Thursday's picture perfect deal...

The picture...

We have a new bear in our yard this year and she has the prettiest white face. I took this picture from our upstairs balcony and when she looked up she had the sweetest eyes.

The deal...

FTD is having their site wide July weekend sale starting today.  Almost every bouquet is $10.00 off, so if you know someone with an anniversary or Birthday now is the time to check out flowers.  This promotion is available online only and cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts.

I hope you are all having a nice Thursday!

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

pomaceous \poh-MAY-shus\ ~ adjective

DEFINITION(s) 1: of or relating to apples  2: resembling a pome

EXAMPLES: The back porch held a sweet, pomaceous aroma, and immediately Glen knew that his mother had baked an apple pie for dessert.

"This Festival is devoted to the mysteries of Plant Reproduction, especially that of those wondrous trees, the Angiosperms, with special emphasis upon the Drupes and the Pomaceous Fruits." -- From Margaret Atwood's 2009 novel The Year of the Flood

DID YOU KNOW? "Pomaceous" was first planted in the English language by physician Edward Baynard when, in 1706, he advised, "Apples and pomaceous Juices, are the greatest Pectorals." ("Pectoral" is now a rarely used word for a food that helps digestion.) Since then, "pomaceous" has mainly been sown by botanists and poets. The word, which is ultimately derived from Late Latin "pomum" (meaning "apple"), was originally used of apples and things relating to apples, but later it was also applied to things that look like pears. (Pears, like apples, belong to the pome family.)

~THE REBATE~

If you have a cat this is a great rebate.  Purchase $25.00 of ExquisiCat brand cat litter products from PetSmart stores between June 20, 2011 and August 21, 2011 and you can receive a $25 PetSmart gift card. Even better, you can submit this rebate twice per household as long as you use separate envelopes.  You will need to mail in the rebate form together with  the original PetSmart cash register receipt with the litter purchase circled.  The offer is good through August 21st and only at PetSmart.

Hope you all are having a nice Wednesday so far.

C.Q.

Tastefully Tueday...

Wild Blueberries are ripe here right now and we love to use them in all sorts of things, but if the weather is warm no on wants to turn on their stove or oven so this sweet desert is a great way to enjoy the taste of the season without the warmth of cooking.  This great recipie came originally from Epicurious.com and although its a little bit of work the results are worth the work.



No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

Crust:
9 whole graham crackers
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin (measured from 2 envelopes)
12 ounces Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
4 1/2-pint baskets blueberries
2/3 cup blueberry jam

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor until graham crackers are finely ground. Add butter and vanilla; process until moist crumbs form. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Bake crust until deep golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool.

For filling:
Pour 1/4 cup water into small saucepan; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir over very low heat just until gelatin dissolves. Set aside.

Blend cream cheese, cream, sugar, and lemon juice in processor until smooth. Add berries; puree until smooth (some blueberry bits will remain). With machine running, add warm gelatin mixture through feed tube and blend well. Pour filling into crust. Cover; chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.) Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Transfer to platter.

For topping:
Beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Spread cream mixture thickly over top of cheesecake. Place berries in bowl. Heat jam in small saucepan over low heat until just melted. Pour jam over berries; toss to coat. Mound coated berries in center of cream, leaving 1-inch plain border. Chill cake at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Coupons:
$0.50 off Imperial Poly Light Brown, Dark Brown, or Powdered Sugar
$0.50 off Imperial Sugar® Extra Fine Granulated Pure Cane Sugar Bags

For todays no cook option is from The Cheesecake Factory.  In honor of "National Cheesecake Day", July 30th, they are offering 1/2 off cheesecake by the slice if you dine in for the whole month!  The offer is good for one slice of cheesecake per guest, for dine in only and is good through July 30, 2011.

Hope you are all having a great week so far.

C.Q.

Meet me on Monday...

I apologise for not getting the blog up yesterday, I was out of town with friends all day and left too early to put it out.  I am back on schedule now and ready to roll.

I won an award this week from Measuring Flower, its the Butterfly Award and I am supposed to tell you 7 things about myself.  This worked out prefect since Java is taking a break from the Meet Me On Monday hop until September.  So here it goes...

1) I am a foodie and get excited when I get to try something new or have something wonderful, it can be gourmet or everyday, as long as its good I will get in line. Today I am off to have Sushi with some friends and am looking forward to the deep fried tempura lobster roll...AWESOME!

2) I consider myself bless with friends and relatives, epically since I spent more that a week straight visiting with friends and family.  Sometimes its easy to fall back on the "no one really likes me" sword, then I have fantastic weeks like this.

3) I have been married 25 wonderful years, and although not all of them easy I wouldn't change any of them.  They have helped make me who I am today and shaped our lives together so they work in perfect synchronicity.

4) I love to travel and am looking forward to many trips in the future with my husband and friends.  Ireland is on my Bucket list and is a must, after that I want to see India, Egypt, Spain and Paris, and I would love to go back to London, Scotland, Greece and Italy.

5) I love to decorate and am really bummed that my house is done and all decorated, I would love to build again so I can do it all over but I think my husband would have a stress aneurysm.

6) I really love to scrapbook and am the type of scrapper that has everything you could need to scrap almost anything, not the type like most of my friends to get just what they need for one project.  I have a whole closet full of just paper and paper pads of various sizes.

7) I enjoy reading and have eclectic taste in books, so much so that I thought it would be no problem to finish my reading challenge on my blog.  However, even though I have read way more books than required they are the wrong genera's and I am beginning to wonder if I will complete it at all.

Next I am supposed to answer the following Questions:
Name your favorite color: Green
Name your favorite song: House Rules by Christian Kane
Name your favorite desert: Creme Brulee
What wizzes you off? Ignorance, it breads hate
When you're upset you _________? Loose myself in music, books or a movie
Your favorite pet? I have had many over the years and I love them all very much.
Black or white? I like both.
Your biggest fear? Having no one visit me when I get old.
Best feature? I think its my positive attitutide
Everyday attitude? Positive
What is perfection? Something that to strive to get closer to but remembering its unreachable
Guilty pleasure? TV on DVD

I am supposed to pass this on to 15 bloggers, however, the bloggers I know do not accept awards for their pages so I am passing it on to Bernie from One Mixed Bag, it will look great on her award page.
I hope you are all having a great start to your week.

C.Q.

Silly Saturday...

Not everyone was able to get their swap done in time so I am extending the deadline to next Saturday.  Please let me know if you do not get a package by Wednesday and I will see that you get something fun from Minnesota! :)

On to today's funnies:

Have a great Saturday!

C.Q.

Friday's Freebie...

Here is a great sample for your four legged friend!  You can try a free sample of Natural Nibble dog treats, designed to keep your dog is good health.  To try them for free just go to the web site and click on the little post-it note at the bottom of the page, you will need to fill in your name and address and they will send it out to you.

I hope you are all looking forward to a nice relaxing and cool weekend!

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

I had a chance to spend the day with my sister-in-law and her family last year going to visit local artisans, at one of the stop they had rubber ducks in their pond and it made for a fun picture.  I am hoping to make the rounds again this year if its not too hot out!

The deal...

I love movies and if you are looking to fill in your DVD collection with that copy of The Mummy from 1959, Jumpin' Jack Flash from 1986, XXX from 2002. The Pay-Off from 1930 or The Rat Pack from 1998 or any one of a huge list of movies, then check out Movies Unlimited.  They are having a sale right now of some really great films from all the decades for under $9.00, the sale goes until the end of July and if you purchase 4 or more movies you get free shipping as well as the amazing price.

Hope you are all having a great Thursday!

C.Q.


 

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

refection  \rih-FEK-shun\ ~ noun

DEFINITION(s) 1: refreshment of mind, spirit, or body; especially : nourishment
                           2 a: the taking of refreshment  b: food and drink together : repast

EXAMPLES "Miss Vavasour, so assiduous in other areas of her care of us, is capricious, not to say cavalier, in the matter not only of luncheon but of meals in general, and dinner especially at the Cedars can be an unpredictable refection." -- From John Banville's 2005 novel The Sea

"The hospital, he added, had been instituted for the reception and refection of the poor and it should concentrate on those duties.…" -- From Jonathan Riley-Smith's 2008 book The Crusades, Christianity, and Islam

DID YOU KNOW? Whether you sit down for nourishment or sustenance, aliment or pabulum, a meal or a repast, you are unlikely to encounter a shortage of English words for food or the partaking of food. "Refection" is just such a word. It was first borrowed by Middle English (as "refeccioun") from Anglo-French "refectiun," which in turn was derived from Latin "refectio" (meaning "refreshment" or "repairing"). "Refectio" comes from the verb "reficere" ("to remake, renew, or restore"), a combination of the prefix "re-" ("again") and the verb "facere" ("to make or do"). "Refection" is not only applied to food, however. It has been used to describe many means of restoring or refreshing one's body, and of mental and spiritual sustenance as well.


~THE REBATE~

Now through July 31st you can get a $10 mail-in rebate when you buy any Philips Norelco SensoTouch or SensoTouch 3D.  All the requests must be recieved by August 14, 2011 and must include the original cash receivedregister reciept or online purchase receipt with the razor, purchase price and date circled, the UPC from the razors package and the official rebate form.

Hope you are all having a nice week!

C.Q.

Tastefully Tueday...

I'll admit, I get a LOT of mail in my emails in box and I don't always look at all of it, at least if I want to do something other than email for the day.  But today I came across and email from Kraft about their Outstand-wich Road Trip recipes and a chance to win $3,750 each week to take the ultimate Road Trip.  While I was there I checked out the sandwiches and came across so many that sounded so good, but being from Minnesota I chose a sandwich from the neighboring state of Wisconsin to put in the blog today, so without further adiue, here it is...

Cheesy Ham & Apple Panini

2 tsp. KRAFT Mayo with Olive Oil Reduced Fat Mayonnaise
1 tsp. GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard
2 slices sourdough bread
1 thin red onion slice
4 slices OSCAR MAYER Deli Fresh Smoked Ham
6 thin apple slices
1 KRAFT Big Slice Colby Jack Cheese Slice
1 tsp. olive oil

HEAT panini grill.
MIX mayo and mustard; spread onto bread slices. Fill with onion, ham, apples and cheese.
BRUSH outside of sandwich with oil.
GRILL 3 min. or until golden brown.

If You Don't Have a Panini Grill heat a skillet on medium heat. Cook sandwich 5 min. on each side or until cheese is melted and sandwich is golden brown on both sides, gently pressing down top of sandwich with spatula to flatten slightly as it cooks.

Substitute: Prepare using OSCAR MAYER Deli Fresh Cracked Black Pepper Turkey Breast.

Today's no cook offer is from Outback Steak House.  You can print a coupon for an additional $10.00 bonus card when you purchase a $50.00 card.  I love these offers because they really stretch my dining dollars.  You can also sign up for the Outback E-Club reward program where you can earn points towards future certificates and get a $5.00 off coupon for the new Outback Special^® and Snow Crab.

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

C.Q.

Meet me on Monday...

Java is still catching up from her vacation so I am filling in until she is back with some great deals for the week.

Do you do paper crafts?  Scrap-Your-Trip is offering free shipping on all orders over $75.00 with coupon code 75SHIP plus they have their summer clearance going!  You can get  10% off The Paper Company and Bazzill Open Stock with no codes needed and We R Memory Keepers at 40% off with code 40WRM. The sale is good July 18 and 19 only.

Crabtree and Evelyn is also offering free shipping on orders over $75.00 during their Summer Clearance sale.  They are offering 50% - 75% off many items throughout the store.  These deals are good both on line and in the stores.

Vista Print has a great sale going to help you preserve your Summer memories, order now and get a free flip photo book.  They also have a ton of other specials going on right now that are worth checking out.  I have used Vista Print for many things, including canvas grocery bags that I put my own photos on, they turn out great and I have gotten so many comments on the one I used a picture of my dad with his first car, its a lot of fun.

Finally, Restaurant.com is having a sale of 70% off, which means you can get a $25.00 certificate to your favorite place to eat for only $3.00!  Just use coupon code SWEET at check-out.

Hope you are all having a great start to your week.

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

Sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same.  I remember staying up till all hours of the night playing the classic Nintendo game Zelda, not they have just released The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 3D.  Ocarina of Time 3D features the same storyline, locals, and action as the 1998 game, but they have updated the visuals, added a touch-screen interface, and several other things to update the game and make it come alive. The graphics feature higher resolution textures, improved character models making the game play smother and look more real.  This almost makes me want to go get a Nintendo system again, even the music is the same as I remember!  As an added bonus, once you've completed the game, you gain access to the Master Quest, a challenge for even the most dedicated player. The world has been mirror-flipped, and the dungeon puzzles are all different.

The game is available for the Nintendo 3DS and is rated for players age 10 and up.  I was able to find it for the lowest price at Sun Gadgets Discount Electronics Store for $28.50 with free shipping.

I hope everyone is having a very relaxing Sunday.

C.Q.

Silly Saturday...

Have a great weekend everyone!

C.Q.

Friday's Freebie...

Ruby Tuesday is giving away 100,000 coupons for a FREE Classic Burger.  These are bound to go fast so click fast, there were a little over 52,000 when I posted this.

Have a great day everyone.

C.Q.

Thursday's picture perfect deal...

The picture...

We had a skunk momma move in this spring and she had a litter of 5 babies, they were all very well behaved and no one got sprayed by the momma all summer long.  She just recently decided they were grown up enough to send on their way so they have moved on, but while they were here I got some great pictures of the youngsters playing in the yard.  They are unable to spray until they are a little older so I was able to go out with them as long as mom was OK with it, which she was.  I kind of miss them, but now I can let the dog out with a little less worry.

The deal...

Younkers, Herberger's and Bon-Ton are all having their Summer clearance sale with 50% off or more through Monday July 18th.  If you are going to be shopping in the store be sure to print off your coupons for extra savings up to 20%, the link is in the orange box of the web page for your store.  If you prefer to shop on line just use coupon code HUGESUMRL11, its good at all three stores.

Happy Bastile day everyone!

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

hyperborean  \hye-per-BOR-ee-un\ ~ adjective

DEFINITION(S):

1: of or relating to an extreme northern region : frozen
2: of or relating to any of the arctic peoples

EXAMPLES: Pauline possessed an impressive tolerance of cold winters, for which she credited her hyperborean ancestors from northern Canada.

"She came through the door tugging him awkwardly by the wrist … and settled into a chair in the waiting room while Elvira's parrot gnawed at the wicker bars of its cage and the little air conditioner I keep in the front window churned out its hyperborean drafts." -- From a story by T. Coraghessan Boyle in his 2010 collection Wild Child

DID YOU KNOW? In ancient Greek mythology, the "Hyperboreoi" were a people who lived in a northern paradise of perpetual sunshine beyond the reaches of the god of the north wind. Their name located them within the Greek world; it combined the prefix "hyper-," meaning "above," and "Boreas," the Greek name for the north wind. When "hyperborean" first appeared in our language in the 15th century, it named those legendary folk. By the late 1500s, though, the word was being used more generally for anything relating to the far north or the people who lived there

~THE REBATE~
 

Lean Cuisine has a great program called Delicious Rewards that runs through December 31, 2011.  When you purchase specially marked packages you can enter the codes online for points that are redeemable for great stuff like their colorful lunch bags, Sweepstakes entries, kitchen gadgets and free Lean Cuisine meals. 
 
I hope you are all having a great week!
 
C.Q.

Tastefully Tueday...

I love holidays, even if they are borrowed from another country.  July 14th marks the anniversary of the 1790 storming of the Bastille fortress-prison in France.  There it is formally called La Fête Nationale, in the US we know it as Bastille Day, and it is said that act was what sparked the French Revolution.  So with a French theme and strawberries in season I thought what better then a beautiful Strawberry desert Crepe? 

Strawberry Crepes
Allrecipes.com

CREPES:
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup skim milk
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
1 pinch salt

FILLING
1/2 cup semisweet or white chocolate chips
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
3/4 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed or whip your own with heavy cream, sugar and vanilla

In a large bowl, beat together egg, milk, water and oil. Beat in flour, sugar and salt until smooth.  Heat a medium, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place a ladleful of crepe batter into center of pan, tilting to coat the bottom. Cook until golden brown on one side, turning once, 2 to 5 minutes. Continue with remaining batter.  In a small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

To assemble, spread some melted chocolate on the lighter side of one crepe. Place a line of overlapping strawberries down the center of the crepe and roll it up. Top with whipped topping and drizzle with a bit more chocolate. Repeat with remaining crepes.
 

Today's no cook offer is from Blimpies, they are offering a coupon for a free 6" sandwich of equal or lesser value when you purchase a 6" or 12" Blimpie Best.  You need to present the coupon when you order.
 
Hope you are having a great week!
 
C.Q.