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UPDATE: Congratulations to Birdie in Southern California for being comment #1838, which was randomly selected to win the Labor Day Gotta Haves. Thanks to everyone for sharing the great memories. We hope every has a memorable Labor Day this year!
What’s on your “Gotta Have” list for Labor Day festivities? Here’s ours:
- Grass-fed beef. Get the scoop on grass-fed and try these burgers!
- Smokey Blue cheese – topping a burger or on its own.
- Heirloom tomatoes. So many ways to slice ‘em.
- Sprouted grain buns. Trending up.
- Veggie burgers. Satisfy all your guests.
- Side salads. Potato, coleslaw, pasta or grain.
- Homemade sangria. Our fave recipe.
- Fruit kabobs. Tasty treats for everyone.
- Ice cream cookie sandwiches – decadent.
- Biodegradable plates, forks, spoons and knives.
To celebrate the end of summer, we’re giving away a bag filled with all of the ingredients needed for these “gotta haves” – enough for a Labor Day party for 8 to 10. Fun! We’re also throwing in a $50 gift card so you can load up on your favorite condiments — think ketchup, mayo, mustard, pickles, relish — and any other gotta haves for a perfect end-of-summer party.
To enter, simply share a little about your most memorable summer. Maybe it was the summer you learned to drive, or the year you took that sightseeing road trip with the family. Maybe it was a summer spent as an exchange student or the summer consumed with learning about young love. Share the year if you dare date yourself!
Whatever it was, let us know in the comments below by August 31st and we’ll choose one lucky commenter at random to receive a blowout Labor Day Gotta Haves package.
One catch: since many of these items are perishable (like awesome grass-fed ground beef!), to be eligible for the prize you must be able to pick up your winnings from one of our stores. We’ll notify the winner by email on September 1st, and you can pick up your prize from September 2nd through the 5th at your local Whole Foods Market store.
So, let’s hear it! What was your most memorable summer?
September 1st, 2010 at 11:39 am
It was August and the height of the Perseid Meteor shower. Since both my father and I were up late, we walked down the high school sport field and watched the meteors. We talked about the shower itself, life and everything between.
September 1st, 2010 at 1:02 pm
My best summer was in the year of 2008. My husband, best friends, and I packed up the car and left San Antonio to visit the Grand Canyon. We stopped over a couple days in Las Cruces, NM. Camped out a a national park close to Las Cruces and hiked up the Organ Mountains to a site where an old hotel used to be. Then, we left to go on to Flagstaff, where we planned to stay. Flagstaff was SO beautiful and the sites were great. It was such and inviting city nestled in the mountains. Seeing the Grand Canyon was like looking at a painting. The image was surreal. It really felt like it was neverending going into the horizon. Seeing the sites and being with great company made it one of the best summers of my life. I can’t wait to take another long trip with all of us together.
September 1st, 2010 at 1:25 pm
10:15 pm riding home in back seat of my parents’car from the swimming pool, wearing my speedo swimsuit from the diving meet earlier that moringing, with my diving ribbon (I placed 2nd regionally).
September 1st, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Summer of ‘79. O was a little girl in the Bronx visiting family. I felt so much love and had big fun!
September 1st, 2010 at 2:01 pm
My most memorable summer was a few years ago and it was my first trip to Italy. In addition to the beauty and culture, it was a food explosion for me. From the tapas like dishes in Venice, to the wonderfully Mediterranean simple and flavorful dishes of the Almafi Coast, to the spicy excitement of the Calabria/Sicilian region and to the delectable choices of gelato in Rome. I just didn’t want this trip to end!
September 1st, 2010 at 4:06 pm
My most memorable summer was in June 2009.It’s the summer I reached my lowest point, and then gave my life to God.I’ll never ever ever forget it.ever.It’s the summer I God got my head straight and I became a better mother & wife
September 1st, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Labor day weekend 2000 spent in Panama City FL. First time vacation with my girlfriend to the white sandy beaches of the gulf of Mexico.
September 1st, 2010 at 5:51 pm
September 1st, 2010 at 5:49 pm
I grew up in Manhattan and that, as you might imagine, is a very different world from how most grew up – including my mother. My mother grew up in Orange Texas, near Beaumont TX about as far from NYC as one could get.
Each summer many of my friends from school would go on vacations to europe, go to crazy camps – tennis camp, horseback riding camp, etc. Each summer, my parents sent me to Hemphill, TX, where my grandparents lived from when I was 7 to 14. I would spend the bulk of my summer seeing a totally different way of life from my school year life. My days were filled with visiting the neighbors’ kids for extended outdoor time, swims in the lakes, learning to grow tomatoes, build dollhouses, play cards and make potholders. But really learning that happiness was more about family, creativity and simplicity. My friends there were just as happy with their hand-me-down toys as my super-spoiled friends in NY who had the latest of everything. It was in Texas that I learned to drive, to swim, to be a child and have fun.
My grandfather was the cook and would make the most beautiful meals from ingredients from his own garden or his neighbors – and this was b/f organic and local were “hot.” To him, it was just the way you lived. He made me promise that anything he put in front of me, I would try, no matter how it looked. And 20+ years later, I still hold to that.
My Nana and Papa are sadly long gone, but the lessons, fun, tastes and just joy of summers in Hemphill Texas remain. I just hope I can impart that same kind of love on my children and grandchildren (when I have them).
yours,
Alexandra
September 2nd, 2010 at 12:24 am
Hands down…has to be the summer of learning to make fresh peach ice cream. NOTHING better…each one of us got to take a turn on the hand crank to help. Seemed as if it took hours and hours. Helping ice the bucket…crank…crank…Hot summer in the San Joaquin Valley. Family around you. Off to go take a dip in the creek. Back to check out the barrel and ask one more time…”Is it ice cream yet”…And finally all of the hard work pays off…Fresh from the tree peach ice cream…
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Who Won?
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:18 am
SO WHO WON THE CONTEST?????
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:16 am
Will you please post who won the contests, there were a lot of great entries so I know your choice was hard.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:47 am
@ Azure, Beverly and Patricia My apologies for the delay! We just posted congratulations to Birdie in Southern California for being comment #1838, which was randomly selected to win the Labor Day Gotta Haves. Thanks to everyone for sharing the great memories!
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