The giveaway is now closed, but please keep reading to check out this great company and read my interview with the founders!

Today is FUN because I get to introduce you to a super cool company, share a fun interview AND do a giveaway!

Q Squared NYC recently reached out to me about working together. Now, I get a lot of emails about a lot of products everyday, but Q Squared really stood out. I clicked through and discovered a small company with really beautiful products as well as a fun story. I was super excited to find out more about them and was so happy that they got in touch with me!

I don’t know, guys, but these just might be my two most favorite plates ever in the history of the world. Just sayin’.

First, before we get to anything else, just look how cute their dishes are. Q Squared sells melamine dinnerware, drinkware, flatware and great serving platters. Everything is beautifully designed and appeals to all kinds of aesthetics, from classic to modern. I am a firm believe in using beautiful things on a daily basis, plus I have kids, so beautiful dishes that are also practical? BINGO. We also love eating outside. Q Squared’s dishes really are perfect for our family!

All of the dishes you see in today’s post are from the Montecito line, which I can’t get enough of. We already have white and blue dishes in our everyday collection, so I knew that Montecito would fit right into our kitchen. The Provence blue flatware and blue tumblers also go perfectly with these dishes and I’m loving it all. You can tell that the products are high quality – nice and sturdy with a good feel. I’m ready to party!

I mentioned that Q Squared has a fun story. The company is founded by a mother-daughter team, Nancy (the mom and former Glamour editor) and Alaina (the daughter). I had the chance to do a little interview with them and would love to share it with you. I especially love the story behind the inspiration for starting the company. So cute!

The answer is a little of both, plus a third reason.  We do love cooking and entertaining, and we both feel very creative. Alaina has a critical eye for art and Nancy is a fan of fashion. The third reason, though, was not being able to find beautiful products that were practical and affordable.  After college graduation, we went shopping to set up Alaina’s first apartment. She has a very high standard aesthetically but was on a low budget. Everything we came across that had an aesthetic Alaina liked was either China or Porcelain, with the China Cabinet price tag to match – so we created our own company and products to fill that need!

Yes, absolutely!  We are launching our first new product category (home fragrance!) in Summer 2014, with the continuing expansion into Fall/Winter 2014. Looking into 2015 and beyond, we will continue to introduce more home decor products, including gifts, decorative accents, textiles, etc.

The synergy that we feel together, knowing that the results are bigger and grander than each of us alone. Oh and there’s always the perk of having a mom in the office (for the occasional old-fashion PB&J!)

I hope you’ve enjoyed being introduced to this great company, its founders and their beautiful products. Good luck with the giveaway!

This post was sponsored by Q Squared NYC. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

I think it’s time for a giveaway! One lucky, randomly-selected person will win 1 Large Cool Montecito Tray along with 4 Cool Montecito Tapas Plates. Here is how to enter the giveaway! (Comments must be left by Thursday, 4/3 Midnight PT.)

• Leave a comment on this post – that’s it! If you would like, tell us your favorite collection on Q Squared NYC!
• Bonus entry: Like Q Squared NYC on Facebook (for the extra entry, leave a separate comment stating you’ve done so)
• Bonus entry: Follow Q Squared on Pinterest (for the extra entry, leave a separate comment stating you’ve done so)
• Bonus entry: Like This Week for Dinner on Facebook (for the extra entry, leave a separate comment stating you’ve done so)
• Bonus entry: Follow This Week for Dinner on Pinterest (for the extra entry, leave a separate comment stating you’ve done so)

The winner of the giveaway was Debbie Rough, who said, “Love this same pattern you have. Need a new tray”¦ Mine just broke!!!! Woohoo hope I am a winner” Congratulations to Debbie! You will love your items!

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you!

It’s the new year and I would hazard a guess that some of you have made some health-related resolutions – eat better, exercise more, you know, all that fun stuff! I don’t know about you, but new workout clothes always seem to be a good motivator for me to actually work out. I know, so shallow. But if it works, it works! If you have made some health goals, then today’s giveaway will help get you even more excited about them!

Albion Fit is stepping up again this year to offer a fabulous giveaway. They want to help all of us get in the mood to get fit! Albion is a fabulous activewear company that was started by some really good friends of ours, Liz and Dave (this is them!). Liz and Dave are incredibly talented and have built this business from the ground up. Whenever I go to their website, I am amazed at what they have done. We also had the chance to visit their store this fall and it was equally as beautiful.

Now, I may love Liz and Dave to pieces, but I can honestly say that I am not biased about their clothes. Not only do they make super cute activewear and swimwear, but the quality is stellar and the fit is always flattering. For example, when I received these Summit leggings in the mail last week, I was certain I would look terrible in them. I mean, they looked like they would be SO TIGHT and I was worried about the waistband. I should have trusted Liz because I put them on and they looked great, even around my mom belly. Yes, they’re tight, but the high quality fabric tightens everything up so you feel “held in,” if you will. When Nate saw the pants he said they even made my legs look a little muscle-y, which, seriously, is a miracle because I haven’t worked out since, well, let’s not talk about it. 😉 If you’re wondering, the swimsuits are amazing, with great cuts and thick fabrics. Oh, and I love the signature hoodie soooo much. Okay, I’m gonna stop gushing now.

Giveaway time! Today we’re going to do a fun “Pin It to Win It” contest! Here’s how it will work. Visit Albion Fit and pick out your most favorite item or outfit and then pin it to Pinterest! Be sure to leave a comment on this post with a link to your pin to complete your entry! Once you’ve pinned your favorite outfit (I don’t know how you’re going to choose!), you can get a bonus entry by following Albion on Instagram. Be sure to leave a second comment for the bonus entry! Entries must be posted in the comments by Midnight PT on Monday, 1/13/14.

One lucky, randomly-selected pinner winner (sorry, couldn’t resist) will receive a $150 gift card to Albion Fit. That dream outfit on your Pinterest board can become reality!

I’ll kick the pinning off with my current favorite from Albion. I saw this East Coast Hoodie at the store and I really do need to order it pronto. LOVE IT. (Click on the photo to see my pin!)

And if you simply can’t wait to see if you will win the giveaway and want to get shopping now, you can get 15% off any albionfit.com purchase now through 1/14/14 – just use the code twfd15 at checkout!

Good luck and happy pinning!

The randomly-selected winner for this giveaway was Dana Squires, who said “I love their swimwear. And living in FL I can never have too many swimsuits. My fav is the gown swimsuit in navy. But the other colors are pretty too. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/155514993356687863/” Congrats, Dana! I have a feeling you’ll get a lot of use out of your gift card!

This giveaway is now closed. The winner was Paige, who said, “I LOVE CARDSTORE.  I’d better look for cards, now, too.  Pinned!” Congratulations, Paige! We have a feeling you’ll put your $100 to good use!

Before I tell you about my dad, please note today is the last day to enter this giveaway – so get hopping!

Father’s Day is right around the corner, so let’s talk about our dads for a moment. Since this is a food blog, wouldn’t it be perfect if I told you how the most special times spent with my dad were cooking? Yeah, that would be really cute and on theme! Alas, it’s not the case! My dad could cook spaghetti, toast with cheese and jam, and anchovy potato casserole. And I was only willing to eat one of those items. But, no matter, because I do have a special activity that I did with my dad year after year after year growing up: reading.

Both of my parents are avid readers and they passed that along to me. In addition to always seeing my parents reading, my dad would read books to me all the time. My favorite book to read with him was Where the Wild Things Are. There is not a soul alive who can do better wild rumpus sound effects than my dad. There really is something magical about reading with your kids. You get in lots of good cuddle time. You help shape your child’s brain development in a really impactful way. And you connect over stories that stay with you for life. I am so grateful that my dad was good about reading with me and I am trying to follow in his footsteps with my own children.

Cardstore is sponsoring my post today and I wanted to share with you a Pinterest contest called Pin it for Papa that they have running right now, celebrating those special moments shared with Dad.  And the contest involves a giveaway! Here’s how to enter!

• The giveaway on my blog is a $100 gift card from Cardstore! This prize is AWESOME. I love their cards, high-quality and fully customizable. Cardstore can also print, stamp and mail your cards for you. This is pretty much the only way I’ll ever send a card to someone. (Sidenote: my mom’s Mother’s Day card is still sitting on my desk. I should have had Cardstore mail it to her directly!)
• To enter to win the $100 gift card, you need to participate in the Pin it for Papa Pinterest contest (instructions below) and then leave a comment on this post telling us you did so! (Also, if you want to share a special memory of your dad in the comment, we would love to read them!)

How to participate in the Pin it for Papa Pinterest contest:

• Follow Cardstore on Pinterest
• Repin an image from the Pin it for Papa Pinterest page
• Repin as many Pin it for Papa images as you want. Each repin is an entry to win a $300 Visa gift card. Also, one winner will be chosen to win a $50 gift card to Cardstore.

Not on Pinterest? What are you waiting for? It’s fun! Good luck everyone!

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner Julie S (entry #13056)

First off, as a fan of The Vampire Diaries (don’t judge), I am delighted that I get to use the word “epic” on my blog today. We’ll consider it an homage to Stefan and Damon.

Today’s giveaway is truly EPIC! And we are not using this word flippantly like the vampires do. It really, really is!

I’ve joined forces with some of my most FAVORITE blogging friends in the whole wide world to give away a Canon Rebel T4i SLR camera (with two lenses!) and an Epiphanie camera bag (the Charlotte in metallic chevron). First off, I’m totally jealous because this camera is better than mine. It’s got a big ole swivel touch screen and does amazing things with photo and video. And the bag…the BAG. Seriously, does it get any cuter than that? And you know how I love Epiphanie bags. They are the best!

Wanna get this sweet package to kick off your summer right? Here are the details!

• To enter to win the Canon SLR Camera + Epiphanie Bag you MUST enter using the rafflecopter entry form below.  No other entries will be counted.
• The giveaway runs May 10th through May 24th.
• One winner will be chosen at random and notified by email once the big give is over. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.
• You can get extra entries galore – just check out the entry form. And you can feel good following all of these people on the interwebs…they ROCK.
• Giveaway is open worldwide!

Here are the amazing blogs that I’ve teamed up with. Seriously, every last one of these women is amazing and talented.

– Christine of Boston Mamas
– Allison of Petit Elefant
– Kami of NoBiggie
– Marie of Make and Takes
– Audrey of Mom Generations
– Kristen of Rage Against the Minivan
– Rachael of Todays Mama
– Meagan of The Happiest Home
– Heather & Whitney of Rookie Moms
– Pinterest You Are Drunk
– Eat Blog Run

Now go forth and enter the giveaway. GOOD LUCK!

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