Category — It Makes Me Happy!

I had to go to the medical pharmacy down the street to pick up a prescription for my elderly aunt. Rather than return in 2 hours, I decided to wait it out; and cast evil eyes at the pharmacist to encourage him to quickly fill the prescription and get me out of this semi-scary place. As I paced the aisles one of the hanging displays caught my eye:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bugles? [Read more →]

I know, nothing more boring to read about than another cleaning product, but this one really gets the job done! A while back I shared with you moi obsession with Mr Clean Magic Eraser to keep my walls clean: I even packed a dozen in my suitcase and gifted them to Paris friends! Now, Mr Clean has topped himself:

This new kitchen sponge is embedded with grease-cutting Dawn and cleans up spots and messes faster than the original Magic Eraser. About $3 for a 2-pack. (hint: with use the sponges turn black and disintegrate, so stock-up!)

I use my Magic Eraser for the Kitchen to clean the kitchen granite counters, stainless sink, electric stovetop, my white kitchen cabinets, around the light switch, and for spills inside the fridge. I don’t like cleaning my kitchen: but with Mr Clean Magic Eraser my kitchen gets cleaner, faster. That makes me happy!

Moi tip: Save $3 by going to the Mr Clean Magic Eraser website and sign-up for $3 promotional coupons on Mr Clean Magic Eraser and even more on other products.

Sometimes it’s the little things…

When I’m running out the door to pilates I always remember to take my water bottle or my hair rubberband: never both. I always remember my iPhone, but why can’t I have both cold fresh water and a cool neck!

Voila: problem solved! It finally occurred to me to stretch my hair band around my water bottle. That way they’re always together, and if the band gets wet, so what? It’ll dry. The hairband didn’t stretch out, but if it did, I’d just loop it around my hair one more time.

It’s the little things that make me happy…

There is almost nothing that can’t be improved with chocolate. I’ve tweeted about Trader Joe’s chocolate covered edamame before…so good, and it’s a health food! Recently when I went to stock-up before our drive to Florida (where sadly Trader Joe’s does not have any stores) I discovered 2 more health foods:

• dark chocolate covered ginger
• dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds [Read more →]

We had 21 for dinner Thanksgiving, and 4 crockpots! Moi had dressing, The Queen Mum’s held mashed potatoes, Sister S had classic green bean salad, and Sister L’s had cornbread souffle and a surprise:

How had I never heard of crockpot liners! All of the flavor and none of the mess. Perfect for chili tailgates, holiday potlucks, or just easy clean-ups at home. At a grocery store near you, a package of 4 under $3.

It makes me happy! [Read more →]

Just got back from Walgreens where I bought 2 huge bags of Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Wasabi & Soy Sauce:  almost 1/2 price! Have you tried them yet? Moi traveling friend S introduced me to them a while back: I’m addicted!

Bold is a good word to describe these almonds: the strong spicy flavor is a perfect afternoon snack, and great to serve to friends with cocktails. Keep a stash in your cabinet for companies…if you can resist eating the whole bag!

Moi tip: Wasabi Soy Almonds are on sale at Walgreens thru November 20 at your local Walgreens store or at Walgreens.com. The 16oz bag is regularly $7.99: it’s on sale now for $4.99! They’re also available in purse-size 1.5 oz bags.

I just discovered a perk of being a Bank of America customer: free 1st week-end of the month at over 100 museums across the country! Is this a new perk: no, I just never heard of it until moi personal banker Greg happened to ask me if I was going to take advantage of the free museums  in Chicago for BoA customers this week-end.

Free 1st week-end museum? It makes me happy!

So here’s the scoop on Museums on Us :

Some of my favorite museums participate in this program:

• New York City: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bronx Zoo, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum
• Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, Shedd Aquarium, DuSable Museum of African American History
• Florida: Museum of Art Ft Lauderdale, Miami Children’s Museum, South Florida Science Museum
• Washington DC: The Phillips Collection
• St. Louis: Contemporary Art Museum

Moi Tip: afraid you’ll forget to schedule museum visits? BoA lets you sign up for text alerts or emails to remind you of upcoming free musum 1st weekends!

Somehow my crazy hectic schedule has granted me a free weekend in Chicago: I’ll be at the Jayson Home & Garden Warehouse Sale.

With prices 50-90% off they’re advertising everything but the kitchen sink including

• new and antique furniture
• holiday items
• accessories
• garden planters

the details:

Friday – Sunday November 5-7

10am-5pm

701 Albany Avenue (note: this is NOT the regular store location)

773.248.8180

www.jaysonhomeandgarden.com

Moi tip: Jayson is providing free local delivery: what’s not to like about that!

I scoured the libraires for cute postcards on my recent return to Paris, somehow I missed one! But no worries: in the mail I received a thank you postcard from Paris friend @Parisbug.

This fab Merci carte postal is on Moi shopping list for my next visit to Paris!

á plus!

Moi tip: When you’re traveling, postcards make great souvenirs that you can share: stock up on birthday, thank you, get well: any note or postcards you regularly send throughout the year. Your friends and family will love to receive such a unique memory of your trip. Even Christmas cards! Joyeux Noël!

Sweet and Salty: the combination both soothes and satisfies me. Pretzel sticks dipped in nutella. Caramel ice cream speckled with sea salt. Kettle popcorn.

Finally the combo has gone mainstream: Pretzel M&Ms. I saw the commercials. I read the NYTimes piece. But they remained elusive: in NYC tracking down new products can be  tough. Grocery stores are small, and stock space extra valuable. It’s an island: getting things on and off is an expensive battle.

Our son Little M is scheduled to fly in Friday morning: I was at the point of begging him to track some down in Chicago and bring them along as rent. He’s safe: I finally scored a bag on Sunday at my local Duane Reade. They weren’t there last week. But they’re on the shelves now!

The verdict: worth the search. I couldn’t find any small individual portion bags, so I had to splurge on the big bag. I opened it the minute I exited the store. And had to sample several to be sure: pretzel M&Ms are a winner. Sweet, salty, chocolaty, crunchy. They make Moi happy!

Move over, peanut M&Ms: you’ve been replaced.

the details:

• 17 pieces 180 calories
• 30% less fat
• 9.9 oz for $4.29 at Duane Reid

Moi tip: The bright blue bag stands out on the shelf. Track down the small bag. TBG loved pretzel M&Ms too. Now how many calories were there in that 9.9 oz bag…