How much fun are these adjustable denim KitchenKuffs!!

There are several statements that take place in our house over and over again:

• Pick up your dirty clothes
• Chew with your mouth closed
• Throw away your trash

And my all-time least favorite:

• Can someone come push up my sleeves?!?! PLEASE!?!?

Well, Kate, bar the door, those days are gone. May I present:

KitchenKuffs!!!

That’s right, people. It’s time to say goodbye to soggy sleeves!

The brainchild of Barbara Doran, KitchenKuffs mean you’ll never have suds-soaked cuffs (or anything else, for that matter) on your long-sleeved tops EVER AGAIN! I was so impressed when I first saw this product that I contacted Barbara. She gave me a pair of regular and a pair of adjustable KitchenKuffs to review for you guys. I’ve had ample opportunity to try them, and as far as I’m concerned, they are a must-have in every kitchen, bath, basement and garage. I’ve used them while cooking dinner, washing dishes, painting a bookcase and potting flowers. They go on with total ease, and stay right where you put them.

Here’s a video from Barbara showing the myriad of ways she’s put her KitchenKuffs to good use:

To me, this is true American ingenuity – entrepreneurship at its finest! The product has even caught the eye of Martha Stewart’s Dreamers into Doers, where Barbara was recently featured as Doer of the Week.

Shown here are the denim KitchenKuffs (adjustable) and the pepper pattern regular KitchenKuffs

I highly recommend that you pick up a pair and give them a try. They’re machine-washable cotton, made here in the USA, very affordable, and come in a variety of patterns in the regular and adjustable KitchenKuffs. I think these will make great gifts for teachers, gardeners, moms and sisters, dads and brothers – anyone who needs to “Keep their sleeves up!” And at a time when many families are pinching pennies more than ever, KitchenKuffs are a unique and thoughtful gift they’ll use time after time, without having to break the bank!

I love ‘em, Barbara – I know our readers will, too.

-Liz

Visit www.kitchenkuffs.com for a patterns, pricing and sizing.

Maybe it’s just me, but ever since the little nail kiosk appeared in the mall, walking from store to store has become more an obstacle course with one mission: Avoid the girls at the nail kiosk at all costs.

Maybe you’ve run into them. They’re the ones who hunt down every person who passes by their booth with a seemingly innocent, “May I ask you a question?”

Memorize this word, dear readers: No.

Because should you answer in the affirmative, or even acknowledge their presence, you’ll be sorry. Just ask my daughter Hannah.

She and one of her friends were spending the afternoon at the mall, with pockets full of birthday money and mall gift cards – a teenager’s paradise. All was well with the world.

Until they passed the kiosk from you know where and made eye contact with their new stalkers.

“Do you have acrylic nails?” they asked.

“No,” she answered.

“Good,” they said. I imagine they were cackling with delight as they grabbed her hand and began shining one of her nails with their “magic” buffer pad.

Within seconds, they revealed her nail that looked as if it had about 20 coats of super shine on it.

Then, they went in for the kill, and began writing up a receipt for the cost of the item, adding how they “usually charge $40 for the nail kit,” but for her, they’d knock off 10 bucks.

Next thing my daughter knew, she had a brand new nail kit, which included a buffer pad, cuticle oil and a bar of soap. She also had a receipt that carried the words, “All sales are FINAL. No exchanges or refunds.”

Of course, Hannah was crushed – mad at herself for being sucked into their evil little scheme, and mad at them for taking half her cash. Granted, it was a learning experience for her, albeit a bit pricey. It was also an eye opener for us both.

I called the mall after she arrived home, practically in tears over the whole episode. Apparently, they get hundreds of calls complaining about this kiosk on a regular basis. And for whatever reasons, no one does anything about their “business practices.”

I mentioned the incident to my neighbors, and the husband admitted to having fallen prey, as well. In fact, he’d purchased four (yes, four…) kits one day.

“She was hot!” was the only defense he could muster.

Men…

Anywho, since that day, we’ve developed a tried and true system for avoiding the nail girl plague. For the benefit of you, our readers, and your loved ones, here are the Top 10 ways to just say no:

1. Hold your cell phone to your ear and pretend to be carrying on a conversation.
2. Talk non-stop to the person you are with.
3. If you are shopping alone, grab the nearest shopper and start a conversation with them.
4. If the above methods fail, send a text message. Even if you run head first into another shopper, it’ll be better than getting sucked in by the nail stalkers.
5. Focus on the stores on the exterior walls as you walk, pretending to be interested.
6. Duck into one of these stores, wait for the stalker to reel in another unsuspecting shopper, then make your get-away.
7. Pretend like you don’t hear them (one of my favorites, which shouts, “You don’t exist, evil nail people.”
8. Know the kiosk locations (in our mall, there are at least two such kiosks, and strategically map out your store-to-store plan to avoid running into them
9. Don’t go to the mall.
10. Look them in the eye when they say, “May I ask you a question?” Just say, “No” – and whatever you do, keep walking!

-Liz

Can you believe this is the week of Christmas? That in only a few days, Santa – the man in the big red suit – will be coming down the chimney? Maybe it’s just me but it seems like those last couple of weeks before the most wonderful time of the year always fly by.

Sometimes, even that ritual visit to see Santa gets put off until the last minute. So this year, I figured I’d be one step ahead and actually plan the day for our visit. We headed to Lexington Green before 9 a.m. on Saturday. The plan was simple: I’d pick up a few things from the bookstore, and by the time we were done there, Santa would be arriving, Colton would divulge his wishlist, and we’d be outta there before millions of other Lexingtonians were even awake. (OK, so there are a million people in Lexington, but that’s hardly the point. Any city that has to put up “Caution: High accident risk. Do Not Block Intersections” signs in this area lends the appearance of having at least a million people in the vicinity of the mall.

Just so we’re clear, the Santa at Lexington Green is not your average run-of-the-mill, typical mall Santa with a fake beard and suit stuffed with a pillow. Oh, no. He’s the real deal. You can even pull on his beard. If ever there was a Santa who more closely resembled Miracle on 34th Street, I would be shocked.

My scheduling was working without a glitch, and by 10 a.m., we were walking toward Santa’s temporary headquarters.

“Here we are!” I said to Colton. “Ready to go see Santa.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“What?!? What do you mean, ‘you’re good’? We’re here to see Santa! Christmas is a week from today!”

“No thanks,” he said, while peeking in to try to catch a glimpse of the old man. Santa’s “organizer” overheard the conversation and tried to help out, while getting the first of the GOOD little boys and girls – the ones who WANTED to talk to Santa, lined up for their turn.

“Are you kidding me, Colton?? You aren’t going to talk to Santa?”

“Nah – maybe tomorrow. Besides, I don’t really want toys like the little kids. I want cool things, like a bluetooth for the PS3.”

“So you don’t think Santa makes those too?!?!”

“Yeah, it’s just that I’d rather come back tomorrow.”

I wondered if he really meant that. Or if, in a dark stroke of fate, it meant he deemed himself too old for the Santa stuff. To hear him talk about it, he’s the last true believer. But how can that be if he doesn’t want to go see him? Is the age of innocence over and gone? Never to return??

Well, maybe for him (although I’m holding out hope). As for me, I’m headed to Lexington Green to get a couple of last minute requests to Pere Noel. I’m no fool… Santa’s Coming!

How filled with fear do you people get when I start crafting? Pretty fearful, I bet .

Anywho, this week, I wanted to bring you super simple project to adorn the Thanksgiving table. Not sure what else to call them, so we’ll just call them Veggie Candles.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Desired number of candles

• Green beans (about a half-pound per candle)

• One bunch asparagus (that will do one candle, as well)
• Rubber bands
• Ribbon of choice

Making the candles:

• Wrap rubber band around candle
• Slip the veggies under the band. You can cut the veggies to same height for uniformity if you want.
• Tie with ribbon

And we’re done. Talk about an easy way to bring the harvest to the table! Not to mention a sure fire way to serve waxed green beans I’m JOKING!

Kate and I hope you enjoy this project – and that your creative juices are starting to flow. Because next Friday, our 2nd Annual Craftdown to Christmas returns! And it’s not too early to send us your favorite crafts, recipes and homemade gift ideas! Just leave your ideas as a comment or email lizandkate@live.com!! We’d love to see the photos, too! We’ll be waiting…

President Truman with the 1947 turkey, who wasn't lucky enough to be pardoned.

Yep, this is it – the day of days for the gobblers out there. The day when one lucky bird gets the ultimate gift: a pardon. Meanwhile an estimated 45 million will be landing on our dining room tables. For that, I am thankful.

Anywho, the presidential pardon will be given today. This whole pardoning thing began in 1989 with the elder George Bush, and has continued since. And two turkeys are pardoned, not one. (Think of it like the Miss America contest or something – if the winner can’t fulfill her duties, the alternate takes over…).

-Liz

Call me sentimental, but this craft represents one of my favorite holiday decorations that Colton has brought home from school. Unfortunately, his is now old and faded, so he and I decided to recreate it! Let’s be honest. If we’re taking on this project, how hard can it be?

It’s really a great craft for kids – and requires a relatively short list of supplies.  Chances are,  you already have everything you need on hand.

What you’ll need:

• One paper grocery bag
• One small paper bag
• Old newspaper for stuffing bags
• Duct tape or other wide tape
• Glue (whatever you have on hand)
• Scissors
• Construction paper in colors of choice

Instructions:

1. Begin by stuffing the large (body) and small (head) grocery bags with wadded up newspaper. You can gather the bag as you stuff to get a feel of how full you’d like the turkey.

2. Once the turkey is “stuffed” to your likings, insert the open end of the small bag into the open end of the large bag. Using duct tape or other wide tape, secure the two bags together.

3. Now that the body and head are ready, get out the scissors and construction paper, and cut out feathers (as many as you’d like), eyes (I used a large yellow circle and a small black circle), bow tie, feet, beak, and gobbler (not pictured as I forgot it until I began assembly

4. Assemble the feathers onto the back side of the body. As I was creating this, I realized the easiest way to do this is by gluing the feathers onto an oval-shaped piece of paper. Then you can glue the oval onto the bag. Trust me on this one.  Allow glue to dry a bit if using white glue, and attach feathers to back of turkey. In the future, I may be tempted to use a hot glue gun for this project – watch out for the little ones if you go this route!

5. Lay turkey on its backside. Glue on eyes, beak, gobbler and bow tie. Once these parts have dried, turn right side up. Tilt turkey-lurkey back and glue on feet.

6. Done! Ours now holds a special spot on the fireplace hearth. Trust me, it’s an attention-getter!

I think you’ll really like this project. And start to finish is less than an hour! So what are you waiting for?!? Go make a turkey!!

-Liz

I needed a break from writing yesterday, but still felt the need to be creative. While I don’t really do much in the line of decorating for Halloween or Thanksgiving, I do enjoy bringing a touch of fall into the house.

Just so you know, this isn’t a Liz Original. I think I ran across the idea at some point last year, when Coffee Break brought you the Craftdown to Christmas. And for whatever reason, it came to mind as a perfectly simple yet snazzy idea to try. Frankly, I’m pretty pleased. I think you will be, too!

So here’s how you make this centerpiece:

What you’ll need:

• A pumpkin or gourd
• Fresh or artificial fall flowers
• About 15 minutes

How to do it:

• Cut the top off the pumpkin, as if you were making a jack-0-lantern, being sure to scoop out all the guts. Set seeds aside, if desired.
• If you have time, allow the pumpkin to dry out for a couple of hours. If not, no big deal.
• Arrange fresh or artificial flowers in pumpkin. Don’t forget to add water and maybe a little flower food if using fresh flowers!
• Voila!

See how easy that was? So easy that you could wash off the pumpkin seeds, roast ‘em and snack on ‘em while sitting back and admiring your new centerpiece. Kate gives you step by step directions here!

-Liz

Don’t forget to pre-order your copy of In the Kitchen with Liz and Kate: Practically Painless Recipes!

That’s right, readers. After almost three years of posting to Coffee Break with Liz and Kate, we’ve decided to take a well-deserved hiatus so we can come back fresher and more exciting than we already are (please control the laughter from the peanut gallery). In the meantime, enjoy our fantastic quick and easy recipes, craft ideas and posts on life in general. Just search our categories or archives (over on the right)  and the world will be your oyster!

Thank-you for your loyalty over these past few years. Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon!

Enjoy your Coffee Break

(with Liz and Kate, of course)

No matter where I live, there’s always one drawer that’s devoted to the coupons. I’ll note one exception: that was when I decided I was done with coupons and would never clip another one. What, you may be asking, could possibly send me so far over the edge that saving money seemed more trouble than it was worth?

Enter exhibit A. The coupon drawer. (You know you have one, too. Admit it. It will make you feel better.)

Oh, sure, I’ve tried those little pouches with a slot for all the dairy and all the frozen and all the meats and all the beverages. But the fact of the matter is, I still had no clue what coupons I possessed. Just because all dairy was in one slot, that cute little coupon organizer wasn’t helping my cause at all. And nine times out of 10, by the time I found that coupon that had been hiding from me, it was expired. Trust me. It’s easy to develop a hate-hate relationship with coupons.

Well, people, I’ve outdone myself on this one. I’ve come up with the B.E.S.T possible way to organize (one of the) biggest messes in my kitchen. A three-ring binder with clear business card or baseball card sheet protectors! (For those of you who’ve been utilizing this method for years, is it too much to ask you to give me a little moment in the sun, here?!?)

Time to check out my masterpiece! Can you stand it? Each little coupon gets its own spot, and is placed into a broad category:

• Produce
• Dairy
• Canned and packaged goods
• Meats
• Snacks
• Drinks
• Dairy
• Bakery
• Deli
• Cleaning products
• Personal hygiene
• Paper products
• Office supplies

This brainchild actually came from my friend Summer, so credit where credit is due. But I decided to take it to a whole new level. I’ve also inserted some full-sheet size protectors in the back to house take-out menus, and another protector to keep rebate offers, sales receipts and UPC codes.

But wait! There’s more! (This is where I wish we had a video blog here on Coffee Break…) You know those little pockets on the inside of the binder? Guess what goes in there? That’s right! Your SHOPPING LIST!

I am a genius I tell you. (Whatever. It’s Monday. Let’s just roll with it.) Total cost? $4.80 – $3.88 for the sheet protectors and .92 cents for the el-cheapo binder (find ‘em everywhere that offers a wide selection of school supplies – better yet, use an empty binder you already have on hand). Cost to regain my shopping sanity? Priceless, of course.

And while we’re on a roll, I thought I’d also give you my Coupon Commandments. Do with them as you will.

• If you see a coupon for a product you don’t like, don’t bother clipping it. Saving money on it will probably not make you like it anymore than you did before.
• If a coupon is for an item you usually don’t purchase, think long and hard before clipping and allowing it to take up space.
• Instead of clipping every coupon, refer to your new binder for coupons you already have. That way you won’t be stuck with seven coupons for bleach that all expire at the same time.
• If a coupon for toothpaste expires in a month and you just bought a case of toothpaste, chances are you aren’t going to use that coupon before it expires. So why waste time and space?
• Pay attention to out-dates on existing coupons as you clip. While you may want more than one coupon for certain products, if you can’t use more than one by the time it expires, don’t bother with it.
• If you use generic brands, and have a coupon for the name brand, make sure the coupon will actually save you more money versus buying the generic you always use.

Whew! Who can stand all this fun mixed in with a little bit of common sense? Now all I have to do is figure out how to put a cute little cover on this white binder! But that’s another post, entirely.

-Liz Follow @lizrants

If you’re house is anything like mine, back to school means a new pair of shoes. It’s tradition, I guess. Fresh start to the school year, fresh shoes to walk into the new classroom. Something like that, anyway. Suffice to say, someone in our house got a new pair of shoes, yesterday. Hint: It wasn’t me.

Now, while I know there’s nothing out of the ordinary about new shoes, I do find my child’s reaction something of an anomaly. I guess the story goes back to Christmas, when Santa brought Colton a pair of shoes. (That Santa is just full of exciting surprises, isn’t he?!?) Anywho. Colton fell in love with them. Why? That’s anyone’s guess. Let’s just say when we set out to get shoes, his quest was simple: to find the exact same shoe, preferably in a larger size. But in his way of thinking, he’d have bought a smaller pair, scrunched his foot into it, suffered through a poor fit and liked it for no other reason than to have that pair of shoes again.

He liked these shoes so much that even after he’d worn them out to the point of big toes sticking out, he insisted on wearing them if he was playing at home. When I finally banned the shoes from wear, he refused to throw them away. So I figured we’d better find that shoe again. I figured the best bet would be to return to the shoe store from which they came. (How do I know where they came from, you ask? I called Santa! Come on!)

After making a mad dash to the kids’ shoes, we scoured the shelves. Then it happened. The gods of shoes shined down on us not once but twice. We’d not only found his shoes, we’d even found the size he needed. (I love it when a good plan comes together.) Little did I know my child’s plan went further than simply finding the shoes.

Once we got home, he located the old shoes, put them beside his new shoes and compared every detail.

“Look at this. The new shoes aren’t as tall as the old shoes.”

“What are you talking about? Of course they are.”

“No they aren’t Mom. See how the top of this one isn’t as tall as the other one?”

“No. Not really.”

“Get a ruler. I’ll show you.”

May I just say that my child is a stickler for detail – there was a whopping 1/8-inch difference in height between the old and new shoes. Who could’ve predicted that such a height differential would be an earth-shattering event?

“We can take them back,” I offered. “I say, if the shoe fits, wear it!”

“I really do love them, Mom. But it sure would be nice if these were as tall as the old ones.”

Rest assured that the next time we buy a pair of shoes, I will be hiding the ruler. I’m just sayin’.

-Liz Follow @lizrants