Jan’s favorite things on the cheap, Day 5

 

Running  late today, I could use a rub-a-dub-dub in the tub right now.

Okay, here’s what I’m liking this winter.  It’s more than one thing today.

First of all Olay Ultra Moisture Body Wash with Shea Butter is fantastic. The suds are really rich, it smells wonderful, and leaves your skin so soft and creamy, never dry.  I follow it up with

Jergens Shea Butter Body Lotion.  I like the way it smells, too.

Of course, I’ve always loved Original Cherry Almond Scented Jergens, that is the best fragrance ever, I never tire of it.

And, then I can’t forget Johnson’s Baby Lotion.  Hooterville started me using it a couple of years ago.  I picked her up and she smelled great.  When I asked her what that was, she said “Johnson’s Baby Lotion,” and it was like ahhhhhh, of course I remember that smell from my babies.  I use it all the time now, too…

And the best loofah I’ve found - The $6.00 one from Bath and Body Works.  Unlike those horrid little hard ball loofah’s, this one is really big and spongy soft.  Treat yourself, it’s worth it!

Tomorrow – a great lip balm, no, not Carmex, even though you all know I’m a Carmex junkie, this is another one….

John sent me this tonight, oh what a dog! adorable…

Who in their right mind would want eau de toilette that smells like a Whopper???

Just in time for Christmas, a new body spray is being released from the people who brought you the flame-broiled whopper.

Officials with Burger King say they want to set hearts ablaze for the holidays with its new scent, "Flame",  and yes, it's formulated to smell like char-grilled burgers.

The new fragrance costs $4 a bottle and can be found on their website.

Here’s the click, if you really want to see this -

Jan’s favorite things on the cheap, Day 4

I’ve alway had sensitive skin, and it was during a  visit to a dermatologist in the 80’s that I discovered Cetaphil.

You didn’t hear much about it in those days, they didn’t advertise in magazines like they do today.  Doctor’s recommended it to bathe infants in because it was so gentle.  I tried it because I was having a reaction to another product I was using on my face at the time, and I’ve used it ever since.

If you’re unfamiliar with Cetaphil, it can be used with or without water, I never use water, I just put it directly on my face, and remove it with a tissue,   it takes off eye makeup in one gentle swipe, and leaves your skin  feeling really soft with no stickiness, and it never irritates.  Beware of generic brands, though, they don’t work for me, I’ve found them to be  a lot harsher than the  real thing.

A large pump container of Cetaphil will cost about $8.99, but it lasts a really long time.  If you have never used it, try it, it’s a great product.

Tomorrow, rub-a-dub-dub, my faves in the tub….

One of the best Christmas commercials, ever….

Jan’s favorite things on the cheap, Day 3

I’m always trying new types of foundation,  usually courtesy of Angie, who tries them first and then tells me what I should buy…

I’ve been using Rimmel Lift and Renew Foundation since she told me about it last year.  I find it at Wally World, it costs $6.99, and I buy both the liquid and the mousse, and rotate them.  I have really sensitive skin, and have no problems with this.  It’s a good product, goes on smoothly, and more importantly, stays on all day.  Give it a try, it’s an inexpensive way to try something new.  Rimmel has blush, also – they come in small sizes, but they only cost $2.99.

Tomorrow, the best makeup remover, ever, I’ve used it for years, and never found anything that works better…

They’re finished…

Just in time for Christmas baking, Jan & Friends Christmas recipes are finished!  Just click on the Christmas Kids in the right sidebar.

I hope you all enjoy them, there are some great recipes in this collection, thanks to my  friends who so generously shared their family favorites.

~ jan

Jean lost her best friend, today…

He’s soaring with the angels, now.  Rest in peace, Sweet Albie…

Jan’s favorite things on the cheap, Day 2

I’ve used a lot of home hair color products over the years, Loreal, Clairol, Nutrisse, Revlon, you name it, if it’s blonde, it’s been on my head.  I even had a fiasco with strawberry blonde during a brain fart last year…

In my quest for the perfect golden shade, I’ve run the gamut from brassy to yellow, I’ve tried really light blonde, and as I look back in pictures, I realize my really light blonde was more like an off shade of platinum, YUCK!  At least I’ve always stayed away from ash, I realized from a friend’s faux pax that ash can give your hair a green hue.

I finally quit going for the gold and went to neutral, and it worked!  Who woulda thunk it, after all these years, I finally found a color that actually looks great!  It’s a nice, gentle blonde, not too pale, definitely not yellow, just a natural blonde.

It’s nice’ n easy Natural Light Neutral Blonde 103 – look for it in your drugstore, it’s a great color, and only costs $6.99, less when it’s one sale.

It’s a good thing…

Tomorrow, a really great foundation at a really great price…

Jan’s favorite things, on the cheap, Day 1…

I had really good intentions to publish Jan & Friends Favorite Things again this year, did I get it accomplished, no, just didn’t happen.  Instead, I’m going to do a mini version, every day from now until Christmas I’ll publish a favorite cosmetic, nothing over $15.00.  Yeah, I know Oprah did cheap things too this year, well mine are really cheap!!!

I’ve always been a drugstore cosmetic junkie, and found that a lot of it is as good as the pricier stuff, and since I have a huge stash, it will be easy to give all of you a favorite from now until Christmas.

This morning, I’ll start it off with a $1 item.  Yep, just a buck for moisturizer.  I used Clinique for years, spending $$$ on it, finally got smart and realized that I would rather save the big bucks for gorgeous  eye shadows and great blush instead of moisturizer when this does just as well as Clinique.  It’s light, smells great, glides on and gives you a great makeup base.

Johnson’s Softlotion, 24 Hour Moisturizer.  I buy 2 ounce tubes of this at Wally World in the lotion aisle for $1.00.

It’s good stuff, gentle, too, and it has that great Johnson’s smell. 

Tomorrow, I’m going to share the best  at home hair color I’ve ever found!  Trust me, my hair has been every shade of blonde imaginable over the years, but I’ve finally found a great color that works, it might just work for you, too…

If any of you have favorite things on the cheap you would like to add to this, it would be great, just click on the comments below and add it!

~ jan

a litte trip down memory lane….

 

This was the gingerbread village that we built last year, the cars and train were made from a spice cake mix that I baked in molded pans from Williams-Sonoma.  There are lots of pictures in last December archives if you are interested.  It was too cute to not post again..  Click here for a link to the pictures -

~ jan

In the middle of the night…

The clock said 1:30 a.m., a moonbeam was shining thru the bedroom window like a beacon on Maggie, bathing her in a soft glow.  I reached in her little bed and took her paw in my hand, she nestled closer to me and let out a big sigh.   I smiled and thought once again, it’s those simple things…

Jan’s helpful hint, this time it’s about Downy…

I happen to be lucky enough to be married to Mr. Fixit.  Hubby is one of those guys who really can fix anything.

I had been complaining about my washer’s Downy dispenser, it was all gunked up, and wasn’t working properly.  He disassembled it, did some research on Google, realized that Downy is made of animal fat, ugh, and that it just congeals and sits in that dispenser in your washing machine.  Apparently mine was barely working.

He spent a good hour cleaning the gobs of goo out of it and putting it back together.  When I asked him this morning if Joe Ordinary could have done it without problems, he said “It would be a challenge.”

So for those of you who live alone, or who doesn’t have a guy that’s handy, it’s a little heads-up.  Perhaps your dispenser is different than mine, I have a Whirlpool Washer, and it’s dispenses from the top of the agitator.

Our solution is to buy a Downy Ball, and forget that stupid dispenser.  He wasn’t a happy camper cleaning all that gooey, apparently “fatty” mess out of there.  I couldn’t have done it, and maybe I can help someone else from having the same problem.

The best Christmas present I can give you, energy…

I’ve blogged about this before, but we all get busy and forget, so once again I’m going to tell you how wonderful Meta Vitamin B Complex is.

It’s holiday time, and if you’re fatigued, really tired, do yourself a favor, pick up a bottle of these at your local drug store.

I’ve taken vitamins over the years, never felt “better” for doing so, but last fall when I was visiting Ry and Lindsay, I was talking to Ryan about overwhelming exhaustion.  He said, “Mom, get yourself a bottle of Mega Vitamin B Complex, it will help, really it will.”

So I listened to him, best thing I ever did, too.  Within a couple of weeks I had a noticable diference in my energy level.  The extreme fatigue was gone, simply put, I just felt better.

I spent a week at their house over Thanksgiving, normally I would have come home and just been zonked for a few days trying to recover.  Not this time, I came home, had a good night’s sleep and went right on with my regular routine, maybe a bit tired the next day, but not exhausted like I used to be.

Vitamin B is water soluable, your body will just expel what it doesn’t need, so give it a try.  If you’re deficient in vitamin B, it will help.  I’ve told several people about this, they’ve had good results ,too.  Be prepared for Gator-Ade pee, though, don’t let it shock you, it’s normal.

Many lie over books 'to impress'

The following was in the news this morning -

Nearly half of all men and one-third of women have lied about what they have read to try to impress friends or potential partners, a survey suggests.

Honor Wilson-Fletcher, director of the National Year of Reading campaign, said: "Reading is a brilliant tool for self-expression.

Isn’t this fascinating…  All this time that I’ve been telling all of you that I read trash, I’ve been lying?  I don’t think so, why would I fess up to being a lightweight in the reading department when I was really reading the heavy stuff…

However, if reading is a brilliant tool for self-expression, it doesn’t say a lot for your truly, does it?

It also doesn’t say a lot for the rest of you who read this silly blog regularly….  Haaa, gotcha this morning!!!

Whew, I can breathe a sigh of relief….

Yahoo News tonight said a lot of tv shows were being cancelled.  I did a quick scan, my favorite, Brothers and Sisters wasn’t on the list.  Thank goodness!!!  I do love that show!

Dirty, Sexy Money got the axe, *yawn*, big deal….

This is sooooo funny – great finish….

How cute is this???

My friend, Trish baby sat her granddaughter today, and Larkin had all of her stuffed animals lined up  on the sofa.  Obviously London wanted to be part of the action. 

That little imp, she’s had her picture taken so much, she’s a real pro…

Remember this, Hunts Pizza Flavored Ketchup? I was a huge fan in the day…

Beverly Garland, from My Three Sons, died this past weekend, at the age of 82. 

I grew up with that show, and always thought that Robbie (Don Grady) was so cute!

Here’s his website, he’s aged, like the rest of us.  I wouldn’t exactly call him ‘cute’ anymore.

 

 

Poor Oprah…

It’s all over the news this morning that Oprah is telling in the January edition of “O” that she has once again ballooned up to 200 lbs.

I’m must admit, I’m weary of Oprah, but I do feel sorry for her.  We all struggle with this, too much food, too little exercise, those horrid fast food restaurants beckoning us when we’re hungry and want to quell the hunger fast.

We’re all doomed, in this age of instant everything.  We don’t do physical labor, we’ve become lazy, and we’ve become a fat nation.

I’m doing Atkins again, which I hate worse than you can ever imagine and swore I would never do again. Do I have any hopes of really losing twenty pounds, of course not.  I have lost the same ten pounds over and over again for the last year now.  Not even venturing into the other ten pound zone.

I do have a barrier that most of you don’t.  It’s not that clothes won’t fit, if I gain too much, my prosthetic legs won’t fit.  Talk about a diet deterrent…  It’s either sit around with them off and munch on those Cheetos, which vanity would never permit me to do, or suck it up and diet…

My friends and I talk all the time about how sad it is, that at our age, we can’t just enjoy food.  Of course, what we enjoy, wonderful desserts and yummy breads, packs on the pounds.  We’re all carb addicts, that’s a lot of the problem…

I read the other day, this lady was complaining that her body looked like a fire hydrant.  Poor lady, but you know what’s even sadder, I get it, I really get it…

More about online coupons…

The other day I mentioned Googling discount coupon before buying online to get additional discounts.  I posted that entry on Monday when I ordered my Peticure Petite for the M&M’s.  It arrived Wednesday.  I was shocked to get it so fast.  And have I trimmed their little dawgie toenails?  Heck no, I’m scared, I’m going to wait until hubby can help me the first time….

But back to the coupons.  I linked to a great article that was on the Drudge Report tonight, apparently its a thriving business saving money online when you order.  It’s a good read for those of you who are buying via your computer this holiday season.

Here’s the link…

Southern Living Coconut-Almond Cream Cake for Christmas…

When I was a little girl we always had fresh coconut cake for Christmas. I was telling Lindsay about it  just last week, how Mother would buy a fresh coconut from the grocery store, I can see them, even now, a bushel basket heaped with fresh coconuts, sitting on the concrete floor of the produce section in the local Kroger.

Daddy would take a hammer and a nail and poke a hole in one of the ‘eyes’ and drain the liquid, then they would peel the flesh of the coconut and grate it for the cake.  They didn’t have an electric mixer, and I remember them taking turns beating the batter, as their hands would tire.

It was an absolutely wonderful cake!!! I haven’t had one since I was a child, but it was so special, and they always gave me shavings of the fresh coconut to eat. 

I was looking thru my Southern Living Magazine just now, and found this recipe for Coconut-Almond Cream Cake.  This is what I love about the internet.  I immediately Googled it, and the Southern Living recipe popped right up, along with the original picture.  I’m posting the recipe on Jan Can Cook, it looks fantastic and it’s one that I want to put in the Holiday Archives section so that we won’t lose it.  Magazines get thrown away, along with amazing recipes, but if I take the time to post and tag them, we’ll all have access to them whenever we want…

Here’s the quick CLICK – enjoy and if any of you make it, drop me an email and tell me how fantastic it is….

~ jan

It’s one of those days…

 

It’s a cold day in Heavensville, weather is in the 20’s,  and I’ve spent my day building the Christmas Munchie Business index page header, the cutey patooties have parked themselves in front of the fireplace for most of the day and  I’ve caught up on my Tivoed episodes of Y&R…  Life is good.

You can link to Munchie Business HERE…

 

Here comes the bride….

Don’t you just love wedding pictures?  This is Mandi and Nisha at Mandi’s wedding in October.  Nisha and I have been friends forever, I’ve known Mandi since she was a toddler.  The first time I ever met her she was 18 months old, and Ryan was 24 months.  Ry was a happy little guy whose vocabulary mostly consisted of “John do it.”  Meaning John, his three year older brother. 

Nisha brought Mandi to our house at Christmas time, I’ll never forget that little elf of a girl, running toward me in a pink coat with that sweet little face peeking out of a fur hoodie.  She was absolutely adorable.  Nish said to her, “Mandi, recite the Night Before Christmas for Jan.”  And that little baby opened her mouth and out came the entire story.  “Twas the night before Christmas and all thru the house…”

Well, you can imagine, I was totally blown away.  Ryan was sitting in the floor just looking at her, and I thought, OMG, this is a child prodigy.  We love that story, it was just unreal how precocious she was.  And just look at her now…

These are proofs, so quality is a bit fuzzy, but don’t they look amazing?  Beautiful bride, beautiful mother, wonderful friends, I’m blessed to have them in my life…. 

I was SO glad to come home and get my bra off....

Bet you're all smiling, you know exactly what I mean....  I've had the day from hell!!!

Sinus headache out the wazoo, meds not helping but I had to go to the grocery store.  Hooterville has had me on the hunt for Sierra Mist Diet Cranberry Splash.  She told me about it last week, and since I'm a cranberry freak, I can't wait to try it, but  I can't find it anywhere. She said Wally World had it, so I was off to the land of the rednecks in search of it.

O-M-G,  Wally World on a Friday afternoon in December.  What a nightmare!  But then it's a nightmare any time you go there. Oh, how I hate the place, but the prices are good, so I go...

Anyhoo, after circling for fifteen minutes, for real I did, there wasn't  parking spot to be had, so I finally said "screw it" and parked in a striped spot.  And did they have Diet Cranberry Blast.  Of course not...  All they had was the fully leaded, which I'm sure was lots better, but who wants to give up 160 calories for a can of soda?

So I'm back in the car, on my Blackberry, calling the other grocery stores on the west side of Heavensville, nobody has it, grrrrrrr, so I end up at Schnucks desperate for something different than Diet Coke. 

I spot Diet 7-up Pomegranate, and Diet Cherry 7-up, throw them in my cart, along with some Diet Sunkist for LC, come home, pulling that damned bra off as I walk thru the kitchen.  I unload all the stuff, fix myself a glass of the Pomegranate, with an Advil Cold and Sinus chaser, and ya know what, it's good, it's really good. After the day I've had, it would be even better with a healthy splash of vodka!

It's probably not as good as the elusive Cranberry Splash, but hey, tomorrow is another day.  I'll put my bra back on and go on the hunt again.  I'm a woman on a mission...

WOW!!!

Carlene sent me a link this morning to an awesome Christmas cooking site.  It's a must see!

Here's the CLICK!!

Thanks for the giggle, Carlene

Dear Santa,

Please send me a baby brother.

  Santa wrote back:
"Send me your mother..."

We've come a long way, baby...

What's not to love about this....

Miss Hilda's Popcorn Cake

2 teaspoons plus ¼ cup vegetable oil
12 cups popped popcorn (plain, unsalted and unbuttered)
2 cups M & M candies
1 cup lightly salted cocktail peanuts
1 stick unsalted butter
1 pound marshmallows

Grease a large tube or bundt cake pan with 2 teaspoons of the oil. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix the popped corn with the M & Ms and the peanuts.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter, oil, and marshmallows over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. When melted, pour over the popcorn mixture, and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared cake pan, pressing down to fit. Cover with aluminum foil to keep moist.

Let sit for 3 to 4 hours, or until firm and set.

To serve, invert the cake pan onto a large plate or platter. Shake gently to release.

Serve at room temperature.
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, originally appearing in Emeril's "There's a Chef in My Family," HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2004, courtesy Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.

A couple of online shopping tips....

If you're like me, nothing beats sitting in your jammies, sipping a cup of coffee and ordering Christmas presents online.  It's so easy, and it's always a kick when the UPS man comes...

When you place an order, you're checking out, and there is usually a little box that says promotion code, or coupon - well, they didn't put that there for fun, girlfriends.  You can usually go to Google, put in the name of the website you're ordering from, with the word coupon after it or if that doesn't work try code, or promotion code and numbers to put in those little boxes and save you $$$$ will show up in your Google search.

Just yesterday I ordered a Peticure Petite for the M&M's.  And, I found this site, it's called, asseenontvguys.com,  they sell all those hokey infomercial items for less money than other websites.  I've read on the Yorkie forums that the Peticure doggie nail dremel is a good product, and since it's so hard for me to clip Yorkie nails, I'm always afraid I will clip too close, I ordered one.  And  I saved $10 by ordering it from the assseenontavguys, versus buying it elsewhere online, and I Googled for a coupon and got another 10% off...  I just Googled asseenontvguys coupon, and wahlaa, discount coupons appeared...

I know, you're all rolling your eyes at the thought of this informercial "junque," but hey, some of it works.  As a spoof last year, I bought my guys Ove Gloves, after Nisha clued me on to them, and guess what, huge hit, the things work great for grabbing hot things from the oven.

Just a little tip for you.  I'm doing some on-line ordering this morning,don't worry, no more infomercial items, I'm not usually into the cheesy stuff,  but just thought I would get the rest of you a heads-upon saving a few $$$$...

Sandwich Spread

Barb just emailed me the following recipe, it was a big hit at her house at Thanksgiving.  Everybody was loving it on their turkey and ham sandwiches.  Sounds great, doesn't it?

8 oz.mustard
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbs horseradish
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

Knit and purl.....

My buddy V is a great knitter.  I've wanted to knit forever, tried it a couple of years ago, but the timing was off, decided to try it again, bought some soft, fuzzy yarn, fired up my computer, went to you tube, found a left handed knitting tutorial.  Well, it looks so easy, NOT!  Decided I had the wrong kind of yarn, so I was off to Wally World for some plain, generic non fuzzy yarn and bigger needles, by the time I got back I was too tired to knit.

I used to be a great crafter, and I crocheted afghans in my twenties, but duh, that was years and years ago...  Surely I can do this, surely I can..

Stella is trying to get her groove back here, after being gone, I have to get those Christmas recipes published - V gave me a new one today for an amazing sounding Snowy Trail Mix to add to the collection.  And Lindsay found a recipe for an Orange Cranberry Cheesecake, she wants me to try for Christmas.

Those Cranberry Bliss Bars were so good, it makes us want to try other orange-cranberry things as well.  Orange-cranberry scones and muffins sound good, too. 

If you want something special this Christmas make those cranberry bliss bars, ladies, I'm telling you they are amazing.  John (eldest son) loved them, he couldn't get enough of them.  I think he's going to make them and take to the office this month to share.

And speaking of food, do you know that I ate my entire birthday cake over the course of the week?  I did, except for one last piece!  And I wish I had ate that!  Dilly is a great little baker, and I hadn't had homemade German Chocolate Cake for years.  And what did the scales say when I got home?  Oh yeah, Miss Piggy here gained 3 lbs.  And let me tell you, it was worth every friggin' pound.  So now I'm back on that horrid Atkins program, which I detest with a purple passion.  Oh well, it was good while it lasted...

Rattlesnake Pasta

I posted it for you on Jan Can Cook.  Here's the click - This is so good, you have no idea how good!

Honey, I'm home.......

I'm back in Heavensville, playing catch-up right now, but posting a great recipe for Rattlesnake Pasta later today - it's great for dinner guests this holiday season.  In the meantime, here's a *giggle* for you...

We’ve had some yummy food….

I’m still visiting Ryan and Lindsay in Versailles.  John left today, hubby left yesterday, Ry and Linds are taking me back to Heavensville tomorrow.  It’s been a week of great food, ladies, Atkins bit the dust with a big kerthud!

Since we had Thanksgiving Dinner on Wednesday, Thursday Ry decided to roast a Turducken (turkey, stuffed with chicken, stuffed with duck).  He’s wanted to do it for years, we were all skeptical, but it was great.  Definitely worth repeating…  Click on the picture to see a close-up view of it, and yep, it tasted as good as it looked! In the background you see scalloped potatoes, laced with cream and cheddar cheese and seasoned with fresh bay leaves and thyme, and decadent corn muffins from a Williams-Sonoma cooking class, recipes for both of these soon….

I’ll be back to my regular routine, shortly…  Hope you all have had a great holiday!!!

Hugs from the cow pasture…

~ jan

What a true computer geek gets for her birthday….

Not one, but two terabyte external harddrives.  I opened one, and it was like yessssss, I opened the next one, and it was like, huh?

Well, it does make perfect sense.  If I’m backed up on one and it bites the dust, I’m toast…. But if I have two with the same data on them, I’m covered.

Yep, works for me…  Who woulda thunk it, me, a net head, in my soon to be golden years…..

Happy Turkey Day from the Dish….

Happy Birthday to me….

You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too--yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

 

Today’s the day, nono, I’m not having the big “6O”, that’s not til’ next year, let’s not rush it, okay… 

We’re in Versailles for Thanksgiving, John is on his way, Linds made me a German Chocolate cake and these sublime  Cranberry Bliss Bars, the ones from Starbucks that are sooooo good.  I found a recipe for them last year, and it’s a dead ring for Starbucks.  Want the recipe???  Sure thing, I posted it on Milly Scraps, you can access it HERE.

Here’s the cake, looks yummy, huh?  No recipe for it, but it’s the one on the back of the Baker’s German Chocolate.  Mother made me German Chocolate cakes for years, it was a hard decision,  Lemon Meringue Pie or German Chocolate Cake…. As you can see, the cake won.  Wish you could all eat a piece with me…

And dinner tonight?  Ribs and kraut, mashed potatoes and creamed corn.  Ry’s cooking!!! 

Interesting article from New York Magazine

All the latest in Plastic Surgery, aka Jan is busy and doesn’t have time to blog… Still it’s a good read….  Here’s the click

 

Old Fashioned Thanksgiving…

Did any of you watch this last night on the Hallmark Channel???

It was awesome, if you missed it, you missed a good one.  It was a period piece, based on a story by Louisa May Alcott.  It wasn’t sappy, or heaven forbid, “cute”,  it was really, really good!  So many times I get excited about a movie, and it’s just totally lame, not this one, it will be a classic…

Jacqueline Bisset is such a great actress.  You can read her interview with Liz Smith about the movie here.

4 Stars on this one….

And, if you link to the article, it’s located on a great site, the name is WOWOWOW, The Women on the Web.  It’s a site for women with substance!  This one is definitely worth a bookmark girlfriends!

Jan being catty… who, me??? nah, just tellin’ it the way it is…

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.

We’ve all done it,  a woman makes an “entrance” and of course we stop, dead still, check her out from head to toe.  Gotta see what all the “look” is all about…  It happened to me yesterday at T. J. Maxx.

I was headed toward the front and all of a sudden there she was.  Scarf tied around her head doo rag style, but it was long and flowy like a gypsy scarf, huge hoop earrings, great body, tight, tight, jeans tucked into knee-high white leather stiletto boots, cute bomber jacket, great cashmere sweater, amazing jewelry, prerequisite oversized saddlebag designer bag, lots of eye makeup.

Sooooooo,  did she make the cut?  After all, you know how much I like the trashy look.

Ummmmm, she was pushing 60…  Did she look hot???  No, she looked silly.  Twenty years ago she would have looked awesome, though…

Just an observation…

A tug at the heartstrings, for both me and Maggie…

It’s cold now, I put sweaters on the M&M’s when they go outside, Maggie has a whole wardrobe, but Mollie is too thick thru the middle for Mag’s clothes, she looks like a little stuffed snausage in them.

I had hubby go into the attic this morning for the box of Munchie’s clothes, I couldn’t bear to part with them, and I knew  some of them would work for Mollie.

I was sitting on the couch, he handed me the box, I started to open it and Maggie went crazy.  She was barking, and barking and running circles, and when I opened the box, she was sniffing those clothes frantically, she smelled Munchie on them…

Oh my, talk about bittersweet, I picked Maggie up, tears streaming down my face, gave her a long snuggle, took a deep breath and tried them on Mollie.

She looked adorable, of course.  And it’s okay, now.  The moment passed…I like to think that Munchie would like for me to share her things with Mollie…

For the guys….

Jean sent me a great oldie car site  today.  If you have a guy in your life that grew up in the 50’s or the 60’s, have him link to this.  He’ll love it!  It takes a while to watch it, but it’s a goodie… Great music, too!!!

Here’s the CLICK…

This is great gang, beauty secrets, Ellen style, you’re gonna love this!

We’re not alone….

Eva Longoria flashed her Spanx last night…..

At least she can get into her Spanx, yours truly finds it impossible to even get ‘em past the hips…

We all feel her pain…

SPANX, Inc. is a U.S. company which mainly manufactures footless pantyhose and other undergarments for women, particularly "body shaping" undergarments designed to give the wearer a slim and shapely appearance. The company's products are supposedly marketed to fit contemporary female lifestyles and fashion trends.

Source: Wikipedia

Hillary Rodham Clinton, whatever are you thinking!!!

Remember back in the day when my girl favored the black velvet headbands??? Well apparently she's now turned to gold in honor of her "Golden Years."

I'm thinking it's time to retire it.  Good bone structure, still, but some things are best left in the 80's....  Know what I mean, Vern???

Geezy Pete, I have all these chickens....

A few weeks ago hubby was at the Giant Flea Market, it's a local monthly weekend flea market where he goes and buys reading glasses by the case, yes by the case, twelve pairs at a time, several times a year,  because we lose them so frequently, but that's a whole other blog entry.

But anyhoo, the last time he went he came home with a frozen chicken.  Of course I'm going, "why would you buy a chicken at a flea market?"   He went on to explain that it was a local guy who raises them, that it was free range, yadayadaya.  So I baked it.  O-M-G, it was an amazing bird, it tasted like chickens of my childhood, when they roamed free and ate as nature intended instead of living their lives on wire and being injected with hormones like the chicken we eat today.

So he called the guy a few weeks ago to get more chickens, and he was sold out, but he said he would contact him when they slaughtered more.

Fast forward to this week, the call came, LC's working today, so lucky me gets to meet the chicken man by the side of the road, near the University, to pick them up.  So I haul a** to the highway, not too thrilled at the prospect of sitting there while all those college kids whiz by, I have the the M&M's in tow, and I'm talking to V on the cell to alleviate my boredom.  Pretty soon chicken man and his wife pull up in a new Lexus, yeah, a Lexus,  chickens apparently are a really lucrative business.

I get out of the car, his wife says, "these are really nice chickens, they're awfully heavy though, they weigh forty-six pounds."  Forty six pounds, imagine that!!!   FORTY SIX POUNDS,  holy sh*t, that's a lot of chicken.  They load em' up for me, they're fresh, not frozen, they gush profusely about how adorable the fur kids are, and how they used to have a Yorkie, I swear, I think the whole world has had a Yorkie at one time or another, and we're off for home.

The M&M's are scampering in the drive, I'm unloading all that frickin' chicken and  trying to stuff them in an already full freezer, trust me it was not a fun job and the only thing that made it remotely possible  was the fact that they were pliable so I could jam them all in there.  It was such a tight fit I could barely close the door.  And that was the freezer in the garage, the freezer in the house is full, too.  It's not me that buys all this food, it's hubby, he buys in bulk, he always has. I've had many a comment about how our pantry looks like a grocery store, because he also comes home with cases of canned veggies and beans and numerous other "deals."  Now he's on the hunt for a good buy on sweet potatoes so that he can buy a bushel of those!!!

He brings all this stuff in the house, and it's like, what are we going to do with it???  It's like he's a modern day hunter, bringing home his kill!!!

I also have a whole boneless pork loin in the refrigerator that he bought yesterday and I'm somehow going to have to fit it  into one of the freezers.  AND he bought twenty-five bags of Birdseye frozen Veggie Steamers this morning because they were such a good buy,  so those also had to go into the already full freezer because it already had a ton of stuff in there from his earlier shopping trips.  He threatened to throw away the bucket of frozen margaritas that Hooterville is so fond of, to make room, and I said, “Oh no you don't,” “ Hoot would absolutely kill you if you pitched her margs." 

But you see what I mean about hoarding food?  Sometimes he really does get carried away...  No, let me rephrase that, he always gets carried away...  And he had enough to eat as a child, I don't know why he feels the need to have so much food around...

Oh that man, whatever possessed him to order all those chickens???   Oh well, the freezer is stocked for winter, we'll share with the kids, and guess what we're having for dinner tonight..... yeah, you got that right..... CHICKEN!!!

An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving, starring Jacqueline Bisset, this looks promising, ladies

Hallmark Channel - November 22, 9p/8c

An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving

The Story:

Thanksgiving dinner. Suddenly, Mary’s wealthy and estranged mother Isabella (Jacqueline Bisset) has come to visit. Although she finds a kindred spirit in Mary’s eldest daughter and budding writer Tilly (Tatiana Maslany), Mary resents her mother’s attempts to help them out of their financial difficulties. In the end, more than money will be needed to heal the emotional wounds that exist between mother and daughter in this moving Hallmark Channel original period drama.
Mary (Helene Joy) and her 3 children have hit difficult times on their farm. This year, they cannot even afford a turkey for their Thanksgiving dinner. Suddenly, Mary’s wealthy and estranged mother Isabella (Jacqueline Bisset) has come to visit. Isabella wants to help but, in the end, more than money will be needed to heal the emotional wounds that exist between mother and daughter in this moving Hallmark Channel original period drama.

Read more about it HERE...

Source: The Hallmark Channel

Thanksgiving plans have you stressed???

Sometimes you just have to post these things…

My friend Barb sent me this tonight.  I debated for about five seconds as to whether I should post it on The Dish.  Of course, the bawdy old broad in me won out.  Yeah, yeah, I know nobody is surprised. 

I do think since this turkey is thick thru the middle and obviously middle aged, the lemons should have been oranges,  and should have been settled a bit lower in her midsection.  You have to admit girlfriends,  this was too  too funny not to share!

Lemon Turkey

Ingredients:

1 whole Turkey (weight is dependant on how many servings are required)

1 large lemon, cut into halves

sprig of rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

butter or olive oil, whichever you prefer

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Rub butter or oil over the skin of the Turkey until it is completely coated  
Take a knife and gently separate the skin from the breast meat

Slide lemon halves under the skin with the peel side up. This way the juice from the lemon will coat the breast.

Season skin of the Turkey to your preference, and place sprig of rosemary into it.

Cover and place in oven for 30-45 minutes.
Remove cover and continue to roast until juices run clear, basting every 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the bird.
If you've followed these steps correctly, your Turkey should look like the one in the attached photo.
Bon Appetite!

Be careful with those Christmas gift cards

Let’s get real, all kinds of scary things circulate on the net, I got this in an email, take it for what it’s worth, but with the economy tanking, it could be valid… 

Circuit City stores... most recent (? how many)

Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide are to be shuttered

Lane Bryant,, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's to close 150 store nationwide

Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January

Cache will close all stores

Talbots closing down all stores

J. Jill closing all stores

GAP closing 85 stores

Footlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January
Wickes Furniture closing down

Levitz closing down remaining stores

Bombay closing remaining stores

Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January.

Whitehall closing all stores

Piercing Pagoda closing all stores

Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.

Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ (New Brunswick)

Macys to close 9 stores after January

Linens and Things closing all stores

Movie Galley Closing all stores

Pacific Sunware closing stores

Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
Sprint/ Nextel closing 133 stores

JC Penney closing a number of stores after January

Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.

Wilson Leather closing down all stores

Sharper Image closing down all stores

K B Toys closing 356 stores

Loews to close down some stores

Dillard's to close some stores.

I finally threw out my prom dresses…..

Well, not really, but I got rid of a ton of stuff in my closet today.  Ya know how you always have the dream that someday you will fit into all of your wardrobe, dating back to high school, ummmm for me that was 1960’s.

Stuff is gone, poof, well except for some things I couldn’t part with.  Like my wonderful denim jacket embellished with sequined decks of cards and hand painted Las Vegas scenes.  Hubby got it for me when I turned 40.  It’s pretty spectacular!  Of course I haven’t worn it since I was probably 41, but it’s one of those Thelma Roper outfits that you have to hang onto…

I should model it for you and post it.  I’ll be sure to do that, soon as I lose 20 lbs.  *giggle*

Butternut Squash with Browned Butter and Thyme

I'm a big fan of Elise's Simply Recipes site and this simple dish looks just perfect,

Link here to read her recipe.

Hey townies…

If you’re from Heavensville, I have great news.  Hubby and I were cruising main street yesterday.  The renovations are underway, with condos, restaurants, shops, etc. 

At about 4th and main I saw a sign in the window for a new coffee shop.  AND, not just an ordinary coffee shop, this is one that roasts FRESH coffee beans and sells them.  Whoeee, I’ve been interested in fresh coffee beans for awhile now, supposedly beans lose a lot of their flavor within fifteen days after roasting.  So the ones I grind, Starbuck's Sumatra,  are stale, stale, stale.  I can’t imagine what fresh ones will be like, but apparently, I’m going to be able to find out!

Do any of you use freshly roasted beans?  Are they really better?  Comment, please if you have info on this…

~ jan

You know what happens when you drink a mug of coffee at 8pm?

You’re totally wide awake at 10:30, that’s what.  I knew better, what did I think I was doing drinking coffee that late!!!

Jeez Louise, will I ever learn???

I guess I could bore you all with ten things that go bump in the night, but I won’t.  I do like the idea of “ten things”, the possibilities are endless, but don’t worry, I’ll try not to do it constantly, think of it as an ongoing addition to the blog.   Still trying to decide if ten things is a bit much, or if I should cut it down to five things.  I’m working on it.

Lots and lots of possibilities with this, my ten favorite books, ten favorite movies, ten favorite “men”, hmmmm, maybe I had better cut that one down a bit… but you get the idea…. ten favorite breeds of dogs, ten favorite plants in the garden, ten funniest jokes, ten stupid things I’ve done, ten kitchen disasters, ten regrets and on and on and on.  if any of you want me to do a specific subject, hey, go for it…. but not tonight!  egads that was so stupid drinking that coffee that late!!!!!

Thanksgiving pies…..

Mother was always our pie maker at Thanksgiving time.  She made our pies until she was well into her 80’s, getting up at the crack of dawn on Thanksgiving morning to make cranapple, pecan and pumpkin pies, always from scratch. 

She loved to decorate her pumpkin pies with leaves, going into her yard, gettting a maple and an oak leaf , making  a paper pattern, then she would roll out her piecrust and cut the leaves out of the crust.  She would bake the leaves  separately, and then slide the baked leaves on top of her baked pumpkin pies to decorate them.  They were so festive, we always looked forward to that. 

This pumpkin pie is a much more sophisticated version of Mothers, this is from Williams Sonoma, the cutters to make the leaves are new this year.  They’re great, aren’t they?

Interested?  Click here for the link.  WS ships fast, there is still time to order…

Something’s Gotta Give, the best house, EV-ER…

I’m watching Something’s Gotta Give this afternoon, for the badzillionth time.  It’s not the story line, heaven knows it’s not Nicholson, he doesn’t do it for me, it’s the house!!!

V is the one who went gaga for it first.  She has a really arty eye, and she instantly recognized how fantastic it was.  I loved the movie, but didn’t realize, until dissing it with her, that it wasn’t the storyline  I liked so much, it was the house…

And we weren’t alone, women all over the country converged on their decorators, the movie downloaded on their laptops, to show them pictures to duplicate.  It’s one of the most popular movie houses, ever!

There is a ton of info about the house online, just Google Something’s Gotta Give house pictures and you can read all about it.

It is the perfect house, the kind of house we all dream about, comfy, spacious, homey, wonderful…  They trucked in 3,000 books from a bookstore to put in the den.  Tons of trivia about this movie is available…

Two years ago, I loved the move, “The Holiday” – loved it, the houses were wonderful in it, also.  Guess what, same producer (a woman, Nancy Meyer) and the same set decorator.  No wonder I liked it.  She has a movie in pre-production phase now, no title yet,  let’s hope it has wonderful sets as well.

Here’s a quick link to pictures of that wonderful, amazing house.  It’s perfection, girlfriends, perfection!

Georgetown Cupcake and brown paper cupcake liners, a must read!!!

Geezy Pete, girls, we've been missing out! 

I was watching a tivoed episode of Martha Stewart, she had on the owners of Georgetown Cupcake, famous for their cupcakes, and Martha was talking about how much she adored brown paper cupcake liners.  And I'm thinking, hmmmm, like a Reese Cup paper, that is cool.  She said they were hard to find, but of course, yours truly, scouted them out for you - oh, what would you all do without me....

These liners are available online, from Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery, yeah, I know, you want the link, got your credit card handy?  Theyre 7.99 for a hundred pack, inexpensive, but a must have, you, the readers of The Dish can 't miss out on something this important, you have to be on the cutting edge.

Here's the CLICK -

AND, I have the video for making their cupcakes, and the recipe from Martha's website for you.  This episode was the day before elections, so they made donkey and elephant fondant for the tops, if you wanted fondant on yours, you could always do Santa for the holidays.

You have to check out the website for Georgeotown Cupcake, its adorable.  Link to it HERE.

Click here for the video and the recipe, have fun checking it out...

~ jan

I'm really looking forward to this...

Australia is coming out Thanksgiving weekend.  I'm not a Nicole Kidman fan, but this appeals to me, just for the cinematography alone.  Maybe we'll luck out and it will be a great epic, like Out of Africa.  Meryl Streep would have been dynamite in this, drats, why did she have to get old...  like the rest of us!

 

 

Revisiting old favorites -

If you look in the right sidebar of this page at THIS ISN'T MY ONLY BLOG, I PUBLISH SEVERAL OTHERS, one of the choices  is Jan Can Cook, and it is chocked full of really special  recipes, not ordinary boring ones, girlfriends, really great ones.  Once you link to Jan Can Cook, look again to the right sidebar of that page, look for the index, there are a lot to choose from.

I was browsing soups this morning,  Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli is an amazing soup for this cold winter day.

Here's a quick CLICK for you.

~ jan