Ross Dress for Less Birthday Giveaway!

It's my birthday week, so I thought I would give one fabulous blog reader a present! Because that's the way we do things here at My Loueyville.

Back in July, I was lucky enough to be contacted by the good folks at Ross Dress For Less to attend a blogger event the day before the opening of their first Louisville store, located on the Outer Loop. They treated me and my podcasting partner, Linda, to a nice breakfast and then a tour and a bit of shopping at the Jefferson Mall location.

If you're not familiar with Ross Dress For Less, it's a store a lot like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, or Stein Mart that offers brand name and designer clothes at a discount. They carry clothes for women, men, and kids. They also carry shoes and accessories, housewares, luggage, and bath products, all at a 20%-60% off.

When Linda and I visited, the store was staffed with super helpful and cheerful people. It was really well-organized, and the prices were fantastic. I got two dresses, a shirt, a towel (don't ask) and a pair of pants for around $50, and honestly, I've been wearing the heck out of all of those clothes since I bought them.

I pretty much only shop at discount stores or sales racks. Mama Lou taught me the ways of the bargain huntress at a very young age, and I balk at paying full price for any clothes or shoes. So I'm coming from a place of experience when I say that Ross's prices seemed to be considerably more reasonable than its competitors.

Y'all know me and my inside-the-Watterson ways, so the Outer Loop is a bit of a field trip for me. Even so, the next time I need something snazzy to wear to an interview or a meeting, I'd definitely consider making the trek.

Speaking of interviews and meetings-- see what I did there?-- my biggest birthday wish is to get Chipman Creative really up and running.  I've signed my first ghost blogging contract and started on my first editing project, but I have a long way to go.

So, to celebrate my birthday, I am giving away a $25 gift card to Ross Dress For Less in exchange for YOUR best words of business wisdom.

Here's how it works: Either comment on this post or email me at lou [at] loueyville.com with your sage bit of business advice-- it can be a quote from someone famous, or it can be your own juicy nugget or lesson learned. I will choose a winner at random on September 4th (the day after Labor Day-- appropriate), and Ross Dress For Less will mail you the card directly. Easy peasy.

Advise me, people!

I love giving stuff away. Thanks, Ross! Happy birthday to me!

(Also, if you want to win an even bigger gift card, Ross is having a Back-to-School contest on their Facebook page. You can enter it here: https://www.facebook.com/RossDressforLess/app_167878003348182)

Disclaimer: I think I pretty much covered it in this post. Ross lured me and Linda out past the Watterson with breakfast and gift cards and a really big tote bag, and Ross is providing the prize for this post. But I wouldn't have written this or agreed to offer a gift card to a reader if I didn't like the place. All sentiments in here are totally genuine. 

Earth Fare Giveaway!

I was lucky enough to be invited to tour the new Earth Fare supermarket in the Summit the day before it opened. Maria, my tour guide from the home office in Asheville, NC, was super enthusiastic and was clearly a dedicated customer as well as an employee. As she showed me around from department and department, she told me about all the stuff that she stocks up on when it goes on sale (chicken breasts and almond milk, for example). Everyone I talked to there was helpful and cheerful. Maria said they expect to employ around 80 people at first and then grow those numbers.

I loved the wall of beer where you can "mingle your singles"-- get 10% off when you fill a six-pack with single fancy beers. There's also a pizza kitchen where you can buy pies by the slice or by the whole pie. They have a hot food and sandwich bar, and the chain's first frozen yogurt bar. A charcuterie bar and a huge salad bar. Nothing is labeled local unless it came from less than 100 miles away from the store. Organic fruits and veg are displayed separate from non-organics and are washed and freshened with their own separate water supply. The "wellness" section is huge and has its own curator.

Earth Fare is a store in the vein of Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, but what sets the chain apart is how strict their food rules are. They have a "boot list"-- a list of ingredients that cannot be in food that is featured in the store. Their "Food Philosophy"is displayed prominently in the store. The "rules" include:

• No high-fructose corn syrup
• No artificial fats or trans-fats
• No artificial colors
• No artificial flavors
• No artificial preservatives
• No artificial sweeteners
• No antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones in meat & dairy
• No bleached or bromated flour

Impressive stuff. And dedicated-- if you spot something on the shelf that has an ingredient that Earth Fare has banned, they'll immediately remove all the stock from the shelves and give you $50.

Hey, speaking of $50, Maria was nice enough to give me a $50 gift certificate to give away to one of my readers!  

I've been trying to get a little healthier-- eat better, exercise more. For the first time today, someone noticed that I've dropped somewhere in the neighborhood of 6lbs-- very gratifying. Makes me want to keep going. So, in keeping with Earth Fare's philosophy, here are the contest rules:

• I am looking for SUPER simple and SUPER healthy dinner recipes. Share with me your simplest, healthiest, most reliable dinner recipe.
• You can do this in the comments section-- just be sure you include some way that I can get ahold of you.
• You can send me the recipe via email-- lou [at] loueyville.com
• At the end of the day on Tuesday, August 14, I will allow random.com to choose a comment/email at random to win the gift certificate.
• Only one entry per person. 

Good luck to y'all-- may the odds ever be in your favor!

Disclaimer: Earth Fare provided gift certificates for me and for a reader. That was super nice of them because I would have toured their facility and written about it regardless. 

TICKET GIVEAWAY! An Evening With Yanni

No, no, no, ladies... I'm not giving away an actual EVENING with Yanni. I'm sure that would be a fantastic night; based on the videos on his website, he seems like the smiley-est, most chipper dude in the world.

But I AM giving away two tickets to see Yanni's world tour called "An Evening with Yanni."

I am crazy excited about this. I'm so grateful that Yanni's folks touched base with me.

Here's some info from them:

After an extensive world tour, popular contemporary composer Yanni returns to the United States with a new show An Evening with Yanni, coming to the Louisville Palace on Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.

Yanni will return to his roots and perform the instrumental hits from legendary live shows that have amazed millions on every continent. Joined on stage by world-class musicians, Yanni will perform the pieces made famous by his shows at the Acropolis in Greece, India’s Taj Mahal, the Forbidden City in China and the Royal Albert Hall in London. The live show will also feature music from Yanni’s newest album Truth of Touch. Now platinum in the Middle East, the compilation of original studio music is the composer’s first in almost a decade.

Reserved Seat Tickets are On Sale Now: $89.50 / $69.50 / $59.50 / $49.50 / $39.50 www.LouisvillePalace.com

I always associate Yanni with my dabbling in New Age-y stuff in the 90's. But he's also a huge humanitarian and involved with lots of global events like the Olympics and, according to Wikipedia, is the widely considered the biggest fundraiser for PBS. 

What do YOU associate Yanni with? Tell me to be entered in the drawing to win TWO tickets to "An Evening With Yanni." You can email me the answer at lou@loueyville.com with the words "I want to see Yanni" in the subject line or comment below. I will choose one random commenter or emailer on Thursday 4/26.  Good luck!

Hard Rock Rising: Battle of the Bands

Hard Rock Cafes around the world are currently hosting a contest called: Hard Rock Rising-- the Global Battle of the Bands.

Each local Hard Rock has their own Battle of the Bands, with the winners advancing to ... um... yeah, okay... I'm a little unclear about how this contest really works.  The BIG prize is that some bands are going to get to play in London, but I'm really not sure how this happens.

And frankly, voting in this contest-- which is starting on Facebook-- is a little like doing the Hokey Pokey.  But the endgame of the local contest is a biggie-- a coveted spot at Waterfront Wednesday this summer.

Here's what you need to do to vote:

1) Go to the Hard Rock Louisville fan page on Facebook and "like" it.
2) Click on the Hard Rock Rising page in the left hand column of the Facebook page.
3) Scroll through the bands, and download songs from the bands you want to vote for. FREE DOWNLOADS-- yay!
4) Voting ends February 6.

The good news is that you can vote for more than one band. The bad news is that you can only vote once AND you can only vote if you live within 50 miles of Louisville.

I'm not going to tell you how to vote, but I will tell you that I cast my ballots for The Navigators-- the band project featuring Alex Wright and Dewey Kincaid (and that song... "Get Out of Touch"... one of my favorites) and for Butch Rice, another one of the most talented singer-songwriters in Louisville.

Side note: Where the heck is Tyrone Cotton on here??-- ANOTHER amazing local singer-songwriter and an awesome supporter of other local musicians... No one comes out to support local music like Tyrone does (he's been at the past two Alex Wright shows, for example). Love him for that.

Tastiest Town

We're Number One!  We're Number One!

(at the moment)

At the moment, Louisville tops Southern Living Magazine's South's Tastiest Town contest. You can vote daily, and you should vote daily because we're only beating Lafayette, LA by a sliver. (Surprisingly we're leaving my old hometown and foodie paradise, New Orleans, in the dust at the moment.)

Voting runs through January 31 and each time you enter, you're eligible to win a $2500 trip to the Tastiest Town of your choice. Click on this link to enter.

What better way to ring in the new year than for us to nail down an honor that we richly deserve?

Diego Garcia Ticket Giveaway!

Thanks to Diego Garcia's PR folks, I have two free tickets to his show tomorrow night to give away.  

More information about the show in my previous post, here. 

Want to go? Either leave a response to this post below or tweet me @loueyville and let me know why you need a night out!

I'll pick a post at random tomorrow at noon!

Ticket Giveaway! Max & Ruby Live!

So, bad news for Spongebob Squarepants lovers, huh? Turns out that exposure to fast-paced, flashy cartoons makes little dudes' short attention span even shorter. But what's interesting about the study is that one of the other test groups had kiddos watching a slower-paced, calmer show from PBS, and those kids did okay on their memory tests.

Max & Ruby is one of those slow, calm cartoons for kids. And guess what, Louisville? The widdle bunnies are coming to town.  Max & Ruby: Bunny Party is a stage show for children.  Here's the story, according to the press release:


It's a surprise party for someone special, and bunny siblings Max and Ruby have a-million-and-one things to do before the big event. Join in the fun as they embark on a musical bus ride to East Bunnyhop General Store, where they deliberate on what to buy for the Super Duper Special Birthday Guest. Max & Ruby never quite want the same thing and their plans always collide – with hilarious results!

The show is on October 9 at 1p & 4p at the Louisville Palace Theatre.  Tickets are $19-$28.50 at www.livenation.com

But, dear readers with wee ones, I could hook you up with four tickets to the 4pm show!  All you have to do is tell me in the comments what your favorite cartoon was as a kid. I'll pick a winner at random on October 1.

My favorite? I'm sure I could come up with a better answer if I thought about it longer, but I really, really dug Muppet Babies.

Louisville Film Fest Giveaway! Party on, Dudes!

I'm super excited to announce that thanks to the fine folks at the Louisville Film Festival, I have two passes to the October event to give away to my faithful readers and Twitter followers.

Here's how to win:

Hop on the Tweetybox and tweet me AND @LouFilmFest the name of a film that was integral to your youth that you're worried the youth of 2011 will not be exposed to.

I'll choose a winner at random on September 28. Only one entry per Tweety person.

As a high school teacher, I know that kids these days are still watching the good ol' John Hughes staples. And no self-respecting parent is letting their children hit puberty without sitting them down and making them watch the Star Wars trilogy (the good one).

But I do worry that Keanu Reeves' entire oeuvre has made parents forget just how terrific he was back in 1989.

So my answer would read: @loueyville, I worry that kids these days aren't getting enough Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventures. @LouFilmFest

Because my students think I've lost it when I pronounce the philosopher's name "So-Crates."

Update: So far we've had nominations of:

• @loueyville, I worry that kids are missing "Meatballs." Shouldn't they learn early that "it just doesn't matter!" if they win? @LouFilmFest -- from @eekshecried
• @loueyville I worry that kids won't know about Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Such a flawless expression of the simple joys of youth @LouFilmFest-- from @lesil
• @loueyville, I worry that kids these days aren't getting enough of "the sound of music." @LouFilmFest-- from @freeyourheart
• @loueyville @LouFilmFest The movie from my youth that I think todays youth will not be exposed to is "This Is Spinal Tap"-- from kycubsfan
• Today's youth need to know about Rain Man (R). @LouFilmFest @Loueyville j.mp/lfilm11-- from @zepfanman
• @loueyville @LouFilmFest No laughing: I'm afraid today's youth won't be properly exposed to Star Wars. The new stuff just isn't the same. :/ -- from @erin_mcmahon
• @loueyville I wonder if anyone under 40 has or will ever see "Out of Africa." Not funny, but neither is life sometimes. :) @LouFilmFest from @MsPaulaBurba
• @loueyville I worry that kids are missing "Major Payne". Tough love, is the best love. No tears, no excuses. @LouFilmFest from @KdeLost
• I'm worried kids today won't know what a Truffle Shuffle is or where "Hey you guyyyyyys" is from #Goonies @loueyville @LouFilmFest from @EvanWinkle
• @loueyville , I worry that kids won't see Blade Runner. So many great things about that movie. @LouFilmFest

48 Hour Film Festival Starts This Friday

I keep saying that some day I'd like to try to get back into theater. Not as a reviewer and blogger, but as an actress, a stage hand, or maybe even as a playwright.  But every year that the 48 Hour Film Festival rolls around, my ambitions shift to wanting to see my mug up on the big screen.


Unfortunately, I won't get home in time to make the 6pm call at the Bard's Town this Friday. That's where filmmakers will hear the three critical elements that each film must include to qualify for the screenings and ultimately the big prizes.  The filmmakers will then have 48 hours (obviously) to complete their films and drop them off by 7:30pm on Sunday.


Louisville registration remains open through Friday August 5th at 6:00 p.m. A few spots still remain. Teams can register online at http://www.48hourfilm.com/louisville until the Kick Off begins at 6:00 p.m.  The website also features the schedule for the weekend and for the screenings-- August 10, 11, & 13 at the Village 8 Theaters.


Maybe next for me? Auteurs, keep me in mind. I personally think I could be silver screen gold. And I can already tell you my best angle. *points to the back of her head*


Here's a link to 28 Feet to Denver, from the Louisville 24 Hour Film Festival 2009.

We have a winner!

Thanks so much to everyone for entering the Cirque Dreams Holidaze ticket contest.  I loved reading all of your comments about the holiday decorations that have meaning to you.

I went to www.random.org and had the randomizer pick a number for me, and the winner is #8-- that means JULES wins!

Jules said:  I have done many theme trees over the years- but my current theme is....the New England Patriots! So actually- as soon as football season starts, I start getting into holiday mode. As for ornaments, I took silver and blue globes and put Patriots uniform parts that I found in the scrapbooking section of Michael's on them. They are my favorite- more so than the actual "official" Pats ornaments that I bought just before we left New England. 

I think this will be the last year for that tree- but I will be keeping those ornaments to give to my son when he gets a new place.

I have to admit, I used to be a HUGE Pats fan too... but now my heart belongs to the Saints.

Jules, please email me at lou at loueyville.com with your full name and let me know whether you want two or four tickets!

Thanks again for entering, folks.  I hope to have more contests soon!

Buy Local First

*&^%&$%^&%$

I'm at Day's Coffee right now, and just before I sat down and read this news item from the Keep Louisville Weird folks, I did what I always do with my receipt: I chucked it.

The Louisville Independent Business Association is sponsoring a contest: save 10 receipts from any of its members between 11/7/08 and 1/5/09, bring said receipts either to the Louisville Science Center or to Wild ' Woolly, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a $1000 gift certificate good at any of the LIBA business. The first 50 entrants will receive a free tote bag.

Member list and details available here!

Shop on, Louisvillagers!