Winter Warm-Up and a Giveaway

Grab a beverage, pull up a stool and get comfortable, because there are some good things on the blog today, and a little surprise for you at the end of this post.

Ok, got your beverage?  If not...you could be drinking this one.  It's called Winter Warm-Up or more commonly know as Hot Chocolate, and I've been making it forever.  Chances are you probably already have the ingredients in your pantry.  It's so much less expensive to make your own than buying the premium cocoa mixes in the store.  I whisk up a big batch in early winter so my girls can grab a cup and go.  We needed it this morning; just look at the snow we woke up to.

We have a winner!

The randomly picked winner of the $45.00 CSN giveaway was comment number #13, Heather.  She said, "I'm hoping to win so I can buy a popcorn popper". 

Congratulations Heather.  Now you can make popcorn to your heart's content.

Tomatoes, Tomatoes, and various other garden produce

Why am I not posting any new posts? 

Here is the reason.  I have tomatoes everywhere, and a lot of corn, and some beans, and some squash, and some tomatillos.  I'm not complaining; I'm just busy.

I will be posting about what I did with all of this bounty; as soon as I come up for air.
In the meantime, don't forget to enter the CSN giveaway.

CSN Review

CSN stores gave me a gift certificate to use in any of their on-line stores after which I was to review the item of my choice on my blog. There were no strings attached. In other words, this was to be an honest review.  I chose the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence Frozen Yogurt-Ice cream & Sorbet maker. It was back-ordered (not surprising; I ordered it at the height of summer). The company e-mailed a new shipping date the very next day and I received it exactly two weeks later, just as promised. I was very happy with the service, which makes it easy to write this review.

I made Huckleberry Ice Cream in this ice cream maker (post and recipe will follow).  It was so easy to use.  There was no hand cranking involved (excellent!) as there is with many of the other small freezer container models.  My ice cream was frozen and set up in 25 minutes.  It was so easy and convenient.

Would I order from CSN stores again?  YES!!!, most certainly and I recommend them to you as well, honestly. Their prices are discounted lower than my local discount stores (I checked before ordering) and shipping is free to most areas. Thank you CSN for excellent service and an excellent product. We love our ice cream maker and have another batch of ice cream in the works.

Check back soon as CSN is offering another gift certificate to one of my readers to use in any of their on-line stores.

It's a Give-away!!!

Our historic house is big by 1865 pioneer standards; but not so big by 2010 standards.  When we restored the house we totally gutted the bathroom and had this lovely custom vanity (which is kitchen counter height) made for the space.  Our contractor made sure to run the wainscoting high enough to go above the light switches and plugs.  That put our antique mirror a bit higher than we would like.  For the record, I am 5 feet 5 inches tall (not particularly short) and I can see to do my hair but it's hard to get close enough to do a great job on makeup.  Even my husband, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall, has a hard time shaving in that mirror because it's a little far away.  Time to do something about it!

The challenge is to find accessories that fit well in historic homes; ones that don't look completely out of place.  I have just about decided that this freestanding swivel mirror  from Just Vanities.com might be perfect.  We have plenty of counter space on top of the vanity for it.  What do you think?

CSN stores is giving a $40.00 gift certificate to one of my readers, which can be used in any of their online sites (they have many).  Be sure to check on the specific item you choose, as shipping charges may apply on some purchases.  You have three chances to win this great give-away.  All you need to do is leave a comment on my blog before June 16th. You have another chance to win if you become a follower (just click on the FOLLOW icon on my sidebar).  You may already follow my blog; either way just leave a second comment stating that you are a follower.  Refer someone else to my blog and mention their name in one of the comments and you will have another chance.  The winner will be picked at random after June 16th and posted on the blog. 

Let me know what you think about the mirror and then check back to see if you've won.  The winner will need to send me their e-mail to receive the gift certificate.  It's that easy!