Not only are we giving away a beautiful new home to the winner of the Choose Your Home Giveaway AND not only do you get to pick which house you would like to win... BUT you can also increase your chance to win by entering twice a day.

  Here is how it works:

1) First enter for a chance to win on MyHomeIdeas.com

2) Then enter for a second chance to wine on SouthernLiving.com (or visa versa)

After you enter and select your house, you can click right over to the registration page on the other site, or get to it from your thank-you/confirmation email.

(Please note: after your second entry, you will still get a thank-you email asking if you've gotten your second entry -- only this time you can rest assured you've gotten two chances today and just remember to come back tomorrow!)

We hope you are enjoying the Giveaway and as the houses are being completed, check back to our blog for progress and more behind-the-scenes details.

Want to let us know what you think? Leave a comment on the blog or post on our Choose Your Home message boards.

The Twilight Run at Habersham was such a success that there were over 800 people at the event  and more than 500 tickets sold to the Oyster Roast. Lemme see - say each person eats a dozen oysters.... that's about 6,000 oysters. Bad for the oysters, good for the community. The race raised about $10,000 for Habersham's new Charter School.

With a course that ran beneath the majestic live oaks, alongside the marsh, and through the market square, it's no wonder the race timer company said it was one of the most beautiful courses and one of the best organized races he’d ever been involved with. 

Habersham is expecting well over 1,000 people for next year’s race.  Enter to win the Sugarberry Cottage in the CHOOSE YOUR HOME GIVEAWAY SWEEPSTAKES, and you might just find yourself on the finish line - no worries for non-runners, there's a 3k fun walk too - that might just be where I am. 

Not an oyster fan? Try these other Lowcountry Flavors from Myrecipes.com and Coastal Living.

Despite the forecast for rain, the outlook for fun at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, is always sunny. Tune in to the Weather Channel for an all-day extravaganza focusing on the exciting things happening at Callaway Gardens this Spring.

In celebration of The Weather Channel’s

“Why I Love Spring” series, 

Correspondent Julie Martin will be live from

Callaway Gardens’ Overlook Azalea Garden

(which is at PEAK) from (Eastern time)

7:00 a.m. to Noon. Along with expert gardner,

Hank Bruno, she'll be offering tips on planting and caring for these southern garden staples.

To learn even more, click here to check out all the great information from Southern Living on tending to these southern garden staples. 

Missed the morning segment? Julie will also be broadcasting from the Callaway Gardens Plant Fair & Sale from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. 

More fun stuff to watch for: Information on planting and caring for spring annuals with education director Patricia Collins and a peak inside Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center—the largest in North America. 

Maybe you'll even get a glimpse of the Choose Your Home Giveaway House at Camp Callaway.

It's coming along nicely. We'll be photographing the finished

project in just a few weeks. (Oh I can't WAIT to see it!) In the meantime,

don't forget to enter everyday at Myhomeideas.com and SouthernLiving.com. If you win, you'll get a first-hand look at these gorgeous gardens anytime you want.

The Choose Your Home Giveaway Sweepstakes begins MONDAY!!!!! Go ahead and change your homepage to MyHomeIdeas.com or SouthernLiving.com so you won't forget to enter EVERYDAY. That's right! You can enter to win everyday. Call your friends. Post it on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. The more people you tell, the more chances you have to win (or get invited for a long weekend from a grateful friend!)

  

With the practice facilities at Traditons Club Club in Bryan/College Station, Texas,

 I can see myself taking up the sport.

A state-of-the-art practice facility (rendering above) set upon 900 acres of rolling Texas countryside and a Jack Nicklaus-designed course (and another in the works) makes it easy to see why so many people fall in love with the sport—especially at the Traditions Club in Texas. And, from the looks of their course, and the nice, oh-so-patient people that would help me out, I can picture myself on the tee-box. Really. What could be better than hanging out with your buddies, getting a little exercise, and having a few laughs in the great outdoors? Click here to take a look at the course, the web designers for Traditions have done an amazing virtual flyover.

The even better news is, Southern Living is building one of their Choose Your Home Giveaway homes here. Unfortunately I can't enter, but I'm asking every friend I know to pick their favorite spot. And, if one of my buddies wins the Texas Casita there's no doubt I'll be practicing my swing. DON'T FORGET TO ENTER!!!  It all starts March 23rd on Southernliving.com and MyHomeIdeas.com

"Sustaining and caring for the environment has always been the mission of Callaway Gardens....That is why we have partnered wtih Pine Mountain Builders, a leader in green building and sustainable living."

          The current buzz word is getting more mainstream thanks to people such as the                 folks at Pine Mountain Builders, builders for the the Southern Living Choose Your Home Giveaway, Camp Callaway House in Callaway Gardens, Georgia, (and builders for all of the other residential developments). Pine Mountain Builders eat, breathe, and sleep the Green stuff. The devoted, innovative, and excited team adheres to the high standards set by EarthCraft House, a green building program that considers every aspect of energy efficiency and its environmental impact.

"

Don't forget to enter to win beginning March 23rd. Click here for more info.

The Time Changes This Weekend! Spring Forward!

It's my favorite time of the year! The time changes this Sunday. That means longer days, more sunshine, a chance to get out and enjoy the great outdoors after work. And a perfect time of year for Habersham to kick off a Twilight Run and fundraiser for Riverview, their new charter school (check it out - good to know, they're hiring teachers - find a job and a new home!)

While you're there, cruise by the Southern Living Choose Your Home Giveaway House and admire the progress. Want a cool house and a great school? Sign up for the run and the sweepstakes. Beginning March 23, you can enter to win the house at myhomeideas.com or southernliving.com. In the meantime, enjoy the view, the oysters, and the fine company of the residents of Habersham, South Carolina.

Yummy? You bet.

I'm not sure what's on the menu at the North American Truffle Festival at Whisper Mountain this week.

But who knew the gnarly little nubs could taste so good?

Check out this truffle recipe and more from MyRecipes.com: Truffle-Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Troy and Charlie Ball, owners of Whisper Mountain, are hosting the North American Truffle Festival this year. Not the chocolate kind mind you - but the deliciously, smoky, delicate fungal variety prized by chefs and epicureans all over the world. It starts on March 5 with four chef dinners and a gala at the Ball's house in Asheville and on site at Whisper Mountain. With amazing menus, perfect wine pairings, and a truffle-hunting demonstration with trained, truffle-hunting dogs (the Balls are planting an orchard on property), as well as celebrity guests (rumors, rumors, everywhere!), there's no doubt it will be an event that the Balls, the property owners, and guests will be talking about long after the last bit of flavor has been absorbed. Oh I wish I could go, but I will be living vicariously through their live feed of the dinners and grower's forum and will be anticipating stories and photos to share with you after the event. To learn more and get your tickets, click here.

Still not sure what a truffle is? Here's what I found on Wikipedia.

From Wikipedia:

A truffle (IPA: /ˈtrʌfəl̩/) is a fungal fruiting body that develops underground and relies on mycophagy for spore dispersal. Almost all truffles are ectomycorrhizal and are therefore usually found in close association with trees.

There are hundreds of species of truffles, but the fruiting body of some (mostly in the genusTuber.) are highly prized as a food by humans. Brillat-Savarin called these truffles "the diamond of the kitchen". Edible truffles are held in high esteem in French, northern Italian andIstrian cooking, as well as in international haute cuisine.