Jan5

Sneak Peek – International Delight Iced Coffee

Posted at 11:01 AM • 4 Comments

I’m not a coffee drinker.

Quiet down all of you reading this who just gasped.

Yes, we have a coffee machine in our house – which I love almost as much as my MacBook – but its the other things it makes I enjoy.

I can honestly count on one hand the number of times a year I walk into a coffee house and order a coffee drink.

And when I do, it’s always the same thing .. a skinny vanilla latte.

Either hot or iced depending on the time of year.

When I was asked to sample International Delight Iced Coffee before it hits the shelves at Walmart on January 15th, I decided to give it a try since one of the flavors is vanilla.  Vanilla is my friend if you haven’t figured that out from all the dessert I tend to love.

The three International Delight Iced Coffee arrived — mocha, original and vanilla. Along with a snazzy branded blue straw cup.  Doesn’t the glass of iced coffee on the packaging look so refreshing?!

International Delight Iced Coffee pretty simple to make. Shake the half gallon container, pour over ice and then drink.

The rest of the container needs to be refrigerated and enjoyed within a week.

I gave all three flavors of International Delight Iced Coffee a try but I’ve never been a fan of anything mocha so it really didn’t stand a chance with me.

I did like the vanilla one enough to think about having a container in my fridge in case I have a vanilla iced coffee craving.

There’s no need for me to go to the big named coffee house around the corner when all I have to do to have sweet and creamy iced coffee in my fridge is to buy a container.

And yes, that is a Real Housewives of New Jersey plate — original cast of course. What better way for my friends to snack as they enjoy escapism TV when they come over for Girls’ Night In!?

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias. This is my opinion.

Jan1

Duane Reade – Home Organizing

Posted at 6:14 PM • 2 Comments

Happy New Year my friends!

If you’ve been following me on Twitter you’re already well aware of my quest to rid my home of clutter while my three older children were away for the holiday break.

I know… it’s completely normal to have clutter in a home with children.

But sometimes the clutter can get out of control in the tidiest of homes because you lack places to put things you do want to keep.

And that was my big issue…  all of the toys and knick knacks the kids love (and would kill me if I threw away) needed to be better organized. And the living room and kitchen had a bunch of things that definitely needed proper spots.

So yesterday, I headed over to the Duane Reade across the street from my usual frozen yogurt haunt and looked for some household items that would help with organizing everything.

What about you … have you started a major cleaning overhaul because the New Year is here? What have you been using to help get organized?

Check out my Google+ album sharing my shopping experience.

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are my own. #CBias #DReade

Visit Duane Reade online to check out the weekly circular and follow Duane Reade on Facebook and Twitter for special offers.

Dec23

Duane Reade – Last Minute Holiday Gifts

Posted at 10:37 AM • No Comments

Our Christmas tree is up and for the first time in eight years not only is it a real tree (instead of our yearly tradition of an artificial one) but it was bought at a curb side holiday Christmas tree stand. How very New York of us, right?

But while our stockings have been hung, I didn’t have everything to fill them.

I headed over to one of the Duane Reade locations in my neighborhood to check out what last minute stocking stuffers I could find for the kids. And I wanted to see if there were any last minute gifts I could pick up to add what will be put under the tree late tomorrow night.


Check out my Google+ album showing my shopping experience.

Visit Duane Reade online to check out the weekly circular and follow Duane Reade on Facebook and Twitter for special offers.

Disclosure: This post has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are my own.#cbias #dreade

Dec1

Macy’s Culinary Council – Chef Nancy Silverton

Posted at 11:51 AM • 2 Comments

Last night I headed to the Cellar Kitchen at Macy’s Herald Square to attend a cooking demonstration for the Macy’s Culinary Council.

Chef Nancy Silverton, co-owner of Mozza in Los Angeles was there to demonstrate her recipe from The Macy’s Culinary Council Thanksgiving Holiday Cookbook and her latest cookbook Mozza.

Although I was seated in the front row, the Samsung TV overhead made it easy for everyone in attendance to get a great view of the demonstration.

Although Mozza is actually three restaurants, every night its the mozza bar where you can usually find Chef Nancy Silverton.

She’s a West Coast native but back in 1982, she was in New York as a chef for Maxwell’s Plum and lived on 57th and First.  She talked about the culinary offerings back in the 80s and what supermarkets had readily available for those who wanted to cook with mostly fresh ingredients.

Her first recipe to demonstrate was the Stracciatella with celery and herb salad and celery leaf pesto. It was a wonderful springtime salad. During this demonstration, Chef Nancy talked about her home in Umbria and making basil pesto when she arrives for the summer. She also talked about the different olive oils and timing of their release.

Using a sandwich press, Chef Nancy made one of my favorite things … fettunta. I’m not a fan of dipping bread in poor quality olive oil at restaurants so a fettunta is my preferred way of having bread and olive oil.

This is the stracciatella she made using a local (as opposed to imported) Vermont burrata.

The recipe from the Macy’s Culinary Council Thanksgiving and Holiday Cookbook used turkey, feta, almonds, radicchio, arugula, and frisee.

Chef Nancy Silverton signed copies of her latest book and the Macy’s cookbook after her presentation.

If you haven’t visited Macy’s Cellar Kitchen for a demonstration you should put it on your to do list. It’s always nice to learn a few new ideas in the kitchen.