Cookbookaholic

Used Bookstore Chain?!

Oh my! I did a day trip up to Greensboro to buy a framed Bob Timberlake print early last year and discovered the used bookstore McKay Books & CDs. I bought a ton of cookbooks. Not sure where those are right this very moment….but, on a trip to Winston-Salem last year, I found that there is a McKay’s Books there as well.

My husband was with me for this trip through the store, so I had to chose sparingly and with caution.

I love, love, love the cookbooks I found. Plus, I can’t believe the variety that they had…there were some well-traveled cookbooks in there.

The Seasonal Palette (NC’s Taste Full Magazine). These were recipes inspired by Bob Timberlake and when I opened the cover…boom…Bob Timberlake autograph!

Not Afraid of Flavor: Recipes from Magnolia Grill (Ben and Karen Barker). These two chefs met at culinary school. Rick is a chef and his wife, Karen, is a pastry chef. Both are equally celebrated with a James Beard Award and Bon Appetit’s Best Pastry Chef Award respectively.

If memory serves, I believe Karen Barker recently passed away. So this cookbook is a great legacy for her vision. And as I began flipping through…boom…autographs!

Now it is inscribed to someone named Lee, but I’m thinking this is an important cookbook to pick up.

How many times have I written about my trips to Hilton Head and the island’s amazing thrift stores? Look what I found:

Twice Treasured Recipes (The Bargain Box).  

Who knew The Bargain Box compiled and published their own cookbook? It’s on the grounds of The First Presbyterian Church since being started in the mid-1960s. So, I guess it could have recipes from the church members? I’ve been going to Hilton Head for a long, long time and never knew about this cookbook. And here I find it in Winston-Salem?! Plus, this is a first edition!

Lastly, I came across this beautiful cookbook:

Christ Church Frederica Cookbook (St. Simons Island, Georgia). I love the watercolor of the church and trees. I think it’s wonderful when a congregation can get an artist to do a watercolor of the front of the church and landscape. What an amazing way to celebrate (and fundraise) with a gorgeous watercolor print on the wall. That could even turn into a heirloom piece to hand down generation after generation.

And it was the bargain of the bunch at $1.

So, next time I’m in Greensboro or Winston-Salem, I’ll have to swing by and visit McKay Books!

The Paula Deen Network

Did anyone notice when the intro of the Paula Deen Network hit the news a few weeks back?

It seems that during that time after the lawsuit was half dismissed and half settled, Paula and her team spent some time away from the media glare and quietly huddled on the options. A cable network may have no longer been an option for her and the Paula Deen brand, but there were certainly a lot of supporters still out there.

Remember when the upcoming cookbook she had with a major publishing house started pre-selling at a huge velocity? I think the publishing house scuttled plans to publish it…but still, it was a remarkable show of support from her fanbase. Not only in the sheer volume of orders…but the money it would have made for the publisher and Paula Deen.

And I don’t think the lines outside of The Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah got any shorter? The line waiting to get in still wrapped around the building. People were still willing to pay and be seen publicly supporting her (even though she didn’t even own the restaurant anymore).

It seemed as if her fans were signaling that if she could make it through the more immediate and harsh media storm, her brand possibly had a way forward? It may take a while for the public to forgive and forget, but the Deen team seemed hunkered down and looking for a way to keep bringing Paula to her fans.

That initial wave of news on the Paula Deen Network was just the announcement that the online channel was on the way—but still a few months off. The accompanying video shows that they’ve been hard at work with a rather large production team and an audience of about 12 in her kitchen. The atmosphere felt both intimate and very festive. That audience looked happy to be in her company—and she seemed thrilled to have them there.

It’s interesting to note that the Paula Deen Network will be subscription based. It’ll be equally interesting to see if her fanbase will be willing to pay for access to the online recipes and videos that were previously free. If she didn’t have any sponsors to help foot the bill for the production costs, most--if not all of it (in theory)--would have to be covered by the money raised through subscriptions.

This first round of info asked you to sign up just to be on a list to receive the subscription info when it finally became available. I think they used that list of initial interest to help gauge the number of fans that could potentially follow her to the online channel and to also help them come up with an amount or amounts that would get them on the path to profitability.

On the evening of July 21, an email went out with three subscription rates and terms. The lowest rate was $7.99 a month for a subscription that lasts 12 months. That’s being pitched as the “best value” and includes extra incentives like 40% off an order from the pauladeenkitchenware.com site; BOGO 40% off a Paula Deen Live Event, an invite to attend a launch party in Savannah and a sneak peak video for a “Paula Colada.”

Other plans include an $8.99/month 6-month subscription as well as a $9.99 month by month plan.

This is going to be interesting! If the Paula Deen channel has enough subscribers, she may never need fear losing another lucrative sponsorship deal. The crazy part of this could be that if the fans really do line up, sign up and fork over $8 to $10 bucks a month, the sponsors will come running back for a chance to get in front of her subscribers.

Launch day is September 24^th…will you be there?

Now I’m Obsolete

So, remember how I saved up my money and got all brave by purchasing the new Microsoft Surface Pro 2? Well, I’ve had it right about six months and now I’m already obsolete.

The ads came swift and furious about 3 weeks ago. Microsoft was getting ready to launch the Surface 3. And now, after only having the Surface Pro 2 since December, I’m behind the times.

Seriously? Six months? Don’t companies usually have the courtesy of waiting at least a year or more before they launch a newer, improved version of a piece of hardware? And all that advertising they did last fall and into the Christmas holiday season. That must’ve cost them a fortune!

Not to mention all the product placement they did. I spotted them on the now-cancelled series, Intelligence, on CBS and it was the only piece of hardware you could see on the table during any NFL coverage and the Super Bowl broadcast. If you had an open slot on your broadcast to blatantly feature a tablet—the Surface filled that spot every time.

That took a lot of work and coordination to accomplish all that. And yet, here we are watching a television commercial and email campaign pushing Surface 3. Wider screen, adjustable kickstand…have they added enough to warrant a launch of a new product line?

They haven’t given me enough time to be considered the one on the cutting edge of tablet technology!

I’ve only just invested in a fancy-schmancy quilted carrying case and a fun leather folio case. All I know is that financially speaking, I’m going to have to be good with my outdated version for a while longer. Maybe I’ll gussy it up with a new skin and make it more exotic looking…

I Got Brave

A select few in my life have known that I’ve been saving up for months and months for my own computer. With the huge commute that I do day in and day out, I’m equally hugely exhausted by the time I get home. And then, when I’ve got enough energy to do some writing…the laptop was always being used by someone else. I shall not name names.

It became pretty clear that when the computer was in use, it was staying in use until after I went to bed. So, I noticed that an entire week would go by before I had a chance to have any significant time on it. And even then, I had to check out my gossip websites first. It just became harder and harder to write the blog.

Boxes of cookbooks piled up. The car got heavier and heavier. Pretty soon, it was so stuffed that I was the only one that could ride in it…and it’s an SUV that should seat all four of us.

So, I decided that I really needed to do some research and find something that could work for me. I liked the idea of something light like a tablet but that had all the capabilities of a laptop. I like the option of having Word capabilities so that the documents I’ve partially written on the family laptop can be transferred, accessed and finished up on the other device…easily.

I’ve been looking at commercials for Microsoft’s Surface for a while now. I’ve done online research and the consensus seems to be that the Surface Pro 2 version gets the thumbs up from the critics. I think it may be what I’m looking for with the expanded memory capacity to hold my photos and documents.

Did I mention the cost? The Surface Pro 2 was the more expensive price tag as well. Any saving that I had to do needed to had to be extended to cover the cost of the Pro 2’s additional cost. Then, I found out that the Pro 2 didn’t come with Microsoft Office pre-loaded. Yikes…now I’ve got to save up a little more to cover the cost of that Office package.

So, whenever I had leftover garage sale funds, I would put it in my savings account. Birthday time was also very helpful. Slowly, it added up.

Then, it was the holidays. Would it go on sale? Should I wait and scour every Black Friday event, every Sunday sales flyer and wait for the price to drop? Wait, would it even drop?

Then, the tech blogs started buzzing in mid-December. “Someone” had leaked a Microsoft sales plan and showed the items scheduled for each day of the event. And sure enough, one of those days had the Surface listed. Yay!!!

That designated sale day was a Saturday, so that helped with my schedule. I found the Microsoft “store” (it was actually a kiosk down at Southpark Mall) and decided that I needed to one of the first to get the deal.

Now the “deal” turned out to be a lower price point on the Office package and some other items thrown in. No deal on a cheaper Surface…but I had finally saved up enough money and I was ready to be a door buster during the holiday season.

And as far as being a door buster, I was the only door buster there for the deal. So, I ended up getting a lot of attention from the sales staff. The manager, Maryam, and assistant manager, Nick, were really attentive and answered all of my questions and concerns. 

Nick even spent some time and went through the set-up process with me—while making sure the screen protector was free of air bubbles.

So, here it is…my step into the tablet world!

 

#HappinessTalk

I was on Twitter recently and saw that Bonefish Grill was a few minutes away from an event and the hashtag was going to be #HappinessTalk. I love talking about Bonefish Grill and the Pecan-Crusted Rainbow Trout. Heck, maybe Tweeting about it could be great, too.

When the Twitter event started, there were Bonefish Grill chefs introducing a new menu…a brunch menu.

All I need to see is bacon and some French toast and I’m there. I know that I consider brunch just a late breakfast. Of course, I’m Southern and can eat breakfast at any time. When the twitter event started, they a few questions about brunch and  I responded with this tweet:

@BonefishGrill Will your new Brunch menu feature French Toast? And don’t forget the bacon….lots of bacon! #HappinessTalk

Then hit us with the new Bonefish Grill Brunch menu.

http://www.bonefishgrill.com/Content/brunch-menus

They’ve launched an amazing brunch menu at many of their locations including the one nearest me in Huntersville, NC and the one near my in-law’s condo in Hilton Head, SC. They’ll have a special menu every Sunday from 11am to 2 pm.

Of course, I was thrilled to see their French Toast offering:

Créme Brulee French Toast Grand Marnier + orange zest  battered, served with mascarpone whipped cream, fresh mint, strawberries + bacon

I’ll have mine without the strawberries and mint and request the bacon be extra crispy.

I was also intrigued by the omlette selection:

Oscar--asparagus, crab, smoked mozzarella, basil, lemon butter

And I’m sure if one of the boys tags along, we’ll be ordering one of these off the a la carte menu:

Chocolate Croissant flaky pastry, layered dark chocolate, topped with a Maple syrup drizzle

Oh man, am I hungry just reading the menu! I really like getting brunch and can’t wait to try out these new items on my next visit to Bonefish Grill!

At the end of the twitter event, I tweeted out this final post:

@BonefishGrill Here’s my plan: Brunch & Crème Brulee French Toast. Stay for Dinner and Pecan-Crusted Rainbow Trout. #HappinessTalk

Seems like a great plan, right?

After the Twitter event ended, I received a tweet from Bonefish Grill awarding me a $25 gift card! Woo-hoo! That’s fantastic! I’ve never won anything off of Twitter before! A few days later, this arrived in the mail:

Now, my only decision is whether to use this at home or save it for Spring Break in Hilton Head?

Did I Mention I'm on Twitter?

I think I've forgotten to mention that I'm on Twitter. I know I've been meaning to put up the icon that hotlinks you to Twitter—but it seems to be overly complicated. I can't even figure out why the comment section doesn't work anymore...

Actually, I've been on Twitter for a while now...just never got around to blogging about it before today. I'm awesome at promoting myself, aren't I?

So, if you're even remotely inclined, here's my Twitter handle:

@Cookbookaholic

I'd love it if you'd follow me! I tweet about the latest blog posts, what's on TV, new cookbooks and anything else I deem interesting—all from my unique perspecitve. I try to make them amusing and grammatically correct. My tweets won't link you over to a new diet craze "as seen on Dr. Oz" and if I knew a really weird old trick to get rid of belly fat—I would just straight up tell you.

And every once in a while, super awesome people like Sheri Lynch, The Lee Bros. and Krispy Kreme will retweet or "favorite" my tweets. And you, too, can be a part of all that glorious experience. LOL!!!  

See you in the twitterverse!

Only Fifteen Away...

From maximum bookshelf capacity? Hee-hee! No, just kidding. Well, maybe...

Actually, I just checked the stats for my blog. According to them, I am only 15 pageviews away from reaching 25,000 lifetime pageviews. That's a lot of clicks for the past two years! Well, for me anyways.

Okay, it's not knocking down the doors of any internet viewing records--but I don't think that's too bad for one gal's misadventures during Saturday morning garage sales, on eBay and banging around the kitchen.

If you've been a frequent visitor to my blog--I thank you for coming around! I've been hitting a few garage sales here and there since January. I just may have some interesting tales (and cookbooks) to share with you!

So, please keep clicking on over!

 

Back on the Homepage!

Thanks for your emails! Marsha was the first to send me an email looking for the link to the blog on Bob & Sheri's homepage. When Frank and I first added the link to the "Check This Out" section, we set an "expiration" date for almost two years into the future.

Well, November 30th was that expiration date. And I totally forgot about it!

We went back into the system and reset the expiration date for sometime in 2013. Can someone remind me of this in about three years? Thanks--

Anyway, my Cookbookaholic link is back and "linking" away, as it were. On a side note, I really appreciate the very kind comments that were sent my way. I'm so glad you enjoy checking out my misadventures and treasure hunts. Sorry for upsetting anyone with the missing blog!