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Give Your Hostess Some Love

partysugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:13:18 -0800

Everyone has a friend or family member who loves to entertain so this Valentine's Day surprise the entertainer in your life with a clever heartfelt gift. From a heart-shaped flask to a delicious dessert cookbook, here are my ideas for the perfect gift for the perfect hostess.

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Happy Birthday Cake Mold: Love It or Hate It?

YumSugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:30:28 -0800

In your attempt to get organized in the New Year, perhaps I can interest you in this birthday cake mold. Not only does it save you the time and effort of having to write "Happy Birthday John Doe," but the microwave-safe silicon mold - heatproof up to 300ºF - has a recipe embossed on the rim for a cake that's ready in a mere six minutes! Procrastinators may think it's worth the $39.50 price tag, but I wonder whether traditionalists will miss spelling out "Happy Birthday" in loopy pink icing.

Source

YumSugar Gift Guide: Goodies For Granny

YumSugar — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:31:18 -0800

If your list contains a grandma who loves spending time in the kitchen - which is a pretty clichéd visual, so I'm going to guess that it does - then you may want to consider some of these gift ideas. For starters, you could get a few pics of your little ones - or of you! - and create a personalized, custom apron. Alternatively, you could present her with this custom embosser and a set of recipe cards. Now when you ask her for the secret family recipes, she'll be able to emboss them with a Recipe From . . . seal. Or you could treat her to a box of wine-filled truffles; after all everyone loves a naughty treat! Scroll through the list for a few of our other options.

Cook's Country Magazine Subscription ($19.95)	Personalized Photo Aprons ($21.95)
Wine Filled Truffles ($25)	Personal "Recipe From" Embosser & Stand ($38)
Daniel Cremieux "Marie Antoinette" Table Linens ($6 - $66)	Teaposy Daydream Gift Set ($69.95)

Happy Hour: 2006 Affentaler Blue Monkey Riesling

partysugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:15:44 -0700

I used to be one of those people who avoided Rieslings because of their overly sweet nature. However, I have since learned, from bottles like this 2006 Affentaler Blue Monkey Riesling, that dry (not sweet) Rieslings are abundantly available.

Crisp and clean, this lush white was smooth and highly drinkable. With a tart, puckery finish and a fruity aroma, the wine was exceptional chilled and delicious paired with homemade pesto.

At only $14.99 the fun bottle, complete with embossed blue monkey, makes a wonderful hostess gift. What do you think of Riesling? Have you sipped a dry varietal?

FantaSuteki Platters: Love Them Or Hate Them?

YumSugar — Tue, 22 May 2007 04:18:19 -0700

I found these platters over at Notcot and immediately fell in love with them. Designed by Masaru Iwata, the FantaSuteki platters appear to be plain embossed dishes, but when you add soy sauce the images appear. I love them! What do you guys think? Love them or hate them?

Mother's Day Gift Guide: Personalized Recipe Box, French Wine & Rose Cupcakes

YumSugar — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:45:32 -0700

Yesterday I brought you the first part of our Mother's Day gift guide and today I'm finishing it off with a few more great ideas. This first one is for the mom with all the recipes in her head. Don't you think it would be a nice gift for her (and you) if you helped her get them put on paper? The personalized recipe gift set from William-Sonoma will help you do that in a classy and personal way. The set comes with a personalized wood box and embosser ("Kitchen of Mom's Name") as well as 100 cards (the box holds 500). It'll be lovely now, but can you imagine it getting passed down through the generations? Available for $69.

Two more gift ideas (including a great wine set and a cute cupcake idea), so read more

If your mom dreams of visiting the French countryside, but you can't yet afford to fly her out there, why don't you bring the countryside to her? The Tour of Provence Wine Set contains three must-have selections from the South of France, as well as Patricia Wells' At Home in Provence Cookbook. Available for $49.99.

If mom is a baker (or if you are) surprise her with a dozen cupcake roses. This Rose Bundt Cupcake pan from Nordic Ware allows you to create a dozen roses. I'm imagining strawberry cupcakes with lemon icing, talk about a cute gift! Available for $31.95.

Off To Market Recap: Cool Flask

partysugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 13:12:48 -0700

My girlfriend Kristen recently asked me if I could help her find a cool flask for her longtime boyfriend Chris. She has been going through some stressful times and he has been so supportive that she wants to surprise him with a small special gift. I asked you to head off to market in search of the coolest flasks around for Chris. The flask had to be functional and sleek, durable and modern to fit Chris' intelligent, super social great guy persona. You saved the flasks in TeamSugar with the keyword tag Cool Flask and here's what you found:

Katherine suggested this classic stainless steel flask that comes camouflaged inside a little book. From the outside the book resembles a Bible and from the inside it's a flask - so naughty I love it!

A few more so read more

This olive green plaid flask is perfect for golfing, skiing, or a night on the town. With its outside encased in leather, SU3 discovered this flask that's larger than it looks: it can hold up to 9 oz roughly 4 shots.

Both GiggleSugar and SU3 recommended this personalized leather flask that Kristen can have engraved with Chris' initials. He'll carry his spirits in style with its luxurious embossed croc finish.

Thanks for helping me and Kristen readers! I wonder which one she'll pick to give to Chris. To learn how to bookmark cool stuff from the internet on TeamSugar, refer to geeksugar's informative explanation.

Milky History

partysugar — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:02:56 -0800

Since the colonization of America, milk has played an important part in our everyday life. The first dairy cows were imported in to the settlement in Jamestown, Virginia and originally the milkmen filled customer's jugs with milk. However, on today's date, January 29, exactly 129 years ago, the history of milk was changed forever. A certain George Lester created a patent for the first glass milk container. Many people today for their nostalgic simpleness of a lost era collect milk bottles. The most valuable ones are embossed and painted bottles with the names of dairies on them. I found a great collection of them and thought I'd share a few with you. Click on an image for a larger view:

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Source: Milk Bottle of the Week (they have almost 100 different bottles to check out)