So what does a bargain hunter want for Christmas? Violet Mints and some other presents!

Holidays are past us and as we get ready for 2013, I decided to write a short post on the things I got for Christmas. Besides doing improvements around the house, a good investment for anyone that owns a house and can find improvements that also serve as tax deductions, I managed to complete a graduate certificate program and my diploma should be in the mail as I write this post. Education is always a good investment and in my case, the employer is paying the tuition costs, which makes this an excellent deal and an investment in the future.

But of course like everyone else, a new floor and a degree do not make up for little material things that we want under the Christmas tree. I had a couple of these as well. My first treat was a wireless connection for my TV to now stream Amazon Instant Video, Netflix and Pandora. While I use Amazon and Pandora a lot, I am not a subscriber to Netflix because Amazon right now offers enough movies and TV shows that I really do not need Netflix. Eventually, I may subscribe to Netflix, but for now Midsomer Murders on Amazon are sufficiently entertaining to me.

The second treat were a package of Violet Mints. For those of you that have never tasted Violet Mints, let me tell you that in my opinion you are missing out on a delicacy. Violet is definitely an acquired flavor, but for me it is a special treat because good violet flavor in candy is hard to find. I grew up on violet flavored candy in Germany and I love the scent and the flavor of violets. While watching Upstairs Downstairs on PBS violet macaroons were mentioned and I developed a longing for violet flavored candy. Violet macaroons use essence of violet, which by all accounts is very difficult to obtain in the USA, but I will definitely keep an eye out of for that flavor because violet macaroons sound for me just about as good as anything cookie or food that I can imagine. I have had hazelnut and almond macaroons homemade and I can only imaging the airy lightness of macaroons, but with violet flavor and now I really, really badly want these macaroons.

To cover my violet hunger in the meantime, I came across these mints in the meantime. They are Chowards Violet Mints, available on amazon.com here and cost less than $20 for 24 packages. The company, C. Howard, also makes gum in violet flavor as well as some other flavors, such as spearmint. But I definitely only cared about the violet flavor. They mints arrived shortly before the holidays and after opening the package and experiencing the violet scent, I knew I had made a good choice. The website for the company is here. They do offer guava flavored mints, which sound good, but for now, I am in violet heaven and I will stay here for a while!

copyright Durhamonthecheap - violet goodness in a 24 pack of mints - love them!

Below is an image of how the actual mints look like. While they seem pale and innocent, they are definitely bursting with true violet flavor that lasts a long time. The flavor is immediate, once you pop one in your mouth and continues, even if you are already done with the mint - which in my case is always a sad occasion (hence my interest in the gum). I am sitting right now typing away on this post and have a package of the mints in the room, which leaves me surrounded by the exquisite scent of violets - love it! If you are thinking now about getting some of these mints, I can only encourage you to give them a try.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - violet and minty goodness in each 15 mint package of Chowards!

So these are my Christmas presents - a lot of useful items, but also a little treat!