The Complete Book of Baby Bargains by Kimberly Danger
There are one thousand plus ways to save money every day, and this book show you just how to do it. I found this book so easy to follow and I was clearly surprised at how many ways the Author has found for money saving tips. She covers time frames from before your baby arrives, Feeding your newborn baby, Baby’s health and Hygiene, to Getting baby dressed and so much more.
It gives you all the website addresses you will need, such as for new moms, there are websites to sign up for savings from the Baby Formula companies like Enfamil, and Similac.
It even shows you how to make the most out of your baby shower, like inviting the guys, and requesting simple everyday items you will use like diapers, and wipes and even hand sanitizer. It tells you how to save a small fortune on photographs of baby by skipping the hospital photos and waiting two to four weeks and taken them yourself and printing them out at the photo shop at Walmart, or hiring a professional photographer as you will get your money’s worth.
The book lists literally one thousand and sixteen ways to save, and each one is a great idea. I was happy to see simple things such as, rockers vs. gliders, and jazzing up the windows in the baby’s room to keepsakes and birth announcements, and buying baby gear like strollers and laundry and clean up. It really covers everything. A great shower gift, or just buy one to have on hand for yourself, it is one you will refer back to over and over. Just the kind of book I love to have on my shelf.
The Dreamz Friendz by Michael King
To give is to receive;
Description: The Dreamz Friendz and the Magic Well is a bedtime story about four magical children and their pet dragon that live on a far away planet. The four friends discover a magic well that teaches them to make their dreams come true by practicing five important life lessons. These lessons are about positive thinking, imagination, sharing, appreciation, and the Law of Attraction. Colorfully illustrated and entertaining, The Dreamz Friendz and the Magic Well will make bedtime fun.
This is a bedtime story done for children that helps the little ones learn about the powerful Law of Attraction.
Done in rhyming sentences, it’s a delightful story about four friends, who live on Planet Dreamz, where miracles happen, but you must know how to attract the miracles, and this book helps children to learn that there is an abundance of everything, and it can be yours if you are “asking” correctly.
The story is about four friends: Scion a wizard boy with a pet dragon, Dante and Angel, a Star Fairy called Opal and the Princess of the flower patch Lotus.
One day while out playing the four friends come across a brick well, where a loud deep voice is coming up from. This voice tells the four friends that all their dreams can come true by practicing these words:
Imagine
Share
Believe
Have Fun!
A wonderful way that helps our children learn the Power of the Law of Attraction. Done in charming illustrations this is a book you will want to give as gifts and to share with friends and family.
I was so excited to hear that the author Michael King, actually grew up in Rochester, NY where I grew up and have lived all my life. The book was proofed by several teachers and librarians in the Rochester City School District. So I have to say I am very proud of this book, and the author.
How to Sue A Telemarketer, A Manual for restoring Peace on Earth one Phone Call at a Time. By Stephen I. Ostrow, ESQ. and Ozmo Kramer
A tongue and cheek manual on how to sue a telemarketer. We have all been bothered by telemarketers in the privacy of our homes. This is a humorous “How To” response guide to turn the tables on this irritating intrusion in our lives. Whether you decide to sue the telemarketer’s ass in court or bust his balls, the manual will delightfully inform you of your rights and guide your way to create peace in your home one telephone call at a time.
Who are these people? Telemarketers? Just some salesman trying to make a buck, or a mega economic social force that offers detailed private information for a premium?
Whether deciding on a long distance carrier or a mortgage broker, the privacy of one’s home seems under attack by the sophisticated eavesdropping telemarketers.
How do they get away with it? We have a Do Not Call Law on the books now. If they break the law they should pay-but how?
This book lays out the step by step process of what to do when a telemarketer calls and you want to sue his ass for disturbing your peace. You know the minute you pick up the phone- as soon as they screw up the pronunciation of your name, or the too eager to know how your day is going and now with caller ID you know even before you pick up the phone. It’s no use-they will find you-we can’t hide, but we can be ready!
Always make sure you have the following when you get a call from a telemarketer, you must get this information if you want to sue the pants off the company that does not care if you want them to call or not.:
Information necessary to file a complaint:
Keep pen/paper by the phone.
Name of the telemarketer
Name of company
Company’s website
Company’s telephone number
Company’s address
What they are trying to sell you.
Try to get where the company is located (This is a legal requirement) you want to know whether they are in or out of state.
The Do Not Call phone number to put your phone number on the list: 1-888-382-1222 or go online to: www donotcall.gov
Whichever way you chose to register, you have to do it for each phone number you have as well as cell phones. Please note for registering by phone, you must be on the phone number you wish to block. This was a great book full of information I did not know!
25 Essential Techniques for Grilling & 25 Essential Techniques for Smoking by Ardie A. Davis
Product Description for 25 Essential Techniques for Grilling
With so many hefty grilling books available, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by elaborate recipes with ingredient lists and instructions that are many pages long. Backyard chefs may lose sight of the fact that a firm grasp of the fundamentals is an important part of every successful barbecue. Fortunately, Ardie Davis, founder of the famed Greasehouse University, helps readers get back to basics in this handy collection of techniques that every griller should know. Through 25 recipes, each illustrated with a mouthwatering color photo, Davis teaches readers methods such as grilling on a plank, in a basket, and directly on coals; he also reveals the secrets of fire roasting, grilling with a hint of smoke, fireplace grilling, marinating, grilling with brick weights, packet grilling, and stir grilling, with recipes that cover an array of foods including burgers, ribs, chicken, fish, and vegetables. With a spiral-bound, lay-flat binding and a concise but thorough introduction that covers all the basics of fire building, equipment, and ingredients, this is a perfect grill-side primer. And basic techniques don’t mean boring food: Grilled Flank Steak in Cumin-Citrus Marinade, Grill-Seared Scallops, Lime-and-Chile Grilled Corn on the Cob, and Rendezvous-Style Baby Back Ribs are just a few delicious stops on the journey to becoming a confident backyard griller.Product Description for 25 Essential Techniques for Smoking
Smoking is a classic method of cooking with fire, but how many home cooks can confidently say they really know the basics of preparing great smoked food? Overstuffed tomes full of exotic recipes for smoked food abound, but where can the would-be smoker turn for simple, easy-to-access information on the subject? In 25 Essentials: Techniques for Smoking, barbecue expert Ardie A. Davis makes it easy and fun to learn techniques such as smoke baking, smoke roasting, rotisserie smoking, spray basting, brining, and mopping, with recipes featuring favorite smoked foods like brisket, fish, pork shoulder, and turkey.Davis, who cooks and competes under the ‘cue moniker Remus Powers, offers simple and delicious recipes such as Braggin’ Rights Brisket, Smoked Stuffed Chile Poppers, Classic Barbecued Spareribs, and Alder-Smoked Salmon Fillet, each accompanied by a mouthwatering color photo. With a lay-flat spiral binding for easy use next to the grill or smoker, the book also offers a concise but thorough introduction covering all the basics of fire building, equipment, and ingredients. With Ardie Davis as their guide, anyone can master the art of perfectly smoked food. Simple, short, and sweet, this book is truly an essential for anyone who seeks to become a confident backyard chef.
Whether or not you’re ready for the Summer grilling and smoking season, these two books by Ardie A. Davis (a.k.a. Remus Powers, PH.B.) will definitely see that you eat well and deliciously. Both cookbooks encompass the basics as well as the more advanced methods of both techniques. I’ve had a smoker on my wish list since last year but this year we will be purchasing one. Within the 25 Essential Techniques for Smoking book there is a recipe for Braggin’ Rights Brisket and I must be honest, the book is worth this recipe alone, hence my smoker purchase!
How about some Flash-Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange-Maple Syrup Sauce, or perhaps Grill-Seared Sea Scallops? You’ll find both mouth-watering recipes in 25 Essential Techniques for Grilling. If that’s not enough, you can end the evening with Grilled Pineapple and Bananas with Lemonade Glaze (I’m now swooning).
Whoever is “manning” the grill or smoker in your backyard should greatly appreciate either one of these compact, hardcover, spiral cookbooks filled with recipes, essentials, and resources. I give these books a rating of 4 on a scale of 1-5.
Happy Holidays from the Diva of Do-Ahead by Diane Phillips
Product Description
This book is the follow-up to the James Beard Award-nominated Perfect Party Food. In Happy Holidays from the Diva of Do-Ahead, Diane Phillips brings her trademark do-ahead approach to creating delicious menus for 12 holiday celebrations—from a backyard bash for Father’s Day to an elegant Passover Seder. With special emphasis on Thanksgiving and Christmas, each holiday features one or more make-ahead menus, plus recipe variations and tips on table settings, decorations, guest lists, estimating beverage amounts, and more. Featuring a beautiful 16-page color photo insert and 125 foolproof recipes, this is an invaluable book for both novice cooks and seasoned entertainers looking to take the stress out of entertaining and enjoy the holidays with family and friends.
Oh how I love books by Diane Phillips! She is definitely the queen diva of do-ahead. As the cover states, “A Year of Feasts to Celebrate with Family and Friends,” the author does not disappoint, not in the least. Even if you are having a small gathering of people at your house, you will walk away from this cookbook with an armload of delicious new recipes, ideas and great new tips.
Diane Phillips began all the do-ahead because of the Thanksgiving dinners she prepared and taught. The rest, shall we say, is history. The book is divided into 12 chapters which begin with Ring In the New Year and end with A Christmas Breakfast and Dinner. Page 172 has The Grand Old Flag which is perfect for the upcoming Independent’s Day celebration I’m having at my house; I cannot wait to indulge in her Grilled Stuffed Burgers, which she provides several compound butter choices.
This is a must-have if you ever have people over or you are bringing dishes to a tailgate party – whatever!
On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest, I rate this book a 5!
Perfect Party Food by Diane Phillips
Product Description
How do you throw a party without stressing out? Plan ahead and do-ahead. This entertaining guide from Diane Phillips, the Diva of Do-Ahead, with help you get out of the kitchen and into your own party. She presents nearly 500 recipes that can all be made ahead of time–some days and even weeks–that taste delicious, and are designed to be served buffet style. Handy icons show which recipes are just right for a backyard barbecue, an elegant cocktail party, or an all-night blow-out bash. Dozens of menu suggestions, templates for figuring out the menu range and quantities, easy decorating tips, and guidelines for stocking a bar complete this essential guide to entertaining.
The whole premise of Perfect Party Food can be summed up in one word: breathe. It’s really that simple and Diane Phillips will walk you through, step-by-step, how you can breathe, relax, and enjoy! the perfect party foods for all your entertaining. Who wants to be a slave to the stove while their company is having all the fun? Not me, and neither should you. Every recipe is a do-ahead (from the Diva of Do-Ahead) and you absolutely will find recipes to make for the first time, then again and perhaps again.
In the Party Beverages section Diane will teach you how to choose the right wine(s) to compliment your yummy presentations. How do you end that spectacular dinner you made? Why with a Sinful Choclate Pean Pie or an Old-Fashioned Berry Cobbler, of course! There are chapters on Party Planning Basics, Suggested Menus for Stree-Free Entertaining, even a section on Party Salads which was my first stop in this “Bible” of do-ahead party foods.
Take it from a cookbook collector and do yourself a favor by buying this book. You will use it, return to it over and over and truly wow your guests with all the attention you should be giving them, while they are devouring (and I mean devouring) these foods. Diane Phillips has rightly earned her title as the Diva.
I rate this book a 5+
Soup Makes the Meal by Ken Haedrich
Product DescriptionThe book is divided into 50 menus, each including a soup, a salad, and a bread recipe.
Any cookbook by Ken Haedrich is a good cookbook to have on your shelf and Soup Makes the Meal is a perfect example. Mr. Haedrich’s dream is to own a little cafe that has a handful of tables with a daily changing menu of soup, bread, and a salad. That’s exactly what he delivers to us in this Soup Makes the Meal book. But don’t be fooled by the title, it’s not just soup. The rest of the title is: 150 Soul-Satisfying Recipes for Soups, Salads, and Breads – and soul-satisfying they are.
The book is divided into the four seasons: Fresh Beginnings (Spring); Soup Hot, Soup Cold (Summer); From Swiss Chard to Pumpkin (Autumn); and Winter Hearty and Wholesome (Winter) which makes it that much simpler to find the perfect soup, bread and salad. How’s this for a Summer menu: Summery Cream of Spinach Soup with Lemon Basil with Rosemary Semolina Scones along with Potato and Fresh Pea salad with Dill? Are you drooling yet? Amazing! This guy can put together enticing foods that just beg to be experienced. With 150 recipes to peruse, there is something for everyone amidst these pages. His recipe for Cuban Bread (where it got its name is still a mystery) is simple yet the best Cuban Bread recipe I have ever made and we had not a crumb of leftovers for the next day.
On a scale from 1-5, I give this book a 4.
Not Your Mother’s Weeknight Cooking by Beth Hensperger
Product Description
This book features 125 entree recipes for healthy, delicious meals that are quick to make, easy on the budget, and have plenty of appeal for both adults and kids. Hensperger takes the hallmarks of the Not Your Mother’s slow cooker books – fresh, healthy ingredients and contemporary flavors – to create recipes including Roast Turkey Tenderloin with Citrus Wine Sauce, Baked Halibut Parmesan, Pan-Sauteed Lamb Chops with Blackberry Sauce, Ravioli with Quick Tomato Basil Sauce, and Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches with Cranberry Dijon Mustard. Home cooks will turn to this book time and again for simple, wholesome dinners for any night of the week.
Another must-have cookbook from Beth Hensperger! This one is sure to please everybody who needs to have dinner in a hurry; healthy dinner in a hurry. If you’re looking for a thirty-minute meal type cookbook, this is not for you. Although you will find meals you can get on the table in a flash, don’t set your clock to an exact thirty minutes. You will find quick, healthy and delicious (as page one states) meals for the weeknights. We’re all busy and could use Beth’s help.
The cookbook is divided into Eight chapters:
- Fish and Shellfish
- Poultry
- Meat
- Pasta, Gnocchi, Polenta, and Rive
- The Soup Kitchen
- Eggs du Jour
- Main-Dish Salads
- Sandwiches, Burgers, and Pizzas
I found a bunch of recipes to make on my weeknights in every single chapter. Oh, your Mondays-Fridays will be a breeze now with Beth Hensperger’s Not Your Mother’s Weeknight Cooking. It goes without saying that this is no knock to our mothers. Beth goes that extra mile and steps it up a bit for those busy days when you really cannot spend too much time in that kitchen.
This compilation of recipes will really work for your. Why not pick up a copy today? I give this book a 4 on a scale of 1-5.
31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan
Reviewed by Jeannine
Product Description
Who killed Dr. Harvey Burdell?Though there are no witnesses and no clues, fingers point to Emma Cunningham, the refined, pale-skinned widow who managed Burdell’s house and his servants. Rumored to be a black-hearted gold digger with designs on the doctor’s name and fortune, Emma is immediately put under house arrest during a murder investigation. A swift conviction is sure to catapult flamboyant district attorney Abraham Oakey Hall into the mayor’s seat. But one formidable obstacle stands in his way: the defense attorney Henry Clinton. Committed to justice and the law, Clinton will aid the vulnerable widow in her desperate fight to save herself from the gallows.
Set in 1857 New York, this gripping mystery is also a richly detailed excavation of a lost age. Horan vividly re-creates a tumultuous era characterized by a sensationalist press, aggressive new wealth, a booming real-estate market, corruption, racial conflict, economic inequality between men and women, and the erosion of the old codes of behavior. A tale of murder, sex, greed, and politics, this spellbinding narrative transports readers to a time that eerily echoes our own.
The year is 1857, February 1st, New York City. This story begins as John Burchell, the errand boy at 31 Bond Street, discovers the brutally murdered body of his employer, Dr. Burdell. The mystery surrounding the doctor’s death, his shady business dealings, and the arrest of Mrs. Cunningham – the house mistress – will keep the reader in total suspense. You really do not know whodunit until the very end of the book. It definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. I really enjoyed this book.
If you are a mystery buff you will enjoy this book.
My Formerly Hot Life: Dispatches From Just The Other Side of Young by Stephanie Dolgoff
With chapters like: 1. Bitch-Slap Birthday, 3. Kept Women and 11. Vanity and Sanity, I just knew this was going to be my kind of reading.
The author takes you along with her as she discovers she is no longer the “Hot Chick” or “Young” anymore, like when she went into the trendy shops and boutiques and the staff would fall all over themselves to wait on her, now could no longer be bothered, or worse yet the dreaded word “Ma’am would roll off their tongues just a bit to comfortably.
I knew just what she meant when friends from out-of-town came to visit and asked to be taken to all the cool spots, and for the life of me I couldn’t remember what or where they were, just like in the book, it is like living a nightmare, like the body snatchers, it’s yourself, but someone else’s body, and one you don’t like or want!
Stephanie’s life and body began to feel like it was no longer her own, just his unknown person-who now has to wear makeup just to go to the grocer. Remember when getting together with friends consisted of a few 30 second phone calls or a group email-now it involves a series of high-level negotiations, painful compromises and backroom dealings that rival what it takes to pass health care reform. No more going bra-less, or wearing leotards under the over-sized sweaters, no way those days are gone. . I laughed as she takes you through all her experiences and then some. But, the good news is Stephanie tells us in a hilarious way, and gives us all hope! We may all have “A Formerly Hot Life” but the one we have right now is good too. Loved this book, it is on my bookshelf, and a couple extras for my “Formerly Hot Girlfriends” too! Check Stephanie’s blog at: www.Formerlyhot.com and see what else this Formerly Hot lady has been up to.
