Treat Someone You Love to Something Sweet from Harvard Sweet Boutique

Thank you to Harvard Sweet Boutique for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon. All opinions expressed are my own.

For Father's Day this year, my husband received an especially sweet treat from Harvard Sweet Boutique, a specialty gourmet bakery located right here in Massachusetts that ships freshly baked goodies to anywhere in the U.S.  Their selection consists of a wide variety of gourmet cookies, toffees, truffles, and brownies, including some that are gluten-free and low-carb.  In our small sampler box, we received two Vanilla Sea Salt Caramel Brownie, a piece of Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee, and a few White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies.

I must say that the presentation of this gift was most impressive.  My poor husband had to wait to open the beautifully embellished box until I was satisfied that I took enough photos of it.  The striped necktie was just adorable.  (I kept it aside and am waiting for the perfect opportunity to try it on our cat.  If I manage to snap a photo before he escapes, I'll certainly share it with you.)

Inside the box, we found the individually wrapped treats to be tucked inside another bag for added freshness.  Because the weather was warm and humid when our order was shipped, although the treats were intact, the brownies and the toffee were slightly melted.

The Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee was for me!  I am a huge fan of toffee and found this concoction to be delicious.  It did have quite a lot of almond pieces in it, so I would only recommend this toffee for nut-lovers.

Although my husband was not disappointed by the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, he found them to be average compared to the Vanilla Sea Salt Caramel Brownies.  He found the brownies to be utterly delicious . . . enough so that he might think it would be worth the drive to the bakery located in Hudson, MA.  He could not help but wonder, if the brownie tasted this good shipped to his door, it must taste that much better fresh from the bakery.

Visit HarvardSweetBoutique.com to see their full line of gourmet treats.  You're sure to find something perfect for almost any occasion, including graduations, get well gifts, birthdays, thank you gifts, housewarming gifts, or even party favors.  Be sure to checkout their mouthwatering photos on Facebook.  Also ground shipping at Harvard Sweet Boutique is a flat rate fee of just $5.

Gourmet Dipped Strawberries & Fudgy Cake Pops . . . Delicious Alternatives to Birthday Cake

For us, the month of January is pretty much a month-long birthday celebration.  Our oldest son's birthday comes at the beginning of the month.  Then our now 6 year old twins' birthdays come 2-1/2 weeks later.  We usually celebrate both birthdays with a special dinner for just our little family on the evening of each birthday.  Then somewhere in between there, we traditionally have a birthday dinner for all 3 children at my sister's house for close relatives.  This year, we even managed to fit in a weekend trip to the Coco Key Water Park, where the children were surprised with a special birthday cake.  As you can imagine, after all these birthday celebrations, we have had our fill of birthday cake by the time the twins' birthdays roll around.

This year, I found some wonderful alternatives to birthday cake with which to surprise the twins on ProFlowers.com.  On the day of their birthdays, UPS delivered a package to the house containing 3 Birthday Cake Pops and a Dozen Gourmet Dipped Fancy Strawberries along with a decorated vanilla birthday sugar cookie and a note printed with a special message from me and my husband.

I have to admit that the Shari's Berries gourmet strawberries were what caught my eye immediately while browsing the ProFlowers website.  They are available in various quantities, with different coatings, and paired with a variety of other treats.  In addition to the cake pops, you can also purchase the strawberries paired with cheesecake, cookies, floral bouquets, and more.  It actually took me forever to decide on what to order.

Ultimately, I was extremely happy with what I had decided upon.  The strawberries were large, juicy, and sweet.  I think both my husband and I would agree that the strawberries dipped in milk chocolate with a coating of almonds were our favorite.

All 3 children, on the other hand, reached right for the birthday cake pops.  They were chocolate coated and extremely fudgy inside.  Our 9 year old kept insisting that it was solid chocolate and fudge with zero cake inside.

During the checkout process on the ProFlowers website, I was given the opportunity to add-on some items. One of the choices was a decorated birthday cookie.  I thought it would make a nice treat for the children.  I would have added one for each child, but the website only allowed me to add one, which I thought was strange.  Regardless, the cookie was large enough for all 3 children to share.

Our children found the colorful sprinkles on the cake pops to be extremely fun, especially when they were scattered like confetti around their plates and the table.  Next time, I might decided to order the colorful Gourmet Birthday Strawberries for them instead.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with my ProFlowers.com experience.  I liked that I could specify a delivery date even though the package came via UPS.  The items were also very carefully packaged along with a non-toxic ice pack to keep the contents chilled in case you are not home to accept the delivery.

To view all the gourmet gift options available, visit ProFlowers.com.  Be sure to also check the ProFlowers coupons page for any discounts you may be able to use prior to placing your order.


Thank you to ProFlowers.com for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Photos from the 2012 Boston Social Media Holiday Party at the Royal Sonesta Hotel

On Saturday, the whole family attended a Holiday party hosted by Nirasha, founder of the Boston Social Media group and owner of the Mommy Niri blog, and Isra, the owner of TheFrugalette blog at the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  I usually do not attend too many blogging events because of my busy schedule and because the majority of these events do not include the entire family.  Well, this Holiday party put all those events to shame.  Our hostesses, the Royal Sonesta (who provided such outstanding service), the ArtBar of Cambridge, and all the other generous sponsors ensured that this party was thoroughly enjoyable for both the children and the adults.

We arrived to the party fashionably late due to our car battery's lack of cooperation.  We got there in time to catch the tail end of our hostesses saying a few words to welcome everybody.  The view of the Charles River with it lightly snowing outside made the party setting even more perfect.

The children had plenty to keep them busy, such as cookie decorating, board games from Hasbro, toys from Fisher-Price, foam crafts, and making and coloring ArtBar play dough.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

Lunch was catered by the ArtBar and they just outdid themselves.  They somehow reinvented kid-friendly food into something that was a work of art.  Everything was beautifully presented.  My children even ate the broccoli!

Who knew salad, soup, and sandwiches could be this delicious?  There were even homemade ice cream sandwiches.  There were several types of cookies and brownies to choose from plus 3 different flavors of homemade ice creams.

My husband went with the caramel ice cream sandwiched between two blondies, while I chose the toffee cookies with caramel ice cream.  I need to learn to make these at home.  I might never buy frozen ice cream sandwiches again!

I have to say that it was nice to see some familiar faces that I only get to see once every year or two, including Nicole of The Blonde Critic and Alana of The Good Girl Gone Blog.

I just had to take one more photo before we left the party!  The whole family had such a good time.  The children were exhausted, but in a good way.  They were actually invited by the hotel to go swimming in the Royal Sonesta's pool, but it would have been too much for them.  The twins were asleep almost immediately after the valet service brought our car and we strapped them into their seats.

Upon leaving, we were surprised with a goodie bag for each child, one for the adults, and one huge goodie bag for the whole family, plus a Fisher-Price toy.  As if the wonderful party was not enough, look at everything my family gets to enjoy at home . . .

My children wanted to play with the ArtBar play dough right away when we got home.  Some of the other items my children were most excited about were the Fisher-Price Team Umizoomi: Come and Get Us Counting UmiCar, the 2012 Aflac Duck (because now the one we have from 2010 will have a friend), and the Battery Science Klutz book.  My husband was extremely excited about the ArtBar homemade soda and the Houghton Mifflin Hobbit quote mug.  I was super-excited about the CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Color, which happens to be in one of my favorite shades for fall and winter!

Here is a complete list of all the generous sponsors who made this party so memorable . . .

• Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston
• ArtBar Cambridge
• Aflac
• CVS ExtraCare Beauty Club
• Fisher-Price
• Hallmark
• Gain
• GCH (Girls Crochet Headbands)
• Houghton Mifflin
• Hamilton Beach
• Hasbro Games
• Klutz
• McDonald's
• Plum District
• Relish!
• UrbanSitter
• Whole Foods

To view all my photos from this event, visit 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires on Facebook.

Although my family received complimentary food, services, and product samples at this event, all opinions are completely my own.

Holiday 2010 Giveaway: Gift Baskets & Goodies from 1-800-Baskets ($50 GC) [CLOSED]

For friends and family that live far away, I have always loved to order gourmet foods and gift baskets that the whole family can enjoy. 1-800-Flowers, 1-800-Baskets, and The Popcorn Factory is all on one website, so you can order from all three and only have to checkout once. Take a look at some of the gourmet food gifts my family received to sample from this trio . . .

Let us start with my absolute favorite . . . the Fannie May Mint Meltaways! These delicious mint chocolates really do melt in your mouth. I have not decided yet if the milk chocolate coating is my favorite or the pastel. I think I am leaning towards the creamy pastel. The box is nearly empty, so I will need to make up my mind soon.

Everyone in our house just loved the 3-way popcorn tin from The Popcorn Factory. How can you go wrong with popcorn, especially in a household with children? I actually do not see this Poinsettia 3-Way Tin on the website any longer, but there is a 4-Way Holiday Popcorn Tin available.

The Cheryl's Frosted Holiday Cut-out Cookies is ideal for sending to anyone who is on-the-go, whether it is a family with children or a busy office. Cheryl's cookies are decadently delicious and individually wrapped for freshness. They can be packed in a lunch box or in a briefcase to put a smile on someone's face in the middle of the day.

The Comfort & Joy Sweet Treats Gift Basket (pictured at the top) is perfect for an individual. There is a sampling of popular gourmet sweets, such as Guirardelli chocolate squares, a Harry London chocolate-covered pretzel, toffee, a jumbo hand-pulled candy cane, and more. I seriously have not opened this basket yet because I need to figure out how to share it with the other four members of my household. Maybe if I hide it, everyone else will forget about it after awhile. Then I could have it all to myself!

1-800-Flowers, 1-800-Baskets, and The Popcorn Factory offers expedited shipping nationwide for your convenience. Visit any of these sites to see the full line of gourmet gifts and holiday floral arrangements while you are considering what to send your friends and family this year.

Thank you to 1-800-Flowers for sending us complimentary product samples to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a $50 gift card to spend on one of the following items or anything you like . . .

• Fannie May Mint Meltaways
• 3-Way Popcorn Factory Tin
• Cheryl's Frosted Holiday Cut-out Cookies
• Comfort & Joy Sweet Treats Gift Basket
• Frosty the Snow Plant

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Visit

1-800-Flowers, 1-800-Baskets, or The Popcorn Factory

. Then leave a comment telling me the name of one item you would most like to send as a gift to a friend or family member. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, download the free Mobile Flower & Gift Center app to your iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Android, or Mobile Web accessible phone. Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments telling me you did.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry each, follow 1800Flowers on Twitter and/or "Like" 1-800-Flowers.com on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

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9)

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Thursday, December 16th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Giveaway & Review: Two Sisters Gourmet by Partylite [CLOSED]

Normally, when I think of gourmet food items, I think of gift baskets full of ready-to-eat goodies. The furthest I've ventured with "cooking" using gourmet food items is using dipping oils for bread or maybe different types of salsa for cooking chicken. You know me . . . all about easy recipes.

I have to say when I was asked to try out some of the Two Sisters Gourmet recipes through Partylite, I was a little hesitant. Then I took a look at the vast variety of easy recipes that only required a small handful of ingredients each and decided these recipes were right up my alley. Below are the five recipes my family tried. (Click on each title to view the printable recipe.)

Pepperoni Pasta Salad - This recipe was so easy to make and it is versatile. It uses the Garlic Parmesan Vinaigrette, which is delicious. You can choose which fresh veggies you would like to include to customize this pasta salad to your family's taste. Our children are extremely picky eaters and this pasta dish is one of the few things they are excited to have placed in front of them. I also think this dish is something easy and attractive to bring to the next party you attend.

Crispy Italian Herb Chicken Tenders - These chicken tenders were delicious and the recipe only calls for three ingredients! This recipe uses the Italian Herb Cheese Mix. We had purchased more chicken than the recipe called for, so we just added a little bit of Italian bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese to increase the quantity of the mix. These chicken tenders were another big hit with my family.

Garlic Parmesan Pasta - This is another super easy 3-ingredient recipe and it uses the Garlic Parmesan Vinaigrette. I really liked the dish the way it was, but my husband said he would have used more than a 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette. Also, we used more cheese than the recipe called for because my family is in love with Parmesan.

Garlic Parmesan Breaded Chicken - Since my family liked the chicken tenders so much, we thought we would try another Two Sisters Gourmet breaded chicken recipe. This one uses the Garlic Parmesan Vinaigrette and the Outrageously Garlic Seasoning Blend. This recipe was not bad, but we much preferred the chicken tenders recipe. It just seemed like the two flavors of the vinaigrette and the seasoning blend did not work well together.

Breathtaking Deep Chocolate Brownie Mix - We did not use a recipe for this product. I was going to try to make the Chocolate Peanut Butter Lava Cake, but realized I did not have the right muffin tin. This mix only yields enough brownie mix to fill an 8" or 9" square pan. I didn't have a square pan, so I used a round cake pan instead. We threw in some butterscotch chips to make our brownies a little different, but I don't think it needed it. This brownie mix calls for butter instead of oil and has chocolate bits already in the mix. The brownies came out great, although I would love to have made a larger quantity in a 13" x 9" pan.

To see all of the Two Sisters Gourmet recipes, visit the TSG Recipe Box on the Partylite website. You can purchase these and other Two Sisters Gourmet products through your Partylite consultant. Visit the Two Sisters Gourmet Quick Dishing blog and Two Sisters Gourmet on Twitter to find more ways to use these products.

Thank you to Partylite for sending us sample Two Sisters Gourmet products free of charge to base this review upon and for providing additional products for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive one Two Sisters Gourmet Breathtaking Deep Chocolate Brownie Mix, a bottle of Garlic Parmesan Vinaigrette, a box of Italian Herb Cheese Mix, and Outrageously Garlic Seasoning.

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Take a look at the easy recipes available for each product in the Two Sisters Gourmet Recipe Box. Then leave a comment telling me the name of a recipe you would like to try. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND TwoSistersGourmet.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry EACH, follow Partylite Gifts on Twitter and/or fan Partylite Gifts on Facebook. Remember to leave a separate comment for each (with the link to your Tweet or your Facebook profile) if you complete both.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!