The ‘purrfect howliday’ for cat lovers...National Hug Your Cat Day

It’s National Hug Your Cat Day! Show your purring, cuddly friend some love today in honor of the occasion. In Ancient Egypt, cats were revered and even worshipped as symbols of grace and poise. National Hug Your Cat Day is the perfect opportunity to put your cat on a pedestal and thank her for all those times she has curled up next to you after a long day. This annual event, also referred to as National Hug Your Cat Day, was created by author, television producer and wine educator, Marisa D’Vari, in honor of her precious Persian kitty, Mimi. According to the founder, National Hug Your Cat Day is a “floating” holiday celebrated on different dates. The actual date falls sometime in May or early June. But if you are a fancier of fabulous felines, why not celebrate Hug Your Cat Day every day of the year? In honor of Hug Your Cat Day, today’s the day to pamper your kitty cat. Why not give Fluffy an tasty treat, or special toy? Just don’t forget the hug! Did you know that showing your furry friend some affection is actually healthy for you? Studies have shown that hugs from animals can lower blood pressure and decrease stress. So go ahead, give your cat a nice big hug, and while you’re at it, throw in some grooming and a little catnip too!

Celebrate the Weekend! 50% OFF Select Invites & Cards + $3 OFF Postage! Ends Sunday

50% Off Select Invites and Cards and $3 Off Postage Limited Time! Enter code: WEEKENDPARTY Shop Invites and Cards Shop Postage Discount level varies among products. Eligible discounts (50% of the invitation, greeting card, postcard and/or photo card net sale price) will be deducted when one or more qualifying invitations, greeting cards, postcards and/or photo cards are purchased. $3 of the postage sheet net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying postage sheets are purchased. For most products, the net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). For Zazzle Custom Stamps, the net sale price is the difference between the price of the Zazzle Custom Stamps (excluding shipping and taxes) and the face value of the postage. The coupon code WEEKENDPARTY is applied at checkout. Offer is valid until May 19, 2013 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

20% Off Select Cases, T-Shirts & Posters! Perfect Gifts For Dads & Grads! Ends Monday

20% Off Select Cases, T-Shirts & Posters Limited Time! Enter code: CASETEEPOSTR Shop Cases Shop T-Shirts Shop Posters Discount level varies among products. Eligible discounts (20% of the case, poster, and/or shirt net sale price) will be deducted when one or more qualifying cases, posters, and/or shirts are purchased and the coupon code CASETEEPOSTR is applied at checkout. The net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). Offer is valid through May 20, 2013 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). Not all products qualify for this offer. This offer does not apply to screen printed apparel. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

It's National Chocolate Chip Day Today!

Chips ahoy! May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Day. Whether you toss them in brownies, pancakes, muffins or cookies or just scarf them by the handful straight from the bag, these tiny teardrop-shaped morsels will melt away your troubles. Chocolate chips are popular in cooking and baking, for a wide variety of breads, cakes, and cookies. There is an almost endless number of recipes. They are also used in decorating. Have you ever had chocolate chip pancakes? How about chocolate chips in trail mix? If you've never had these, then you're leading a sheltered life. Chocolate chips were first used in 1937 by Ruth Graves Wakefield. She used pieces of a chocolate bar in the cookie batter she was baking. Rather than melting as she had expected, the fragments of the bar partially held their shape and had been softened. These chocolate chip cookies were a success and Wakefield's recipe was published in several newspapers in New England after it was introduced. Afterwards, Nestle and Wakefield reached an agreement that allowed Nestle to publish Wakefield's chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of their bar wrappings. In 1939, Nestle released Nestle Toll House Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels. National Chocolate Chip Day can be celebrated by cooking various foods that include chocolate chips. The foods made include cookies, muffins, pancakes, ice cream, brownies, and more. While chocolate chip cookies are a common food chocolate chips are used in, the holiday itself focuses on the chocolate chips themselves, rather than the cookies. Shop for your chocolate chip gifts today!

Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip  Cookies Prep: 15 mins Cooking: 9 mins Cooling: 15 mins Yields: 60 This famous classic American cookie is a treat no matter what the age or occasion. Enjoy it with a glass of cold milk. Ingredients 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels 1 cup chopped nuts Directions PREHEAT oven to 375° F. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars. SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION: PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies. * May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks. FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

PRINCESS PARTY IDEAS & BIRTHDAY TIPS

There are lots of different ways to interpret princess party ideas for a kid's birthday or tea party, from traditional Disney characters such as Cinderella, Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, or Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog to more comical ones such as Princess Fiona from Shrek. Regardless of which type of princess is your child's favorite, there are lots of imagery that is common to all princesses. So, below are some universal princess party ideas, which you can always tailor to a particular Disney character if you wish. PERSONALIZED INVITATIONS There are lots of great pre-designed invitations available, including ones that can be personalized either with or without a photo, that will tie in nicely with these princess party ideas. Don't forget to include information on the dress code, especially if you want everybody to come dressed as a Prince or Princess, ex, 'Dress: Royal Attire'. PRINCESS POSTAGE STAMPS A really nice touch that shows attention to detail is to embellish your invitations with personalized princess themed postage stamps. You can even upload a photo of your child dressed as a princess to some of the stamps (see below right). Note: These stamps are only available in the USA DRINKS Below are some drinks ideas to go with these princess party ideas: Tea parties are synonymous with princess party ideas, so you might want to serve the drinks in some old fashioned tea cups with saucers. You probably don't want to serve normal tea, but there are some nice fruit flavoured ice teas like those from Snapple which make flavors such as peach, raspberry and lemon tea. Just remember these still contain caffeine. You can also serve a Sparkling Punch. For younger children you can still have the same affect with using the Royal Opera Plastic Teacup with Saucer. Alternatively, make all your drinks pink by serving things like pink lemonade. This looks great in a big serving jug or punchbowl with just some simple lemon or lime slices as garnish. You can still let them drink this out of tea cups with saucers so they feel more like a princess. Alternatively, use these cute Purple Royal Goblets to tie in nicely with these princess party ideas. PRINCESS ICE CUBES You can make your party drinks more interesting with these cute princess wand or princess palace ice cube trays. PRINCESS PARTY FOOD For princess party food you could look to the English tradition of 'Afternoon Tea' for inspiration. Little princesses will love this as everything is so delicate and lady-like. Traditionally, afternoon tea comes served in teapots with tea cups and saucers alongside bite-sized sandwiches cut into small triangles with the crusts removed. All the sandwiches are usually presented on a tired cake stand accompanied by a selection of small cakes or scones with jam and Devonshire (clotted) cream. If you want to make the sandwiches a little less formal, use cookie cutters to shape them into crowns, castles and glass slippers to turn them into princess party food. Don't forget to include some frog shaped ones too.