Teavana

I was doing some shopping at Westfield Mall yesterday, and was passing a tea shop where I sometimes buy my tea.
They had some samples at the door, and after tasting, this time, iced tea I decided to purchase both. Unfortunately, they usually put sugar in their tasting samples, but I am aware of that, so I buy only a small amount at first to be sure that I really like it.
I got Youthberry which is flavored white tea, and Wild Orange Blossom herbal tea. They taste both great, but also smell amazing.

They also sell beautiful tea gifts and accessories.

The name of the store is Teavana - www.teavana.com. I have also been to the one in Oakbrook Center and Naperville.

I have just learnt that Teavana was acquired by Starbucks in 2012. What a story... "coffee people" purchased "tea people".

Biking accessories

I have purchased a new bike saddle and gloves.
Finally, my husband decided to get a new bike, so we are ready to do some biking again. I got a new saddle because I was looking for something more comfortable, and my cycling gloves are really old.

Gooseberry

I am planting a gooseberry soon. I love all sorts of fruit but gooseberries are hard to find and when they already have them in a store they are terribly expensive. We used to have them in my parents' garden. They are so easy to grow, but I guess there is no demand hence the high price.

I got this tiny plant of Pixwell Gooseberry the other day, and can't wait to plant it, just waiting for a bit more suitable weather.

Housing situation once again

Yes, it is time to get another house, a birdhouse :-) We already have some bird feeders but decided to put also some birdhouses in our garden to attract even more birds. Not only because we love to watch them but because they are important for our trees as they liquidate all the possible unwanted insects that attack trees.

Here is our first one. I purchased this one, but will make more myself, or will assign a project to my husband ;-), based on this design later.

Silver jewellery from Europe

I never liked gold. I don't know why, but I wouldn't even buy a bag or a jacket that has a golden zip, buttons etc. Until recently...

As I was really looking hard for some nice and quality silver jewellery for a reasonable price here, and couldn't find anything that looks more sophisticated than the silver for kids, I decided to visit Pandora jewellery.

-PANDORA designs, manufactures and markets hand-finished and modern jewelry, and has the headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark.-

I knew Pandora before mainly for their charm bracelets, and was resistant to them as I normally like something more original, you see the bracelets everywhere.

So, when I visited my local Pandora store the first time I was nicely surprised, as they were also offering a different silver collection at that time. I was lucky to receive a couple of pieces of that particular one as my birthday present from my husband.
At the same time I had a look at the charms closely, and fell in love with them. So, now I am also a 'Pandora charm collector' :-) You can generally get the charms in silver, gold, glass, wood etc. but also, as I discovered,  in a silver-gold combination. That is when I realized that this Two-Tone style is my favourite . I am still a silver lover, but I opened up to just a bit of gold. I love it!

my recent addition - Love Struck charm - from my husband :-)

Cuisinart PeftecTemp

I needed a new electric kettle, but was preoccupied with other things, so I kept forgetting about it. And what happened over the Holidays? I got one from my husband. Well, this particular kitchen appliance is definitely a very special one.
It is The Cuisinart® PerfecTemp™ Electric Kettle, and has 6 preset temperatures for different varieties of tea and coffee, fast heat-up and "keep warm" option that maintains the set temperature for 30 minutes, 360° swivel power base, it beeps when your water is ready, and more.

It is a perfect addition to my kitchen. If you know a tea lover and are looking for a present, this is it!!!

Are you addicted...?

It is said that many women are addicted to shoes shopping, right? Well, not me, I must have a "cups/mugs" addiction. Definitely. I have just purchased more cups. I just couldn't resist.

 

Is it because I like ceramics in general, or maybe because I love to drink tea (and coffee), or am I a 'cup collector'....?! I don't understand, but ask my husband, I am drawn to them...there must be a special force :-)

 

Here is my recent addition...

 

 

 

 

Getting back to the shoes, don't get me wrong, I love shoes, but cups are still winning..., handbags on the other hand, well that is quite a different matter!!! Shall we talk about HANBAGS next time? ;-)

 

 

New "American" Microwave

We bought a new microwave (an over-the-range one with built-in extractor hood) together with other kitchen appliances 3 months ago, but it was installed only this week. My husband was doing it himself and when he started, he realized it would be a difficult project. We wanted it venting out and as soon as he cut out a piece of drywall, there it was - a pipe and electric cables in it and a stud right in the way where the vent was supposed to go.

So we left it for a couple of weeks and focused on other projects, but at the same time were thinking what would be the best solution to this problem. We knew how to deal with the stud, but now also electricity!!! We decided to close the drywall and use the kitchen cabinet above, where was more space, to direct the piping outside there.

Finally, the microwave is working, so I started experimenting with its features. I decided for this GE Profile microwave because it is matching my GE Profile stove/ range. (WOW label)

One of the button says FAMILY SNACKS, so I pressed it and here it comes, these are my options:

1 - BURRITO
2 - CHICKEN NUGGETS
3 - OATMEAL
4 - INSTANT MAC AND CHEESE
5 - CANNED PASTA
6 - HOT DOGS
7 - FROZEN MICROWAVE PIZZA
8 - HOT CHOCOLATE

 

Well done GE! There should be a sticker on this product - "for Americans only". Definitely NOT my type of snacks. I can use only one option - OATMEAL. Even hot chocolate that I make is from fresh cocoa powder, but maybe I can trick the machine and use this option as well.

 

Well, the rest of the features are great, so let's just forget about this one :-)

 



New entry door

When we were purchasing our house, we knew that we had to replace the front door because of its damage . We ordered it and were told it would be delivered in one or two weeks. It wasn't. As a matter of fact, it was delayed several times and last week - 6 weeks later - it finally arrived at the store where we ordered it.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the end of the story. The door was upgraded (we didn't ask for it)  is of a wrong colour ( ...and the frame can't be painted different colour because it has a special coating) and arrived damaged. Really! Could anything else go wrong?

We were really annoyed and expressed our feelings to the store manager as well as the manufacturer which had the following outcome - the new door will be here in 5 days with 50% discount. I guess I can live with that, but my husband said: "Seeing is believing" :-)

Mustard from home

I have found another Czech product - mustard. There are many other brands and types on the market here - anything you can really wish for, but this one brings back memories.
It simply tastes 'Czech' :-)



TEA FOR TWO

I have recently purchased this beautiful tea set. I love the design and the idea that it is stackable. That way it makes the picture complete.
I am using it a lot, the size is great for green tea or oolong tea.
I discovered this delicious Oolong tea by The Republic of Tea. It is described as tea with "milky" taste and silky texture with the fragrance of sweet cream and pineapple. It tastes exactly like that and I absolutely love it. I have tried different kinds of oolong tea, but this one is definitely the winner!

 

Zojirushi - Rice and more rice to come.

My husband and I love sushi. Apart from that also Chinese and Indian food where rice is used often. As we have moved a lot and changed our kitchen numerous times we discovered that it is getting more and more difficult to make our rice just right. We either couldn’t find the same brand anymore because of a different location or had to cook once on gas, other times on electrical stoves and because of these changes, we basically didn’t know how would our rice turn out. Until the other day, when we discovered a rice maker, thanks to our Japanese friends. What a discovery! We absolutely love the machine. It is a Japanese brand called Zojirushi. (I believe it means elephant. There is a logo of an elephant on the machine, so I guess it is true)

Our sushi rice turned out great the first time. I also made wild rice and it was perfect. I even cooked in it a mix called Garden Harvest Pilaf which I purchased in Costco and was really successful. You can also use it for porridge, but I haven’t tried this option yet. What I am planning to do is to put Quinoa in it and wait and see what it will come up withJ It would be great if it works as well. Will report on that later. This machine is such a time saver too. You can also use a timer and have your rice ready at your desired time. I would recommend this appliance to anyone who is annoyed with making rice in boiling water and wants to save time!