Reviews by Friends of Larupi

CyndiA says "French's spicy brown mustard - nice taste with a little kick. " about French's brown mustard

CyndiA — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:31:54 GMT

My son just discovered French's spicy brown mustard which made me laugh, since I've always had some on hand. I'll eat the regular hot dog mustard, but I like the little extra zip with the spicy brown. The kid didn't touch it, since it said "spicy." He's not big on hot foods.

I grilled brats, and we were out of yellow mustard. So, the kid decided to try French's spicy brown, and it was love at first bite.

Don't let the name fool you. French's spicy brown is just a nice balanced mustard with a bit of extra flavor but not enough to put anyone off. If it had much kick, the kid would not have eaten it and sure would not be using up all my French's spicy brown mustard now.

Looks like I can cut way back on plain yellow mustard and double up on French's spicy. My son likes it on burgers, sandwiches, and on fried Spam or Treet meat. It's his new favorite condiment.

If you've hesitated to try French's spicy brown due to the spicy name, give it a try. It really is not hot at all. It just packs a bit...

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CyndiA says "Grill Floss - best barbecue grill cleaning tool I've ever owned." about Grillfloss - Barbecue Cleaning Tool, GFLXL, Stainless Steel

CyndiA — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:06:00 GMT

I looked at GrillFloss a long time before I bought one, and I was blown away by how well it worked. It's one of those products that I should have bought long ago. It makes cleaning a barbecue grill so much easier.

Grill Floss has a hook on the end. The hook can be flipped over for larger sized grates. I generally use the smaller end with charcoal grates, since I cook over charcoal most often. And, those grates tend to be the thinner wire types. But, Grill Floss works well on the larger gas grill grates too.

With the little hook design, this just slides right up and down the grate and into the corners and does a great job in getting the gunk off. It takes hardly any elbow grease at all especially if you use GrillFloss when the grates are still warm.

I was so impressed with Grill Floss that I added it at my Open Sky Yes You Can Grill barbecue store online. I just carry top picks for outdoor cooking, so this is definately a thumbs up and a grill cleaning tool I'd recommend to anyone who grills...

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CyndiA says "Acer Aspire netbook - great "on the go" computer in a mini size." about Acer Netbook Aspire One

CyndiA — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:54:45 GMT

One of my students showed up with an Acer Aspire, and I was amazed at how small the little netbook is compared to a full sized laptop computer. I'm not tall enough to actualy use a laptop on my lap, but the Acer looked like it might work. And, it did. The Acer Aspire fits right on my lap with room to move my elbows out and type. Yay!

Now, I have an Acer. It's red, but the red color is not fire engine. It's more a burnt red color. They have pink like in the photo as well as blue, black, and white.

Mine is the 10 inch, since they are phasing out the 9 inch. The only difference is screen size. You don't get a smaller netbook with a 9 inch. You just get a little more plastic around the edges.

The main difference with the netbooks is that they have less storage space, but I do an heavy duty computer work on my desktop computer. A netbook is not designed to hold big programs like PageMaker, but it does fine with MS Word and a few other smaller programs loaded on there. You do need a portable...

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CyndiA says "Love Softsoap Pomegranate and Mango - Yum - So Sexy. " about Softsoap Pomegranate and Mango Moisturizing Body Wash

CyndiA — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:13:50 GMT

I like Softsoap products in general, but I really LOVE the new pomegranate and mango scent. Whew boy. It's a wonderful scent both in the bathroom and all over the house when it's shower time for anyone around here.

Softsoap brand is inexpensive for the bottle soap, and I've found the squeeze soap works better around here. The bars get so messy, and I'm not even convinced the boys use bar soap when I put that in the shower.

I've always just grabbed any scent of Softsoap. One is about as good as another . . . until this pomegranate and mango. They just really knocked it out of the park with this scent.

I thought it just might be me, but my son in college mentioned that the last soap I sent was really great. Yep. It was the pomegranate and mango scent. He has a girlfriend now, so that may be part of the reason he noticed, but this Softsoap really does smell wonderful.

This week I found Softsaop pomegranate and mango at the Dollar Store in town. The manager taught me piano lessons, so I...

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CyndiA says "I hunted down this cheese. It's smoked gouda, and it's great. " about Frico Smoked Gouda Cheese

CyndiA — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:56:42 GMT

I tried a new cheese at my son's frat Family Day party, and it just blew me away. I tracked down the kid who organized the party to see if he could tell me what kind of cheese I'm stumbled upon, but he was not sure. He did know that Harris Teeter did the trays, so that gave me a starting place.

I went to the local Harris Teeter to get help. The first deli lady had no clue what I was babbling about but rounded up the cheese expert.

Descriptions come easy for me, so I told the cheese lady that it was a light colored and smooth cheese with a creamy texture but still firm. Some cuts were edged with a brownish rind which was edible. And, the cheese was clearly smoked. It had a distinct smokey flavor which is what really made it stand out.

Ah ha. She knew what I was after. The cheese is Frico Gouda Smoked - an import from, I think, Holland.

Frico cheese is expensive, but they pack it in small sizes and charge by weight. I paid $3.50 for a disk of the cheese that I could wrap my fingers around...

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CyndiA says "Not so good - dusty potato chips by T.G.I. Friday's. Bummer!" about TGIF - Potato Skins Cheddar & Bacon Potato Chips

CyndiA — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:28:30 GMT

T.G.I. Friday's potato skins with cheese were one of my favorite appetizers back in college, so when I saw these potato chips by TGIF with the same bacon and cheddar flavor, I had to grab a bag.

First off, the bag is small. It runs about the same price as "normal" chips, but you don't get much. Actually, that worked out fine as there are still some left which I think the dog might eat.

If you think of small Pringles chips that are thicker (so they don't break I guess), then you have the general idea on the TGIF chips. They are not stacked like Pringles, but they are formed and all have the same shape which is kind of like one of those old fashioned shoe horns.

The TGIF chips are sprinkled liberally with powder which I suppose is the bacon and cheddar. Of course, they can't have real bacon and cheese in a bag of chips. But, the powder sure does not taste like bacon or any cheese I ever had and sure not like TGIF potato skins. The taste is kind of like chemicals - maybe what you might get...

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CyndiA says "Excellent perfume for a classic beauty with traditional values. " about DKNY Cashmere Mist Eau De Parfum Spray

CyndiA — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:50:30 GMT

Cashmere Mist is the perfume I buy for my Mom now. Her favorite was Chanel #5, but she wore that with my Dad who died in a wreck. It seemed to make sense and scents to go with a new fragrance with life being much different now for her and the rest of the family.

Mom is a classic beauty and quite traditional in her values. Chanel #5 was a nice fit, and I'm the oldest and most likely to think of gifts along those lines. In looking at a new perfume, I just paid attention. When she tried a sample swab at the mall, I could tell she liked Cashmire Mist, so I kept that in mind and got that for the next holiday.

The fragrance on Cashmire Mist is elegant and classy. It's not a trendy type smell which would not match my Mom well. I'll try new ones, but she sticks with a perfume for years as she did with Chanel #5.

This is running on three years with Cashmire Mist being the one I buy when I think Mom might be running low on perfume. It matches her well and does not go out of style. It's just one of...

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CyndiA says "Can't get charcoal started? Try FlameDisk - very easy grilling. " about FlameDisk Flame Disk

CyndiA — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:12:59 GMT

If you are grilling challenged but love the idea of grilling outdoors, then FlameDisk could be your solution. FlameDisk is a charcoal alternative. It's an ethenol tray that fires fast and takes any challenge out of trying to rock a tailgate or home barbecue party when it comes to firing up.

I own a grilling and barbecue web site called Yes You Can Grill, so I check out loads of new grilling products and accessories for outdoors. A lot of the grill products do not do it for me, but FlameDisk was a hit.

FlameDisk looks kind of like an aluminum pie plate with a top and bottom. Between is the fuel which looks very much like candle wax with wicks through the holes in the top plate.

To use FlameDisk, just put it in the charcoal grill rather than charcoal. Then light one of the spots in the FlameDisk top (matches even come included).

The fire starts right up and is steady and even. If it gets a little too hot, just cap the lid on the grill as you would with charcoal. That damps the air down and...

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