Gorgeous Wine Glasses Giveaway!

Hey all! Remember my review on the Gorgeous Wine Glasses?? If not go back and give it a look! Do you want your very own set of glasses?? Here is your chance! John at Gorgeous Wine Glasses has graciously offered a set of thier Afterglow Flutes to one lucky winner!!! So you know what to do.. go give them some love, check out thier site and come back to tell us so that you can be entered in to wine this gorgeous set of flutes!! We wil let it run till the 15th.. Give something back on tax day when soo many people ususally have to pay :)
here is what you will be winning:

The Afterglow Glassware Collection is a tribute to clean, colorless crystal. The Afterglow Collection features an elegant etched pattern. After the glass form is created from molten glass by an artisan, it is then allowed to cool. Then the matte finish at the bottom of each piece is created when the glass is dipped into an acidic substance causing the glass to be "frosted" yet smooth. Each individual piece then goes on to etching stations where craftsmen etch the lined pattern into each piece of glassware. Pieces include: Candle Cone, Champagne Flute, Halo Flute, Martini Glass, and Vase.

MademoiselleMermaid Fingerless Gloves

I got a package from Mademoisellemermaid the other day. Of course I couldn’t wait to open it because I could wait to check out the crocheted fingerless gloves she sent me!!! I love them. I don’t know about you, but I hate when my hands get cold, and for me its usually the only thing that gets cold.. I cant wear gloves because then I cant type.. If I do it ends up all messed up and very frustrating. We I came across MademoiselleMermaid and found her fingerless gloves and had to check them out!! I thought what better way to keep my hands warm and still be able to type! I was very right! They are soo cute!! Very nicely crocheted and they even come with a little bow at the bottom. The bottom comes to just above my wrist, so it’s a really nice length. They are very soft and comfortable to wear. I can type away with no interference from them which is great because as you can imagine I do a LOT of typing. They don’t get itchy or anything like some gloves after wearing them for awhile, for that matter I forget that I even have them on. They are super stretchy because they are double stiched crocheted. They come in an assortment of colors too so you can choose your favorite color! The best part they are washable!! You can hand or machine wash in cold on the gentle cycle of course. Just make sure you turn them inside out J. You wouldn’t want to lose the little bow! MademoiselleMermaid has soo many cool things on her sight! You just have to go check them out! From hats to crocheted leg warmers and something for everything in between! She has great little wrist cuffs! Made of lace and beads that you have to check out!!

Do you like Alice in Wonderland? Check out her selection of Alice in Wonderland stuff! Wrist (shown to the right) and ankle cuffs, tanks, chokers and more!!

Pros: They are awsome! They look great and feel great! They keep your hands warm while still allowing you to do things. Great prices and low shipping!

COns: None!

Overall: Great Product for a great price! Great assortment of items that really cool! Great customer service and quick shipping!

Want your own pair of gloves? Enter for your chance to win your choice of color fingerless gloves!! You know what to do!! Extra chances for liking their facebook page and showing them some love!! Also you can follow them on twitter! They also have a blog and thier website as well as an etsy shop you can check out!

Old TIme Caramels

While wondering around on etsy one day I spotted some caramels. I was intrigued by the many different kind of caramels that were being sold. I came across one company that had a little sample pack so I decided to try them. I got a mix of all their caramels. They have Original, orange, cinnamon, peppermint, licorice, apple, apple cinnamon, and coconut. For $8 you get a 12oz bag of caramels.

All of them were very creamy, great texture.. But I have to admit it was odd having different flavors. The cinnamon was the oddest. I think because it was the strongest of the flavors. The cinnamon overpowered the actual caramel flavor. My favorite by far was the coconut and the original. The mint was good just a hint of mint and the apple and orange were very very light flavor. The licorice, though by far my least favorite, only because I am not a big fan of black anise anyway, was a stronger flavor but it was still not as strong as the cinnamon. Thought not a bad thing especially if you like those flavors. My husband tried the cinnamon and gave it thumbs down saying that caramels should taste like caramel not cinnamon. Which if you are in his line of thinking definitely get their original. All the flavors were very smooth, and as I said very creamy, nice and chewy.
They do sell their caramels in uncut blocks as well as individually wrapped. They have 2 different size sampler packs so if you cant choose I would recommend that. The shipped very quickly and came in little bag with the company name, info and ingrediants.

Pro: cheap, variety, very smooth, creamy, great taste

Con: some of the flavors are a bit strong, the caramels were not labeled. So you have to guess at the flavors.

Overall: Very good hand made caramels. They are a great little treat for yourself or for someone else who loves caramels. I will definitely order from them again for the coconut.
You can find them on etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/oldtimecaramels and they do have a face book page. Right now they are giving out codes for a percentage off your next purchase! Also they just got rid of high fructose corn syrup from their supplies! I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did!!

Soy Simplicities

I was window shopping so to speak one afternoon on amazon.com and came across this little company Soy Simplicities. I have started burning soy candles mostly because they last a lot longer. I burn a lot of candles and usually all day.
What caught my eye with this company is that they have a candle scent called Baking Brownies!!! OMG I can not tell you how good it smells!! Makes my mouth water! Smells just like you are making a fresh batch of brownies in the oven.. The smell lasts too. It doesn’t just fade into the background.
Being how well this candle lasted I ordered up some others, some scents I knew I would enjoy. I ordered gingerbread, roasted coffee, lilac and spring rain. I have to admit that the other scents were not nearly as potent. I did like the smell of the ginger bread and the spring rain but the coffee, not so much. I have yet to try the lilac. That will be my next sent once I have counters again, (for those who don’t know we are in the process of remodeling our kitchen). They come in a cute little jar or in a mason jar. They also come in different sizes.



Pro: the baked brownies smell incredible!! They last long, they are soy so there is less “soot”, they have a lot of great sounding scents, different sizes, the jars are reusable after they are washed w soap and warm water.

Cons: a bit pricey $10 for an 8 oz jar, they are all white candles so you cant tell what scent you are grabbing unless you look at the tag, some of the scents are not as strong.

Overall: I will order from them again. The candles do smell great. They are made with 100% natural soy wax, cotton lead-free wicks and select fragrance oils, Cleaner burning, longer lasting, wonderfully scented candle, Non-toxic, eco-friendly and water soluble, healthy choice for sharing and enjoying your favorite aromas with friends and family. I recommend them to anyone who likes different smelling candles.

You can find them at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_kitchen?_encoding=UTF8&node=1055398&field-brandtextbin=Soy%20Simplicities

Netflix

Sorry everyone I dropped the ball forgot to post this earlier! Lost track of what day it was :(


I have to admit I'm lazy.. I also tend to be rather forgetful, but I love to watch movies. I used to go to your run of them mill rental places that you see all over, but I always forgot to bring the movie back and ended up always loosing money because I was always paying late fees or having to buy the movie because I am WAY over due.
I decided to give Netflix a try. I am quite pleased with them. You get to choose your plan whether it be one movie at a time, one movie and unlimited online rentals, 2 at a time, 3 at a time and so on. For awhile I had the 2 at a time plan but have recently changed to 1 because we are just too busy to watch them. I found I had the same movie for almost 6 months L. With Netflix I was never charged a late fee nor did I have to buy the movie. I did have to buy one when I lost it, but I later found it and was able to return it and I got a credit for it. I did also have an issue at one point where I sent a movie back and they didn’t get it. I was not charged for that movie!
That brings me to delivery of your movie. They are super quick! If I return a movie on Monday I will have my new movie usually by Wed on the rare occasion will it be Thursday. I love their quick turn around. If I am watching a tv series I want to be able to watch the next dvd right away and I am with their speedy deliveries.
They have a TON of movies and tv series to choose from in every genre. Their online viewing is clear and crisp and doesn’t hang up, at least not in my experience. You are able to watch them thru different devises including your PS3. If your tv has the right connections you can even watch it right thru your tv!

Pro: tons of options both in billing and in movies, quick shipment, great customer service
Cons: dvds are only shipped in paper slips.

Overall: Netflix is a great little company. You are able to get your movies delivered right to your door and picked up from your door. No worries about having to remember to bring your movies back to somewhere your mailman will take them for you!

Simply Delicious Pork

I just had to put a review out there for this recipe. I tried this last night and was blown away. Absolutely delicious!! Its very simple and very quick to make and for the calorie counter pretty low cal! I just got a crock pot slow cooker for Christmas and a recipe book specifically for crock pots. So having company last night I thought it was a great time to attempt something interesting. If you are like me and like applesauce with your pork chops I think you will definitely like it!
First thing I noticed you don’t add any liquid to the recipe, which I have found you usually do with the slow cooker, so I was kinda worried. But I followed the recipe putting my pork right in and adding 4 golden delicious apples sliced up on top. Then you mix together and sprinkle on top of that brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. I was beginning to feel like I was making apple pie on top of my pork! I turned on the crock pot and let her go. It was about an hour after I turned it on I got the first hints that this was going to be scrumptious. My whole house smelled like apple pie! Yummmmm
After letting it cook for 6-8 hours on low, I was ready to taste it.. The pork chops were falling apart! They were soooo tender and sooo moist and tasted unbelievable! The apples were turned to mush not quite apple sauce but not quite apple though they retained their sliced shapes until you tried to pick them up, but they tasted great! I am very happy with this recipe and I hope that you all will be too!!
The cook book that I used is a great one. It has a lot of different easy meals, sides, soups, desserts and drinks! Yea I know desserts from your slow cooker??? Drinks for your slow cooker??? Weird! I haven’t tried those yet but when I do will be sure to let you all know!

The recipe:
1 ½ lbs boneless pork loin, cut into 6 pieces or 6 boneless pork loin chops
4 medium Golden delicious apples, sliced
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt

1. Place pork in crock pot slow cooker. Cover with apples.
2. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl; sprinkle over apples. Cover; cook on LOW 6-8 hours. Enjoy!!

Pros: quick and simple, great taste, great as a left over! Incredibly moist..
Cons: nothing really except if you have texture issues the mush apples might bother you..
Over all: I have to say this is definitely a recipe that will make it into our rotation for family meals. It really was surprising as to how good it was. If you like pork and just need another idea for preparation try out this recipe, I don’t think you will be disappointed. If you like to cook in your slow cooker I really have to recommend the cook book Crock Pot *the original slow cooker* Best - Loved Slow cooker recipes.

Happy Dinning!

~Heather