Archives for the month of: October, 2008

Omaha Steaks, You Did Not Disappoint!

October 28, 2008 //

On October 22, I wrote about the deal from omahasteaks.com and since then, they have caught on and change the deal. But since mine was shipped the day I ordered, I wasn’t too worried. Until two days ago. I received an email from Omaha Steaks saying that there was a mistake and that the 12 free burgers could not be combined with any other deal, blah blah blah. But last night I came home to this – all 20 burgers, individually wrapped, sitting in a cooler on my front step. They are all vacuum sealed and only one broke, causing some interesting clean up. But for $1.98 shipped, I am not complaining. And the only reason it broke, I believe it’s because UPS screwed up and shipped my order to Rhode Island first (it says on the tracking thing). I suppose I could call UPS, but I’m afraid it’s going to be more hassel than anything.

I’m glad my order came though, and I’m sorry for those that had the rules changed on them mid way. I personally think that’s pretty poor business decision. If you want to change rules, go ahead, but honor all the orders that your computer took!!! It’s called learn from your mistake!!! I know lots of people had report them to BBB and if you are one of the ones that tried the deals and have them change the rules on you mid way and didn’t get what you wanted, I would suggest you to go to BBB too.

On a completely different note – Did you notice I’ve been blogging more? Three days in a row baby! (shuuu… I don’t want to jinx it… Oh wait, I just did. DOH!)

Categories good finds

7 Tubs, Plus Some More…

October 27, 2008 //

I think this picture sums it all:

Yes, those 7 tubs contain almost all of my yarn I’ve ever owned!!! I actually have couple bags on top of those tubs now for some more fibers and yarn.

And look at my sad empty yarn wall:

But it’s all good. This is all in preparation of us getting the house. ::finger corssing:: The plan is when our tenants downstairs move out in a few weeks, we’ll move downstairs with bare minimum and show both apartments at the same time. That is the plan anyways. Who knows what will happen.

But I did learn one thing tonight – I need to go on a yarn diet.

Tags yarn stash

Categories Uncategorized

Honeymoon, and Tips for Traveling to Europe!!!

October 26, 2008 //

I finally got all the pictures done and figure out how I want to present all 900 pictures. Yes, you read that right, 900.

2008.09.22 – 10.03 Honeymoon in Europe Album 1

2008.09.22 – 10.03 Honeymoon in Europe Album 2

I separated them into two albums because Picasa will only allow 500 pictures in one album max! But we did go for 2 weeks so it’s hard not to have that many pictures!!!

All pictures are captioned (well, most of them anyways) so hopefully you can get some of the thoughts that went through our head as we went through these country. To give you an idea, here was our itinerary – mind you, a lot of these were last minute ideas since that’s what we wanted. (We rented a big car just in case we had to sleep in the car! )

Day 1: Arrive to Frankfurt, Germany. Rent the car and drive along the Rhine River and stay in one of the castles on the river.

Day 2: Check out of the castle and drive to Dusseldorf and met up with my friend Jess, and proceed to scrap Amsterdam from our tentative itinerary and stayed with Jess for the night instead. Also, pricelined hotel for Paris.

Day 3: Say goodbye to Jess and Matt and leave for Paris. Decided on the drive that we will take a detour to Brussels for a few hours before going to Paris.

Day 4, 5: Paris!!!! We stayed in Sofitel!!! Pricelined it for an awesome price!!! Highly recommend you do the last minute priceline hotel for Europe.

Day 6: Drive, drive, and drive some more to go through France and go to Italy. The countryside of France is gorgeous and we drove by Dijon!!! mmm… mustard… Gone through Mont Blanc Tunnel and stayed in Milan for the night.

Day 7: Went to see Milano Duamo in the morning and drove to Venice and stayed at Venice.

Day 8, 9: Venice! Not what we were expected, for sure.

Day 10: Leave Venice, drove through the Austria Alps and back to Frankfurt for the night.

Day 11: Bye Bye Europe.

Overall we had a great time in Europe. Paris is my favorite, and driving on the autobahn is David’s favorite. We probably would never go back to Venice again, although we do really want to go back to different parts of Italy.

So to summarize, here is a list of things we’ve learned while in Europe:

People generally respect the traffic rules. When driving on autobahn, part of it has no speed limit and all the cars that drives slow will move out of the way and when the speed limit comes on, all the cars, including the ones that are driving super fast, will hit the brakes and slow down. And this also applies to Belgium and France, however, the Italians do not care. They drive awful and they are right on you like no one’s business. Not. Cool.
Spend more days in Le Louvre. One day will not give you enough time to see the entire museum. We want to go back.
Mona Lisa is actually not that big of a painting, however, it is the only painting in the entire museum that are enclosed in glass case with a semi-circle railing separate the general population away from the painting. Also, two security guards were stationed right there. The other rooms are one guard for each room if not one to two rooms.
Venice is very over-rated. The whole city smells like a toilet and there is no way I would get into a gondola (and it costs 120 euro for a ride!!!).
Food in Venice isn’t that great. If you want great Italian food? Go to little Italy here in the US.
All spaces occupiable in Venice consisted of 4 different business: *Hotel, Restaurant, Souvenir Shop, Murano Glass Shop. Reapt from * until end.
Parisian food is just as good as you can imagine, and just as good as your friend who went to Paris said. Love Parisan dishes.
Burano
Tolls in France and Italy are insane. If you ever go, take the train. But drive in Germany!!!
Sleeping cart on train is much cheaper than hotels. If we do it again, we will travel at night, sleep on the train and have lots of fun during the day without worrying about the tolls and where to park!!!
Mont Blanc tunnel costs 34 euros each way. That’s like US $50 to go through a tunnel!!!
Read the menu before you order! Most of places get you on your drinks!!! We paid US $8 to $9 for a small glass of diet coke in Paris and Venice!!!!
Wheeled backpack saves your back!!!! We bought one from Samsonite before we left and we are so thankful we did. We get to bring snacks and water bottles and laptop and not kill our backs!!!
The all-in-one passes are not always as good as they made out to be. If you are only staying for short amount of time, consider buying individual pass in each museum instead.
Look for deli’s for cheap lunch and dinner in Paris. The food was great and much more affordable than the restaurants.
Italian hotel standards are much lower than the US. Don’t expect much from a 4-star hotel.

That’s all we can think of right now. And as a disclaimer, this is purely our experience. Take it or leave it, it’s up to you. But just remember to have fun!!!

Because we did!

Categories Travel, wedding

If You Eat Meat, You Want to Read This!

October 22, 2008 //

Have you ever heard of a deal that’s too good to be true, and not trust worthy? Me too, and plenty of times. But not this one… I assure you, this is real, and require almost no work!

I’m about to share a deal on Omaha Steak Burgers. By doing the following steps, you can get 12 four oz burgers and 8 five ounce burgers for $1.98, shipping included!!! Don’t believe me? Read on…

1. Geico Priviledges is a new website that helps people finds deal and savings. It’s kinda like a Entertainment Book except online. If you sign up, you will get a $25 gift certificate code to OmahaSteaks.com (I just check this, and am not sure if they are still offering this since it doesn’t say it on the main page anymore. WIthout this coupon, you won’t be getting the whole thing for that cheap, you would just be getting free 12 four oz steak burgers with first purchase). If they are still doing the coupon code, they will email it to you at about 2 hours after you sign up. So be patient. [Reading the fact it's Geico? Don't worry, you don't have to change your insurance or anything, this is just a side thing that Geico is doing and promoting. You do not need to switch insurance!]

2. Click on this link to and sign up for Omaha Steaks newsletter and you will get the email that gives you the link to the 12 Free four oz burgers. Of course, this only works if you don’t recieve their newsletters already, but if you did, don’t be sad, just use another email address!!! I usually have a “junk mail” email address to sign up for stuff like this. hotmail and gmail or even yahoo can give you free email addresses!

3. Once you receive the coupon code from step 1 (if they are still doing it), go to the email from step 2, shop around and find the 12.99 items, which for me was the 8 five oz burgers, but 8 polish sausages are also 12.99, so if you don’t want that many burgers, then do sausages!!! Either way, add your 12.99 item of the choice to cart. Click on your cart to check out. The check out process is four steps. First you need to confirm your billing address – you can pay by credit card on their site or paypal. I did paypal because it’s easier for me. Then you will need to confirm shipping address. Click continue and it will take you to payment and reivew. A 13.99 shipping charge had been applied at this step, and you will see a empty box for coupon or gift certificate code. This is where you copy and paste the code from step 1 to that box and don’t worry about the Pin number. Click apply and viola, your shopping cart should say $1.98 for total payment!!!

I did it last night and couldn’t believe it myself, and what is more unbelievable was that after an hour, I got an email from Omaha that my order has been processed and shipped!!!!

So I’m hoping Geico Priviledges is still doing the deal. Good luck and please let me know if step one still works.

NOTE: Worry about getting too much junk email? Don’t forget after the CAN-SPAM law passed, all e-newsletter type emails are required to have a way for you to unsubscribe. So after you receive your lovely free beef, just click on that unsubscribe button in the email and smile gleefully on your awesome new deal and the no junk inbox!

NOTE 2: Worry about too much burgers and it’s no longer the summer season? Don’t forget that burgers are made of ground beef, so you can always use it as ground beef in different dishes!!! 4 burgers will equal a pound of ground beef!!!

NOTE 3: I am not affiliated with either companies! I am sharing this purely on sharing my love of finding awesome deals!!!

NOTE 4: As much as I love this deal, I was not the first one to find it. I first heard it from Money Saving Mom and she heard it from Catherine. So thank you ladies!!!

Categories good finds

Popeye’s or KFC, You Got Nothing on Me!

October 21, 2008 //

For some reason, I’ve been craving fried chicken lately. But making fried chicken scares me – the coating has to be crispy and good, and the chicken has to be tender, and no setting fires at the house is a must. So I’ve never made it. I’ve always gone to Popeye’s or KFC for those cravings.

Last night, I took out some chicken drumsticks from the freeze to thawe for dinner tonight. I was looking for a recipe I saw awhile ago with this honey glaze and baked in the oven, but then I came across this recipe and after reading it, I decided that it’s meant to be that I have some buttermilk on hand (I rarely have buttermilk in the fridge, it just happened I used it to bake corn muffin last week for David.), and I have all the things it calls for in the house besides onion, and that was good enough.

I follow the marinade ingredients quite extensively. Since I didn’t have onion, I used some chopped garlic in the marinade instead. I even got up extra early this morning to marinade the chicken, which I can assure you doesn’t happen all that often (actually, I can’t think of the last time I got up early to marinade something for dinner, EVER.)

As for the coating, that’s where I changed things up – instead of all purpose flour, I used potato starch instead. My grandmother always use potato starch when she made her famous fried pork chop and it gives a nice crispy skin, so I decided to go with that. Plus David can eat that if he decide to do so when he gets home. Also for the seasoning of the coating, I had Old Bay seasoning on hand so I used a teaspoon of that, plus a pinch of salt and black pepper instead of what it calls for.

Six tender on the inside, crispy on the outside drumsticks were the results! Pair it with some chedder cheese mashed potatoes and a glass of wine, it is a total comfort food in my book. I probably would put more than a pinch of salt on the coating mixture next time I make this. You should totally try it if you like fried chicken. And if you think frying is bad for you… Well, grow up and get over it. Moderation is what matters.

_______________________________________________

On a complete different note, while I was driving around today, I saw this and couldn’t stop giggling:

In case you are having a hard time reading it, it says: Milford Indoor Tennis – Come in and have yourself a ball.

It said ball.

Tags Recipe

Categories Food, random

Ziggy Finished, FINALLY!

October 19, 2008 //

I officially now know what people mean when they say they have “Second Sock Syndrome”. Let me tell ya, I did NOT want to make the second one, for sure! I actually finished the first one on 10/03 on the flight on the way home from Europe, but just couldn’t get started on the second one. But being such a project person, I couldn’t start another project without finishing those, so I made myself finishing them:

Pattern - Ziggy by Meg Meredith
Yarn Used – 313.2 yards of Schaefer Yarn Co. Anne in Green and Tan
Needles – Option size 1.5 and 2.5
Gauge – 8 sts per inch on size 1.5
Knit – September 08, 2008 to October 18, 2008
Modification – Used size 1.5 for toe, foot and heel, then switched to size 2.5 for the leg and cuff.

I am so glad this one is done. I think I lost steam for the whole Pentathlon thing. I haven’t been enjoying the patterns they chose and the lack of time to knit it doesn’t help. There are so many patterns out there that I want to knit instead of the socks! Lesson learned – don’t commit to anything longer than 2 or 3 patterns in one thing!!!

Onto the next big thing…

Tags FO

Categories Uncategorized

A Much Overdue Thank You

October 12, 2008 //

Right before the wedding, the girls at SnB throw a bachelorette party for me. They told me we are just going to our usual spot for some drinks. However, I did not expect these:

So a big shout out to Anphoe, Archiknist, CostumeChick, Wife”Mom”Knitter, YankeeL, Knelley, LeopardGirl, Minniepurl, and Pat. I got lots of yarn, candles, and things better left unspecified (don’t want to be spammed!!!) Costumechick made me this awesome keepsake box that I just absolutely love!!!

And Costumechick also made me this:

Isn’t it awesome!? It’s my head piece for my wedding. I wore it during my reception. So pretty!!!

So Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! You all know how I feel about you bitches so I won’t re-emphasis.

EDIT: How can I forget Nutmeg Knitter??? Thank You!!!!!

Categories random

Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage v.2

October 6, 2008 //

Awhile ago, I had an experiment with Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage. It was a delicious meal and I loved it. I posted for all to try but I’m not sure if anyone actually did. (If not, you should, it was yummy, and fast!) This morning, I took out some sausage without casing and I decided to make a slightly different one.

Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage v.2

1 lb of Italian sausage – The one I bought are without casings already, if you use link sausages, then remove casing (I used sweet sausage, but feel free to use the spicy stuff!)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp of chopped garlic
1 large crown of broccoli (or 2 small ones!)
1 lb of pasta (I used Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Pasta in Penne form, but feel free to use anything you have)
1/2 tsp of dried thyme or 1/2 tbsp of fresh thyme
a pinch of dry red pepper flakesr
1 cup of chicken stock (mine is from a box! but use home made stuff if you got it!)
Enough salt for the pasta water
Grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano to top the pasta [optional]

Cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water according to the directions.

In a saute pan (I used my new Rachael Ray saute pan from my shower – the kind that has a little bit of the sides) on medium low heat, add the sausage and let it brown a bit, and then push them to one side, leave the grease to the other and add the onions. After the onions are a bit translucent, then add the garlic. Continue to saute the mixture and add in the thyme and dry red pepper flakes (black pepper here too if you wish). When the mixture looks done, add the chicken stock and let it simmer.

When the pasta is almost done (about 8 mins in), put the broccoli into the sausage mixture and cover to let hte broccoli steam. Drain the pasta and add it into the sausage and broccoli mixture. If your pan is not big enough, then after draining the pasta and broccoli, put the sausage and broccoli mixture into the pasta pot instead.

Top the pasta with grated cheese and black pepper if you choose. Enjoy!

Note: This is a very quick dish, everything happens simultaneously. Feel free to improvise with different things, such as add in saute onions, peppers, etc. If you like garlic, put more in, if not, don’t put it in at all! No thyme? No problem, add some oregano instead! Experiment and have fun!

ps. I didn’t forget about the pictures… they are done but I’m not sure how I want to present it… Yes, I know, indecisive!

Tags Recipe

Categories Food

We Are Back!!!

October 5, 2008 //

We landed on Friday afternoon and the best man was kind enough to pick us up at JFK. We were exhausted from the awesome trip that we ended up doing NOTHING when we got home. Well, not true. David’s mom came and brought Bruno back (she watched Bruno while we were gone and my brother watched Mick and Vanilla). We hung out with her a bit with TV and Internet (we didn’t have either in Venice!!!).

Needless to say, the trip was marvolous and we loved it. Although towards the end of the trip, we were a bit home sick and really miss the dogs, and we also missed the fact that people actually speaks English to us! We also took lots of picures! Ok, maybe I took a lot of picures, but I can’t have them all on the blog, so I’ve uploaded them. But I’m trying to put all the captions on so it’s going to be awhile when that is ready. So in the mean time, i will distract you with these pictures from my mom#3 Sheryl.

See that awesome bouquet I’m holding during the Rehearsal? CostumeChick made me that!!!!