CONFESSIONS OF A FAT GIRL

800 Degrees Pizzeria Giveaway

You know, on days that end in 'Y,' we eat pizza. As in -- does one ever need an excuse for pizza? GOOD pizza?

Among the many choices we now have for DIY/custom pizza, you simply have to give 800 Degrees a chance. CBS just named them one of the best pizza shops in LA, alongside such worshipped eateries as Bestia and Jon & Vinny's! They are setting themselves apart, far and away, with their sophisticated aesthetic and unique menu choices. And their Hollywood location on Vine rises above with a beautiful patio besides, amazing appetizers, courteous staff, great wine selection and a new, scrumptious rotisserie chicken menu.

No bad-idea-jeans here, guys. You're going to love anything you order off the menu, but for my money, I gotta advise you to give this chicken a try. I skeptically tried it with a side of Quinoa Tabbouleh, but that surprised me, too. It was delicious and I inhaled it as I silently told myself it was guilt-free since Quinoa it toally a healthy food -- right? 

If you ask nicely, they'll even throw some dipping sauces at you. The aioli was my favorite.

It boggles the mind that I had any room left in my body for more food after this -- and I nearly didn't -- but I got a bite of cheese pizza, which was was completely delicious, and the kind folks there subsequently sent me home with a pizza of my choosing, so naturally I gravitated right to the prosciutto and burrata pizza. Because anything with those two things is all I need in life, basically. Prosciutto is one of my favorite foods and burrata is like the King of all cheeses.  (I also asked them to add shrimp to the pizza. Is that weird? I find shrimp with prosciutto is heavenly. It's like the italian version of bacon-wrapped shrimp, y'all.) 

It was such a delightful evening, really. I attended alone but found myself at a table of other bloggers and influencers whom I now follow on their own socials and adore. It was fun to make new friends, enjoy some new food, sit in such a gorgeous place.... I smiled all night! There's a special little place in my heart for this pizzeria so I am happy to also give away a gift card so that someone else can go and discover it like I did! 

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• Location: 1521 Vine Street
• Parking: An adjacent garage, inexpensive, or on the street if you can manage
• Check out the Hollywood location's menu here and visit the 800 Degrees website. 
• Follow 800 Degrees on Twitter and Instagram; like them on Facebook!

Why would you choose ordinary pizza at any ordinary place when this terrific spot is available? 

Interior photos: Alen Lin

Aquarium of the Pacific's Vanishing Animals Exhibit Giveaway!

I absolutely love aquariums so I am excited to share this news with you and give away tickets -- visiting The Aquarium of the Pacific is the perfect Summer activity! 

August is your last chance to see more than a dozen species featured in the Aquarium of the Pacific's Vanishing Animals Exhibit, which closes on September 4. Located in the Aquarium’s changing exhibits gallery on the first floor of their stunning property, the gallery space highlights impacts of human activities on land resulting in terrestrial animal extinctions.

Learn about rebounds from near-extinction through live animal exhibits, multimedia and interactive displays, and interpretive panels about how we have the opportunity in the near future to avert crises with various species. Visitors can also learn more about animal extinctions, the important relationship humans share with our planet, and our future ocean through a special, short daily show projected on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Science on a Sphere in the Aquarium’s Ocean Science Center.

And there’s an astounding “roster” in attendance! Animals on display include fishes, newts, salamanders native to local streams, and invasive species of crayfish and finfish in these ecosystems; American alligators; healthy corals contrasted with corals overgrown with algae; oysters, mussels, and white abalone, representing species commonly propagated in aquaculture farms; Atlantic cod; and cardinal tetras and discus fish.

Space and the ocean are the final frontier. I love going to the aquarium because I always discover something wondrous and learn something new. I can't wait to go check this out and am excited to give someone else the chance to see it, too! 

Admission to The Aquarium of the Pacific is relatively inexpensive at $29.95 for adults and $17.95 for children. Learn more about the Aquarium's Vanishing Animals Exhibit, now on display until September 4, here or check out their Facebook page. AND ENTER THE GIVEAWAY BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN TWO TICKETS:  

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The #ImWithHer Giveaway!

In which the blogger wonders if she can make voter registration a giveaway entry mechanic....

In 2015, when a cagey Hillary Clinton had not yet confirmed if she was running for President, I ran a giveaway for a Hillary-themed coloring book. At the time, she was the 44th First Lady and former Secretary of State. 

Today, she is the Democratic nominee for President of the United States so Ulysses Press has reissued the coloring book, a special edition, to further honor America’s best-known female politician. It's less than $8 on Amazon! 

Yes, I totally photographed the cover with my DNC Toms peaking into the photo. Seemed appropriate. 

The book chronicles dozens of unforgettable moments in her life. You’ll capture her early childhood and academic accomplishments, time as First Lady in Arkansas and the White House, and years in the Senate and State Department, as well as her entire political career right up to this fascinating (terrifying? embarrassing?) 2016 Presidential Race. I colored one myself -- as I am totally addicted to all of the coloring these days:

Well, I won't tell you who to vote for, but I will encourage you to register and to actually vote. Please. 

And I will encourage you to enter this giveaway! Win one of these coloring books! It will be a fun distraction when the results are rolling in on November 8. If you need me that night, I'll be the anxious one downing vodka and breathing into a brown paper bag. 

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Creative Solutions - Coloring Book Giveaway!

When I was asked to lead a round table at this year's ConnectHER conference, I agreed, but I wanted to do something a little less traditional.

You see, after attending years of blogging conferences, I've come to feel the best part of attending any of them is meeting and talking to other bloggers. I learn a little from the panels, but I learn much more from conversations shared with influencers at a lunch table or sitting in the lobby. 

And then I thought it might be fun to bring a brand I love to work with along for the ride and turn the dialog into opportunity. 

So I sent an email to my friends at Ulysses Press because lately, I am obsessed with COLORING! Not only did they jump on board with enthusiasm, they sent me a ton of beautiful coloring books from talented artist Wendy Piersall (find her collection here on Amazon)! Suddenly my conversation about blogging was now experiential; so now that we were going to be creative, I decided to them the session as a brainstorm about "creative solutions." 

Look how lovely it looked on Sunday:

I was so happy to send home my round table attendees with some new ideas for their blog and some well deserved coloring therapy! 

We all need a distraction every now and then, don't we? When I pick up a coloring book and my colored pencils, I get really absorbed. It keeps me from checking my phone, using my laptop, snacking, or staring mindlessly at the television. And when I'm done, I have something pretty to share. 

And the giving keeps going! Ulysses Press wanted to send one of my readers some of Wendy's beautiful coloring books! The winner gets quite a prize: Coloring Animal Mandalas, Coloring Flower Mandalas, Coloring Ocean Mandalas, Coloring Dream Mandalas, Coloring Bird Mandalas and - my favorite because you can mail them! - Coloring Flower Mandala Postcards. PLUS! They will throw in a set of colored pencils so you can dive right in the moment you open the box. What could be better?! Make sure you fill out the form below where there are tons of ways to earn entries, and come back daily to earn even more! (HINT: There is a bonus way to get entries at the very bottom so scroll down!)

 

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BONUS ENTRY: Post a photo of something you've recently colored on Instagram. Tag me (@ajfeuerman), @UlyssesPress and @WendyPiersall in the comments! We want to see your beautiful pieces! 

GOOD LUCK!

A Giveaway Game: What's in AJ's Desk?

Get amped, guys, because National Strawberry Day is on the horizon. Time to break out the StemGem Strawberry Huller (yes, that's a real thing -- you may recall I made these)! 

I'm celebrating by revealing something to y'all. My clutch snack. At any time you can open my top filing cabinet drawer in the office and you will find a mish mash of pens, post-its, tape, emergency deodorant (trust me, it's handy to have), and a wide array of snacks to get me through the days. 

My favorite snack, which I keep at home in bulk as well, is Welch's Fruit Snacks. And I have a ritual. With the multi-flavor packs, I dump them out on my desk and eat them a flavor at a time, saving the strawberry gummies for last because they're the best. We all do this, right? Who else grew up in the 90s and saved the green M&Ms for last, too? These are the strange habits we adopt, right? 

The good news is, I can power through a couple bags at a time of these but they are fat free, gluten free, contain no preservatives and provide 100% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C and 25% of Vitamins A and E. The even BETTER news is that they come in 11 different varieties. Imagine my joy when I found out I could just buy strawberry?! No more saving the best for last. They are ALL THE BEST NOW.

A TRIUMPH IN SNACK CONSUMPTION! 

For more information, please visit their website. Please note I am about "this close" to buying them in bulk on Amazon and just having them sent straight to my office. I guess when reviewing free product on my blog and it costs me money I'm doing it wrong but I just love these. I mean, this isn't even something I'd normally post about, right? So let that be an indication that these are genuinely my favorite and I could not resist. 

AND ONE MORE THING! I want all of you to love them too! So Welch's told me they'd happily send a couple boxes to some of my readers. Enter below and come back daily to increase your odds. Have a happy National Strawberry Day! 

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Sol Republic Shadow Wireless Earphones - Review & Giveaway!

Maybe you couldn't put your finger on it but when Christmas morning came, something was.... missing. 

Or perhaps with a new year staring you in the face, you're feeling the pressure of making diet resolutions or executing a new exercise regimen. 

But then, you may just be someone who likes shiny objects and new toys. We all know I fall into this third category and so I was very excited to try out some new earphones over the holidays, the Shadow Wireless Earphones from Sol Republic.

(I think in 2016 I am going to have to work on my Selfie game.) 

These are pretty sensational, in fact. They are super light-weight and even though they have a snug fit in the ears, they don't feel uncomfortable around my neck (a style I typically avoid in earphones for that issue). I did a little dance and they didn't fall out of my ears and when I wasn't listening to anything, they just stayed put comfortably like so:

That will be so great for travel so I can put them there and not have to fuss with getting something out of my bag and putting them away.

As with all things Sol Republic, the audio is clear and bright. The noise cancellation is on point - especially for earbuds. I popped them in and even without music playing, the world faded away and that was quite lovely! 

The packaging? Sleek and on fleek:

A couple brief notes of caution, though. I will only say that the blasted sticker on the side of the box was a pain in the tush to peel off. I WANTED IN ON THOSE EARPHONES! And the sticker was making my life challenging. And otherwise, I'd only advise that they do take about an hour to fully charge so if you plan to use them right away when you open them, well, you can't. So just plan accordingly. The good news is, they are very simple to charge with a hidden port on the earbud and a cable that comes with them and charges on any USB port like your phone would.

It's a great time of year to come into some wireless earphones I love! In 2016 plan on seeing me sporting these on walks and during vacations. You can order your own from the company's site but I recommend Amazon, where they are priced the same ($99.99) and you have a few color options. 

But first, stick around! I'm going to give someone a pair to kick off 2016! Enter the giveaway below and keep coming back daily to increase your odds:  

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Disclosure: Like two hours after I finished this post I remembered I had to tell you guys that Sol Republic gifted me one pair of these to review honestly for this blog. But I'm paying for the giveaway pair. Because I'm just like Santa Claus. 

Aquarium of the Pacific's Night Dive

I love this so much. Have you ever scoped out the "late nights" section on the Aquarium of the Pacific's website? You'll find a lot of fun evening events and in particular, the "Night Dive," an event that caters to the over-18 crowd.

The next one, scheduled for Friday October 2nd, will host with food trucks, live music, DJ's spinning throughout the aquarium galleries and a pop-up art walk of sorts. It's always fun to go to the Aquarium of the Pacific (see my April 2014 visit here) but why not check it out with a unique twist?

The Aquarium sits on a five-acre site on Rainbow Harbor, across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center, Shoreline Village, and the Queen Mary. Their mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the Pacific Ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems. When I went with two friends, we had a marvelous time and I cannot wait to go back for this evening out! 

It's only $14.95 for a ticket or try to win a pair with this giveaway!

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This Giveaway Gives Us Something Else To Do In the Kitchen

Warning, kids - the one's "NSFW." But it's also tons of fun! And a giveaway! 

From the same wicked geniuses who blessed us all with the Sex Positions Coloring Book comes another delightful, giggle-worthy activity. Ulysses Press' “Sex Position Magnets,” are a set of 12 pre-posed figures and 150 word magnets that you can stick, arrange, rearrange and name for endless combinations and copulations.

I don't know what these are, do you? How about the Rusty Apparatus? Or the Glorious Dynamite Crackerjacks? I say best not to think to hard on these.

But there I was in my kitchen, waiting for something to heat up, and suddenly I found myself diving into these, giggling like an adolescent all the way. I suppose I should admit that even after my food was prepped, I kept going back to try one more thing... and another. What can I say? Sometimes the creativity just flows through me uncontrollably. I MUST BE ALLOWED TO EXPRESS MYSELF. 

Much respect to Pandora. Whoever she is. 

I think I will probably take these down before my mom's next visit.

And before I give a package away to one of you very lucky individuals, let me also share the true pinnacle of my creativity. Submitted without further commentary:

You're welcome. And no, I don't know why I named it that. 

Now, try to win one of your own!  

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FYI, I happen to think they're also a great, inexpensive bachelorette party activity or gift, wedding shower contribution or even just a gag gift - under $15 on Amazon!!!

Come back daily for more chances to win!