Recently the nice people from Lands End emailed me to see if they could send me a Sport Squall Parka for Sean for review. Of course I said yes, because I have a shameless affection for all things Lands End.

When it came in the mail, Sean immediately went to work trying it on and checking it out.  He gave it two thumbs up and declared it “awesome.”  He was especially impressed with the number of pockets and that they are soft on the inside.  I was impressed with the fact that is a great looking and super sturdy jacket.

But also, the thing that always impresses me about Lands End products is their attention to small details, like the seam of reflective material on the hem, and pockets and drawstring pulls in all the right places.  I declare this jacket awesome also.

The only downside for me is the price. It retails around $70 and it is worth every penny, except for the fact that our family is watching every penny.   And given that we seldom have a squall here in Texas and that I don’t have more children who could wear this jacket in years to come  (excuse me while I weep into my coffee – okay, I’m back)  the $70 price tag makes me flinch just a little.

On the other hand, Sean wanted to wear it to school the next day when it was 85 degress, so maybe we will get a lot of wear out of it.

Photo Temporarily Unavailable.

I heart the UPS guy. Not only is he a hunky piece o’ beefcake, he comes bearing gifts. What’s not to like. Friday morning, he brought me the above Lands End goodness, just as a cold front blew in. Coincidence? I think not. I’m on to ya’ Lands End!

So then, product review:

Ladies Travel Slippers: Squishy, comfy, cozy. All you could want in a slipper.

Mens Shearling Moc: (And here I quote AD): “oooo-ooh (insert happy little voice shiver) Ohhh-man!”

Kids Fleece PJ’s: Don’t buy these. If you do, you’ll end up spending all your time chasing your child around the house so you can scoop ‘em up in your arms and hug them like a teddy bear. You can’t be wasting your time like that. Incredibly soft and snuggly, not to mention cute.

* * * *
And the winner of the Lands End give away is Katy who writes Alpaca Farm Girl! Congrats Katy!

Y’all are gonna like this, especially with the holidays on the snowy horizon. Your choice of one of the following:

(Imagine me doing the Vanna gesture here.)

These lovely women’s slippers which come in four colors and with their very own matching bag.

These super cozy shearling-lined men’s slippers which come in two colors.

Or!

These darling children’s fleece PJ’s (girl styles available too!) which come in four color combos.

If you would like a chance to win one of the above (Vanna gesture), leave me a comment telling me this: If you were curled up on the sofa (wearing your Lands End slippers of course!) and re-reading your favorite book from childhood, which book would it be?  It’s hard to choose just one, but Sean and I recently read Charlotte’s Web. I had forgotten how much I loved it.  

At some point in the day on Friday (Nov. 14)  I’ll use Random.Org to choose a winner.

* * * * *

I’m taking copious notes on your favorites titles.  I think I’ll compile a list and let you know which ones were most mentioned. I strongly  suspect it’s The Little House series followed by Anne of Green Gables. I love that you have brought to my attentions titles I had not heard and other that I had forgotten.

* * * * *

Time’s up! Going to Random.org to choose a winner. Stay tuned!

Sure, you know they make great products, but did you know that Lands’ End also controls the weather?

It’s true.

A few weeks ago, I got an email asking me if I wanted to try out their Women’s Weatherly Jacket and I said HECK YEAH! I think I can arrange that, let me check my schedule…

Well, yesterday morning, it was about 70 or so degrees, fairly warm.  I took Sean to school and ran a few errands during which time a cold front came in. Brrrr!  And what was waiting for me on my door step when I returned home? A Lands’ End Weatherly jacket!  So I put it on and went outside and took it for a test-walk around the neighborhood.

Of course I love it. I haven’t met a Lands’ End product I don’t like yet, but I’m willing to keep trying. As a service to humanity, sort of like a shopping ministry.

Okay, so here’s the deal – it’s light weight, it’s stylish, has plenty of pockets including one for my iPod on the inside and it’s stylish. I love it.

If you really need to know the temperature rating or you just want to look at all the pretty colors it comes in you can see them all here.

Don’t I look great in my new Lands End Weatherly Jacket? Oh wait. That’s not me. But it could be. If I were taller. And skinnier. And had great hair. And were 20 15 years younger.  But other than that, the resemblance is amazing.

First, with further ado, I want to thank each and every one of you (381!) who left funny and sincere and hopeful comments in the name of Lands’ End fleece.  That was just delightful fun!  The only down side to these contests is that I want everyone to win.  If I were Oprah, or even if I were not Oprah and just stinkin’ rich, all y’all (that’s southern for all you guyses) would be getting Lands’ End fleece pullovers in the mail this afternoon.  And a car too.

Be that as it may, you still have time to go on-line and order one of those pullovers and get free shipping through the 20th (Code OUTERWEAR Pin 1013), so there’s that. That’s what I’m going to do since I didn’t win one either.

And now, without further ado, Random Org chose commenter #324, PastorMacs Ann, a homeschoolin’ mother of 7 and writer of It’s Always A Production - a lovely lovely lady and frequent commenter here at Antique Mommy for about as long as I can remember. Congratulations Ann!

It’s time for another Lands End give away! 

Today, Lands End is offering you, the most lovely and deserving of all blog readers, your choice of a Women’s ThermaCheck Pullover or a Women’s Sherpa Fleece Pullover in the color of your choice!  I personally love the Autumn Orange. 

So then, if you would like a chance to win one of these fabulous pullovers (and you have a US mailing address), leave a comment. That’s all, just a comment with a valid email address.   (You don’t have to put your email address in the body of the comment, I just have to be able to contact you if you win.) 

I’ll randomly draw a winner Thursday night using the Random Integer and announce the winner on Friday.

If you just can’t wait, you can order one on-line right now and get free standard shipping through October 20th using the promotional code OUTERWEAR and PIN 1013.

But first, y’all have had some seriously yucky jobs — yucky jobs that would make Mike Rowe himself cringe.

If I were choosing the winner of the Lands End fabuloso backpack based on what I think was the worst job, hands down, it would be BYOC of Bring Your Own Cheese, the turkey de-beaker.  Just the thought of touching a bird makes me shiver.

However…

If I were picking the most popular yucky job, or the one that most people mentioned as being the worst, it would be poor Lisa, the Preacher’s Wife who had to clean up a pediatrician’s office after an intestinal incident.

However…

Because I love you all the same and want everyone to win a backpack and could never choose (and because my blog doesn’t have numbered comments (if anyone can make it do that - let’s talk!) which makes using a random number generator a task well beyond my patience I had to resort to sourcery and numerology.  No, not really.  It occurred to me that since it was the 8th month of the 8th year of the new millenium, I would add 8 + 8 to get 16 and then I had to scroll down about 10 times because I kept loosing track of where I was, but according to my calculations, #16 and the winner is….

Stretch Mark Mama!  Email me Stretch and we’ll set you up with a backpack!

As I mentioned yesterday, Lands End has offered me one of their fantastic backpacks to offer to you, my fantastic readers. Unlike Dora’s backpack, the Lands End backpack is not bilingual, but it is indeed very cool, very useful and could help you find your way to the magic mountain. Or whatever. I am freely admitting here I haven’t been paying that close of attention to Dora and where she goes.

So let’s see, what kind of hoops can I make you jump through to get a backpack? Hmmm…

Okay. Nothing really to do with backpacks, but leave a comment telling me the worst job you ever had and I’ll choose the worst or most amusing or just some random one to win. I’ll go first since it’s my blog:

When I was 17-years-old, I took a job typing for an insurance company. That was back in the days of carbon paper, which came right after the Bronze Age. So my first day there, I was given this legal-size triplicate form to fill out on a manual typewriter and it had to be perfect. No mistakes. Not even one. Every time I made the smallest typo, I would have to start completely over. White Out wasn’t allowed because it hadn’t been invented yet and we weren’t allowed to use those little chalky white pieces of paper either because this was a mean and sadistic company. By the third time I got to the end of the form and typed s instead of w, I dropped my chin to my chest and closed my eyes and calculated how bad it would look if I started banging my head on the typewriter and would that get me out of work.

The one time I did manage to get to the end of the form without a mistake, the boss lady strolled by, took the form, looked down her nose at me over her reading glasses, looked at the form, looked back at me and then ripped it up with a little too much glee for my taste and then tossed the remains on my desk. So when it came time for lunch, I left and didn’t come back. I went home and cried to my mommy instead. The boss lady called my house looking for me and my mom said she didn’t think I would be coming back. I loved the days when my mommy stood between me and meanies.

Now you’re turn. I’ll randomly draw a name Sunday night and announce the winner on Monday and if you have a US mailing address, Lands End will send you backpack! Yay you!

If you don’t win the backpack and just want one anyway, Lands End is also offering free shipping to US residents July 31 through August 6. Simply enter the coupon code BACKTOSCHOOL and the pin 2382 when checking out at Lands End.

I got my Lands End swimming suit in the mail today and I love it with all my heart. And I’ll tell you why: It fits and it is comfortable and it stays put. Although it doesn’t tell me I’m funny. 

I bought a couple of inexpensive swimming suits last year and spent all summer, tugging and adjusting and they just never fit and it was aggravating.  In addition to all that good stuff, this suit is really really cute –definitely not a matronly grandma suit, yet appropriate for someone my age.

 I found that the suit is true to size based on the measuring guidelines that Lands End provides. I did however go up one size in the bottoms and am glad I did.  I ordered a second suit today and decided to go up one size on the top also just because I like more room since I have to pull it over my head.  I wish they would make a suit with a front zipper just because I always seem to get the top stuck under my underarms when I’m pulling it on and I can’t pull it down and it gets stuck and then I cry until someone comes to help me.  Of course I’m the same gal who crawled under her car to retrieve her gas cap instead of just pulling forward, so it could just be me. 

Someone commented that she had always wanted a Lands End suit but could never justify spending that much money on herself and I really resonated to that point. I felt exactly the same way, because let’s face it, they are not cheap. But now that I have one? I wish I’d never spent a dime on any other suit and just gotten one good Lands End suit. My friend Gigi told me two years to get a Lands End suit and did I listen? No.  (Gigi! You were right!) 

So then, the super lucky winner of the Lands End swimming suit of her choice is diXymiss who takes cools pictures and writes ineXplica, even though she disparaged my Betty Boop figure in comments.  I’m pretty much over it. Oh I kid. I went to high school with mean girls, I’m used to being disparaged.  

Congratulations diXymiss!   I wish you many sunny summer days at the pool.

I know. Normally I am not excited about it being swimming suit season, but this year I’m getting a decent swimming suit from Lands End – one that fits, covers, supports, slims, takes years off my thighs and tells me I’m funny.  And I can’t wait.

The nice people at Lands End have also offered me a gift card good for one of their fabulously pretty and practical swimming suits to offer to you, my lovely lovely readers!  You can see all of their suits here and and decide which one you want.  Leave a comment on this post by this coming Wednesday, April 16th at 6pm CST and I’ll randomly draw a name and announce the winner on Thursday morning.

When you get the suit, you have to take a picture of yourself wearing it so I can post it on my blog.  No. Not really, I just made that part up.  We’re friends, remember?  I wouldn’t do that to you.

If you don’t win the gift card, you can still go on line and order a suit and get free shipping through Thursday, April 17th,  Just enter Code SWIM and PIN 530530530 when you check out. 

I am ordering this suit in red.  I’ll let you know how it works out.