Archive for the ‘The Menu Mom's Favorite Things’ Category

Hoppertogs

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Hi there!  I have something fun to share today.  My mom is a wonderful seamstress, and I have been encouraging her to open an Etsy Shop to share with the world her creations.  She has been selling locally in her hometown, in one of the local businesses, but she hadn’t made her online presence yet.  Finally, last night she called me to let me know that she had opened her Etsy Shop!  YEA!  I was so excited.  So far she just has a few purses in there, (I’m sure she’ll be adding more items soon) but you have to go check them out – they are so cute!  I personally am in love with this one.  Someone better go buy it before I do! 

 

Head on over to check out the other designs as well!  I’m sure she will appreciate having some traffic, and if you fall in love with one, I’m sure she would love a sale as well! 

C-

P.S.  If you have a friend who would like these, would you please share with them as well?  I would love to see her have a great start in her new business!  http://www.etsy.com/shop/Hoppertogs

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Favorite Posts of 2009

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

For those of you who may be new – or for those of you who would just like to look back… I have decided to pick my favorite 10 blog posts of 2009.

It’s Easter Week

Yup, It’s Official

Priceless

With A Heavy Heart

Road Trip Day 1

The Food Pics

It Was One of Those Days

What’s Up With My Kids Today?

Peanut Butter Brownie Pizza

Today.. We Went on An Adventure

So there you have it. Which one was your favorite?
Here’s to an even better 2010!  Happy New Year!

C-

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ABC’s of Christmas – Easy Frugal Gift Ideas

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

My good friend Susanne Myers, “The Hillbilly Housewife”, comes up with the best things!  She just published a fun e-book “The ABC’s of Christmas” and after a bit of coaxing, I convinced her to let me share it with you!  You see, she runs a really fun club, called the Hillbilly Housewife Club, (that I am a member of) and in the club the past few weeks, we’ve been talking a lot about homemade and frugal gift ideas.  To really get our creative juices flowing, one of the members started a post in the forum called the ABCs of Christmas Gift Giving.  This e-book is a compilation of the best ideas from those forum posts.  So for every letter of the alphabet there are several gift ideas.  These are really fun and creative – a lot of things I hadn’t thought about!  For example B:  Baking Lessons and I:  Ice Candles  (I had never heard of those!)

Before I tell you how to grab your copy of the e-book, I also wanted to let you know that Susanne has decided to extend her Thanksgiving special offer, to you, for a Hillbilly Housewife Club Membership.  This is such a great deal!  (I honestly can’t believe she is offering memberships this cheap, but SHHHH don’t tell her I said that – I don’t want her to change her mind.)  It is normally $15 per month to be a member of the club (see
here:  http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/christine )  But until Wednesday – Dec. 9th, she is offering a year membership for $50 or a 6 month membership for $30!  That is like paying for a little over 3 months to get a YEAR worth of access, or paying for 2 months and getting 4 months free!  That is a total no-brainer to me!  At any rate, obviously she can’t extend this offer much longer (it took work to convince her to leave it up for you guys until Wednesday) so hurry over and grab your membership while you still can!  http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/hbhwsale

And no, I didn’t forget.  Here is your ABC’s of Christmas Ebook http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/abcgifts-christine.pdf  Enjoy it, I know I did!

C-

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Vita Mix 5200 Review & Free Shipping Coupon Code

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

BONUS:  Order a Vita Mix using my free shipping code:  06-001694 and forward me your receipt and I will give you a FREE Lifetime Subscription to Dine Without Whine ($139.95 Value)  Also, be sure to see lots of yummy smoothie recipes on our Smoothie Blends Blog

Vita Mix BlenderToday I am excited to review the Vita Mix 5200 for you.  The vita-mix is my personal very favorite kitchen appliance.   We generally use it at least once per day – generally for smoothies.  (although it does get used for many many other things – such as to grind ice for homemade snow-cones, to grind dry peppers, to make homemade sorbet, to make almond milk, soup & more – I certainly don’t have room to list all the things we have used our vita-mix for!)  But back to smoothies… they are a great way to sneak in extra fruits, veggies and protein.  My kids call them milkshakes, and are delighted I let them drink a "milkshake" for breakfast!  I can’t think of a quicker, easier, or tastier way to get your daily dose of fruits and veggies.

In the past, our downfall was that we were going through at least one blender per year as a result of our smoothie habit.  We kept buying nicer (or at least more expensive) units, but even so, our motors kept giving out on us.  We were to the point where we were spending at least $150 a year on blenders!  We finally gave in and bought the nice professional quality Vita Mix 5200.  Now I don’t think we could live without this blender!  We LOVE this machine!  Everything turns out incredibly smooth, (no more hidden large ice chunks) the cookbook that comes with it is incredible and best of all…  It has a 7 year warranty!  (At the rate we were going through blenders, we would have spent $1050 in a 7 year period.)  When you look at that the Vita-Mix price is a steal!) 

Vita-mix 7 Year Warranty

Of course this machine is great for other things besides smoothies as well.  It is a food processor and blender all in one.  It basically does everything both a professional grade blender and food processor would do.  Anything from baby food, to chopping vegetables.  It also makes homemade soup (it even heats it up for you) and homemade ice-cream in a snap.  I guess it’s three machines in one for us (blender, food processor & ice-cream machine) as we have an ice-cream maker as well that we haven’t used since we purchased our Vita Mix.  You also have the option of purchasing a dry food container to make homemade flour and to knead dough – which is so much cheaper & healthier than buying the processed stuff you get in the store.

One of my favorite aspects of the machine is the clean up.  Do you have a traditional blender or smoothie maker that has to be disassembled into 3-10 parts for cleaning?  Yup, all our past machines were like that too.  This machine does not have to be taken apart.  When you are done using it simply fill it with hot water and a drop of dish soap.  Turn it on, run it for a minute, turn it off, dump and rinse and you are done!  So quick and easy!  

I will warn you that I felt a bit of sticker shock when I saw the price.  However, I am incredibly thankful now that we made the purchase.  Smoothies at our house have never been quicker or easier to make and they taste like the professional ones you pay $5.00 for at the mall or coffee shop.  (This is actually the machine those fancy shops use to prepare your drink!)  Truthfully we will be saving money as this one is guaranteed to last at least 7 years; so at the rate we were purchasing blenders this one has already paid for itself in less than 3 years.  Not to mention with this machine I don’t have to have extra kitchen appliances cluttering my kitchen.  I think we will probably own one for the rest of our lives now that we are so attached to ours. We have had ours for just over four years and use it pretty much every day and it hasn’t let us down yet!

Learn more about the Vita Mix Blender 
If you do decide to purchase through us, you are eligible for free shipping.  
The coupon code is 06-001694.  (As well as the bonus mentioned at the top of this page.)

Vita Mix Guarantee

Disclaimer:  Vita Mix did not ask or pay me to post this review.  I am sharing it because I enjoy sharing with you products that I enjoy.  If you do use the free shipping code (06-001694), I do receive a small commission from vita mix. 

C-

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Dinner

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

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Friday Find – Favorite Blogs

Friday, August 21st, 2009

For today’s Friday find I am going to share with you some of my favorite blogs.  Have fun blog hopping, and be sure to leave them a comment letting them know you found them through DWW!  ENJOY!

C-

Adventures in Babywearing – I love Stephanie’s writing style & personality, along with the fact that she has 3 boys and a baby princess – just like me!

4 Little Men & Girly Twins – They are also currently living in the country and their kids…. just too cute! 

My Charming Kids – HMMM Where do I start?  LOVE this blog!  This family lives in MN – near where we used to live, Jen is just so open and honest about things – her faith, her yummy recipes, her little boy who struggles with a heart problem, her marriage – you get it all here in a very refreshing way. 

MADE – Dana is just plain talented. I don’t sew… at all… but I LOVE browsing her work and I periodically beg Nana to make something for me.

Casual Friday Everyday – Nell, is a great photographer and a candid storyteller – love her! 

Okay, that’s five.  I might have to do 5 more in a week or two.  I love sharing with you some of my favorite places!

C-

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Friday Find – Flying Pig Pottery of NC

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Today’s Friday Find I happened upon while looking for the possibility of a new “favorite” serving bowl. 

Go take a peek at Flying Pig Pottery of NC!

Here are a few of my favorites from the shop:

Funky Green Dot Serving Bowl

 

Square Red Dot Stoneware Casserole

 

Berry Bowl  (this really might need to come live at my house…)

 

Soap Dish

Okay, have fun!

C-

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Friday Find – H Balm

Saturday, August 8th, 2009

Friday Find (a day late…)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All right, so what the heck is this stuff?  This won’t pertain to everyone… but if you get cold sores – pay attention!  H-Balm is a natural organic topical treatment for cold sores.  I get cold sores…  particularly when I spend time in the sun which I just did the other day.  If I don’t have sunscreen on my lips, out pops the cold sore!  I felt the initial tingling that I get right when one pops out, so I thought I would try this new stuff I recently bought.  Generally I use Abreva, but even with that, the cold sore still ends up popping out.  Well… I used this & I  now swear by it!  The cold sore never popped out at all!  After a few applications, it is a bit chapped in that area, but no cold sore!  It is a bit “herbally”  (yes, I know that probably isn’t a word.) but it does the trick!  So if you get cold sores, check it out! 

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Friday Find – City Chic Country Mouse

Friday, July 31st, 2009

I am considering doing a Friday Find Weekly Post – Let me know what you think!

If I haven’t told you before.. I’m telling ya now.  I LOVE Etsy!  So naturally this week’s Friday Find (and most likely a lot in the future) is from Etsy.

Today I found City Chic Country Mouse.  Oh my goodness… I could get in trouble here! 

Take a look at this Kitchen Towel

 

And This Apron

 

And this Oven Mitt

 

And this Table Top Ironing Board Cover

 

Yeah, I think you get the picture.  Go check out her store, I think you’ll love it! 

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Test – Windows Live Writer

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

I just downloaded Windows Live Writer – if you’re a blogger check it out!  Anyway….  I wanted to make sure it was working properly… so this is just kind of a test post.  But let’s try out the photo function… just for fun! 

Okay, that was fun, here goes nothing, let’s see how it looks!

C-

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