Hickory Cheers

For all my readers that have been following the blog for a while, you know I’m committed to giving back to the military community. I had set out to find a website that sends goodies to deployed service members in honor of my birthday next month. As I was growing up I was taught that it’s more important to give than to receive. Last year instead of receiving gifts, I had friends and family donate to TFSP fund. It was an awesome idea and assisted with funding postage for letters and cards, care packages, and my Christmas special. I found one of my childhood favorites, Hickory Farms. As a child I used to sell gift baskets out of the HF catalog. I always begged my parents for the biggest basket because their gouda and sausage is the business. I thought it would be a sophisticated gift as well as one that would hold up for shipping. I purchased the summer sausage and cheese gift box.

The box includes..
2 10oz beef sausage
10oz smoked cheddar cheese
10oz farmhouse cheddar cheese
6oz smoked gouda
2.5oz honey & pineapple mustard
2.25oz sweet hot mustard

All that deliciousness for $40. Shipping is FREE to all military addresses! Hickory Farms is dedicated to giving back to the military as well. It’s so amazing for them to do that because shipping overseas is expensive. The website has examples of how to enter military addresses of different locations like APO, FPO, AE, AP, and AA. I thought it was super helpful because I would have been super confused. I can’t wait until the recipient receives the package. I’m looking into ones that deliver birthday cakes but haven’t found a good one yet. Anyone know of any good places?

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

The Fail Sweetly Project: Participating in the 2/7 holiday project

Picture courtesy of Google.com
Hi all! I’m so glad to be blogging today. The last two weeks has been a fight with the weather and my immune system. I lost the fight yesterday when I woke up with a fever, sore throat, and all kinds of icky stuff. I was pissed I missed class and I can’t do much this weekend. Then I logged onto Facebook and saw that Tracie Brookshire is putting together a 2/7 project (2nd battalion, 7th marines) for the marines overseas. I got to do some holiday card writing which is awesome.

These are the three different kinds of cards I’ll be sending. I’m currently on the hunt for some new Christmas cards. If anyone knows of a cheap place, holler my way! 🙂

The weather is finally starting to cool down. It rained last night and this morning. It’s pretty cloudy outside right now but not too dark. I cleaned out my closet this morning in an effort to be productive (I slept all day yesterday). It turns out I only have three pairs of thick jeans that I still fit into. So I hopped onto the ThredUp site and got myself an awesome deal of 6 pairs of jeans for less than $40 with free shipping. Now I need to look into getting some motorcycle boots. I don’t know what it is with motorcycle boots and leather jackets but I’m addicted to both.

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Omaha, Nebraska trip!

I want to finish my Catalina posts but somehow my pictures got deleted from my photo account so I have to upload everything all over again. I’m too lazy for that at the moment so I’ll go ahead with my Nebraska post. About two weeks ago I went to visit my best friend in Omaha, Nebraska. It was my first flight by myself and it was weird. I flew out of John Wayne airport (probably the nicest and smallest I’ve seen so far). The pilot that flew me from OC to Denver was awesome. I had a great flight. The pilot that flew me from Denver to Omaha, not so much. The plane kept shaking and I seriously thought we were going to crash. That and my ears kept popping and in the end, my right ear was fine but my left ear wouldn’t go back to normal which irritated me. The flight back was fine. The pilots weren’t horrible but they were okay. The first one was the best. When we landed in Denver, I didn’t feel a thing. No bump or skid. He was a pro.

That’s the best friend and I sitting in her truck outside of Wenninghoff’s. It’s a indoor farmers market in Omaha. It was pretty neat to see all the veggies they grow there. The tomatoes were huge! We bought raspberry cider, honey, zucchinis, green beans, and some corn.

This is a small corn field we drove past on the fwy.

Mr Cigar ice cream from Ted & Wallys. It taste like mocha with chocolate chips and possibly tobacco. It was pretty tasty.

Dinner that my best friend and her hubby made. Her hubby grilled the steak and corn and she made bacon wrapped scallops and stir fried zucchini. It was freakin delicious!

After our steak dinner we baked for her hubby and his friends. We made mini banana chocolate chip muffins, mini pumpkin cream cheese muffins, white chocolate blueberry cookies, and chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

The goodies before they were cooked.

Goodies to take back home. I got some jerky from the meat market (Nebraska jerky is excellent!) and some honey and jam for my mom and sister.

The sign outside the meat market! 🙂 They had everything in there. All sorts of bacon, jerky, ribs, pork chops, chicken, duck, alligator, scallops, shrimp, steak, and etc.

My fruit bowl from Wheatfield’s.

My best friend made us french toast with berries, whipped cream, and cinnamon for breakfast. It was freakin delicious!! 🙂

They have his and hers steaks. How freakin awesome is that?! I totally want one now that I’m writing about it. The meat and corn definitely taste more fresh.

The guest bedroom where I slept 🙂

My best friend inside Wenninghoff’s.

Kiko the poker. She got really excited when I first met her. She pawed me in the ribs and gave me a good size bruise.

New York strip with fries and arugula salad from Upstream Brewery. It was my first meal in Nebraska after they picked me up from the airport.

Humugo tomatoes!

Two lane fwys with no traffic. Completely unheard of in California..or at least where I live.

Best friends breakfast from Wheatfield’s.

Overall it was a great trip! I’m really glad I went even though in the beginning I was a bit hesitant. Nebraska is so much more quiet and laid back then California. It was definitely a breath of fresh air. I will most likely go back for another trip but I’m not sure when that will happen. I’m not down to go during snow season! I’m still thinking about the steak, bacon wrapped scallops, and jerky. The jerky is delicious. My mom loves the honey too. I’ve been making peanut butter and honey sandwiches with wheat bread. It’s delish! The midwest isn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. Except for the tornadoes. I’m not down for that either! Toodles.

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Cha Eighteen (Arcadia, CA) – MOCHI WAFFLES!!

I heard of a kiosk at my local mall that sold waffles. Okay, cool maybe I’ll try it. Then someone told me they sold mochi waffles. I LOVE waffles so it was definitely on my to try list and I had to pick up some water shoes for my Catalina trip so what the heck?

Here’s the menu of this delicious place. The pictures look so good!

They also sell an assortment of drinks and teas.

I got the mochi waffle with brown sugar syrup. THE BEST EFFIN THING EVER! It was SO SO good! The outside was crunchy and sweet and the inside was chewy and soft. That’s how I like my waffles to be. The portion size was huge.

You can see the delicious syrup. The syrup isn’t too sweet and blends perfectly with the waffle. The waffle was the size of my face. It was kind of funny because I was walking around the mall eating my waffle and people would stare at me as they walked by. It was because they wanted a waffle too.

They have an assortment of syrups of the mochi waffle such as nutella, chocolate, strawberry, brown sugar, and cinnamon. They also have liege waffles and tea. I think they’re known for their oolong tea. I heard mochi waffles or “moffles” are really popular in Japan. Or at least that’s what the guy behind the counter said. A huge waffle the size of my head for $3.25? Not bad. It’s definitely worth the money. I was laughing because the guy behind the counter put the waffle in front of a tiny fan in an attempt to cool it down before handing it to me. It semi-worked but it comes out piping hot. If you haven’t tried it, it’s a must.

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Maggiano’s Little Italy

My friend had her wedding at the Albertson Wedding Chapel in Los Angeles on Tuesday. It was a small cozy ceremony with friends and family. The floral arrangements were beautiful and my friend was glowing. She is now officially a military wife (joining the Air Force family). Her reception was held at Maggiano’s Little Italy at The Grove in Beverly Hills. Maggiano’s is awesome, good food and stiff drinks.

Here we are together 🙂 We went shopping for my dress and she picked it out. I really love that dress. Lacy and flowy at the same time. I hate dresses that make me feel bloated and restricted. She looks gorgeous as usual!

Shirley Temple with drowning cherries. It was delish

I rarely drink. Sometimes once a year sometimes twice. Usually it’s for holidays like New Years or special occasions like weddings. If I do drink, my preference is good ole Jack and Coke. You can’t beat it! 🙂 Maggiano’s makes a crazy Jack and Coke. It was the strongest Jack and Coke I’ve ever ordered. From the taste of it I would say it’s about 1/8 Coke, 1/8 ice, and 3/4 whiskey. Good thing I had all those carbs to balance it out.

This was the tilapia. I didn’t try it because I found it weird to eat fish at an Italian restaurant. Pasta please!

Caesar salad, to die for fried calamari, and fried mozzarella

The placement 🙂

Her wedding cake with Disney toppers. Top layer is carrot cake and bottom layer is white cake with raspberry filling. I didn’t have a chance to eat the cake because I already had toasted pound cake (it was amazing) and cheesecake.

This is the menu for the reception.

Country style pasta 🙂 It was so good!

Parmesan chicken! It was also delicious 🙂

Champagne for the toasting! 🙂

The gnocchi was also delicious. It was my favorite of the night. There isn’t a picture of it because we inhaled it within seconds of the waiter putting it down on the table. Overall, it was a great night. I’ve been giving my friend a hard time because she’s moving to Nebraska. Some of you may ask, so what? WELL, the two of us are California girls born and bred. We’ve lived here our whole lives and our families are here. It’s going to be interesting to see what she copes in Nebraska. She already told me if I receive a plane ticket in the mail I better come visit. I can’t imagine myself in Nebraska. I told her I’d send her Asian goodies if she sent me sorghum. Have any of you ever had sorghum covered apples? It’s soooo good. It’s pretty much like a caramel apple country style. I made delicious orange creamsicle cookies for the vets tomorrow. Toodles!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Fran’s Chocolates

Most Food Network junkies will probably know what Fran’s is but it is one of the best chocolatiers in Washington. They have numerous shops in the Seattle area and these babies are delicious. I saw them on the Best Thing I Ever Ate episode with Bobby Flay. I know Bobby loves the coconut bars because it’s like an upgraded almond joy bar but I HATE almond joys. I’m not really a coconut kinda gal. In fact there is only two desserts I’ll eat with coconut. One of them is tapioca pudding with taro (sai mai lo) and the other is coconut jello. My mom makes both of them. I was browsing their website and saw that they sold boxes of chocolate for Lunar New Year. How awesome is that?! 🙂 It came with a red box and gold satin ribbon (as pictured above).

What I like about these truffles is that they’re practically bite size BUT they pack quite a punch. The sweetness, saltiness, and chocolate is just right. It’s silky smooth and delicious. I got this box for $30 not including shipping. Now most people will say that’s insane but it was for my mom for CNY so I obliged. My mom loved them. She said she likes the oolong tea truffle and the single whiskey malt truffle. I love the gray smoked salted caramels. There’s saltiness, smoky flavor, and most of all yummy caramel. These were a delicious treat for our feast yesterday!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Fran’s Chocolates

Most Food Network junkies will probably know what Fran’s is but it is one of the best chocolatiers in Washington. They have numerous shops in the Seattle area and these babies are delicious. I saw them on the Best Thing I Ever Ate episode with Bobby Flay. I know Bobby loves the coconut bars because it’s like an upgraded almond joy bar but I HATE almond joys. I’m not really a coconut kinda gal. In fact there is only two desserts I’ll eat with coconut. One of them is tapioca pudding with taro (sai mai lo) and the other is coconut jello. My mom makes both of them. I was browsing their website and saw that they sold boxes of chocolate for Lunar New Year. How awesome is that?! 🙂 It came with a red box and gold satin ribbon (as pictured above).

What I like about these truffles is that they’re practically bite size BUT they pack quite a punch. The sweetness, saltiness, and chocolate is just right. It’s silky smooth and delicious. I got this box for $30 not including shipping. Now most people will say that’s insane but it was for my mom for CNY so I obliged. My mom loved them. She said she likes the oolong tea truffle and the single whiskey malt truffle. I love the gray smoked salted caramels. There’s saltiness, smoky flavor, and most of all yummy caramel. These were a delicious treat for our feast yesterday!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Cafe Dulce (Los Angeles, CA)

After my trip to the LACMA, I ventured out to Little Tokyo. I’ve been wanting to try Cafe Dulce because they’re known for their green tea and red bean donuts. I also got a maple bacon donut hole. I have to say, I’m not impressed by the donut hole. It tasted like something I’ve made before which didn’t wow me very much. I also thought they needed to use better bacon (just because I’m a bacon snob).

I got two green tea donuts, a red bean donut, and a bacon donut hole. The red bean donut tasted very light and fluffy. It had a really great mix of cinnamon and sugar. I wasn’t a fan of the filling. I was thinking it’d be traditional red bean filling and only consist of red bean but it had some weird crunchy thing in it. At first I thought it was corn but my sister said I was wrong so I still don’t know what it is! 😦

The green tea donut was a winner! 🙂 I love the custard filling because it’s not too sweet. The donut doesn’t have a overpowering green tea taste for people who don’t really like that. I did wish the taste was a little stronger just because I can handle it. My sister ate one and I shared the other with my parents. My mom also loved this one. She ate the red bean one as well but I guess it was up her alley and she actually knew what was in it.

We got Hong Kong style milk tea and I have to say…where is the boba?! I’ve never had it without boba before and it just taste weird without it. GREEN TEA DONUTS! 🙂 There were plenty of sushi restaurants and bakeries to eat at but we were still full. Next time I think we’ll try a sushi place or Japanese bbq restaurant!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Project Give December Giveaway & Christmas Special

Originally I had a guest post planned and I was going to write a lengthy post but because time didn’t permit either, I’ll keep it short. It’s December! 🙂 It’s one of my favorite months of the year. Because Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, I’m doing a Christmas special in addition to the December giveaway. Here’s a twist..the December giveaway is open to EVERYONE. The Christmas special is open only to military spouses. Please read the links carefully below and enter in whichever applies to you! 🙂

Enter December Giveaway here
December giveaway includes..
A Cuisinart Waffle Maker

Enter Christmas Special for TODDLERS here

Toddler giveaway includes..
coloring book, crayons, twin pack elmo books, sticker book, Christmas snowflake glasses, fish card game, & Christmas m&ms in a candy cane shaped plastic container

Enter Christmas Special for YOUNG CHILDREN here

Young children giveaway includes..
washable finger paint, play doh, mini fishing game, crazy 8 card game, Christmas tree glasses, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 1 dvd, & Christmas m&ms in a candy cane shaped plastic container

Enter Christmas Special for PRE TEENS here

Preteen giveaway includes..
nail polish (blue, red, glitter pink), Pillsbury funfetti cookie mix, Pillsbury funfetti frosting, The Karate Kid dvd (Jaden Smith/Jackie Chan version), Despicable Me dvd, mini red and silver Christmas ornaments, & Christmas m&ms in a candy cane shaped plastic container

Enter Christmas Special for TEENS here

Teen giveaway includes..
ho ho ho! mini pillow, Marley & Me dvd, poker game cards, mini blue and silver Christmas ornaments, red and silver snowflake ornaments, Pillsbury funfetti brownie mix, & Christmas m&ms in a candy cane shaped plastic container

I’ve received emails about milspouse giveaways to spouses who don’t have blogs. The only reason I require the blog comment with a link to your blog is to ensure that you are indeed a military spouse. However, in light of the holidays..if a miltiary spouse wishes to enter in a giveaway but doesn’t have a blog than please email me asap so we could work something out. Thanks! 🙂

I will use rafflecopter to determine a winner. Only rafflecopter entries will be accepted. Please click on the links above. The winners will be announced next Monday at 8pm via my blog. The winners will have two days to contact me with their shipping information. If I have not been contacted within two days, another winner will be chosen.

Each giveaway will include a Cherish Every Moment bracelet and card to support The Dax Locke Foundation. Please consider making a donation and help Dax’s mom, Julie reach her goal of raising $1.8 million to run St. Jude’s hospital for one day in his honor.

Project Give will have a giveaway posted the first of every month. Good luck to everyone!

Fail Sweetly,
Justina

Project Give: Christmas Special

Hi all! Hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving full of happiness, family, friends, love, and of course food. I stuffed myself with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cheesecake.

I’ve finalized my Christmas special for Project Give this year. I’m posting a few days before the giveaway begins to let military spouses know what’s in which giveaway. I tried my best to shop for the appropriate age group. And I also tried to have something for both genders and items that were gender neutral (if that even makes any sense). Everything in these giveaways are funded by me unless otherwise stated.

December Giveaway: Cuisinart Waffle Maker (it’s been featured on my blog during my waffle making frenzies)

Christmas Special:
Toddlers: coloring book, crayons, twin pack elmo books, sticker book, Christmas snowflake glasses, fish card game, & Christmas m&ms in a candy cane shaped plastic container
Young children: washable finger paint, play doh, mini fishing game, crazy 8 card game, Christmas tree glasses, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 1 dvd, & Christmas m&ms in a candy cane shaped plastic container
Preteens: nail polish (blue, red, glitter pink), Pillsbury funfetti cookie mix, Pillsbury funfetti frosting, The Karate Kid dvd (Jaden Smith/Jackie Chan version), Despicable Me dvd, mini red and silver Christmas ornaments, & Christmas m&ms in a candy cane shaped plastic container
Teens: ho ho ho! mini pillow, Marley & Me dvd, poker game cards, mini blue and silver Christmas ornaments, red and silver snowflake ornaments, Pillsbury funfetti brownie mix, & Christmas m&ms in a candy cane shaped plastic container

I will be posting several Rafflecopter links December 1st to kick off the Christmas special! 🙂 Stay tuned for more updates. Have fun shopping today! Or staying in and drinking hot chocolate/coffee like my sister did! 🙂

Fail Sweetly,
Justina