***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries – see who won below!***
After an astonishing 18,018 entries across two posts (the first post reached capacity at 10,680 comments, so we opened a second), we finally have a winner in our biggest giveaway yet. To ensure fairness we used random.org to pick a number between 1 and 18,018 and matched it to the corresponding comment across both posts. We also confirmed the winning entry had no duplicates via our WordPress dashboard. And now for the good news: the winner of the $500 West Elm gift card is… CATHERINE, who left her winning comment on the continued thread. Congratulations, Catherine — enjoy your shopping!
It turned out our original $500 blogiversary giveaway post hit its comment limit. While the earlier comments remain part of the drawing, the original thread can no longer accept new entries. If you already entered there, do not enter again on that post — duplicate entries would be invalidated.
We created a second post to accept new entries from readers who hadn’t yet entered. That continuation accepted comments until the giveaway closed at 8pm EST on Wednesday, September 21st or until it reached 10,000 comments, whichever came first. Below is a summary of the giveaway details and how entries were collected.
- PRIZE: A $500 gift card to West Elm.
- TO ENTER: Comment on the post with the words “WEST ME.”
- BONUS QUESTION: Since we’re celebrating four years of blogging, tell us how your life is different from 2007. Do you live somewhere new? Have a different job? New relationship? Or maybe just a fresh haircut or tattoo?
- GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, September 21st at 8pm EST.
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: One.
- PRIZE SHIPS: The 50 United States (we do try to include international giveaways when possible).
- USUAL STUFF: One entry per email address. The winner was selected using random.org and announced as an update on the post. Please check the post for the official announcement.
Note: We were not paid or given perks to host this giveaway — it’s our way of saying thanks to readers. Giveaway images provided by West Elm. See our Giveaway FAQ for more information.