Musical Soap

Day 346.
Musical Soap

Saw this and absolutely had to try it out. How clever is this musical soap?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fapWdh9lnz8

 

This soap is made in the USA, however the packaging does specify that it's made in the USA with U.S. and foreign components (I'm guessing probably the sound components), however since it appears that the majority is U.S. made I am still opting to include it.

 

 

Clever and a patriotic way to start the day!

 

Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds

Day 345.
Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds

I love sunflower seeds. By themselves they are great, covered in maple sugar they're even better...these delicious Sunny Seeds are sunflower seeds coated in chocolate...
 

 

I love that it's a portable treat in this little container that's easy to carry in my purse. A nice little pick me up and...

 

 

...made in the USA!

 

Boop-Oop-A-Doop Juice

Day 344.
Boop-Oop-A-Doop Juice

In fairness, I haven't actually tasted this product because I bought it as a cute novelty. About a year ago I had an opportunity to meet the animation voice of Betty Boop and yesterday I found this adorable can of...I don't know, Boop Juice...

 

Perhaps a unique item for a collector. And of course you are reading about it here because it's...

 

 

Boop-Oop-A-Doop!

Add Some Cheese Please!

Day 343.
Add Some Cheese, Please!

So yesterday I shared some delicious, locally pressed apple cider to start fall off right. Apples and cider are great, but they are even better with some extra sharp cheddar cheese and some of the best comes from Adams Reserve...

http://www.adamsreserve.com/

So while enjoying the tastes of fall, remember to add some cheese, please!

Starting the Day with Cider

Day 342.
Starting the Day with Cider

There's a crisp chill in the air. Fall is here and that means...apple cider!

 

I got some from a local cider mill that presses their own right on site for visitors to watch. There are lots of local apple orchards and cider mills that will be offering a real treat this season. Enjoy some of nature's sweetness by way of a taste of delicious apple cider.

For the Coco-nut

Day 341.
For the Coco-nut

Sometimes you feel like a nut...

Sometimes you feel like a coconut...

Sometimes you feel like a whole lot of coconut!!!
 

 

Perfect for the coconut lover and made in the USA!

 

All American Jeans

Day 340.
All American Jeans

Yesterday was a bit of a lazy day as I had the day off. However, I had occasion to stop in to see my mechanic who ordinarily only sees me in dressier work clothes, so he was surprised to see me in jeans and my American made earth day t-shirt. It got me thinking that for your next lazy day if you are looking for American made jeans here's a great place to find a nice selection.

http://www.allamericanclothing.com/made-in-usa/L_ladiesjeans.html

Hope you can enjoy a t-shirt and jeans day too!

Show Me Some Stripes, Please

Day 339.
Show Me Some Stripes, Please

I am taking a long weekend and am home today on a day of vacation. I've been looking forward to working on some craft projects and things in my sewing room. I'm excited to have some new fabric choices to play around with. A friend has started customizing some patterns for printing on fabric and she introduced me to a great service where you can basically have any design you like printed on the fabric of your choice. It's called Fabric on Demand and it is a really cool service...

http://www.fabricondemand.com/index.html

Of course I was curious about the origins of their fabric, so I looked on their frequently asked questions page and found this information...

"All of our fabrics are from American mills with the exception of the fleece and suede which has been shipped from China."

So since I am not purchasing fleece and suede anyway I am glad to know the fabrics I am working with are from American mills. Their website indicates the main offices are in California and their printing and shipping facilities are in South Carolina. It's been great to experiment with new fabrics...today I'm working with stripes...

 

Time to do some sewing!

Delicious Pasta made in the North Country

Day 338.
Delicious Pasta made in the North Country

It has been awhile since I last felt compelled to publicly announce my lack of cooking skills...well, time again now I suppose! Although I do many things, I have never called myself a cook, so when I have to cook I look for something really easy to prepare. Thankfully I had the answer last night. I stopped at the grocery store and was so excited to find Morgia's pasta, which is made in upstate New York morgiaspasta.com/. I used to spend a fair amount of time in Watertown, so I became very familiar with this delicious pasta made in a family business up in the north country.
 

 

So now the question is, will I be able to turn this into my dinner? It was as easy a choice as anything...yes, mom, I can boil hot water :)

Of course I exaggerate for effect, but this was a very simple and delicious meal to create...

And an absolutely delicious taste of Watertown, NY!

I Have a Paint Gun and I'm Not Afraid To Use It

Day 337.
I Have a Paint Gun and I'm Not Afraid To Use It

Living in a state where gun control is a particular hot button issue, I'm glad to say nobody is trying to top me from using this new painting tool I will be trying out over the weekend with some of my crafting projects...

 

It's designed to take the pressure (and mess) from your fingers while using a spray paint can. And as you can see...

 

 

...made in the USA!

Rockin' Rock Candy

Day 336.
Rockin' Rock Candy

With apologies to my dentist, I LOVE rock candy! When I was young I used to make it at home. However these days I don't need to make it at home because this candy is actually made locally by Richardson Brands (remember them from early on in the blog when we made a tea basket?) and they come in lots of colors and flavors.

 

This candy really does rock!

Cutting Boards by Catskill Craftsmen

Day 335.
Cutting Boards by Catskill Craftsmen

The recent farm show where I purchased my maple products is one I attend every year. I also go visit the same maple booth, as I have known the family who operated is for about 13 years. Occasionally they will have other gift items at their booth and this year was no exception. They were offering a nice selection of locally made cutting boards as well. These cool boards were made by the Catskill Craftsmen...

http://catskillcraftsmen.com/index.html

Here are a few of my favorites...

 

 

Nice cutting boards from the Catskill region of New York...can't beat that!

An Unexpected Chocolate Fix

Day 334.
An Unexpected Chocolate Fix

While at a craft fair over the weekend I encountered a kettle corn vendor offering flavors including the regular kettle corn, caramel apple and, low and behold, chocolate! They were popping the corn and mixing the batches up right there in the middle of it all...kind of an attraction all by themselves. I had to try some...

 

So that was my first taste of chocolate for the day. Then I found something else. Normally I think of PEZ candy as coming in lots of fruit flavors, but I happened upon some flavored like chocolate and had to check them out. The candy (although I believe not the dispensers) are made here in the USA also!

 

 

I love an unexpected chocolate fix!

A Trip Down Maple Lane

Day 333.
A Trip Down Maple Lane

As promised yesterday, we're going to take another trip down maple lane. I have a personal attachment to maple products and we've already discussed what you can make from maple sap (i.e. maple syrup), but today I'd like to talk about what else you can make...

 

I was at a farm show recently where some friends of mine showed me the latest things they are making using pure New York State maple syrup. An old favorite is of course the sugar cake candies...

 

 

 

They also do hard candies and lollipops with maple as well as the addition of I believe corn syrup. And maple cotton candy is a fair favorite in our area. Maple covered seeds and nuts are very popular also... 

 

 

 

And they told me about how they are trying new ideas like maple covered pretzel balls and other cool treats. You can also find maple mustard, maple butter and my personal favorite, maple cream...

 

 
As always, we love to see the Pride of New York label...

 

So there you go...maple, not just for pancakes anymore!

New York's Greats...Maple Syrup and Miss America

Day 332.
New York's Greats...Maple Syrup and Miss America

Last night Miss New York became Miss America for the second year in a row...congratulations Nina Davuluri of Syracuse!

 

In honor of that we're going to spotlight another of New York's greats...pure maple syrup.

 

 

Tomorrow we'll explore the wide variety of products that can be made with New York maple syrup, but for today we'll just celebrate Nina's success...and I'm going to breakfast now with some co-workers and the syrup is coming with me!

Sash Time Again

Day 331.
Sash Time Again

It is once again time for our household's annual Miss "Had Her Picked" Competition. Tonight Miss America will be crowned and we have our own little contest among the attendees of our viewing party to see who "had her picked" from the beginning and the winner receives a tiara, sash and bragging rights. As always there will be an American made tiara...this one is from Allen's Crowns...

http://www.acrowns.com/B120_Loop_Tiara_p/b120.htm

And a sash made by hand lettering with...
 

 

Duct Tape sheets!!!! Even easier to work with than Duct Tape rolls (which I adore and are also made in the USA. Here is our sash for tonight...

 

 

And for anyone who has been a faithful reader of this blog and already heard about the Miss "Had Her Picked" Contest you are probably thinking..."you've only been writing for 331 days, not even a full year. How can this annual contest have come around again so quickly?" Well, the Miss America pageant has been moved from January (as it was earlier this year) to September (which will be the start of the 2014 year for the new winner), so we get two big pageant nights in the span of nine months. Good luck Miss America 2014!

Happy Anniversary with Arizona Blue Opal

Day 330.
Happy Anniversary with Arizona Blue Opal

My husband and I just celebrated our wedding anniversary last night and he gave me a beautiful set of jewelry pieces made with Arizona Blue Opal...

 

He found them on a recent trip he made to Arizona and they are designed by an artisan named Vincent who is known for working with unusual and rare stones. I love these pieces for many reasons...they are beautiful, they are made in the USA and above all they were given with love from my wonderful husband who I have been so lucky to spend many years with and I hope for many more. Happy anniversary hon!

Winning at a Golf Tournament

Day 329.
Winning at a Golf Tournament

The title of this post alone should be enough to cause my father to do a spit take. I recently won at a golf tournament...but no, I wasn't playing. I won a prize at the auction afterwards. A beautiful basket of Aveda hair and skin care products.

The really beautiful thing about this basket is that every single product in it is made in the USA. Now that's a win all over!

Local Salsa

Day 328.
Local Salsa

Here's a local favorite I thought I'd share. A delicious salsa that comes in hot or mild varieties and is special because I actually know the woman whose face is on the label (must be what Paul Newman's friends feel like). Kelley has launched her locally made salsa and is very enterprising, so after tasting it I wanted to give her a shout out here.

 

Delicious!

Helpful and Hydrating

Day 327.
Helpful and Hydrating

I tried a new product yesterday that I was very pleased with and wanted to share. It's from PCA Skin and of course I mention it now because it is made here in the USA. It's their après peel soothing balm...

http://www.pcaskin.com/products/daily-care-products/hydrate-and-protect/apr-s-peel-hydrating-balm-phaze-11.html

I am fortunate to know a skin care professional who carries this product, as this line appears to only be available through trained professionals. I went to see this woman because I had a patch of dry skin irritation (sorry if that's too much information) and she highly recommended this as a good solution for the itchiness I was feeling, so I tried it out.

 

A few things I liked about this product...the texture was nice and light, but very effective as a moisturizer. It absorbed nicely and best of all eased the skin discomfort very quickly. I also really liked the fragrance...to me the scent sort of resembles fruit punch. I like it very much.

 

 

So this is a product that I was really happy with and I always like to pass along good results.

Hello Cotton Candy

Day 326.
Hello Cotton Candy

This may be the very definition of an impulse buy. I was standing in a LONG line at the store walking by the myriad of things designed to tempt you to buy on the spot and suddenly I was hit with a very strong desire for some cotton candy. Mostly because I was looking right at it. But I bought it, not only because I was looking for something sugary, but also because I was enthused to find that this cotton candy is made here in the USA...

Pleased to find this out and equally pleased with my impulse buy!

More Kudos - Antibacterial Hand Gel

Day 325.
More Kudos - Antibacterial Hand Gel
 
So I've given Avon some kudos lately for hand cream and lip balm made in the USA. Here's another one I just happened to take note of while searching through my purse this morning...
 

 

It's some antibacterial hand gel from their Naturals collection, also made in the USA. I use this a lot! Whenever I'm in my car I like to have some of this nearby because you never know what messy things you will encounter during the day!

This is the Balm!

Day 324.
This is the Balm!

I love to see items that bear an American theme (colors, flag motif, etc.), but so often when I find them I see that they are actually manufactured in another country. However, that is NOT the case here...I found a great lip balm by Avon that not only has a pretty American themed design, but is also made in the USA...

Nice job Avon!

Girls Night Out with Gel Nails

Day 323.
Girls Night Out with Gel Nails

Last night I enjoyed a fun end of the week girls night out where we all went for manicures, pedicures and frozen yogurt. Of course I wanted to have me nails done with a product made in the USA, so my nail tech used some Romeo and Joliet gel color by OPI.

 

http://www.hbbeautybar.com/OPI-Romeo-Joliet-GelColor-OPI-Gel-Nail-Polish-p/gcs72.htm

 

My nails came out beautifully and I can tell by the feel that this manicure will last for awhile. The gel polish is much harder and more durable than regular nail polish, so I'll be able to enjoy it for awhile!

 

 

What a great way to start the weekend!

Chocolate for a Cause

Day 322.
Chocolate for a Cause

In my office we often times have people helping with various fundraisers and quite often that means selling products like chocolate...those are my favorite fundraisers. So yesterday I was approached by a co-worker who was selling chocolate bars on behalf of his daughter's sixth grade class. 

Of course I was going to buy a couple of bars anyway, but I was even happier to do so when I learned that the bars were made by World's Finest Chocolate and are made here in the USA...

http://www.worldsfinestchocolate.com/eng/aboutUs/aboutUs.cfm

Nice to support the kids with an American made treat!