Are you excited for THE BAKE SALE?

Update: The bake sale is over. If you missed it, I will make you an offer Monday or Tuesday that you can’t refuse.  Click here to see how much we’ve raised for Suzie so far.

Do you know what time it is?  The online bake sale fundraiser for Suzie is tomorrow!  *happy dance*  I’m so excited and anxious to open the sale up to everyone because there are so many delicious treats that have been donated, and certainly something for everyone.  And I do mean everyone, even international readers!  I should start calling it an “Everything Sale” as there are now jellies, salsa, and even a signed cookbook in the mix!  I’ve kept the list of goodies updated as new donations came in, so you can preview everything here while you’re waiting for the sale to officially open. 

I am still accepting donations of baked goods (or other) until midnight tonight.  I will be getting home from work and checking my email at that time to update the bake sale draft.  All I will need is what you are donating, how much of it, a photo, and a link to the recipe if you have a blog and have posted it.

The bake sale will begin at 8 am CST on Friday, November 2nd, and will go all day until 10 pm CST.

I know many of you are curious as to how an online bake sale works, so here’s an outline of the Rules and Logistics, so you have a clear idea of how this works.

Online Bake Sale Rules & Logistics

First of all, please keep in mind that all donations go directly to Suzie to help her pay her medical bills.  Her health is improving but she still has at least one surgery she is facing and all the money raised is going to help her pay for it.  Most fundraisers benefit charity organizations and you never know which person/people your donation might be helping, but in this case you are directly helping a military mama whose first grandchild was born the same week she came down ill.  I thank everyone who is going to help her get well enough to meet her new grand-baby and keep going for all those who need her, including me. :)

Suzie is in the middle with her son next to her.

On Friday, November 2nd (tomorrow!) at 8 am CST, I will post all the items each baker has donated.  Each item will have a minimum bid of $15.  Once the items are officially posted all buyers will then e-mail vraklis@yahoo.com with a bid of what they would like to purchase.

To have an official bid on an item you must e-mail me at vraklis@yahoo.com.  Any bids left in the comments section will not be reviewed, only bids e-mailed will be considered official and affirmative.

Think of the bid as a silent auction of sorts. All buyers will have until 10pm CST to submit their bid for the auction, and can bid as many times as they want.

I will be updating the current bids at the bottom of the bake sale post throughout the day so that you can see the current high bid. I am hoping this will encourage others to bid higher for the items they really want or bid for items that have not had a bid yet.

I will notify the winners by email and each winner will then donate the specified amount on Suzie’s fundraising page.  Once the donation goes through I will e-mail the baker the winner’s address and it will be the baker’s responsibility to send the baked goods to the winner within 72 hours.

The winner has 24 hours to make the online donation. If in that time frame the donation is not made, the next highest bidder will be contacted.

If you have any questions, you can leave them in the comments below, and I hope to see you at the bake sale tomorrow! :)

Wait, you didn’t think I’d forget to announce the A Family Farm in Tuscany cookbook winner, did you?  OK, so I almost did. ;)  Congratulations to Kelly D, who said, “I like Eggplant Parmesan.”  A girl after my own heart. <3