Jerri at Simply Sweet Home

Shelf Reliance Live Chats (Updated)

June 1, 2011 Leave a Comment

This week for part of our Shelf Reliance party, Consultant Misty Marsh and I will be conducting 3 LIVE Chat events. It’s very easy to log on. Simply visit the link below:

http://www.yourownhomestore.com/2007/05/your-own-home-store-chat-room.html

And when the page loads, just enter the name you wish to go by in the chat. That’s it!

Now for the dates and times. Misty and I decided that we would do 3 thirty minute sessions. To make it more convenient for everyone’s schedules, we are doing one on each of day of the party. And we’ll have one in the afternoon, one in the evening, and one in the morning.

Here’s the Chat Schedule:

Chat #1 – Wednesday, June 1 – 4:00PM Eastern

Chat #2 – Thursday, June 2 – 9:00PM Eastern

Chat #3 – Friday, June 3 – 11:00AM Eastern

Chat Topics: The purpose of the chat is to give you a chance to ask Misty a question about her business: everything from product questions to questions about hosting your own Shelf Reliance party, or becoming a Shelf Reliance Consultant.

Can’t Attend but Got Questions? If you are unable to attend one of our chat sessions but would like to ask Misty a question, you may ask it here in the comments, or send it to me via email, and I will ask her for you during the chat.

Prizes!! During the chat we will have some easy games, and you’ll be able to win some samples for playing. I’ll also be giving away a bracelet to someone just for attending a chat. (And I’m also giving extra entries for my earring giveaway if you attend a chat.)

UPDATED: Here’s a list of the quiz questions Misty will ask during the chat and the links where you can find the answers. The links will also be given out during the chat, but feel free to go ahead and check them out.

Name of of my (Misty’s favorite products): http://www.yourownhomestore.com/2011/05/my-favorite-thrive-products.html
What is Shelf Reliance’s missions statement? http://yourownhomestore.shelfreliance.com/yourownhomestore/missionstatement
How much free product does the host earn if there are $1000 in sales at her party? http://yourownhomestore.shelfreliance.com/yourownhomestore/hostbenefits
What type of foods are sold in the THRIVE food line? http://yourownhomestore.shelfreliance.com/yourownhomestore/product
The Q is designed to help you create your own home ______________________. http://yourownhomestore.shelfreliance.com/yourownhomestore/q
There are four ways to earn as a Shelf Reliance consultant. Name one. http://yourownhomestore.shelfreliance.com/yourownhomestore/earningpotential
How many THRIVE products are GMO free? http://www.yourownhomestore.com/2011/05/thrive-gmo-free-food-storage.html
What two products does Shelf Reliance sell besides THRIVE food? http://www.yourownhomestore.com/p/shelf-reliance-products.html

RSVP: You DO NOT have to RSVP to attend one or all of the chats. I just decided to put this linky up to give me an idea of how many people might attend. So if you are going to attend, or if you’re considering attending, please enter your name below. (You may link to your blog or twitter account.)

(PS – Don’t forget to comment on this post and my other Shelf Reliance posts if you’d like to win a pair of earrings from my shop!)

Filed Under: Food Storage

Thrive Chicken Salad (Review & Tutorial)

June 1, 2011 5 Comments

Don’t you just love chicken salad? Today for part of our Shelf Reliance party, I’m going to be reviewing their chicken salad. And I’m going to tell you how easy it is to make it once you have the products!

Party Discount Reminder: Don’t forget that you need to contact Misty Marsh directly in order to recieve party pricing, which is 5%-50% off retail price! (Use this this price list.) Just contact and let her know that your ordering from Jerri’s party. You can contact Misty via email: misty@yourownhomestore.com or via phone: 760-637-7296. Or if you’d prefer, you can contact me directly via email, and I can forward your order information to Misty.

I always love to try new products, especially “new versions” of foods that I love. As you may know, we eat a lot chicken, so I was excited to try the Thrive Chicken. I recieved a sample of chicken, as well as a sample of onions and celery to make chicken salad.

I’ve never prepared freeze dried foods before, so apart from being curious about the taste, I was curious about the process. Lucky for me, it was very easy to make with just a few simple steps!

Here’s how you do it:

1. Combine chicken, celery, and onion in about 3 cups water in a sauce pan over high heat.

2. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer until reconstituted (about 10 minutes).

3. Put the mixture into a colander and let the water drain for about 10 minutes. Make sure to get all excess water out.

4. Set aside in the refrigerator until cool.

5. Combine the cooled chicken mixture with 1/2 cup mayonnaise. Season the chicken mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon onto bread or crackers.

Now how did we like it? I can honestly say that we LOVED it! Even as the salad cooked on the stove top, I could smell the onion cooking through. Upon taking the mixture off the stove, I couldn’t help but taste a small bite of chicken and was intrigued at how the chicken had absorbed the flavor of the onions.

And the final product was delcious! My husband (the sometimes skeptic) was very impressed by the taste and just how flavorful it was, and particularly fascinated by the inclusion of the onions and celery in the package.

And we also loved the amount in the sample, which yielded seven sandwiches for us. Overall we were very impressed by the product, and I’m very excited to try some of the other meats at Shelf Reliance.

Door Prize: Leave a comment on any of this week’s posts for a chance to win jewelry from my etsy shop!

Want to host a party for Shelf Reliance or become a Shelf Reliance Consulant? Email to Misty Marsh today for details. (And don’t forget to let her know that you came Jerri’s party!)

(I’m linking up to these parties.)

Disclaimer: For hosting this party for Shelf Reliance, I recieved free products to sample. The opinions are my own.

Filed Under: casseroles and quick meals, product review, Recipe of the Week

Shelf Reliance Giveaway Prizes and Details

May 31, 2011 3 Comments

As some of you already know, this week I’m hosting a party for Shelf Reliance. The party doesn’t officially start till Wednesday but I’ve got a lot of preliminary information to give out. Please keep checking back throughout the week, as I’ll have constantly be updating my site with new posts for the party.

And if you’re not following me on Facebook and Twitter, please do so that you can see all the announcements!

Now let’s talk prizes! We have 5 giveaway prizes! This week’s giveaways will be different from my usual “leave a comment on this post” giveaways. Please read carefully under each prize to find out what you need to do to win.

Prize – A pair of earrings from my shop. (Winner will choose color.)

How to Win: Simply comment on any of my Shelf Reliance posts this week. This includes any post published Monday, May 30 through Friday June 3. I’ll also give you an additional entry if you attend one of our chats.

Prize – A Custom Colored Memory Wire Bracelet from my shop.

How to Win: You MUST attend one of the chat sessions this week to win a bracelet. If you attend more than one of the 3 chats, I’ll give you additional entries.

Prize – Fruit Sample Pouch

How to Win: To win this giveaway you must attend at least one chat event. Misty will ask some simple questions about the products on her site. The first person to answer each question correctly during the chat will get a point. The person with the most points at the end of all three chats will get a fruit sample pouch shipped to them. (Misty’s even going to tell you where to find the answers, so this will be super easy)

Prize – Fruit Sample Pouch #2

How to Win: This is another chat giveaway. So you must attend a chat to win. During the chats, we will have an ABC game, where Misty will call out 10 letters. The first person (during the chat) to name a product sold at Shelf Reliance that starts with that letter will get a point. The person with the most points at the end of all three chats will get a fruit sample pouch shipped to them.

Grand Prize: $100 in Shelf Reliance Products (winner’s choice)

How to Win: Leave a comment on this giveaway post. Further entry instructions are on the post. Deadline to enter the $100 giveaway will be June 10.

If you have any questions about the giveaways, please feel free to email me.

Filed Under: Giveaways

Why The Need For Food Storage?

May 30, 2011 Leave a Comment

As many of you already know, I’m hosting a party for Shelf Reliance this week. They are a company that sells emergency food storage and supplies.

I first became acquainted with and interested in the idea of food storage in 2009. When it was first explained to me, it made perfect sense. But to some, I realize that it seems kind of crazy and even apocalyptic. To help you understand it better, I’ve decided to explain my own frame of reference to you.

First off, as the granddaughter of farmers, I realize that our grandparents used to grow and can their own food. My grandparents didn’t have Wal-Mart. They had to be self-reliant. Today we have things super easy! And sometimes I think that’s to our detriment, because we aren’t nearly as prepared for hard times as our grandparents and great grandparents were.

So what do I mean by hard times?

Well, for starters, there’s inflation. If you’ve been to the grocery store in the last year, you’ve got to notice the rise in prices. It may not seem like a big deal to some to pay 10 cents more here and 50 cents more there, but when you add it all up, it can put a huge strain on your pocketbook.

Another thing that affects so many people right now is unemployment. In 2008, my husband’s business was hit hard, causing him to seek employment elsewhere. He was lucky to find a good job, which he trained for for 3 months, only to be laid off, after about a month. This layoff was the last thing we ever expected, and I wish we had food storage at that time. It would have made things a lot less stressful just knowing that we didn’t have to worry about what we’re going to eat.

The Recent Disasters

And finally, another thing that seems more relevant to myself and many others than ever before, is the possiblity of weather disasters: floods, tornadoes, hurricane, tsunamis, even the snowstorms from earlier this year.

I never thought we’d have a serious weather emergency here. And yet we had a power outage all over the city 2 years ago due to storms. Then this past winter we had a snow storm. Our snow storm would be no big deal to those of you who are used to it, but we don’t do snow down here. It shut down our entire city…no, make that the entire county and surrounding counties for days! Lucky for us, we had food, and we didn’t lose power!

The same cannot be said for us during the tornadoes. Just in our part of the state alone there were half a million people without power, and many were without power for over a week! Very, very few stores were open. And most of the ones who were only took cash (no checks, no debit or credit cards!). The wait at our local Publix (once you’re in line) was about 3 hours, and they were not allowed to sale refrigerated or frozen items due to the risk of food poisoning. It was total chaos at the stores!

It was so crazy, we actually left town to visit my husband’s family. And we drove 70 miles before we came to an open gas station. (And yes, the gas station were chaotic too.) While we were out of town my mother-in-law explained that they were without power for 2 weeks during one of hurricanes years ago. (Yikes!) Now practically everyone in their area has a generator.

My Conclusion

I guess what I’m really trying to say is that you never know when something’s going to happen. We have fire drills in school, even though the chances of having an actual fire are very slim. We buy health insurance, hoping (and often thinking) that we’ll never use it, and so on. A few years ago, I never thought I’d need extra food supplies, but I’ve already seen so many instances where it could have been useful to us. And in the event of another disaster, I want to have the peace of mind, in knowing that we are prepared, that we’ll be self-reliant, and I don’t want to have to count on relatives and/or Publix to save us.

For more information on emergency preparedness, check out Ready.gov

Filed Under: Food Storage

You’re Invited to a Shelf Reliance Party!

May 29, 2011 1 Comment

I’m very excited to announce a fun and informative event that I’ll be hosting here in a couple of weeks!

June 1-3 – I will be hosting a Virtual Party for Shelf Reliance, a company that specializes in long term food storage and emergency products.

Throughout the party I’ll be “serving up” some foods from Shelf Reliance.

And you’ll get special party pricing on all Shelf Reliance products! This is 5-50% off!

Misty Marsh is our Shelf Reliance consultant, and she will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about Shelf Reliance and their products. I’ll also posting an interview with Misty!

And we will have prizes!

I’ll be giving away some jewelry from my shop, and we’ll also have a prize of $100 worth of Shelf Reliance products!

I’ll be announcing all the rules for how you can qualify for the prizes a few days before the party starts.

And last but not least, we will have Free LIVE Chats. Each chat is 30 minutes long. Here are the dates and times:

Wednesday – June 1 – 4 PM Eastern
Thursday – June 2 – 10 PM Eastern
Friday – June 3- 11 AM Eastern

Just go to this Chat Room at the appropriate time and enter you name. This will be a great chance to ask questions, and we will even have prizes for attendees!

How to Order: You can also use this price list. If you have any questions or if you’d decided like to place an order at a discount (5%-50% below retail price), you can do so through my “party!” All you need to do is contact me or my consultant Misty between now and June 3 at 10:00 pm PST. You must contact one of us directly to get the discounted party pricing.

Hope you’ll join the fun! In the meantime, please grab a button for your blog and help me spread the word about this party!

Filed Under: Food Storage

Friday Favorites – Week 65

May 26, 2011 10 Comments

Welcome to Friday Favorites! Before I get to this week’s featured posts, I have two announcements. First off, I’m sponsoring a giveaway for Fancy this Friday at Truly Lovely. Winner gets 3 pairs of earrings! Hope you’ll stop by and enter.

Secondly, I want to tell you all about the blog event I’m having. Next week I’ll be hosting a Virtual Party for Shelf Reliance! This is an awesome company which specializes in food storage and emergency products. The party officially runs from June 1-3, but I’ll be kicking it off with some preliminary posts on Monday and Tuesday.

What can you expect? LIVE Online Chats with Consultant Mistry Marsh, Product reviews and highlights, a blog interview with Misty, and prizes including $100 worth of Shelf Reliance Products and jewelry from my etsy shop!

Chats – I hope some of you will come by for the chats. To participate, just go to the Shelf Reliance Chat Room, and enter the name you wish to go by. Right now we’re planning to do three 30 minute sessions, one on each day, and to make it convenient for everyone to attend, we’ll have a morning, afternoon, and evening session. At the chats you’ll have a chance to ask Misty some questions, and we’ll also have some games for the $100 prize.

I’ll be posting chat times and more details on what you’ve got to do to qualify for the prizes in the next few days. If you have any questions about the chat or the party, feel free to send me an email.

I’d totally appreciate it if you would grab my party button, and also help me spread the word on Twitter and Facebook! Thanks a bunch!

Now let’s check out this week’s features!

Flower & Flutters Party Table from Confessions of a Dishaholic (Beautiful!!)

Minnie Cake from I Design

Bunting/Banner Wall Art from The 2010s Housewife

Coffee Pie from Cooking with Kay

Wall Garden from Blue Velvet Chair

Party time! Link up your posts below!

Filed Under: Friday Favorites

Custom Postcard Giveaway

May 24, 2011 10 Comments

I’m pleased to offer you guys a new print giveaway from Uprinting this week! Uprinting offers a wide range of custom products from posters to event ticket printing.

Today you have a chance to win some custom postcards. You can use these in a variety of ways: blog/business promotions, baby announcements, thinking of you cards, and more!

One Simply Sweet Home reader will win 100 custom postcards. Here are the prize details:

100 Postcards 5” x 7”

14pt Cardstock Gloss

Front Only printing

2 Business Days Print Turnaround Time

Restriction: Limited to US residents 18 years old and above only.

Giveaway Closed! Congrats to Amy!

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive postcards printing for hosting. Check out Uprinting and their event ticket printing services for more information.

Filed Under: Giveaways

Patriotic Dessert Ideas

May 24, 2011 8 Comments

Since Memorial Day is coming up next week (and 4th of July is just around the corner), I thought it would be fun to share some patriotic dessert ideas for this week’s food post. I found some many cute ideas as I looked on my Google Reader and on Pinterest. Here’s some of my favorites! Hope you enjoy!

Red, White, and Blue Cookie Bark from Your Home Based Mom

Patriotic Cupcake Kebobs from Zen Cupcake

Patriotic Fruit Tarts from Nothing But Country

Red, White, & Blue Chocolate Dipped Strawberries from Baking Bites

Flag Cake from Make It. Love It.

I’m linking up to these parties.

Filed Under: cupcakes, desserts, Misc Holidays, Patriotic, recipes

My New Personalized Apron

May 22, 2011 Leave a Comment

I know a lot of you mommy bloggers love aprons, so I could hardly wait to show you this adorable customized apron that I got from ApronsandSmocks.com. Aprons are functional and fun, especially when you can get one that fits your own personal style, and they also make great gifts!

ApronsandSmocks.com has several fabrics to choose from, and when I saw this hound’s tooth pattern, I knew immediately that I wanted to make a Roll Tide apron, in support of the great Crimson Tide. Won’t this be cute for football season? (Or all year round, for that matter?)

And not only did I get to pick out the fabric and personalized phrase, but I also got to choose my embroidery colors and the font for the embroidery.

Personally I was very impressed by the quality of this apron, and I think that it turned out super cute! What do you think?

Visit Apronsandsmocks.com to order your own custom apron. You could order one with your own name or perhaps you’d like to go the same route as me and order one featuring your favorite sports team.

These would also make great gifts for birthdays or Father’s Day. You can create an apron with a special personalized message or image in embroidery or screenprint.