...because home doesn't happen overnight.

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.*

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. If you’re like Handy Hubby and me, there’s really not much involved. No date night, no Hallmark card, no chocolates, no flowers…maybe a cheapie homemade gift, that’s it. It’s not that we don’t love each other. We do. LOTS. We just shy away from the V-Day hype and try to appreciate each other every day. Plus, we’d rather save the money for something else – like a new throw pillow or home improvement tool. You know, the stuff that matters most. ;)

This year an unexpected gift turned up. A gift to us from a total stranger.

It’s the Two Initials Sign from Signs by Andrea. We’re smitten with it.

Contrary to popular belief, HH’s name isn’t really ‘Handy Hubby.’ I just call him that on H*T – never in real life. His real name is Steve. Yes, his name is Steve Miller. Like the band. {Insert obligatory Steve Miller Band joke here.} And, yes, at our wedding reception we walked in to The Joker.

For now, the handmade wooden sign is leaning on a shelf in our apartment living room. I can’t wait to hang it at the Underdog. The included sawtooth hanger on the back should make that easy to do. {Don’t mind the green marker…Everett saw that Andrea signed the back of the sign and thought he should too. He then proceeded to mark up his cheeks with a black – thankfully washable – marker to look like a football player. Oh my! The term ‘bed rest’ is NOT in three-year-olds’ vocabulary!}

I especially like the rustic charm. The reclaimed wood is weathered and has signs of a prior life. Love the nail holes. Thank you, Andrea!

Andrea’s sign repertoire doesn’t only include hand-crafted wooden signs but poster and canvas prints as well. Her signs, prints and canvases are the perfect personal addition to any room. Lucky for you, Andrea is being doubly kind and offering a giveaway to House*Tweaking readers this love-filled week!

One winner will receive the Monogram with Name Overlay Sign {$40 value} and another {yup, two winners this week!!} will receive the You Are My Sunshine 8″x10″ Wrapped Canvas Print {$75 value}.

Are you feeling the love yet? Here are all the details on how to enter to win:

  • PRIZES:  Monogram with Name Overlay Sign {$40 value} and Yellow You Are My Sunshine 8″x10″ Wrapped Canvas Print {$75 value} from Signs by Andrea
  • RULES:  You must be at least 18 years old and have a U.S. shipping address {no P.O. boxes please} to enter. One entry per email address.
  • HOW TO ENTER:  Leave a comment on this post proclaiming “SIGN ME UP!”
  • DEADLINE:  Enter before Thursday, February 16th at 9:00 p.m. EST. Two winners will be chosen via Random.org and announced on Friday, February 17th.
  • WHILE YOU’RE AT IT:  Go ahead and finish out the “I love you more than _____” sign above. What something do you love so much but not quite as much as your sweetie? I’ll go first. HH, I love you more than chocolate-covered raisins. That’s saying a lot seeing as how I ate an entire bulk container of them from Sam’s Club over the past week!

If you’re interested in purchasing your own hand-crafted wood sign from Signs by Andrea, use the discount code “TWEAK10” to receive 10% off your order. Offer ends 2/27/12.

Don’t forget to ‘like’ Signs by Andrea on Facebook and follow her on Twitter!

images:  1) Signs by Andrea  2-5) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking  6 & 7) Signs by Andrea

Sorry for the delay in getting this post up. Is it obvious that we spent the holiday visiting family and friends out of internet service range? Well, we did. And it was wonderful for my heart and my kids…not so great for the blog though!

After a whirlwind weekend of filling our bellies, napping, driving over state lines and high school reunioning {yep, Handy Hubby even took a much needed break to attend his 15-year high school reunion}, we’re glad to be back. All my guys are catching up on their sleep this afternoon as I write. I felt H*T had been neglected for far too long, so I’m skipping out on the sleepfest.

The lucky winner of the $100 American Express gift card sponsored by Apartment Guide is “D” who loves using felt to create all kinds of festive decor for the holidays. Congrats!

Don’t worry if you didn’t win. I’ve got another fun giveaway scheduled for this week! Plus, I’ll be showing you the holiday decor and organization ideas I come up with for our teeny apartment. Things are about to get all ho-ho-ho up in here.

FYI – Apartment Guide is owned by Consumer Source, Inc. Apartment Guide partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “Holiday Home Organization” Blogger Challenge.  As part of that program, I received compensation.  They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the “Holiday Home Organization” Blogger Challenge. Apartment Guide and Consumer Source believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

images: Apartment Guide