Back to the Supermarket

More supermarket action.  This time I want to know why the checkers at Shop Rite seem almost obsessed with giving me plastic bags.  I take my own canvas bags, and they even give you five cents off per bag, yet any time they scan an item that is remotely meat-related, fragile, or that contains oil or soap, they want to stick it in a plastic bag.  Just put it in the canvas bag and I'll take my chances!  That's what the washing machine is for.  Yeesh!  And I'm not all super environmentalist or anything.  Plastic bags just breed like rats and I don't need a repeat of what happened a few years ago, when we had to throw away (this was before stores started recycling them) two huge bags of bags during Spring Cleanup Week, since they were too big to fit into a trash can.

It does kind of fascinate me to watch people bag their own groceries, though.  I was recently in line behind a woman who put seemingly every single item into its own plastic bag.  She must have left that store with 50 bags.  She should get a job at Shop Rite.  She'd fit right in.

RFQS

I love wandering through the supermarket and seeing that big yellow RFQS sticker on something I was already planning to purchase: Reduced For Quick Sale.  That means it's at its sell-by date, so they have to move it out of the store quickly at a huge reduction.  We get everything from salad to chicken this way and haven't had a bad experience yet (it's AT its sell-by date, not PAST it).  If you're planning to eat whatever it is you're buying that day or soon after, it's a great way to save a buck!

And, speaking of things past their sell-by dates, our store will give you a $1 coupon if you point anything past its sell-by date out to customer service.  For a while I was getting one every time I went into the store because all of the tubs of coconut spread were past their dates and no one did anything about it for several weeks.  KA-CHING!

Cocktail of the Week

Angleterre

1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz apricot brandy
1/2 oz orange juice
Dash of Pernod

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Projects Around the Lounge

Here's Paul in his happy place, his electronics work bench.  He had a tiny setback this weekend - his digital multimeter stopped working - but he did find other things to do down there.  I'm hoping we can replace his digital multimeter soon (whatever THAT is ;-)).  He does valuable work down there!

Black Bean Hummus

We have a new happy hour food, Black Bean Hummus!  It's super easy to make, involving canned beans, tahini, garlic and spices, and the recipe makes a ton.  It will appear at future gatherings!

Hermits

Paul and I are being hermits this weekend and I have to say I'm LOVING it.  I've always suspected that deep down I'm antisocial, but it thrills me to have no outside plans this weekend.  I'm even resenting the fact that someone is going to have to go out at some point and buy tea bags.  That's how much I don't want to leave the house.  We're getting good, productive work done - work that we want to do - and we can knock off when we feel like it and have already-paid-for cocktails and dinner.  No traffic or lousy drivers.  No loud music, no obnoxious people or overpriced drinks.  Movies we want to see, music we want to hear.  Honestly, I may not leave the house until Tuesday, when I have to go into the city for business purposes.  I'm cocooning and may continue to do so until, oh, I don't know, OHANA.
 

New Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en Episode Coming Tuesday

Cocktail of the Week

Sunshine Margarita

2 oz gold tequila
1/2 oz Lichido liqueur
1/2 oz orange juice
1/4 oz fresh lime juice
Dash of lemon bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a margarita glass.

Handy Man

Here's Paul fixing our busted tail light, thus saving us money at the mechanic!  Not only am I glad he's handy, the way the light got broken was really stupid.  Water had gotten into the light, which had formed into ice cubes and broken the bulb.  It's fixed now, for under $7!  Plus, he got two bulbs for that price, so when it happens again, he's ready!

 

Happy Hour

Proof that some foods are really hard to destroy.  I'd set the timer on my hard boiled eggs, but couldn't hear it over the humidifier and I was really involved in a piece I was writing, so they sat a lot longer than they should have in the hot water.  Happily, they were fine!  I would have used them for something even if they'd been too overdone for deviled eggs, but I was happy that I got to stick to Plan A.

Operation Home Improvement

Check out this fabulous lamp we got for Christmas!  It's a string of Christmas lights in a Bombay Sapphire bottle.  I love it!

Cocktail of the Week

You didn't think I'd stop doing a cocktail of the week, did you?!  Hell no!  Here is this week's which is a Sidecar variation.  I'm calling it a Ginger Sidecar:

2 oz. brandy
1/2 oz. ginger liqueur (I use Domaine de Canton)
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
dash of plum bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.