Birthday Giveaway!

*Update 6/8/11* The giveaway is officially closed.

La Kocinera is officially one year old!

I must have started, stopped, erased, and retyped this first sentence at least half a dozen times now. I simply don’t know where to begin in discussing the past year of my life. There have been ups and downs and squirrely loop-de-loops galore. In major ways, such as I’m no longer a Business major. And in minor ways, such as I no longer believe in flash photography for food.

Thank goodness.

Through it all, this blog’s been part of it. It’s been fun, challenging, crazy, and therapeutic all at once to have my own small corner of the internet. A place to chat about ice cream, gush about chocolate, and whine about guava. It’s been a place for me to stretch my skills with Daring Cooks and Daring Bakers challenges, as well as share the recipes close to my heart. Without a doubt, it’s been a blast.

However, beyond any sort of enjoyment that I have garnered for myself out of this blog, I want to take a moment to thank you, my readers. Your praise, encouragement, and humor has made this blog so much more than I knew it could be. Every time that I see that there’s a new comment, a new Twitter follower, or a new Facebook “Like,” it totally makes my day and renews my passion for sharing my love of food. I’m thrilled that there are so many people out there who are huge food geeks just like me.

So, as a small “Thank You” for accompanying me on this journey and for being so darn awesome, I’ve got a present up for grabs. Today I’m giving away one (1) $50 virtual gift card to one of my favorite stores, Sur la Table. It will allow you to purchase anything that strikes your fancy from their online store and have it arrive right at your doorstep in all it’s foodie glory. If you wish, you can also present a print-out of the virtual card at an actual Sur la Table location.

Here’s the info ya need to enter:

(1) Leave a comment. Any comment. That will serve as your entry.

(2) If you want to grab a few more entries, you can follow this blog, follow me on Twitter, or “Like” the blog on Facebook. Leave a separate comment for each one, if you choose to do any of these things.

(3) For the love of chocolate pudding, make sure there is some way I can e-mail you. If your comment doesn’t lead to your own website of some sort, feel free to simply e-mail me (kocinera[at]gmail[dot]com) your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win. If I can’t contact the winner, or if the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.

(4) Using a random number generator, I will announce the winner on Wednesday, June 8th.

(5) At this time, I can only offer this giveaway to readers within the continental United States. Sorry, international readers—you know I love you!!

(6) Disclaimer: Sur la Table did not sponsor this giveaway. This gift card is my gift—from me to you.

With that, I’ll send you on your way to enter for the birthday present! Good luck!