upping the reward ante

Hacienda Tres Rios Resort, Spa & Nature Park, Riviera Maya, México  has added (2) one hour massages to the already kick you-know-what two night, Endless Luxury, all-inclusive stay they donated. The value of the two night stay is $1440 without the two massages and it's available with a $695 pledge to The Global Citizen Project. Hello, deal! Here are the details about the stay - and yes, I've stayed here and can whole-heartedly recommend it.

Chef/owner Michael Jones of Cachagua General Store in Carmel Valley, CA has also thrown something pretty awesome into the reward mix. Michael has already pledged TGCP, rallied his entire family to pledge TGCP, rallied friends near and far to pledge TGCP and donated dinner for two at his restaurant. Tonight, he offered up dinner for two , including wine from Dan Lee of Morgan Winery fame for anyone who pledges $100 or more. If you can get to Carmel Valley, I cannot recommend Michael's restaurant enough. It's more than a meal - it's an experience, and if you're a foodie, one not to be missed. Here's everything you need to know about why the Store is my fave restaurant on the Monterey Peninsula - and well beyond the (831) area code.

Big huge thanks to Hacienda Tres Rios and Michael Jones for believing in my project and for sweetening some already sweets deals.

i heart michael jones of cachagua general store. thank you.

"Funding Charyn is like an NPR pledge drive: you listen to Car Talk every week, yet still resist $1 a week to fund all of NPR for a year. I see The Global Citizen Project as a test of Facebook: - can we as a community support own of our own? What are friends for? I ask you for the price of a beer for Charyn, so that a talented writer can go off to worlds unknown and awful, work her butt off...and tell us about it. Please." --Michael Jones, Chef/Owner Cachagua General Store, Carmel Valley, CA

pledge tgcp. get cool rewards.

I have several great tokens of appreciation for your pledges to The Global Citizen Project. Since new items are being being added regularly (or being pledged out of rotation), here's a grandmaster update of what your pledge can get you if TGCP is fully funded by its February 22 deadline. (I'm a list girl.) If anyone has anything they'd like to donate to the reward list, I am promoting all items via Facebook, Twitter, this blog and the Kickstarter fundraising page.

Any pledge amount: Coupon for one free beer at Watch City Brewing Company in Waltham, MA

$10 pledge: A handwritten postcard from Seattle (a.k.a. Emerald City)

$25 pledge: Theo Chocolate Bread and Dark Chocolate Bar (artisanal chocolate made in Seattle)

$50 pledge: Dinner at my house – either slow-cooked pork or my damn good chili OR half a pound of Lighthouse Roasters Coffee (from Seattle)

$80 pledge: The Seattle TourSaver 2010. TourSaver® is an easy-to-use travel discount book, with over 115 buy-one-get-one free Seattle travel deals for Seattle, San Juan Islands and Victoria BC.

$100 pledge: Dinner for two at Cachagua General Store in Carmel Valley, CA OR handwritten postcards from all 12 volunteer destinations.

$250 pledge: An overnight stay at Hotel Monaco or Hotel Vintage Park, both Kimpton boutique properties in Seattle.

$1000 pledge: Hand-picked tsotchkes from all 12 volunteer destinations. (Specific requests will try to be accommodated).

$1500 pledge: You pick one of my volunteer projects.

$1500 pledge: A three-night stay at Four Seasons Resort Lana'i at Manele Bay in an Ocean View Room. (The value of this stay is $2,849.75.)

new backer reward - dinner for two at cachagua general store (carmel valley, ca)

Cachagua General Store is hands down my favorite restaurant/dining experience on the Monterey Peninsula. Open for dinner on Monday nights only, there a million reasons why I love Chef/owner Michael Jones, but his culinary rockstar skills and kick ass friendship top the list. (Our recent foodie tour de force of Seattle was an afternoon for the records.) It also doesn’t hurt that he put this super delish salad on the menu: Charyn’s Roast Baby Beet Salad with Coconut Chevre and Balsamic Reduction. Mmm…Michael has already pledged The Global Citizen Project and rallied several other donations from Carmel Valley and Philadelphia folks and also decided to offer dinner for two. He’s one heckuva cheerleader and I’m glad he’s on my team. If you know about Cachagua General Store, I know you love it, and if you don’t, I’d love to use this opportunity to turn you onto one of the best dining experiences you will ever have. Getting there is an adventure, but the reasonably priced wine list and menu that spans everything from Fresh Sardine Bocadillo with Mojito Mayonaisa and Mesquite Grilled DuRoc Farms Baby Back Pork Ribs to Micah’s Pizza with Crème Fraiche, Corralitos Ham, Carmelized Onions, Fresh Basil, Fresh and Domestic Mushrooms and Niman Ranch Lamb Chops with Mint Molé, as well as friendliest dining vibe you’ll ever find will make you an instant believer. Pinky swear.

Want to learn more about The Store? Read the reviews on Yelp or check out their Facebook Fan Page.