Spunkygal

ShoePrincess, off the food/restaurant topic, but may I ask what is the favorite hotel in Paris that you refer to in your post? I have been to Paris four times and was happy with our hotel choice two of the four times. All four choices were a shot in the dark. At this point, I welcome a personal recommendation. Thanks!

I am so moved by the personal experiences shared on this thread. Thank you all for sharing. AZChristian, I remember the story about the Ft Worth-based NICU Helping Hands organization that transforms the donated wedding gowns into angel gowns. I sobbed through the story and am tearing up now. You should feel very honored that your donations have helped memorialize a sweet little one. If anyone else is interested in exploring this type of donation, just google. These gowns are exquisite works of art that leave me speechless. God bless the hands who transform the donated dresses into something so meaningful and bless those who donate to this effort.

Ditto to all the traffic/driving pet peeves above. I consider it a minor miracle everytime I pull into my garage in one piece and incident-free. Hope I didn't just jinx myself. After running errands this morning, I pulled into the ATM lane at my BofA on the way home, although my 57 year old bladder indicated I might want to head straight home. I was glad to see that I was the second car in line. However, when Ms. Precious Cupcake in front of me finished her transaction, she dug her lipstick out of her purse and started applying. I am a lipstick addict and thought, ok, a quick swipe amd she'll be on her way. (I am really trying to work on the "patience is a virtue" thing.) Then she pulled out the mascara and started working on the lashes! Yes! Thinking that she must not have seen me, and now other customers, behind her, I gave a little horn toot. She turned around and glared, sat there for a another few seconds and then drove off. Yes, honey, the world does revolve around you. We've all seen ladies at the red light putting on make-up but holding up the ATM line was a new one for me.

My first exposure (no pun intended) to Linda Bassett was the delightful movie Calendar Girls. Of course I have since noticed her in many other presentations. I was so glad to see that she is joining the cast. Love this show....it is an hour of satisfying TV for me.

HyeChaps, I don't remember how many times they were going to show the egg, but I did spot it once on a shelf behind Marcella during the "It's 5:00 Somewhere!" segment. MerBearHou, for the most part, I enjoy this show too. I often learn a new tip or two and generally like all of the hosts. I enjoy watching GZ get tickled by Jeff and although Sunny can be a tad loud sometimes, I'd like to be her friend. Katie Lee's monotone voice was offputting to me for a long time, but she is growing on me and she can't help what her voice sounds like. They all are personable and knowledgable hosts and the show is a better recipient of my viewing time than some other shows that personally offer nothing to me (side-eye at the Pioneer Chick).

Thanks, Wendy! Long-time lurker since TWoP ended and just now found this Food Forum...knew that I had found my people! DeLurker, Cane's doesn't have the variety of menu items that Culver's has, so be sure that you/your kids are in a chicken fingers mood when you go. (First time to include quotes in a reply. Hope I did it right!

So thrilled that I found this forum dedicated to my favorite subject...food. BYaM, please make getting to Raising Cane's a priority...you won't be disappointed. And be sure to sign up for a Caniac Card. As soon as you get home and activate it, they load on the card a free 3-piece combo for your next visit...3 big juicy fresh chicken tenderloins, fries or slaw, Texas toast and special dipping sauce, oh, and a drink. Cooked fresh, piping hot. The chicken is not overly battered. I usually save one of the tenderloins and slice on top of a salad for dinner. I volunteer at my local elementary school and every once in a while I treat the librarian and the ladies in the office to Cane's for lunch. No wonder I am often volunteer of the month! I signed up for a Caniac Card last fall and hope they offer a free combo box for my birthday (which is in May). Speaking of which, I urge everyone to get on your favorite eating establishments' e-club mailings and/or frequent diner card memberships. Here are the freebies I get for my birthday (I, too, am in the DFW area so some of these places won't be familiar to others outside the area). El Fenix (free entrée valued up to $12.99 for the 2 weeks prior to your birthday. Drool.) Red Robin (free burger during your birthday month. Their burgers are great and come with bottomless fries.) La Madeleine (free pastry during your birthday month. A slice of coconut cream cake feeds two.) Picasso's Pizza (free entrée valued up to $10.99 for the week or 2 prior to your birthday. Their thin crust pizza is yummy.) Jersey Mike's (I could be wrong on this one but think you get a free mini-sub) I think there are other places that offer smaller incentives but heck, I eat for free for almost 2 weeks leading up to my birthday. Of course you have to endure their marketing emails but after a year's cycle and if they haven't made it worth my while, I just unsubscribe.

I know, Julia, I know! My sister was over here and we were binge watching some episodes and our jaws dropped so we had to watch it a second time. At first I said, did she spent $70K or $17K but we both could swear they said $70K. All of the gowns were designer, I think Lazaro. I will try to find the episode and post a link, but am hoping someone else on this board saw it too. *** I have spent the better part of the day trying to find a clip of this bride and her party and can't find it and am not sure if it was a rerun. I know it was near the end of the episode in the alterations segment. I don't know why this is driving me crazy but my sister and both think the voice-over guy said she spent $70,000. And we were only on our first glass of wine for the evening. Oh well, even if she said $17,000, I still think that is amount is ridiculous.

Did anyone see the recent episode when the bride from New Orleans was engaged to a DJ and she spent a whopping $70,000 on her dress and dresses for her mother and three daughters! I had to rewind to make sure I heard correctly. Her dress alone was $10,000. Her mother's dress was a rich cream color and the daughters' dresses were white, so they all looked bridal....too bridal for me. The girls were adorable in their dresses, especially the 1 year old, but really! $70,000???? I kept thinking about how that could grow into an amazing college fund for all three girls. I believe the two oldest were 10 and 11 or close to that. I hope new hubby's DJ gigs don't dry up.