Happy New Year!!!

(Isn't this pretty? It's from Christmashat)

H(app)y Days - Foodie Apps!

I've basically created a separate App page on my iPod Touch with these Food and Recipe apps!

Serving Sizer - This is quite handy, literally. You can adjust by serving size, halve, double, triple or custom. A keeper!

All Recipes.com Dinner Spinner - Spin and match in three categories - Dish type, Ingredients, Ready In (which also includes Slow Cooker). It even makes a spinning sound. Love this one, too!

Woman's Day Cooking Assistant - At the top you'll get recipes from the sponsor - this month, Knorr. There are also almost daily entries with recipes. You can search within the app by Cuisine, Course, Main Ingredient, Cooking Method, Holiday recipes, Quick & Easy, Budget recipes and Low Calorie. Also a shopping list and Tips & Tools (cooking time calculator, kitchen equipment, vegetable prep, weights and measurements, herbs and spices dictionary, and kitchen tips). Another favorite!

Betty Crocker Mobile Cookbook - I love Betty Crocker's recipes and cookbooks. You can search recipes or search by ingredient. Special button tabs for "Surprise Me" "Favorites" and "Email" (I like that feature). So far, all of these are staying on the top row.

Food Network - Red and black "Nighttime" page shows up with the channel's shows. Yes, but wait - Click on the show and it lists episodes with video excerpts. Whoa! Click on the Recipes tab and you can search Foodnetwork.com's recipes. The loaded current page is "Our Holiday Favorites" with Appetizers, Mains, Sides, Baking, Desserts, Leftovers and Browse Holiday Videos categories. The On TV tab gives you today's programming. Click on the More tab and get "Most Viewed, Latest Videos, Highest Rated, Search, Favorites and Share App. I clicked on Share App and got the message box "Exit App to Share? Cancel /OK" Which takes you to your iTouch inbox to send a link for the app to your friends. This will stick around for awhile, too.

Big Oven - This app connects you to BigOven.com website with over 170,000 recipes. There is an active ad bar on the bottom of the page. Probably the most "meh" one.

McCormick Recipe Finder - Browse and Search Recipes buttons, along with one to star your favorites. The Browse button takes you to Recipe Collections (featuring McCormick spices, natch) with a good number of recipes per category including Appetizers and Snacks, Beverages, Breads and Muffins, Breakfast and Brunch, Casseroles, Desserts, Gravies/Sauces/Condiments, Main Dish, Other, Salads, Side Dish, Slow Cooker, Soups, Vegetables. Breads and Muffins had 28 recipes alone. Bonus points for the slow cooker recipes. You could get lost in this app for awhile.

Epi Epicurious - Search/Favorites/Shopping List tabs. Categories on main page are Weeknight
Dinners, Decadent Dessserts, Cool Cocktails, Healthy Lunches, and product-sponsored Beer+Food Duos (Stella Artois) and Holiday Helpings (Helmann's). Wonder if they will change? For the many, many recipes (Healthy Lunches had 396), it loads very quickly and smoothly.

Spark Recipes - Healthy Recipes - Browse by category -- Course, Cuisine, Dietary Needs, Occasion -- and subcategories. Bottom tabs include star Favorites and Videos. The recipe and technique videos are by Chef Meg Galvin, along with the recipes. Honestly, I've never heard of her before. This app will be fun to poke around in, though.

Whole Foods - Like that "On Hand" tab along with the Search, Favorites, Locations and List ones. Search with pull down menus by Course/Category/Special Diets and the ubiquitous app spinner wheel. I'm not sure what its official term is. I've found it on many apps.

Simply Organic - I have seen this brand in different stores. This app has recipes, random recipe spin and coupons you can have them email to you. 20 recipe categories, a shopping list, store finder (though I think driving 165 miles to Corpus Christi for one location is a bit much!)

Fresh Fruit - Save money and keep the best taste with this app. It features each month's best fresh fruit with lots of cool information. The Search or the All buttons helps you find "strawberries" listed directly instead of flipping through the months. No recipes.

Urbanspoon - When you want to eat out instead of at home!

Thursday Tea Time

This week: Allegro Nilla Nut Dream

Cost: $4.99 at Whole Foods

Number of teabags: 20 - individually wrapped in paper envelopes. Odd, given that Whole Foods is all about less paper waste, but the box is designed with an alternative half-moon opening for individual dispensing. The teabag also has the drawstring feature to help force out the extra water - but it promptly pulled right out.
Caffeine: Yes
Type of tea: Black, organic
Steeping time: 3-5 minutes, I did 4
Double Dipper potential: Didn't try
Mix ins: Honey, milk, a sprinkle of cinnamon -- I sort of followed their directions for a "Tea Latte" to that extent, but not using their suggested two (!) teabags in 8 ounces.
Teabag fragrance: Very faint - vanilla, hazelnut, maple?
Ingredients: Organic black tea with vanilla, hazelnut, maple and cinnamon natural flavorings.
Taste: Smooth, but with an odd, bitter aftertaste
My opinion: I was surprised I wasn't that thrilled with it. I bought it for the idea of a "Tea Latte" and the cinnamon and maple flavorings, but didn't really taste anything outstanding. The surprisingly unpleasant aftertaste - : P

Rating: 0.5 teabags out of 5. 0.5 given only because it is organic and I like their idea of adding a sprinkle of cinnamon to the other teas I like. (Maybe even a dash of cocoa powder, too?)

It's not too late --

To download and visit this year's holiday cookies at http://www.butterisbest.com/ ! Click here for the direct link. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Eight new cookie recipies, which sound good to me anytime of the year:

• Mount Rainier Macaroons
• Wintermint Wafers
• Almond Butter Buckeyes
• Apple Cider Buttons
• Gold Rush Bars
• Pistachio Biscochitos
• Chocolate Butter Pecans
• Bananas Foster Bars

Netflix Stars - 500 Days of Summer

3/5 - It was OK. I didn't think it lived up to the hype. Still an interesting movie, though. Loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance and seeing the romantic tables turned. And I loved Summer's retro wardrobe - all in shades of blue.

Head's Up!

THUNK! Was how I started my day yesterday. Falling out of bed and landing on my head. No small feat given these new beds and mattress sets are up high (30") and the new comforter on top of the higher count sheets (thank you, Costco for stocking those sateen sheets at such a good price) made for a slippery slope. Fortunately I broke my fall somewhat with my arms and missed the nightstand, but still knocked myself upside the left side of my head.

So plans to regroup and reboot the sewing room will begin anew today. I safely got out of bed this morning. . .

Next time, a kick in the pants will suffice, thank you.

Netflix Stars - Paper Heart

5/5! Could not stop smiling and laughing for the entire movie! A docu-medy on "true love", you can watch the real-life romance blossom between Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera, from the very first time they meet. SO CUTE!!! If you liked the couples on "When Harry Met Sally," you will love this.

H(app)y Days - Fashion Apps!

Fashion edition! (All these apps are free!)

Macy's iShop - Fun to shop the different departments, check out the sales and see what the top-starred items are...but the main reason I snagged this app was for the In-store Savings Pass. However, it remains to be seen first, if and when there is a pass available, I'm getting the message to check back later. And secondly, if the store will accept a flash of the iTouch. I have problems enough with the clerks taking the newspaper's coupons. There are also updated coupon codes for online shopping.

Style.com - Fashion show videos, "Look of the Day" and Style File, a source of fashion blogs with updated posts -- Wherein you can get a peek at the White House Blue Room's Christmas tree skirt, designed by Natalie Chanin - bonus!

Chic Feed - Photos from The Sartorialist, Face Hunter, Jak and Jill Blog, Cherry Blossom Girl, LookBook and Altamira. However, you have to scroll through them all unless you adjust the settings. Takes a long time to load. This app is getting deleted.

Channel - Grab if only for the logo icon! You get the fashion shows, news (load time is very slow and you need to be wifi'd) and store locator (as if, but I'll be ready!)

Net-a-Porter - I like how it is divided into What's New -- all, clothing, bags, shoes, accessories; the magazine -- if only to get a head's up on the cutting edge.

Netflix Stars - Body of Lies

3.5/5 - Ooh, Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe (albeit a little pudgy). And you usually can't go wrong with an up-to-date, suspenseful, political thriller movie by Ridley Scott.

Netflix Stars - Taking Woodstock

0/5 - This was just stinko! We gave it 15 minutes, which was probably 10 minutes longer than we should have because we usually like Eugene Levy and wanted to see Mamie Gummer, Meryl's daughter. We gave up and put it back in the envelope. Maybe it got better? Maybe not. Another case of the trailers being better than the movie.

Susan Boyle album for $3.99!

Amazon is having another $3.99 MP3 album download deal for the Susan Boyle "I Dreamed A Dream" All 12 songs for $3.99!

H(app)y Days - Newsy

More cool apps I've found for my new iPod Touch!

New York Times - The latest headlines, plus most popular/most emailed article links. Sections include World, U.S., Politics, NY, Business, Technology, Science, Health, Opinion, Sports, Arts, Books, Movies, Fashion and Style, Dining, Travel, Real Estate, Automobiles, Obituaries, Week in Review, and T Magazine. Bonus points for all the content and fast loading.

Conserva - Fox News, Drudge Report Lite, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Washington Times, headline feeds and links. I got this mostly for Drudge Report Lite and for Fox News. The Fox links can be a little pokey. Fox News Radio has TuneKast and you can listen live. Not a bad overall news app.

USA Today - Has The Weather Channel weather for your current location and favorite locations. Surprisingly this app loads fast.

AccuWeather - I know there is already a preloaded local weather app, but I like the additional AccuWeather one. It gives hourly and 15 day forecasts, plus has Risk (disruptive weather potential for t-storms, rain, snow, ice, wind and fog) , Alarms and Alerts (National Weather Service advisories, warnings, watches). Always a great conversation starter, the weather.

Drudge Pro - Loads faster than clicking on Drudge Report Lite via Conserva and you get the photos.

Times Square Live - Webcam feeds from Times Square. This is just fun! It was really cool to see the snow the other day.

GeoCamera2 - After getting all excited about the Times Square Live app, I found this one with Global webcam feeds. It's a little hard to figure out right away (and slow to load). I'm still in the "Let's push this button" phase.

iNet - One app, lots of links. Search engines, news, email, social networks, magazines and more. I am having fun going to the local TV news webpage links all across the country.

TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog - News, App Reviews, Accessories

Netflix Stars - All About Steve

3.0/5 - Silly, somewhat mean-spirited humor, but at the same time slightly endearing. And not quite the ending you would expect. A good back up movie for your Netflix queue. We couldn't find the special features the Netflix page mentions - gag reel, featurettes, etc. - listed on our disc menu.

Netflix Stars - Easy Virtue

4.5/5 stars! L and I loved this movie, which is set in 1920's England. Quirky, yet surprisingly funny. Great acting by Jessica Biel, who holds her own in the company of Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas A very enjoyable sleeper selection for your queue. Be sure to watch the special features section for bloopers and the New York premier interviews.

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

New Year's Sale - December 31/January 3, 2010

McCall's 99 cents
Vogue $3.99
50% off thread and buttons

Thursday Tea Time

Holiday Time!

This week - Celestial Seasonings Gingerbread Spice

Cost: $2.99 at Whole Foods, on sale at Target $1.77

Number of teabags: 20 - individually sealed in attached double paper bags

Caffeine: No

Type of tea: Herbal

Steeping time: 4 - 6 minutes

Double Dipper potential: Didn't try

Mix ins: Sugar and milk

Teabag fragrance: Ginger

Ingredients: Cinnamon, ginger, roasted chicory root, roasted barley malt, natural flavors (contains soy lecithin) and luo han guo.

Taste: Pretty darn close to gingerbread!

My opinion: Luo Han Guo is the next potential darling on the sweetener front. It's a Chinese herb with sweetening properties. Therefore, you don't have to add as much sugar, if you normally do. Overall, another very cool Celestial Seasonings tea -- it does smell and taste like gingerbread!

Rating: 4 teabags out of 5. I would definitely buy this again next year.

H(app)y Days - More New Favorites

New favorite iPod Touch apps --

Byline -RSS viewer with 2-way Google Reader syncing. Perfect for keeping up with my blogs and favorite websites on the go. Even though it is $3.99; it was worth it for me with the iTouch because you can view your feeds offline. I moved it to my main start-up page!

Marquee (99 cents) - Create your own moving sign or use several preloaded messages.

Touch Hockey FS5 (Free) - Play against the computer or with an opponent on your iTouch.

SearchTrends (Free) - Fun to see the real-time Google, Yahoo!, Bing searches and the latest Twitters.

Paper Toss (Free) - More challenging than you think. Over 10,000 ratings can't be wrong.

Boggle ($1.99) - A bit of a learning curve to get used to the touch, but then lots of fun.

Today's Costco Find

"I love your Uggs!" said the girl at The Teahouse over the weekend, as L and I were knocking back tapioca teas. Actually this Costco find was from late last week. Kirkland Signature "Tall Shearling Boots" are a dead-ringer for the Ugg boots. And at only $34.99; you won't see the big bucks rung up on the register. They come in Grey, Chestnut, Chocolate and Black.

Costco also has the same style in a slipper, which again looks just like my friend's Ugg clogs. $19.99!

Grab them quickly, there were lots of people (ahem!) going deep to find their size and color. (I did pile the boxes back nicely.)

Guilty Pleasure...

...The Wendy Williams Show! Joel McHale on "The Soup" often makes fun of her, but she is actually a very entertaining and an intelligent woman to watch. Just check out the demographics of the audience. I heart her!!

How ya doin?

Netflix Stars - Four Christmases

2/5 (barely, only because we watched it all the way through) We thought it would be better. Despite an all-star cast, the dysfunctional family members and meanspiritedness was a downer and really not that funny. Disappointed.

20 Free Holiday Songs LP download from iTunes!

iTunes is offering "Holiday Sampler" -- a 20 song LP available for downloading now - FREE! Grab it quickly, available this week only.

O Come All Ye Faithful – Amy Grant...The First Noel – David Archuleta...Silent Night – Sarah McLachlan...Carol of the Bells/Jingle Bells – Barry Manilow...It Snowed – Meaghan Smith...Above the Northern Lights – Manheim Steamroller...Baby It’s Cold Outside – Lady Antebellum...We Three Kings – Toby Keith...God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Rascal Flatts...Silent Night – Wynonna...12 Days of Christmas – Mexicani Marimba Band...We Wish You a Merry Christmas – Weezer...A Snowflake Fell (and It Felt Like a Kiss) – Glasvegas...Another Christmas Song – Stephen Colbert...Greensleeves – Vince Guaraldi...Dream a Dream – Charlotte Church...The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act 2: Character Dances – Kirov Orchestra & Valery Gergiev...Angels We Have Heard on High – Aretha Franklin...O Holy Night – Musiq Soulchild...Auld Lang Syne – The Lonesome Travelers

Light a candle tomorrow. . .

The annual Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting event is tomorrow, Sunday, December 13 at 7 PM. You can either attend an event or quietly light a candle at home. Join the friends and families around the world as candles are lit from 7 PM to 8 PM, your local time, in remembrance of children who have died.

Thursday Tea Time

Holiday Time!

Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane

Cost: $2.99 at Whole Foods, on sale at Target $1.77

Number of teabags: 20 - individually sealed in attached double paper bags

Caffeine: No

Type of tea: Green

Steeping time: 4 - 6 minutes

Double Dipper potential: Yes, just let it set a couple extra minutes.

Mix ins: Sugar and milk

Teabag fragrance: CANDY CANES!

Ingredients: Peppermint leaves, decaffeinated green tea, orange peel, natural vanilla and mint flavors with other natural flavors, cinnamon, milk thistle, blackberry leaves, roasted carob, roasted chicory and vanilla bean.

Taste: Really tastes just like a candy cane. Nice and smooth - must be the vanilla and the blackberry leaves with a touch of cinnamon gives it an interesting flavor layer.

My opinion: Great way to get your candy cane fix without looking like dweeb with a candy cane sticking out of your mouth...or setting it down and getting stuff sticky...or busting all your crowns trying to chew them!

Rating: 5 teabags out of 5. Another "Hurry, stock up before they are all gone" and you have to wait until next year!

H(app)y Days - Info Apps

I just got an early Christmas present, an iPod Touch, and having a great time finding and using all those apps. Thought I would share with you some of the more interesting and fun ones I've discovered. Feel free to share any you have found, too!

Information apps, all free!

Google (Free)

Google Earth (Free) - This is just fun to play with, too.

Search Bing (Free) - The new Bing search engine. I use it as a backup, I'm still a Google girl.

Wikipanion (Free) - This is so much faster than my laptop!

Dial Zero (Free) - Skip all the steps and get a live person a lot faster for customer service.

AAA Discounts (Free) - I always forget about where I can use my AAA card for discounts. It will even update based upon your current location. And it has their great map and directions, too.

AccuWeather (Free) - There are lots of weather apps, but I like this one. It has lots of information. One complaint is that the radar doesn't work unless I'm on a super fast connection.

Yelp (Free) - I love Yelp. While most of the time you need to take the reviews with a grain of salt, it is a good way to find and try new places.

Everyday Food - Crispy Garlic Potatoes + Salad Dressing

Skirt Steak with Crispy Garlic Potatoes. This is from the September 2008 issue of Everyday Food. Originally accompaniments to the Skirt Steak, we loved the Crispy Garlic Potatoes and the Salad Dressing even better than the steak!

The potatoes -- slice 1 1/2 pounds of red new potatoes 1" thick. Mince two cloves of garlic and press flat to make a paste. Transfer to a bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mix together. Add and toss potatoes (much easier to toss in the bowl instead of per the directions on the baking sheet), put on large rimmed baking sheet and bake in 475 oven for 20-25 minutes until browned on underside.

The salad dressing -- combine 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard and 2 tablespoons olive oil.

H(app)y Days - app post edition

There is even an app for blogging!

I did this post using BlogWriter Lite, which is free! I had to come back in and edit to add the tags. I don't plan to upgrade to the $1.99 version, as the only difference I can tell is the ability to add photos. Since I have the iTouch and not the iPhone, that's not a biggie for me.

H(app)y Days - Christmas Holiday Edition!

I just got an early Christmas present, an iPod Touch, and having a great time finding and using all those apps. Thought I would share with you some of the more interesting and fun ones I've discovered. Feel free to share any you have found, too!

Here are more cool apps I found which are Christmas/Holiday related. Some are fun, some are silly, some are cool!

Christmas Solitaire (99 cents) - Change the cards, change the backgrounds, change the music, change the game - 21 themes!

RTP Snow Globe 09 (Free) - The scene is supposed to change upon your location. Good if you are traveling! "Real" snowflakes.

Another snow globe is the Zen of Snow (Free) 360 degree viewing angle and neat "snow"

The Flakery (99 cents) - Create and save your own snowflakes -- you can even make them "snow"!

iRelax Christmas (99 cents) - 22 Christmas sounds (including fireplace!), you can create your own music combinations and save your favorites.

Sheep Launcher (Free) - updated version launches Santa!

Crazy Penguin Christmas (Free) - The penguins seek revenge against the polar bears who have captured Santa and his elves! . This game is so fun, I am considering getting the other Crazy Penguin games.

Candleglow (99 cents) - Not really Christmas per se, but the different candle variations and combos look very seasonal and pretty.

Snowball Runner (99 cents) - Tilt and roll your snowball down the mountain, hitting or missing obstacles to gain points and size.

Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2010

After patiently waiting to no avail for Costco, I went to Sam's and found the new Cooking Light 2010 Annual Recipes for $19.27. (Costco's price for the 2009 book was $20.99 at the same suggested retail price of $34.95.) It has all the recipes from the 2009 magazine issues.

I know, if I subscribe, why do I want the book, too? For starters, space issues -- physical and mental. A year's worth of Cooking Light takes up lots more space than an 11" x 9" x 1" book. Then I tend to tear apart my issues, pulling the ones I want to try. If they were met with applause by the family, I insert them in a plastic protector page and put it in my recipe binder notebook. But inevitably, I will hear along the way about the fab recipe for Paprika Pork in the March issue, which is now long gone. Or even misplaced. Past issues of Cooking Light have been tossed in my car for carpool waiting and never made the return trip back inside the house. (The last thing I want to do or will forget after lugging bags of groceries into the house, in the rain is to go back for a magazine. I'll read it tomorrow!) Their website is fine, but with wonky Internet connections or not having immediate access to a printer, etc....more trouble than it's worth sometimes. Effortless, not effortful, right? And then I always pull and keep my November and December issues. Why? The covers are pretty and I like holiday things. I do the same with my Burda World of Fashion and Martha Stewart Living magazines, too. Anyhoo, my Cooking Light system is much easier and works just fine for my capacities and capabilities, which by now you are thinking are seriously diminished. So yes, I get excited when the annuals appear.

There is also a bound insert offer for 6 free issues of Cooking Light -- "12 issues plus 6 free issues for $10" In very tiny print it says plus sales tax. Not a bad deal, actually. The box code for this deal is CKBBG83 -- Sometimes if you have this code, you can renew your current subscription. I know this works for Everyday Food, maybe it will work for Cooking Light, too. Call their Customer Service number and give it a try.

H(app)y Days

I just got an early Christmas present, an iPod Touch, and having a great time finding and using all those apps. Thought I would share with you some of the more interesting and fun ones I've discovered. Feel free to share any you have found, too!

1) Phone Flicks (Free) - Access your Netflix queue on the go. Add and remove movies, change positions, search. Don't worry about the warning asking if you are sure you want to allow access to your account--it is a Netflix third-party program.

2) Dictionary.com (Free) - Dictionary and thesaurus are accessible even without Internet connection after you install it. Because of that feature, it does take awhile to download the app -- Try to find a fast wifi connection. Word of the Day does require you to be connected to the Internet.

3) 1Password (??) - All those websites, all those passwords. It's hard to keep track! This app has a two password combo to securely guard your information and automatically times out and locks should you set your phone down or switch applications and functions. Prices change on this app - I was shocked when I checked while typing this they are now $4.99; $7.99 for the Pro version. Would you believe there are apps which can check when other apps go on sale? I'm pretty sure I only paid $1.99 for the Pro version - it was the same price as the regular one.

4) Snowy's Christmas Pinball ($1.99) - Pinball gone Christmas-crazy.

5) iBowl (Free) - it's like turning your iTouch into a Wii-style bowling game! You don't have to stand, you just need to be able to move your arm upwards.

H(app)y Days

I just got an early Christmas present, an iPod Touch, and having a great time finding and using all those apps. Thought I would share with you some of the more interesting and fun ones I've discovered. Feel free to share any you have found, too!

These five became my immediate favorites ---

1) Facebook (Free) - This app makes it even easier to scoot about on Facebook than my laptop!

2) WifiTrak (99 cents) - Makes it easier to find and connect to free wifi spots. It will also save and automatically connect your known network settings.

3) Twitteriffic (Free) - Finally Tweeting without worrying about being charged cell phone text fees. (I never could get the BlackBerry app to work anyways) It will even chirp when it finds new tweets.

4) Koi Pond (99 cents) - So many options to create your own very realistic Koi Pond. Bonus: They added a Christmas/Holiday update to make holly and berry lily pads, even a Rudolph red-nosed fish. And when you shake your iTouch/iPhone to feed them, you hear jingle bells and it feeds them gingerbread cookies and candy canes. Just touch the Christmas package in the upper left corner to activate it.

5) Battery LED (Free) Lets you know how much battery power you have, along with remaining time for standby, Internet, video, audio and games. Very cool 70's style graphics and colors. The only difference between this version and the "Pro" is an alarm signaling when your battery is charged. Save your 99 cents and get Koi Pond instead!

Netflix Stars - Twilight (No, not that one)

3.5/5.0 stars -- This Twilight movie is from 1998 with Paul Newman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing, James Garner, Gene Hackman, Liev Schreiber and John Spencer. All are excellent in this dark, quirky murder mystery.

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

Super Weekend Sale - December 11/13
Simplicity $1.99
50% off Red Tag Fabrics
50% off Notions Wall

December 20/24 - Butterick $1.99

Thursday Tea Time

Holiday time! This week -- Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride

Cost: $2.99 at Whole Foods, on sale at Target $1.77

Number of teabags: 20 - individually sealed in attached double paper bags

Caffeine: No

Type of tea: Herbal

Steeping time: 4 - 6 minutes, this one I did closer to 5-6 minutes

Double Dipper potential: No, it is a weak tea, one shot

Mix ins: Sugar, milk is optional but I like it with milk a little bit better

Teabag fragrance: COOKIES!

Ingredients: Milk Thistle, Roasted Barley, Orange Peel, Natural Sugar Cookie Flavor with other natural flavors and Vanilla Bean

Taste: OMG! Just like a fresh-baked sugar cookie - really!

My opinion: Great way to keep your calorie count down with all the tempting holiday offerings. Drink a mug of this first and you'll do just fine at the party. It is a very light-colored tea, and when you add a little milk, it becomes translucent, like milk glass. Pretty!

Rating: 5 teabags out of 5. Hurry, stock up before they are all gone and you have to wait until next year!

Cyber Monday Coupon Codes

Psst! Here's a few Cyber Monday coupon codes to make your bargain shopping even better. I'll update as I find them in my email box. Happy shopping!

The Lingerie Store - 20% off - rd249
http://www.thelingeriestoreusa.com/
What I like about this Yahoo-affiliated store is attentive customer services - lots of emails to keep you posted on your order....and...no state tax - at least in Texas. That saves us an additional 8.25%. Free shipping if your order is $50 and over.

FragranceNet.com - 15% off - cymn9
http://www.fragrancenet.com/
Another favorite site. Definitely Google and grab your calculator for other coupons, the 15% may or may not be your best deal. They often have $10 or $15 off purchases over a certain amount, usually $35. Also free shipping kicks in at $70. It's worth the extra math effort for different savings scenarios.

Hot Patterns - 20% off - THANKS
http://www.hotpatterns.com/
This may be your shoppertunity to finally try a Hot Pattern or stock up on those you've been eyeing.

QVC.com is also offering free shipping and handling on over 10,000 items. I figure that's probably their entire website.

Bath and Body Works - 25% off and only $5.95 shipping on your entire online order - CYBERMONDAY
http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/

A snowball's chance...Kwik Sew 2779 PJ Pants

Kwik Sew 2779 PJ pants

(No, they aren't wonky, I was trying to show the trim on the side.)

I wanted a pair of sleep pants to go with a Nick and Nora sleepshirt. I love Target's Nick and Nora sleepwear line - such cute fabric designs! (I thought this print looked like snowballs)

Even though 2779 is for knits, there is plenty of ease to make them out of a woven. Either cut up a size for your first try or add 3/8" to the seam edges. The pants also run long, I only had to add 1" in length.

I especially like these because they are one-seam/one pattern piece pants. There is a line to add trim. In my case, I added the lace along the fabric fold, which was discolored from light exposure. Well, it made it easy to keep a nice straight line! And Kwik Sew's elastic application is super easy and super fast. You serge the elastic to the top edge, fold over and stitch. Perfect!

Unfortunately, 2779 is now discontinued, but you may be able to score a copy on the Internet. Kwik Sew also sells pulled patterns online, but at $25 a pop. My bet is that this popular design has been reissued under another number in their current catalog.

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

November 27/29 - Three Day Sale
99 cents Butterick
50% off thread
50% off buttons

December 3/5 - Super Savings Sale
$1.99 McCalls
$3.99 Vogue

Healthy Cooking - Cranberry-Pecan Corn Muffins (Bread!)

From Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking magazine - October/November 2009, page 48

I thought I would try baking it in small baking pans, turning it into Cranberry Pecan Cornbread. I like muffins, but since I would probably be the only one around here eating them, I've found that small loaves of bread freeze better and make great last-minute gifts. (Seriously, wouldn't you rather have a small bread loaf with a bow on top or 4 muffins in a baggie? It just looks and presents so much better!)

Ingredients
1-3/4 cups yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) fat-free plain yogurt
1 egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, egg, oil and honey. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in cranberries and pecans.
Coat muffin cups with cooking spray; -- or 3 mini loaf pans -- fill three-fourths full with batter.
Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Nutrition Facts: 1 muffin equals 185 calories, 6 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 16 mg cholesterol, 217 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 fat.

Prints Charming - Burda 8134

Another Nick and Nora PJ bottom, another Burda 8134 sleep tank top. A favorite here at the House of Kent, check out previous incarnations here and here.

I loved the apple green, apple red and turquoise color combination of the sleep pants. I dug around the stash and found two K.P. Kids prints - the plaid for the bias trim and the frog print. Frogs and apples, it's a match! Kinda, sorta. Out in public, a whole 'nuther matter...for the sandman, no worries. Points given for stash reduction and a fun time in the sewing room!

Netflix Stars - Proof of Life

3.75/5.0 Another Russell Crowe movie, two in a row? Purely coincidental, as these were stacked and waiting to be watched so we can get new movies from Netflix. (Though I'm starting to think Russell Crowe could be my Bingo Free Space - goodness, those guns of arms!) For once David Morse is not playing an evil character, and normally perky and funny Meg Ryan is also oppositely cast in this movie. Like her hairstyle, though. And the chemistry between her and Russell is definitive. Action-packed and a bit gory, clocking in at a little over two hours.

Netflix Stars - State of Play

4.5/5 We all enjoyed watching this political thriller. And what a cast of stars - Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Robin Wright (Penn), Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Jeff Daniels...

A complex plot with a number of persuasive but ultimately in error subplots. Crowe is a believable investigtive reporter, the unexpected star is truly Helen Mirren who plays an engaged and competent newspaper editor. Add this to your queue!

This week - Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Ginger Green Tea Chai

Cost: $2.99 at Whole Foods

Number of teabags: 20 - individually sealed in attached double paper bags

Caffeine: Yes

Type of tea: Green and Black Teas

Steeping time: 4 minutes

Double Dipper potential: Didn't even try

Mix ins: Honey, milk

Teabag fragrance: Smelled very ginger-y, not in a good gingerbread way, more of a grated ginger

Ingredients: Green tea, black tea, cinnamon, ginger, roasted chicory, natural vanilla and ginger flavors with other natural flavors (contains soy lecithin), nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and black pepper.

Taste: Ginger, then a vanilla kick....then the bad aftertaste

My opinion: I take back my earlier comment/post about being in love with all of the Celestial Seasonings' Chai Teas so far!

Rating: 1 teabag out of 5, only because I actually finished the mug.

Fresh Whole-Wheat Pitas - Cooking Light, March 2009

Fresh Whole Wheat Pitas - another winner from the March 2009 issue of Cooking Light, page 176

The verdict? No more store-bought pitas in this house again! These were so easy, and made even easier by using my bread machine to knead the dough and take it to the first rising. Couldn't find the 2% Greek style yogurt, so I used Stoneyfield Farms Oikos Greek Style Plain Fat Free instead. I did get a pretty good "pocket" but after reviewing the recipe description again, realized I didn't really treat them as gently as I should have in order to get a more airy result. Still, what I did get was good enough for us and the next time will only be better.

Garden Update - Torenias

The "Trailing Purple" Torenias weathered our hot, hot summer and fall rain - and are still growing and going crazy underneath our crape myrtles!

Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomato Sauce - Cooking Light, March 2009

From the March 2009 issue of Cooking Light, page 106 - Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomato Sauce



A very good result with a few changes -- I used a package of Costco's boneless chicken thighs and regular black olives. (Someone around here got into the kalamata ones. But the regular black olives were able to step up to the plate.) Since it was a smaller amount of chicken thighs, I only used one can (14 ounce) of diced tomatoes and also reduced the tomato paste to 2 tablespoons. Minced about 3 small/medium garlic cloves. I also substituted 1/4 cup of chicken broth for the white wine. Because these were boneless thighs, it was finished in a little under three hours. I had to turn it down from High to Low after about an hour and half. It all fit into the smaller, 3 quart crockpot.

Served over spaghetti, this is a nice variation to meatballs. The chicken thighs really picked up all the flavors. Easily served three people with leftovers. Definitely a keeper and will make again!

New Hello Kitty stuff at Target!

The Target Dollar Spot has new Hello Kitty additions. LOVE the ribbon spools - the four rolls each have one yard. This shipment's theme seems to be apples. There are two different versions of the playing cards, lots of stickers, pencils, pens...and these cool scented highlighters! Stock up now for stocking stuffers, Secret Santa treats, etc.

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

November 19/21 - Vogue Patterns $3.99

Merry Moolah Sale - November 21/25

$1.99 McCalls Patterns
$1.99 Simplicity Patterns
Rotary Blades, BIGIF
Gutermann 26 spool thread box - $19.99

Update 11-16-09 -- Hobby-Lobby has McCall's patterns for 99 cents this week

Thursday Tea Time

This week - Celestial Seasonings Decaf Sweet Coconut Thai Red Tea with Exotic Spices!

Cost: $2.09 at Super Target
Number of teabags: 20 - individually sealed in attached double paper bags
Caffeine: No
Type of tea: African Rooibos Red and Black Teas
Steeping time: 4 minutes
Double Dipper potential: Yes, give it 6 minutes the second time
Mix ins: Sugar, milk
Teabag fragrance: Coconut, cloves and anise
Ingredients: Rooibos, decaffeinated black tea, cinnamon, roasted chicory, ginger, natural coconut flavor with other natural flavors, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, paprika, black pepper and Chinese star anise.

Taste: Not an expected tropical coconut flavor, but more of a creamy coconut blending with hints of clove, ginger and anise. A winning combination!

My opinion: Added to the top of the favorites list!

Would I go back and buy another box? Yes! I'm in love with all of the Celestial Seasonings' Chai Teas so far!

Rating: 5 teabags out of 5

Yummy! Chocolate Peppermint Cookies!

Couldn't resist these at Whole Foods this afternoon -- Immaculate Baking Co. Chocolate Peppermint cookies -- on sale $3.50 for a package of 24. Great idea to combine chocolate and peppermint bark!

Also available -- Gingerbread Spice. Both are limited editions. Look for them in the refrigerated section. Our Whole Foods had them in the special holiday cooler with the eggnogs, etc.

I like that you can just bake a few at a time, for it would be very easy and dangerous to make two dozen disappear - (snap fingers!) - like that!

The dough rounds bake into a 3" slightly crispy cookie - two will take care of you just fine. And they are trans fat free.

Holiday cookie baking can be a fun production, but sometimes you just want easy-peasy. Next shopportunity I'm going back for another package of these and a Gingerbread Spice to keep on hand for these upcoming crazy weeks ahead.