"Night In" Giveaway winner!

First of all we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that took part in our giveaway. We didn't expect to suddenly see thousands of new readers, but to each of you lovely people that has now found us and is following us - we love you!

Seeing every new entry, comment and RT really made us smile and we were texting each other in excitement at each one that came through. We wish we could give you each something for being one of our first readers, but instead hopefully knowing that you will always be one of our special group of "original readers" is something? 

So without further ado we are very pleased the winner is....

Kathleen Hooper
(@Hoops120)

Well done Kathleen!

Please drop us an email on grabaspoon(at)live.co.uk with your details so we can send your prize out to you. 

Once again, thank you to everyone that participated. And please please do stay in touch! We would love to see our little slice of the web grow as organically as possible, and not just through giveaways and promotions. 

If you like one of our posts, or appreciate something we say we would really love you giving us a little tweet or post comment. You have no idea how much they make us smile knowing that we have brought amusement and maybe some wise words to someone's day. 

Or if there is something you dont like and could see us improving, or something you think we should blog about that we dont currently - let us know. You are our readers and we want to make sure you enjoy what we produce. 

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Lots of love,

Owl and Panda xxx

Our First Awesome Giveaway!

Giveaway now closed and winner announced. Thank you to everyone that participated! 

It's January. It's cold. It's a long time until payday - you were hugely generous to everyone over Christmas, don't you deserve the chance to win something lovely just for you?

Enter our giveaway and one lucky person will get some awesome FREE stuff (who doesn't love FREE?) and we will hopefully gain a some lovely new readers. We do love our readers!

So first - the good stuff. What will you win?

Awesome Night In Kit!
This was originally going to be a "date night" kit, but we advocate the "not needing a date to have a good time" way of life. So grab a date, grab a mate, or just grab your own hot ass (hmm...) and have a lovely night in with these great goodies!

Popcorn Holder and authentic American Microwave Popcorn.
How cute is this plastic popcorn holder? And trust us when we say "Movie Theatre Butter" is the best flavour- ever.

Tangfastics
"Kids and grown ups love it so...."

When Harry met Sally DVD
Ah the immortal question - can a man and a woman ever be friends? Watch the comedy greats and think about it for yourself. Always a great discussion to have with the girls or to suss out a potential new partners opinions on the subject.

Soap and Glory Candle
Who doesn't love Soap n Glorys gorgeous branding and beautiful scents? Fill the room with the smell as you relax and watch the movie.

Cupcakes provided by Cakings
We've teamed up with the Cake Engineers at Cakings to provide you with not one but two personalised cupcakes to our lucky winner! Sponge with buttercream (and an optional filling of jam) and choice of the following personalised topper:

• Your initials
• Hearts and / or stars
• Glitter and / or sprinkles
• All of the above!

*Cupcakes will be sent via Royal Mail First Class post, and although we cannot guarantee the cupcakes will arrive in absolute perfect condition, they will be packaged professionally in recommended cupcake packaging. 

Whew! What a load of lovely goodies. Perfect night in we think. Everything offered in this giveaway has all been purchased by our hard earned income and we can't wait to send it out!


So now - how do you win? 

For 1 entry

1. You must be following us with "Google Friend Connect" that's the little blue "Follow" button on the right hand side of our blog.
2. You must be following us on Twitter - @Grabaspoon 

Leave us a comment on this post with your GFC name and twitter handle so we can check. No comment, no entry.

For an additional 2 entries

Linking to our giveaway by writing your own blog post about it, or popping our button and link in your own blog sidebar and you will gain you another 2 additional entries!

Please make sure you include a link to your site in your comment.

Each of the following will gain you 1 extra entry:

1. "Like" us on Facebook
2. Follow us on Pinterest
3. In your comment tell us what your favourite post has been so far. What else would you like to see us write about?
4. Tweet about our giveaway using this button or copying and pasting the following
   
   
   I've entered @Grabaspoon's 'Night in' #giveaway  http://owlandpandabear.blogspot.com/2013/01/giveaway.html Visit their blog for your chance to win an awesome #NightInKit!

Tweet to @GrabaSpoon

Again in your comment please let us know if you have tweeted, followed and liked us. Depending on entries we may not be able to check all of these so we are relying on the honour system. Remember cheaters never prosper and that is just not playing by the friendly blogging rules if you do. 

So there you have it - a potential 7 entries to our giveaway! As we have cupcakes that need to be sent first class this is a UK only giveaway. Sorry overseas readers - but if this giveaway is successful we will look at doing more giveaways; bigger and better ones that will fly further!

The winner will be selected at random and this giveaway will run until Midnight (GMT) on Feb 1st 2013 so what are you waiting for? Go and enter! (Pretty please?)

Single at Christmas

Christmas is one of those times of the year that seems made for couples. As soon as the temperature drops it seems couples start streaming out of the woodwork. Couples ice skating, couples sharing hot chocolate, couples holding hands in those sickening two handed mitten things. Blurgh...it's enough to want to make us singletons disappear under our duvets with a chocolate orange and not emerge until Spring.

But. There are many reasons why being independent and by yourself this festive season rocks! And if you don't believe us, have a look at our reasonings:

1. "Where are we going for Christmas?"
Have you ever had that awful conversation with a spouse? "Where are we spending Christmas this year?" The arguments that follow, the trade offs "Well if we spend Christmas Eve at your Mums, then Christmas Day at mine, then Boxing Day at your Grans" - then all the driving or overpriced cabs or haggling for lifts to get between all of those places. Wouldn't you rather spend three days at Mum's relaxing, getting pissed and not having to venture into the cold?

2. Think of the money you save
Owl's friend text her in excitement about the £500 gift she had just laid out on her other half. £500 is a lot to spend on one person by anyone's standards, and this friend has a big family with a lot of kids in it on a fairly modest income. That's crazy! Not to mention the stress that comes with finding that "perfect" gift. Want our advice? That's money that can be used to take yourself on a shopping spree in the January sales!

3. Eating guilt free 
Ok, so this one is kind of a given at Christmas anyway. It's Christmas after all. And we are in no way advocating unhealthy behaviour. However isn't it nicer to eat all those yummy goodies, choccies and alki-hol without worrying about being judged by your other half. Especially if you don't make it to the gym until the second week of January instead of the first.

4. Total control of the remote
DVD boxsets, BBC Specials, traditional movies, sometimes you just wanna watch what you want to watch. (Love Actually at least 3 times this month we think) And no, we don't care how awesome Die Hard is.....it's not a Christmas movie!

5. All the dating opportunities 
Christmas parties, work do's, more time out and about catching up with friends, not to mention New Years Eve! There are so many great opportunities to meet new people and arrange some fun dates to get you through January.


6. No sharingIn what should be a totally selfless time of year, you don't have to fight over the last green triangle....or give up your turn on the new Xbox game....or give your 3 year old niece her teddy bear back. Ok, we went too far. Maybe you should return the bear.

7. More time to see friends
Christmas seems to be the time everyone suddenly wants to catch up. As if the world will end on December 27th (This year its the 21st though - just a heads up) Being able to just go "Yup I'm free that day for more mulled wine" rather than checking in with the other half is extremely liberating.

8. Great excuse to volunteer
We all say it every year "I'm going to spend time helping a charity!" but lets be honest....how many of us have ever done that? If you find yourself single, but don't relish the thought of going home - do one of the best things you can ever do and be completely selfless over the holiday season. (Especially after eating all the green triangles)

Contact your local hostel, pet shelter, homeless centre, old folks home or hospice - they might all appreciate an extra pair of hands to cook, clean or entertain over the festive season. And if you're in London Crisis at Christmas are still looking for volunteers.

What about you? Do you have any other reasons to add as to why it's better to be blissfully single this time of year? Leave us a comment or send us a Tweet! Tweet to @GrabaSpoon

Winter Warmer! Try our patented Mulled Wine recipe!

Okay, so its not patented. And yeah, we basically threw together some bits and bobs we'd heard from Jamie Oliver and read off the net. But we can guarentee that THIS recipe will give you a lot of laughs and keep you cozy and sweet leading up to Christmas (and possibly afterwards too!)

Owl and Panda came up with this recipe last year (2011). Both single and and nursing the wounds of broken hearts, we spent a lot of time together around Xmas, watching films in Owl's cozy living room, chatting about our lives and generally enjoying each other's company. This recipe means a lot to us, we hope you can enjoy the benefits too.

Before you continue, you should know, when it comes to cooking, Owl and Panda truly believe it is an art (unlike baking, which Panda will attest is a true science!) Therefore, no real measurements are given. Add everything to taste and don't burn it- that's all the advice we can give!

All you need is...

• A cheapish bottle of red wine
• A couple of sliced Lemons
• A Sliced Orange
• Golden caster sugar
• Cloves
• Star Anise
• Cinammon Sticks
• A large pot
• Wooden spoon
• Your best mate (makes it even nicer!)

A word on the wine- don't put too much thought into which one to buy. Panda tends to go for ones that don't smell like vinegar >.< ! It doesn't have to be an expensive one, we have found it doesn't really make much of a difference either way.

1. Pour red wine into a large pot on a medium heat.
2. Slice up your lemons and orange, add to the pot.
3. Break the star anise up, crack the cinnamon sticks and throw them into the pot. Add some cloves.
4. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. stir, let it settle and taste. The mixture should be warm and sweet, but add sugar until you're content.
5. Turn heat down and allow to simmer. You're home will begin to smell like Christmas!
6. Pour heated wine through a sieve into a jug, then pour into a mug/glass/goblet or chalice to drink out of.

If you're anything like Panda, you will enjoy drinking this out of your favourite mug (in her case, Owl's honeypot mug!). Owl prefers to drink hers out of an oversized wine glass that is more like a goblet! 

Enjoy the aroma of Christmas!

Would you invite your ex to your wedding?

Will Brad be at Jennifer's Wedding?

Panda phoned Owl in such a rush the other night, she didn't even say the obligatory "Hi, how are you?"


P: "Did you know Jennifer Aniston is engaged?!"

O: "What? What is this? What do you mean? What the? WHAT?"

P: "I KNOW!!! Who even knew! I'm reading an article and it looks like her husband to be- Justin Theroux- has invited Brad and Angelina!" (quick search on IMDB to see who Justin Theroux is).


Queue discussion point- would ex's be invited to YOUR wedding?


Owl thinks...
Ex's at my Wedding? HELLS NO! And that goes for both sides. I'm not one for double standards.

It's just too weird. You think being friends with an ex is weird - have them celebrate the first day of the rest of your life with someone else. How can that not be weird?

I think How I Met Your Mother said it best - there are too many opportunities for old feelings to get brought up. Obviously you would hope that if you're marrying someone you are not going to ditch them at the alter for your ex. But what about other feelings? Jealousy? Anger? Lust? "What if's?" about the one that didn't work out?

What if you and that ex had considered marriage? Possibly even BEEN engaged? C'mon you're telling me THAT'S not weird?

Remember I am talking as someone that almost got married. My ex asked me about inviting his ex (the crazy psycho one) I think the look in my eyes said a lot more a lot quicker than my mouth did because he very quickly back-pedalled.

I think this is an easier issue for guys to deal with than girls. Look at Jen - it's her hubby to be that is wanting to invite Brangelina. I think men - once they've got a ring on your finger, feel a lot more secure. Maybe its that whole "owning/she's my property" thing. (Feminists please put down your pickaxes. It's a theory - not fact and I'm not saying I agree or like it).

Whereas for us girls it's our wedding day. We are the centre of attention, and for that one day we'd like to pretend that we are the only girl he has ever loved or even thought about. Pretty hard to do that with the ex smiling (or glaring) up at you from the 4th row isn't it?

It's just an added stress that no bride should have to deal with on such an important day. Your wedding day is about the two of you, and your love, and on this day yours is the only love that ever has been and ever will be.

Owl the romantic? Naaah.....

PS. My only amendment to this rule, is if said ex is an important and regular part of your social circle, and you probably already hang out with her as a friend already. And if this is the case it's probably unlikely they were very much serious in the first place.


Panda thinks...
... that it totally depends. It's interesting, I actually have a decent relationship with most of my ex's- some of them I talk to quite often, others it's a passing comment on Facebook. I can think of 2, maybe even 3 that I might consider inviting to my wedding. Some of them have been a part of my life for over a decade, how could I not invite them? Of course, I'd have to take into consideration the feelings of my hubby-to-be (apparently it would be his wedding too).

However, flip the coin- would I feel comfortable with my fiancé inviting HIS ex's? It's a double standard, but I don't know how content I would be. It would really depend upon his relationship with them, and his intentions on inviting them. I couldn't have any old skank turning up. What if they still had a flame burning? Would they try to sabotage my big day? Do I want to see the Love of my Life's past as we take our first step into our future?

Should old girlfriends be invited to the same events as new girlfriends? Ex's, new partners and weddings, perhaps they shouldn't mix. And if they are not close friends, or mutual friends, perhaps the past needs to stay in the past...

Overall, it seems to be a touchy area, and every single person will have their own views. I wonder what the guys think...

We know its a tricky situation Jen, hang in there, we're trying to work it out!

What's your take on the subject? Would you invite your ex? How would you feel if your fiancé asked about inviting their ex?

Tweet to @GrabaSpoon

Read the article that sparked our conversation here.
Find out who Justin Theroux is here.

He IS just that into you- and deep down you know it!

Owl and Panda are the self-proclaimed Queens of Overthinking. Don't let our well thought out blogposts fool you- when we get ourselves into a tizzy over a one word text from a date, it isn't a pretty sight. Luckily, we rarely tend to overthink at the same time, so when we have girly nights in, we can tell when the other is going overboard with analysations (spell check tells us that this is not a word, so we proclaim it to be one of "our words". Like "ponderments"...)

One of our downfalls is that we don't like to believe that a guy is too into us. We try to play it cool, and not assume that we are amazeballs. Instead we get self conscious and paranoid and this can lead to crazy musings over whether  a guy actually does like us.

Sitting on a long train ride one day, we were chatting about the Blockbuster "He's Just Not That Into You" starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper (to name a few). If you haven't seen it, watch it. It's quite a fun and easy watch, prompting pauses and long conversations whilst Owl and Panda poured over and related each issue to our own lives over white wine and cake. Anyway, we won't spoil the plot, but suffice to say, it's all there in the title. How to know when a guy isn't into you. Or when a girl just isn't into a guy.

But sometimes, we need just as much help to see that a guy actually IS into us. We don't want to be big-headed, but guess what? Some guys do actually want to be with us! And there is no problem with admitting to ourselves that sometimes we rock- and the guy thinks so too! So, on our train journey, with a couple of hours to spare, we came up with a list of tell-tell signs, just as a reference. If you're trying to work out whether a guy IS in fact into you, please have a look, and let us know if it has worked for you too. If you have more to add to the list – please please tell us in the comments. Goodness knows we could do with some more clues….

If he likes you:

1. He calls.

You don't have to worry about him contacting you. You've given him your details. He will get in contact.  Panda remembers a time where she met a guy at a club. Her friends and his friends were all talking, and contacts were shared throughout the night, however, the guy Panda was chatting to got a little (ahem) drunk and she didn't give him her number. Two days later, her friend contacted her. Apparently, his friend contacted her friend to give Panda the message that he wanted to apologise for being drunk and would love to have her contact details. He went above and beyond to track Panda down. Certainly, a sign that he was into her.

2. He talks to his friends about you.

Women talk. So do men. Do NOT let them fool you on this! Perhaps they don't talk in the same way as women, but they are guilty of sharing their musings with their closest chums. Don't be fooled, if he likes you, he would've more than mentioned you to his closest friend or roommate. He may even slip up in conversation. Owl learned this when she went to ELB’s house for the first time, and was introduced. She noticed the tone of the "this is 'Owl'" and noted the reaction of recognition from the roommates. Sure enough, they were already familiar with her presence in his life.

The differences between men and women talking...

3. He makes time.

It doesn't matter how busy he is- he will find the time because he wants to be in your company. Flip it over- when you want to see him, it doesn't matter if you've worked a 12 hour day, and your feet hurt, and your exhausted, and you have promised to take your Gran shopping the following morning- you will get on that 3 hour train to a different city to spend some time with him. We've all done it. And if he likes you, he will make the time to see you too…or even include you in his already made plans.

4. He takes notice of the things you like, and acts upon it.

He's asked all the questions and you've told him the things that you like. Not only has he listened, he has acted. This could be simply knowing that you like a particular chocolate bar and has bought it for you on your next date. But we would go a step further. For instance, Owl met a guy who listened to her like of a particular band. With this knowledge, he found other bands that sounded like this one, and told her about them. He had noticed her likes and was already making connections. You just don’t go that amount of effort for someone you're not into.

5. You just know.We women have been blessed with the ability of intuition. Nevertheless, all too often, we ignore our judgements, or displace them completely, in the fear of seeming presumptuous, or even... needy. But if a guy likes you, it doesn't matter whether you think you are overthinking. If you just relax and look at the evidence in front of you, you just KNOW. You don't have to overthink his every move. Sometimes we like to be modest, and not assume that the guy is totally smitten with is (unless you are a self-assured Panda who couldn't possibly believe someone isn't attracted to her!) But you know when he likes you back. His behaviour and actions show it.

We are not denying that there are some Casanova's out there, some men who make sport of leading girls on. But just trust your intuition, and you can answer the question yourself.

Not that we are not advocating sitting with your girls and having a good old chat about all the possibilities of whether he IS just that into you – over-analysing can sometimes be extremely helpful and fun too ;)

Top 10 reasons why dating is awesome

• We decided to make our first blog post a bit fun, to give you an idea of the conversations that happen between Owl and Panda, and an insight into our dating worlds. So here you have our top 10+ reasons why we think dating is great!

  (This is an actual transcript of our Facebook conversation discussing this!)

  

  
  Owl: So what should our first blog post be about? 

  
  Panda: How about a how to guide or a list or a top 10?

  
  

  O: Ooh yeah top 10! "Top 10 reasons why dating rules?"

  
  

  P: "No 1. You get a lot of free meals"

  
  

  O: "Hmm I'm not sure I agree with that one, but ok a definite reason! How about...getting to explore and find out new places?"

  
  

  P: Okay, No 3: you get to dress up! minus the stress of finding something to wear... your turn!

  
  O: Yes! Thats a good one! Umm...that excited gooey feeling when they text you? That feelings awesome!

  
  P: 5 You have met someone who likes you and wants to get to know you better in person... yeah, that is nice!

  
  O: I guess this kind of links in but the geek in me makes this another point. Discovering those shared interests and "ME TOO!" moments.

  
  P: first kisses

  
  O: "Second kisses" (had to get a friends quote in there!)

  
  P: Lol! Talking about it with your friends! 

  
  O: Flirting 

  
  

  P: Sweet texts 

  
  O: hehe amen to that one! What are we up to now? 

  
  

  

  
  P: 11 lol. Should we stop? Because I think I can probably think of 10 reasons why dating sucks sometimes

  
  O: I think thats a whole other blog post!  How about we round it off with the all round fuzzy feeling (I wont say butterflies) you get? 

  
  P: Ah, yes, fuzzy. We loves fuzzy lol

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Tweet to @GrabaSpoon Tell us why you think dating is awesome!