I wrote about the deliciousness that is Wonka Exceptionals a few months ago. I received a top-secret baggie of the latest creation, themed for holiday giving and nibbling: Wonka Exceptionals Peppermint Shortbread Chocolate Pieces. Each little square is chocolate studded with bits of shortbread and peppermint candy. It is delightful, as one would imagine, and also very festive because they are individually wrapped in silver foil printed in holiday red and green. Set them out in bowls with the other Wonka Exceptionals and be the hostess with the mostest. Or hoard them all for yourself. I won't tell.
The limited edition Paul Frank Crunch Bar is basically a king-sized Crunch in an adorable Paul Frank sleeve that doubles as a card. I was kind of hoping for Julius-shaped crisped rice but I didn't notice any. They'd be cute for classroom holiday parties.
Disclosure: I received samples of Wonka and Crunch candies in order to facilitate this review. I may or may not have shared said candy with my family.
My kids are sodapop beggars, probably because their parents are addicted to a certain diet fizzy drink. Because I am the meanest mom in the world, I try to limit their intake of carbonated sugariness, preferring to give them natural juices, milk and water. Juicy Juice has come out with a great compromise: Sparkling Fruit Juice.
All the bubbly goodness of sodapop but made with all-natural fruit juices in a sleek recyclable can, with even less sugar per serving than regular Juicy Juice. It comes in three flavors: Sparkling Apple, Sparkling Berry and Sparkling Orange. Pour it into fancy stemware and you've got an elegant non-alcoholic drink. (Or pour some booze into it and keep it away from the kids. I won't judge you.) My one complaint is that it comes in packs of four, which seems odd. I would prefer a six or eight pack, if not a dozen.
Disclosure: we received samples of Juicy Juice Sparkling Fruit Juice in order to try it and give our expert opinions. The kids were split between berry and apple, while mommy and daddy liked the orange. Now you know.
I've never been much of a fashion follower. I like fashion and all its trappings, sure, but I generally don't go in for trends. I certainly never thought I would fall prey to the mommy tracksuit uniform. And then I had kids. Now I realize that there are cool hoodies and yoga pants that don't look either too sexy or too schlumpy, but just right. Don't laugh. I still don't wear anything written across my butt, at least.
The Girls is a fitness wear line that understands the fine line between frumpy and forgivingly fashionable. They have engineered a special blu-tech power mesh fabric that uses stretchy nylon and spandex to shape and slim invisibly. No saggy, baggy leggings here! I received a pair of Faith's Foldover Yoga Pants to try. The fabric is midweight and very soft but the foldover panel offers great tummy control. I won't say that they make me look skinny, largely because I am not a skinny girl, but they do smooth my waistline and belly. The slight tightness reminds me to stand up straight and suck it in, too.
I am mildly embarrassed to say I have worn Faith's Foldover Yoga Pants almost every single day since I received them a month ago. They are seriously that comfortable and easy to dress up or down. Do you really want me to admit I'm wearing them with Uggs, too? Oh, the shame!
I may have to invest in a pair of the Denim Tummy Control Bootcut Pants, which offer the same styling but in denim. Yes, I think I might need jeggings. Who knew?
Disclosure: I received a pair of Faith's Foldover Yoga Pants in order to review them. The opinions are my own, as usual.
I've been a huge fan of Tea Collection since Roo was a baby. They make kids' clothes that are cute and comfortable without being too precious or cutesy. Everything mixes and matches, even season to season, and their sizing seems spot-on for both Roo and Jasper. Their tagline is "For Little Citizens of the World" and each collection is inspired by an exotic locale. We received several pieces to try from the fall 2010 collection, Old World Hungary.
Jasper calls the Football Stripe Hoodie his Spiderman shirt because of its color scheme. I think it makes him look super grown up. The matching indigo Cargo Pants are really great, too, although Jasper is wearing his favorite jeans in these pictures.
Right now through Tuesday, November 30th, Tea Collection is having an incredible sale. Many items are deeply discounted, including several gorgeous girls dresses (including the ones shown below) for just $15!
TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.
1. What is your holiday wish for your family? My biggest wish is that the kids will sleep in until the sun rises but that will probably not happen, so I will just wish for happiness and good health.
2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? We haven't established too many yet but we do buy a small potted pine every year so we can plant it once the yard thaws. I call it the holiday reforestation plan. Mostly, our Christmas morning tradition consists of me keeping the kids reigned in so they don't open everything before daddy comes downstairs.
3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? MacBook Air and Adobe CS5. And a DSLR (Nikon D90 or Olympus EP2) as the cherry on top.
4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? Lots and lots of baking!
5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Scrabble was my favorite. Later, Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit.
6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? Dreading them. Seriously. I'm trying to overcome that for my own kids.
7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? Hawaii to see Grandpa Rod and Grandma Marie. Jasper has never been out there.
Post your answers to the meme on your own blog and be eligible to win a huge, huge, huge package of goodies from TodaysMama and GameStop. See all the details at TodaysMama.
When I was 19, my parents took me to Europe. (Don't get so excited! We flew space-available and I was annoyed at having to leave my beloved college town, Austin, for even a few days. My mother likes to recall that I was much more pleasant after a glass of wine with dinner.) Anyway, one of the main things I remember about that trip, aside from how totally gorgeous Switzerland is, is being forced to endure a full-day trapped in a minivan with a bunch of other American tourists on a Sound of Music tour in Austria. The soundtrack played nonstop as we traveled swervy mountain roads to scenic stops from the famous movie about the Von Trapp Family Singers.
Quite some time has passed since then and I am happy to report that I can now watch The Sound Of Music 45th Anniversary Edition, which came out on Blu-ray/DVD a few weeks ago, without wincing.
I will assume that everyone in the entire world knows the premise of this film, but in case you don't, here's the run-down from Amazon.com:
When Julie Andrews sang "The hills are alive with the sound of music" from an Austrian mountaintop in 1965, the most beloved movie musical was born. To be sure, the adaptation of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's Broadway hit has never been as universally acclaimed as, say, Singin' in the Rain. Critics argue that the songs are saccharine (even the songwriters regretted the line "To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray") and that the characters and plot lack the complexity that could make them more interesting. It's not hard to know whom to root for when your choice is between cute kids and Nazis.
It doesn't matter. Audiences fell in love with the struggling novice Maria (Andrews), the dashing Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), and, yes, the cute kids, all based on a real-life World War II Austrian family. Such songs as "My Favorite Things," "Do Re Mi," "Climb Every Mountain," and the title tune became part of the 20th century Zeitgeist. In addition, The Sound of Music officially became a cult hit when audiences in London began giving it the Rocky Horror Picture Show treatment, attending showings dressed as their favorite characters and delivering choreographed comments and gestures along with the movie. --David Horiuchi
Disclosure: I received a copy of the newly-released The Sound Of Music 45th Anniversary Edition to facilitate this review. I think I know what my mom's getting for Christmas.
her comment... I want to get the S9-R Mini Sedan (SILVER).
Maukilo is an online retailer that specializes in heirloom-quality European and American designed toys. Their motto is "Buy Once. Play Forever." so you know that durability and craftsmanship are their top priority. Maukilo is owned by HABA and shares a warehouse space with the venerable German toymaker in Skaneateles, New York, allowing them to offer more than 1,500 HABA items, the widest selection of HABA products in the U.S.
We were offered a chance to review an item from Maukilo's vast catalog and chose the HABA’ Arranging Game Corner to Corner. This "game" is a set of small building blocks that can be combined in an endless variety of patterns and 3-D structures.
My husband is a sculptor and woodworker and he was very impressed with the Teutonic precision of the blocks and their durable paint job. There are 62 pieces in the HABA’ Arranging Game Corner to Corner and Roo and Jasper had a great time trying to decide what to do with them.
HABA’ Arranging Game Corner to Corner is a great gift idea for kids beyond the sticking-everything-in-the-mouth phase. The blocks are pretty small, around LEGO-sized, so I might worry about them being a choking hazard for younger children. Otherwise, they are totally engaging on their own and make a nice companion set to other building blocks.
To enter and win a $25 gift certificate to Maukilo, please visit Maukilo.com and comment on this post with what you'd like to spend it on.
Entries will be accepted through December 8th and I'll pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are eligible.
The Dark Chocolate Delight Jumbo Caramel Apple serves 8-10– really! It's that big and rich, even for a family of chocoholics. It took my family of four two days to finish! The dark chocolate coating is smooth and dreamy but also features dense chunks of dark chocolate for some extra oomph. And the caramel is to die for. Usually I am all about chocolate but if I could bathe in Mrs. Prindable's caramel, I would. It is that decadent and delicious. I'm actually salivating as I am typing right now.
I also love the sparkliness of the Hanukkah Dreidel Jumbo Caramel Apple. If you get the milk chocolate walnut pecan flavor, you can almost imagine it's haroset…
Mrs. Prindable's Gourmet Apples would make an impressive and appreciated gift for teachers, coaches, hard-to-buy family members and your favorite bloggers.
her comment... I always have an assortment of cards and gift cards on hand... just in case I need a last minute gift or just to say thank you.
NESTLÉ Family wants to help you and your family with get ready for the holidays by providing you with some great products to aid in your entertaining, including the newly released cookbook, Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food That Makes Everyone Feel Like Family, from Christy Jordan, who blogs at Southern Plate and a bundle of free coupons from CARNATION® Evaporated Milk, TOLL HOUSE® Morsels, TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Cookie Dough, JUICY JUICE® and STOUFFER’S®.
To enter and win a copy of the Southern Plate Cookbook and full-value coupons for selected NESTLÉ Family products, please comment on this post with your favorite way last-minute holiday ideas.
Entries will be accepted through December 8th and I'll pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are eligible.
My kids haven't manifested any allergies yet, thankfully, but Roo has several friends who have significant dietary restrictions. I know it's a constant struggle to find foods that my own kids will eat so I can't really imagine how difficult it would be to cook for kids without nuts, eggs, or dairy. When Kelly Rudnicki's second son was diagnosed with multiple severe food allergies, as well as asthma, she began her quest to learn as much as she could about allergen-free cooking. Her blog, The Food Allergy Mama, features tons of recipes and helpful information for other parents to learn from.
Kelly recently published The Food Allergy Mama’s Baking Book, a compendium of recipes that are completely nut, egg, and dairy-free. These recipes are as tasty as their allergen-laden counterparts but they make it easier for kids with allergies to share in the holiday feasting. There are familiar gifting items like pumpkin bread and gingerbread kid cookies as well as more elegant fare such as a dairy-free cheesecake. (It should be noted that these recipes are not gluten-free.) One thing she stresses is using quality ingredients: "I'm a real stickler about the vanilla I use. There are some ingredients you can't go cheap; this is one of them. Nielsen-Massey's is top of the line. Get the good stuff, and you'll see a real difference in your baking results," Rudnicki said.
Impress your family with these donuts on a chilly morning!
Doughnuts Vegetable oil, for frying ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce 2 teaspoons Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla extract ¾ cup granulated sugar 3 tablespoons Fleischman's Unsalted Margarine, melted 4 ½ - 4 ¾ cups Gold Medal Unbleached All-purpose flour 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup soy or rice milk
Cinnamon sugar, for rolling ½ cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
In a large, heavy pot, heat 2 to 3 inches of vegetable oil until a candy thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375ºF.
Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the applesauce, vanilla, and ¾ cups flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt with a wire whisk. Add the flour mixture and the soy milk alternately to the applesauce - margarine mixture. Add more flour, if needed, to make a smooth and not-too-sticky dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured board. Knead for about 1 minute, and roll out to a ½-inch-thick circle. Dip a doughnut cutter into flour, and cut into the dough. Remove the trimmings and reroll, repeating the process.
Slide a few doughnuts into the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pot. Fry until the doughnuts rise to the surface, about 2 minutes, and turn over with metal tongs to fry the other side. Doughnuts should be golden brown on both sides. Lift out the doughnuts with metal tongs and drain on paper towels.
Mix together the ½ cup sugar and the 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Place the cinnamon - sugar mixture in a brown paper lunch bag. Place the warm doughnuts, one at a time, in the brown bag, and shake to coat. Shake off excess sugar, and place on a serving platter. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.
Note: If you don't have a doughnut cutter, use a 3-inch biscuit cutter instead. To make the doughnut holes, use an empty, sterilized round medicine bottle without the cap. Poke the hole in the middle of the circle, and down the hole will pop. This is a time-tested trick Rudnicki learned from her mom.
These days, Roo and Jasper are at each other's throats most of the time, so the moments when they're both smiling and happy are a true joy to behold… even if it is due to the mesmerizing iPod.
Last year, I worked on a project through Junior League and the Kansas Humane Society called Read to Rover. Its goal is to increase literacy in young children while encouraging them to interact with animals in a positive way. One of our projects was to help establish a library of books that the kids could choose to read with the therapy dogs. A lot of them were ordinary early reader books but my favorites included animal characters that could help further the Read to Rover mission.
One series I was introduced to was the Max Adventure books from Big Kid Science which feature the lovable rottweiler in outer space. Author Jeffrey Bennett is an astronomer, teacher and also the owner of the real Max who the books are based on. Using his expertise and charismatic pet, Bennett hopes to share his love of outer space with kids everywhere. It is obviously working because more than 100 kids submitted entries in the Summit School District (Colorado) "Make Your Own Max Science Adventure" contest. Bennett was so impressed by the winning entry that he decided to help publish Logan Weinman's Max's Ice Age Adventure!
Everyone has been asking to see pictures from my eBay trip, specifically the gorgeous hotel room. We stayed at the Hotel Valencia on Santana Row, smack dab in the middle of the most adorable shopping destination you can imagine. The weather was perfect, sunny and clear with a slight chill in the air. So all the open air restaurants had heaters. Adorable, as noted before. Even more adorable because they had holiday decorations up already.
It was a blast to wander with my blogger friends, pawing through Anthropologie, H&M, and Urban Outfitters (50% off sale prices, yeah!) but coming back to the hotel was pretty lovely. I fell in love with the faux fur throw on the bed and the gigantic mirror behind the comfy club chair.
My view from the 7th floor was stellar.
I had a little sunroom all to myself.
Even the bathroom was aesthetically pleasing.
We got to sample some of the local delicacies. Cupcakes at Kara's (fleur de sel with a gushy caramel center and sea salt sprinkles on the ganache) and pyramid of tartare at Blowfish (tuna, salmon and avocado- you dump the ponzu sauce on and mush it up to eat on chips).
Last week I got the most amazing opportunity. On Monday, I received an invitation to attend eBay's Love to Give Blogger Summit… on Thursday. In San Jose. (I live in Kansas.) Being an eBay member since 1997, there was no hesitation. Of course I wanted to go and find out more about what's going on at eBay.
The conference room we spent our day in was called Homestead. I'm thinking it had something to do with this decor, which presumably was sourced off eBay. (I am not sure that Pennsylvania Dutch is really Eileen or Sheila's scene.) In its 15 year history, eBay has grown like crazy. There are all sorts of phenomenal statistics to learn: 92 million active customers, $57 billion in merch sold last year, highest one-item sale ever was $4.9 million, Rachael's first eBay purchase was a car. I think all of us oohed and aahed most over the fact that every 3 seconds, a pair of shoes is sold on eBay. Whoa.
Predictably, there is a lot going on at eBay and we had an SEO tutorial from Dennis Goedegebuure, eBay's Director of SEO, a presentation by their corporate blogger, and a whirlwind overview of several new programs they're emphasizing for the holidays. The biggie is their Love to Give campaign, featuring the ever-enchanting Samantha Bee as a mom-correspondent probing the "Unwrap Attack" phenomenon in the holiday field of gift-giving battle. The Love to Give webisodes are all really funny but this one is my current favorite. Believe me when I tell you that it brought all of us in the Homestead room to tears with laughter and bizarro mommy hormones.
She is as hi-la-ri-ous in person as one might assume and also super sweet, being Canadian and all… Yes, we got to meet Samantha Bee, famous person from the world of traditional media. In fact, we got to film holiday greetings for our blogs with her and even ride in a prop sleigh. Thanks, eBay! (I will be posting that video when it gets edited, hopefully with some CGI help for my oddly speckled skin and wandering eyes. You should keep an eye out because there will be a very special holiday giveaway for my readers along with it. Be forewarned!) You might also want to create your own Unwrap Attack on Facebook. It's addictive.
Annie from the eBay Green Team (which was founded in 2005 over a pizza) introduced us to some really great new features that I suspect we will be taking advantage of this holiday season, eBay Instant Sale and The eBay Box. We all have drawers full of old phones and cameras gathering dust that could pad our PayPal accounts so we were particularly interested in the eBay Instant Sale, a program that aims to repurpose all of your cast-aside gadgets and gizmos, wipe them clean and pay you for them. Score! The eBay Box is a way to simply, eco-consciously ship goods. It's a super durable cardboard box designed to be reusable, over and over again, which is fantastic for a marketplace like eBay where many sellers are also buyers and vice-versa. It is also fantastically adorable:
Check out the extra-cute word bubbles where you can leave messages for the next user!
The eBay Box is currently in a pilot testing phase and is available in three sizes. Look for it shipping from your favorite sellers soon and learn more about its creation. I love the innovation behind this project and behind the whole eBay Green Team.
I am also pretty excited about eBay Group Gifts, which should come in handy this holiday season. They use Buy It Now and PayPal to create a hassle-free way for multiple givers to chip in for a for a single gift recipient. No more trying to squeeze pennies from other parents in the carpool lane for a teacher gift, now you can do it all via email. Or, better yet, via Facebook Connect. It seems like eBay Group Gifts would also be a great way for siblings to purchase one big present instead of little novelty items for their parents. Nice.
I'm going to have to write a separate post about the loveliness of our hotel, in an effort to keep this one relatively short and pertinent. And don't forget to come back in a week or so for a super-exciting Unwrap Attack and eBay giveaway for one of my readers!
Disclosure: In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that my time, travel and accommodations have been compensated by eBay for my participation in the Love to Give campaign. Although I have a material connection to eBay, any publicly stated opinions of eBay remain my own– formed over the last decade or so, trolling the web looking for cool stuff and finding much of it on eBay.
