Wednesday, January 30, 2013

GOODS THINGS FOR 2013......Good Products and a few Good Ideas!!

I used to call these posts "a little of this.....and a little
of that"  They tend to be on the long side so grab a cup of coffee...or tea......Sally my dear...this one is for you...
a few of these things you might already know about but
they are so good I thought I would get the word out
since Marguerite up in Jersey had no idea that
the very best thing to clean your stainless steel
appliances with is...
WD-40!!
so I'm figuring if she didn't know someone else might not
know...I use the can with the little red thingie...you just
flip up the lid and spritz and give your appliance a good wipe
down and the shine is unreal....
it only smells funny for a few minutes but the
shine it gives is worth it...
I'm married to Georgia's version of Tony Soprano
so you know I have to produce a good sauce for the Boss...
or as Italians call it...."Sunday Gravy"
Rao's is expensive in terms of jarred gravy....
But.....nothing and I mean nothing has to be done to it....
I confess I do drizzle a bit of olive oil on top when heating
and maybe a teaspoon or so of sugar....
Other then that if you decide to.... you can just pop this open...heat it up...
and enjoy....it's excellent...
on sale you can expect to pay about $6.99 for a good size jar.
Best appliance of the Century!
the Cuisinart crock pot...
Ever since 1994 when the Cobb County fire department
had to be called out to the house by my neighbor when
smoke was pouring out one of our windows....I was advised to
try cooking using a crock pot...
I have used one a few times a week every since...
it seems Sue is not suited to multi-task......
as in wanting to eat an egg salad sandwich and going
to the mall....
Anyhoo....
Crock pots are cheap right?
You probably have one in your kitchen and never use it...
You can get one as cheap as $12.99 at Walmart....
and they work just fine....But when you get to be an
"Ar'teest" at crock pot cooking you yearn for something fancy...
So last year daughter bought me a gorgeous All-Clad
stainless model with a porcelain insert....beautiful to look at..
your basic temperatures and very heavy to clean.
It died in less then a year....But!! when you buy things at
Williams Sonoma you can pretty much not worry about these things...They are always happy to replace things that go bad....
so they suggested I try the above model....
Fantastic is all I can say....it does everything.....from sauteing...a wonderful feature so you can brown your ingredients first and save cleaning another pan....
to high/low/simmer/warm....a light weight non stick finish makes
it a breeze to clean even the heaviest soil....soak it a few minutes
and wipe it clean....About $200.....if your in to crock pots.
This is the one for you....You will love it!


Great "Idea" for 2013 to pre-heat your oven.....
I find myself sometimes at midnight being asked to make the
Boss his favorite dessert....Pepperidge Farm Turnovers...
you know the frozen kind that need to be baked at a 400 degree oven after you have pre-heated it to 450 then they need to bake for 20 minutes and then cool....
This was getting to be old...so I called Wolf/SubZero and
asked how long should my oven take to pre-heat to 400.
20 minutes at least I'm told......well come on....it's midnight
I want to go to bed.....
here's a trick....
turn on your broiler.....it heats up in less then 5 minutes...
then shut it off and turn on your oven to your needed temperature.
and you will find it's either at the needed temperature or seconds away from 
getting to it....this works like a charm when you need a hot temperature...for lesser degrees...less time on broil
sorry......I love my appliances...someone suggested I had
some sort of issue by owning two of every thing... Not true...
I had the Kitchen Aid on the left....got the new house and
the Boss bought me the one on the right....
If your thinking of buying one or if you have the left model and
thinking of upgrading to the one on the right....
DON'T DO IT.....
if your a cake baker or actually anything that will have
a lot of batter or anything that will fill the bowl at least
half way up.... this mixer is awful.
With the head that lifts up instead of tilting back like the one
on the left....it's a real pain to remove the attachment without
making a mess..a bad design in my eyes...
Cheese????.....No.....
glass plates.....love love love them..
they cost about $1.00 a piece...a little larger then a sandwich plate...not as large as a dinner plate...If you are in the kitchen all
day long like I am...which is probably not likely unless the Boss
has a twin somewhere...here is what I do....
I keep a big stack of these out on the counter all the time...
you don't even notice them because....well....they're glass.
this prevents me from breakfast lunch and snacks having to
reach up into the cabinets for a real plate...they are a perfect size
for a small breakfast....a lunch time sandwich or a late night snack.....Our kitchen does not shut down until well after
midnight....I go through a stack a day.
These are also good if you ever find pretty paper plates for a party or have old plates from the 40's or 50's where you're not
sure if they are safe to eat on.....like my 1950's souvenir state
plates....Just pop one of these on top..you get to see what's beneath and your eating on a real plate that is safe!
With the New Year of course comes the ever popular
Diet.....
I have lost 20 pounds in the past three months....with a little
help from my beloved Dr. H after he realized I needed a jump start.....But I have changed the way I was eating....I discovered it's
not necessary what you eat....it's how much you eat...
here's a very satisfying breakfast....
I scramble that egg and I make an egg sandwich on one of these
wonderful little potato rolls....

egg=99 calories.....roll= 80 calories....great way to start the day.
And it is true that you have to have something to eat in the morning to get you jump started...
lunch.....I do salt up the cottage cheese for that whole
salty/sweet combo and at 100 calories...I often have these
as a late night snack too....
Publix our grocer here in the South just ran these this week on sale
10 for $5.00.....yup 50 cents a piece....
after dinner treat.....60 calories for the little puddings and
jello....I add an extra amount of Land O Lakes sugar free
Whipped Cream....a normal amount = 20 calories...
I no longer drink Coke Zero all day long.....it just turned out not
to be a "good thing".....I switched to water....much better...
I never leave home without a bottle of Dasani....
I eat a steak usually twice a week......grilled cheese sandwiches...
pasta....But I have given up mashed potatoes...It seems to be working...still enjoying a good pizza too...just not the whole
thing....
it seems to be bad weather all over blog land....
treat yourself to some fresh flowers....
I buy old fashioned carnations and whatever these other things
are called...You all know what they are....
they never die is what they are!!
Good for a good two weeks...they make the house Happy
I buy three bunches....I alternate colors every other week...
$12.99 for 3 bunches...
here is pure Heaven in a Bottle....
I treated myself at the airport in Paris to this stuff....
if your looking to change perfumes.....beautiful smell that
lasts and lasts....I go to bed at night and I can still smell it....
Cartier describes it as having a
"limpid freshness....an ode to simplicity"
I couldn't have said it better myself if I were French......
about $90. for a good size bottle...
one spritz a day this should last a very long time..

okay prepare yourself for this next one....
You know I have been known to talk about "boobs"....
no no.....not my ex-son-in-law.....
what women hasn't had a problem finding a really good
strapless bra.....discussing this the other day with my good
blog friends Linda and Sandie over lunch....This one found at
Target is a winner....at $16.99 it's a steal compared to all the
custom bra shops that are popping up all over....
the discussion started over Sandie's visit to a shop here in
town called "Livi Rose"....it seems they even scored themselves
their own reality show.....I have not seen it but seems like an
interesting concept?
the quest for a good strapless bra came from the fact that
almost all my tops I wear seem to be boat neck...
and there was the day in Publix when I was making a complaint to one of the managers about a deli employee when during the
entire conversation she kept looking down in the area around my waist.....You do know where this story is headed....luckily it was
a women manager.....I get home and ask the Boss if something looked funny on me....he told me to look down....
at which time I realized my "bandeau" style bra had slipped down
and was around my waist....It looked like I had a huge goiter..or
worse four boobs....
Horrifying.....
So no matter how big or how small those boobs are this bra.......
I guarantee..... will stay where it's suppose to....
Here is my second good idea for your New Year.....
no matter how old you get you are never too old to take something you have disliked or in my case hated all my life
and re-think your opinion.....Give it a try....
I'm still not comfortable enough to make too much contact with
Miss Coco Chanel.....but we are slowly getting attached to
one another....she's a wild cat and my friend Necie tells me
wild cats have rabies....but look at that face....
she now basically lives on our back porch....we even bought her
 a house for the winter.....
Always a dog person....this one is even surprising me....
and lastly.....see how good this looks....and Oh it smelled
just as good.....similar to the hot breads served at
the Macaroni Grill and other Italian chain joints....
BUT....
it's a "bad thing".....
horrible....horrible....tastes like...wallpaper paste with
Italian seasoning....stay away from being tempted to buy this at all costs....
and as I hear a sigh of relief coming out of my computer..
I have come to the end of my picks for
"Good things for 2013"
the best thing for the New Year is to just have fun at least
for a few minutes every day.....and in the words of my father
"Siggy".....

"Reeeeeeeeeeeeelax"



*****my neighbor read this post and asked if WD-40 can be used on appliances because she thought it was flammable. YES.....
it is according to the can. I use this on the front of the fridge, dishwasher, warming tray and the front (not near the burners) of my stove when NOT  in use or if it's hot after use.
The use of this product was told to me by the delivery
and installation folks at
Guy T. Gunther Associates in Atlanta
sellers of commercial appliances years ago and I
have used it ever since never with a problem. Just make sure 
you don't use it when the burners are on!!
and wipe off thoroughly.... 

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

COMPLIMENTS......Are You a Taker or a Giver?

"Compliments" as discussed with Miss B one day recently when
she was fussing about taking a bath and getting her
hair washed....
No other pictures to follow in this post.....Just my take on
receiving and giving the ever popular
"compliment..."
and what you do to keep yourself feeling young...
You may or may not find this helpful or interesting :)
there is a point to this story....

I explained to B how important it is to always look
your best and smell your best when leaving your home....
forgot that whole "you might be in a accident thing so make sure you have on clean underwear"...
It's all about someone saying something nice to you....
Because who doesn't like to get a compliment...
Then I gave her my Key to Personal Happiness...

When I leave the house I don't go home until I receive
at least one or more compliments....
the daughter can verify this....
Yes crazy I know but it makes for a better day....
I would say my average is 9 for 10.....
it's usually my hair that someone comments on even 
though I have had the same hair cut since high school....
Hey....it works for me....
The best one recently came from a few of the
Greeters at the Georgia Dome....I was even surprised by that one...

First thing you need to know is you have to be a talker....
I will talk to anyone who looks at me crooked...This makes for
a much easier chance of someone saying something nice
to you....
I never leave home without perfume on.....
it never fails...... someone....usually in the meat department at
Publix....... gets a whiff and comments how good the smell is  ....
Then there's the whole back and forth about what it is and how it smells so good on me.....might not smell so good on 
someone else for reasons I don't think anyone knows...

For years I was a big user of Shalimar when the folks would go cruising and bring me back a bottle "duty free"....
those days dried up back in the 80's so I went years without
any scent....then I discovered Clinique's Aromatic Elixir....
Loved it....family and pets hated it.....it used to make the dogs sneeze.....But the shoppers at Publix were drawn to it like flies...
Never went shopping wearing it without a compliment...
 I got carried away at some point by being noticed
and used just a squirt too much.....
a half a squirt is too much of this stuff....so I gave it up....
Daughter then got me Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist...
this elicits lots of compliments because it's recognized by many 
so you then get...."Oh your wearing Cashmere Mist it smells so good"....

A biggie in the compliment department is drive a cute car...
something bright and sporty preferably a convertible...
easier for kind remarks if the top is down...
From toll takers to people stopped at traffic lights...
people who work the drive thru at fast food joints are
prime candidates for a few nice words....
great too because you can get your food and get it home
before it gets cold....compliment accepted and
appreciated...

Then there is the infamous
"Solicited Compliment"

this is when no one is saying anything and your getting tired
and you want to go home.....but....let's try just one more trick....
Usually in a retail establishment this works best....
You find someone who you clearly see is younger
then you but they don't look so good for their age....
This works extremely well with men...and some women
cashiers....people who stand on their feet all day..
You comment on not being able to see whatever.....the receipt..
the little machine that takes your debit card...anything...
You mention that losing your eyesight is a downfall
of getting old.....

To which the person will reply....
"Oh I bet I'm a  lot older then you are".....
it never fails....they are usually at least 5 to 8 years
younger then I am.....
this just happened when the man cashier at Staples said to me
"Oh I'm 58".....to which I quickly upped him with...
"I'm 62"..... 
here it came....
"You need to do whatever it is your doin honey because you don't look
that old".....
Time to go home!!

One last thing.....
I'm really not a shallow person.....although it sounds that way...
No...I love to give compliments just as much as I love
getting them...
Even if you don't mean it you will make some one's day...
I just saw a young cashier in my travels and I noticed she
had on blue nail polish.....Now believe me no one
should wear blue nail polish but she looked tired from
standing all day and didn't look happy....
so I said....
"I love your Tiffany colored nail polish"
Here face lit up with a big smile and she thanked me....
I felt like I made this girls day....
even though her nails really didn't look good at all....
I also always stop to talk to the "cheese guy" at Publix...
and that's just what I call him....
we chit chat and I always try to ask him some cheese related or cooking with cheese question so he feels his job is important...
He seems like this makes him happy our little weekly talks...

So where does this all lead to after reading how I spend my days
out and about.....it really just comes down to this....

If I lie then that means other people lie so basically

I have bad outdated hair.....I smell bad from excessive perfume.........I'm old....
I wear odd clothing....and I talk to strangers who probably think I'm a Nut......


the part about the car is 100% accurate as the daughter has found out....she now is at the compliment end when driving the
 V.W. Bug thru toll plazas and fast food joints....

I figure I'm not really bothering anyone and it makes me
Happy.....you should try it!







Sunday, January 20, 2013

PARIS PICTURES......MINUS MY RAMBLINGS

pink and gold....
really.....a nun with sneakers

the famous Paris rooftops
the street where you shop til you drop!


our view.......
from the top of the tower...
the apartment kitchen
the girls!!

remember this cutie....
our waiter at the Cafe Marley at the Louvre


Notre Dame



more rooftops.....
this made the best grilled cheese
sandwich....
Miss Liberty.....half size.

every hour on the hour....
twinkle lights!!
look....I'm like a giant invading the city...
pastries.....their specialty..


the new york diner....
gotta love the
"chuck norris burger"
inside the dreaded subway....
more stairs then the
Washington Monument

sorry.....couldn't resist...
Our "Miss B"......
just being cute....
pictures taken by myself and daughter.....Nikon 200D and Nikon 300D cameras....

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

PARIS IN A NUTSHELL..........

Back in September we made the decision
to spend the holidays in Paris with the
girls.....
Here is my brief summary of why Hawaii should
have been discussed before buying tickets on
Air France....
 The Boss considers me to be a complainer and he's
probably right....more of a whiner I suppose but certainly
simple things who would make the average person smile with joy
can make me act like an ass.....

I don't mean not to be appreciative of all
the Boss does for me...
Here is how the trip went....
my version....
My first bit of advise I can give is....if you pay
a lot of money for trip insurance and someone in your
"group" is sick....for Pete's sake use the insurance....
Poor Miss "B" had the flu for a week before we left...
Two visits to the doctors....no medication given...just
"it should run it's course by Wednesday"
Guess what....it got worse not better....
when traveling to Europe fly on an American carrier...
Booked on Delta....we flew on Air France....
it seems Air France does not have the same policies
as Delta.....something they failed to tell us....
but that's a whole other story....
my advise...
stay clear of Air France....
We tried to leave on an earlier flight the day we were
flying home...just by about 2 hours.....
and Air France wanted an additional $20,000.00
for our four seats....yup....you  read that right....
$5,000.00 per person...on top of the $2700.00 "per" ticket
we had already paid....
luckily our apartment rental people
were kind enough to extend our check out time...

next bit of advise.....travel to Paris in Spring or Fall
only idiots go in the dead of winter or during a
holiday to which all Europeans and Asians decide
that Paris is the place to spend the New Year...
there were more people there then Times Square on
New Years Eve....
I have no recollection of seeing any museums....their
wonderful department stores....their fabulous bakeries...
I saw the subways and the sidewalks....
I swear all I did for a week was walk and go up and
down subway steps....
I felt like I was making an exercise video for
Seniors....
here's a great piece of advise....
on our last day we wised up and the Boss hired us a car
to take us around to all the shops we wanted to visit...
A company called Victor's Taxi is Heaven in a
Mercedes.....at 45 Euros an hour we hired
Victor for a three hour period....
A lovely Asian man who spoke French and English
He would pull up to a shop we would go in and shop
he waited outside double parked and then took us to
our next stop....
one problem.....
Don't take along a 5 year old who gets car sick....
Poor B did well for the first hour and a half and then
when the Boss asked the driver
"so, do you happen to know where the Ferrari store is"
she turned to me....green in the face and said...
"Grandma I want to go home I don't feel so good"...
also added to the mix was the fact that two fabulous
cooking shops I had been dying to go to were closed when
we pulled up...
make sure your shops of choice are open for business...
but treat yourself for a few hours of this wonderful way
to get around this big city.....

I did get excited when I read Ina Garten's Blog and her
and Jeffery were in town the same time and they
also rented a driver for the day to see the sights
on New Years Eve....
How cool would that have been if we ran into
Ina.....
okay......another great idea for visiting Paris....
Don't stay at a hotel...rent yourself an apartment...
We used a company called
"Paris Perfect"....
and the apartment was stunning....a three BR
two bath.....with a full kitchen...two living rooms...
and two dining areas....a wrap around terrace up on the
8th floor....it was certainly "Perfect"...
they rent studios up to three bedrooms....
about the cost of a first class hotel but so much
better then being cooped up in a single room...
Eating out in Paris is extremely expensive so by
having an apartment you can at least have your breakfast
or a late night meal and not break the bank...
This is the second time we have rented an apartment in Paris
and there is no way I would ever stay at a hotel...
Prices vary upon the time of year.....
Well worth whatever the cost....
let's talk food.....I am not a food snob by any means....
give me a good hot dog with kraut or good BBQ and
I'm in Heaven....but when in Paris....
Daughter had made reservations at the Jules Verne
restaurant half way up the Eiffel Tower at the encouragement
of the Boss...as he put it....this was a trip of a lifetime...
Not having to wait in a long line we were taken up in a
special elevator to the second level....
the views were magnificent......
This is where myself acting like an ass comes into play....
I am frugal where food is concerned......maybe because

I cook so much and I actually know what goes into a
good meal....

I also appreciate the finer things but I'm not afraid to
say when something isn't really worth the hype....
I had the above scallops (three of them)...in some sort
of green sauce....and those brown things were shaved truffles...
the Boss had some sort of beef...
daughter had the salmon and for Miss B they
offered her chicken fricassee which turned out to be
chicken sausage....

portion sizes could fit in a thimble...
of course that is why us Americans are the size we are!!
I do have to say the desserts were decadent...
Fabulous was the only way to describe them...
But......I sat the entire time looking like I was waiting to
 have a "root canal".....
this is daughter's salmon.....
a once in a lifetime meal....in the most  beautiful
place in the world.....not worth almost $600.00
but a big thank you to the Boss for treating his girls
like celebrities...
I have said my apologizes to all involved for
not fully enjoying this terrific experience...
a view from the tower....looking towards the Trocadero....
gift shop!!
make sure the building your staying in has an
elevator....this one did....but it only fit one person
at a time and was a bit creepy...
the boss did climb down these stairs many times during the
week....he was not a fan of the elevator...
I should have taken my apartment pictures the day we arrived
because within minutes we made our selves at home
and all the beautiful rooms had our crap everywhere...
t.v. room.....the apartment was decorated
very french....checks all over...and great throw pillows...
chandeliers in every room....
okay...did anyone see the episode of
The Real Housewives of New York when the
Countess hits on the guy who looks like Johnny Depp
in the pirate movies....
well....somewhere in France they are cloning these guys..
this was our waiter at the cafe at the Louvre.....
view from our wrap around terrace....
the Eiffel Tower was only 2 blocks away....
the camera lens makes it look farther...
weather was fair.....a bit cold but not awful.....
Paris is gorgeous....but I have to say go in the Spring or Fall
it is not as pretty in the winter....
we did have one day of sunshine so me and the Boss
took to the streets....Daughter and B were off to see
Disneyland Paris for the day...
this is one of the bridges in the city....
Stunning......that's all you can say about it...
more bridge ornamental statues......
I've come home with post traumatic stress syndrome
from all the subway steps....my house has 18 steps up to the
bedroom....for the past three days whenever I go to climb up them or down all I see in front of me is the inside of the Paris subways...
I'm waiting for the Boss to start playing the
accordion and holding an empty coffee cup for
donations....

Street performers....this guy was half a mime....
sometimes he spoke other times he didn't....
but he drew a crowd....
if I have to say one fun thing during this whole trip it would be...
near Notre Damn there was a man sitting at a make shift
old wooden piano....
He was playing the theme to the movie
"The Third Man"
with Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles....
the entire movie score was played on a zither.....
this man's piano had the same sound....
I could have stood there all day listening to him play...
The boss was not as impressed and whisked me away after
a few minutes.....
I promised Sophie a ride with grandma on this Ferris wheel
the two of us are not afraid of heights....
But we never made it back to go on....
everywhere in the city there were lines a mile long....
This is not the case during other times of the year...
Daughter spotted this sign stuck to a lamp post and
quickly it became....
"B was here".....

my Macaron Fix....
the apartment chandeliers....
every room had one!!
padlocks on the fence at the
Pont de L'Archeveche'
considered Love Locks...there seems to be millions of them
a tradition that Paris doesn't approve of...
it's against the law to put one on but as you can see
it doesn't stop people from leaving their mark on
Paris...

hiding under a hat at the cafe in the Louvre..... 
Time to leave.....
The best part of the trip was hearing this 5 year old
with her new found language use it all over the city...
Sophie has the ability to speak French with a better
pronunciation then some of her words in English...
She knew what to say and when.....
she charmed the people of Paris....
and "corrected" her Grandpa when he left a store or a
restaurant and said "Bon Jour"....
she thanked everyone with a "Merci"
and last but not least....
Sophie was meant to wear a Beret.......

Thanks to the Boss....the daughter and the "B"
for putting up with a grandma who's not
the best travel companion.....