Orange Sherbet Fortune Cookies

Did you know that there are no fortune cookies in New Zealand?  My stepdaughter's wedding is coming up and her wedding's color motif is orange.  She wanted to serve fortune cookies to her guests.

My husband, thinking that we were going to get just the normal cookies like the ones served in Chinese restaurants, waited until the last week to figure out where to buy them.  While he was searching, I asked him to see if we could have orange fortune cookies.  He found a store that offered them, they looked like french macaroons, the cookie itself was a different color.  I didn't like their orange shade, plus they looked very thin and easy to break. So I decided to do another search and found Chocolate Fortunes.

I found them on Monday morning, sent an email at 4 AM asking if I could order a few hundred of them to be ready by Saturday.  I got a reply at 6:30 AM saying they would be able to get me my order.  The person I talked to was immensely helpful and shipped my order to me so that I did not have to drive all the way to North Hollywood to pick them up.  I received the package on Thursday as promised.

My husband and I tasted the cookie when we got them and they were delicious!  Not only do they look like pretty wedding favors, ordered especially for my stepdaughter's orange-motif wedding - but they were a real treat to the taste buds.  And if you order 2-3 weeks before your event, you can even personalize the fortunes in the cookies to have your event's/couple's name on them. You can even order special containers to put them in.

I would definitely recommend Chocolate Fortunes to all my friends. They will be a unique and memorable addition to your next big event - plus their staff will help you with all your questions and make sure your chocolate fortunes get to you in a timely manner.  Thank you, Marty!

Swiss Gear: All the Perks Without the Crazy Price Tag

The last long flight I took was when I came to the US in 2003.  Since then I have loaned my old and dependable luggage to my mother-in-law when she flew home to the Philippines and to my husband to haul his massage therapy supplies.  About a year ago, the handle of my luggage broke, rendering it unusable for lugging around for travel.

After looking at our small carry-on long weekender bag and thinking about all the things I needed to bring on our trip - I decided I needed a replacement for my medium-sized upright luggage.  So I browsed the web and came to the realization that there were a lot of choices within my price range, but not many had the quality I wanted.

I wanted a bag that was light, easy to move and was sturdy enough to withstand a lot of traveling.  In short I wanted $500+ quality for around one-fifth of the price.  When I searched Target, I found this Swiss Gear Lugano Upright luggage on sale and loved it!  I went out to a nearby store that had it and found that it had all my requirements, plus it looks good.  I was definitely sold.  Sometimes it may not have the right brand, but it has all you need and gives you the freedom of staying on budget.

Now, that's what I call smart shopping!  If you're heading off on your next big adventure on a shoe-string budget like I am, check out this luggage line.  It definitely has all the perks without the eye-widening, jaw-dropping, budget-busting price tag.  Have a great trip - with trusty luggage!

Movie Night: The Help

I must say that I regret waiting so long to see this movie.  The Help had always intrigued me, not only because I came from a society whose middle class could employ helpers - but also because I was intrigued by its racial implications.

I think the best aspect of this movie is that it depicted the good and the bad.  There were kind-hearted white families that treated their helpers like family and not all who employed maids were antagonists.  Although their society was very different then, there were individuals who knew that people should be treated equally.  As we watched I struggled against the unjust dictates of society just as Emma Stone's character did.

Our family was blessed with helpers who made life easier for us.  They cleaned our home, did the laundry, washed the dishes - they took care of the chores that gave us more time to study, to enjoy life and to develop our interests.  They were my friends - we shared stories and experiences.  They took care of me and my sisters.  And they even gave me advice on how to take care of my future family.

But unlike the helpers in the movie, we shared a bathroom with them.  We ate meals with them.  We understood that they were a blessing to us.  They are a part of our family.

I was shocked at how badly black women were treated in this movie.  It was so ironic how the housewives discriminated against the people they trusted with the lives of their children everyday.  How the young girl who hugged her nanny during storms could grow up to be the type of person who discriminated against her.  It was a very sad life, but through the power of the pen - the situation of two brave women, two discriminated maids, changed for the better.

They were empowered because the truth had set them free.  They had lifted the veil of hypocrisy and spoke of a topic that no one dared speak of at the time - how they felt to be themselves.  What begun as a book interview became a crusade, the help found their voice and their courage made them heroes.

The movie made me laugh and cry with each character.  It was very inspiring.  It's a movie about rising above the bad situations and overcoming obstacles.  It's about conquering your fears and winning!  I would recommend this movie to all my friends!

As we welcome the Year of the Dragon, may we always remember to be kind to those around us.  Remember the golden rule, do unto others what you want others to do unto you.  Have a prosperous new year, my friends.

The Antenna: An Alternative to Cable Bills?

A few months back I was evaluating my budget, trying to find ways to channel more money into my pocket.  I found several lifestyle choices that I had to give up like luxury investments I could not really afford and one other option was giving up cable.

I set up a great entertainment system at home to minimize our need to go out and pay for more expensive live entertainment.  I bundled up my cable TV with my internet and my home phone.

Most people would probably say, you still have a home phone - why don't you cut that from your budget?  I would but I call overseas quite a bit, my family in the Philippines and my husband's family in New Zealand - my home phone allows me to call overseas as much as I want for only $20.  I even looked at Vonage, but unfortunately the Philippines is not in their list of countries.  I still have to explore the Magic Jack alternative - this maybe a feature for another post in the future.

I use the internet for side work and to promote my husband's business so I actually need that.

And I'm back to my cable TV.  I researched and found that there are HDTV ready antennas that can pick up regular channels like the televisions of old.  I bought one to test on my mother-in-law's HDTV yesterday (as a kind of feasibility study) and it worked perfectly (after we figured out that you had to re-program the channels to make it work which was not in the installation instructions).  The signal is affected by the wind (and Pasadena was still suffering quite a bit from the Santa Anas that day), but the picture quality is just as sharp as cable.  My mother-in-law lost a channel she always watched on her cable subscription, but she is going to save almost $70 per month.  And because she watches TV so infrequently, I think she can live with one lost channel - plus it will save her money.

For our home, I am still looking for more alternatives.  My husband is very attached to his HGTV and I enjoy watching the Food Network - we will lose both stations if I switch to antenna.  Hulu Plus may be a solution, but they can only stream up to 720p and that's less than the quality my TV now produces with cable.  To get my older TV to stream content from the internet, I need to set it up with a Roku box (or something similar, I still have to do more research on this).  Hulu Plus is $7.99/month, Netflix is $7.99/month and Pandora is $3/month, that will be less than $20/month - compare that with around $70/month with cable and this still saves me around $50 per month.

The initial investment for this cable-freedom plan for me includes the antennas (around $40 each x 2 although there are cheaper alternatives) and the roku box for my older TV (around $100) for a grand total of less than $200.  Do you think it's worth it?  I will save $600/year or more if my cable provider decides to raise their prices.

Food for thought in this tough economy, wouldn't you say?

Tablea-Like Hot Cocoa From Starbucks

In the Philippines, my dad once brought home a bar of chocolate.  But it wasn't a candy bar.  It was a bar that he later ground into hot chocolate, my husband calls it tablea - made from pure cocoa. It was delicious!

A few weeks back, we found this Starbucks Hot Cocoa Classic at Costco.  It was cold when we woke up Sunday morning so I thought I'd open the can and try it out.

It tasted just like the hot chocolate made from tablea - and my husband loves it too!  Pure cocoa, with a little chocolate bitterness and a lot of the luscious flavor of rich chocolate.  Just add hot milk and you have the perfect decadent cup of hot chocolate for the cold days ahead.

It is sure to make you feel like it's Christmas.  And speaking of the holidays, this pretty tin will make a great gift for friends and family!  So sit down, relax, unwind and have a cup of hot cocoa - one of my favorite comfort foods/beverages of all time.