the prizes. hold on tight.

We started this movement as a joke.

We were sad we couldn’t go to BlogHer Food ’10.

And so we decided to wallow together in our own filth, drink booze, eat chocolate, dance awkwardly, and tweet at each other during #BHF so we could feel our intense collective sadness.

Then people started giving us things

Nice things to give away to the #BHF10PP participants. Not to make us happy, but to confirm our pain, to hold it up as something ugly/beautiful and pronounce its legitimacy. We SHOULD feel bad, now go have a pretty and shiny something.

We don’t deserve anything. But we’re getting the goods anyway. And that conflict should make your self-pity drive deeper into your soul and consume you. Now go make a stiff drink and read.

who is eligible?

Three requirements for winning prizes:

1. Register for the Pity Party.
2. Tweet at least once during the #BHF10PP event on 8-9 October with our hashtag (um, #BHF10PP in case you forgot).
3. You cannot attend the actual #BHF event. In person. You can attend it in your dreams, yes. In reality, no. We love you lucky ones who are attending #BHF in person, and we love you even more because you are also attending #BHF10PP. We stand here with giant open, jealous arms. Love you so hard that we’d squeeze the breath right out of you. But, I’m told you’re going to be walking away with some lovely things from #BHF. So we’re keeping the prizes for the non-attendees. I know that’s not fair. But it’s also not fair that you’re going and we’re not. I’d suggest you create your own Pity Party group. It certainly has worked for us.

the prizes

We’ll update this list as new prizes come into the Pity Party HQ.

Interested in contributing? Contact me at cmthornton @ gmail (dot) com. But without the weird spaces and (). You knew that.

Beautiful silverware for your next photo from robynski

• From the delightful robynski at Earthbound Chronicles: Two beautiful antique silverplated settings, perfect for your styling your next photo shoot. Pic to the right.
• From the snappy RGBistro at Rustic Garden Bistro, freshly dried herbs straight from the garden. Just like this giveaway they did a while back. How nice will it be to have these flavorful goodies to perk your pallet this fall (or spring if you’re not in the Northern Hemisphere)?
• From the amazing vinoluci at VinoLuciStyle and her soon to relaunch online store, the official wine glass of #BHF10PP, the Lolita My Whine Wine Glass.
  

  It's the Official W(h)ine Glass for #BHF10PP from VinoLuci

  It reads “”I need a vacation.  I want a present.” among other things. Love. Double heart love. Pic to the right.

• From the lovely Dianne Jacob at diannej.com, a copy of her newly revised Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More. Epicurious.com said that Dianne’s book…

“…should be mandatory reading for everyone who aspires to be a food writer.”

• From the riotous Abby Dodge at abbydodge.com, two copies of her tasty Desserts 4 Today: Flavorful Desserts with Just Four Ingredients. Mmmm, Nutella Brownies.
• From the BlogHer Food speaker and all-around amazing Jaden Hair at Steamy Kitchen, a copy of her Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. Which I borrowed from the library and adored. And want to buy. But one of you gets it for free. And I am jealous. Thanks to dear Barb Kiebel, aka VinoLuci, for asking Jaden for her contribution. Yay, team!
• My new BFF, Amy McCoy at Poor Girl Gourmet, kindly shared a copy of her new book Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-bones Budget. It’s getting fantastic reviews. Again, jealous.
• Some more books are on their way. Just need final confirmation, so hang in there.

Kind of an amazing list isn’t it? It almost makes you feel too good for a Pity Party. Almost.

two more prizes

Oh, I almost forgot. Two more items you might find interesting. Some background is needed…

On a whim, with strong encouragement from Amber at Bluebonnets & Brownies and  Kristen from Dine & Dish, I reached out to the kind people who are working on BlogHer Food ’10. Like the real one. The #BHF.

Specifically, I wrote to Elisa Camahort Page (this name meant nothing to me at the time; I just wrote to her thinking she might know someone who knew someone at BlogHer. It turns out, she IS that “someone.” COO and co-founder of BlogHer. I’m so glad I don’t know these things before I set out on my little whims).

I sheepishly told Elisa what we were up to with the Pity Party, and I asked her if she might be able to help us get a swag bag from their gala night party. I was thinking it would be super to have a tote bag full of fun stuff to giveaway. It would be almost like being there. Cheeky, meta-fun.

Here’s what Elisa did for us, and by “us” I mean you:

• We indeed are getting a swag/goodie bag. Jen Kayano with BlogHer was lovely enough to arrange it for us. Hosts of that party? Elise at Simply Recipes, Ree at The Pioneer Woman, and Jaden at Steamy Kitchen are hosting this party. Oh, my. I’ve heard of them. Chef’s Catalog is the goodie bag sponsor and will ship a goodie bag to one lucky Pity Party person’s home. I lurve Chef’s Catalog, and I have to believe there’s something wonderful in that bag.
• One extremely lucky #BHF10PP participant will receive a free ticket to next year’s BlogHer Food. Seriously, I’m getting teary. I cannot express adequately enough how lovely, kind, and generous this is for Elisa and BlogHer to do for us. Their support of community, connection, and silly giddy fun is a bit overwhelming. Thank you so very much. It makes me want to stop drinking for a moment, put down the chocolate, and do a little dance of happy.

So, this is going to be the best Pity Party ever.

Tweet on, friends. Tweet on.

update! more prizes – 16 September

Well, we do have a lot of people who love the Pity Party. They believe in us. They understand our pain. They get it.

Some of you have found this as a reason to feel better about themselves, to let go of some of the pity.

Let me tell you something. Stop playing the fool. This is just false hope. And if you realize that too late, you’re gonna crash. Crash hard. And the pity will be deeper than ever. So watch your attitude, people. And brace yourselves the the additional prizes that await you.

Now, we have some amazingly lovely, beautiful people that have shared some of their lovely, beautiful books and food and booze and bagels and blog consulting awesomeness.

• The most talented crabcake maker I have ever met (not relevant info but true), SouffleBombay, has donated a copy of her book, Picture Me Cooking (new kids cookbook with a twist).  Adorable and smart.
• My previous BFF Stetted has taunted us with a jam sampler. She tweeted it at me as a threat, but I’m holding her to it. Mmmm, jam. Please remember that Stetted came up with the line “How do you duplicate the taste of tears” which launched our drink contest.
• The so very kind GFDoctor will overnight one of you in the USA one dozen gluten free sourdough bagels, a Gluten free sourdough starter and a pamphlet of recipes. You’re going to go to bed one night and the next day FedEx is going to bring you fresh bagels from the Dr. Nice.
• My dear friend Mir from wantnot.net, whom I have never met in person but who buys our children presents, has assembled a prize package of awesome.
  

  Giant prize pack from Mir at wantnot.net

  There’s a 3-A-Day beach cooler/backpack, set of 3-A-Day measuring cups, Cabot squishy cow (SQUEEE!), 2 EZFreeze cereal-on-the-go containers (LOVE), a set of Todd Parr dinner placemats, 3-A-Day-sponsored Tastebook, and a copy of “Southern Living’s Light and Easy Comfort Food” cookbook. Look, a pic! Also, please go vote for her at this contest where she might get to go to conference in Chicago and learn how to save all of us more money. And then she’ll blog about what she learns. And I won’t be so poor. Thanks.

• AdryonsKitchen asked if it was OK to giveaway a bottle of chocolate wine. Wine and chocolate. Yes. Yes, that’s fine. For the record, this chocolate wine is a gift from one friend to another. And that friend has to live in the US. And we aren’t selling anything here, OK regulators? Just a nice exchange of some wine between friends (dang antiquated booze laws).
• And the same force of nature who brought us the official W(h)ine Glass of BHF10PP, Barb Kiebel (VinoLuci) is also the owner of Kinetic Webs. She has agreed after months (minutes) of negotiations (arm twisting) to either transfer one lucky blogger from Blogger.com to a hosted WP website (does not include hosting fees) which includes setup of WordPress, transfer of blog posts, installation of most popular WordPress plugins and setup of current banner OR if already hosted at WordPress move you to hosted (you pay the hosting fees) OR if already hosted at WordPress, the equivalent value on your current blog for either Thesis theme installation or customization, plugin installation or design revision. 3 hours professional services at $400 value.
• And she’s giving another prize away. Because, frankly, I don’t think she’s given quite enough yet. 1 hour Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Consultation. One hour with our SEO expert for tips on how to improve your site ranking. $150 value. There, Barb. That feels right. You don’t have to give anymore. Today.

You know what you should do? Go follow all of these people on Twitter. They are nice. Nicer than I am, for sure.

And we’re still working on even more giveaways. Update soon.

update! more prizes – 17 September

Prizes, people. We’ve got prizes. So many prizes.

• The much-loved GlutenFreeGirl has donated a copy of her brand new book, Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef. I sent Shauna an email yesterday, and she couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about supporting the Party. She’s giving the final keynote at BlogHer Food, so let’s tweet the heck out of her and support her and make her feel loved from the pitiful few. Good.
• The next three items were rounded up with the help of VinoLuci. While I didn’t make her give any prizes from her personal sack of talent, I did send her out hunting for awesome. Once again, she delivered.
• First up, from Bella Cupcake Couture, a package of Cupcake Wrappers of your choice. These are so cute. Fancy, even. Your cupcakes have never looked better (please don’t take that the wrong way). The only downside? None. Awesome.
• The second awesomeness is from Kudos Kitchen by Renee. Did you see the incredible post she did a trivet for Dorie Greenspan and Dorie totally commented on it? Yeah, that was really cool and unique, and I was thinking that it would be pretty cool to have one. Well, one of you is getting one. A hand-painted custom ceramic trivet with your blog design or logo for you to use and treasure. Great gift item, too!
• Third awesomeness? BHF10PP attendee KitchenMage and VinoLuci conferred, and KitchenMage offered up a copy of her book, Picture Yourself Cooking With Your Kids. This is great. I want to keep it and use Beth’s book with my kids. Except I can’t, given the disclosure rules I posted. So one of you will get to enjoy this instead of me. You better enjoy it.
• You know who is incredibly nice? Christy Jordan of SouthernPlate.com. She and I were commiserating over email about children in diapers, and she assured me we would survive. That’s what I needed to hear last night. Christy has a brand new cookbook coming out on 5 October, Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food That Makes Everyone Feel Like Family. With that title, I’m not surprised how nice she is. We are very lucky to get a copy as a giveaway for our Party. Woot! (Did you see the Paula Deen quote on her book? Yeah. ““The recipes in Southern Plate made my mouth water!“)
• Did you know that you can get super cool aprons from A Good Appetite? Maybe you saw them on her site.  One of you is getting a hand-embroidered pig or beef butcher cut aprons. The winner can choose the pig or the cow on a red, black or natural apron. I love these hard. Here are pictures of the aprons that Kathy has on her kat knits site. Want one of each. In every color.
• And finally. The great Baking Barrister has stolen from her mother a certificate for a pound of See’s Candies from California. I am not kidding. One of you is winning stolen chocolate. Here is her explanation:

[See’s is] an awesome California chocolate/candy company. It’s good in-store only (unfortunately), and they have permanent stores in the West year-round, and kiosks at malls/shopping centers/airports all over the country during the holidays. The best part is picking out each piece of chocolate as you stare them down under the case. They’ll also let you get other confections (like their awesome suckers). I stole it from my mom.

That feels right, doesn’t it? BakingBarrister will go to the store and ship it to you if you don’t live near one.

update – even more prizes! 22 September

I love all these. We’re lucky, sad people.

• I give THEToughCookie a hard time on Twitter about being terrified of crossing her. And while it might seem I’m joking (I’m not. Her potential wrath is humbling to me), I’m in deep Twitter “like” with her. Big fan of her humor, her bite, her talent. And as of late, her friendship. Gail is one of the founding members of this Pity Party. She has a penchant for encouragement and support. She was the first to recognize when I had gone slightly (completely) off kilter and to deem it good. Cheering on the insanity. So, I wasn’t surprised when Gail said she was ready to pony up and offer one of her brilliant creations. @THEToughCookie is making a special OFFICIAL #BHF10PP COMMEMORATIVE COOKIE GIFT PACKAGE OF AWESOME, decorated straight from her expert hands. If you haven’t seen her work, your life is sadder than it should be. I know this will be delicious, sad, and more than you really deserve from life.
• You know who is great? Kelly Cline. Go check out Kelly’s photography. It’s smart and pretty and makes me hungry. She contacted me last week with this perfect autumn package…From her very own vast prop warehouse (I’d like to live there for a few days) a few lovely pieces in Seasonal Colors. Perfect for a casserole, or a crisp, or roasted sweet potatoes.
  

  Awesomeness from Kelly Cline

  A great set for any food blogger.

Full of Set Harvest Colored Props:
– 8×8 Ceramic Baking Dish
– Orange Linen Napkin – Dinner Sized
– Wooden Trivet
– A Bundle of Bamboo Spoons

• My NJ neighbor (not really) and Twitter friend (really) samredlich has offered up a collection of chocolate cordials. Pretty much chocolate shoved with liquor. Yeah, you’re welcome. Sam is writing the greatest novel ever, is a talented visual artist, and a foodie who sometimes USTREAMs his mojo chicken wing experiments. He is also sometimes grouchy, which makes him fun. Follow him. More here.
• The internationally inclined FoodWanderings used to have an import business, and she still has some beautiful products in her keep that she wants to share. Shulie is offering up two hand-painted belts from the talented Tifa Art (pictured), straight from Israel.
  

  Belt #1 from Shulie

  Two of you will get a belt similar to either style pictured.

  

  Belt #2 from Shulie

  (That makes sense, right? These belts are art pieces, and you’re not going to get the exact belt pictured because there is only one of those belts in the world, and you can’t have that one because that is stealing. So pick from the two styles pictured, you’ll get your belt, and then other people will be jealous of the art on your hips).

• Oh, I like bonappetithon. So much. We met at the Big Summer Potluck gathering a few months back, and she embodies giddy fun.  She’s kindly donated a signed copy of Ina Garten’s latest book “Back to Basics.”  Signed. That’s totally fun. We have this book and cook from it often. You’ll love it. Plus…signed by the BC! Go read Wendi’s Korean Style Marinated Steak recipe which has nothing to do with BC, but the graphic alone is brilliant. (It makes me think “meat skirt.”)
• Just for tweets that make me laugh during #BHF10PP…One of my friends and former coworkers used to work for a wonderful liquor company that was purchased by another company,and she lost her job. Then I got to work with her. Yay for me. Then I left two months after she started. Boo. But she’s still nice to me. As part of her severance package from the liquor company, she got to take scads of bottles of booze with her. She’s pregnant now, and said she’d be happy to donate some of the bottles to a good home. She told me she’s looking forward to walking through Grand Central Station, pregnant stomach leading the way, clinking liquor bottles announcing her arrival as she walks to bring me the booze. Best Mom EVER. So, depending on how many bottles I receive, I’ll be gifting a bottle of booze to tweets that make me laugh hard. These aren’t prizes, just an exchange of booze between friends.
• Well, there’s more coming on this one, but let’s announce the first part of it today. Five of you are going to get a certificate for 5 pounds of Cuties California Mandarins! Now, these Cuties are addictive. Sweet and juicy. Shining like little suns in your hand. Hey, Cuties, thanks for bringing the sunshine into five of our participants’ lives (it was so very needed)! But there’s more coming from this great brand. Yes, you have to wait a few days to learn more. But you are going to love what Cuties brand is offering us. LOVE what they’re doing for us…also, so Cute.

update, 27 September

Three new prizes and an update on the Cuties…

• I don’t get too excited about celebrities (coming face to face with Jon Stewart at Bubby’s in Tribeca while he was carrying his son and I was carrying mine was nice), but I become a total fanboy when it come to chefs/bakers/artisans of any sort. Hint, do not go to Frontera with me when Rick Bayless is in the kitchen. Or to Momofuku. Or to Union Sq Greenmarket with the cheese people. I tend to fall all over myself and stare at their hands while they work which maybe is a little disconcerting for them. There are some chefs/bakers/artisans, however, whose work is so perfect, so well crafted, that I forget there is a person behind the food and not some god-like force. When I saw that Tartine Bakery in San Francisco was coming out with a book of their bread (and other amazing things), I was a lot surprised. And excited. So I sent god-force Baker and author Chad Robertson — who owns Tartine Bakery along with Pastry Chef extraordinaire Elisabeth Prueitt— and the Tartine team a note about our little Pity Party. And they delivered.I am so pleased they have given us a copy of the latest Tartine book, Tartine Bread. The reviews are fantastic, the pictures are amazing, and the bread. Oh, the bread. It’s hard to believe, if you’ve tasted it, just how perfect/surprising it tastes. And smells. This book gives you everything you need to make the bread at home. Which living so far away from SFO sounds like a great idea to me. I’m a fanboy. And the Pity Party-er that wins this will be, too. I promise. And then you’ll know why I’ll get all stumbley and tongue tied if I every meet Robertson and Prueitt in person.
• The splendid KitchenTravels has offered up a spectacular wine and cheese gift set. But it’s way better than that (and wine and cheese sounds pretty great all by itself #jealous). You have to be over 21 to win this and any of the other boozey prizes. Here’s what Dawn is offering:
  – homemade “drunken fig” jam made with hand-picked black Mission figs and Cognac
  – bottle of wine from this local No. Cal. winery
  – crackers or cheese straws (Dawn is still deciding. Give her time. Be surprised.)
• And finally, another gift offered by Gail aka THEToughCookie. If you’re not following her, you’re missing out on all the wonderful cookie decorating tips she’s posting lately. But today, Gail got something special in the mail, and she’s kind enough to share it with us (I made her do it). One lucky person will receive $1,000 off a mausoleum in a cemetery. The coupon is transferable. However, you may have to have the coupon on you at your time of need. Listen, we are a sad and practical bunch, and $1k is $1k. Let’s be thankful and plan ahead. You never know how this party might end.
• And finally, the Cuties contest mentioned above will be posted on 8 October. Why? Oh, because the awesome people with the Cuties brand are offering us something very special. Just like they’re offering the BlogHerFood attendees. You will be happy. Sad you’re not at BHF, but happy.

update, 5 October

You didn’t think that was the end of the prizes, did you? Good, cuz we’ve got more.

• True story…today a coworker was telling me he at honeycomb (the real stuff, not the cereal) this weekend. He said it was amazing and small-hive honey (did I make up that term?) is great. End of story. Except it wasn’t. 10 minutes later, no joke, I get an email from Grant at Grampa’s Honey, offering to help us with the Pity Party. Completely freaked me out, in a good way.  Here’s what we’re doing with Grampa’s Honey, which is located in the San Luis Valley, on the boarder of Colorado and New Mexico (tag line – “Like Gramps Usta Make.” Love it.). Grampa’s Honey makes your life sweeter naturally, right? Yes. And we are a snarky yet supportive bunch. Seriously, the amount of love flowing on Twitter between all the Pity-ers is amazing and inspiring. One of you extremely supportive, thoughtful, considerate Pity-er will be receiving a box of 4 jars of Grampa’s Varietal Honey. I’ll be looking for the “Sweetest Tweet” from one of you during BHF10PP. Just be yourself. Be snarky, certainly. But try as you might, some sweetness will seep out when you least expect it. And one of you will get a whole lot of amazing honey for it. (Yes, that is arbitrary. So is life.)So, do me a favor and go check out Grampa’s Honey “Project: Taste the  Honey” initiative, focused on changing the world by changing the way people look at honey. Honey taste testing parties! Love that. Plus, you could win even more honey.
• If you have read our real, non-pretend-event food blog, you know that we are obsessed with Baked, the bakery and especially their cookbook. We love those guys, Matt & Renato. We don’t know them, but if they showed up on our doorstep, we’d wrap them up in carb-laden arms and thank them for all the foodjoy they’ve given us over these last couple of years. And the Baked boys have just released a brand new book, Baked Explorations. Karen and I ordered our copy this week, but one of you is getting a copy for free.
• Have you discovered the lifeforce that is Georgia Pellegrini? I’ve recently discovered her, and I’ve quickly learned how far behind the curve I am. She just released her first book, Food Heroes. Plus she has a second book coming our next year PLUS a TV show. Which is slightly intimidating…except, she just couldn’t be nicer. She’s been a total pleasure to talk with, and her tweets are a riot. Follow her. And Food Heores is getting just the best reviews (Amy at shewearsmanyhats.com just completed a great giveaway. Sorry you missed it). Don’t miss this giveaway. This book speaks to the heart of true food artisans, people who are making food traditions live on, vibrantly and passionately. Thoughtful, plus a slew of recipes. I have the book right here beside me, and I really wish I could keep this for myself. But we’ll find it a good, loving home.
• The good people at Random House Canada took pity on those of us wallowing in our tear-stained sweats and remind us that being a food blogger is about feeding ourselves and others. And Martha Stewart’s latest book Martha Stewart’s Dinner at Home is perfect for helping us fill the void in our hearts with confidence and strength and perfection every time. More than 200 quick recipes and 52 inspired and seasonal menus will help one of you keep your table full and your family and friends well fed.  You know, after you’ve stopped wallowing. And take a shower. Maybe comb your hair. Next week. A giant thank you to Jasmine (cardamomaddict on Twitter) for wrangling the book. Very much appreciated, especially for a newcomer to the Party.