Happy Sweetest Day 2008

This Sweetest Day, I gave a Godiva tour of the desserts of Europe. The chocolatier offers a limited edition collection of chocolate truffles inspired by signature European desserts.

• Chocolate Soufflé Truffle: "A center of dark chocolate mousse enrobed in dark chocolate."
  
  
• Carmelized Apple Tart Truffle: "Apple caramel wrapped in a milk chocolate shell and rolled in milk and white chocolate flakes."
  
  
• Crème Brûlée Truffle: "A blend of caramelized vanilla crème, covered in a white chocolate shell and sprinkled with brown sugar."
  
  
• Bananas Foster Truffle: "A smooth banana ganache covered in silky milk chocolate, sprinkled with banana flakes."
  
  
• Lemon Chiffon Truffle: "A light lemon crème and white chocolate mousse, enrobed in dark chocolate and rolled in icing sugar."
  
  
• Black Forest Torte Truffle: "A 72-percent dark chocolate ganache with a hint of cherries, wrapped in a dark chocolate shell."

We also discovered cleverly wrapped chocolate bars from Bloomberry & Co., featured tonight on Food Network's Unwrapped. Click each image below to enlarge.

Sweetest Day is Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008

If you're from Detroit, Cleveland or Buffalo, chances are, you know about Sweetest Day. According to Retail Confectioners International, those three U.S. cities top the list celebrating the fall holiday for sweethearts. For me, the day is all about giving chocolate, but flowers and greeting cards are also popular. (Hallmark has 147 varieties of Sweetest Day cards for 2008.)

But let's get back to chocolate. My wife and I love the smooth, creamy taste and sweet aroma of the confection. Right now, I'm humming "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, imagining that glorious river of chocolate.

We both enjoy chocolate in so many forms: milk chocolate bars, chocolate pretzels, hot chocolate, fudge, dark chocolate, brownies, chocolate mousse, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate muffins, chocolate liqueur (but only the real stuff), chocolate cake, chocolate donuts, s'mores, chocolate truffles, chocolate biscuits, chocolate-covered raisins, chocolate beer, chocolate-dipped strawberries, chocolate malts, and chocolate ice cream (or better yet frozen custard). I just gained three pounds writing that sentence.

Now my wife has discovered a new chocolate taste: Godiva single-serve coffee pods for our Senseo coffee maker. Each package (costing about $5.50) holds 16 coffee pods with 100% Arabica coffee beans infused with chocolate goodness. Godiva offers two flavors — Chocolate Crème and Crème Brulee — giving me another reason to wake up on Sweetest Day morning.

Eighth Anniversary Gifts: Luck, Bronze and Pottery

Eight is a lucky number. Why else would the Beijing-hosted Summer Olympics begin on 8/8/2008 at eight minutes and eight seconds past 8 p.m.? This week my wife and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary with the theme of luck and the traditional anniversary gifts of bronze and pottery. If you are seeking gifts for your eighth, here are the presents we exchanged.

• Nicholas Sparks' new novel The Lucky One from Amazon.com
  
  
• A giant gourmet fortune cookie drizzled in chocolate from Good Fortunes
  
  
• A set of four bronze-beaded placemats and bronze-beaded coasters from Z Gallerie Home Furnishings
  
  
• Handmade mixing bowl in rustic yellow from Little Bit of Bybee pottery
  
  
• A 37-inch Samsung LCD High-definition TV from Amazon.com (ordered before we knew about Amazon dropping its post-order price policy guarantee)
  
  
• A dozen fall-colored roses delivered to work in a pottery vase
  

Amazon.com and Price Guarantees

I received a refund from Amazon.com today, based on their pre-order price guarantee policy. It works like this:

• Before something is widely available for sale, you pre-order a book, CD, DVD, video game or software on Amazon.com.
  
  
• If the price drops before your pre-order item ships, Amazon.com charges you the lower price.
  
  
• Your order ships and the price drops just before or on the release date, Amazon.com refunds you the difference automatically.

Looking for more detail on this policy, I was surprised that Amazon.com has dropped a different guarantee: the post-order price policy. As of September 1, 2008, Amazon.com will no longer refund you the difference if Amazon.com's price drops within 30 days after shipping. Of course, Amazon.com has removed the old post-order price policy, but the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine saved a copy from October 24, 2007, reproduced below:

Post-Order Price Guarantee

Amazon.com's prices for released items will change from time to time based on a variety of factors. If Amazon.com's price for an already-released item decreases within 30 days after we ship the item to you, we'll be glad to refund the difference in price if you contact us. Please... be sure to have your order number handy so we can assist you.

This Post-Order Price Guarantee is subject to the following restrictions:

• Applies only to products that have already been released. Products that have not yet been released but that are available for pre-order from Amazon.com are not covered by this guarantee, but do benefit from our Pre-Order Price Protection program....
  
  
• Applies only to items sold by Amazon.com, and not to items (or prices) offered by other sellers on our site.
  
  
• Item prices that are affected by a promotion such as "Buy one, get one free" are not eligible.
  
  
• The price of an item after rebate is not considered to be the Amazon.com price.
  

It's unfortunate that Amazon.com eliminated this 30-day-post-order price guarantee. For me, this decision means I may be less likely to buy big-ticket gifts, like home electronics, from Amazon.com. I see that Best Buy and Circuit City still offer a post-order price guarantee.

The Gift of Money

Yesterday, my parents surprised me with a mid-day visit at my workplace — calling first, of course. They gave me a card that read, "Here's something to smooth out the bumps in the road of life." Inside was a very generous check. My parents let me know all my brothers and sisters received a money gift. I was floored. I hugged them both and thanked them. I'm putting the thank-you card in tomorrow's mail.

Money gifts may be a powerful present, if given appropriately. Cultural differences apply, but for me, spouses and older relatives generally should not receive cash. Money gifts can work for weddings, college savings for kids and teens, employee recognition, graduations, and gifts to your children, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. I suggest giving money with a note card that lightly suggests a purpose.

For example, I received my favorite money gift as a wedding present from the person who introduced me to my wife. She and her husband gave us an oblong black box with a sliding cover that reads:

The Black Box: Stuff to make life's frownies go away. May it never be empty. May the magic never end.

Inside are scores of gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coins. But if you look carefully, mingled with the chocolates, you would see plenty of Sacagawea dollar coins. (The U.S. Mint first issued the golden coins in 2000, the year of our wedding.) She included a Crane's stationery note card, wishing us health and wealth to smooth our journey ahead.

A Gift for Monday's Child

My niece was baptized this month. To celebrate, we gave a christening gift based on her day of birth: she is a Monday's child. Artist Barbara Olsen designs colorful wooden plaques based on the 19th-century "Monday's Child" nursery rhyme.

Monday's child is fair of face.
Tuesday's child is full of grace.
Wednesday's child is full of woe.
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving.
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

Wednesday's kid — that's me, by the way — sure has it rough. So the artist changed "full of woe" to "full of laughter" on the plaques. You'll find boy and girl versions in 6-by-8-inch ($29) and 9-by-9-inch ($50) sizes.

We ordered a 9-by-9-inch "Monday's Girl" plaque from HaveABath.com and received outstanding customer service. The owner, Carol Vanacore, helped me expedite shipping and called to make sure the gift was received on time. My sister-in-law loved the plaque and recognized the rhyme immediately.

Need to calculate what day a child was born for this gift? Try the calculator below. If you are viewing the RSS feed, please visit this post directly to use the calculator.

Day You Were Born Calculator
Enter Birth Date (Use 4 digits for Year)
Month January February March April May June July August September October November December	Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31	Year
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• Order Barbara Olsen 6" x 8" plaques from HaveABath.com
• Order Barbara Olsen 9" x 9" plaques from HaveABath.com

13 Kitchen Gadgets of the Future

Food Network's Kitchen Gadgets of the Future has waited patiently for me on the DVR. The show originally aired on September 6, 2008, showcasing gizmos from 108th Annual Home and Housewares Show in Chicago. From the "13 miles of kitchen gadgets" at the trade show, 13 items stood out. Follow the links below to give these "future" kitchen gadgets today.

1. Tribest Personal Blender ($60 to $90)
   This mini-blender serves up smoothies, and the blending container doubles as the drinking cup.


2. Füri Ozitech Knife Sharpener ($20 to $25)
   Take the guesswork out of knife sharpening. Simply pull your knives through the metal fingers of this device four to six times to keep them sharp.


3. Tassimo Hot Beverage System ($170)
   The coffee/tea/espresso maker scans the beverage bar code on its "T-Discs" to know what exactly it's brewing.


4. Reveo MariVac Food Tumbler ($150 to $200)
   Vacuum sealed, this tumbler rotates meat to fully marinade within minutes instead of hours, absorbing 20 percent of the meat's weight in marinade.


5. BonJour Culinary Laser Thermometer ($90 to $100)
   The point-and-shoot laser thermometer gives surface temperature readings from 0 to 932 degrees Fahrenheit.


6. iTouchless Smart Trash Can ($73 to $100)
   This stainless steel trash can senses nearby motion, opens to accept throw-aways, then closes three seconds later.


7. Zyliss All Cheese Grater ($15 to $20)
   Shred hard or soft cheeses (without jamming up the grater) for fine or coarse gratings.


8. Basketball-shaped or Football-shaped Pro Pots Crock Pots ($25 to $30)
   Ideal for cooking and serving hot food for game-watching parties.


9. Bamix Hand Blender ($130)
   Whip non-fat milk into a frothy cream with 15,000 RPMs of spinning power.


10. Cooper Cooler Rapid Beverage Chiller ($60 to $80)
    Chills a can of beer or soda in one minute or a wine bottle in two to six minutes.


11. Black & Decker Lids Off Jar Opener ($22 to $50)
    Take the muscle strain out of opening vacuum-sealed lids with this automated jar opener.


12. Fresh Life Automatic Sprouter ($70 to $90)
    The counter-top gardening system automatically waters alfalfa sprouts, radishes and broccoli, growing them without soil.


13. StirChef Saucepan Stirrer ($20 to $30)
    Span this gadget over your saucepan and let it continuously or occasionally stir your sauces, gravy, soups, chili and pasta.

13 Going-to-College Gifts

The Class of 2012 is gearing up for college this fall. While small appliances like mini-fridges and microwaves are freshman favorites, you may not know if the roommate is already packing these home electronics for the dorm room. Instead, consider these 13 gifts for freshmen going to college.

		#1. Official Collegiate Wear (price varies). Yes, this is a shameless plug for my new College Gift Finder, more than 1,500 links strong. Confirm his or her Big Freshman On Campus status with a college hoodie.
		#2. iPod Speakers ($100-$140 from Amazon.com). I know a veteran university photographer who swears by this gift for the college bound. Many students have some flavor of iPod, and ConsumerSearch.com rates Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere speakers as the best.
		#3. Desk Lamp with iPod Speakers ($100 from Amazon.com). Another iPod speaker idea. Bring sound and light to student's dorm-issued desk with an iHome halogen lamp combined with speakers.
		#4. College Guide - The Naked Roommate ($10 from Amazon.com). Practical tips from syndicated advice columnist Harlan Cohen. Chances are, your student's RA has read this college guide cover to cover. Also, consider the datebook planner version.
		#5. Doorganizer ($15 from UncommonGoods.com). For the absent-minded genius, the Doorganizer keeps keys and important notes visible as your student leaves the dorm room. I wish I had one of these in college to keep me from locking myself out of my room.
		#6. Freshman Survival Kit ($58 to $78 from HipKits.com). Give a collection of college essentials, including flip-flops for the dorm's community showers. Hip Kits offer college gift baskets you can customize to nearly 150 universities. See more college care packages from Hip Kits.
		#7. Milk Crates for Storage ($10 each from The Container Store). Authentic dairy crates are a classic stackable storage solution for tight dorm quarters. Pile up notebooks, textbooks, sweatshirts and anything else that will lie flat.
		#8. Mini-Mantle Bedpost Shelf ($10 from Dormbuys.com). Throughout my college years, I always chose the bunkbed's top bunk. I would have loved owning this mini-mantle. The 6-by-14-inch shelf attaches to a bed or loft post to rest a book, pens, glasses, a water bottle or TV remote.
		#9. Book Bungie Bookmarks ($30 for a set of five from Levenger). Let your student wrap a book bungie around that massive Organic Chemistry textbook to mark his or her progress. Unlike a typical bookmark, these bungies won't lose their place.
		#10. Margin Maker Note Paper ($18 from Levenger). These self-adhesive strips of green and yellow paper maximize a textbook's resale value by never marking up a page. Students can tear off the right length of paper and make notes in the margin.
		#11. Bookbumpers ($10 for 10 sheets, 4 bumpers per sheet, from Levenger). One more book innovation from Levenger, offering "tools for serious readers." Many textbooks come in paperback and take a lot of abuse. Prevent dogearred book covers with the plastic protection of Bookbumpers.
		#12. JimiX Wallet ($16 from Mr. Smith, Inc.). The JimiX sports a super-thin design that stores four cards, plus a sturdy money clip. The translucent shell, made from 100% recycled polypropylene, makes flashing that university ID card simple. This compact wallet is available in light blue, safety orange, clear and stealth black.
		#13. Kone Cordless Hand Vacuum ($40 from Amazon.com). It's not a cheerleader megaphone; it's a mini-vacuum. Dirt Devil has designed a rechargeable hand vacuum you don't have to hide. While every dorm has an upright vacuum cleaner for check out, it's handy to have the Kone for those quick clean-ups. Choose from six colors: blue, champagne, charcoal, pink, plum or white.

See also from 2007: Ten Going-to-College Gifts