We're very happy to announce the winner of the complimentary tickets to the Twig's 73rd annual Homes Tour. Congratulations to "mp," who will be traveling up from Richmond with her daughter (and hitting up IKEA too). We can't wait for a new visitor to the Old Town Homes Tour to fall in love with the area.

I want to take a moment today to share a little love story with you that relates directly to a giveaway we're kicking off with today's post.

As you know, Wendy and I are completely and absolutely head over heels in love with Old Town Alexandria. I really never knew it was possible to love a city in this way, and it may be totally cheesy, but we really, truly love our town.

However, every love story has a beginning. Whether it's a first knowing glance, an unexpected encounter, or that wonderful first date that sets you on a path for bliss, the catalyst that kicks it all off is a memory that lasts forever.

In our case, these moments of our blossoming feelings about Old Town, and more specifically with the homes of Old Town, can be traced back to the annual Twig Alexandria Homes Tour in 2002.

This year's event marks the 73rd annual tour and takes place on Saturday, September 27th, and though the list of homes isn't announced until the day of the tour, the highlights of this year's list are enough to entice anyone.

• A home on the National Register of Historic Places, lovingly restored;
• Homes first owned by freed slaves;
• A home first built in the 1700s and one in which today's owners still maintain original features of the home;
• A home that was once a grocery and another that was first a tannery;
• A very small home, built in the 1800s that has been remodeled with impressive creative use of space;
• Two homes whose owners are artists in their own right, displaying their artwork throughout their homes. 

In honor of the event, we're giving away two tickets to the tour courtesy of the Twig (an $80 value). To enter, simply leave a comment on this post with the phase "Touring Old Town" along with something you'd like to see on the tour. One lucky commenter will be selected at random and will be able to pick up their tickets on the day of the tour.

Wendy and I will be attending for sure this year, and it will actually be the 12th anniversary of that first fateful homes tour in 2002 when Wendy surprised me with tickets. It was my first time getting to actually go inside of some of the homes in Old Town, and I can still remember it like it was yesterday.

We had been walking the neighborhood blocks for two years, but until that day, had only been able to admire the historic residences from the outside. We were getting married in October 2002, and we'd hoped to maybe find a home in Old Town after the wedding, but we really had no idea what to expect from the homes. Rather than going into it blind, Wendy learned of the tour and got a couple of tickets. Granted, we'd be touring many grand homes well outside of our budget, but it was an experience to say the least.

As we walked from beautiful home to beautiful home we couldn't help but to be simply enamored with everything we saw. From the home where George Washington spent his final 4th of July to the stunning restoration of a Captain's Row three story brick Federal that is more than 200 years old.

Little did we know, but one of the homes we visited was in the same block where we ended up buying our Old Town home. We weren't actively looking for houses at that point, but I distinctly remember walking right past our eventual house with a For Sale sign on the front and thinking, "Wow, maybe some day we could live in Old Town too."

There's really no better way to experience the wonderful things the homes in Old Town have to offer than by taking a tour that includes a wide variety of the styles and ages of homes in our area. This is precisely what you get with the homes tour, and the event benefits an organization dedicated to providing financial aid, volunteer service, and support to Inova Alexandria Hospital. It's a win-win in our book.

We hope we'll see you on the tour!

• PRIZE: Two tickets to the 73rd annual Twig Alexandria Homes Tour.
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Friday, September 19th at 11:59pm EST.
• AND THE WINNER IS: One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Saturday, September 20th, so be sure to come back then to see if you're the winner.
• PRIZE REDEEMABLE: The tickets can be used for entry to the 2014 Twig Alexandria Homes Tour in Alexandria, VA on September 27, 2014, between 10:00am and 3:00pm.
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “TOURING OLD TOWN”, and tell us a little bit about what you'd like to see on the tour. (One comment entry per person please.) 
• WHO'S ELIGIBLE: This Reader Reward is open to anyone who plans to be in Alexandria, VA on September 27, 2014 and can attend the tour in person.

Please see our complete terms & conditions page for more details. If you're interested in learning more about the event and purchasing tickets, you can learn more from the Twig's event website.

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You know what they say. "It's the most wonderful time, of the year." In Old Town this is very true as this coming weekend marks the highly anticipated Christmas events celebrated throughout the town by locals and visitors alike. Yes, that's right, it's the Campagna Center's annual Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend, and we can't wait!

In celebration of the occasion, we've got a great giveaway for two tickets to an event that's near and dear to our heart, the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend Holiday Designer Tour of Homes, but more on that a little later in the post.

The Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend has been celebrated the first weekend in December for the last 42 years, and the 43rd annual event kicks off this coming Friday. Starting with several kid friendly events during the day, the first night is capped with the Taste of Scotland. The Taste of Scotland is a great charity event at the George Washington Masonic Temple where the attendees taste many different types of Scotches having a grand old time. The men don kilts, the ladies their tartans, and the town really kick off the Christmas season by celebrating the night away. 

The main event, the Scottish Walk parade follows on Saturday morning, celebrating Alexandria's Scottish heritage with lots of kilts, bagpipes, dogs, and classic cars. This event is one that is celebrated by many in the area, regardless of Scottish ancestry.

One of the other major events for the day is the Holiday Designer Tour of Homes, where several private homes throughout Old Town are opened to the public, allowing onlookers a unique glimpse into a few of the homes that give Old Town its character.

If you remember back to last year, our home was one of the houses on the Christmas Designer Tour of Homes. The level of effort we put into getting our house ready for the tour was staggering, but the overwhelmingly positive response, that fact our home was bursting with beautiful floral arrangements, and the knowledge we were supporting a great cause made it all completely worth it. This year we're not participating by opening our home, but we'll be attending the event to check out this year's tour homes.

But just because we're not opening our home this year doesn't mean we can't give you a glimpse into one of the other homes on tour. This home happens to be that of our blog readers, Cara and James, and their adorable daughter Alexandra.

Cara and James live in an historic home just down the street from us and have done wonderful things with their quaint and stylish home, proving that modest sized historic homes can still boast modern style while meeting the needs of a young family. 

Cara has been working tirelessly on an ombre tree theme and corresponding table scape, going as far as to paint ornaments and vases the perfect shade of Tiffany blue. I'm so glad I'm not the only person in town that would go to these lengths to achieve their holiday vision!

It's definitely a place, along with the other homes and locations on the tour, that should be seen in person. That's where today's giveaway comes in. For the second year in a row the Campagna Center has generously donated two tickets for Old Town Home to give away to our wonderful readers. The two tickets are valued at $70. 

• PRIZE: Two tickets to the 43rd annual Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend's Holiday Designer Tour of Homes
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Friday, December 6th at 12:00pm (noon) EST.
• AND THE WINNER IS: One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Friday, December 6th, so be sure to come back then to see if you're the winner.
• PRIZE REDEEMABLE: The tickets can be used for entry to the 2013 Holiday Designer Tour of Homes in Alexandria, VA on December 7, 2012, between 11:00am and 4:00pm.
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “AN OLD TOWN CHRISTMAS”, and tell us a little bit about your Christmas traditions. (One comment entry per person please.)
  Tweet the following for an additional entry: @OldTownHome is giving away 2 tickets to @ScotWalkWknd's Holiday Designer Tour of Homes. Leave a comment to enter. http://www.oldtownhome.com/2013/12/3/2013-Scottish-Christmas-Walk-Designer-Tour-of-Homes-Giveaway/. Just click on the link and it'll open up Twitter with the tweet already composed. Don't worry, we'll keep track of the tweet entries too.
  We'd also love it if you would "like" us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter, but that's not mandatory. 
• WHO'S ELIGIBLE: This Reader Reward is open to anyone who plans to be in Alexandria, VA on December 7, 2012, to celebrate the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend.

Please see our complete terms & conditions page for more details.

We hope you're planning on attending this year's Scottish Christmas Walk. We'll be wandering around town all day, so if you see us, be sure to say hello.

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If you read our post earlier today you saw that we recently installed an on demand filtered water tap in the space previously occupied by a broken side sprayer. The install went smoothly (well, at least once Alex followed directions), and the availability of filtered water at the sink has solved a storage issue for us in our refrigerator. 

As we mentioned in the earlier post, we were invited to try out this kit and see how we liked it. The cool thing about this offer was that they group that contacted us offered to give a filter kit away to one of our readers if we approved of it after install and use. We love to give you guys things that we like, so this was music to our ears. Now that it's in place, and we're enjoying how it works, we figured now is a pretty great time to give one away to a lucky commenter. 

The product is called the Filtrete High Performance Drinking Water System with Maximum Filtration Plus. It's plumbed into the cold water supply line under your sink and it offers on demand filtered tap water at the push of a lever.

The highlights of this product are:

• Entire system only costs $100
• Has a space saving design that mounts under your kitchen sink
• A dedicated faucet easily mounts onto your countertop next to the kitchen faucet
• Reduces contaminants from water including select VOCs, select pharmaceuticals, microbial cysts and lead 
• Filters last up to six months, and changes are quick and easy with no tools required

As water quality and information related to every day contaminants has worked its way into our awareness, it's important to remember that the overall cleanliness and purity of water extends well beyond general taste. I know that we never gave a second thought to drinking tap water (or even water straight from the hose) as kids, but that was before we knew just what we were drinking. In today's age of bottle water, purification systems, and the constant worry about contaminants for all members of your family (including the four legged ones), it's good to know you're taking the extra steps to ensure their health and well being however possible.

We're giving one lucky reader the ability to add this Filtrete Drinking Water System to their kitchen, bathroom, or wherever fresh water is desired and a supply line is nearby. Here's how you can enter to win:

• PRIZE: A Filtrete High Performance Drinking Water System with Maximum Filtration Plus
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Tuesday, February 12th at 11:59pm EST.
• AND THE WINNER IS: One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Wednesday, February 13th, so be sure to come back then to see if you're the winner.
• PRIZE REDEEMABLE: The winner will have the prize shipped directly to the U.S. address they provide.
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “FRESH CLEAN WATER”, and tell us a little bit about your daily water drinking goals or habits. (One entry per household.) We'd also love it if you would "like" us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter, but that's not mandatory. 
• WHO'S ELIGIBLE: This Reader Reward is open to residents of the United States only.

I'll start with our habits:

Wendy: Beyond the daily attempts to drink as many glasses as possible, I make it a habit to take a full glass of water to bed. There's nothing worse than waking up with a dry mouth and realizing you don't have a glass nearby or a way to quench your thirst. 

Alex: I try to drink at least two liters of water per day, every day. This is harder in the winter than it is in the summer, and I usually drink more than two liters when I'm running more frequently. I notice I sleep better, feel more refreshed in the morning, and don't tire as easily during the day when I drink enough water.

Good luck!

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Earlier today we told you all about our invitation to participate in the 42nd Annual Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend's Holiday Designer Tour of Homes! We're really excited to open our home along for a good cause so participants can enjoy our holiday decor. 

After we were invited to participate in this year's tour, we asked if there would be any way we could give away two tickets to our readers. We figured you guys are the main reason why we're on the tour in the first place, so we'd love to give someone a chance to win and attend. The Campagna Center happily donated two tickets, valued at $70, to give away to one of our lucky readers. 

• PRIZE: Two tickets to the 42nd annual Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend's Holiday Designer Tour of Homes
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Monday, November 19th at 11:59pm EST.
• AND THE WINNER IS: One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Tuesday, November 20th, so be sure to come back then to see if you're the winner.
• PRIZE REDEEMABLE: The tickets can be used for entry to the 2012 Holiday Designer Tour of Homes in Alexandria, VA on December 1, 2012, between 11:00am and 4:00pm.
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “AN OLD TOWN CHRISTMAS”, and tell us a little bit about your Christmas decorating plans. (One comment entry per person please.)
  Tweet the following for an additional entry: @OldTownHome is giving away 2 tickets to @ScotWalkWknd's Holiday Designer Tour of Homes. Just leave a comment to enter. http://www.oldtownhome.com/2012/11/12/Reader-Reward-Two-Tickets-to-the-Old-Town-Holiday-Designer-Tour-of-Homes/. Just click on the link and it'll open up Twitter with the tweet already composed. Don't worry, we'll keep track of the tweet entries too.
  We'd also love it if you would "like" us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter, but that's not mandatory. 
• WHO'S ELIGIBLE: This Reader Reward is open to anyone who plans to be in Alexandria, VA on December 1, 2012, to celebrate the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend.

Please see our complete terms & conditions page for more details.

We'll be around Old Town all weekend during the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend, so we hope to bump into you if you're around. We hope to see you on the tour (we're touring all of the other houses), and if you're going to the Taste of Scotland Scotch tasting the night before the tour, we'll also see you there.

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We're very happy to announce the winner of our Reader Reward for a $100 Mother's Day gift card to The Home Depot. Congratulations to Antonella @ LoveYourHome, a Canadian reader. We hope she'll stop back and share the useful project(s) this great Mother's Day gift card assisted with!

Thanks to everyone for entering, and keep your eyes open for a similar Father's Day celebration in the coming weeks.

We're giving one of our lucky readers a $100 gift card to The Home Depot, but more on that in a minute.

Is it just me, or is anyone else in total disbelief that it's May already?! The days and weeks seem like they're screaming by, but you have to be sure to take a moment to remember that the month of May brings a very special holiday -- Mother's Day. This year my parents are going to be in town over Mother's Day weekend, and I feel very fortunate to be able to spend Mother's Day with my mom this year. In honor of the day, I have a few special surprises up my sleeve for her visit, but I don't have a lot of time to plan, so I'd better get my act in gear.

Over the last several weeks we've been working on our outdoor area and getting it in shape for guests. This is as much for our own benefit as it is for the people we have visiting because we really love entertaining friends and family in the backyard. The work we've been doing is actually one small part of what we're trying to accomplish before the Mother's Day weekend.  

What we've been doing involves everything from planting the herb and vegetable garden, to simple cleanup around the yard. A couple weekend ago Alex and our friend Colin actually handled the dreaded task of cleaning out the stinky pond.

The pond, though only 50 gallons, accumulates so much junk during the winter that it tends to look pretty full of sludge and awfulness come spring. What's worse? It smells far worse than it looks. So each year he puts on some rubber gloves and clears the murky waters in exchange for some fresh and sparkling pond water.

Beyond the pond we have planting and mulching to do before everything is in shape. Though one of our garden areas has come back quite nicely this year, the other one needs quite a bit of attention in the way of new flowers and plants, but this is appropriate for the day that's approaching. Isn't it just fitting that flowers and freshly planted gardens are so often associated with Mother's day? We hope the work we've completed and will complete in the next week will give my mom a smile on Mother's Day if we have a relaxing meal or drink in our backyard.  

There's a little glimpse into some of our Mother's Day plans, but in hopes of jump starting your Mother's Day gift planning, we're doing a little Reader Reward gift card giveaway. 

Thanks to our friends at The Home Depot, Mother's Day gift shopping just got a little easier. The Home Depot is planting ideas for Mother’s Day this spring with Mother's Day inspired gift cards that moms can use to create their dream garden, flower bed, outdoor living space, or really anything The Home Depot has to offer. These gift cards are great gift options for just about any mom, they make gift-giving fast and easy, and are the perfect last-minute gift for that hard to shop for person in your life.

This week we're giving one lucky reader the chance to treat your mom (or a special mom in your life) to a shopping spree to spruce up her home and garden this year. Here's how you can enter to win:

• PRIZE: A $100 gift card to The Home Depot
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Monday, May 7th at 11:59pm EST.
• AND THE WINNER IS: One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Tuesday, May 8th, so be sure to come back then to see if you're the winner.
• PRIZE REDEEMABLE: The Home Depot gift card can be used toward the purchase of merchandise at homedepot.com and any of The Home Depot stores.
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “I LOVE YOU MOM!”, and tell us a little bit about your plans for celebrating this Mother's Day. (One entry per household.) We'd also love it if you would "like" us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter, but that's not mandatory. 
• WHO'S ELIGIBLE: This Reader Reward is open to residents of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Add a personal touch to any special occasion with The Home Depot gift cards. Choose from dozens of unique designs or customize one online with your own photo and message.

If you'd like more information on purchasing a gift card you can find it at the following links.

• The Home Depot Gift Cards Store
• The Home Depot on Facebook
• The Home Depot on Twitter

Please see our complete terms & conditions page for more details.

The Home Depot Disclosure Statement

The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as us to help promote their gift cards. As part of this promotion, I received a gift card to share with my readers. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.The winner of this giveaway will be randomly chosen and gift card fulfillment will be handled by a third party.

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