Beat It & Whip It Kitchen Towels

 

I think these are so cute! The shop is on vacation, but just passing on the info for future use.  

(photo from The Coin Laundry Etsy shop)

Online Grocery Store Ads

Just wanted to take a moment to point out this feature that I have found most grocery stores have along with their online weekly circular.

In the online ad, you can often just click on the item you want and add it to a list and often circle it too so you know you have added it.

On the list you can add notes such as I possibly wanted get turkey from the Deli Meat so added that.

This is what it looks like if you are wanting to print it out.  It has the notes, quantity, and sale price. It is broken up into section to make it easy when shopping. 

Now if I am only getting a couple items out of the ad - I won't print a list but I do find it helpful to go through all the ads and compare prices, circling the things I normally get or feel are a good deal so I can compare things more easily. 

Friday Favorites

Specialty Bottle - I found this site and was really happy. I have been searching for a gallon jar without a spout for a while. And it is hard to find a gallon. Find half gallon or smaller but not gallon in my area. This site has so many different kinds of bottles. I saw many uses. Look at the bottom of their home page - they have Martha Stewart using their bottles for many entertaining ideas.

Curbly - is a site I just started exploring. But have found some interesting articles on it. From the about section: "Curbly is a Web community for people who love where they live. Curbly is the best place to share pictures of your home, find design ideas, and get expert home-improvement advice."

How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others - this was geared towards creative types but I think it really works for everyone. It is such a hard thing to conquer at times the comparison game. And although it might seem like a strange link to put here I think we can get caught up it in service - all types of service.

Making your Own Reusable Swiffer Dusters and Mop Covers - a little tutorial on how to do make them

Cooking Light Taco Party Menu - menu includes Blackberry Margaritas,Baked Black Beans with Chorizo, Flank Steak Tacos, Chimichurri Halibut Tacos, Cabbage Slaw, Grilled Pineapple-Avocado Salsa, Pineapple-Mint Sangria Sorbet - so many good recipes and a taco party is great for entertaining

Website Review

It isn't often that I will rave about a website. This is one I really want to rave about. It's by invitation only and the discounts on all sorts of products are amazing. The majority of the products sold and discounted are high end children, baby, and women items. I haven't seen very much for men on this site. However the products that I have purchased have all proven to be high quality. The customer service should you need them is really wonderful. You don't feel like just a number and that no one cares to solve your problem. The people were really helpful. They have an easy no hassle return policy as well.

If any of you are interested in checking out the Zulily website, please feel free to use the link below to check it out. With the holiday season upon us, you may be able to find some good gift items on the site to purchase for your children, or relatives, or friends.

http://bit.ly/bzuDbP

Friday Favorites

DIY Hand Sanitizer and Disinfectant - I admit it sometimes I become obsessed about germs - just like I am obsessed with natural products so these recipes I can't wait to make.

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting - with fall right around the corner I imagine this recipe being good on many cupcake recipes

Organic Processing Industry Structure - I just thought this was an interesting read on who owns which organic brands. Many I didn't realize were owned by big names in the processed food industry.

Household Companion: The Home Book Of Etiquette - I absolutely love old household books. And this is one I am sure I would never get to read if it weren't online

10 Tips to Remember when Purchasing Appliances - some good reminders when buying appliances. Last year we had our stove go out right around the holidays and had to buy very quickly and there were a few things I wish I would have asked family and friends about before it was bought

Friday Favorites

ShopLocal.com - I like this site because it has all the ads for local stores in one place. I don't have to go to Target, Walgreen, Home Depot and so on to look at each of there ads. Instead of opening up several websites to look at ads, I open one and look at them all in one place.

Smitten Kitchen - Scalloped Tomatoes - This looks so good to me. And with a lot of gardens overflowing with tomatoes I am sure this recipe could come in handy as one more way to use them.

Action Complete - This is a productivity application based on David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology. It is available on the web and for Andriod cell phones. But is going to be available for Blackberry and iPhone/iPad soon.

Make Gift Bags from Newspaper - A green solution for wrapping gifts.

Best Natural Remedies for 15 Most Common Aches and Pains and Health Complaints - Most of the things they mention I have around the house. But I will say I know some of these haven't worked for me when I tried them in the past. But I still say it is worth a try - to be green and use things I have at home always anyway.

(I thought I hit post on this last night but of course I didn't. So Friday Favorites on Saturday)

Tuesday Morning Deal

We are on Tuesday Morning snail mail list so we get an ad from them every few weeks. We both go nuts in Tuesday Morning so it is usually good if we don't go in there too much. Really Master loves it just as much as I do. My sister is having a baby and I have already been eying so many things in there!

And our house really has many things from Tuesday Morning in it as they just have incredible deals. Several years ago we bought these hand blown glasses. And we are down to one as they were just too delicate. But I loved them while we had them and they were so inexpensive that losing them this quickly didn't feel like too much of a break in our budget.

***colors and coolness factor not really showing up great in this photo! trust me they were cool!

Anyway...the real point of this post about a book. I reviewed the book Martha Stewart's Cooking School almost a year ago. It is a book that I would love to have - and I think for those wanting to learn to cook or step up their basic cooking skills it is a must-have.

We received Tuesday Morning's ad yesterday and it has that book. The book normally retails for $45 and it is reduced on Amazon but still you would save if you bought it at Tuesday Morning as it is $19.99. I think that is a great deal. So if you had it on your wish list or were thinking of picking it up - now at Tuesday Morning you can get it for $19.99. And it is a big book packed with quality info. Please read my review for more info on it.

Review of Alice.com

Our Alice.com order arrived on Friday. It took 5 days but most reviews from bigger cities seem to get things overnight. It came UPS and it was in a good box but some things I enjoyed about the packaging....

They had the Earth Aware packing pillows so more friendly for the environment. There was no wasted space in the box. You know how you will get a huge box from Amazon with one little thing in it. Well that is not the case with Alice.com they packed it very well.



The liquids were packed in a ziplock together. And then the powdered items were in another ziplock. And they even taped down the cap on the one bottle. But nothing was spilled. The powdered stuff was sprinkled in the bag but not that bad. And that happens even when you pick them up in the grocery store so not a big problem to me. I just really liked that it was packed with such care.



They included a little sack of free samples. It had granola bars and 2 other things I am not remembering at the moment.



The cost on all the items we bought in this order were lower than what we would have got at the store. Alice.com applies coupons so 3 of the items had coupons taken off the original price. I also was able to order something I can't get locally - washing soda. Our box weighed 14lbs and that would have cost a pretty penny to get it shipped but with Alice.com you get FREE SHIPPING so there was nothing about my experience with Alice.com that I didn't like.

The other side of the box says Everyone needs an Alice and I think they are right. I know we will be ordering from them again.

Friday Favorites

Table setting Guide - This has table settings for a formal, breakfast, casual and a few others. Plus it has printable guides to help you out as you actually set the table.

5 Ingredient Chicken Recipes

The 25 Most Common Cooking Mistakes - I found the list interesting and regretfully I have done many of them.

Okay this is a new one for me that I am trying out and might have a review for it in the future....

Alice.com - I have found many of their products are either the same price as I pay now or lower. You can select your products just to store or to put in your cart and then the best feature....FREE SHIPPING! Another feature I really think I will enjoy is that you can set up reminders - so that it will send you a reminder to order something. Such as if you go through your granola bars every 3 weeks then you can set up a reminder to order them every 3 weeks. I haven't used it yet. But I think I will and if so....will do a review.

How to Replace a Kitchen Faucet - Just a good link to have around.

Friday Favorites

Hot Coupon World - This was a link given to me by Sanna, a reader of Domestic. You have to register but it is free. And then it not only gives you coupons but has forums, chat, blogs and other resources on saving money on your grocery bills.

All You - it is a paper magazine but I found the link to the website in Real Simple. The website is full of tips on "enjoying life for less." A few articles I read and enjoyed....5 Coupon Blogs We Love, 6 Ways to Make Couponing Easy, A Month's Worth of Money Saving Ideas and 8 Surprising Foods You Can Freeze

Makes Great Leftovers from Woman's Day - We like leftovers so this link caught my eye. It had some recipes that were different to me. I am going to try to create a calendar of new recipes I want I try and hopefully add at least one of these.

Pretty Plastic Bag Organizer from Martha Stewart - I have one of these that was made by someone else and given to us. And it made from an ugly towel. But it is hung in the pantry where no one but me sees it and it works well. It is getting very old though and I think there is a little hole in the towel the cords are being worn away from how I have it hung so making a new one with a towel I like might be in order eventually.

Tie a Tie - It has how-to's for several knots, length calculator, tips and tricks, tells you about various necktie accessories and so on.

Fruits and Vegetables

With produce being out of season and prices skyrocketing, it's important that I buy it right the first time- and store it properly.

I still consider myself a kitchen "n00b", and it's not unusual to find myself standing in the midst of the produce section at the grocery store, utterly confused by the bins and bins of similiar items.

There's nothing worse than having spent hours preparing a meal only to find that that particular type of potato was too mealy for that casserole. Or that apple was too tart for applesauce, and you've had to add more sugar than apples.

The Cook's Thesaurus is my savior. Especially the sections on apples and potatoes.

This website is packed with a variety of produce information.

This site gives terrific hints on how to tell if produce is fresh. Here's another with fresh produce buying and storing tips.

This site has a table, about mid-page, on what not to store together, and what will spoil the fastest.

20 frugal tips for buying produce.

Now that we have all those fruits and vegetables, what do we do with them?

This recipe has become a family favorite. I double it to fill my 6 quart slow cooker and I rarely have leftovers. Plus, it's so good on a chilly winter evening. It definitely fits the bill for "comfort food".

I got this one from Mandy, a contributer here. :)

Hamburger Heaven

16-oz. Ground beef.
2 cups diced raw potatoes
1 ½ cups sliced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 10-oz can tomato soup
½ cup water
1 tsp parsley

Brown meat and onions. In a slow cooker sprayed with Pam, combine meat mixture, potatoes, carrots, celery, peas and corn. Stir in tomato soup and water and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. I add in a generous sprinkle of garlic powder, and serve it with cheddar-garlic biscuits.

(If you use lean meat and Healthy Request tomato soup, this recipe is 1 point per serving for Weight Watchers.)

Finish with a fruit salad like this one for dessert, and we've had a healthy meal and used up lots of produce.

Over the Rainbow Fresh Fruit Salad

3 cups mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)
2 cups seedless grapes (red or green)
2 crisp sweet apples
3 peaches, nectarines or 6 apricots
2 bananas, sliced thin
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3 Valencia oranges)
Nutmeg (optional)


Chop fruit and mix gently in large bowl. Pour fresh orange juice over fruit, stir and refrigerate. Serve with dash of nutmeg.

Friday Favorites

Holiday Baking Essential List - must haves for baking during the holidays

DELISH: 8 Easy and Elegant Christmas Candle Ideas - just a quick do's and don't when decorating with candles

Simply Recipes Turkey Leftover Recipes, BHG Fresh Ideas for Leftover Turkey, and Food Network Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes - all sites with ideas for your Thanksgiving leftovers

Martha Stewart Handmade Cards - if you are mailing out cards...this is the time to finish up handmade cards or to buy some (photo from Martha Stewart)

5 dollar magazines - Amazon is having a special $5 for a year subscription to Real Simple, House Beautiful, Food and Wine, Southern Living and several others.

Friday Favorites

I have been reading a lot of books on making organic or natural cleaning products and also beauty products. I was thinking I want to make some lip gloss, hot oil hair treatments, body and face scrubs and so on. And in one of the books it had a list of resources in the back for bottles and containers to package your homemade products. And I have really been having fun looking at one of their resources - American Science & Surplus. It does have lots of containers and MORE. It has many odd things, many useful things and just things I have never heard of before all for a pretty low cost.

7 Ways with Rotisserie Chicken - My Mom is a cook. It is her profession. And so when I was growing up - she came home at the end of the day and the last thing she wanted to really do was cook. So she often swung by the grocery store to get rotisserie chicken and made all sorts of meals out of it. And so this link made me think of my childhood and the creativity that my Mom had with chicken to make a quick meal.

A few Halloween links...
From MarthaStewart.com - No Sew Halloween Costumes - I thought many of these were very clever and easy. So easy I am like why did I never think about that when I have went to Halloween parties in the past.
Halloween Decorating and Craft Templates - lots of templates to create decorations
Papier-Mache Pumpkins - I just thought they were cute
Glitter Pumpkins - I want to get some mini fake pumpkins I sometimes see at Dollar Tree and do this to them. And then place them on this long platter. Also add some candles to the platter so the flame sparkles off the glitter.

Friday Favorite

This first link is from a newsletter I get in my inbox but you can view them online too. It is a newsletter by the actress Gynweth Paltrow called GOOP - Nourish Your Inner Aspect and each week she sends a newsletter that deals with one of these topics: MAKE, GO, GET, DO, BE or SEE. This link is from MAKE and has so many yummy looking Italian recipes.

Waterproofing a Blanket for picnics and Beach Towel/Blanket with pockets - good projects that might needed for the summer time. Master and I take day trips often that lead to picnics so both ideas I think would be great to have in the car for those.

Lazy Productivity: 10 Simple Ways to do Three Things Today - When feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated this article might help

Tag-Sale Upgrades - Summer time is the time of garage sales, estate sales, flea markets so finding items to recycle and repurpose into something new is always easy

Pick of the Crop: Choosing the most Flavorful Fruit - I know this is something I get hung up on knowing what I am picking up is the best quality and knowing how to store them. So now with the start of the Farmers Market I can have some good information at hand.

Amazon 2 Day Kitchen Sale

Sorry to get this out so late in the day - computer problems today.

Amazon has these sales every once in a while and often Master spoils me with presents! Years past I have gotten my kitchen-aid stand mixer, 3 Calphalon pans, cookie racks and sheets and I know a few other things that aren't coming to my mind right now. All at really good prices - often 60% off.

Amazon 2 Day Kitchen Sale - Only good June 1 and 2

Deal

In September, I did a review of the cookbook Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. I had checked it out from the library and put it on my wishlist as soon as I was done reading it and making recipes from it. It was just an incredible book that made me feel comfortable baking bread. For Christmas Master and I received Amazon gift certificates from family so I was just looking through my wish list and noticed that Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking is on sale! It was $27.95 and now on sale for $16.77.

Here is my review of the book with some pictures of a loaf of bread and a pan of cinnamon rolls I made with dough recipe from the book.