We are always looking for good Indian food in South Austin. In a previous visit, we tried the lunch buffet at Tandoori Bistro (1605 E. Oltorf, Austin, TX 512-383-8210) and liked it, so we came back for dinner to try more things.

Vegetable Samosas ($4)

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What I Ate: September 6th, 2011 (Tandoori Bistro)

A few nights ago we ate dinner at 24 Diner (600 N. Lamar, Austin, TX 512-472-5400), which was recently featured on Crave - a new show on The Food Network.

Corn Fritters ($7.95)
These were more like deep fried hush puppies than corn fritters. They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The dipping sauce was mildly spicy, creamy, and cumin flavored.

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What I Ate: September 1st, 2011 (24 Diner)

We were in the Bee Caves area so we decided to check out Bee Cave Tavern (11715 Bee Cave Road, Bee Caves, TX 512-477-6535), formerly Zoot where we had dined several times before. We knew that the owner was changing the concept for the restaurant. Whereas Zoot was fine dining in a low key setting, BC Tavern is an upscale, family friendly tavern whose offerings include burgers and other comfort foods. We ordered an appetizer and two main entries.

BC Mac-n-cheese with black truffle ($12)
We absolutely loved this appetizer. We sopped up every last drop of the cheese sauce with our bread.

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What I Ate: August 17th, 2011 (Bee Cave Tavern)

One of my New Year's resolutions is to cook more, and so I've been doing some pantry organization lately. I decided to put a lot of the foods (e.g. flour, sugar, pasta, rice, beans, etc.) into containers rather than leaving them in their bags. I looked at a variety of food storage containers of different materials (e.g. glass, plastic, stainless steel, ceramic, etc.) and of various shapes and sizes. In the end I settled on a combination of these three types of plastic food containers:

Rubbermaid Modular Canisters

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Things We Like: Rubbermaid Food Storage Containers

We have two of these handheld blenders - one for soap making and one for soup making (I still get these two words mixed up sometimes!). I got the first one when I started making soap at home (as a hobby) in the winter of 2007, after I hand whisked a batch of soap mixture for an hour and thought my right arm was going to fall off. The stick blender works wonderfully after many batches of soap. Then we bought a second one when I learned to make dahl soup from an Indian friend, and we've been equally pleased with its performance in the kitchen.

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Things We Like: Cuisinart Smart Stick Handheld Blender

After we moved and settled in, I got one of these laundry sorters with 3 bags and a hanging bar. We used to just throw everything in a laundry basket in one corner of our bedroom, and that was all the space I could afford to allocate to dirty laundry. Now our master closet seems to be as big as our old master bathroom, so I figured why not make laundry easier and be more organized :)? I really like this laundry sorter for several reasons:

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Things We Like: Seville Classics 3-Bag Laundry Sorter with Hanger

One cleaning product that we find indispensable in the kitchen is Bar Keeper's Friend. It's a fine white powder that contains no phosphates, bleach, or abrasive substances. It works wonders on getting stainless steel pots and pans sparkling clean, especially after sauteing vegetables or browning meat which often leaves a thin film and slight discoloration on the inside bottom of the pan after normal washing. Regular use of Bar Keeper's Friend also helps to prevent stain buildup.

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Things We Like: Bar Keeper's Friend Multi-Purpose Household Cleanser and Polish

Being a shorter person (5' 4"), I need a step ladder in the house for reaching things on the shelves in the kitchen and closets, as well as for changing light bulbs and doing household projects. We had a steel framed 2-step step ladder which worked well, then I found this ultra-light aluminum step ladder at Home Depot which quickly became my go to step ladder since it's so easy to use and move around.

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Things We Like: Home Depot Ultra-Light Aluminum Step Ladder/Stool

Over the years, we've bought various bed sheets, but found ourselves using the same set over and over - Wamsutta Comfort Soft cotton sheet set, 400-thread count. We like it the best given its soft, smooth, and silky hand and because it stands up to repeated washing with minimal shrinkage and fading.

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Things We Like: Wamsutta Comfort Soft Cotton Sheet Set, 400-Thread Count

I have very dry skin in the winter and have tried many different brands of lotion (conventional and natural) to relieve the itchiness in my arms and legs. Most of the lotions are ok for providing temporary relieve from the tightness and flakiness of dry skin, but none provided long lasting relief from itchiness. Recently I discovered the Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Skin Therapy Lotion with Aloe. I decided to give it a try after reading many positive reviews on Drugstore.com, and have found it to be the "ultimate" lotion that I've been searching for.

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Things We Like: Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Skin Therapy Lotion with Aloe