Posts Tagged ‘treats’

Free cone day

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses，Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
08 April 2014
0

I’m getting a little antsy with no new box recently. I do have some on the way though! I ordered a Julep spring mystery box (I had skipped March, but it looks like I got sucked in to getting something anyway :-P) and I got a notification that my Beauty Box 5 is on its way. In the mean time…

Today was free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s locations across the nation! For lunch, a bunch of my coworkers and I went to claim a freebie and I donated $5 to the charity that was there – apparently each location has a local charity for the day. I got a scoop of Liz Lemon, which is a lemon frozen Greek yogurt with blueberry swirl. I think I’ve found a refreshing fav! I really enjoyed the slight tartness and lightness of this flavor.

ben and jerry's ice cream free cone day april 8th 2014 sign

hands holding ice cream cones from ben and jerry's

“Hurry up with the picture, I want to eat my cone!!”

Treatsie March 2014 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: , , , , , , , ,
20 March 2014
0

This month, the new premium version of Treatsie (which you’d get if you signed up after they changed their pricing) had a deluxe TCHO bar in addition to what I got. These bars are larger than the set of minis I have and include fun flavors like Galactic Gelato and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.

Treatsie is $15 per box + $4.95 shipping and comes with artisan candy from 3-4 brands (I am grandfathered in for $15 for 3 brands and fewer items). 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.

treatsie march 2014 box contents with chocolate bars and caramels

CocoaPlanet Salted Caramel and CocoaMint chocolate bars: I didn’t understand the “pearls of flavor” until I bit in and found wonderful little pockets of caramel or mint scattered throughout the salted caramel and cocoamint bars/discs. It’s a nice round chocolate “bar” and there are directions on how to make hot chocolate with it. I think that’s a fabulous idea! I enjoy eating them as is too.

Big Picture Farm Cocoa Latte, Maple Cream, Chai, & Sea Salt & Bourbon Vanilla caramels: I’m not sure about the two with coffee and alcohol flavoring, since I like neither, so I think I’ll share them with someone else. I loved the chai, which tasted wonderfully of chai and gave me a nice warm sensation. The maple cream tasted like a pretty normal caramel to me and it wasn’t until I’d been chewing it for awhile that some of the maple and cream was noticeable. If subtle was their intention, they got that down.

TCHO Minibar Assortment: These are packaged beautifully and each comes with a fun description of the taste notes: there’s the PureNotes dark chocolate – extremely rich and “chocolatey,” the SeriousMilk “classic” milk chocolate with caramel notes, the PureNotes dark chocolate with layers of “fruity” notes, the PureNotes dark chocolate with light and “bright” notes, the SeriousMilk “cacao” milk chocolate with lush and fudgy notes, and the PureNotes dark chocolate with subtle “nutty” notes. Well, I know exactly what to expect with these! I’ve enjoyed the flavors I tried and I think these bars are a perfect little treat.

I’m still glad I’m locked in for the original box for now. I was plenty happy with the contents of this box and don’t feel too bad about missing on a large TCHO chocolate. Do you like the contents of the box this month?

[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 340: rice crispy treats

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , ,
17 February 2014
0

365great day 340: rice crispy treatsIn middle school, I used to gorge on Rice Krispy Treats and Gatorade. I loved the sweetness of the marshmallows and the crispness of the popped rice in those snacks. Since then, I’ve enjoyed many other versions made by a variety of sources and I’m always looking forward to trying more. I like ones that are gooey and soft, almost taffy-like. These ones from Starbucks are pretty fantastic and I could eat them for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert. Rice crispy treats make a versatile snack that you can enjoy any time of day. I find they go quite well with a nice hot drink too. One of these days I’m going to try making them for myself. I can just imagine how amazing they’d be fresh out of the oven! What a great baked good to have around.

365great Day 310: Pinkberry

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , ,
18 January 2014
2

365great day 310: pinkberryPinkberry 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.

The holiday break

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
08 January 2014
0

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).

view of other united flights lined up at terminal at iad airport

And off we go on our winter vacation.

girl sitting in first class seat on plane with blanket wrapped around legs

We got upgraded to first class on the way in! I smartly brought a blanket.

aerial of northern virginia area near dulles airport

As we took off, I tried to spot our new condo with little luck.

overhead view of gray clouds and white clouds with shadows of setting sun

The creepy gray clouds tried to climb over the fluffy white ones…

breakfast meal served in first class on united flight, with eggs, potatoes au gratin, meat patty, tomato, cinnamon roll, fresh fruit, and orange juice

Breakfast is served! I enjoyed the potatoes au gratin best.

tiny ice crystals formed on exterior of plane window

Gettin’ frosty up here but I’m toasty in my blankie. 🙂

aerial view of land with bright light in distance

What’s that brilliantly bright light in the distance? I think it was probably a large lake catching the sun.

girl laying on ground looking over and smiling at cat looking into distance

First order of business at home is to hang out with Missy.

apple that burst around the middle and split apart

Umm, how does this even happen to an apple?!

girl holding giant stick of tornado fries in front of kiosk in mall

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!

manya jewelers storefront at valencia town center mall with engagement ring made there in foreground

Had my ring cleaned at my jewelers for the first time since getting it and it was nice to catch up with the owner.

cat laying against leg underneath body pillow facing up

Hehe, Missy doesn’t mind that the pillow is crushing her. She loves snuggling with me anyway.

girl sipping japanese matcha green tea latte with 3d latte art of bear at outdoor table of cafe

For my birthday, I basically hopped from restaurant to cafe to bakery to restaurant. Happy taste buds and belly!

table filled with giant dishes of northern chinese food and girl looking skeptical about two people eating it all

Oops, we over-ordered for food. Two people got what five probably should have.

cat walking on person's butt while she lies across bed on belly

Missy walks all over me and I love it.

cat taking nap with arms extended over keyboard of laptop while sitting on person's lap

When she’s like this, how can I work? Too cute.

zoomed in view of times square new years ball lit up in blue on tv for new years eve celebration in nyc

I had a quiet NYE just watching the show on TV.

electric guitarist playing music in middle of road at intersection in culver city

Ringing in the new year with this guy jamming on his electric guitar! #culvercitycharacters

booths at westwood farmers market on broxton street thursday near ucla

Lol, I never got to check out the Westwood Farmer’s Market once it was moved to Thursday, and now here I am.

kimchi fried rice dish at gushi's restaurant in westwood near ucla

My absolute fav to get at Gushi.

cat sitting pretty atop luxurious white furry blanket

Little miss princess.

thin crust pizza with half sausage with red onions and half mozzarella with basil

Trying out a new pizza joint in DTLA with my Gogobot buds.

blurry selfie with terrible aim of part of new friend at pizza place

(re)Met a Gogoboter and we do some selfies.

blurry shot of group of friends at dim sum restaurant table

Got together with old friends who I met the year I met Panda! Yes, the picture is intentionally blurry.

box of lady di's cupcakes and two brownies on side

I couldn’t leave LA without bringing some treats.

wolfgang puck express pizza box

At the airport, I got dinner since I hadn’t eaten all day.

wolfgang puck express pepperoni pizza in box

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

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , ,
07 January 2014
0

365great challenge day 298: browniesTo 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!

365great Day 256: cronuts

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , , ,
25 November 2013
0

365great challenge day 256: cronutsOne of my friends in LA introduced me to cronuts back when I was visiting him and his girlfriend in DTLA. There’s this one bakery that makes them in Little Tokyo and they are faaabulous. A donut-shaped fried treat with the texture of a croissant, filled with sweetness, rolled in sugar, and topped with fruit/chocolate… I mean, this is just madness. I tried to go get one from the original place in NYC but they’re so popular you have to get up before the crack of dawn to stand in line for hours. The one in LA will set some aside from their next batch if you call in, which is what we did. I had the blueberry one and OMG it was all kinds of amazing. I’m looking forward to getting some more when I return to the area for Thanksgiving. They’re expensive at $4 a pop, but they are oh so great.

Homegrown Collective August 2013 projects

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
17 September 2013
1

Are you ready to see the results of my Homegrown Collective August box?! I sure had a ton of fun with it. 🙂

The Homegrown Collective GREENBOX is $39 per box + $9 shipping (or as discounted as $429 for an entire year, with options in between) and comes with fun and easy projects to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program you can apply to join.

the homegrown collective august 2013 products for growing alfalfa sprouts with instruction sheet

I started off with the alfalfa sprouts project.

pile of alfalfa seeds in layer at bottom of glass ball jar

I put in just enough to cover the bottom of the jar.

pile of alfalfa seeds submerged in water in glass ball jar

I then filled with plenty of water to submerge them, though I had some floaters.

collage of alfalfa seeds submerged in water after one day then getting water strained out

The next day, the water had browned and I poured it out. It was hard to get the screen on underneath the lid! It’s a tight fit. I rolled the jar and shook it so the seeds got spread around.

collage of alfalfa seeds sprouted in glass ball jar after two days

By the third day, they’d sprouted! I was so surprised I actually gasped out loud when I saw it.

collage of alfalfa sprouts growing in glass ball jar

On the fourth day they continued to grow and I tried to get the remaining seeds to sprout by giving them more space.

collage of alfalfa sprouts growing in glass ball jar filling area

By the fifth day, I noticed that they had orientated themselves upwards even though there was no sun where I kept them. Guess they just knew which way is up!

collage of alfalfa sprouts full grown in glass ball jar and removed

Just six days in and they were definitely full grown and ready to come out. I let the brown seed covers float up and dumped them out.

tray of full grown alfalfa sprouts with green heads after getting sunlight

I then let them sit out in the sun and the heads went from yellow to green. Ready to eat! I had some but gosh, this was waaay more than I could handle.

the homegrown collective august 2013 products for making green tea & lavender epsom salt bath soak with instruction sheet

Next up was a lovely bath soak to pamper myself!

pile of green tea mixed with fresh lavender for bath soak in muslin bag

I put together a few scoops of green tea and some lavender flowers in the muslin bag and mixed them up.

collage of green tea and lavender bath soak with epsom salts and muslin bag filled with tea and lavender flowers in tub

I ran really hot water, put in epsom salts that quickly dissolved, let the tea bag sit in the running water, and then let the bag float around the tub.

green tea leaves and lavender flowers emptied from inside of muslin bag

After my relaxing soak, I flipped the bag inside out to get the tea out, rinsed the rest off, and let it dry for next time.

the homegrown collective august 2013 products for dark chocolate pomegranate wonder cup snacks with instruction sheet

Finally, I got around to trying the pomegranate chocolate cups!

collage of steps to peel pomegranate from cutting skin to removing seeds and soaking in water

It was a slow process ensuring I got the seeds out as whole as possible, but I was rewarded with a nice pile of them.

collage of melting chocolate, drying pomegranate seeds, and putting pomegranate seeds into paper cups

I don’t have a double boiler, so I melted the chocolate with a bowl in the pot. I boiled the water too much and water got in, but it turned out ok. I nearly forgot to pat dry the seeds before putting them in the cups!

collage of melted chocolate and pomegranate seeds then pouring chocolate over the seeds in paper cups

I poured the melted chocolate over the seeds and just about overfilled the cups. I generously sprinkled the salt flakes on top and put it all the in fridge. It came out looking not much different and tasted fantastic, even with my messed up chocolate.

silicone cat-shaped ice cube tray with pomegranate seeds inside

I decided to have some fun with it and make some with my cat-shaped ice cube tray! I accidentally messed up the chocolate again so it didn’t turn out to well, but I’m totally trying again later. Nom!!

So what do you think? Jealous yet? 😉 I loved each of these projects and will definitely be doing them again. I’m also looking forward to the upcoming box!!

If you’re interested in getting it yourself, sign up here!

[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 June review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: , , , , , , ,
29 June 2013
0

I got my very first Treatsie box for this month and I’m super excited! I love sweets, especially chocolate, caramels, fudge, and the like. Exactly what Treatsie offers. 🙂

Treatsie got started recently, after being successfully funded on Kickstarter. They’re down in Arkansas, which is refreshing to see since you don’t get many startups from the south. They cost $15 monthly and they send a lovely box of artisan candy from confectioners around the country.

Each box 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.

Here’s what came in the June box:

treatsie carboard box with sticker logo branding

treatsie box tissue paper wrapping with sticker

june treatsie box contents with liddabit sweets, askinosie chocolate, and lambrecht gourmet products

june treatsie box contents laid out with lollipop, caramels, toffee, and chocolates

june treatsie box contents backs including lollipop, caramels, toffee, and chocolates

I loved the fig caramels the most due to the fun chunks of fig in them. I’ve yet to try the lollipop and I’m slowly working through the toffee, which is huge! I love how it’s crisp but has soft portions. The chocolate is super cute and rather bitter. Great little bite size.

So far so good! I would definitely want to get more caramels and toffee if they’re not too hard to find or expensive. I can’t wait to continue discovering amazing confections through Treatsie!

[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 89: The Buttercup LA

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
11 June 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 89: the buttercup laI was recently introduced to this lovely new shop on Sawtelle. At first I was skeptical of “amazing macaroons” – they just aren’t my type of dessert. But there’s something about these that is just fantastic. Perhaps it’s that rich creamy filling that isn’t too fluffy but has some real meat to it, so to say. I’ve got to say, I have found a new appreciation for these treats and I’d definitely recommend anyone in the area to swing by! The people at the shop are super friendly and I love that the store features local artists – you can get canvases for your walls, greeting cards for special occasions, even jewelry for your favorite lady! They’ve got some pretty amazing candles too, which are shaped like cupcakes and look so good you could practically eat them. This is a gem of a place tucked away in the Olympic Collection building; everything about it is great!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
First Prev 123