Scotch paper cutter review

Sep12

I have scissors, but I bought into the hype when I saw the Scotch paper cutter on the scrap-booking aisle in Wal-mart. This would be great for all kinds of projects. The instructions said that all I have to do is insert the paper at the point that I wanted to cut and it slides through, cutting the paper.
I thought that this paper cutter would be very useful for cutting coupons. It was not as easy as anticipated. I soon found out that their ingenious design does not ensure straight cut. It can be awkward to try to cut the paper while trying to hold the edges steady. If you do not do that, you will not have a straight cut. My first few attempts at freehand cutting resulted in coupons missing their expiration dates. After I began my cut, I had to hold both edges of the paper steady. Then the cuts were straight and clean.
However, when I used the cutter to trim up some invitations, the cutter was quick and easy to use. I did not have to hold the paper steady. It says on the package that it is not for intricate cutting or heavy weight applications. I agree. It is best to only use this cutter for cutting that does not need to be precise. It is very easy to make a mistake and cut off what you did not want to cut. And when I tried to cut heavy cardstock paper and it did not work too well either. The cutter would catch on the paper and cut a jagged edge.
The best type of paper to cut with this cutter is a light cardstock. Something that is stiff enough that you do not have to hold it, but not too stiff that it jams the cutter, will have straight clean cuts using the Scotch paper cutter. If your paper is lightweight, like coupons or regular paper, you need to hold the paper to ensure a straight cut. If your paper is light like tissue paper, do not use the paper cutter. It will tear the paper to shreds.
If you do not have this tool when you are cutting paper for
scrapbooking, you will not miss it. But if you find in the store and it is on sale, you might as well buy it.

Pro: helps ensure a straight cut
Con: Only for straight cuts. You still need scissors for detailed cutting
Bottom line: nice to have but not worth a special purchase.

King Of Pops

Sep9

Gourmet ice pops in Downtown Atlanta
It is worth the search to find the King of Pops stand. Here you can find handmade popsicles in flavors you would not even imagine. My last visit, I tried the blackberry ginger lemonade. I was concerned that I would stain my shirt in the Atlanta heat if a drop of my popsicle dripped. There was not a chance of that happening. I ate the popsicle so fast, not because I was worried about the drips, but because it was so good. The fruitiness of the blackberries added depth of flavor and sweetness to balance the tartness of the lemonade. Then the light ginger flavor provided a refreshing palate cleanser to allow my taste buds to enjoy the other flavors.
This was a gourmet ice popsicle, tastefully delicious to the last drop, and worth every cent.

La Torta

Sep8

<> Hola mi gente!
When I was in Mexico City in 2009, my friends took me to this wonderful little restaurant called La Torta.
These days I am not sure about the safety of trying to find this restaurant on your own if you are not already living in Mexico City. I think that it is well known since they have been around since the 60’s. I do not have a very good idea where this place is in relation to anything in the city. I know we were walking in the looking for something to eat. We passed China town and probably a few blocks later we found La Torta.

If you by any chance can get to this restaurant, you will not regret it. The food was delicious. I had the torta al pastor (small pork cuts with chili and spice seasoning torta). Tortas are sandwiches on thick bread usually with some type of meat, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, salsa. The meat at La Torta was seasoned and cooked to perfection. Even the guacamole was good.

To drink, my friends and I shared a jarra of agua de piña (pitcher of pineapple water). I think the recipe for this is pineapple juice, sugar, water. I do not know the measurements to replicate. But I do know that this is very refreshing. I know that some people will probable gasp that I drank the water, but this place used purified water. So my weak tourist stomach did not get sick.

If you are ever in downtown Mexico City, have your local friends take you to La Torta. You won’t regret the food or the experience. YUM!

Priceline – Name your own price- at your own risk

Sep7

Priceline is known for their “Name your own price” catch phrase. With Priceline, it is hard not to think of their commercials with William Shatner. Whatever a person wants to bid, he tells them to go lower. I have used Priceline on numerous occasions, but I have not always been satisfied with the search results or the frequency with which they accept my bid.

First let me explain the how Priceline works.
You complete an online form with the specifics of what you want. Choose the area where you want to stay and type of hotel you want (number of stars). You are trying to get a nice room for a cheap price. The risk involved is that (1) you do not know the name of the hotel until after you pay, (2) you do not know exactly where the hotel is located, and (3) what you pay is non-refundable even if you don’t like what you ended up with.

If you like knowing where you are going at the time of booking, DO NOT use Priceline.com’s name your own price function.
If you have a specific area where you need to be located, DO NOT use Priceline.com’s name your own price function.
The same is true for plane tickets – if you have a specific time you need to arrive/depart DO NOT use Priceline.com’s name your own price function.

I mostly check Priceline for hotel prices and rental cars. When looking for a hotel, I limit my request to 3 or 4 star hotels only. If you include 2 or 2.5 stars means you will probably end up in a hotel that would not have chosen on your own. Some of their 2 star hotels in Days Inn, Comfort Inn, etc (the chances are high that these properties might need disinfecting or at least bring your own sheets). Since I like Renaissance, Marriott, Embassy Suites, Doubletree, Hilton, it is better that I limit to the highest rated hotel properties.

Then I do my research and by going to hotels.com website to check out the prices of similar rated hotels and bid half of their advertised rate. If there are no takers, I may increase my bid (decreasing my savings). If I don’t want to increase my bid, I will wait 24 hours and try again. Priceline tries to be helpful and suggest ways to get a “winning bid” but it usually includes choosing lower rated hotels. I work too hard to try to save a dollar by staying in a grungy motel. Most of the time Priceline does not accept my price for hotels. The few times that it has worked for me, I ended up at very nice hotels (Doubletree, Holiday Inn, Renaissance).

The cheapest flights are usually going to red-eye or multiple stops. Decide how much you want to be inconvenienced in your travel and then bid accordingly. Keep in mind, that the cheapest flight could be on multiple airlines or have crazy layover times (like 30 minutes between flights) in which case you could miss your connecting flight and end up spending more to get out of your connecting city than if you booked with a different travel agency.

Overall, using Priceline takes a lot of patience. It pays off if you are able to save money on your hotel room, rental car, or plane ticket. Some people swear by Priceline, but I have found that most of the time, I do not receive the major discounts that they say they are known for giving. To me, Priceline is good to check, but most of the time, you are better off trying to find a deal another way.

Atlanta restaurant review – Veni Vidi Veci

Sep6

I was in Atlanta November 2010 and wanted some really good Italian food. I did not want to go to a chain restaurant but wanted to visit a place with a little more personality. My friend recommended going downtown to Veni Vedi Veci. I checked the website and saw they recommended making reservations. They use Open Table reservation system so it was easy and quick to reserve a table. Unfortunately for me, Atlanta traffic was going to make me late for my original reservation time. I called the restaurant and changed the time with no problem. The person that answered the phone was polite and courteous. At one point on my way to the restaurant I was lost, I called the restaurant again and the person gave me directions. Once I finally arrived, the valet parked my car and I went inside.

The hostess took my name and seated me almost immediately. I wanted to taste everything on their menu because it looked so delicious. I decided to go for the three course menu for $29.

For my Antipasti, I chose shrimp polenta. I thought this was a fitting dish for an Italian restaurant located in the South since people love to eat shrimp and grits. The shrimp were very tasty and not overcooked. The texture was firm but not tough. The polenta was creamy and cheesy. I am not a big fan of polenta, but I can say this was probably some of the best tasting that I have ever tried.

For my Primi, I chose rigatoni with sweet peppers. Only one word to describe this dish: SUPERB. It was really good. It was not spicy for those people who cannot handle

For my Secondi, I chose Trota Salmonata. This was Idaho Red Trout cooked with olive oil and parsley, served with potatoes. The skin on the trout was crispy, while the fish flaked apart without much effort. It tasted very fresh.

For dessert, I decided to try their strawberry with marscapone pizza. The server did not describe this dish very well and I was disappointed. It was a pizza (dough was not sweet) with strawberries (that were not sweet) and marscapone cheese (that was not really sweet). And it was served hot. So after the light delicious flavors from dinner, I had this warm not quite sweet, not quite savory pizza. I tried to eat just the strawberries, but eventually gave up on that. Since I love my desserts, this was a disappointment. If they had added more sugar, I think that it might have tasted better. The overall concept had promise, but there was a lot missing in the execution.

Overall, I would go here again. Next time, I would probably not experiment on the desserts and just go with cheesecake. It is hard to screw up cheesecake.

ADDRESS:

Veni Vidi Vici

41 Fourteenth Street Atlanta, GA 30309

Cross Street:

(404) 875-8424