Save the Dates

We sent our Save the Dates last week, and now that they’ve been received I can blog about them (wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise)!

I loved the string of lights on these, even though they don’t match our blue & green color scheme for the wedding. I don’t think it matters!

Here’s the image from the site where I designed them (private info concealed to deter stalkers):

And here they are as received!

I was a little disappointed because I felt like the text is too small. I used the sizes they had on the sample card, and even enlarged them a bit, but I still wish it was bigger. I've since gotten over it.

However, I got these cards for a steal! They are from Vistaprint.com, a company that offers some great deals. If you sign up for an account with them and opt to receive email offers, they’ll email you frequently with offers of free products – you just have to pay shipping.

These emails can be annoying if you don’t want the offers, but if you’re looking for free Save the Dates it’s worth it!

In December I finally got the email I had been waiting for – offering the cards I had already designed for free! You can get 10 free per email address, so I ordered 10 each with my two personal email accounts, and one work email account.

Then at checkout, they gave me the opportunity to add an additional 10 to the order of 10 for $7, with free shipping. I opted for that option with two of the orders, for a total of 50 Save the Dates.

30 free cards… shipping = $12
20 upgrade cards = $14

Total cost for 50 Save the Dates = $26

I also decided to do envelope liners for these - I know it's totally silly and something only I actually care about. But look how cute!!

Instructions for envelope liners can be found here. This absolutely perfect paper is from the local store Pulp Papery. I just wandered in one day hoping to find yellow paper with white polka dots and it was a success!

Best Buy update

Remember my post from last week about Best Buy’s horrible customer service? I sent the message to the company’s Customer Service, Public Relations and Community Relations departments, and I also sent it as a reply when they spammed me with sales emails. I was hoping that getting my story in front of all those people would cause someone to realize that their behavior was unacceptable.

It worked! Monday afternoon I received a voicemail from the manager of the Sacramento (Arden) Best Buy store saying that she’d like to talk to me about my complaint and get my mailing address to send my refund! I will say that she was polite and apologized for the way I was treated.

I’m still never, ever shopping at Best Buy again, as this situation never should have happened in the first place. But I appreciate that my complaint was addressed and I’ve received the refund I wanted.

My money order came in the mail today. I feel so vindicated!

Boycott Best Buy

My letter to Best Buy customer service:

I want to share with you the experience I had at Best Buy store #133 in Sacramento, California. I’ve been repeatedly disappointed in my interactions with Best Buy employees, and once again my expectations of reasonable treatment were not met.

When I purchased my laptop at this store in 2007, I purchased an extended warranty for approximately $300 because I was hoping to avoid paying extra fees if I had a problem with it. I was assured that any problems I encountered would be fixed by Geek Squad for free, and I’d even receive a loaner computer in the meantime (Best Buy employees now tell me this was a lie).

When my built-in microphone suddenly stopped working last month, I was not immediately concerned because I had a warranty – I was protected. I expected to receive a service for that $300 I paid.

However, when I brought my laptop to Best Buy store #133 and left it there for several days, Geek Squad called me to say that my computer had a virus, which caused the microphone to stop working. I would have to pay $130 to have the virus removed, and my microphone would then work.

I refuse to give this company any more of my money, so I took my laptop to an independent repair technician, who told me that my computer was not infected with any viruses. Not one. I can only assume that Geek Squad invented this diagnosis as a way to generate maximum profit.

My honest repair technician found that my microphone was assembled incorrectly, causing a wire to become loose. He fixed the problem easily. This is a problem that would have been covered by my warranty, had the Geek Squad employees correctly assessed my problem.

I hope that you will understand my frustration with your company. I purchased a warranty as insurance that I would be protected from these types of problems. Instead, I was asked to pay an additional fee for a problem that did not exist!

My warranty was not honored. The only solution I see to this situation is to receive a full refund for the money I paid for a warranty that now seems worthless. I had a problem that should have received an immediate, free repair. This did not happen, so I am unable to see what I received in exchange for my $300.

Be assured that I will never again patronize a Best Buy store. I have posted about my experience on my personal blog, and will share my experiences with many.

Please contact me at XXX-XXX-XXXX for my mailing address, where you can send my refund.

KitchenAid Food Chopper

Last month I posted about my dire need for a Slap Chop, and shortly after I found a similar product at Target, the KitchenAid Food Chopper. Totally worth the $15!


I used it this weekend to chop the veggies for a new recipe: Rigatoni with eggplant, mushrooms and goat cheese (very good!). It worked great for the onion, garlic and mushrooms. The eggplant was too big to fit in, though.

I especially like it for garlic because I don’t have to touch it and get my hands all garlic smelly (no matter how many times I wash my hands it always stays for like 4 days!).

Of course I threw away the directions, so I couldn’t figure out how to wash it. At first it seems like the blade doesn’t come apart and the only way to wash it is by holding the handle down and washing it by hand. That's every inconvenient. However, the reviews on Target.com say that there’s a way to take them apart and put it in the dishwasher. I’m going to have to try that.

I rate this product 9 out of 10 :)

Chardonnay's favorite things

Oprah gets her favorite things, so why not me? I'm going to share some of my favorite products that make my life easier, more enjoyable or all-around happier.

I now present Chardonnay's favorite things!

The Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges

Only 35 calories per wedge and yum! I use it instead of cream cheese on toast or put it on crackers. I've tried it on apples but was not a fan. It comes in original swiss, french onion and garlic & herb. Original is my favorite.

Ban Deodorant


I will never, ever use another deodorant brand. Ban makes me smell so freaking delicious. I use the orange one. Always.


Frozen Fruit

This isn't a specific brand but they're still one of my fave things. We eat frozen berries a lot lately as a snack. Fresh fruit is good too, but sometimes frozen is just a lot easier because they don't go bad. Plus it feels more like dessert when it's frozen. I love raspberries and blueberries. And peaches. James likes strawberries.

Colgate Max Fresh With Mini Breath Strips

Other toothpastes just don't cut it anymore now that I use Max Fresh with mini breath strips. It tastes the best and makes my teeth feel extra clean. It's a gel instead of a paste.

My Plaid Bermuda Shorts

I found these shorts at Ross for something like $13 and they're now my favorite item of clothing. So comfortable and I can wear them to a restaurant with heels, to a baseball game with flip flops or while doing chores. I even wore them to work on casual Friday with heels and a nice shirt. I never thought I'd be wearing plaid shorts but these things are awesome! I need to buy more (but not in plaid... I can only own so much of that).

Cloth Grocery Bags

Unloading groceries is so much easier with cloth bags. They hold more stuff without breaking and have nice handles you can put over your shoulder. And of course I love that they're environmentally friendly by not wasting plastic bags. But even if I didn't care about that, they're just better. I keep them in my car and grab them on my way into the store.

These are all my favorite things I can think of for now. I just might make this a recurring blog segment when I can find more favorite things.

I'm not being compensated for these reviews, but if anyone were to offer I'd likely accept ;) Send your free toothpaste and cheese my way!

Bertolli pasta & sauce

After last night’s dinner I had to dedicate a blog to Bertolli frozen pasta & sauce. I love it so much. I could eat their gigantoni pasta every day but it seems to be discontinued. I can’t find it anywhere, and I’m missing it badly!

If anyone knows where I can purchase it I’d be forever grateful. A close second place, that I also cannot find, is the gnocci. Last night I had spinach and ricotta cheese manicotti. It was good, but crap compared to the gigantoni.