I forgot to turn the air pump off one night a week. And it died last week. My fish was looking tepid, the water turned cloudy, my plants wilted. When I do a review, this is where it has the potential to go to awesome or horrific. I tweeted and emailed Back to the Roots, the people who make the Aquafarm, and they were fantastic. Told me they’d send me a new pump free of charge. (They knew nothing about this review, by the way.) They also gave me a set of instructions for an alternate set up for the pump to help it run better.

Got my pump, my fish is happy again, and all is well. Nicely done.

Where to Get It

The Aquafarm is such a fun, funky gift. A great thing to give as a family gift, too. You can get one from Uncommon Goods, an online retailer that specializes in handmade items, green and recycled gifts, donate to several charities, and pay a living wage to their workers. You’ll be hearing more from me about them in my upcoming Cyber Monday Shopping Sites roundup.

I’ve had my eye on the Pick Punch for years as a gift for my brother the musician. Guitar picks out of old gym cards? Sweet.

They have a set of iPhone cases with designs made by independent artists. Not the same old stuff you seen in the mall kiosk.

And you can bring the beach beneath the tree with the super cool Kinetic Sand.

I love a site that picks their products with care and stands for something.

Giveaway Time!

The lovely folks at Uncommon Goods are offering a $50 gift card for one lucky Don’t Mind the Mess reader, just in time for your holiday shopping.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Uncommon Goods for providing us with the Aquafarm for review. Opinions are my own.

Take Your Trains to the Next Level with Chuggington StackTracks

October 24, 2013

Trains are big at our house and I know we’re not alone. We also live in a small apartment, so if Graham decides he’s going to pull out his wooden tracks, odds are it’ll take up half the living room when he’s done. The wooden tracks have served us well, but I admit that when I first saw TOMY’s Chuggington StackTracks all I could say was, “My kid would love these.”

I’ll be totally honest, I saw those StackTracks at a party at BlogHer in 2012. I gushed and gushed over them to the person repping TOMY. But it wasn’t until this year that I finally got a chance to review them. I did not let the long wait hold me back, I jumped at the chance. If anything, Graham was way more ready for them now than he was a year ago.

There are a bunch of Chuggington StackTrack playsets, we received the Chuggington StackTrack Rescue at Rocky Ridge Action Playset with the accompanying ChugPatrol DVD. The fact that the playset has an accompaying episode is cool, though it hasn’t influenced Graham’s play, but I do think it’d be good for the re-enacting types.

So, parents of train enthusiasts, here’s the skinny: The StackTracks come with a variety of pieces, some flat, some going up, some going down. There’s a bunch of hills and turns and other stuff that makes trains go fast. There are guard rails on the side so you won’t lose your train on tight curves. And there are supports to stack to hold up the elevated parts of the track. The set came with 2 trains (Koko and Wilson, who Graham has always called Rilsen because it’s the name of a kid in his class last year) and they’re die-cast plastic.

Overall, it’s very easy to assemble for an adult. The track pieces fit together very simply and obviously. It may take a child under 5 a little effort to figure it out but they’ll make progress quickly. The supports are also easy to attach. There are some extras that come with this playset: a gate to break through, a boulder to chase you down the hill. These extras are a little harder to get on and off and click on over the supports. The track looks a little intimidating. But it comes with instructions for 4 layouts. One of them has a detailed set of instructions to assemble, the others are pictures. Once I’d gone through one assembly, I was good for the rest by sight. Younger children will probably need a parent to assemble for them.

The Pros:

As I’d hoped, it takes up less space than the wooden tracks. The stacking means they can go up instead of all over the floor.
The kids get way more into it than with the wooden tracks. We’ve had it for over 6 weeks and I’ve waited to see if it wears off… but it hasn’t.
The trains look just like the ones on the show, lots of character and the kids seem more eager for pretend play with them than some of the trains we have on the wooden set.
The price of this one set is about the price of one stinking Thomas train. Seriously, the price of Thomas merch is ridiculous. I am HAPPY to expand beyond Thomas gear.
I was really worried that we wouldn’t be able to do anything with this set beyond the planned layouts. It took Graham about a month before he started building his own tracks. They may be wobbly and he may ask for help, but he’s showing creativity, and he gets to show a lot more of it than he can with the wooden tracks.
There are multiple StackTrack sets and they all can fit together. And yes I will be asking for StackTrack merch for Graham this Christmas because I think we could design some wicked awesome tracks.
The trains can couple up, always good. And it’s a more secure coupling than the magnetic wooden trains.
Price is good, a new train is $5.99 or so and a set runs from $20 to $40, with expansion packs varying in price.
They’re just plain fun. Here’s a look at Graham playing with the set:

Cons:

Younger kids will need help. As I mentioned, some of the extra elements like the gate are harder to connect.
Some layouts are wobbly. The supports don’t actually click into place, you just push them together like legos. So if someone bumps the track this can lead to a big collapse. This only happened to us on a couple of layouts, but it is an issue. The tracks themselves are nice and strong, it’s the supports that I wish were better.
The many kinds of track pieces may frustrate some kids.
Overall, I’m just not sure this is going to be a good product for kids who are very perfectionist, anxious, ASD, etc. If you think they’ll have a meltdown if the track falls down, this may not be the set for you. With that said, Graham can certainly fall into that category sometimes but he’s at the point now where a track that falls down can mean extra excitement for the story he’s telling in his head.

Both kids have really enjoyed playing with these tracks and I find that for us the positives outweigh the negatives by a good amount. I’m weary of putting together wooden train tracks, there’s only so much I can do with our limited amount of straights and curves. We just have more fun putting these together, whether we follow the instructions or not.

So, would you like to bring one home? The kind folks at TOMY are giving away one Chuggington StackTrack Rescue at Rocky Ridge Action Playset and a Chug Patrol – Ready to Rescue DVD for your kiddos. Want to enter?

Mandatory entry: leave a comment on this post letting me know the train lover in your life who’d love these StackTracks.

Bonus entry: Tweet this: “Win Chuggington StackTracks from @Tomy_Toy from @jessicaesquire! http://bit.ly/1ae53QQ” and make sure you leave a comment with the link to your tweet. (You can find it by clicking on the timestamp of the tweet.)

Rules: No purchase necessary. By leaving a comment you agree to the rules of this giveaway. One entry per household. Limited to entrants over 18 in the US and Canada. Contest begins as of the time of this post and ends on 10/31/13 at 6 pm Eastern Time. The winner will receive a Chuggington StackTracks playset and a Chuggington DVD, a retail value of approximately $40 US. The number of eligible entries received will determine the odds of winning. The winner will be chosen randomly using the plugin And the Winner Is… Winner will be notified by email and must respond within 48 hours to receive their prize. If the winner does not respond within that time, a new winner will be chosen. The prize will be provided by TOMY Toys. Don’t Mind the Mess is not responsible for any problems with receipt of the prize. This contest is governed by the rules of Massachusetts, void where prohibited

Disclosure: Thanks to TOMY for providing us with these products for review.

Finding My Style with Fetch Eyewear

May 15, 2013 16 Comments

Today I’m writing about the super cool glasses from Fetch Eyewear. I was provided a set of frames to review and one to giveaway. I was not compensated for this post.

I’ve talked a little before about the Year of Jess. This year I’m taking back myself and trying to move into a more mature and sophisticated style. I don’t have a big budget to go buy myself a new wardrobe or a closet full of shoes. So instead I’m gradually going piece by piece, little by little. But one of the easiest decisions about how to up my style game was something I already use every day: my glasses.

I’ve worn the same set of frames since I first found out I had to wear glasses at the ripe old age of 26 when I did a physical for a new job and told the lady administering my vision test that the machine was broken because the letters were all blurry. My frames have been with me for 7 years and while they compliment my face shape they haven’t done me a lot of favors style-wise.

I want my glasses to do a few things:

Highlight my best features. I have nice eyes but my cheeks are quite chubby and I have a weak jaw. I want frames that draw the eye up. And while I know a rectangular frame works well for the chubby-cheeked crowd, I also want more of my eye on view.
Be a daily accessory. I don’t have to wear my glasses for reading and such, it’s more for far-vision, but it’s best I wear them often. I want something that will work with a lot of different outfits and styles.
Contribute to my style. I’m done with boring frames. I want a set of frames that people compliment the way they’d compliment a cute pair of earrings or a nice shade of lipstick.

Then there’s one other obstacle: shopping for glasses. When I had an eye exam last week it was awful. Not the exam, but having to do it with a 1-year-old in tow. When I have time alone I don’t want to spend it doing this kind of stuff. And that baby wasn’t going to let me stand around trying on glasses for a few hours.

So I reached out to Fetch Eyewear. I chose them because 1) they let you try on at home, 2) they have frames that are classic, stylish and distinctive and 3) they’re a nonprofit who support animal rescue. (All together now, awwwww.)

They’re basically perfect for me and I loved the variety of styles. Because I wanted to branch out I chose 6 different frames that covered a spectrum from rectangular to slightly more square/round. If you want to be more specific, the site lets you sort frames by face shape as well as by width. I have a wide head but my eyes are close, so I stuck to narrow & medium frames that worked for oval faces. I should also mention they make prescription frames, reading frames and sunglasses. Awesome.

Also: lifetime warranty against breakage. Which is a big deal because did you see what happened to my last set of frames? (The perpetrator is unknown…)

Once you choose the frames you’d like to try you get a package of them in the mail along with a return postage slip. I loved the Fetch frame box (you can see it displayed in the pics below) and I toted it around with me for a couple days so I could try on a pair in front of someone whenever the urge struck.

I also found all the frames to be sturdy and beautiful in person. Photographs just can’t portray that. They’re well-made without being heavy. And they have a great variety of colors and finishes. None of them pinched on my wide head. A big plus.

One of my favorite things? A lot of these frames are unisex. And I love looking at the pictures on the models, one frame can look so different. (This was proven true by my friend Kathy, who tried on all 6 pairs of mine and looked amazing in all of them while I felt like there were a couple more obvious choices for me.)

Let me introduce you to my favorite pairs and give you an idea of what Fetch frames look like:

After a while all frames can look the same but I was amazed at how subtle changes in shape made such a huge difference on my face. For example, the straight brow of the Jill seemed to dominate my face while the more feminine Sadie looks somehow delicate despite its strongly shaped corners. You really do have to put them on. (You can see my frightening no-makeup frame try-on pics here.)

For me, I felt that only a couple frames really didn’t work. Besides that it was just about picking a style.

It ultimately came down to Sadie and Alex. While I also loved the Carolyn, neutrals don’t work for my coloring. (Note to Fetch: please make Carolyn in a lovely blue-ish shade, okay? I would get them in a heartbeat.) When I crowdsourced, both frames had strong fans and I had to really think. I’m getting down to the final decision and I’ll get back to you on that.

But right now I want to talk about you. YOU and your frames. As I’ve been talking about glasses with people for the last couple months in anticipation of this post I found that almost everyone who wears glasses wants a new pair. You want to try new colors and styles. You feel restless and a lot like I did. So let’s make it happen, okay?

Fetch Eyewear has graciously agreed to provide a set of frames to the winner of this giveaway and I so want one of you to have as much fun as I’ve been having picking out and trying on frames.

Since their glasses are so much fun to look at and have such a neat style I want to run this whole giveaway around that: style.

I built myself a nice little Fetch Style Pinterest Board and that’s going to be your mission, should you choose to accept it. Finding the right frames means finding something that fits your style, or maybe the style you want to have. Here’s a peek at my Fetch Style board. I pinned the Alex and the Sadie and then went crazy in all directions. Not just clothes and shoes and jewelry, but where I want to go in my frames and the puppy I’d like to take on a walk in them. (I don’t technically WANT Rachel McAdams, I just want her haircut.)

[alpine-phototile-for-pinterest src=”board” uid=”jessicaesquire” board=”fetch-style” imgl=”pinterest” dl=”1″ dlstyle=”medium” style=”floor” row=”4″ num=”16″ size=”192″ shadow=”1″ border=”1″ align=”center” max=”100″]

And now you get the chance to pin your wear to a new set of frames. Here’s your instructions.

Follow Me (Jellyfish Web/jessicaesquire) and Fetch Eyewear on Pinterest.
Create a board for your pins. You can call it “Fetch Style” though that’s not required.
Pin 2 pairs of Fetch frames to your board. This is your style base, where you’ll draw your inspiration. (When you’re looking at the pair you like in the color you like, you’ll see some social media buttons right below the description of the frame. The Pinterest button will let you pin them super easy.)
(Updated rule!!) Please re-pin the Giveaway pin. (The hashtag is being a little unreliable and I don’t want to miss you.) Here’s the link.
Fill your board with your style. Tell us what you want to wear, what you want to do, what you want your house to look like, etc.
Make sure all your pins have the #fetchstyle hashtag in the pin description.

The top 3 boards will be selected by me (and showed off on the blog next week) and then the folks over at Fetch will pick a winner with their favorite board. (It’s very likely that pics of cute pets will help you win favor with them…)

You can leave a comment here with the link to your board to help us find it. They do men’s and women’s frames (not kids, sorry) so feel free to do a board for you or your friend or your partner or your dad or whoever. Just show us your style. Full rules at the end of the post.

Frames are one of those things that can take a bite into your budget, so I know this will be huge for the winner. (Although Fetch frames are nicely priced at $125.) You may even want 2. (Can I admit that I kind of want both of my final 2 frames?)If you have questions about what kind of prescriptions they can fill and whether you can use your flex spending account, check out the Fetch FAQ.

So get to work, my pinning friends, I’m super excited to see what you get. And you can follow along by using the #fetchstyle hashtag on Pinterest.

Rules: No purchase necessary. By leaving a comment you agree to the rules of this giveaway. One entry per household. Limited to entrants over 18 in the US and Canada. Contest begins as of the time of this post and entries are final on Wednesday, May 22nd at 6 pm Eastern Time. The winner will receive a set of Fetch Eyewear Frames, a retail value of $125 US. The number of eligible entries received will determine the odds of winning. Three finalists will be chosen by Don’t Mind the Mess. The winner will be selected by Fetch Eyewear. The winner will be chosen based on the pinterest board described in the instructions. Winner will be notified by email and must respond within 48 hours to receive their prize. If the winner does not respond within that time, a new winner will be chosen. The prize will be provided by Fetch Eyewear. Don’t Mind the Mess is not responsible for any problems with receipt of the prize. This contest is governed by the rules of Massachusetts, void where prohibited.

Run the Rainbow, Eat the Rainbow

April 10, 2013

This post is in conjunction with New Balance & Chop Chop Magazine, who are giving away some super awesome stuff so keep reading!

We’ve just had a little streak of warm weather and it’s life-changing. Last year I was happy to hole up in the winter since I started it hugely pregnant and ended it with a tiny baby. But this year it seemed like winter lasted forever and I’m looking for some brightness in my life.

I am guilty of not getting the kids out for exercise very much during the winter. But now that there’s nice weather on the way, we’re going to be making a lot more playground trips. I’ve even started taking the midday walks with the stroller that I’ve been talking about for months.

Do you remember the pink shoes? Well they’re not getting quite as much use this spring. There is a new favorite shoe in this house and it is the Rainbow Shoe.

When I showed Graham these shoes on the computer he instructed, “Buy them for me while I’m at school, okay?” His rainbow shoes are now the supreme shoes in the house. He also doesn’t complain so much about them not being tight enough, since the velcro attaches to a lace that tightens. (LOVE THAT. For bigger kids the shoes have just plain laces.)

When he got his shoes right before we left for Texas he put them on and declared them “snazzy.” I have no idea where he heard that word. The next morning at the airport, the woman behind the counter told him his shoes were “snazzy” and that settled the issue. They are some snazzy, awesome rainbow shoes. They’re also for-real athletic shoes, which is a good thing because they’re getting some good use.

new balance collage — The shoes get a workout on a warm day at the Zoo playground.

The rainbow shoes are part of a partnership with ChopChop Magazine, the food magazine for kids called Run the Rainbow, Eat the Rainbow. Even though Graham is only 3, we’re working to get him enjoying exercise and healthy food. (He’ll be starting soccer in a few weeks and we really need to have enough healthy foods to overcome his love of donuts.)

Encouraging different colors of fruits and veggies is a simple lesson in nutrition that’s easy for kids to catch on to. A rainbow plate has a variety of nutrients and flavors. Definitely better than the plates of beige our kids prefer so often. I am always impressed with how ChopChop finds ways to interest kids in food using all their senses.

ChopChop’s Eat the Rainbow recipe is for fruit skewers using grapes, blueberries, kiwi, pineapple, cantaloupe and raspberries. Very tasty. But for my Bug I decided to give him a rainbow lunch since one of his favorite foods comes in a variety of colors.

I’m lucky my kid is a veggie eater. He likes crunch and it’s been our saving grace to get him to try more things. I never really thought much about texture before but it’s a big deal for him. Once we got him on crunchy vegetables he’s now moved on to “leaves” (aka raw spinach or greens) and many others.

I try to pack him veggies with sauce (ranch dressing) almost every day for lunch and he’s usually pretty good about eating them. He was really pumped when I told him today he had a rainbow lunch.

As a bonus there were plenty of peppers left over, so I’ll be making rainbow jambalaya in the next couple days. I never would’ve thought to let my kid munch on peppers, but I highly recommend you give it a try. The bright colors are a great incentive.

Another way to do a rainbow veggie plate is to try red peppers, orange carrots, yellow cherub tomatoes (one of Graham’s favorites) and green broccoli. Serve that instead of your next veggie side dish and see if you get a few more bites than usual.

And now for some cool stuff! Not one but TWO giveaways!

New Balance and ChopChop are running a giveaway where you can win a subscription to ChopChop, a pair of the New Balance Rainbow 890v3 shoes and a $400 gift card for groceries. The contest runs through May and you can go here to enter.

Plus right here on the blog I’m giving away a pair of New Balance 890v3 Rainbow shoes and a ChopChop subscription to one lucky person! The shoes are available in infant, preschool and grade school sizes. Infant sizes have the velcro and go up to a size 10.

To enter simply leave a comment on this post.

You can earn a bonus entry by tweeting: “Win @newbalance shoes and a year of @chopchopmag in the Run the Rainbow Eat the Rainbow Giveaway with @jessicaesquire! http://ow.ly/jVBRH ” Make sure you leave a second comment with the address of your tweet. (To get that, go to your twitter profile and click the time stamp on the tweet.)

Official Rules: No purchase necessary. By leaving a comment you agree to the rules of this giveaway. Up to two entries per household according to the directions set out in the post. Limited to entrants over 18 in the United States. Contest begins as of the time of this post and ends on Tuesday, Aprl 16th at 6 pm Eastern Time. One winner will be chosen. The winner will receive a pair of New Balance Rainbow 890v3 shoes and a subscription to ChopChop Magazine. Prize has value of approximately $60. The number of eligible entries received will determine the odds of winning. The winner will be selected using the “And the Winner Is” plugin. Winner will be notified by email and must respond within 48 hours to receive their prize. If a winner does not respond within that time, a new winner will be chosen. The prize will be provided by New Balance and Chop Chop Magazine. This contest is governed by the rules of Massachusetts, void where prohibited.

Disclosure: I received a pair of New Balance Rainbow 890v3 shoes in exchange for promoting the Run the Rainbow Eat the Rainbow contest.