I would love you anyway.
Specifically, Ethel’s chocolate would make an excellent gift! They have seasonal boxes and baskets, including this round box of their limited edition holiday chocolates. I would love to try the Pecan Pie. mmmmm.
Also fabulous are their chocolate bars. I love the buttery caramel and the almond toffee crisp.
You can even design your own collection. I do this every time I go to Chicago. Sometimes twice!
For a while I was drinking coffee every day. This was fine except when I would take a day off and then I was plagued with a nasty headache. I cursed the little caffeine monkey on my back (damn you little monkey!) and one day decided it might be a good idea to give it up for a while. Since then, I’ve tried to limit it to a cup once or twice a week, and have been caffeine-headache free. Yay!
Until this last week. I haven’t been able to help myself!
I’ve always liked those little tins of coffee drink mix. You’ve probably seen them at the store. The cans are about the size of a can of spam and they cost a gazillion dollars. Ok not that much. But they *are* expensive for how tiny they are. So I rarely buy them. This is probably for the best because it’s such tasty stuff that I’d want to drink it all the time and back would come my little monkey!
Unfortunately, I found an alternative that tastes just as fabulous but costs a lot less! I’m sad! I’m excited! I don’t know what I am! I’m drinking more coffee, that’s for sure.
I love reading the Hillbilly Housewife. Good information, well presented, great site. Did you know she also has drink mix recipes??? Eep! I made the Rich Vanilla Coffee mix last weekend, not really because it was the one I wanted to try the most, but because I had all of the ingredients on hand. And it is so good. So good! I made my way through the first batch this week and just made a new batch today. I cannot wait to try some of the other recipes. If you have the ingredients for any of these on hand, I highly recommend you try them!
I plan to stock up on the ingredients and tuck drink mixes in my holiday goodie baskets and bags. It will be fabulous!
Now that it’s getting cold, I’m in the mood to drink more hot beverages. They really do help when I’m feeling icy. Which seems like most of the time! I’ve totally been in the mood for tea, coffee and hot chocolate. I’ll comment on the other two at a later point but right now I want to talk about tea! After last night I just have tea on the brain! I’m actually making a pot right now.
I have a ridiculous amount of the stuff (not that it’s limited to tea, I have a ridiculous amount of stuff in general) and I keep getting the urge to buy more! I have two tea pots but it just doesn’t seem like enough! Here are some things that have caught my eye recently. Maybe they’d be good for the tea drinker in your life!
Mate Lemon Blast Herbal Tea: I haven’t actually tried any Mate tea so far, but I’ve been aiming to make my way through the different tea types to figure out what I like. Teavana describes it as “An energizing blend of Yerba Mate with lemongrass, rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.” I really like the smell of lemongrass so this has some definite potential.
Samurai Chai Mate: “A sip of this sweetly robust straight up Mate blend awakens the Samurai within. Inspired by the Way of the Warrior, this fresh green Mate is imbued with strong spices, invigorating herbs and revitalizing citrus. A wonderful cup of tea that will get you moving!” Citrus and spice can be pretty fabulous together and this sounds like a good morning tea.
Insulated Travel Tea Mug: This is a great idea for a messy person like me! Once in a while I’ll take my coffee or tea to work in a travel mug and somehow I always manage to spill it. On me or in the car somehow. A vacuum sealed cup would be incredibly helpful. As long as it worked anyway.
TriniTEA Electric Tea Maker: Have I mentioned that I also love appliances? I seriously don’t need any more. I don’t have room for any more. But man, I *want* this! Adagio says: “This wondrous appliance does it all – heats water, steeps leaves, and keeps tea warm so you may enjoy it all day long. Variable timer and temperature control lets you adjust the strength of an infusion, ensuring a perfect cup of tea each time. “
How handy would this be if you have multiple tea types that you like to drink? They all seem to come with different requirements for temperature and steep time. This could take the guess work out of it! (And, since it keeps it warm in the pot, it could also cut down on my icky unintentionally cold tea problem.)
Instant Read Digital Thermometer:
And finally, teapots
Your turn! What’s your favorite tea? Favorite place to buy it?
For Christmas this year, I’m going back to making things. I’m pretty excited about it actually. I decided to make today a lazy, no-sew day but I still wanted to be crafty and make something. So I dug out my bottle of Mighty Mendit
Today I’m bringing you part one of this project, check back for part two. I’m splitting it up to allow for drying time with the Mighty Mendit
Step 1: Pick out some fabric and get out your scissors, Mighty Mendit
Step 2: Cut two pieces of equal size. I made squares. You can do squares too. Or maybe try rectangles, or circles! This is where your measuring tape comes in handy, to make sure your pieces are the same size!
Step 3: Place the two pieces face to face and put a thin line of glue Permanent Bonding Agent close to but not too close to the edge on one of the pieces. Carefully lay the other piece on top, making sure to line everything up as evenly as possible. Make sure to leave a gap where you don’t put any glue stuff so you can turn it inside out later.
Step 4: Put it somewhere safe, on something that you don’t mind potentially getting glue Permanent Bonding Agent on. For me this is a room where the kitties are not allowed.
Step 5: Wait. Give it a good long while to dry.
While we’re waiting, a note on Mighty Mendit