Thursday, June 30, 2011

Thursday Tea Time




Cost: $5.99 at Whole Foods and Kroger on sale

Number of teabags: 15

Caffeine: A little

Type of tea: Mate, black tea

Steeping time: 5 minutes

Mix ins: Just a little fat-free condensed milk

Ingredients: Green mate, rose, cornflower and marigold flower petals, mint, cloves, licorice, aniseed, star anise, apple bits, pineapple, natural flavors, hint of black tea.

Teabag fragrance: Fruity licorice and anise

Opinion: An interesting combination blend and taste - I love it! A little bit pricey, but I think it is well worth the splurge and will definitely buy it again.

Rating: 4.5

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - "What I Am" - 4:58

Wednesday, June 29, 2011







Netflix Stars - Burlesque



3/5 - Not bad. There actually is a story line that's sweet. And I think if you are a fan of Cher and Christina Aguilera, you will enjoy this even more with their performances.

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Pitbull, featuring T-Pain - "Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor)" - 3:55

Monday, June 27, 2011

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Porcelain Black, featuring Lil Wayne - "This is What Rock n Roll Looks Like" - 4:12

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Netflix Stars - Blue Valentine


3/5 stars - This was a little, no - a lot different than what I thought it would be. Ryan Gosling and his character was surprisingly likeable and gave an interesting and different than the expected perspective to love and marriage. (Fair warning, there are some very graphic physical scenes.) The flashbacks were well-paced and helped fill in the storyline. The sad reality is that you are watching a relationship trainwreck, but yet with glimmers of hope.








Friday, June 24, 2011

More Friday Flowers!

This is called the "California Bouquet". I love the two stalks of Irish Bells or Bells of Ireland in it!
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Friday Flowers

Fuschia peonies from Whole Foods
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Thursday, June 23, 2011

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Mindy Smith - "The Edge of Love" - 3:52
Great lyrics and cool down song. I heard this at Starbucks last week.

Thursday Tea Time

This week - Numi Honeybush



Cost: $5.99 on sale at Kroger and Whole Foods

Number of teabags: 18

Caffeine: No

Type of tea: Herbal teasan

Steeping time: 5 minutes

Mix ins: Just a little fat-free condensed milk

Teabag fragrance: Faint floral/honey

Ingredients: Organic honeybush

Opinion: A nice mellow, faintly honey scented/tasting tea. It is a pretty peach color, and overall very soothing to look at and drink. Would I rush to buy more right away? Probably not. But I'll enjoy and finish the box.

Rating: 3.5

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

Independence Day Sale - July 1/4
99 cents McCall's patterns
$3.99 Vogue patterns
50% off interfacing
50% off thread
25% off Martha Stewart Crafts

July 7/9 - $1.99 Butterick patterns
July 14/16 - $1.99 Simplicity patterns

Oh cool!



These orange fringy topknot flowers are opening today!
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I just found out they are SAFFLOWERS! I saw them at Central Market.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Chai Pistachio Muffins


Cooking Light's Pistachio Chai Muffins from the May 2011 issue
I used Numi Golden Chai tea bags -- the perfect blend of spices and taste. These were so good, they've become an immediate family favorite!

Ingredients:
7 9/10 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 chai blend tea bags, opened
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1/3 cup shelled dry-roasted pistachios, chopped
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut open tea bags; add tea to flour mixture, stirring well. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and egg in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
3. Place 12 muffin-cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle nuts evenly over batter. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.
4. Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, powdered sugar, and 1 tablespoon water, stirring until smooth. Drizzle evenly over muffins.

Enjoy!

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Britney Spears - "If U Seek Amy" - 3:37
Great early/mid workout pacing!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Friday Flowers

This arrangement is called "June Bug" - See the feather butterfly?! Three orange sunflowers, orange lilies, two stalk stems of an interesting yellow-orange 'topknot' flower, and pink double daisies from Randalls.
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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Thursday Tea Time




Cost: $5.99 on sale (!) at Super Target

Number of teabags: 16

Caffeine: Yes, the box says as much as 1/4 cup of coffee

Type of tea: Yerba Mate

Steeping time: 5-10 minutes, I did 5

Mix ins: Just a little fat-free condensed milk

Teabag fragrance: Nothing distinguishable.

Ingredients: Yerba mate, cocoa, nutmeg, cinnamon, stevia, clove - and a trio of stimulants - caffeine, theobromine and theophylline.

Opinion: With all the dancing around this box did with the wonderful things this could do for your body, something gave me a migraine a couple hours later. I didn't taste any one flavor in particular, in fact I thought it kind of blah. I couldn't even taste the "Chocolatte'"! Not worth the hype nor the money.

Rating: 0

Netflix Stars - Joan Rivers A Piece of Work

4 stars - A very interesting and behind the scenes documentary by the IFC. I wish it had gone on longer. At 75, Joan still has it -- the drive, the ability to keep on working. Touching scene with her grandson. What an incredible woman!