{FLASH #GIVEAWAY} #Win a pair of Tickets to the New York City Autumn Wine Festival from @SmoothJazzNY & @Ascending1

Are your Halloween decorations still out? Even though it's not even Thanksgiving yet are the Christmas commercials putting a little 'bah' in your 'humbug'? If you are not yet in the holiday spirit and want to reset your batteries before the madness of holiday shopping begins, I've got just the thing for you!

Would the chance to enjoy over 200 expertly selected Fine Wines put the holiday cheer in your step? Check out video below from the 4th Annual New York City Winter Wine Fest - 2013 Winter Wine Festival:





About the Festival:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Extraordinary Venue: Conrad New York - A lower Manhattan Luxury Hotel will offer a spectacular setting

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 200+ Fine Wines expertly curated by Vintry Fine Wines from around the globe

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Small Plates and Cheeses by Conrad New York's exclusive caterer - Union Square Events

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Taste and Keep - A beautiful Riedel Wine Glass is yours to keep after the event ($30 Value)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Live Music - What would a Smooth Jazz event be without great music right? Gil Parris Live Contemporary Jazz Grammy-Nominated Guitar Virtuoso and his band will be the musical backdrop to each session. He is known for his special blend of Blues, Jazz, Rock and Smooth Jazz!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Pick YOUR session, 3pm or 8pm

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Optional Wine Classes led by the American Sommelier's Association of premier sommeliers will offer a minimum of 5 additional palate-pleasing selections and a thought provoking look behind the wines. The Classes Include: 'History in the Tasting', 'Principles of Blind Tasting', and 'Sugar & Spice and Everything Twice'

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Stay the night - Make it a weekend with special deluxe room rates starting at $299

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - And my favorite part? - A portion of the festival's proceeds will benefit Creative Arts Workshops for Kids! - CAW - www.CAW4Kids.org is a nonprofit arts education and youth development organization dedicated to empowering urban youth and underserved Upper Manhattan Communities through the use of the arts!

WIN IT:

Please note butterflies this is a FLASH GIVEAWAY, this giveaway ends at 12 am on Wednesday and the winner must confirm before 24 hours, please do not enter if you cannot attend on Saturday, November 9th! That is THIS Saturday!

Enter using the Rafflecopter Widget Below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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FTC Disclosure: Smooth Jazz has provided Ascending Butterfly with Press Access to the NYC Autumn Wine Festival for Editorial Consideration and is providing one Ascending Butterfly reader entry to the Festival as well. All opinions are 100% my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may visit our full giveaway and disclosure page for complete policy information. Ascending Butterfly and giveaway sponsors are NOT responsible for lost, late, or mis-directed mail, one entry per household.

{CLOSED} Win a Pair of Tickets to the Smooth Cruise Encore Double Bill sail with Phil Perry & Alex Bugnon! Giveaway with 2 winners! Ends 10/04

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This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor Smooth Jazz NY! We look forward to working with you again! The winner has been notified and upon confirmation, follower name will be posted both here and on our homepage. Remember: There are great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!

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Does the idea of a cool night and warm Jazz sound good to you? New York’s premiere summer jazz series is coming to a close for the season! This is the Smooth Cruises’ 14th year aboard The Spirit of New York, located at Pier 61, Chelsea Piers (23rd St/West Side Hwy).

Experience this one-of-a-kind LIVE JAZZ concert series as you cruise down the Hudson River taking in fantastic views of the Statue of Liberty and the breathtaking Manhattan skyline. The Cruises feature the world’s greatest jazz acts in an intimate setting. This summer I picked a different sail from last year and got to see Najee in concert, here are the pictures from my last sail.

These cruises are the highlight of my summer, and this will be my first year taking the Encore Sail, and I'm looking forward to it, less humidity will make a for a cool night, with warm jazz! =)

Here's the Skinny:

Where: Departing from Chelsea Piers in Midtown Manhattan.

When: Encore Sail, Friday, October 7th, 2011, There will be two sails, as follows:

Smooth Sunset Cruise:: Board: 6:00pm • Sail: 6:30 – 8:30pm
Smooth Moonlight Cruise: Board: 9:00pm • Sail: 9:30 – 11:30pm

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our friends at Smooth Jazz New York would like to provide 2 lucky Ascending Butterfly Followers a pair of tickets to the smooth moonlight jazz cruise for the Friday, October 7th Encore Sail!  4 Tickets total, each winner receives 2 tickets so they can bring a guest! ('moonlight' sail only 21 years of age and older please.) These tickets are non-transferable, and do not include your transportation, lodging or any other expenses to or from New York City where the boat sails from.

Don't you just ♥ Smooth Jazz New York? I know I do

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - How to Win: (1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and (2) Tell us Who you are bringing with you on the sail! (3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com). (If your email is clearly visible in your profile, you can just say so, that's OK!) Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning (or in this case, the A,B,C’s of winning!) This giveaway is open to USA who are 21 years of age or older. No PO Boxes. One entry per Household, see Ascending Butterfly Giveaway Rules and Disclosure Policy HERE.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Monday, September 26, 2011 until Tuesday, October 04, 2011 at 03:00 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 24 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email your entry will not be processed)

Extra Credit:

 Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Paying attention extra credit: Visit Smooth Jazz and tell us one thing you learned about Alex Bugnon or Phil Perry

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Rate this blog on Alexa (Since we moved to a new domain this year, all our old ratings were lost and we have to start again)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - If you are on Klout, give us some Klout Love by giving @Tracy_Iglesias a +K

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Grab our NEW Button and put it on your Blog. Leave the URL where we can see it in a comment (if you have our old one, please swap it out, our URL address has changed!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow me @Tracy_Iglesias on Twitter (this is ascending butterfly’s editor) and give me your twitter ID in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @Ascending1 on Twitter (this is Ascending Butterfly's new account, we will soon be hosting twitter parties which necessitates having a second account so we can make updates throughout the entire party!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Tweet this:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ @Ascending1 #Win a pair of tickets to the @SmoothJazzNY Cruise Double Bill Encore Sail! #Giveaway 2 Winners!  http://tinyurl.com/42o7nwb

(Leave a comment with the tweet’s url so you can get a valid entry (click on the time your tweet was sent to get the direct URL and then copy and paste it here). You can Tweet TWICE per DAY. If you Tweet more than that, that entry will be disqualified.)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ – ‘Like’ Smooth Jazz New York (and don't forget to write on their wall that Ascending Butterfly sent you! I'm sure they'd also love to know who your favorite Jazz artist is) on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @SmoothJazzNY on Twitter HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Digg about this giveaway and leave your digg username in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fave this blog on Technorati and leave your Technorati user name in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - One Time Per Giveaway, Not Daily: Vote for Ascending Butterfly on: Fuel My Blog

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow/Like Ascending Butterfly on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's NEW Community/Real Time Chat, Group HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Subscribe to receive Ascending Butterfly emails using our Feedburner widget on the upper right hand side of the page below the follower thumbnail pictures! (If you are already a subscriber you will still receive extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Have you entered another active giveaway on Ascending Butterfly? Let me know which one and you’ll get more extra credit!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Have you commented on a non-giveaway entry? Let me know which one here and you’ll get more extra credit!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Press the button below and join, you get an extra entry for this giveaway and a shot at more great prizes, lets win together! (one time extra credit, will be verified before entry can be accepted)

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FTC Disclosure Info for this Giveaway: This is not a paid insertion. This is a non-compensated post and all opinions regarding the products are expressly my own experiences. I was provided tickets to facilitate my review and for the giveaway. The sponsor is fulfilling directly to prize winner(s), this in no way influenced my opinion of the product. Once a winner is selected and their information has been forwarded to the sponsor, the responsibility of prize fulfillment rests with the sponsor.

Today's Words of Inspiration: Keep The Dream Alive + Owe you some names!

@Greeting Card Universe

Today's Quote:

Your key to success today is to "keep the dream alive" no matter what obstacles you face. You may want to check in with yourself to see if you want to keep moving forward in the same direction, and if you have to change that direction, but don't give up if you feel challenged. Your feeling of your purpose or mission is likely to be stronger than usual today; heed that feeling.

Today's Challenge: Keep the Faith. The Faith in yourself, in your abilities, and in your Dreams. Let those dreams be the motivator to make the changes you need to make, to get what you want and deserve!

Today's Breathing Affirmation: Close your eyes, take a deep, slow breath in through your nose, and affirm "Today I will take action to move closer to making my dreams come true."

My apologies for the delay, but all the Dads N Grads Buying Guide Giveaways have finally been closed out, and winners have been drawn and notified. Once all winners confirm, I will post an official winners list for the ShenZhen Knives, SodaStream Genesis Soda Maker, Joya Shoes (5 winners!), as well as the Smooth Jazz NY Smooth Cruise Winners (2 winners!) Giveaways! If you haven't already done so, don't forget to enter our active giveaway for an Elliott Lucca Drawsting Crossbody Handbag in YOUR choice of color HERE.

If you haven't had a chance to read it, please make sure you check out the NY Women's Empowerment Summit 2011 Recap HERE. This is 16 of the most powerful and successful women in their fields who took time out of their busy schedules to help the Make A Wish Foundation who received the proceeds of the ticket sales, and to share their insights, wisdom and what inspires them! It was like having access to high power mentors, and the beauty of it is, that by reading the recap, you can get motivated to push aside your excuses to living the life you both want AND deserve.

I want all my Ascending Butterflies to feel empowered to reach for the stars! No matter what your goal is, I want you to come here everyday and find a new inspiration that helps you reach it!

What is your Dream? What star are you reaching for?

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The Night was Hot, The Jazz was Cool!

I have been falling in love with New York City all over again this summer! I've lived here my whole life and it took this summer for me to realize I had been taking my beloved City for granted. After attending BlogHer last week and watching other people's fascination with "The City That Never Sleeps", it reminded me of just how much there is to actually see and do here.

I've had an incredibly busy summer. More so in fact than I ever remember, but the highlight of my summer was this past Wednesday when I set sail on a Spirit Cruises Yacht around the Hudson River thanks to our friends at SmoothJazzNY. In June we hosted a giveaway with Smooth Jazz and you can see our original post HERE.

Oddly enough, I beleive both of Ascending Butterfly's winners set sail before we did! You can see the coverage on Single Mama NYC of her sailing HERE. She got some great shots!

'The Guitars & Saxes Smooth Cruise' was an amazing (sold out) concert (and I could see why!) that included: Peter White, Kirk Whalum, Jeff Golub and Gerald Albright and it was AMAZING! The concert was fantastic, and with all those musical guns firing I had no doubt it would be. Thankfully my sail companion suggested sitting outside and I am so glad we did. We sat on the upper level with a front facing table with amazing views, and were super stoked about the amazing attentiveness of the staff at Spirit, we availed ourselves of the tableside beverage service (which meant not having to get through the crowd or leave our coveted table!), And enjoyed the amazing views, amazing sounds and time spent just enjoying the journey. I was pleasantly surprised that there were some 'inspirational' songs played, and when the Yacht was returning to the pier, I was a bit sad to see my amazing journey come to an end, but also incredibly uplifted and very grateful!

One of my favorite parts of the concert is when the artists spoke about who inspires them and their sound, and Gerald Albright's funny anecdotes about married life. A jazz artist and a true gentleman with a very romantic spirit, if only he were single! (Any sax playing, romantic at heart, SINGLE men out there left?)

This was supposed to be our 'Sunday's Moment of Gratitude' post, but I actually, get ready to gasp now, took an ENTIRE day away from all things electronic to re-connect with friends I haven't seen since High School to enjoy a girls night out and go see Eat, Pray, Love. And I had a great time!

It had been way too long since I had some 'just me', 'breathe' and relaxation time and then this past week I was blessed with not just ONE but TWO girls nights out, isn't that cool? I'm definitely begining this week in a cup 'more than half full' frame of mind and it's a great place to be!

We definitely look forward to working with Smooth Jazz again next summer! THANK YOU!

Active Giveaway:

1) ENDING TODAY AT 3PM EST - ProFlowers Organic Extravaganza Fruit Basket Giveaway! HERE

Our next giveaway will be for everyone getting ready for Back to School, Stay Tuned!

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