If you had to be gluten free...

I am not gluten intolerant but I have in the past tried eating gluten free or reduced gluten at least. Here are some of the items I have found that are gluten free and liked. Cheerios makes several of their cereals now gluten free, including my favorite Strawberry.

I have tried corn and rice pasta and I like the rice pasta much better. The corn pasta is very... corn-like. The water you boil it in is even yellow after. The rice pasta seems milder. This mac and cheese is pretty good. Takes forever to bake in the oven though.

These gluten free brownies taste the same as regular brownies. I was going to test them on Aaron but he saw the box before I got a chance. He ate them though and didn't mind them.

I think these frozen waffles taste exactly like regular frozen waffles.

This is THE BEST gluten free pizza I've tried. I add more cheese and pepperoni and it rivals regular frozen pizza. The super crispy crust is the key I believe.

I've eaten these crackers for ages without realizing it. They are so tasty and I love them with goat cheese.

New goodies at Wegmans

I swear if I miss going to Wegmans for a couple days, when I do get there, I find all new products. I haven't done one of these posts in awhile but there were so many interesting new things I had to share. I made Aaron leave our reusable bags in the car when I saw they had a new design to offer - Italian Classics. I like how the map of Italy is outlined with veggies. I can't tell you why I am so dedicated to chronicling every reusable bag design that Wegmans comes out with.

First thing I saw when I entered the East Ave store was this Wegmans brand hard cider nestled amongst bins of apples. I am not much of a drinker but I can handle a couple sips of cider. Look at the holographic label! HOLOGRAPHIC!

I ground to a halt by the cash registers when I saw the huge dipslay of new Wegmans Organic body washes and lotions. I picked up a tube of hand cream with the yummy coconut lemongrass scent.

Then I had to get out of the store before I bought anything else I didn't need!

Peek at a country pantry cupcoard market

One of the things I love about Pennsylvania where my parent live are the Amish country cupboard/pantry markets. They carry everything you need for a serious baking session. All sorts of flours, sprinkles, sugars and bulk goods. I was on the hunt for interesting Chex mix add-ins.

We always seem to come across the most interesting products like dandelion and sassafras tea. The bottle of sassafras tea came home with us.

Christmas helpers

Sometimes I get a little too excited about finding Christmas gadgets. Last year it was the Roll Buddy that keeps your gift wrap nice and tidy.

This year it was the Santa's Magic Water Spout. You stick it in your tree for easier watering. Anything to avoid crawling under the tree I say. Plus it has a handy, dandy dip stick to tell you when the water is getting low. It might be a bit of a stretch to call it magic, but it is really useful!

Klout Perk - Fair Trade Faves

There were a lot of interesting goodies in this Klout Perk box that came for Fair Trade month. I was surprised to see some of my favorite brands had Fair Trade products. I love Celestial Seasonings tea, but it was my mom who latched onto the Celestial Seasoning's Organic Green Tea right away. The Barkthins and Larabar made great snacks. Who doesn't love/need tote bags and this Prana one is sturdy and cute. I plan on sharing the Near East Quinoa with my friend Aprille who LOVES quinoa.

August First Friday

We made it to First Friday and checked out a few cool spots. I have been meaning to visit the EvenOdd studio for some time. EvenOdd makes one-of-a-kind bags out of upcycled materials like bike inner tubes. Aaron needed a new wallet and he picked out the Bruce.

They also have a french bulldog named Benson that I like to look at on their Instagram feed.

We are fans of Eat Me Ice Cream so we were happy to see they now have a space at the Hungerford. We stopped in to try some samples and see their new soft serve ice cream machine. I ended up getting a basil & olive oil ice cream sandwich. It sounds strange but it's very tasty.

We also visited Cat Clay studio to see the special display of handmade jelly fish and other items by Laura Sherwood. I didn't get a jellyfish but I did get this adorable Rochester crossstitch piece.

Cherry popsicles

I finally got around to pitting the cherries we picked. Cherry Chomper is cute but the four-at-a-time pitter got through all those cherries a lot faster.

I used our Vitamix and our Zoku to make cherry popsicles.

In less than ten minutes... cherry posicles! All cherry, no sugar needed.

I had a little extra cherry puree leftover so it was a good chance to use my frozen ring pop molds.

Cute and yummy!

Vitamix arrives

After many months of reading reviews and looking at different models we got a Vitamix!

I thought, how different can a blender be? Hoo boy can it. This puppy sounds like a jet engine. My old blender would start to smell like burning metal when I tried to crush ice. I was contantly scraping down the sides trying to get it to chop everything in the container. The Vitamix did a great job making these smoothies with frozen bananas, cherries and ice. Easy peasy. I'm looking forward to trying more recipes in the cookbook.

Smells of summer

It has felt more like fall than summer these past days. There are a couple of things that remind me of the beach and summertime. Hawaiian Tropic smells like the beach and so does this candle.

Fall gifts

Fall is one of my favorite seasons but it's felt like a long time coming this season. Maybe it was all the travel, or the headcold with vertigo... or maybe the lack of apple picking. There have been a few things that have made it finally feel like Autumn is here.

I came home from Chicago to find these Helliemae's Apple Caramels from Ellen. I wasn't able to pick apples but I have been popping these delights down the hatch. They are a seaonsal flavor, only available until the end of October so if you want to try them you better hop on it. I hadn't had a the flavored caramels before, but now I'm hooked.

Our chalkboard still hung with beach photos and summer to-do lists, until I got these This Good World posters. They are bright, and solid and even feel meaty in your hands. Suddenly it seems as though all the leaves have changes over night and pumpkins are ready to be picked.

Pumpkin carving tools

I am geting serious about pumpkin carving this year. I ordered these clay carving tools to do some of the surface carving like this... well maybe not exactly like that.

I even broke down and got the Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Carving Tools. I mean business people!

World Market

While I was in Vegas my good friends Peggy and Walt took me to an awesome store called World Market. It's kind of like a Pier One but even better.

There were so many goodies. I really had to watch myself so I didn't over commit to what I could take home in my suitcase.

I got this paper recycling bag. Wrestling with the recyclables in our house is a constant struggle. It's amazing how much paper we get in the mail. Hopefully this will help round it up.

Jars! Argh they had jars of all shapes and sizes. I so should not be toting glass back home on the plane but I couldn't resist these little guys. Chalkboard paint?

World Market also has international foods! And some US too, like this honey. I'm not sure what makes it "tea" honey but combine wee jar with honey and the mention of tea and I'm on board.

Chocolate Tea

I just spotted a display of The Republic of Tea's new Cuppa Chocolate Teas. Tea? Chocolate? I was game. I got a can of the Strawberry Chocolate. It's not overwhelmingly chocolate... or strawberry for that matter but it was just enough to be interesting. Two thumbs up.

There are several other flavors, banana, peppermint and red velvet. I pretty keen to try the banana chocolate next.

New beverages

Thanks to my friend Aprille's suggestion I tried Red Jacket Orchards Strawberry Apple Juice. I was instantly hooked. After that I was on to the Grape Apple Juice, Blackcurrent Apple Juice and Raspberry Apple Juice. I see on their website they have seasonal Rhubarb Apple Juice, which I really want to try.

While I'm on the topic of beverages I also discoverd the new Wegmans Sparkling Fruit Juice. I especially like the Peach Mango, but there is also Tropical, Apple Raspberry, Orange Tangerine. I like the little cans it comes in.

Cool sponges

I found these really cool sponges from Casa Bella. Each one has a unique use.

There is a wine glass sponge - I like these because they are long for reaching into glasses.

Cube scrubber is taller than an average sponge so your fingernails don't hit the scrubby part.

Indoor grill sponge has ridges for your panini press etc.

Pet bowl sponge is shaped like a bone so you don't get it mixed up with your other sponges. It also helps encourage me to wash the critters bowls more often.

Wax tarts

I'm really into wax tarts lately. I like candles and I like scented candles but I seem to burn through them too quickly.

These tarts are great because they smell just like the best scented candles but you can use them again and again. I pop them out and switch between scents.

I had a cinnamon one for the fall and a pine one for the holidays and now I've been using one that smell like baked goods. Yum.

Pug booties: Pawz dog boots

Things are starting to thaw out around here, and the boys are ready to go for walks. It's still cold though and there is a lot of salt on the ground. We like these booties and we get a lot of questions about them.

They are Pawz Rubber Dog Boots and they are the only booties we have found to work. They can't shake them off and they really keep their feet dry. They basically look like heavy duty balloons, but they do the job!

Pet products

One of the pet products on display at BlogPaws was the Mattel Puppy Tweets. It's a little electronic dog tag that sends messages from your dog to your computer and then twitter! Oscar hasn't been very good about tweeting lately so maybe i should get him one of these.

I was browsing a pet shop in the Denver airport when i spotted these. Dog treat PEZ dispensers! How cool are these?! I think Oscar needs one of these too!

Travel Accessories

I don't know if it's all the traveling I'm doing that has me looking at travel accessories or the surplus of time I have wandering around airports.... but these are some recent finds.

I love Fluff designs, especially since pugs make an appearance. I just got the pug luggage tag in the middle.

I also got one of these luggage handle wraps. It triples as a cushiony wrap, a colorful identifier and also has your contact info on the inside.

The strap is extra security in case the velcro comes loose. These are made by Bucky, the company that makes buckwheat pillows.

Which is what I want next. I love the fabric designs. I really want one of these Bucky travel pillows for snoozing on flights.

Ljc's Traveling Tips

I am on the road for work. I travel a lot for work these days. Not as much as George Clooney's character in the movie Up in the Air, but enough that I recognized some similarities. While sitting in the airport, I thought I would share some of my travel tips. I am all about comfort when I travel.

Gotta hydrate. As soon as I am through security I am looking for a store with Vitamin Water.

Snacks. Airplane food. Need I say more? If you don't bring food from home there are good airport alternatives. A packet of nuts or fruit. I even found this small package of edamame. And I like to have something sweet like these wafers. A nice bar of dark chocolate is also acceptable.

The old standby to make your ears pop is gum. But then I am stuck with a piece of gum. I just can't swallow gum. Instead I carry on these Halls lozenges - the plus is they have vitamin C to fight off airplane germs.

I like to carry a small perfume with me when I travel. Having something nice to smell just makes me feel better. I like to carry something like this solid Poule de Luxe perfume, that way I don't have to put it in a ziploc baggie for security.

Anti-bacterial wipes, spray or gel. Again, using wipes avoids packing them in the baggie.

I dry out like a leaf on airplanes, plus I wash my hands a lot so I have to have hand lotion. Even if I have to baggie it, I will bring it. The little sizes they give you at hotels is just the right size. Save them!

Lips dry out too, so have to have lip balm. I love this tea one. Smells like cinnamon.

If you get stressed when traveling, I just found these aromatherapy pouches. Throw one in your bag to help de-stress.

I have to have my music and movies on an iPod or iPhone.

Reading material - I prefer lighthearted stuff. I especially like cooking magazines. Thinking about food is comforting.

A wrap. It's a blanket if it's chilly and rolled up becomes a pillow.

This is my favorite travel bag. Fits my laptop, two changes of clothes and toiletries. And it fits under a standard airplane seat! Can't miss the bright pink color either.

I try to get to my gate asap so I can claim a spot next to a power outlet. That way I can use my laptop and iPhone worry free. Just in case I carry an extra battery unit for my iPhone. This Kensington one has saved my butt many a time.

I keep all of these things bagged together, just for when I travel so I don't have to run around collecting them each time I pack. I have a toothbrush, mini toothpaste, contact case, mini contact solution - all duplicates of things I need everyday packed and ready to go.

So there you have it. My little sanity saving tricks for traveling!