Two for Tuesday - Matcha, Not so Matcha

I found these two teas at Target - glad to see that Target is carrying The Republic of Tea's Be Well tea line and interested to try a new tea/product line.  I picked up Get Matcha and Day is Done Bedtime Blend.

I love Matcha green teas, but often when you purchase them at coffee/tea shops, they are blended with sugar or sweetened almond milk or not non-fat regular milk.  Hard to watch the carbs and the calories when you don't know what you are drinking.   Target is carrying this and some of the others in their Be Well tea line.  Priced at $9.99 for 36 tea bags.  The bonus with this particular matcha - it won't turn "Kermit Green" and it has the added green tea and green rooibos for additional goodness and flavor.  I would suggest using two tea bags if using a larger mug. I rate this 5+

The eye catching display of the Beekman Farm Pantry line looked interesting (look at the end of the pasta aisle).  They had three teas, for three times of the day.  Clever!  I got the Day is Done Bedtime Blend.  An herbal, no caffeine tea, I liked the color and the tin design.  Alas, not so much the tea.  The ingredients sounded interesting - Lemon Balm, chamomile, nutmeg, peppermint, cornflowers - and the fragrance quite nice.   $5.99 for 20 sachets.  However, once brewed, to me it just tasted...odd.  I even just brewed another mug just to make sure.  Nope.  Not bad, but perhaps it will be someone else's cup of tea.  They do have a fun website and other teas and products.  And I plan to try their other items at Target, it's nice to be able to support American farmers.

I didn't try/get the other teas because they had citrus

Orchid, 'K?

Keurig K10 Mini

Have you all been seeing the background of my Keurig peeking in my post when taking the pictures of my K-Cups from CoffeeIcon?  Yes, that is purple - Orchid to be exact.  You can't find it in the brick and mortar stores, (unless...keep reading!) but you can online at Target.com.  While shipping is free, you can save an additional $10 by picking it up at your favorite brick and mortar Target.  They also have other fun colors, but they are often quickly discontinued and replaced with more.  This little guy was just the right size, even though it replaced the larger one I had which would store the water.  It can make up to 10 ounces at a time (6-8-10) and you can remove the tray to fit your larger mugs.  The only ones that won't squeeze underneath are the tall latte ones.  But you can brew into a Pyrex measuring cup and pour into your favorite latte mug.

Regular price for the Mini is $99, but right now this color is only $79 -- then with the additional $10 off, you can get your pop of purple for only $69

Every Day In May - May 10 - Something You Turn On and Off

One of two (actually three) of my favorite lamp sets.  This and it's twin are on my bedroom dresser.  I love the "Tiffany for Target" stained glass.  I have it's taller torchere cousin in the living room.  Actually no one can believe it's from Target.  (And no, Tiffany has not designed anything officially for Target...yet)

Every Day In May 2015 - May 3 - Curtains

These are the curtains in my living room above the love seat.  I turned them into cafe' style by putting the spring rod under the first row of window panes.  They are three very sheer, bunched/scrunched together, curtain panels by Waverly, which I bought on clearance at Target when we painted the living room after Hurricane Ike.  At Christmas time, I hang green boughs with multi-colored Christmas lights along the top of the window, letting it hang down on either side. (Also bought at Target last Christmas)
(Don't even get me started on what I think about white Christmas lights...)

I love how I was able to make the windows look like glass!    There is something very freeing about doing this challenge.  It's just going into my sketchbook.  And just as in the A to Z Blogging Challenge 2014 wherein I did all watercolor flowers and herbs, I think it is great practice and an opportunity to improve my sketching and watercoloring skills.

I am also trying to work with a more limited palette - I'm using my three Qor watercolor palettes (Earth, High Chroma and the Introductory-6 sets), save for a few forays into my main Winsor & Newton palette for Sepia. (May 2)

Palm Beach State of Crazy Mind

I'm surprised they didn't grab this!
Probably because it looked more like a garden hedge instead of palm tree!
Seriously Target? You had 15 exclusive print designs...

Monday morning, this was all that was left of the heralded Lilly Pulitzer for Target collection.  Excuse me, #LillyForTarget
By Tuesday, the sign was taken down.
The hashtag still lives on to taunt.

The mug set caught my eye, albeit a bit pricey at $30, still could have been cool.  And being able to display on the counter next to the Keurig?  Bonus!  Move over bag of Trader Joe's Classic Potato Chips (*which might I add are the yummiest chips ever?!)

*If I had the Nosie Posey scarf
I could have
sang its praises better

Early imprinting

Or the head/hat/purse/totebag/hand-holding-singing scarf.  I do so love my scarves.

The $35 set of four plates?  Honestly, I have enough mismatched plates as it is.  Lilly and I are very on-trend!  On second thought, $35 spent at Costco for yet another dinnerware box of 4 place settings of two sizes of dishes, bowls and 4 not-quite-as-Lilly-colorful mugs included would probably be a fiscally sounder purchase.  Runners-up for consideration might be a lipstick or a nail polish for the "Funsies Under $10 category, Alex."

The print designs are pretty and colorful, but not all dead-giveaway Lilly-ish.   So I'm not crying myself to sleep over the missed spending opportunity.

I certainly would not have been dragging the hammock set through the parking lot!  But obviously,  people did.  (Thank you to those thinking they would not have put that past me)

Target should know by now their special designer collections will be popular and in high demand, and should plan ahead to have enough merchandise stocked and available, instead of fueling the frenzy of crazy.

Sigh.  Was it silky, too?  Please don't tell me.

What could taste better on these plates?!

Nice design kudos!

Pulitzer Prized Pink?

Thursday Tea Time - Pays to check out the Target Easter aisles

This week - Celestial Seasonings Chocolate Caramel Herbal Tea and Red Velvet Rooibos Tea

Cost:  $4.99 at Target, $2.49 on clearance if you can find it.  $6.99
Number of tea bags: 20
Caffeine:  No
Type of tea:   Herbal / Rooibos
Steeping time:  5 minutes
Mix ins:  Cream or Natural Bliss.
Fragrance:   Like salted caramel!  And cream cheese frosted red velvet cake!
Ingredients:  Chocolate Caramel - Roasted Carob, Roasted Chicory, Natural Chocolate and Caramel Flavors with other Natural Flavors, Milk Thistle, Cinnamon and Sea Salt.

Red Velvet - Rooibos and Natural Red Velvet Flavor with Other Natural Flavors.

Opinion:   At first I was attracted by the tin/box (of course!) -- which is a great size and measures 6" x 2 3/4" x 3 3/4" -- and hadn't much hope for the flavor, but I was surprised.  It wasn't too sweet and had a nice balance.  I didn't really taste the chocolate as much as I did the caramel.   However, I can practically smell and taste the cream cheese frosting of a red velvet cake.  They really nailed it!.
Both make for a great after-dinner tea.  And yes, I did find these on the aisle end cap in Target's Easter section!    But good news!  You can still buy both online - click here  And as of yesterday, I saw the Chocolate Caramel on the grocery clearance shelves for $2.49.
Rating:  3.75 (Chocolate Caramel and 4.25 (Red Velvet)

Thursday Tea Time - Tastes like flowery chicken

This week - Traditional Medicinals Organic Chamomile with Lavender

Cost:   $3.99 on sale at Super Target, regular price $4.89
Number of teabags:  16, individually-wrapped
Caffeine:   No
Type of tea:   Herbal
Ingredients:   All Organic chamomile flower, English lavender flower, lemon balm leaf
Steeping time:   10 minutes
Add ins:  Plain or with a splash of milk and honey.
Fragrance:   Lavender/floral
Opinion:   It has a savory, umami flavor with a pleasant lavender taste.  It actually seems even better cooled.  Very calming and nice to drink in the evening.  "Like aromatherapy for your digestive and nervous systems…"
Rating:  2.5 - especially for the health and immunity boosting benefits.

Yogi Cinnamon Vanilla Healthy Skin

This week - Yogi Cinnamon Vanilla Healthy Skin

(Not to be confused with similar sounding Yogi Vanilla Spice Perfect Energy, which I reviewed July 19, 2012)

Cost:   $4.84 at Target, on sale at Kroger for $2.99
Number of teabags:  16,  individually-wrapped
Caffeine:   No
Type of tea:   Herbal
Ingredients:   All organic Nettle Leaf, Mullein Leaf and Schisandra Berry – Ayurvedic herbs traditionally used to hydrate and retain moisture in the skin’s tissues, Cinnamon Bark and Cardamom Seed to support circulation, Cocoa Shells and Vanilla Bean add flavorful intrigue.
Steeping time:  5 minutes (suggested 4-6 minutes)
Add ins:  Perfect as is, but even better with a splash of Coffee Mate's Natural Bliss
Fragrance:  Cinnamon-y
Opinion: Tastes great plain and even better with Natural Bliss - almost like apple pie a la mode.  This could be a very nice afternoon or evening go-to tea this fall.  My daughter thought that the cinnamon made it taste similar to chai.    I did notice their slight price creep, however.  And hey, Yogi Tea - only a $1 coupon?  You used to have $2 coupons!
Rating:  4 (dinging really only about the pricing - I would definitely stock up when it goes on sale, with the previous box's coupon)

This week - Tazo Chai Pumpkin Spice

Cost:   $3.00 on sale at Super Target
Number of teabags:  20,  individually-wrapped
Caffeine:   Yes
Type of tea:    Black
Ingredients:   Black teas, cinnamon, natural flavors, licorice root, ginger, cloves, black pepper, cardamom
Steeping time:  The box says 5 minutes, but it developed a bitter aftertaste.  The second time I kept at at 3 minutes, much better!
Add ins:   Sweet Bliss makes it seem like pumpkin pie!
Fragrance:  Pumpkin and ginger
Opinion:   One of two new seasonal offerings from Tazo.  (watch for an upcoming review of Tazo Chai Vanilla Caramel next week).  Pumpkin is showing up everywhere - even in Hershey's Kisses! Something told me to give this another chance.  The first cup had a strange, bitter aftertaste, with or without adding milk and sugar.  I liked it better the second time.  You can detect the pumpkin in the first sip and then it definitely has a surprising pepper aftertaste kick.  Interesting Autumn twist on Chai.
Rating:  3.25

Thursday Tea Time - Drink Gingerly

This week - Traditional Medicinals Organic Green Tea Ginger

Cost:   $3.99 on sale at Super Target, regular price $4.89
Number of teabags:  16, individually-wrapped
Caffeine:   Yes
Type of tea:    Green
Ingredients:   Organic green tea, organic ginger root
Steeping time:   10 minutes
Add ins:   Nothing, tasted great as brewed
Fragrance:  Just like a newly-opened powdered ginger spice jar from Penzeys.
Opinion:   This could become my new go-to green ginger tea.  Albeit a long brewing time -- they recommend 10 to 15 minutes, cover that mug! -- and slightly cloudy, perhaps from the ginger?  I thought it tasted great.  Bright, spicy and comforting. Bonus it is also all organic.  I also like that the teabag tags have message words on them.  My first said, "Renew," the next said, "Connect"
Rating:  4.5

Tea Forecast:  Partly cloudy
But still delicious!

Can I?

It all started with a $3.44 book...

Celeste figs

Coming attractions!
Celeste Fig Tree 2014

The figs started ripening on our Celeste fig tree, and it looks like a bumper crop this year.  I've already given five pounds away.  When I was walking through Target, on their end cap I found the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving marked down to $3.44.  And the canning jars were on sale.  I've never tried canning before and I thought, hmmm.  I can always use the jars for something else and donate the book to the library if things don't work out.   Kroger had the pectin and the utensil set in the baking aisle.    I will keep you posted of my attempt at canning!

mais il faut cultiver notre jardin

Hello Kitty gardening supplies at Target will help!  ($1.99-$2.99 each)

Thursday Tea Time - Breakfast served all day

This week - Harney & Sons English Breakfast

Pretty tin, too!

Cost:   $2.98 - another clearance tea from Target.  Original price $5.98
Number of teabags:  20
Caffeine:   Yes
Type of tea:    Black tea blend of Ceylon & African teas
Ingredients:   "Hand-plucked black tea leaves carefully blended together"
Steeping time:   5 minutes
Add ins:   Splash of Natural Bliss cream
Fragrance:  Fruity-Smokey
Opinion:    I may just go back and grab another tin!  This is really good.  It feels more fuller-bodied and robust-et than regular tea, without bitterness.   A nice boost of caffeine, too  (40-60mg).  I drank it in the afternoon as a little pick-me-up during a rainstorm.  Perfect!
Rating:  4

Thursday Tea Time - Fuego!

This week - Archer Farms Organic Fiery Chai Herbal Tea

Cost:   $2.99 at Target
Number of teabags:   20 individually wrapped tea bags -- nice to tuck and go in your computer bag.
Caffeine:   No
Type of tea:   Herbal
Steeping time:  Five minutes
Add ins:  Add a little fat free Half & Half if you'd like a chai tea latte.  Otherwise, nothing else is needed.  Not even any sweetener!
Ingredients:  All organic:   Rooibos, cinnamon, ginger root, cloves, cardamom, black pepper and nutmeg
Fragrance:   Cinnamon and clove
Opinion:  I like that I can drink this as is, no additional need for sweetener.  In fact, I even tried adding just a little bit of sugar and didn't like it at all.  The fact it is organic is a bonus, too.  And caffeine-free means I can enjoy this in the evening, also. The box suggests steeping in hot apple cider or juice...I may just have to try that!  Overall, a nice way to warm your days and evenings.
Rating:  4

Ooh, pretty!

Love the little Archer Farms rooster
(Though I miss the tea bags which used to have the sayings)

Thursday Tea Time

This week - Celestial Seasonings Sweet Harvest Pumpkin Holiday Tea

Cost:   $2.19 at Super Target
Number of teabags:   20
Caffeine:   Yes
Type of tea:   Black
Steeping time:  Five minutes
Add ins:   I tried everything - plain, Half & Half, a little sugar, even the Cinnamon Natural Bliss Half & Half.
Ingredients:   Black Tea, Cinnamon, Ginger, Roasted Chicory, Natural Pumpkin Flavor With Other Natural Flavors (Soy Lecithin), Luo Han Guo, Cloves, Nutmeg, Natural Sweetener (Stevia Extract) and Pumpkin.
Fragrance:  It did smell like pumpkin pie!
Opinion:  I so wanted to like this.  Alas, no. I thought it tasted odd.  You could taste the cloves and nutmeg with a nice bite of ginger - nice.  But then there was an aftertaste.  Three times I tried this, three times I dumped it into the sink.  I don't know if it was from the Luo Han Guo or the stevia.  My bet is on the stevia.  I don't like to use it because it does have a "different" sweetness, which can vary from product to label.  
Rating:   0.5 (Useful as a potential potpourri?)

Wednesday Work in Progress - Liberty of London Target Scarf Upcycling Hack

Remember last week's Wednesday Work in Progress?  See the fabric in the upper right corner?  That was the "Poppy Blue" Liberty of London Target scarf, circa 2010.  No, it hasn't been hanging there all this time.  For awhile, yes, while I decided and thought about things.  Life in general and why haven't I made this into the new valance yet?  I loved the colors and the fringe, what was I waiting for...

There was enough fabric to make the valance -- by making it two piece I was able to keep the corner tassels! And so by carefully cutting and leaving the center free, I was able to make a narrower scarf, with a bonus extra row of fringe.

Love is in the water

This is my new swim cap from TYR.   I found it at Academy for $6.99 and it is also available online.  They are donating a portion of the sales to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

I like the TYR fit and style so much better than Speedo.  These stay on my head, unless it drops out of my swim bag, ahem.

Bonus I have the perfect pink lipstick to match, both in and out of the pool - Nars Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil - It stays on me, too!  It's a perfect fun summer color that looks great on everyone.  I found mine at Sephora.
(Tip:  It fits the ~$1 NYC brand makeup pencil sharpener at Target)

Thursday Tea Time

This week -- Harney & Sons Chocolate Mint and Green Tea with Thai Flavors teas



















Cost:  $5.99 at Target
Number of teabags:  20
Caffeine:  Yes, No
Type of tea:   Black, Green
Steeping time:  5, 3 minutes
Add ins:  Natural Bliss Sweet Cream...and new Natural Bliss Low-Fat Chocolate (1g fat, 20 calories, 3g carb!) which I also found at Target the other day.
Tea fragrance:   Chocolate Mint - Nice balance of chocolate and peppermint.  Green Tea with Thai Flavors - Coconut and lemongrass
Ingredients:  Chocolate Mint - Black tea, peppermint leaves, natural and artificial chocolate and vanilla flavors.  Green Tea with Thai Flavors - Green tea, lemongrass, shredded coconut, natural coconut, vanilla and ginger flavors.
Opinion:
Love the tins!
Loved the Green Tea with Thai Flavors, which a betting person would not have thought so.  It was a tea-colada!  But why not shorten the name to Thai Green Tea?  You can really taste the coconut, too.

Not so much love - the Chocolate Mint.  Despite bonus points for being a black tea instead of so-overdone Rooibos,  alas, it smelled better (really great in fact) than it tasted, even with the extra ooomp of the new Low Fat Natural Bliss in Chocolate.
(Now I'm not a real coffee drinker, I will admit to only drinking it if sounds weird and has a bunch of stuff thrown in.  But this was a fun and tasty combo I put  together.  The Donut House Chocolate Glazed Donut and the Chocolate Natural Bliss.  It really did taste like a Krispy Kreme Chocolate Glaze, minus all the carbs.  I bet though you could have fun using Promised Land Midnight Chocolate 2% Milk (swigging and adding to tea and coffee).  Jus' sayin'. )
Rating:  Chocolate Mint - 2.75 if you doctor it up, Green Tea with Thai Flavors - 4.5

Love is Life

I love Target's special co-op promotions (Shall we revisit my infamous Liberty of London craziness?!)    Not all are worth paying full freight, often with patience you can make your score much better on markdown.
But this - I loved as soon as I saw it.  And at $49, still cheaper by far than Lululemon.

And besides, I'm a bit hacked at Lululemon for not normal-sizing their clothes.  I give you the "No Limits Tank Top" which I have been coveting since it came out.  I'm tall, I would look great in this, but only going up to a Size 10?!  News flash -- Real people have some boobage, and practice yoga, and are over 40.  I give you and go to Lucy instead.   And keep the change from the $64 you would have spent.  Still, when I get the emails with the new colors, and still I keep sending them emails asking for a Size 12. . .

Anyways, let's go back to the love here.   I adore Diane Von Furstenberg and all she stands for.
And standing on this mat, measuring 72" x 24", it is super cushy and pretty and vibrant and all things good.  I love the cool carry wrap and straps, the graphic black and white design accented by the red chakra base --Let Target and this mat connect our Earth energies for good and empowerment.
Namaste!

Wednesday Work in Progress

Partly cloudy

For a busy week, I made pretty good progress on the Burda 5223 robe.  All I have to do is add the bands, hem the bottom and sew the belt.
 
The colored sheets of paper are from the Target Dollar Spot.  They looked to me like good and versatile basic colors and patterns to add to my universal studio stock.  It's just a head's up to take a swing by there if you haven't lately.  The bins are full  right now with Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving scrapbooking and crafting supplies.