Tag Archives: NaBloPoMo

Flotsam / Jetsam, sponsored

An opportunity to partake in Black Friday without leaving your house

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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for Mabel’s Labels. Nichole was compensated for this post. All opinions are her own.

Remember back in June when I told you the kids were going to camp? And I told you I was labeling everything? Specifically, that I was labeling everything with Mabel’s Labels because they stay on for.ev.er?

I was not kidding. The soles of the sandals that Pete wore all summer and most of the fall have started to come off, but the label remains. Poppy’s water bottle survived a season of soccer, and her Mabel’s Labels-affixed name tag is steadfast. These guys don’t give up.

I’m pretty excited to be including goodies from their stocking stuffer combo pack in several of my Christmas gifts this year, and I’m even happier to offer you the chance to win a set of return address labels! Enter here for a chance to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It may be too late to label all of your Tupperware ahead of turkey time — Happy Thanksgiving, by the way! — but it isn’t too late to get them ready for your holiday get-togethers. Mabel’s Labels is currently running a Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale. It includes 40 percent off of Tag Mates, mini custom name stickers, preschool shoe labels and the starter label pack. The sale runs from 9am Eastern time today until midnight on Monday, November 28.

Eating

A celebrity, a chef and a novelty cookbook

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My dream kitchen would have a goodly sized pantry, an island or a nook with seating and some bookshelves. Because I have a problem, and it is hoarding cookbooks.

(I have other problems, too, but today we’re focusing on cookbooks.)

I never paid much attention to what was going on in the kitchen when I was growing up, so I had no idea how to cook once I moved out. I made a lot of ramen noodles and George Foreman chicken at first, and when we got tired of that I started perusing cookbooks.

I don’t rely on cookbooks as much as I used to, but I still love to read them for fun. I usually check them out from the library rather than buying them, because the cookbook section of my bookshelf is solidly packed. A trio of new ones have joined my collection in the last month, though, forcing me to cull the herd a little to make room for them.

My sister-in-law gave me Chef Katie Button’s Curate cookbook for my birthday. It’s Spanish food slightly tweaked for American kitchens, and it’s a little bit intimidating. I haven’t tried anything from it yet, but I’ll get back to you if I get brave enough to dive into it.

I also haven’t tried anything from Kristi Carlson’s “Eat Like a Gilmore,” which somehow leapt into my metaphorical shopping cart when I was wandering around Barnes & Noble. I may never try anything from it at all, but I’m glad I bought it because I love “Gilmore Girls” enough to at least consider trying Founders Day Punch or Sookie’s risotto.

Freddie Prinze Jr's "Back to the Kitchen"I have, however, tried a couple of recipe from Freddie Prinze Jr.’s “Back to the Kitchen, which I didn’t even know existed until I got an email from Type-A Parent announcing that Freddie would be making an appearance at their conference in Orlando. I was going to the conference, so I threw my name into the hat of folks hoping to attend his cooking demo. I got into the demo, and I laughed at the weird, funny experiences that this blogging thing has thrown my way.

Freddie was charming and handsome, and he seemed to know what he was talking about when he was cooking. But I was still a little hesitant, because it’s a celebrity cookbook and sometimes they’re not so great. (I’m looking at you, Coolio.) I looked through the book, and a couple of things caught my eye. I made his Carne Asada Tacos when we got home, and I was convinced. Freddie Prinze Jr. writes a solid cookbook. I was going to plan a Freddie Prinze Jr. Thanksgiving Meal, but then my sister-in-law volunteered to do all the work so I shelved that plan for next year.

What’s your favorite cookbook?