13 Things for 2013: Update

Well the year has officially come to a close. While I didn't accomplish everything on my list, I am happy with what I did accomplish this year. 

1. Run a race (either 5K or 10K)
I feel like I add this to every list but I don't know if it will ever happen. I really hate running.

2. Bake more cake pops 

 All I did this year was make cake pops (okay not really but it seems like it). Haha. They are so well loved though.

3. Make a meal only from things bought at the farmers market.
I probably shouldn't be crossing this off it wasn't completely from the farmers market, but I am going to let it slide. The main ingredients were and I shopped the farmers market on a much more regular basis then I have in the past.

4. Get a summer job in my field
I had a wonderful internship experience! 

5. Read a Jane Austin novel

6. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity one Saturday
I am actually really upset that this never happened. Usually there are build days offered through the club at school but it never seemed to work out this year. Oh well. 

7. Take a cooking class
Sort of forgot about this/never found a class that interested me

8. Make a recipe book with family favourites
I feel like I can half cross this off. I started one, made an outline, then got busy and didn't make/photograph all of the dishes. 

9. Go on a trip/vacation

10. Make my own tea blend

I have gotten adventurous in mixing different teas/blends to create something unique. Its quite fun actually.

11. Blog at least 1x per week
For the most part I went above and beyond on this one. Posting on average 3x per week! 

12. Have a board game night

We have had a few fun board game nights. Cards Against Humanity and Monopoly never get old.

13. Give hot yoga another try
I never got around to this one either. I think its still too soon after my horrible experience last time.

Overall I managed to accomplish about half the items on my list which I am pretty proud of. Not bad for a "New Years Resolution". 

Ice Storm

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holidays filled with family, friends and joy!  I was forced to take a break from blogging for a few days since the ice storm took out our power and internet. I was planning on working on posts during the day Sunday for the week but mother nature had other plans. We finally got our power back on Christmas Day ( a Christmas miracle) and then with the craziness of the season I didn't get a chance to update the blog. It was a nice unexpected vacation. I thought I would share with you some pictures of the ice storm. While it sucked not having power, everything covered in ice was quite beautiful.

Jaclyn

Gifts that Give Back

Why not give a gift this year that your giftee will not only love but that will also give back to others. Its a win, win, win.

Warby Parker - Not only are their glasses cute and functional for every pair sold they provide a pair to someone in need. So why not provide your four eyed friends with a gift card to Warby Parker and help give the gift of sight to someone in need. 

TOMS - TOMS also has a one for one model. Buy a pair of shoes and they will give a pair to someone in need. Their shoes are incredibly comfortable and go with pretty much everything. There are a ton of styles and prints to choose from. 

MetoWe - MetoWe is the Social Enterprise of Free the Children. It helps support the overhead costs of the charity. They offer socially and environmentally conscious goods made by artisans in developing countries and provide fair wages to Mama's supporting their families. 

Hosting For Hope (HomeSense) - The net proceeds from these gives go towards helping women and children victims of abuse through supporting local shelters and violence prevention programs in the community. 

Tory Burch Agenda - All profits from the purchase of the pink shade will benefit the Tory Burch Foundation, which Supports the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs and their families in the US. 

Cole and Parker - Cole and Parker sell fun socks that support a one for many model. They are partners with Kiva and proceeds from each purchase of socks is loaned to support entrepreneurs in poverty. 

David's Tea Advent Calendar: Week 2

Day 6:

I was exited for this green tea today it was a nice change from all the Christmas-y teas that have been in the calendar lately. I don't drink green teas that often but when I do I remember why I love them and then vow to drink them more then drink too much and get a headache and upset stomach.  This is a nice mid-afternoon tea however. The only probably is that it makes me crave sushi which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The popped rice in this tea is super fun and adds an interesting almost sweetness to the green tea flavour. I might have to make this tea a permeant part of my collection. 

Day 7: 

Another new to me tea. They always pull it down at the store when I say I like fruity teas but its never been something that I committed to trying until today. To be honest, I didn't really like it. The tea has yogurt bits in it which I really didn't like the flavour of in my tea. I felt like I was drinking hot strawberry yogurt which was kind of a turn off. I thought the tart yogurt didn't really complement the tartness of the strawberry either. I don't even thinking icing this tea will save it. 

Day 8: 

I love the Advent Calendar because not only do I get to try teas that I haven't before but I rediscover teas that I love. Mango Madness is one of those teas. I made a large pitcher of iced tea.  I really like how light and fresh this tea is. This tea is more of a summer tea to me then a winter tea but it was a nice surprise in the calendar and has gotten me steeping pitchers of iced tea again to drink all day. 

Day 9: 

The smell of the leaves of this tea reminded me of black liquorice for some reason so we were already off to a bad start ( I am not a fan of liquorice). I took one sip of this tea and then threw out the rest of my mug. It was disgusting. It was like drinking flowers and the what I can only assume to be jasmine was way over powering. I can still taste nothing else. 

Day 10: 

I was happy to see Coffee Cake today after yesterdays tea. Black teas are my favourite and I was starting to miss them. This tea would probably be up there as one of my favourites (it doesn't taste like coffee at all) if it weren't for Red Velvet Cake. To me this is a less spectacular version of Red Velvet Cake. I do like the sweet hints that the cherry and pineapple bring out in the black tea and it makes for an exceptional latte. I was skeptical to try it the first time because of the name. I don't like anything coffee flavoured but this has no coffee flavour at all. 

Day 11: 

This tea is a great tea for before bed. It is calming and relaxing. I love the freshness of the peppermint mixed in with the chamomile. You get a hint of the chamomile first followed by the peppermint cooling after taste. This tea makes me want to cozy up in bed with a good book and then drift off to sleep.  

Day 12:

Another green tea. I was a little weary after the last one but when I opened the tin it was bright and fruity. The smells reminded me of one of David's other teas Green and Fruity (I wonder if that came out before this tea because that would be the perfect name for this one since the other one is a roiboos). Anyways. I really enjoyed this tea it was perfect hot and would probably be lovely iced. I sipped it while studying for finals. I think Genmaicha from Day Six (at the top of this post) is my favourite green tea I've had so far though. 

Are you doing the David's Tea Advent Calendar? Whats your favourite so far? If not, which would you most like to try? 

Jaclyn 

Ps. You can see my review of week one here. 

Gift Guide: For the Boys

Top Row: Record Player. Beer Making Kit. Sweater. 
Middle Row: Sun Glasses .Watch. Whisky Stones. 
Bottom Row: iPad. Glasses. Wallet. 

David's Tea Advent Calendar: Week 1

Day 1: 

I was actually really excited to see White Chocolate Frost as the tea for the first day. It is one of the few on the list that I have yet to try so I was excited to try a new tea. The main flavours that are promised in this tea are mint and white chocolate. I tasted the mint for sure but I didn't really get a white chocolate flavour coming through. The tea also had a thin film of oil across the top which I am assuming is from the melted white chocolate. If you like peppermint teas then you will like this one for sure. It is a bit creamy, again from the white chocolate. I don't think its anything special I do like that its a herbal tea which I can drink at night and is different from other herbal teas I own which are mostly fruity. I think I prefer chocolate mint rooibos.

Day 2: 

The smell of this tea is extremely sweet almost like candy which I was not expecting.  The flakes of coconut in this tea are HUGE like larger then they usually are in David's Teas. There is also almond and apple flavours. The actual steeped tea is a sweater tea for sure and doesn't have that usual earthy rooibos flavour. They must have tweaked their blend from last year's alpine punch because I remember it being overly cinnamon-y which caused my mouth to be very dry. I am not getting that this year. A change for the better for sure! I am actually pleasantly surprised and would consider adding this tea to my collection. Its the perfect tea for cold winter night as its caffeine free.  

Day 3: 

Another tea that I have never tried. They always pull it down for me when I am in the store but something has always held me back from trying. While I love black teas I am not a huge fan of fruits in my black teas. I like to be able to add milk and something about fruit and milk together just doesn't sit well with me. This tea smells wonderful and the blueberry's come through very strongly. However, once steeped I found that blueberry smell did not translate into blueberry taste. Perhaps I will try it iced next time since I usually like fruity teas iced or maybe I should go nuts and add some milk to it. I want to love this tea so badly but theres just something missing. 

 Day 4: 

Forever Nuts is probably one of the best selling teas that David's Tea has and yet I have never jumped on its band wagon. For the longest time I thought it was that I didn't like the almonds in tea but now I have a few favourites that do have almonds so I am not sure what exactly it is that I don't love about this tea.  It has grown on me over the years and I don't mind a cup of it now and again but its not something that I would put into heavy rotation. It sort of tastes like apple pie. I prefer this tea when it is warm rather then first steeped or cooled completely. I have been told its good with spiced rum so perhaps I will have to try that. 

Day 5: 

This is one of my favourite latte teas. The only thing that bothers me about it, is that has an oily layer on top. Probably again from the chocolate. Its not sweet like you would expect a chocolate tea to be and it actually doesn't remind me of any of their more chocolate-y teas. The cinnamon is probably the most dominate flavours of this tea which I don't mind in this case since I dampen it with the milk for the latte. I am not a fan of this tea straight but as a latte its wonderful!  

13 Things for 2013

I thought rather then doing a typical New Year's Resolutions (which I never actually keep up with anyways) I would do a list of 13 things I would like to do or do more of in 2013.

1. Run a race (either 5K or 10K)

2. Bake more cake pops

3. Make a meal only from things bought at the farmers market.

4. Get a summer job in my field

5. Read a Jane Austin novel

6. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity one Saturday

7. Take a cooking class

8. Make a recipe book with family favourites

9. Go on a trip/vacation

10. Make my own tea blend

11. Blog at least 1x per week

12. Have a board game night

13. Give hot yoga another try

Whats on your list for 2013? 

Jaclyn

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful time ringing in the New Year! Cannot wait to see what 2013 brings! 

Love, 

Jaclyn