WINNER OF THE HOLIDAY/THANK YOU GIVEAWAY!

Thank you to everyone who entered my Thank You/Holiday Giveaway. Since I chose the winner the old fashioned way (by pulling the name out of a hat!) I thought it would be fun to do a little video blog so you guys could watch as the winner was selected.

This is my FIRST video post (vlog?) so excuse all the "umms" (and I'm not sure why the video quality looks not to great...I swear it's crystal clear on my camera....maybe I'll upload in HD format next time....) but I'll definitely be doing more in the future! If you're on YouTube feel free to subscribe to my channel as well (FIWL2011).

(And just in case you don't feel like watching the video the winner is mentioned below.)



Congratulations to Jason of the blog These Roving Eyes. I've been reading Jason's blog for quite some time now and have had the pleasure of meeting him this past summer; I'm very curious to know what book will be selected! The winner (Jason) has until Friday, December 17 at 11:59 p.m. ET to contact me via email letting me know which 1 of the 9 books he'd like! If Jason does not contact me by then a new winner will be selected and announced on Monday, December 20.

Thanks again everyone! And if you haven't already checked out my new blog please drop by and say hi!

Reminder...Giveaway Ends Tonight!

Just a quick reminder that my holiday/thank you giveaway ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. EST. So if you haven't already entered scroll down for details - then head over to my new travelogue From India. With Love. to enter. It's open to all Apt. #412 readers (not just Canadians!) and I mean, who doesn't love a good book???

Good Luck!

5 More Days To Enter My Giveaway

click here to find out how

A Holiday & Thank You Giveaway!

Happy Holidays!

As many of you know I'll be moving to India in the New Year (in March to be exact) and have started a new blog From India. With Love. You also may have noticed that postings on this blog have subsequently become a bit....slow and at the end of the year Apt.#412 will be going on temporary hiatus. Come January I'll be in full pre-departure mode for India, throwing my pregnant sister's baby shower (my first niece/nephew!), and just getting a lot of stuff ready and in order.....to be honest maintaining two blogs is the last thing I want to do. I decided to start From India. With Love. to document all of the adventures I will have in India and as sort of a resource for anyone thinking of moving to India (especially women or people of colour) or people who simply plan on visiting India. I'd love for you to join me on my new blog.....

Which leads me to my final Apt.#412 Giveaway which is also a THANK YOU for reading along for the past....15 months.

I'm a huge lover of books - not just novels but books about design (hence this blog)...about travel (hence my new blog)...about photography (which there will be lots of on the new blog)...as well as books that are inspirational...and many other kinds...

SO my giveaway is for ONE WINNER to receive ONE of the following books (winner chooses which book they would like to receive). The books with an asterisk I have read/own (and in the case of the DVD also seen) and 100% vouch for. The others are ones that I would love to own. I think they are all great and would be a great addition to your bookshelf or coffee table....

Domino's Book Of Decorating*

If you're a design blogger or read Domino then you've heard all about this book...

Within The Frame by David DuChemin*

This is not a technical book per say - what it is is a book about how to make meaningful photos...

especially those of the travel kind - and to help you with your photographic vision...

Who Will Cry When You Die*

I've often quoted this book in posts...little short thoughts/lessons that inspire...

Lonely Planet India

Lonely Planet guidebooks are amongst the most popular....

Just in case you're planning on visiting India...

on Happy Chic Colors

I LOVE colour in homes but for a lot of people it's tough knowing how to inject colour into your space...get tips and ideas from the master of colourful, playful, quirky design...

Eat, Pray, Love DVD*

Most people have heard of this book/dvd...watched the movie this weekend - 

the scenery and colours are stunning...

Secret Daughter*

A really touching book that goes back and forth between India and America.... 

Lauren Conrad Style

I'm not a fashion blogger or the type that reads fashion...guidebooks...but I flipped through this one at the bookstore and it's one fashion book I'd really like to own.

1,000 Places To See Before You Die*

The new 2010 updated version - filled with inspiring places and things to see...

Now here's how you can win:

- Visit my NEW blog From India. With Love. and comment on ANY POST. Be sure to include: (Apt.412 giveaway some place in your comment) so I know you're entering the draw.

- For a ANOTHER chance to win become a follower of From India. With Love. - scroll to the bottom of the main page and you'll see the widget thingy. (sorry if you already follow you don't get a second entry!)

- For yet ANOTHER chance to win tweet or do a quick post (even a sentence or two) on your blog about this giveaway (and let me know at imnotreallyadiva[at]gmail.com). In the tweet be sure to include @kayinto and a link (http://bit.ly/fcVAQd) back to this post so I know you've tweeted.

And that's it. A few ways to win one of these fantastic books (or DVD)!

The giveaway closes on December 8, 11:59 p.m. EST and the winner will be announced here on Apartment #412 on December 9, 2010.

Hope you enter and good luck!

Winner: Back-to-Blogging Giveaway

Since the number of entrants was manageable I put all of the names in a hat and had my little brother pick one name out...

Congratulations to Mandy of the blog Just A Small Town Girl. Please send me an email (no later than Sunday, Nov.15 at Midnight EST) confirming which Rainy Day Template you'd like!

Thank you to everyone who participated. I hope to do more fun giveaways like this in the future.

A New Look For Apartment #412...(& a fantastic giveaway!)

Woot woot!

I'm so happy and excited to unveil the new look for my blog - Apartment #412. When I returned to blogging I knew I wanted a complete overhaul and as much as I'm a total diy-er sometimes it's just better (and easier) to leave it to a professional.

Enter Ellie of Rainy Day Templates. After looking at several designers online - the moment I saw her site I knew she'd be the person I'd contact. She offers really great templates at a very very reasonable cost. You can buy a template "as is" or customize it further by adding on features (again for a reasonable cost). Another bonus - she regularly retires templates so you can rest easy that not too many people will have your same layout - awesome. Everything is laid out really easy on her site so it makes the entire process a breeze. PLUS, she is super helpful and so quick to respond via email. All good things in my book.

I've actually been so looking forward to blogging this week but didn't want to post anything until I had a nice new look. I'm really visual and just couldn't bring myself to post pretty pictures and fun posts on, what I felt, was a "blah" site - so now that I LOVE the new look I'll be posting with a vengeance over the next few weeks =)

Ahhh, I just couldn't be happier with my new look. It's exactly what I had in mind. Simple, clean and super easy to navigate. Please look around and click on stuff - lol. I wish you all could feel the happiness I feel. Actually, what the heck - I WANT one of you all to feel the excitement and sheer joy that I'm feeling right now....so I'm giving away a template from Rainy Day Templates*! That's right. It'll cost you NOTHING** A nice shiny new template that screams YOU so we can exchange comments or tweets about how nice our blogs look ;)

Here are the rules:

First, you MUST be a follower of my blog. If you already are - great! (and thank you!) If you're not - just click on the 'followers' button on the sidebar over to the right hand side. Easy peasy.

Next, to actually have a shot at winning just go take a look around Rainy Day Templates then come back and leave me a comment letting me know what template you'd like.

What's that? You wish you could improve your odds? Okay fine. For ANOTHER entry simply tweet the following sentence "I just entered a back-to-blogging giveaway from @kayinto for a FREE blog template!"

And what the heck - for ANOTHER entry blog about the giveaway on your own blog. Even it it's just a sentence or two!

So there you have it! You can have up to 3 chances to win...and experience the new blog feeling that I currently have :) If you tweet or blog the giveaway be sure to let me know some how (twitter/email/comments).

The giveaway will close Monday, November 2 at Midnight EST. Winner will be randomly selected.

Good Luck!

Now for the fine print...please read them!

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*Rainy Day Templates are only useable for the blogger platform. Sorry wordpress and typepad users!
**This giveaway is for an "as is" template at a max value of $35. The templates are pretty great as is - but if you'd like to further customize it you'll be responsible for the additional fee/s - which is/are pretty reasonable.
***This giveaway is ENTIRELY sponsored/funded/paid for by ME. It was not a donated gift or done in exchanges for services/review/my OWN new template. I am just really happy with the outcome and want to pass it on to someone. Plus, it's a nice 'thank you for sticking around until I felt like blogging again' gift :)