Pinkberry was the very first frozen yogurt place I ever had and it still remains my favorite. I like their ever-changing seasonal menus and their always reliable original flavor. They don’t overwhelm me with topping choices, yogurt flavors, or permutations thereof like the buffet-style places that charge by weight. I’m also a fan of their app, making it easy for me to pay and rack up points. They even send me a free offer for my birthday every year! I will forever mourn the day they decided to discontinue their shaved ice offering, which was my all-time favorite item to order. Imagine a MASSIVE bowl of shaved ice, Pinkberry original frozen yogurt, a variety of fruits, and condensed milk drizzle. It was fabulous and oh so satisfying, but I guess ultimately not popular enough. What a pity. Nonetheless, Pinkberry still offers plenty of tasty treats that are great and I’m totally going to try their new hot chocolate sometime.
Posts Tagged ‘snacks’
365great Day 310: Pinkberry
Treatsie January 2014 review
Did you decide to upgrade to the new premium version of Treatsie? I’m super curious what they looked like compared to what I got. Based on the Treatsie site, it looks like I didn’t get the Avenue Sweets caramels, which I’m ok with since I already had them from another month. I wonder if the larger box included all three flavors of the Popbars though. Let me know if you upgraded and share what you got!!
Treatsie is $15 per box + $4.95 shipping and comes with artisan candy from 4 brands (I am grandfathered in for $15 for 3 brands). That means about 6 or 7 different flavors of treats (or 4 or 5 for me). Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program.
Popbar Milk Sipping Chocolate and Dark Sipping Chocolate bars: I’m really happy we got these to try! I’d seen them on a blog once and was curious about them, but never got around to finding them. I immediately texted Panda that I wanted to get milk once I saw these, lol. We don’t normally drink any, but for this I’m totally willing to get a jug. Chocolate milk is about the only form of milk I can enjoy without feeling nauseous, so I’m super excited! I hope it dissolves well, as I can easily see this globbing at the bottom and requiring much mixing to distribute evenly.
Brittle Brothers Gourmet Peanut Brittle: I fumbled around with this in the dark before finding out how easy it is to open. It’s a simple little thing, but being able to pry the plastic apart without scissors or teeth is pretty satisfying. And I didn’t even have to worry about pieces flying everywhere from ripping too hard (I’m sure we’ve all had that happen with a bag of chips). I wouldn’t so much call this peanut brittle as I would candied peanut clusters – it’s definitely got much more on the peanut side than most brittles! That’s nice in the sense that you’re getting the wonderful crunch and flavor without as much sugar overload. Of course, preferences will vary and maybe you want more sugar than nuts. It’s a draw for me.
Lillie Belle Farms Lavender Sea Salt Caramels: First of all, I love the packaging on this. I like seeing the product and the delicate sense I get from it. I felt bad having to open it, but hey these treats are meant for eatin’! I enjoyed the flavor tremendously – a light lavender scent with just enough salt to give it great contrast. It’s a rich treat that is very satisfying with just one piece. I’m a fan of dark chocolate and I think pairing that with the lavender makes for a delicious combo. I do wish the caramels themselves were a little firmer and the caramel to chocolate ratio was more evenly split.
I was perfectly happy with the contents of this box and don’t feel like I missed out by not getting the premium box. We’ll have to see what next month brings, but for now I’m keeping my original subscription! What would you like to see to upgrade to the new box?
[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!]
Spiral cutting
We got an Amazon Prime trial this weekend, so I’ve immersed myself in taking advantage of that before it expires. That means tonight I’ll just share a quick video. I love machines that cut, slice, dice, and otherwise make food more manageable and fun. This one doe a spiral cut on potatoes, which I totally want! I also want the spiralizer that’s supposed to make zucchini noodles or something like that. Yum.
spiral cut potato machine from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
The holiday break
With just about a day left before Panda and I headed back to LAX to return to our life out east, I started to feel anxious. It had been a wonderful two weeks, exactly the sort of healing, growing, relaxing, and enjoying I needed. I was kind of worried about getting back into things at work and all the other obligations being back entails. Luckily, the transition hasn’t been that bad at all and I’m happy to be (what is now) home.
Here are some highlights from my time in balmy SoCal. Other moments included hanging out with my mom, chatting with my cousin (and helping her get a new laptop at Best Buy), enjoying quiet moments alone at the mall, meeting up with some AKPsi pledge bros, grabbing lunch with an old UCLA AFROTC friend, catching up over tea with a friend I met at a Gogobot event, a session with my microdermabrasion guy (it’s been over a year!), relaxing at my fab reflexology spot, and reminiscing over old pictures (many that will slowly make their way into blog posts).
And off we go on our winter vacation.
We got upgraded to first class on the way in! I smartly brought a blanket.
As we took off, I tried to spot our new condo with little luck.
The creepy gray clouds tried to climb over the fluffy white ones…
Breakfast is served! I enjoyed the potatoes au gratin best.
Gettin’ frosty up here but I’m toasty in my blankie. 🙂
What’s that brilliantly bright light in the distance? I think it was probably a large lake catching the sun.
First order of business at home is to hang out with Missy.
Umm, how does this even happen to an apple?!
I discover a new favorite snack at the mall: Tornado Fries! Take a whole potato, swirl cut it, spread out along large stick, fry, and sprinkle on various powders for flavor. Fun!
Had my ring cleaned at my jewelers for the first time since getting it and it was nice to catch up with the owner.
Hehe, Missy doesn’t mind that the pillow is crushing her. She loves snuggling with me anyway.
For my birthday, I basically hopped from restaurant to cafe to bakery to restaurant. Happy taste buds and belly!
Oops, we over-ordered for food. Two people got what five probably should have.
Missy walks all over me and I love it.
When she’s like this, how can I work? Too cute.
I had a quiet NYE just watching the show on TV.
Ringing in the new year with this guy jamming on his electric guitar! #culvercitycharacters
Lol, I never got to check out the Westwood Farmer’s Market once it was moved to Thursday, and now here I am.
My absolute fav to get at Gushi.
Little miss princess.
Trying out a new pizza joint in DTLA with my Gogobot buds.
(re)Met a Gogoboter and we do some selfies.
Got together with old friends who I met the year I met Panda! Yes, the picture is intentionally blurry.
I couldn’t leave LA without bringing some treats.
At the airport, I got dinner since I hadn’t eaten all day.
I thought we got a pepperoni and mushroom, but we accidentally left off the mushroom part of the order. Oh well!
365great Day 298: brownies
To me, brownies are probably the most indulgent snack. They’re so rich and dense that sometimes just a bite or two will satisfy me. I also love how easy they are to make – I almost never mess them up (whereas cakes are another story and cupcakes are pretty much hopeless for this girl’s baking skills). I’ve been partial to the wonderful boxes of Ghirardelli brownie pouches that you can get at Costco – indulgence discounted! It’s so much fun to play around with the different ingredients you can mix in to make brownies more exciting too, like chocolate chips, caramel, marshmallow, walnuts… and I don’t know how they make that top glazed crusty layer appear, but it’s pretty fantastic. Pair it with some ice cream and you’ve got a great dessert too!
28 going on 30s
Was it really my birthday today? It feels so surreal. At times I marvel that I’m now 28 though (more recently) sometimes I kind of am ready to just be in my 30s already. I guess I should enjoy the next two years before that big 3-0 hits for real and I can’t go back to these crazy 20s. 😉
I started off my day much like I ended my night yesterday: with Missy sleeping on my chest. 🙂
Once I got up, I went to get Panda and he took us to this dim sum place with MASSIVE lobsters (no, we did not eat any). Note the normal lobsters in the tank next to it.
After our meal, we explored a fun Japanese store. These earmuffs are fun but too cutesy for me. I got a hedgehog microfiber glove instead, lol.
As we sat looking for a tea place we’d heard of, I was amused by how Panda’s pant leg rode up and he had a random thread on his socks. Silly boy.
We found the place with 3D latte art!
Such adorable designs! I got that marsh-minion for free just for checking in on Yelp.
As I drank my drink, the bear slowly drifted away into oblivion (or my stomach, as it were).
The next stop was Frances Bakery for deeelicious cronuts.
I was so excited I totally over-ordered!
Nom nom nom… couldn’t wait to enjoy the goodness.
Then it was off to Glendale Galleria, where we wandered around the stores and I entertained myself trying on these crazy heels.
What do you think of making this necklace a headdress?
L’Occitane had a free hand massage offer so I got treated to it.
For dinner, we went kind of overboard and ordered 5 things, not thinking the portions would be ENORMOUS. Sooo many leftovers!
We stopped for boba and then went to our respective homes. I arrived to find Missy ready for my attention.
As my mom and I chatted in the kitchen, Missy lay claim to the cronuts. Or maybe she just likes the box. 😉
And now I’m comfortably in bed snuggling with Missy. I think she’s pleased I finally went to bed… she’d been waiting over an hour for me!
Escape Monthly December: Italy Box Review
To round off the year, Escape Monthly offered their very first international theme of Italy!
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.
(click to enlarge and read full messaging)
I don’t know what I might have expected in this box, since all I can think of when I think of Italy is delicious mushroom pizza. Of course that’s not something you can readily pack into a box, so of course what we got were snacks and some skincare items. They’re all totally appropriate for Italy, though I do wish they could have snuck some pasta in too. I would have loved another beauty tool or some sort of trinket from the region to top it all off.
Here’s what came in the box:
Moon Handbooks guide to Living Abroad in Italy – This is exactly the sort of thing I’d put in a care package for someone planning on studying abroad in Italy. Of course, I don’t know anyone at the moment, but I’m sure it will be a great way to learn more about the country and see what other areas I might want to explore. I’ve been to Rome, Vatican City, Venice, and (briefly) Pisa. I’ve got Florence, Milan, and Naples on my radar… who knows what else I might learn about that I must go see next time!
iSiciliami Passione Pasticcera Riccio al Cacao cookies – I think these are a great selection – a very Italianesque cookie that I’ve actually never heard of. So here I am learning something new about the country and getting to try wonderful treats that were actually made over there. Unfortunately I didn’t get to try them before having to leave, so I’m excited to get back and try them soon. I’ve heard fantastic reviews on them so far and I’m always a fan of a good cookie.
Rigoni di Asiago Nocciolata hazelnut spread – Now I’m not quite sure how/when to use this spread, but it does sound delicious. I love that it’s organic and it’s from a family business based in Italy. Treats like these definitely fit with the theme. I would have loved if they included some cookies/crackers/bread that this could be spread on. I’ll have to try it on some toast or maybe even a bagel, though I hardly ever eat those so I might just eat this straight from the jar. 😛
Skin&Co Roma Truffle Body Milk – What an adorable lotion! I love the look and feel of it – perfect for keeping at your desk to use when you’re feeling a bit dry. Using truffles is so very European of them and makes their line seem quite luxurious. I loved looking into the story of how the line got started generations ago and why having truffles in the products is good (antioxidants helping to reduce free radical damage). I hear it smells great too, which I shall have to confirm when I get my hands on it again.
Skin&Co Roma Truffle Body Gel – With claims of anti-aging effects and a super cool ingredient like truffle extract, this definitely has me intrigued. As mentioned already, the branding on this is pretty cool. And of course I gotta love that they’re a born and bred Italian company!
Perugina Baci chocolates – These were the bonus item this time around and really, who could say no to chocolate truffles? I just wish there were more of these! Since they’re individually wrapped, they are perfect to share with others (if you can resist eating them all yourself).
La Civetta extra virgin olive oil – Such a cute bottle of olive oil, which I can’t wait to break into the next time we cook. I’m curious what the green apple and almond flavor in it is like. Do most olive oils have other flavors infused like that? Have I just not noticed all this time? I can’t say that I really know much about olive oil so maybe it’s normal, but I think it’s really cool that they’ve got some other flavoring going on there.
Olio & Olive Castelvetrano olives – Ah yes, I should have known there would be olives. I’m personally not a fan, so I’ll be looking to give these away, but I do like that they came in a nice neat see-through package. I might look into seeing if I can make my own olive oil from them though… that’d be pretty cool to try!
Provence of Terni Umbria – I think this might have been added in as part of the Skin&Co set since that’s where the whole truffle thing got started for the brand, or maybe it’s just a coincidence and Umbria is a place I should be adding to my future destinations. Whatever the case, I look forward to learning more!
I really like how this box wasn’t just a hodge podge of things that vaguely remind you of Italy. It seems like they really took the time to pick out some fabulous Italian brands to showcase, which I really appreciate. I’ve definitely discovered a ton of new stuff! What do you think of this international Escape Monthly box? If you want to sign up, try one of these codes (not sure which ones are still active): PAMPERME or COLORADO for 20% off the lifetime of your subscription, ITALIANESCAPE for 20% off, GIFTESCAPE for 25% off.
January we’ll be getting a Colorado box! Panda just went there recently so I’ll be interested to hear what he thinks.
[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!]
Treatsie December 2013 review
Treatsie has decided to increase their offering from 3 confectioners to 4 per box, which in turn means raising their prices slightly. As a preview of what this new box will be like, they sent it out to everyone this month. Per my understanding, I can keep the current 3 brands per box $15 subscription through the end of 2014, or I can choose to upgrade to the new 4 brands per box $19.95 subscription. I’m still undecided on this and might keep the current subscription, checking out what the difference between this and the new one is like before deciding sometime next year.
Treatsie is now $15 per box + $4.95 shipping and comes with artisan candy from 4 brands (was $15 for 3 brands). That means about 6 or 7 different flavors of treats. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program.
The new standard Treatsie box.
Nutwhats Pecan Scribble: These were the bonus items that got included because of the new subscription style. I wonder if they would have made it into the next box if Treatsie kept the 3 brands per box model. They’re a fun snack, kind of like a brittle bar but kind of like a nutty crunch bar. They’re topped with a drizzle of chocolate and have a very sweet flavor. I like them, but I’ve never been huge on nuts so I don’t think I’d ever crave them. I like how the nuts are ground into tiny pieces so I don’t get a huge chunk at a time. The super crunchy texture is nice and kind of makes me feel like I’m eating a biscuit at times.
Ashby Confections Milk Chocolate Tortoises: Oh yum!! The combination of chocolate and caramel makes me quite enjoy the pecans as part of this treat. I think I also like it because the pecans are soft so I don’t feel like I’m eating nuts at all. The salt on top is a nice detail that makes this candy feel classy. I gobbled this right up and I do believe they’re the best turtles/tortoises I’ve ever had! Right up my alley and my taste buds are happy. 🙂
Tahana Confections caramels in Pumpkin Pie Spice, Salted, Ganache with Sea Salt, & Vanilla: These are addicting. Each piece is quite large so I thought they’d last me a few mouthfuls, but I found that once I bit in I couldn’t stop and just had to eat the whole thing at once. I like how they’re just the right consistency – not too soft and not too firm. The way your teeth sink in ever so gently, yet with little resistance makes it oh so easy to eat it right up. I loved all the flavors and this was the first time I’d tried a caramel with little bits of chocolate hidden inside (the ganache one), which was a fun surprise! I also loved the fragrant sweetness of the vanilla. I would totally buy more of these.
Sucré Milk Chocolate & Almond and Dark Chocolate baby bars: Finally, there were these adorable little bars. As expected, I wasn’t really into the almond ones, but the dark chocolate was yummy. At just 53% cacao, it was on the sweeter side for a dark chocolate, great for those of you who are more of milk chocolate fans. I don’t think I could have more than one piece at a time since the sweetness was quite potent. It’s like they still packed all the flavor of a regular size bar into these minis! That’s good for those who are trying to portion control, since one piece goes a long way.
Overall I enjoyed this box, but was not completely convinced that I should upgrade to the new box. I mean, $15 a month for candy was already a stretch and now $20? I’m going to have to sit on this one a little while. I’m glad that they’re still keeping the original box for another year to let us figure it out. Would you upgrade to the new box?
[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!]
UK Vacation Day 7 Recap
On day 7 of our grand UK adventure, Panda and I explored the streets of Edinburgh and found a bunch of museums. The morning started off with a silly moment, when Panda got my ring stuck on his finger… and we thought he might have to wear it around all day for me. 😛 I got a delicious treat at a cute bakehouse, we swung by the cafe where Harry Potter was written, and of course went to check out the castle (getting a few items in the gift shop but not actually going in). Along the way, we came across two Chinese ladies asking for directions and I regretted not helping. We wanted to also check out this place called The Mound, but I think they were closed so we skipped it. For dinner, we got Pizza Express and I discovered my new favorite pizza. Later at night we got hungry again so we went out to a Chinese place where they were very interested in chatting us up. I guess Chinese-Americans don’t come around that often.
[Don’t forget about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, and Day 6 recaps.]
We started the day off right with a hearty breakfast British style.
I’ve never seen a salt and pepper shaker as one unit! I want.
Off to the bustling Princes Street. There’s just a bit of blue sky out there.
So bright and cheery against the other dull colors.
Classic building in these parts.
Caught me chillin’ on these cute roads.
We found the world’s end!
We arrive at the Museum of Edinburgh to find we were there on exactly the 500th anniversary of the Flodden Campaign.
What a cool staircase.
Hehe, I was amused by the midget next to the giant.
Those shoes do NOT look comfy.
Ambulances here use blue and neon yellow.
Stumbled upon Mimi’s Bakehouse, where I could hardly choose just one thing to try!
Such a fun light frame.
I decided to opt for the Malteser bar. Yummy yummy.
We made a quick stop at the Museum of Childhood. Strollers used to be so much simpler.
I’ve never heard to this shoot the moon game and I haven’t a clue how it works.
Next up was the grandest museum of all: the Museum of Scotland! Gorgeous room.
Weighing in against animals, I am right around the same as a giant anteater. Fun fact: Panda and I are almost exactly the same weight – sometimes 2 lbs off but often identical.
This is the only breed of cat in the world that can climb down trees, thanks to claws that go the other direction! If only household cats could get those claws…
I spent all this effort sending a Morse code message to Panda only to discover he wasn’t paying attention! Men.
So perfect for me! My feet and back get sore easily, so I happily grabbed a seat to rest on.
The fun little cafe with a view of Edinburgh Castle in the back, where JK Rowling did much of her earlier writing.
Apparently this place inspires plenty of writers!
We can just make out the ocean out there. So cool! I wish we could have gone to visit but it’s far.
Up, up, up to the Ednburgh Castle.
There was some sort of event there and they were taking down the bleachers they’d set up.
Spectacular place to live. We decided not to go into the castle but just enjoy the views and shop.
Such cute soaps! I recorded the brand so I can remember to get these one day…
Not quite what we imagined when we order dough balls, but they were good!
Panda go La Reine and I go the Pomodoro Pesto in the back – FAB. I love thin crust, fresh tomatoes, mushroom, and pesto.
What a beautiful place Edinburgh is. So much greenery!
Such a quaint path down into the Princes Street Gardens.
Such a beautiful burst of color against the drab.
Seeing this inspired me to get one back when I was stateside!
Time to consider changing your priorities along with it?
Panda always loves his Singapore noodles.
365great Day 264: Sprinkles Cupcakes
I don’t recall how exactly I found out about Sprinkles, but I do remember all the hype around it. I mean, who’s crazy enough to open a cupcake shop and sell that exclusively?? But hey, it turned out to be a hit and I happily lined up outside that teeny shop on Little Santa Monica Blvd. For me, it absolutely lived up to its reputation. The cupcakes were a generous size, fresh and moist, not too sweet, and just enough taste. I could hardly get enough! I’d go with friends whenever we got a chance to roam away from the UCLA campus. I still love those cupcakes, though I don’t go as much anymore and their size has shrunk. They did open up a cool cupcake dispensing ATM and an ice cream shop next door! Each day, there’s a special code to get a deal – it used to be a free cupcake, but now I think it’s BOGO. All kinds of goodness there. It’s a great place to try if you haven’t yet!
