That’s right, another giveaway! It must be all that V-day love that swirls around in February. And I’m especially excited about this one, because the sponsor is a super small business and a Bonzai reader to boot!

Cayce runs the adorable Etsy shop Sustainable Homestead, which offers handmade and eco-friendly re-usable alternatives to common trashable packaging. Check out her super cute lunchbox sandwich baggies, different sizes of produce and bulk bags, tons of patterns of lunchbox napkins and hankies, and cloth re-usable gift wrapping. All of the items are custom made by Cayce, and many of them are also upcycled for maximum green-ness!

Sustainable Homestead is offering a little sampler to one of my readers, including those two lovely lunchbox napkins pictured above, as well as an awesome ripstop nylon re-usable sandwich baggie (below). I’ve got these babies in my hands right now and I can assure you, they are super fun, super practical, and totally fabulous. I’ll have a hard time letting go of them!





All you have to do to enter is go visit Sustainable Homestead, check them out, and then come back here and leave a comment. That’s it. So good luck! (and go snap up something wonderful from Sustainable Homestead!!!)

Earlier this week I wrote a review of the wonderfully nom-able Sahale Snacks, which included a giveaway to one lucky reader. Yay! Free nuts!

As always I used my trusty Random Number Generator, which spat out . . .





Number 46!

Congratulations Ashley, you’ve got an email waiting for you and you’ll have a special package from Sahale Snacks coming soon in the mail.

Enjoy, and congrats again!

Image from peta.org

‘Easy Vegan‘ is all about practicality. Sure, in an ideal world we’d prepare each meal at home, from organic fresh-from-the-field produce. But what about when you’re held up at work and get home *starving*, with no motivation to cook? And what about when you’re visiting Uncle Bob, in nowhere-ville, and there’s nothing fresh to eat? Or what about when you’ve got that ‘fast/greasy/naughty food’ itch that just really needs to be scratched? What then?

For times like those it’s good to know what’s worth grabbing – and what’s better left on the shelf. Hence, the ‘Easy Vegan‘ guide.


I recently received a small but exciting box in the mail – free nuts! (insert joke here) The nice folks at Sahale Snacks sent me their two vegan varieties to sample and review (see my Integrity Policy here, under ‘Give Me Stuff’). The cool thing about Sahale Snacks is that their nuts have been picked up by Starbucks! So, setting aside any thoughts on the coffee monolith, it’s great to know that wherever there’s a Starbucks (which, let’s face it, is *everywhere*), there’s also reliable vegan eats! (please do note there are 2 varieties that aren’t vegan – the Roasted Almonds with Honey and Sea Salt and the Barbecue Almonds with Mild Chipotle and Ranch)




Sahale Snacks: Soledad Almonds with Apple, Flax Seeds, Date, Balsamic Vinegar and Red Pepper

On the bag: “Influenced by the heat of the Mediterranean sun, this delectable snacking experience features almonds, apples, and flax seeds, tickled with date, balsamic vinegar, and cayenne.”





Our Thoughts: The ingredients sure sound like overkill, but the flavor is totally balanced and nothing overwhelms . Sweetness from the apples leads into a well-rounded and complex flavor profile. The aftertaste is just the tiniest bit of heat – a nice little kick!

Upon tasting, Damian’s eyes got real wide. “What?”, I asked, “do you like it?”. His response: “It’s just so . . . interesting!”

I agree. And we both gave our thumbs up. Would eat again!




Sahale Snacks: Cashews with Pomegranate and Vanilla

On the bag: “We think we’ve found the perfect combination of sublime flavors: pomegranate, vanilla, and cashews. Our whole cashews are teamed with pomegranate and apple, and balanced with pure vanilla beans. Our light glaze adds just the right amount of sweetness.”





Our Thoughts: Okay, I gotta admit I was skeptical at first. It was the vanilla that threw me. But wow, guys, these sort of blew my mind! Very sweet but also complex, I was reminded of the Pralines & Cream ice cream that was my favorite as a child. Such amazing flavors!

The only problem I have with these is my potential to eat the whole bag. NOM.




So guys, now that you’ve read the reviews, here’s the fun part: Sahale Snacks is giving out a gift pack just like I got, to one lucky Bonzai reader. You’ll receive both flavors of vegan nuts and maybe a little something extra as well. All you have to do is leave a comment here! I’ll use the random number generator to choose a winner later this week. Good luck!

Happy New Year! I used a random number generator to select our three winners, and here they are!







First was #68, Jill, who wrote: “I have no bag. I only have pockets and sometimes I don’t even have that. I hope I win!”

Congrats lady! Now you have a bag!







Next up was #31, Sara, who said: “I don’t know why I’m doing this, I have so many bags already but those are so CUTE! :) Novica’s mission is pretty amazing too.”

Sara, a girl can always use another bag. ;) Congrats!







And lastly, we had #46, Minna, who commented: “Haha, all of a sudden there’s like 45 comments :D That is such a cool drawing! I wonder if people outside of the USA can enter :P”

Yay! You’re comments are always so positive and sweet, I’m so delighted that you won! (and of course, anyone in the world is eligible here)


Congratulations to our winners – you should be receiving an email from me shortly.

And thank you to everyone who entered. I hope that this will be the first of many giveaways here, so make sure and check in again soon. And mostly, happy new year to all of you!

I’m so happy to announce our first giveaway, just in time to kick off a new decade! When Novica approached me about sponsoring the site, I thought, ‘what better way than to pass on the goodies to you guys’!? So here it is, in the form of three free handbags to three lucky readers!





Novica is an online international marketplace of sorts, and functions in association with National Geographic to allow artisans from around the globe to hock their wares worldwide. You can read more about their mission, here.





Each of the bags pictured in this post will be given away on New Years day! All you have to do to enter the drawing is to leave a comment on this post. Feel free to request the color you’d prefer, though I can’t guarantee that you’ll get that one if you win. And why not poke around Novica’s site to check out their awesome unique handbags, slings, and totes.

You guys are awesome! Happy New Year!!!