Birthday giveaways!

One year ago at around this time, I was wiping the sweat off my brow gearing up for the launch of Saffron and Silk, putting the finishing touches on my blog, despairing about color and theme, agonizing over the name I had picked, trying out different templates, defining the content, finalizing the font, typing and re-typing my profile information so it was short and succinct but still descriptive enough, and last but not least, wondering if anyone would bother to read the blog, let alone comment.


Well, the time has flown by. My blog turns 1 year old today, the 28th of March,  and even though I still fret about content and font and theme, I know for a fact that there are people reading it. So for that, I am thankful to each and everyone of you that has read and/or commented on my rambling all-over-the-place posts this last year! I hope I can sustain your interest in it for more time....


So, as a HUGE THANK YOU and a celebration of my blog's first birthday....its time for a giveaway! 

{Now, it just so happens that my blog's birthday coincides with my birthday as per our Tamil calendar! For those wondering what on earth I am talking about, I have to apologize because it is way too complicated, I still don't get it....it has to do with the sun and the stars and the moon, and the 27 segments the sky is divided into, and the 12 zones of the sky (the Zodiac), and the sun spending one month in each during one year, and the moon spending one night in each segment, so today is also the day the moon and the sun are co-horting in the same segment as they were the day I was born!!!! Sounds like 2 people having a clandestine affair!!!!}


In a nutshell, TODAY is the day my blog turns 1 year old, and if the venerated priests says it's the day I turn 50, who am I to argue? All the more reason to celebrate. 


So in honor of 2 birthdays I am doing a "double giveaway"! Here is what is up for grabs....these two pairs of lovely earrings made by the talented Aparna at Nine by Thirty! 

The first set of earrings has "faceted garnet with sterling silver beads and leaf hoops" 

And the second pair of earrings is - you're going to love this - "lava bead rondells with Bali sea shell silver beads with leaf hoops"!!!!

Now......a little something on Nine by Thirty. This is the brainchild of Aparna......a prolific writer and a chai-loving fellow Hyderabadi, also known to many blog readers as the Ketchup Girl! Not only does she have a totally wry, tongue-in-cheek approach to writing, the girl skillfully weaves silver into stunning jewelry as deftly as words into prose! Her witty writing leaves me rolling on the floor, her exquisite jewelry has me swooning on same said floor! Her caustic writing drips with sarcasm as much as her silver danglers drip with lustrous stones...(ok, so that was a weird analogy, but then SHE's the writer, not me:-). Then, as if writing and designing jewelry wasn't enough, the girl cooks like a dream. 

But, since I am giving away some bling bling made by her very own hands, here is a peek into some of the other stunners she has made...

A bloodstone and silver necklace

Cinnabar and silver hoops

and this, of which I recently became a proud owner...graduated sujilite with silver

THE RULES:

So, what do YOU THE READER have to do to enter the giveaway? VERY LITTLE!


1. Leave a comment, one, or two or even three...three is the limit! Whether you leave 1, 2 or 3 comments, let me know which of the two earrings you prefer, which country you live in AND your e mail address/contact info. If you prefer not to reveal that information, you can alternately e mail me at Inimak@in.com, BUT YOU STILL NEED TO LEAVE A COMMENT ON THE BLOG to be entered into the draw. That's it. 


2. This contest is open to residents of India, the US, UK and Australia! And of course anyone residing OUTSIDE of these 4 countries who is entering for someone residing INSIDE these 4 countries.


3. Say whatever you want in your comment....complain, rant, rave, nag, talk about the weather, what you had for lunch, cricket, your weekend plans...anything.....just as long as it is a comment. 


You don't have to blog, or tweet or Facebook the giveaway, unless you want to! Just have fun commenting!


I'll keep this open till the 15th of April, midnight IST, and then pick the winners using random.org. Of the two winners the one with the lower number will get first dibs, in other words the earring of their choice! Winners in Australia and India should receive their spoils by end April, winners from either the UK or USA will have to be patient and wait till end May to get theirs in the mail! :-)

Good luck to you all and DON"T FORGET YOUR E MAIL ADDRESS - either leave it on your comment OR e mail me!