I must confess at the beginning of this post that this was actually scheduled for November 2011. 2011 people! Last year! Somehow it never was posted according to my scheduler technical thingamabobber on my computer. Sooo, not one to waste a post, here it is.  Enjoy!

Have I ever mentioned my love of food? This time of year my little heart just becomes giddy at the thought of all the yummy things I will be baking and cooking in just a few days! I love to cook, just hate to clean, and no one seems to ever volunteer that job, do they?

kingarthurflour.com not only has some great cooking products, but even some great recipes, baking tips, and their own line of flour. If you are looking for some gluten free products this would be a great site for that.  They have a recipe for an “all-butter pie crust”. Try not to look at stupid as me – it really isn’t all butter! But doesn’t that sound good?

Adjustable silicone pie crust shield for $9.95

Lots of cheesecake recipes, including the one for the picture above, carmel pecan cheesecake. This would be a great dish to make AND BRING OVER TO MY HOUSE.

Bake and give paper bakers – set of 12 for $8.95. Great for all those sweet breads you make to give as gifts, and with these you don’t have to worry about half of the loaf sticking to your own pan, which you are then forced to eat yourself because you cannot give something messed up to a teacher or neighbor or whomever it was intended originally! It’s a vicious cycle, people!

kingarthurflour.com also has lots of essentials for decorating cookies and cupcakes, along with all other necessary kitchen gadgets to use yourself or give as a gift to that baker in your family.

Check out kingarthurflour.com. Try to do so after you eat, not before. I’m off to the kitchen to bake a little somethin’ somethin’.

If you still haven’t purchased anything for stocking stuffers here’s a quick list of some easy finds to add to the stockings:

Chapstick

Gift cards (see yesterday’s post!)

Batteries

Keychain

Hand sanitizers

Wet Ones

Travel size lotions, shampoos, shaving cream, deodorant, or hair spray

Book light

Luggage tags

Tire gage

Toothbrush

Socks (good for stuffing the bottom)

Gum

Cocoa

Measuring spoons

Flash drive

HDMI cables

Baseball cards

Small flashlight

Pencils and pens

Paper clips

Bookmarks

Post it notes

Letter opener

Magnets

Lottery tickets

Loofah

Extension cord

Ornament

Which side are you on? Do you wrap each item you put in the stocking or just stick them in the stocking? I’m amazed that there are people out there that wrap each stocking stuffer. I am not one of those people. My family is lucky that everything they open isn’t from a gift bag!

I’m hungry today so I’m going to talk about food all day. Or til I finish this post. Or maybe I will stop and eat. We’ll see how it goes.

Winecountrygiftbaskets.com has a large selection of gift baskets, starting under $25.

But don’t be fooled by the title – they carry a huge selection of baskets that don’t include wine.

In reviewing the selection of baskets, it appears most have free shipping.  I love a good gift basket.  Not the kind from the drugstore, and believe me, I’ve received that before, but a good gift basket.

If you want to make your own food gift basket, be sure and check out World Market if you have one in your area.  You can read my prior post about the great gift baskets you can put together in their store here.

Moving on.

Have you had any of the delicious macarons everyone is talking about these days? Not those coconut things that only my husband loves, but the french macarons that have taken over the world. They are so delicate and yummy! I think they are the new Lays Potato Chips to me – try and eat just one!  Here are some great sites to order these yummies.  Of course you can make them yourself too.

Macaron Cafe

Miette.com

Miette also carry scrumptious cookies and shortbread too!

Still hungry? Okay, one more site.

Stonewallkitchen.com has lots of food baskets.

I am absolutely starving now. Are you? I hope this gives you some good ideas!  Bon Appetite!

I was reminded last week of how much I love the PJ Lady.  I discovered these pjs years ago at the Chi Omega Christmas Market in Dallas, and still wear my first pair of pjs I purchased from her over six years ago. I don’t know about you, but the more I wash flannel pjs the more comfortable they get. Last year I had to throw away a very, very old pair because they were practically thread bare! And they were my favorite! So I was happy to replace them with a new pair this year.

Wonderful flannel pjs for only $16!

Lots of flannel to choose from! If you are looking for Christmas specific, they have those too. Also this really cute pair of satin pjs – for $16!

PJ Lady carries a large collection of short sleeve and long sleeve cotton pjs – and you guessed it – $16!

Check out pjlady.com for yourself, for your girlfriends, mom, etc.  Their inventory also includes lounge pants and children’s pjs.  Love the PJ Lady! So excited that I have a brand new pair to break in.