Celebrate the Firsts – Earth’s Best Giveaway!
When I was in college I was a nanny for a family that had 3 amazing little boys, aged 6 and under. Both of their parents were athletes, so their house was filled with healthy foods – and it was at their house where I was introduced to the world of organic foods. I scoffed at their need to buy organic everything, though I would have never dared breathe a word of that out loud. One day, the boys were sleeping and I sat down in the kitchen to study for a test with a glass of organic milk and an organic cookie (or 3). I was almost completely engrossed in French History when I realized that I was having the most fantastic-tasting milk and cookie snack EVER.
I was sold. (Yes, leave it to me to like it because it tastes better, not because it’s better for me.) I went home that night and spent a couple of hours on the internet, researching and discovering the benefits of organic foods. Since then I have been buying organic for myself, and eventually for my family. Naturally, having Little AG brought a whole new set of concerns to light – first and foremost I wanted to be sure that what I was feeding her was the absolute, top-of-the-line best thing for her. I didn’t want anything in her little body that was less than perfect. I eventually settled on Earth’s Best – we used their cereal, teething cookies, fruit bars, and baby food (and um, ok, I may have even eaten a few of their Sesame Street cheese crackers myself in a moment of weakness). Little AG and I both approved.
Naturally when Earth’s Best approached me with their “Celebrate the Firsts” promotion I felt really comfortable jumping on board. Not only do I love their products, but this new campaign is a receipt redemption program that enables parents to save money on organic baby products including formula, jar foods, juices, cereal, teething biscuits and pastina by sending in receipts for the Earth’s Best products they purchase. With our economy as it is, everyone could use a way to save a little money without compromising quality!
Here are the rewards:
$5 in coupons and bib for receipts totaling $25.
$10 in coupons plus travel size Jason Organic baby body care for $50 worth of receipts.
$15 in coupons plus Fisher Price Tubtime Friends for $100 worth of receipts.
Win it! You can win a First Foods Gift Pack (pictured above) from Earth’s Best! To enter, leave a comment here (and a little effort is required. No “enter me” or “I wanna win” type entries are accepted, but you don’t have to write a book either. It’s all about balance people. kthxbai). As usual, extra entries are available for stumbling Chic Shopper Chick (leave your stumble name), subscribing to my site, following me on Twitter, and blogging about this giveaway with a link back here.
US entries only, winner will be chosen via random.org at the end of the contest. Winners are posted here, please leave a valid email address or blog address if you’d like to be contacted should you win. Winner has 72 hours to claim their prize. This contest ends at 11:59 pm CST on January 28th, 2009.
M&M’s Get Personal
Pssst — hey you! Yes, you – the bridesmaid/baby shower thrower person/bride/new mommy/person throwing a birthday party/chocolate lover – I’m talking to you! Check out this really cool idea for personalized party favors that your guests can appreciate (and devour!). You can now create and customize your very own M&M’s from the comfort of your couch! I created some online at the My M&Ms site for Little AG’s 2nd birthday (which is in a month — ahhh!) that have her picture on one side and cute little statements about her “Turning 2!” on the back! The website makes it really, really simple to do, and I had the perfect M&M’s within minutes! I even got to choose what colors I wanted!
The site also offers dozens of gift options to accompany the MY M&M’S, such as candy dispensers, decorative tins, and MLB-themed containers. And, new this year, MY M&M’S has even teamed up with Martha Stewart for ideas to make personalized gifts even more special. Each of Martha’s MY M&M’S personalized gift options provide easy step-by-step instructions. Of course, personalization won’t come cheap – at $13 bucks for a decent-sized bag you’ll be shelling out some dough, but at least this is one keepsake that won’t collect dust on a shelf somewhere. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go dig through my pantry in search of chocolate. This review made me hungry.
Yum! Yum! The Best Holiday Appetizer!
The Holidays are here! That means the 4 f’s — fun, family, friends, and FOOD! Yum! The food. Why is it that Holiday food always tastes better than food at any other time of the year? One of my personal favorites are those yummy little meatballs that are the ubiquitous party food. I can’t help it — a food I wouldn’t normally eat is something I love during the Holiday Season.
Well, Heinz and Ocean Spray have teamed up to make a great, easy recipe for this delicious party-time Holiday food. Their Ultimate Party Meatball recipe comes together with two steps and only three ingred
ients, perfect for a quick party appetizer or to throw together when unexpected guests show up on your doorstep. You can also check out their Ultimate Party Meatball website filled with additional recipes, entertaining tips, and a sweepstakes with a grand prize of $3,000 to throw the ultimate party (do you know how awesome my decorations would be?!).
Thanks to Mom Central, I got a chance to try out the recipe last week and it will NOT disappoint you! It was really yummy, very simple to make, and was a huge hit. It’s something great and easy to whip together for the Holidays that has a bit of a different twist on the traditional! Enjoy!
Christmas Gift Guide 2008: Entertaining and Hostess Gifts
November 12, 2008 by Erika
Filed under Beauty, Fashion & Style, Giveaways, Shopping
With the Holiday Season comes the P & E — Parties and Entertaining! From office parties to parties with family and friends, you will likely have more than one occasion to show that you are the “Hostess with the Mostess” or a gracious party guest! Of course, we wouldn’t leave you hanging for this very important part of the Holiday Season, so Chic Shopper Chick has got you covered with everything you’ll need to survive this season of Holiday Parties!
The Perfect Holiday Dress — Each year I go in search of the perfect dress to wear to Church on Christmas Eve, as well as to all of the various parties and events that we attend throughout the season. This year, I am so thrilled to say that I already have my dress, well before I moved into panic mode! This year I will be wearing a flattering and gorgeous little number from ShapeFX! When I pulled the dress out of the box I thought, wow, this isn’t going to look on me like it does on that size 2 model. Guess what? It looks fantastic (You know, I mean, if I do say so myself)! I would be proud to model it anywhere — sign me up to be the new SpokesMom for ShapeFX! Any dress that makes hubby do a double take MUST be a keeper! Check out the full line of products from ShapeFX, including their shapewear, pants, and special occasion line! I have no doubt that you will love this stuff as much as I do! To prove it to you, I plan to do a post soon with some pictures of me wearing this amazing dress!
Entertaining — When I entertain, I love to have people walk in the door and say “mmmmm” because it smells so good. Maybe it’s because of your fantastic cooking, or it could just be from a really well-scented candle. I love to burn candles in my house, and I really like to choose ones that smell like food, like cinnamon, or buttercream. Yankee Candles make some really great scents, and they even have a special line for the Holidays. I especially love this Christmas Cookie Candle by Yankee Candle
Don’t forget that you also need to send out the perfect Holiday Party Invitation. I love the great Holiday Cards from Tiny Prints! I know that you will be able to find the perfect card or invitation for your event from their hundreds of cards.
Need a great appetizer that is easy but will make your guests go “ooooh, this is fantastic!!”? If so, check out the recipe that I posted on my blog today for an easy baked brie.
Need to jazz up your kitchen? Check out some of the fantastic cookware, bakeware, and tableware from Emile Henry. Their wares are simultaneously classic and modern, and I could really do some damage to my account on their website!
Hostess Gifts — You can’t be a gracious party guest without bringing the perfect hostess gift! You don’t have to spend a fortune, but something small is always a nice token of your appreciation. I really like this Half Apron by Jessie Steele in a Paris Print
Win it! South n France has graciously offered to give away a 20 piece tin of handmade bon bons to one lucky Chic Shopper Chick reader! To enter, follow the easy-peasy rules below. (And trust me, you WANT to win this delectible treat!)
- Visit South n France and tell me which Holiday Gift or flavor of bon bon is your favorite! Leave a comment here telling me about it!
- Earn extra credit! You may do these for extra entries.
- Blog about this giveaway and link back here and to South n France. Tell me about it in a separate comment.
- Subscribe to my RSS feed via email or in a reader and tell me about it in a separate comment.
- Stumble my main webpage (www.chicshopperchick.com) and leave me your Stumble Upon name in a separate comment.
- Get a Gravatar! I’m sick of seeing those little blue and white icons. Gravatars are universal avatars used for lots of sites, including this one – just register it with your email address. Let me know about it.
- Add me to your blog roll. Not just my button in your sidebar, I’d love to be on your blog roll! Let me know about it in a separate comment!
That’s it! Good luck! Oh, and the official rules and legal jargon are below.
US entries only, winner will be chosen via random.org at the end of the contest. Winners are posted here and on Prizey Fetch, please leave a valid email address or blog address if you’d like to be contacted should you win. Winner has 72 hours to claim their prize. This contests ends at 11:59 pm CST on November 20th, 2008.
Don’t forget to check out the great hostess gifts and entertaining ideas that Christine at From Dates to Diapers and Kristin at An Ordinary Life have to offer you today!
Easy Entertaining with Baked Brie!
I know what you’re thinking! Two posts, two days in a row about food. Erika must be hungry lately! Howver, with today’s portion of the gift guide all about Entertaining, I couldn’t resist sharing this really easy recipe for Baked Brie that I make on a regular basis. (Sometimes, on fend-for-yourself night here in our house, I make this for myself for dinner and reheat the leftovers for lunch the next day. Yum!)
You will need:
1 large wheel or wedge of brie
1 package unbaked crescent roll dough (I like Pillsbury, but use what you will!)
Preserves (I like Bonne Maman Rasberry Preserves)
Brown Sugar (optional)
If you are using a wheel of brie, you need to cut through the rind. I just cut an “X” evenly across the top so that I puncture the rind and get into the cheese.
Unwrap the crescent roll dough, and, without seperating the pieces of dough, place your wheel or wedge of brie in the middle of it. Wrap the dough almost entirely around the brie, leaving your “seam” at the top. Before you pinch the top of the dough together, spoon a generous amount of preserves over the top, covering the cheese. Add a couple of spoonfuls of brown sugar on top of the preserves to help make a sweet sauce. Close the top by pinching the dough together.
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray, and place the brie into it to bake, uncovered at 350 for 15-30 minutes, or until the crescent roll shell is cooked and the cheese in the center is gooey enough to scoop onto crackers. Take out of the oven, transfer to a plate using a spatula, and serve immediately! I like to serve mine with Carr’s Table Water Crackers with Cracked Pepper, they add a little spice to the Brie but you can serve it with crustinis or whichever types of crackers you would like!
That’s it! I told you it was easy! If you want to get a little more fancy, take a cookie cutter to some of the extra cresent roll dough and place the shape on top of the brie to bake. A Christmas tree baked onto the Brie is always a nice touch! Enjoy!
Christmas Gift Guide 2008: Traditions
Welcome to the first day of the 2008 Holiday Gift Guide here on Chic Shopper Chick! To kick off the guide, today we are going to focus on family Holiday Traditions. I am going to share a few of our Holiday traditions with you, and I hope you will leave some comments here telling me about the traditions in your homes!
For us, and I know for lots of families, the Christmas season is full of special family traditions that have been passed down for generations. Or perhaps they haven’t been passed down for generations, but they are things that you started that your family now treasures and loves to do every year. My family always loved to decorate the Christmas Tree together. We would turn off all distractions, put on Christmas music, and my mom would give us all Egg Nog sprinkled with nutmeg. It is a tradition that hubby and I still do, minus the Egg Nog, since I can’t get him anywhere near the stuff! I know that Little AG will love this tradition too as she gets older!
Here are some great traditions that you can enjoy with your family!
Elf on the Shelf – Create a new Christmas tradition for your family by picking up a copy of Elf on the Shelf.
The Elf shows up at the beginning of the Holiday season, usually around Thanksgiving, and moves to a different location each night to keep an “eye” on things for Santa. Your kids will tear out of their rooms every morning to find out where the Elf has moved to for the day. It also helps you with a little extra “control” for your kids around this blissfully magical but hectic time of the year, because your kids will know that the “Elf” is always watching! To learn more read my post on “Elf on the Shelf” and enter for a chance to win a copy for your family! Or, if you already know you love it, you can buy The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition
The Flight Before Christmas – I love to watch Christmas movies with my family, it makes me feel all warm and cozy inside. The Flight Before Christmas is a new DVD just released for this Christmas season, about a young reindeer named Niko who is determined to improve his flying skills in the hopes to be just as great as his father. But after wandering from Home Valley to practice, he catches the attention of the infamous Black Wolf who follows him back. In order to protect Santa and the other reindeer from the claws of Black Wolf, Niko must team up with the other forest animals to prevent any trouble that comes their way. Read my post today on the Flight Before Christmas and enter to win a copy for your family! You can also buy The Flight Before Christmas
Family Christmas Pajamas – I always loved seeing all of the pictures of families in their matching pajamas on Christmas morning, and if I can convince hubby to do so, I would love to do that this year! It just seems like one more great way to get in the Christmas spirit. I know some families find new pajamas in their stockings on Christmas Eve and wear them to bed Christmas night. It really does make for great pictures, not to mention great memories. This year I am so excited to have found the most adorable family Christmas pajamas at Snug As A Bug, so head on over to read my post about Christmas Pajamas from Snug As A Bug and enter to win a set of pajamas for your entire family!
Cooking and Family Recipes – A lot of the traditions in my family seem to revolve around food, so today on my blog I posted my favorite recipe for a Bûche de Noël – the traditional French Yule Log or Christmas Cake. It’s a dessert that comes with hundreds of years of history and has been a long-standing Christmas tradition in many families for ages. Starting last year I devoted Christmas Eve to baking two of these scrumptious treats, and I’m hoping that Little AG will join me in the kitchen as she gets older! I have the recipe for the best-tasting Bûche de Noël anywhere on the internet (I’ve tried roughly 30 different ones!), so head on over and check out my Bûche de Noël recipe and join in the fun with my family’s newest tradition!
Christmas Ornaments – At the very beginning of our relationship, I went to France for my first ever visit. When I came back, I had a special gift for my then-boyfriend, now-husband — a Christmas ornament from Paris with Santa climbing up the Eiffel Tower. That started our tradition and love of unique Christmas ornaments from all of the places that we travel to. We have a Christmas tree decked out with ornaments from England, France, the Bahamas, and places from all over the US. When you look at the ornaments on our tree, they truly represent who we are as a family. Of course, we also have the traditional Our First Christmas and Baby’s First Christmas Ornaments as well. That is why I really like Keepsake Ornaments, like the Hallmark My First Christmas Ornament
Don’t forget to enter the giveaways that go along with today’s Christmas Traditions Guide! You can win a copy of The Elf on the Shelf, a copy of the Flight Before Christmas DVD, and a set of matching Christmas Pajamas for the entire family! Lastly, don’t forget to check out my feature on my blog today for making your very own Bûche de Noël!
Also, don’t forget to visit my fabulous fellow Christmas Gift Guide Bloggers, Kristin from An Ordinary Life and Christine over at From Dates to Diapers! They both have some fantastic suggestions for you as far as Christmas traditions go as well, not to mention they are always giving great stuff away!
I’m glad you stopped by to read about the Christmas Traditions that we have in our household! I love Christmas, and I’m always up for starting new traditions, so please leave me a comment and let me know about your most treasured Holiday Traditions!
Bûche de Noël – A Christmas Tradition
A Bûche de Noël is a well-known French Christmas Tradition. Also known as a “Yule Log” It is a yummy cake rolled up and frosted to look like a log. No one knows the exact way this traditional Christmas treat came to be, but one popular guess is that Napoleon I ordered families in Paris to keep their chimneys closed during the winter because they believed that cold air caused medical problems. Because the French have long-standing Christmas traditions that revolve around the hearth, it is said that the bakers in Paris created this dessert as a symbolic replacement around which the family could gather.
As an avid francophile, I decided last year that this was a tradition that I wanted to bring to my family each Christmas season, in hopes that it would eventually turn into a project that Little AG and I would do together on Christmas Eve. Making a Bûche de Noël is a rather lengthy process (not to mention messy) and some would say an ambitious undertaking. However, should you decide to move forward with a tradition like this for your family, I have the best recipe in the world to share with you here. (And trust me, as a former French teacher who gave my students extra credit for making one of these and bringing it in to share with the class, I’ve tried them all. This one is definitely the best!)
So you know, the traditional cake typically has a chocolate mousse filling, but I prefer a vanilla cream filling, and it’s delicious too. This cake includes a Vanilla pastry cream and a chocolate ganache topping which is absolutely decadent and amazingly tasty! Pictures of them do not do it justice. You should know that the recipe is in-depth, but you can do it even with minimal cooking skills, it just takes patience. So, without further ado, here is the recipe for my favorite Bûche de Noël. (accompanied by a photo of one that I made last Christmas!)
Step One – Making the Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream)
(Yields about 2 cups)
1 cup milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup flour
Bring the milk to a boil and set aside.
Place the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and work it with a wire whisk until it reaches ribbon stage, 3 to 4 minutes. (You’ll know it’s reached Ribbon stage has the eggs a light yellow and stiff enough to form a ribbon of mix when the whisk is lifted from the bowl.)
Add the flour and mix well.
Temper the eggs by adding half the hot milk to the eggs and stirring well.
Pour that mix back into the remaining milk, whisking as you pour.
Bring the entire mixture to a boil on medium heat. Reduce heat and stir constantly for two to three minutes, whisking constantly to prevent scorching. Be sure to get into the “corners” of the saucepan by really pushing the whisk hard up against the sides of the pan. The crème should be quite thick.
Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill.
Step Two – Making the Biscuit Roulé (Rolled Cake)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 stick (2 Tbs) butter, melted
Preheat oven to 330 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix the eggs, egg yolk, sugar and the vanilla together in a metal mixing bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of boiling water for a few moments to bring the mix to a lukewarm temperature. Remove the bowl from heat and beat the mixture on high speed for five to six minutes. Gradually add the flour, then add the butter, continuing to mix.
Lightly butter a 16 x 12 inch cookie sheet or jelly roll pan in several spots, then line the sheet with parchment paper. (The butter holds the paper in place.) Prepare the paper by greasing it with butter and flour. Spread the mix evenly over the paper and bake for 11 – 13 minutes.
Remove from oven and let sit for five minutes. Place a piece of lightly floured wax paper on the table and invert the cake upside down onto the paper. Peel off the paper which covered the bottom of the cake, then put it back on the cake. Let the cake cool to barely lukewarm (it is important that it doesn’t cool all of the way or the cake will break when you roll it), then roll between the two sheets of paper. Fold ends to seal the cake and refrigerate or hold in a plastic bag until ready to use.
Step Three – Making the Chocolate Buttercream Ganache
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 egg yolks
2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter, softened
2 – 3 drops green food coloring
Melt the chocolate in a small bowl and set aside – it works best if you chop it coarsely then microwave it. Mix the sugar and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and continue to boil for two minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and let it cool to lukewarm or cooler.
Place the egg yolks in the bowl of a mixer and pour the cooled syrup over the top. Beat on high speed for five minutes until the mix is thick and pale yellow. Add the butter bit by bit, mixing at low to medium speed until smooth. Remove 1 Tbs and color with green food coloring. Remove another 2 Tbs and set aside. Lastly, mix the melted chocolate into the remaining buttercream mix, beating until smooth.
Step Four – Assembling Your Bûche de Noël
3 Tbs lukewarm water
1 Tbs dark rum (optional. I don’t use this, but you can.)
1 Tbs sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup Crème Pâtissière
Mix the water, optional rum and sugar together. Set aside. Beat your heavy cream until stiff and combine it with the cup of crème pâtissière . Set aside.
Unroll the biscuit roulé and remove the waxed paper from the top. Sprinkle or brush with rum syrup and then spread the crème pâtissière over the top. Carefully roll the cake up across the width (so the log is as long as possible) removing the paper as you go.
Finally, spread the chocolate buttercream all over the log, covering the log ends with the white butter cream. Pull the tines of a fork down the length of the log to simulate bark. Decorate the ends of the log and the top of the stump with chocolate butter cream to simulate the grain of the wood. Use a paper cornet or plastic bag with the end cut off to pipe the green frosting across the log to simulate ivy vines and leaves.
Et, Voila! That’s it! Once it is refrigerated for 30 minutes or so, the chocolate buttercream will set and the whole thing will look really fantastic! Be sure to keep it covered to keep it from drying out!
