VIP SHOPPING

The biggest shopping season is here.  Retailers are posting their holiday specials for the weekend and some are even starting Thanksgiving Day.  The day after Thanksgiving is officially Black Friday; the Christmas season kicks off and shoppers take advantage of the biggest deals of the year.  American Express declared Saturday as Small Business Saturday to help promote local small businesses.  The following Monday is Cyber Monday, which promotes online shopping for those avoiding the hustle and bustle of the retail stores.  Either way, this year is forecasted to be the biggest shopping season yet!

This year I have decided to go a different route with the bulk of my shopping: direct sales.  You know the consultants that ask you to host a party with a few of your friends to showcase their products?  I used to run away from them when I saw them coming.  Host a party to sell me something?  Aint nobody got time for that!  Then one day I gave in and hosted a party.  What an eye opener!  I got to learn about the company, the products, and the business opportunity all while earning free products!  

Here are my top three businesses for direct sales this shopping season:  Mary Kay, The Pampered Chef and Thirty-One.


I have been a long time fan of Mary Kay products.  Known for their pink Cadillac driving directors, this company is all about enriching women’s lives.  In 1963, Mary Kay Ash started a cosmetics company that today, is one of the largest direct selling companies in the world.  My favorite product is the skincare.  I attended a party (skincare class) and learned so much about taking proper care of my skin as well as great make up tips.  The product line includes a range of award winning beauty products for women, men and teens.   My consultant keeps me updated on the latest products and always reminds me when it is time to replenish my products before they run out.  I like the benefit of having a personal consultant to help me shop and this season, she is going to come in very handy.  Check out their website at www.marykay.com and find a consultant near you.  


As you already know, I love to cook.  Needless to say, when I was invited to a Pampered Chef party (cooking show) a few years ago, I was more than excited.  Founded by Doris Christopher in 1980, The Pampered Chef focuses on high-quality kitchen tools that help turn the everyday cook in to a chef extraordinaire.  What I love about the products are the tips and instructions that come along with them.  Sure, I can go in to a department store and shop a kitchen item in the housewares department, but most likely, the sales person isn't going to do a cooking demonstration with that item in my home before I buy it.  I have received many delicious recipes and cooking tips throughout the years and the products have stood the test of time.  My favorite is the Stoneware collection, specifically the round stone.  It is perfect for homemade pizza.  Shop their website today and see for yourself why Pampered Chef is named the premier direct seller in high quality kitchen tools. www.pamperedchef.com

In 2003 Cindy Monroe took her embroidery machine and organizational skills and birthed a business called Thirty-One.  Designed to help women simplify their lives, this company has products ranging from purses and totes to storage bins.  What I like the most about these products is that they are personalized.  You select your item, choose your favorite print design, and personalize it with your initials.  The items I love most are the totes.  I'd like to think that I am a pretty organized person so, I love these totes that help me keep order in a stylish way.  I used to be an avid plastic tote lover (nothing wrong with the plastics) but I love having totes specific to different needs and all matching.  Just like the other companies mentioned above, Thirty-One has parties where people can gather to shop exclusive products and hostesses have the opportunity to earn free and discounted products.  Go to www.thirtyonegifts.com and see what you can find for that special someone on your list this season.  

I hope you add these companies to your Christmas shopping list.  If you do, let me know your experience.  Email me at info@mendingmaria.com.  I'd love to hear from you!

Have a great Thanksgiving and a safe Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.

Mimie

YOU'RE INVITED

The countdown to Thanksgiving continues and menus are planned and grocery lists are being made.  This year, I have the honor of being a guest at a family member’s Thanksgiving dinner.  Usually, I am the one hosting the dinner, so it will be a welcomed change to sit back and watch someone else tango with a 20 pound turkey. 

  

Of course, I can’t just be happy and take the opportunity to have a restful Thanksgiving.  Instead, I come up with the great idea to have a dessert party.  After everyone fills their tummies with savory dishes, and after a nap (Uncle Michael), family and friends will gather at my home for a dessert party.   Sweet potato pie or pumpkin cheesecakes are my usual desserts on Thanksgiving Day.   Although those are my favorites, I need a few more for the party.    After surveying a few people and surfing the net, I’ve come up with two other desserts to add to the party menu:

Caramel Apple Cake and Pecan Bars

All the desserts will be cut in small pieces so that guests can try a little of everything.  I found these cute spoons and plates at Party City that are perfect for tasting parties. 

 But four desserts are not enough.  I need your help!  Send me your ideas on what other desserts I can add to my menu.  I’m looking for 2-3 more desserts to make it a fun Thanksgiving dessert party.  Email me at info@mendingmaria.com or Tweet me your ideas @MendingMaria. 

Here are the recipes below for the cupcakes and bars:

Caramel Apple Cake

Ingredients

For the Caramel and Apples:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

3 cups sugar

5 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 cup heavy cream

4 large Golden Delicious apples (1 3/4 to 2 pounds)

For the Batter:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

Directions

Butter a 9-by-3-inch round cake pan. Make the caramel: Cook the sugar and corn syrup in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is dark amber, 7 to 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium. Carefully add the cream and 4 tablespoons butter (it will splatter) and cook, stirring, until combined, about 3 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and let sit 1 minute. Pour 1 1/2 cups caramel into a glass measuring cup and set aside. Pour the remaining caramel into the prepared pan and set aside until set, about 30 minutes.

Cut 3 apples into quarters and cut out the cores with a paring knife. Arrange the pieces skin-side down in the pan (overlapping them slightly) to form a ring about 1/2 inch from the edge. Save any pieces that do not fit for later.

Halve the remaining whole apple crosswise. Scoop out the seeds with a melon baller or measuring spoon, leaving the stem on the top half. Chop the bottom and any of the leftover quartered apples into pieces; set aside.

Arrange the apple top, stem-side down, in the center of the pan. If the quartered apples shift, just push them back into place.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the batter: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream, orange juice and vanilla.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Crack the eggs into a small bowl. Slip them into the mixer bowl, one at a time, and beat until the mixture is pale and creamy, about 5 more minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beater with a rubber spatula.

With the mixer on low speed, add half of the sour cream mixture, then half of the flour mixture. Repeat. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula; finish combining the batter by hand.

Spread the batter over the apples in the pan. Top with the chopped apple. Bake on the middle oven rack until the cake is brown on top and springs back when pressed, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes (don't worry if the top is dark). Cool in the pan on a rack.

Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a skillet wide enough to hold the cake pan. Carefully run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan several times, then rest the pan in the water to soften the caramel, about 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the water and dry.

Invert a plate on top of the cake, then flip over the cake and plate. Using pot holders or a towel, wriggle the pan off. Soften the reserved 1 1/2 cups caramel in the microwave, about 2 minutes. Drizzle the cake with some of the caramel. Slice and serve with the rest.

Photographs by Kana Okada

Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/caramel-apple-cake-recipe2.print.html?oc=linkback

Pecan Bars

Ingredients

Crust:

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus more for dish

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Filling:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

Pinch salt

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

3 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with foil allowing an overhang about 2 inches off the sides. Butter the foil.

In a food processor, blend together flour, sugar, butter and salt until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add 2 tablespoons cold water and mix until the dough just holds together. Press dough into bottom of buttered baking dish and bake in oven until golden in color, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add the butter, brown sugar and a pinch of salt and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the corn syrup, flour and pecans and mix until just combined. Spread the filling over the baked crust and bake until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan.

Remove from pan by pulling up the foil sides and putting it on a cutting board. Cut bars in desired size with a sharp knife and arrange them on a serving tray. Can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 days.

Recipe courtesy Claire Robinson, 2010

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/pecan-bars-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

TAKE INVENTORY

 Here we are again, that time of year when families get together for the holidays.   We get so consumed with the hustle and bustle that often times we forget to stop and take it all in.  Thanksgiving Day: the day to give thanks.   

When I look at my life and the people I share it with, I can’t help to be grateful.  However, I admit, I don’t always behave that way.    I can tell you 5 things that I am challenged with these days.  For example: my car has seen the mechanic more times this year than we have seasons.  An army of ants have declared war on my house and refuse to concede.  Road construction projects have added 20 minutes travel time to my morning route to work.  Wait…isn’t this called complaining?

Complain:  [kuh  m-pleyn]

Verb

1.    to express dissatisfaction, pain, uneasiness censure, resentment, or grief

It doesn’t get us anywhere, but we do it all the time.  We complain about the dissatisfaction in our lives until we are either angry or depressed.  The bible says in 1Thessalonians 5:18:

Give thanks in all circumstances (ESV)

It doesn't say to remember to give thanks once a year.  It doesn't say to give thanks when things are going easy.  It says, in all circumstances, give thanks.  There is something about giving thanks and showing appreciation for the things you have instead of focusing on the things you don’t have.  For example, my car may have had mechanical problems, but I am grateful that I have a car to get around in. The ants that have decided to move in can easily be handled with pest control, but thank Goodness that I have a house to live in.  The traffic can be frustrating on the way to work but I am thankful that I have a job to go to.  

When we look at the circumstances that we are in on the surface, the immediate response is to complain.  If we look deeper, we may see that it could be worse than what it is and there is always something to be thankful for.  There is a homeless old man in a wheelchair that I see often when I go to the supermarket. Every time I see Tony, I chat with him and give him a bottle of water or a sandwich.  Once I asked him how he was doing and he replied, “I’m alive, I met some nice people today and you blessed me with this ice cold bottle of water.  I am a grateful man.”  I thought the heat of the summer was getting to him and didn't think much about what he said at the time.  In retrospect, wasn’t Tony living out 1 Thessalonians 5:18?  Even being homeless, he found reasons to be thankful. 

Let’s take inventory of our lives.  Often time we take things for granted and whether it is a little or a lot, we forget to give thanks.  I challenge you to take a closer look at your life and you will see opportunities to be thankful instead of areas to complain about.  I bought a journal and titled it the “Thankful Book”.  Every day I list 5 different things I am grateful for in the journal.  This practice has changed my perspective of my circumstances and keeps me thankful in all things. 

I want to know what you are thankful for.  Tweet me @MendingMaria #thankful.  You can also email me at info@mendingmaria.com.  I would love to hear from you!

Mending Maria

WINNER ANNOUNCED!

For the month of October, I put out a challenge: 
31 Days of R.A.K. (random acts of kindness).  Each day I challenged you to consciously make an effort to do something nice for someone and the feedback was fabulous!  To make the challenge a little more interesting, I added a giveaway.  Each time you tweeted your RAK to +Mending Maria, you were entered to win a $25 Starbucks gift card.  

Thanks to all of you who entered the 31 Days of RAK challenge.  Now it's time to announce the winner:

Congratulations Mary Joyce A. Paual from California!

 You have won a Starbucks gift card courtesy of Mending Maria!  

In the spirit of random acts of kindness, we can't just stop there.  I've decided to add another winner!

Congratulations Stella Auxila from Florida!  

You have also won a Starbucks gift card courtesy of Mending Maria! 

Thank you ladies for keeping up with the challenge and paying it forward. This was fun!  I'm already looking forward to the next challenge!
:-)

Mending Maria