Wednesday, December 26, 2012
If you got a new smart phone this holiday season, be sure to add these apps to help make life a little easier while you're on the go around town.
A smartphone makes a great gift for yourself or for someone else. But receiving a smartphone is a bit like buying a pet: the fun parts also come with some work and some adjustments. Downloading apps that make life easier and incorporate local information is like training a puppy. It results in less hassle and more fun. The major difference between a smartphone and your computer is that it’s tough to see the whole Internet on that little screen. Apps are simply ways of displaying something you usually do on your computer’s web browser, but in a simpler and more elegant way that makes sense on a little screen. Each app is represented by a small square icon that you touch once to launch its features and functions, whether it be GPS navigation…
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Here's a list of some great local items you can purchase for those on your holiday shopping lists.
There is nothing like buying local, supporting the local economy and local businesses. Here are a few gift ideas for this holiday season from a local shop. The products were created here in the Show-Me State. Missouri Mercantile's original location is at St. Louis Outlet Mall in the City of Hazelwood. Missouri Mercantile owner Bill Olwig recently opened a second shop on Main Street in St. Charles. . (Get instant news updates. Like Hazelwood Patch on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.)
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Tchaikosky's Sugarplum Fairy made them popular, but few have ever eaten let alone know what a sugarplum is.
Sugarplums have a mottled past. Sugarplum, also written as sugar plum, conjures up a variety of images that may or may not dance in one’s head as Clement Moore wrote in Twas Night Before Christmas. For many, a sugarplum brings to mind a ballerina or a fairy, the Sugarplum Fairy to be precise, from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite. For others, sugarplums are candy made from chopped dried fruits and nuts, which by the way does not include plums. It’s a candy known as dragee or comfit that’s generally rolled in sugar or panned, a technique that creates a hard shell like an M&M. Without any plums in the recipe one might ask – why call it a sugarplum? Historians believe in the 1600s sugarplums were named to reflect the shape and size of …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Stumped about what to get as a gift for a family member or friend? Gift cards may seem like a simple solution. But many of the cards have fees.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Avoid having to throw out personal items or missing your flight due to a longer screening process at Lambert with these tips.
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times for U.S. airports, according to AAA. Lambert- St. Louis International Airport (Lambert) is no exception. In fact, Lambert expects to see a 10 to 15 percent daily increase in passengers each day through the holiday. What will be the busiest day at the airport? Nov. 25, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Sundays are typically the busiest travel day of the week. Lambert, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the airlines have offered these travel tips to help make traveling easier during this busy time: • Arrive 90 minutes to 2 hours ahead of a scheduled flight. • Liquids must be in 3.4 ounce containers or less; put in quart size, clear, plastic zip-top bag. • TSA Pre✓ is available …
Deep-frying a turkey can be delicious, but dangerous without the right safety tools.
Each year, families gather around a roasted or baked turkey for the holidays. Some families decide to go outside of the box and deep-fry turkeys for the holidays, which is when things get more serious. I grew up with my dad frying turkeys for the holidays. As newlyweds, my wife and I will fry a turkey for our first Thanksgiving together and may continue the tradition. Several dangers can mount from deep-frying a turkey, though. More than 4,000 fires occur on Thanksgiving across the country, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Therefore, in order to ensure a safe holiday season, we’re showing how to safely deep-fry a turkey. In order to reinforce the safety issues, we teamed up with Florissant Valley Fire Protection District to give …
AAA is forecasting that 43.6 million people will be driving to their Thanksgiving feast. And here's some good news - gas prices are expected to drop by Thursday.
AAA projects 43.6 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. That's an increase of 0.7 percent over the 43.3 million people who traveled last year. This increase marks the fourth consecutive year of growing holiday travelers since 2008 when Thanksgiving travel fell by 25 percent. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, Nov. 21, to Sunday, Nov. 25. “Thanksgiving travel hit a decade low in 2008 when only 37.8 million Americans traveled,” said AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet in a news release. “Since that year we have seen a steady increase in the number of travelers taking to the roads and skies for the holiday. Americans continue to find ways to economize …
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Make this year's Thanksgiving a little easier. Consider cooking a little less and doing part of, or the entire, Thanksgiving Day feast as a carry-out.
For Thanksgiving next week, the question for many remains. Are you cooking this holiday or not? Perhaps the better question is: How much of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner do you plan on cook yourself With over-extended schedules, cooking anything, let alone Thanksgiving dinner has become an overwhelming task. Thankfully there's help. If you can’t or don't have time to cook, or just don't want to cook, hire it done. Chefs, caterers and grocers have taken note and are ready to provide the elements of a Turkey Day dinner for the time-crunched, weary and/or culinary challenged. “People don’t have the time to cook like they used to,” said Joe Weinmann, co-owner of Kenrick’s Meats and Catering who explained how he offers his customers a variety…
Turkey may be Thanksgiving's star, but for many, what makes the annual holiday feast special is pie. Harvest are pies made easy - thanks to the invention of ready-made pastry crust.
Turkey may be the headliner at the Thanksgiving table, but what I give thanks for is pie. Whether it’s pumpkin, pecan or apple, baking pies is a Thanksgiving tradition worth continuing. Thankfully, refrigerated pastry crusts have made baking anything with a crust easy. However, that hasn't always been the case. Making pie crust from scratch is an art that few home bakers ever mastered, leaving countless home tables pie-less. Until the miracle of pre-packaged fresh refrigerated rolled-out and ready-to-use pastry dough, home bakers struggled with pre-mixed pie sticks or frozen pastry shells. While refrigerated piecrust/pastry remains a modern marvel, it still needs a little special handling to ensure success. First, bring the crust to room …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thousands are signing an online petitions against Black Friday store opening hours that have been pushed into Thanksgiving Day.
The trend for stores to open earlier and earlier to take advantage of Black Friday sales—even to the point of opening in the evening on Thanksgiving Day—has prompted an online petition drive to give Thanksgiving back to employees and their families. The original petition was reportedly created by a Target employee upset that the retail giant is opening on Thanksgiving and requiring employees to work instead of spending time with their families. Target stores will open their doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving. So far, there are more than 210,000 signatures on the petition. A press release from Change.org reported that it has seen dozens of new petitions pop up about Black Friday hours. "Following a Sears announcement last week that the …
Ashley Nevilles
10:43 am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
I love this store. I just purchased a candle, lip balm and soap not too long ago. No they weren't gifts. They were for me! more ›