Spending my Prizes

Last year at this time I was telling you about the lovely basket of gifts I won from the merchants of Almonte. The contest was to promote the town, and it worked as I had not been there for many years and was surprised at the amazing changes in the place. It's not just a pretty village anymore. It's well worth the visit now, to shop and eat and spend the day.  We've been back several times since then and I've told lots of people about it.

So, while I had won some amazing prizes by this time last year, worth hundreds of dollars, this year I'm winning on a much smaller scale.  Yesterday I got to go and collect a couple of my freebies.  First, I had a certificate that I got from Kelloggs that I could spend on a $10 toy. I didn't figure I'd get much for that but when I walked into Toys R Us, one of the first things I saw was a game that the grandsons had been asking for just a couple of weeks ago. How could I pass that up? It's not the big board version but a compact one that folds into its own case and is easy to store. Just the thing for Nana's house! And hey, it was $9.99 so I got to spend the whole coupon, which is great as they don't give you change. I expect I'm going to have a break from our ongoing Mille Bornes challenge while I figure out who done it while playing Clue.

After that, I went for lunch and used a gift certificate I won from New York Fries for a free regular poutine. I asked if I could upgrade that to one with the works and was told that the regular, in this case, referred to the size, and I could have anything I wanted on it.

So while I had a calorie-laden lunch for free, my hubby ate more sensibly but it cost him over $10 for his salad.

I still have a $10 Walmart gift card to spend too, but I haven't decided what I want to shop for yet. I won it on Facebook from a page that promotes freebies called Mae-Mae's Freebies. A lot of the offers there are just for people in the United States, but I won it so soon after I joined the page I didn't realize that yet. Occasionally there is something for Canada or other places too though, and the odds are good for the contests as competition isn't all that big yet. But it is growing.

Anyway, I am still having some luck, though nothing like last year. That's fair. It's not good to be greedy. After so many years of never winning anything at all, I'm still quite amazed when I win something and actually thrilled with even these little prizes.

People are still asking me how I win. The only advice I can give is, you can't win if you don't enter.

That goes for life in general. You can't succeed at anything unless you are willing to go do it.

Almonte Won Me Over With a Contest

It's been a long time since I visited Almonte, Ontario, but the merchants found a way to coax me to come, and now it is inevitable that I will return every chance I get.

I had never entered a contest on Instagram before, but when I saw all the loot the Almonte stores were offering as a prize for their Valentine contest, I just had to give it a try. It was a Loop contest, which means I had to go from one merchant to another, online, and follow directions to win. It was very confusing as there were a lot of merchants, and, as I said, I'd never tried to do this sort of thing on Instagram before. I thought, while I was doing it, that if I succeeded in entering properly, the odds would be better than in a lot of other contests one finds online. Apparently, I was right, as I won about $450 worth of goods that were collected up and waiting for me at one of the shops.  I couldn't have been more excited, and though I don't drive, I managed to get there in less than a week from when I was declared the winner.

Parking was easier to find than I expected, and we only had a short walk to Cheerfully Made, where my prize basket (or bag, in this case) was being held. What an interesting store! There are so many fascinating things in there, that I even stayed and looked around longer while my hubby ran the heavy prize bag back to the car. I saw things I have never seen anywhere else, and I know I'll be going back there every chance I get. It will be my go-to store when I need a special gift. I probably would have bought something then and there, if it had not been the first store we stopped into. I wanted to see what else the town had to offer before choosing what to spend my money on.

There was some artwork in there that really captured my attention. If I had any wall space at home, I doubt I'd have been able to resist bringing some home. I do wish the artist would make cards of her work as I'd likely have to collect the entire set. Sarah Janes of Mississippi North does line drawings of animals that are much more impressive in person than how they appear on her Etsy page.  I found that but no cards were available there either.

Speaking of art, we stopped into an establishment called General Fine Craft, Art & Design. There we discovered that though we go to a lot of art shows, and studio tours, there are even greater artists loose in Ontario than I ever imagined. The talent gathered in this shop is phenomenal!  They not only have wall art, they have pottery, glass, sculptures, jewellery and textiles. I was ready to entirely redecorate my home!

And then there is The Tin Barn Market. Now, this store doesn't grab you the second you come through the door, as the goods are more rustic and not as colourful as what we had seen in the other shops. Upon closer inspection, though, there are many interesting things to be found there. My favourites were the large salvaged metal letters and some picture frames that appeared to be painted with chalk paint. I tried to convince the hubby to purchase a letter to hang on our garage.  He doesn't always listen well. As for the frames, well, one of the things I won was a can of chalk paint, so I'll practice on frames first.  I did see that they hold chalk paint workshops there so if I don't succeed on the frames, I might just have to go back and take a class.  The other side of the shop had marvellous things to eat. There were pizza buns and huge pretzels, as well as date squares, cinnamon buns and irresistible looking cheese danishes. I noticed there were pies and other larger things under the counter, but there were too many people lined up at that time, and we had just eaten anyway.

Later we hunted down the flower shop, and I collected a beautiful bouquet which was assembled within minutes while I watched. There was a good assortment of live plants, there too, and I discovered something called a heart hoya. I've had a regular hoya for a long time, and it's always been my favourite plant. I asked about these little hearts in pots, and was told that they grow vines just like my hoya, except the leaves are heart shaped. Of course, I had to have one!  Then I realized that with fresh flowers in hand, I really had to go home.

The village has really changed since last time we were there. We heard that a number of young women had opened up businesses and brought the town back to life. The contest was a great way to introduce the public to many of the shops, and while I may have won the prize, I'm sure the merchants have won a good many new clients and will continue to find ways to coax more people to visit their village. The people in the shops were all so friendly and helpful, it made shopping there a real treat.

I'm already marking May 6 and 7 in my calendar to remind me when they will be holding their Spring Market in the Agricultural Hall.  I certainly hope to get to visit that!





The following is a list of merchants and the prizes they contributed to the contest. Many thanks to each and every one of you!

Kentfield Kids         Tutu + Pink Bunny
Doree's Habit           Floral Wallet & Bracelet
Tin Barn Market     Annie Sloan Chalkpaint
Blush and Black     Apricot Body Oil &    Strawberry Lip Gloss  
                                      
Acanthus Floral      Valentine's bouquet
Crush Marketplace  Jon Clar Earrings
Hummingbird Chocolate  Chocolate Tasting Kit Plus Four Chocolate Bars
Heirloom                 $30 gift certificate for a meal & gourmet Canned Goods
General Fine Craft   Two Glass Sweethearts
North Market           Gift certificate for 2 take away items
Cheerfully Made      Love Story Candle, Brass Heart Studs & Gum               

I'm not finished collecting prizes in Almonte yet. I still have two gift certificates involving meals, and I will be going back to collect on them and visit some more stores (and revisiting those mentioned above). You will have to excuse me now, while I go test some chocolate......