I do not have the same aversion that some people do when it comes to using generic products. I have noticed with shampoos and some soaps….it’s been ok….sometimes with food it is hit or miss. It’s always worth a try though considering the money you could save! The free shipping blog rounds out a list of products and tells you when it’s ok to buy generic vs name brand. Some surprising ones:

2. Batteries – It Depends
Brand name batteries, from Energizer to Duracell, claim they keep going and going and going longer than other batteries, including generic brands. This is one case where the advertising is true, but the added cost may not be worth it. An unscientific study by Batterytruth.info found the branded batteries provided more hours of energy, but their high cost made it cheaper to replace batteries.

The premium price may be worth while, however, when you’re dependent on those extra hours. Examples include a fire alarm or car flashlight.

6. Cleaning Products – Brand Name
Many cheaper products skimp on actual substance and add water. After several years of cleaning for a living, I have to say it’s not worth buying generics because you’ll just go through them faster. You’ll save roughly 35 percent but use them up in half the time.

8. Gasoline – Generic
Just like pantry staples and other generics, buying “off-brand” gas gets your car from place to place in the same shape as fuel from name-brand stations. In fact, it’s often the same gas, yet the price can differ by about 20 cents a gallon.

9. Margarine – Generic
You can’t believe it’s not butter? I can’t believe you’re paying extra for a name brand. A quick check of the ingredients frequently reveals you’re paying 50-percent more for packaging with silly claims like, “Perfect for the lactose intolerant!” and “100-percent less cheese filling!” Well, not really, but pretty close.

16. Spices – It Depends
Generic spices tend to be dryer and less flavorful. In some instances, particularly with powdery spices or those you use less frequently, this isn’t important. Salt, pepper, paprika, alum and such can be as generic as you like. But leafy, aromatic types like basil, parsley and imported Oriental spices should be fresh. In fact, freshly grown basil is a necessity in my kitchen.

Check out the full list here.

via http://izismile.com/

Over the years, thanksgiving has become one of my favorite holidays. I just love to cook and eat and this holiday is all about that. (and of course giving thanks! :P) Although, I don’t think I’ll get to throw our annual Thanksgiving feast/potluck that we do with our friends this year because of work (boo!)…I will still probably be contributing a dish or 2 to various family get-togethers. I have been bookmarking recipes for awhile now so I thought I would share them with you. I know in the next couple of weeks people are going to be posting tons more recipes so who knows what I’ll end up choosing to make in the end. If you try any of these recipes out, tell me how it goes!

Appetizers/Soups
pumpkin soup with toasted walnuts by good life eats
roasted squash and apple soup by one hungry mama

Sides
garlic mashed potatoes by simply recipes
amazing yellow squash casserole by i really like food
green bean casserole by the pioneer woman
apples and cranberries baked in a pumpkin by eat at home
gratin recipe roundup by serious eats
roasted spicy sweet potatoes by i really like food
collard greens with bacon by simply recipes

Sauces/Gravies/Stuffing
best store bought cranberry sauce by serious eats (i know i’m not the only one that LOVES cranberry sauce from a can!)
vegetarian mushroom thyme gravy by food52
sourdough cornbread and sausage stuffing by picky palate
a very comprehensive stuffing recipe roundup sorted by type by curbly
more stuffing recipes by serious eats
cornbread dressing with sausages and apples by the pioneer woman
ciabatta stuffing with chorizo, sweet potato, and mushrooms by food52

THE TURKEY!
roast turkey by alton brown
my favorite turkey brine by the pioneer woman

desserts
pecan pie by the pioneer woman

That is all I have for now!

I’m so happy I got to be home for our very first halloween in our new house. Even though I only had a few days to decorate, I made the most of my time I think.

This was the very first time boyrobot and I carved pumpkins. We had so much fun doing it that we decided we are definitely going to throw a pumpkin carving party next year!

I chose a simple design for my first pumpkin. Does it make you L O L??

Boyrobot decided to do a SF Giants one since they are in the world series and he is a huge Giants fan…go Giants!!

We were left with a bunch of pumpkin seeds so I made some Spiced Pumpkin Seeds. So easy and very tasty!!

I bought some orange-y flowers for our dinner table vase and some mini pumpkins because they are so cute and only 69 cents from Trader Joe’s!.

When I was younger and went trick or treating, I really hated how pretty much everybody would get the same candy. Do I really want 20 tootsie rolls or 20 of those mini chocolate things? So I decided to raid the japanese and chinese candy aisles at the local asian markets.

Strawberry milk pops, lime chews, milk candy

We got a ton of different weird fruit flavored candy. Things you won’t find at your local supermarket! And at World Market, we bought a bag of gummy brains and vampire teeth because we love all things gummy! The one on the right was pumpkin flavored jelly! It’s seasonal so I had to buy some. :)

We also got a variety pack of regular sized candy bars for the less adventurous kiddies :P

Here is what our front porch looks like (sans spiderwebs since this was taken before we put them up)

And our spiderwebs that we just put up

I will have this playing too. Boyrobot thinks it sounds too scary…but isn’t that the point of Halloween?? ha ha.

We are having a few friends over so I also made some apple cranberry cider for us to drink while we watch our scary movies….

Happy Halloween everyone!!

but i think it’s comedy gold: the best of 50 cent on twitter

I just found an exercise video that I actually enjoy! I mean as much as I can enjoy an exercise video. :P I think I like it because it’s only 20 mins long and the moves are not too hard. At first, I experienced some knee pain but the more I did it the better my knees felt. I guess I have been using my knee pain as an excuse to not exercise when I just had to push through it to make it feel better! My old physical therapist told me that my knee pain is caused by my quads being weak…and boy…this workout is crazy on the quads because it has lots of squatting!

Anyways, another cool thing about this video is that it’s available on amazon and you can buy it through their Watch It Now link! Which means I can dl it to my laptop and exercise wherever I have my laptop! You can also dl a mobile version for your phones (and there is a hack to get it on your iphone too). Very convenient and great for travel. The DVD has 3 different levels. I downloaded only the first level since it’s the easiest just to see if I even liked it (I had read a lot of good reviews about this prior) for only $1.99! It’s a good way to test it out before buying the whole thing. I love technology nowadays :)

So join me on my 30 day quest with the 30 day shred….yes, that means exercising every day !! but at least it’s only 20 mins of your day. :P

High Expectations Asian Father – more hilarious ones here!

I thought this was an interesting read…supposedly it’s true…but you never know with the internet right? A man goes to prison for two years, then returns to a thread he started on 99chan to answer questions about it. He goes into quite a bit of detail that’s probably not really safe to read at work. It’s extremely long, but I was kind of fascinated reading it hearing about jail from the inside.

I am loving her movies. I saw Easy A a few weeks ago. It was pretty funny.

She’s so cute!

PS. I have some more time to blog so expect lots of updates in the coming weeks!!