Photos: Don't Be To Serious

Photos: Rory and some randoms

These are just some random photos that I keep meaning to share. Five of them are of my cat Rory, 3 are of tea or coffee, and one is of my brother and boyfriend. 

The last row has some soft claws on Rory to keep him from scratching. They are plastic nail covers that you can buy. Rory hates them so now we just keep his nails trimmed. 

Review: Web Store: Adagio Tea

While I have long enjoyed Teavanna teas, there is another tea company slowly stealing my affections. That would be Adagio teas.

Two big differences are Teavanna sells there tea starting at 2 ounces and the prices range from under $5 to over $20. Adagio teas sells their blended tea in 3 ounce bags and the prices are either $9 or $10.

Now if you prefer to buy tea that isn't blended there are many more options. This type of pricing actually keeps them pretty competitive. Not to mention all of the choices.

My package arrived on a Friday so they wished me a good weekend! Aw! While personal notes aren't always included little things like this can really set a company apart. 

Why has Adagio Teas suddenly drawn my attention? I'm a nerd! While they offer a massive variety of tea they also let you blend your own teas (choosing up to three types of tea to blend together.) Then you can save your tea and also add an image. 

Fans from shows, movies, comics .... what ever you can think of, make tea blends to match up with characters or themes in the show. 

These three teas are TARDIS, Harry Potter, and Dodge.  

(I had to make this image larger just to show it off.) The website does an amazing job of letting you know what you are getting. This is an example for the TARDIS blend. They display the three teas. You may have noticed that each pouch has it's own image.

They even joke that the pouch for the Tardis is bigger on the inside so you get 4oz for just $9. (The tardis is a spaceship that is much bigger on the inside for those of you who don't watch Dr. Who)

This is another part of Adagio that I love. There is what I'm nerding out about right on the label!

That is included a little further down the page. There are reviews on the left, information and video reviews in the center.

I also appreciate how much social networking is involved.

When you decided to brew some tasty nerd tea (or what ever it is you may have found) you can get "Frequent Cup" points if you tweet or share it on facebook. You can also link your facebook to Adagio and other facebook friends can see what tea you are into and read your reviews.

Photos: Halloween Costumes

Review: Black Friday Apps

Thanksgiving and Black Friday are right around the corner. Last year I reviewed several Black Fridays app. I was going to RE-review them but they haven't changed much. TGI Black Friday is still my favorite and now they have a TGI Cyber Monday.

Here is a list of the reviewed apps:
Fat Wallet
Dealsnews.com app
Dealtaker.com app
bradsdeals.com app
TGI Black Friday

Have a happy Thanksgiving!!

Photos: Craft Fair

I love fall and craft fairs. Also that second photo is a walking taco! 

Photos: Rory's Petco Order

With free shipping after $49 and a $5 reward balance all of these toys were free. The green bag was  a free sample of wet cat food. 

This litter box cleans it's self when you roll it to the right and then back. All of the cat droppings are collected in the little drawer. I've used it for a few weeks. It's amazing. I didn't want to post pictures of it working (because that's gross). If you go to the petco page, there is a video and the guy uses ping pong balls to simulate how it works. SO COOL! The blue dish is a water fountain because Rory gets confused with still water. What a silly kitty. 

Review: Restaurant: Fujiyama in Marion

After going to both the Carbondale and Marion Fujiyama locations, something was pretty obvious. If you want to dine in but you don't want to eat hibachi then you should go to the one in Marion. If you are going FOR hibachi then go to the one in Carbondale. 

Carbondale (not pictured): Small corral of tables for dining but has a large well spaced hibachi area. 

Marion: While it is in the mall, it feels like a stand alone restaurant. The first two photos are of the front of it (yes it has it's own entrance.) The last photo is of the dinning area. There are booths, tables, and everything is well spaced and spread out. The sushi bar is at the end of the room. My friend Rachel and I LOVE sushi. When we feel the need to splurge, we go to the one in Marion. The food doesn't taste ANY different, but the atmosphere is much more mellow. 

Any food I've had from Fujiyama's is always stellar. I didn't mention the Marion hibachi because I've never seen it myself, but I've heard the Carbondale one is much nicer. 

Baking: salvaging burnt cookies

I burnt about three dozen cookies after I forgot to rearrange my oven racks, after roasting a turkey. I found that I could remove MOST of the burnt part with a potato peeler. When I served the cookies, no one could tell. I even told some people and they seemed surprised that they couldn't taste it.

HTS!: Shopkick: Free Giftcards

Shopkick, a smart phone app, just announced this today.

"From now until November 30th, receive a $2 Target GiftCard in the app when you walk into any Target store just 2 times. Go ahead -- spend on all the ingredients you need to make Thanksgiving the best ever. 

Enjoy,
shopkick"

If you don't have shopkick on your smartphone you can click HERE. 

Shopkick is an app that can tell where you are at. When you walk through the doors of certain stores it gives you 'walk in' points. You simply have to have the app open when you are in the mall or when you walk in the store.



When you are in a store you also have the option to scan items for even more points. It's like a store scavenger hunt.

You can browse flyers for stores near you to find exclusive deals.

The points you collect can be used to buy giftcards and more!

Photos: Gift Exchanges

I take part in several internet gift exchanges and I've mentioned them before. (Remember all those dog toys and toys for Rory?) Here are some recent gifts I received. The necklace from China was actually ordered by someone in the states from Amazon. :P