Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Cuisinart Sale Alert!


There is a really good Cuisinart sale right now over at One Kings Lane, so be sure to check it out! And hey, if you are out of people to shop for, I need a new coffee maker. ;) But seriously, the sale ends some time Friday - or whenever they sell out (which they often do) - so check it out soon.



One Kings Lane offers $15 off $30 purchase when you join thru THIS LINK.




Actually, I have been following sales on One Kings Lane for a while now. They offer closeouts of designer brand housewares and furnishings at a percentage of the original cost. They also have a clearance section with some really great steals, though it is on hiatus for the holiday shopping season and has been replaced with the Gifts sales:


If you are looking for a classy gift for someone, the section of gifts under $50 has some really pretty serving ware and candles for a good price. This sale also ends some time Friday, and shipping is guaranteed by Christmas.

Holiday Shopping, part deux

I know, I have already covered holiday shopping this month. However, there is a lot of shopping to be done, so I am searching around, and I want to give a shout out to the ones that I think are worthy of it. So, on that note - Holiday Shopping, part two:

Are you one of those shoppers who likes to do your research on items before you buy them? You know, to make sure that they really are child-safe and friendly, or to guarantee that what you are buying is the exact one you need. If so, then you may dig this site. At Become.com you can research the items you are shopping for while you shop, from the same page. They also give you a listing of several retailers who have the item in stock so that you can compare prices.

Say you were planning to use your holiday bonus to redecorate your house. You could go to Become and search for bathroom base cabinets and they would give you a list of several different options. You pick the one you are interested in and you can pull up details on it, as well as see other similar products that may be a better deal. Maybe you are not looking for something for the bathroom specifically. What if you want to use that money to add to your current decorating theme? That is easy as well. For example, you could search their bombay furniture outlet for items that match your Bombay style sofa.

Now, you can find way more than house decorating items at Become. I was just using that as an example. With all the cleaning and reorganizing I have been doing the last two weeks, redecorating the house has been on my mind quite a bit. I also discovered that I need about 5 more bookshelves! But I digress. On Become, you can find everything from automotive parts to video games.

You could even order thank you cards in bulk, so that you can show your gratitude to all the people who gave you awesome presents - or that holiday bonus. Haha.The important thing is that, whatever you may be looking to buy, Become wants to help you by providing you the chance to go "Shopping Your Way".

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

What to look forward to this month

December is upon us. This time of year is always busy for people, with all the parties, family gatherings, and last minute shopping. I don't buy into too much of the holiday hype, but this is still my favorite time of year. I absolutely love the cooler weather, and being in Texas, it is rare. So between Halloween and the Winter Solstice, I thrive. The cold may last until about Valentines, but by then the charm is often overshadowed by the idiots who do not know how to drive safely in winter conditions. I still enjoy it, but it gets worn out a little.

I have a very busy schedule this month. On top of the several books I am reading to review and another giveaway over at the Tome, I have a holiday gathering coming up on the 17th that I must prepare the house for. At the gathering, I will be doing some sampling of Kroger's Private Selection line of frozen pizzas, appetizers, and desserts, as well as some Smirnoff mixed drinks - so watch out for those reviews in the week following.

I will also post up some of my favorite holiday recipes that I plan to be serving this month. I really feel in my element when I am cooking, and I plan to do a lot of that this month to share. I hope to get to try out a new stuffing recipe I found, as well as post a few of my favorite breads and dinners. And since I finally found my good camera, the photos will be much more clear than the last ones.

There is a winter Lolita fashion meet on the 18th, so if I find time to sew, I will be making a new dress for that as well, and will share photos of the progress and when it is finished. I had a lot of crafting to do this month, between that and my etsy store, but everyone in the house getting sick put a major dampener on my work. Hopefully I will get new items up for the store in time for holiday shopping. If not, I will still post them here to look at. :)

On a completely non-holiday related note, I did get in this one product to try that may interest some of you. It is an alleged "fat melting" cream made with herbs. I do not know how it will work, but since I have tried just about everything else on the leftover baby paunch, I figured I may as well give it a shot. Starting today, I will use the product as directed every day for thirty days (or until it runs out, whichever comes first) and will report on it's effectiveness. I will be taking pictures and measurements at set intervals and will let you all know how it works.

That is my major plans as far as I know. There may be other assorted reviews here and there. If you are interested in doing a guest post on my blog, this would be the month to start! With all the cooking, cleaning, and sewing, there will be a lot of non-computer time for me. Let the fun begin!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that everyone out there had a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving! The day may be over, but remember to be thankful for your blessings every day! Have a safe day if you decide to venture out after the sales on Friday. I have already seen comments about riots at some stores. It is insane.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Holiday shopping made easier!

With Thanksgiving being tomorrow, a lot of minds already seem to be on the holiday shopping season. There is "Black Friday" and then "Cyber Monday". Frankly, I was never one to get all crazy about the sales. In my house, my kids know that I will get them something they want whenever they ask - if they deserve it and I can afford it - so the sales make little difference. I am not putting myself into a crowd of overzealous people for some video game, television, or tickle me Elmo.

Perhaps it is mostly that I am not a crowds person. I will admit, I do like scoping out deals at times, looking for those few coveted items I really want but can never afford (like a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.... sigh.) When I want to scout the deals, my focus is shopping online from the safety of my desk. Even then, it is really hard to find the deals. If I want to look for something I need, like a new DVD player, I have to go to each page to check them out. This means visiting several sites to see who has the better deal. It makes the whole shopping experience seem tedious to me yet again. Shopping should be fun, right?

Well, as I was browsing the web, I came across a solution. Canada Post offers a service via there web site where you can comparison shop for the same item from several different locations. It shows all the prices on one page, so all you do is put in a search term and it looks for you!  

Let me show you an example: I could search Apple products for that iPod that I have been wanting (yeah, I'm a little behind the times with my mini-disk walkman), and it will come up with prices for iPods from five or six different sellers - along with the shipping charges so I can figure out easily which one is the best deal.

I also noticed that several of the listings offer free shipping due to whatever deal they may have with Canada Post to ship and promote for them. This is good for the buyers though. That is less money out of my pocket, which is always good. So now, the only question is "Which one will I pick?" Well, always the frugal one, I plan to come back and check out the prices Monday to see who is the best deal then. ;)

Share with me your experiences with this site - I love to hear about awesome finds.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Cookies!!

I opened the door yesterday to watch for a school bus and found a box sitting outside. I didn't remember  ordering anything and was only expecting some books, or so I thought. I opened it up, and was pleasantly surprised to find cookies inside! (Now, in retrospect, I seem to recall something in my BzzAgent email about these cookies, but it was a while ago, so I had forgotten.)


The box contained Kroger's "The Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies". I read the little booklet that was included in the box and learned that, aside from being available at Kroger stores, these cookies are also available at Fred Meyer and Ralphs stores under those brand names.


After looking over the included literature, I studied the box for a little. They are very well packaged, with easy to read text that discloses that they are made wit real butter and have no added preservatives or artificial flavors. And, as the package boasts, chocolate chips are the #1 ingredient.


For those with allergen concerns, they do also contain wheat, milk, soy, and eggs; and are processed in a facility that uses peanuts, coconut, pecans, cashews, and macadamia nuts. I have a peanut allergy, so I always know to check the ingredients. (I still ate them! I am not as worried about the "may contain" on certain items.)


Each box comes with eight cookies in it. They are decent sized cookies too. I took a picture next to a DVD to compare size.


The cookies are a little hard, rather than chewy - somewhat like Chips Ahoy. I prefer chewy cookies, but these were not so dry that they were bad. When dipped in milk they were perfect. They had a good sweet flavor, and lots of chocolate. My daughter tried one after dinner, and she liked them as well. Overall, this is a cookie that I would buy.

In the box along with the cookies, I was also sent a few $1 coupons (as seen in first photo). Would you like to try these cookies at a discounted price? Well then comment on this post! Everyone who comments will be thrown into a random drawing for a chance to get one of these coupons - which are usable at Kroger, Ralphs, or Fred Meyer! Comment by next Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) for your chance.



Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Guest Posts and Giveaways

As you may have noticed, the last post was not from me. I do at times, if I find myself really busy, invite others to guest post on my blog. Right now, I am in the middle of National Novel writing month, so not only am I reading to review, but trying to do a lot more writing.

I am also working to gather some good tips to write about and lining up some fun giveaways for the near future.  

If you are interested in guest posting and the topic is something that I am interested in - writing, cooking, crafting, costuming, or weddings, parties and other events - then let me know! I may have a spot for you!

Tomorrow is baking day here, so be on the lookout for a post tomorrow with a recipe for some awesome Banana Rum Bread!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Things don't always work out as planned

I think for me, this week has been the ultimate proof of that.

I had a really great blog idea for Monday, but my computer refused to start. I did not get it working until yesterday, and by then it was kind of pointless. My nice camera got up and walked away too, leaving me to deal with fuzzy cellphone pictures until I find where it went off to, so there weren't even comprehensible Halloween photos to share. I had also planned to open my first giveaway Monday, but I didn't get a chance to pick up the prizes, so it will have to wait for next week. Time for a new plan.

So yesterday, I was really in the mood to cook. I love cooking, I just don't love doing it in the tiny kitchen I am stuck with right now. So anyways, I start to whip up a really great smelling pot of homemade chicken and dumplings. That was a bit of a challenge. I can't say that I have never made chicken and dumplings before, but I can say that the last time was well over ten years ago and I was technically helping my mother make them. I vaguely remember how, and I am not one to go hunting a recipe every time I want to make something. It couldn't be that hard, right?

I got my chicken thighs, covered them with water and set them to boil with some seasoning. About 2 hours later, the house smelled really yummy. I pulled the chicken, peeled it off the bone, and threw it back in the pot. I chopped up some carrots and celery, added a few more spices, and set it to simmer. It was doing great.
Yummy simmering chicken and veggies in broth

But wait, the theme of today is how things don't work out as planned, wasn't it? Right as I get the pot simmering, the DH calls. He really wants lasagna for dinner, so "surprise!" we are having Italian. I couldn't be mad at him for it. He knows I don't really like to cook in that kitchen and wasn't expecting to hear that I had been working on dinner for over 2 hours already. I turned off the stove and threw the pot in an ice bath, grateful that I had not made the dumplings yet.

Today I pulled out the pot to finish it up. As a bonus, the cold made it easier to skim off any greasy fat that I missed last night. The hard part was done, so dinner should be ready in a flash... yeah.

I didn't exactly know how to make dumplings from scratch, and since I have a ton of banana bread to make tomorrow and Friday, I decided to save the flour and go the lazy route by using Bisquick. It even had "how to cook me" directions right on the side of the box. Note: Do NOT use the directions on the side of the box!

The dumpling is a lie.

I put the dumplings into the pot and watch them turn into cute little fluffy balls of goo, like a pan full of little sheep. After ten minutes, it said to cover the pot and let them cook ten minutes more. I stepped away for a moment, and by the time I got back, the chicken had burned to the bottom of the pot, aided by the starchy paste that had thickened the broth into gravy. Dumplings? Three or four survived, while the rest seem to have faded away into the milky white goop of doom.
It looks like it is going to jump out and attack someone, seriously

My nature was screaming at me that I did not want to serve this abomination to the family, but what other choice was there? On the plus side, the DH said it was good and the daughter thought it was "yummy". That is a win, right?

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Welcome!

Hi there and welcome to my new blog The Goddess Domestic. I originally got into blogging by doing book reviews, which I do on a sister site to this one, called A tome is where the heart is. I had been pondering starting up this second blog for a while now. Recently, I had to take a hiatus from my book blog and during that time I got really active on social networking with extreme couponing and commentary on other household topics, so I decided that it was a sign that I really needed this.

Who is Paperback Goddess? Let me share a little about myself. I am a married mother of two who is mostly a stay at home mom. I am a frugal person. As I mentioned, I have recently gotten back into serious couponing, so I am always sharing tips about deals I find - mostly on my blogs' facebook page and twitter feed. I have many hobbies. I love cooking. In fact, I have a culinary degree. Before the economy hit it's current state, I had considered opening up a bed and breakfast. I also love sewing. I help out with costuming topics at several local events. As evident by my name, I love reading. I see reading as a great way to pass time and prefer it to watching television on most occasions.

On this blog you can expect to see commentary on food items and other household things. There will probably also be the occasional post about crafty topics, like sewing or holiday party planning and decorating. Really, it is up to whatever whim inspires me. All book posts will be found on the other site, but everything else is fair game. I plan to have fun with this journey, and I hope you want to come along for the ride!