Posts Tagged ‘food’

365great Day 231: Riesen

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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365great challenge day 231: riesenIn honor of Halloween, I wanted to celebrate my favorite candy as a child. I love candy and I certainly had plenty as a kid. One of the more expensive ones that I didn’t get quite as much was Riesen. Whenever I did get a bag, it was such a treat! I couldn’t get enough of these rich, indulgent morsels. They were dark enough chocolate to feel exotic and cool but not too dark for my youthful sweet tooth. The chocolate exterior was fun to break through as I chewed into the chocolate caramel center. I liked how super chewy the center was – not your average soft caramel, oh no, this one packed a punch! One of these would be quite a mouthful and satisfied my taste buds far better than most other candies. It’s a great candy that I enjoy.

Missy and Molly

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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In honor of National Cat Day yesterday, I thought I’d share some videos of my kitties. Missy is my sweet baby who sleeps with me at night, massages her boyfriend Rupert the giant bear, and has a crackly little meow. Molly is our old grumpy one who loves my mom, has no patience for me, and might possibly be bipolar.

This is how Missy chills:

cat swishing tail from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

This is how Molly chills:

cat on stairs from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

This is how Missy meows (adorable!! it’s like her first time every time):

cute little kitty meow from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

This is how Molly meows (sounds so cute, but oh she’s a fierce one):

cat purr-meowing from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Here’s Missy massaging Rupert’s leg:

cat massaging upside down from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Here’s Molly rubbing the chair she loves:

cat rubbing chair from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

And finally, with Molly not letting Missy eat near her, I decided to intervene:

my new cat feeding strategy from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

It’s always interesting in the house with these two around! I miss playing with them daily.

Goodies Co. October Taster’s Box review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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goodies co box october 2013 contents

This was my favorite box yet! Not only did it come with a ton of items, I’m interested in every single one. The selection was pretty broad, with everything from a hearty soup to a sweet dessert treat. This box included Progresso Artisan Rustic Tomato with Chicken & Dumplings soup, happysqueeze Greek yogurt super strawberry organic superfoods, Caffe D’Vita Enchanted Chai Spiced Tea Latte, Special K Nourish hot cereal, Guylian Artisan Belgian Chocolates, SunRype raspberry fruit strip, Enjoy Life Cinnamon Bun soft baked bar, and an Orion ChocoPie fluffy biscuit.

I’ve never had soup from a box, so the Progresso Artisan soup should be interesting. It looks good and the perfect kind of hearty you’d want on a chilly night. I had the happysqueeze Greek yogurt strawberry mush thing this morning and quite liked it. I could definitely tell it was an apple sauce sort if base. It was fun and super easy to suck/drink it and I’d get some to have on days when I need a boost. I can’t wait to try the Caffe D’Vita Tea Latte. It looks delicious and I’ve never tried anything like it before. All the tea lattes I’ve had so far have been from coffee shops so I’d love to make my own. I thought the Special K Nourish hot cereal was an oatmeal thing, but then I was surprised when it had some salty undertones. It tasted decent but I’d prefer it sweet. When it came to the Guylian Belgian Chocolates, I had to hold back from gobbling up both pieces. I like the little bit of grittiness in these treats and the luxuriously smooth texture. The SunRype raspberry fruit strip was a nice fruit leather that isn’t too sweet. I didn’t find it very easy to tear though – that would have made it even more fun to consume! The Enjoy Life soft baked bar had a lovely texture that was soft with crispy bits. The flavor was a bit overwhelming for me, with something I couldn’t quite place. If you like very fragrant stuff, this would be excellent for you. And to round it all out was the Orion ChocoPie fluffy biscuit that was delightful. It’s very soft with a marshmallow center that is sort of firm and a soft crumbly biscuit sandwich. I enjoy these and finished it right away.

All in all a wonderful box that had yummy products I’d totally purchase. Loved it! What do you think of this selection?

Escape Monthly October: Hawaii Box Review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Ah, as the weather cools down, it’s a great time to think of warmer escapes. This month’s Escape Monthly theme is Hawaii and it’s a nice way to get your mind off the coming winter months. Too bad I didn’t win the trip as well, but Panda and I might just vacation there again next year anyway!

Escape Monthly is just under $40 per box (with code for 20% off your subscription – see end of post) and comes with a variety of food, home, skincare items themed around a city. Each box comes with a Moon Handbooks guide for that region. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a lovely recurring referral commission program.

escape monthly october hawaii box products showing

escape monthly october hawaii box info card against blue and white chevron background

escape monthly october hawaii box info card opened with details of products included(click to enlarge and read full messaging)

I think we can all agree that Hawaii is a pretty fantastic place. Those who have been want to return and those who haven’t have it on their bucket list! Luckily, I’ve been twice in my life and had great memories both times. This box covered some great items made locally and definitely highlighted more tropical flavors. I like the range of products included! Totally feeling that island vibe.

Here’s what came in the box:

Moon Handbooks guide to Big Island of Hawai’i – This is perfect for a future trip, since so far I’ve only ever been to Oahu and the next trip to Hawaii will definitely be to another island. When I decide to go check out the Big Island, I’ll be well-prepared. There’s some great information in here and I love that there’s a section for honeymooners so Panda and I know what we can do for a romantic vacation.

Royal Hawaiian Orchards Papaya Lime Macadamia Crunch – I generally find some tropical fruits like mango and papaya to be too strong for me, so I was skeptical of this snack even though it looks fab. After tasting it, I can’t say that I’d want more but it was interesting to try. The lime did help quell some of the papaya but overall the flavor mashing was still too strong for me. Plus, they’re nutty and I’m not much of a nut fan as it is.

gentle scrub facial buff – Oftentimes, these fun products are one of my favorite items in the box and this is no exception. I totally need a facial buff pad like this to help work away my acne scars and help prevent buildup for future breakouts. Absolutely love it and I’ll be using it the shower when I wash my face.

Personal Paradise Coconut Lime body lotion – This lotion smells wonderful and absorbs well. I’m totally going to be using it after I wash my hands. It absolutely reminds me of being out in Hawaii and I enjoy the scent that wafts up after I apply it.

Tub & Scrub Hawaiian bath salts in Oregon Rain – Haha, was it purposeful that they went with the Oregon Rain scent? I wonder if that’s a coincidence or if they meant to tie it in to the previous box’s theme. Whatever the case, it smells refreshing and soothing all at once. I’m drawing up a bath right now to go try it out! Can’t wait. 🙂

Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt – Freakin’ adorable packaging makes this cool already. It’s so cute I almost can’t bear to open it… but I will eventually. I’ll try it out next time we cook and then I’ve got to find a way to repurpose the jar once I’ve used it up. I’m a sucker for good packaging.

Tiesta Tea Immunity Maui Mango – This is actually a tisane rather than a true tea, since all ingredients are just fruit and flower parts, with no actual caffeine content. It looks really fun but I’m hesitant to open it to try since it has mango and I’m just not into that flavor. However, the pineapple and orange might mask much of that flavor so I’m curious how it’d taste. I’ll probably try it eventually.

seashell lei – This is a cute little necklace that will be decoration somewhere. I don’t have much use for it, but I’ll keep it around and bring it out for any tropical themed needs in the future.

Honey Girl Organics Face & Eye Creme and Night Creme – I totally saw these when I was out in Hawaii and was super curious about the brand! I’m really glad I get to try them out now. The face & eye creme is really rich and thick. I’d probably use it more at night. The night creme is fascinating… it kind of melts with your body heat and seems greasy but is like this layer of softness. It feels really healing!

Ostara Organics lip balm in Cuppa Java – Well, since this is supposed to be a coffee scent, I’m going to save it for someone else. I don’t drink coffee and I’m not a fan of the smell, but there certainly are plenty of people who do like it. In fact, maybe I can give this to Panda since he needs to use more lip balm especially as the winter approaches.

Ola body butter in Coconut – I didn’t want to break the seal on this one just yet, but I’m totally using it this winter. It seems like the perfect product to keep my skin hydrated in the bitter cold. I love the size too, which is easily portable and will last me for quite a few uses. Funny how a tropical thing can be so fitting for very non-tropical conditions.

Hawaiian Host Dark Chocolate Covered Macadamias – Mmm, yummy! This is a nice snack with rich flavors, just enough sweetness, and a wonderful crunch. It’s a great way of highlighting macadamia nuts in a delicious treat. I’d totally eat more of these.

So what do you think of this Escape Monthly box? Have you been to Hawaii before? If you want Escape Monthly for yourself, sign up, and try one of these codes (not sure which ones are still active): ESCAPENOW for 20% off the lifetime of your subscription, TROPICALESCAPE for 20% off, GIFTESCAPE for 25% off.

And a preview of next month:

escape monthly october hawaii box info card back with preview of next month's box theme of vermont

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just won this box and wanted to share what I got!]

365great Day 226: caramel

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , ,
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365great challenge day 226: caramelMmm I looove caramels! I mean, I enjoy fudge and toffee and similar candy too, but my all-time favorite is still caramel. It can be a wide range of softness and flavors. I’m particular to the gooey ones that are quick to melt in your mouth. I’ve tried watermelon-infused ones, coconut ones, chocolate-encased ones, and they’re all fantastic. Everything from Milk Duds to the pictured Crack Caramel caramels are good in my book. I’ve never had a problem with them sticking to my teeth and if they did I figure they’d just melt away eventually anyway. Their sweetness is the perfect pick-me-up for my sweet tooth. Between the taste and texture, they’re really a great treat!

UK Vacation Day 5 Recap

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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By day 5 of our trip, Panda and I had made it up to my old stomping grounds of York. I went over some of this in my post in honor of York, but here’s another look at it. We walked around town before meeting up with Philosopher and reminiscing about old days with him as we returned to the Uni of York campus. We took a break for lunch at one of my fav sandwich shops, then checked out the rest of the university. Later in the day we wandered back into town and explored a bunch of shops before ending up at York Minster. From there, it was time to grab dinner and hang out with Philosopher a bit more before sending him off… til next time!

[If you missed out on the others, here are Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 recaps.]

hampton inn by hilton in york uk

We stayed at the Hampton Inn right by the train station, which was quite modern and new.

city of york council courtyard

We were right next to the City of York Council, which had a nice courtyard with a quote by WH Auden, who was born in York.

pathway in york with red brick buildings and black metal fence

Off we go to the more busy side of town!

akbar's restaurant in york

I remember eating the largest naan ever here… it was at least the size of my torso and came hanging from a giant hook.

river ouse in york

The River Ouse running through town.

red brick buildings in york with york dungeon and gallery night club

Good old York Dungeon, which I’ve never been in, and Gallery, which was my go-to club.

sunny british street with people walking

Met up with Philosopher and started our stroll to the Uni of York campus.

sunny with dark clouds in sky

The day couldn’t decide if it’d be sunny or cloudy, which made for some cool skyscapes.

foot with knuckle portion rubbed raw and red

I thought my flats would be fine for walking but my feet got rubbed raw.

university of york alcuin college m block flats building

We used to live here in M Block!

staring up at brown's of heslington deli sign

For lunch we went over to Brown’s in the little town of Heslington.

brown's of heslington sandwich, tyrrell's potato crisps, and ribena drink

Brown’s sandwiches are yuuummy!!

collage of university of york buildings

After lunch we went on a little tour of the main campus area.

chasing and trying to catch university of york bird

On our way back towards town, we came across a bird that the guys tried to corner.

edible york mini garden area with plants growing

Love the green initiatives popping up.

clifford's tower up on hill with stairs

We’d never actually been to Clifford’s Tower so we decided it was time to take a look.

view from top of stairs at clifford's tower

Got up to the top of the stairs for a great view, but didn’t feel like paying to enter so we left.

large map of york

Back in town and where to go?

native american street performer playing music

We came across street performers doing Native American music, which was quite good.

pink silicone ice cube tray in cat shape with cat-shaped cubes

I never knew we had a cat store in town! And check out the ice cube tray I knew I had to have.

spider living inside mug in gift store

Browsing a store, I found an unwanted resident in one of the mugs for sale.

view of york minster from side angle

We then approached York Minster and went inside just in time to catch the evensong performance.

interior of gert & henry's restaurant cottage

For dinner, it was Gert & Henry’s for their Sunday roast.

collage of gert & henry's food including lemonade and sunday roast

A delicious meal to warm up to.

Treatsie October 2013 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions,Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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Trick or Treatsie!

Treatsie is $15 per box and comes with artisan candy from 3 brands. That usually means 5 or 6 different flavors of treats. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program.

treatsie october box with halloween-themed trick or treatsie label

This time it was Halloween-themed! So cute.

treatsie october box with halloween-themed tissue paper and sticker inside

Even the tissue paper and sticker inside were themed.

treatsie october box contents with chocolates, chocolate bar, and toffee

I was too excited to try it all that I forgot a picture of all the items together, so this is the best you’ll get!

collage of alma peanut butter cup and salted caramel chocolatesAlma Chocolates Thai Peanut Butter Cup & Salted Lavender Caramel: These are super cute little chocolates that are reeeeeally rich. The peanut butter cup was very smooth and definitely wasn’t your normal American peanut butter flavor. I’m not sure I could eat these normally since it was so creamy. The salted caramel is delicious and I wish I could eat more but it’s very strong too so half a piece is already more than enough. These taste like high-quality treats and I’d totally get more caramels.

collage of taza crispy crunch chocolate bar collageTaza Chocolates Organic Stone Ground Dark Chocolate Crispy Crunch Bar: This is an excellent crispy chocolate bar. It’s like a healthy version of Nestle Crunch bars. I didn’t even know they used brown rice in these! This is more of a dry taste, probably due to the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the crispiness of the rice.

collage of craftmade toffee almond toffee with milk chocolate and craftmade toffee caramel corn toffee with milk chocolateCraftmade Toffee Almond Toffee with Milk Chocolate & Caramel Corn Toffee with Milk Chocolate: O.M.YUM I looove toffee and these are just fabulous. The perfect kind of sweetness and crunch with extra bits to balance out the flavor. The almond one is good but the caramel corn one is heavenly. Amazing! I must get more of the caramel corn one. Noooom…

I like that Treatsie’s back to focusing on chocolates as the weather cools down. These are all wonderful fall candies that I can see myself eating with a nice mug of hot chocolate and a book by the fireplace (not that I have a fireplace). What do you think of these snacks?

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

365great Day 223: desserts

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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365great challenge day 223: dessertsI’m a sweets kind of person. That’s why my favorite course is dessert and I often don’t wait until the end of a meal to enjoy it. In fact, in high school my best friends and I would go out to restaurants and get our dessert brought out first. It confused many a waiter, though I’m not sure why they made it such a big deal. So what if we wanted to treat the dessert like an appetizer? I figured we may as well start with the best part and work our way from there. I also find desserts to be really fabulous breakfast items. My favorite is a giant cone of vanilla bean ice cream to kick off the day. I did that many a morning in middle and high school and I thought it was great!

Carrabbas Fire Finished First Tastes

laelene Posted in reviews,Tags: , , , ,
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carrabbas fire finished first tastes event sampling menu with reserved sign on table

Tonight, Panda and I went to Carrabbas for a special event they were holding. They’ve got their Fire Finished dishes available seasonally and they were offering samplers for free at their Fire Finished First Tastes event for those who signed up. We arrived around 6 and took up spots at the reserved tables set up near the bar. After sipping on drinks for a bit, the food started coming out. First up was the Fire-Roasted Mushrooms with sausage, peppers, fennel, onion, breadcrumbs, artichoke, and cheese:

carrabbas fire-roasted mushrooms appetizer sample

I enjoyed this dish a lot because I’m a huge fan of stuffed mushrooms. The taste was fabulous and the tomato-y sauce was a great touch. Panda loved it so much he cleared the plate. I’d definitely order this next time we’re here! Then we got the bread to share:

carrabbas bread and olive oil with cracked pepper

There was something a little bitter about it, but I did like how soft it was. After we chowed down on that, we got the Bistecca Ardente, a USDA sirloin with roasted tomatoes, blue cheese, and basil:

carrabbas bistecca ardente sirloin with roasted tomatoes sample

I’m not really into steaks but I did enjoy this taste. It might be the first time I’ve eaten a pinkish sirloin. I like that they topped it with tomatoes. I wouldn’t normally get this, but it was enjoyable. Up next was the Rigatoni Al Forno pasta with sausage and various cheeses:

carrabbas rigatoni al forno pasta dish with sausage and cheese

This was a solid pasta dish, though the cheese was a bit strong for me. I like the sausage and pasta – a pretty classic dish. After that came the Cedar Plank-Fired Salmon with jumbo lump crabmeat and lemon butter sauce:

carrabbas cedar plank-fired salmon with jumbo lump crabmeat samples

I loved the concept of this dish, though I would have liked to taste the crab a bit more. I think it got a bit overcooked since the pieces are smaller than you’d usually get when you order the dish. I’ve eaten a lot of salmon lately so I need a bit of a break, but this was good and I’d try it again. The last savory dish to come out was the Nonna Testa’s Baked Pasta with penne in pesto cream sauce and pine nuts, spinach, zucchini, and cheese:

carrabbas nonna testa's baked pasta sample dish

By this time I was so full I could hardly eat any of this. I liked the flavor and I would love to try this again another day when I can start with an empty stomach. Panda loves the pine nuts and I like their use of spinach and zucchini. And then to round it all off, we had creme brulee for dessert!

carrabbas creme brulee sample

Yum!! This is a fantastic dessert with amazing crispy bits and a rich creaminess that is oh so smooth. It was almost too rich for me to finish, but I did anyway. 🙂 I wish there was more of the caramelized part! After all this, two glasses of Coke and a glass and a half of water, I was stuffed. We stuck around to thank the manager, chef, and waiters and I left a tip for the both of us before heading out.

365great Day 219: fresh meal kits

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , ,
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365great challenge day 219: fresh meal kitsI think the only way to get me to cook are these amazing meal kit delivery services that send fresh ingredients pre-portioned, with recipe cards to help guide your cooking journey. I’ve tried HelloFresh and Blue Apron so far, both of which have provided delicious meal options. I’m getting a lot more confident in the kitchen and I’ve expanded my skill set beyond throwing things in a pan and pouring on soy sauce. This is actually also the first time I’ve cooked with meat, other than a few dumpling-making sessions. I always thought chicken took longer to cook! So I’m learning a lot, gaining a very useful skill, and having a ton of fun along the way. If only I knew what to do with all the ice packs I’m acquiring from these deliveries… well, regardless of that, these subscriptions are great!

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