In My Defense!

INGRID THOFT
Earlier this week, Julia led a staunch defense of the joys of Miracle Whip.  She had a few supporters in her campaign, but not very many.  In the same post, I admitted my preference for Mrs. Butterworth's over real Vermont maple syrup.  I know!  It's sacrilege!  I'm from New England, for goodness sake's, but I can't deny my love for the sweet syrup that comes in the creepy woman-shaped bottle.  Something about real syrup just seems off to me, so like Julia, I will energetically defend my right to ingest the buttery goodness.

So tell me, Reds, is there an experience, a place, a book or movie (you get the idea) to which you have absolute loyalty despite a majority of naysayers?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Well, that is a pretty interesting question. I love the movie "Point Break." Does that count? I put real sugar in my coffee in the morning--does that make people wince?  I have um, watched Survivor. I got some great gray Keds, that's probably not cool. Twizzlers.  Costco.  I WOULD happily see "Mamma Mia 2," but Jonathan won't go. And let me say, I have never tasted maple syrup, in a creepy bottle or not. OR baked beans. You can have mine. And I like Big Macs. Not that I've eaten one any time recently, but I would. AND I love shopping at the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving .It's terrible, but it's hilarious. Because we are all in it  together. Hmm.  You really have me thinking.

JENN McKINLAY: Hank, I love "Point Break," too! It's the best sort of campy fun, plus hot guys. Things that I enjoy that my people find appalling, hmm, this is a tough one. I defend my need to comfort eat Hostess Sno-balls, I love the Bee Gees, and I think it's perfectly acceptable to break out a sweet pair of leather boots as soon as the thermometer drops below 80 degrees even though the rest of the world is in flip-flops.

RHYS BOWEN: I cried in "Mama Mia 2"! I sing along to the Sound of Music. I can watch my favorite old movies over and over (and still cry at the sad parts ). I love to get a hot dog at a ball game, smothered in mustard and relish (which often splashes onto my light trousers and won't come out). And I still love the magical things of my childhood--driving around seeing the Christmas lights, swinging on a swing at the park. I guess I'm the female Peter Pan. I don't want to grow up.

HALLIE EPHRON: I love "The Princess Bride." Can watch it endlessly. And will grab any opportunity to quote: "My name is Inigo Montoya. You keel my father. Prepare to die." In the same vein, I adore "Shrek" ("Let's get some parfait."  "You know, not everybody likes onions.") Also the movie "Babe."That'll do, Pig, That'll do." A movie which for some reason gave my daughter nightmares.

And Lipton onion soup and sour cream dip. With or without potato chips.

INGRID: I don't think your choices require much defending, Hallie!  Who doesn't like onion soup dip?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Still saying Miracle Whip is the greatest. I love my house, despite the fact that the sane thing to do wold be to sell it and move someplace both newer and smaller. I love the foods of my childhood that are made with canned cream of mushroom soup - it feels as if everyone is making their own white sauce or something for those dishes, but the grocery store still sells giant cans of CoM, so maybe I'm not the only one...

And I don't care what everyone says, I liked the remake of "Annie" with Quvenzhane Wallis and Jaime Foxx. Although even I draw the line at Cameron Diaz's performance of Miss Hannigan.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I did see "Mamma Mia 2," and cried until my popcorn napkins were soggy. "Christopher Robin," ditto. And I have always liked ABBA. I like butter (make that butter-flavored goop) on my movie popcorn. I think Rob Schneider's "Deuce Bigalow: American Gigolo" is hysterically funny.

I like Saltines with chili. I don't like books where all the characters are creepy. And I do like books to have at least sort of happy endings, which I know is very un-literary.  So there.

LUCY BURDETTE: I'm always in for dressing up in goofy costumes, whether it's Halloween or not. This is a photo of our daughter and me, which is quite typical.Also, before I started visiting a naturopath to help me with my meniere's disease and learned that it could be adding to my congestion, I drank a big glass of milk with every meal. My family would be drinking wine, and I'd have milk. I love the stuff!

Do your family and friends give you grief for one of your favorites?  Tell us!  We'll be kind!

And Karen in Ohio, you won the Liese O'Halloran Schwarz giveaway!  Please send your mailing address to ingrid@ingridthoft.com.

Brand Loyalty

INGRID THOFT
During a recent visit to my mom's house, I grabbed a pen and added something to the grocery list attached to her fridge.  Perusing the list, I could predict exactly which brands she'd purchase because they mirror those on my own list.  Or vice versa, I suppose.  The laundry detergent I purchase is Tide; the butter is Land 'O Lakes; and the paper towels are Bounty.  Are these the best products in their class?  I wouldn't know, I'm so accustomed to pulling them off the shelf having seem them in my childhood home for so many years.

I did have an epiphany a few years ago when I discovered that I prefer regular spaghetti to thin spaghetti!  It had never occurred to me that there even was a regular thickness spaghetti!  Does that mean I'm ready to switch my Tide for All?  Probably not, but they say awareness is the first step to change.  How about you, Reds?  Do you reach for certain products out of muscle memory?

 

JENN MCKINLAY: There is only one brand that I'm attached to that is non-negotiable for me. Mayonnaise. It has to be Hellman's. There is simply no other acceptable brand. Hub tried to bring home Miracle Whip early in our marriage and I threw it right in the garbage. Hellman's is the best. Period. Go ahead -- come at me!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Oh, Jenn, Miracle Whip is not even real mayonnaise. It's another thing entirely.   Gah. I could never eat that.  Anyway, I'm weird about brand names, too. I've always used Tide--until recently (brand awareness? TV) I tried Persil and Oxiclean, and now I love those. I've used Cascade for years--sometimes I look at other items, but I can never do it. Bounty, yes. Dove soap. Land O Lakes yes. Stonyfield. Saran Wrap. I kind of gravitated to those 1950's looking dish soaps, what're they called?  And the sunflower one smells wonderful. And you know, as much as it could, my mom's grocery cart would've looked just like mine.  I'd love to hear what everyone else says!

RHYS BOWEN: I really wasn't aware what brands my mother used. Food arrived on the table. Clothes came back washed! But I have stuck with Tide, Cascade, Palmolive for years now. One thing I discovered early in marriage was that cheap brands didn't clean as well. Same with toilet paper. It has to be Charmin! But I have switched to local organic milk and yoghurt and don't buy cans of soup any longer ( too much sodium). And my son buys natural cleaners for me every time he comes to my house. ( but I still use Comet and Soft Scrub!)

HALLIE EPHRON: Miracle Whip is to mayonnaise what Dream Whip (Cool Whip) is to cream. Here in New England we have a Cain's mayonnaise. 

I grew up with Lawry's Seasoned Salt and I still use it. Lawry's had a restaurant in LA and that seasoning was what made their roast beef so good. I don't make roast beef, but it's perfect for seasoning a chicken before roasting. Combine salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and of course, sugar, and you get a similar taste... but not. Beyond that we used all kinds of products I wouldn't touch now: Cheez-Its. Wonder Bread. Pancake "syrup." Frozen vegetables. Canned tomato soup.

INGRID: Full disclosure, I still prefer Mrs. Butterworth's to real Vermont maple syrup.  I know, I know.  It's a source of shame, but in my defense...wait, there is no defense.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: You losers can all bite my left toe. Miracle Whip has been clinically proven to be THE BEST and only sad people who have not had the benefit of living in the deep south do not understand the sheer bliss that is a Miracle Whip and fresh tomato sandwich. Mayo is for chicken salad and tuna fish. Miracle Whip is for creating a layer of heaven upon a slice of fluffy bread.
My other must-buy brands: Coke (regular), Arm & Hammer Unscented detergent (for my sensitive-skin offspring). Arm & Hammer Clump 'n Seal Cat Litter. I swear I don't have stock in Arm & Hammer, I just love these products. 

LUCY BURDETTE: I did recently try some earth-kind dishwasher soap and ended up with a load of dirty dishes after the machine ground through its cycle. I decided washing dishes twice wasn't the least bit earth-friendly so I bought some Cascade. sigh. Alpenglow lavender face cream--I bought this in Alaska some years ago and now I MUST have it in stock. Nature's Gate herbal hand lotion. King Arthur flour. Windex. Cottonelle toilet paper. I gave up my mother's Tide and Campbell's soup years ago, but I still feel drawn to their graphics!

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  Miracle Whip will never darken the door at our house. Ditto Cool Whip. And of course the only proper mayonnaise is Hellman's--unless it's homemade. Bounty paper towels. Rhys, I bought Charmin for years until a plumber told us that was what kept clogging up our sewer pipe (It doesn't disintegrate), so now we use Kirkland (Costco) brand and haven't had a stop since. Also Kirkland Eco laundry detergent and Kirkland dishwasher pods and Kirkland tissues. I thought I wasn't very brand loyal until I started noticing things around the house. Dry Idea Unscented Deodorant. Alba Botanica lotion. Pears Soap (I order by the case from Amazon.) And lots of things from Trader Joe's now.

I try to notice what brands I buy in the UK, so that I don't have my characters use something that's not available.

INGRID: Good point, Debs!  I'm sure you would hear about any errors from eagle-eye readers!

What about you?  Do you practice blind brand loyalty?