Tea Update

Day 56 of isolating at home.
The start of week 9 of working from home. Hubby is starting week 8.
And I'm actually using up a lot of my tea!
I am completely out of Murchie's Wedding Blend, and my signature "Miss Lady Grey" tea. I have 5 Earl Grey tea bags left, and maybe one or two cups each of Russian Earl Grey, and Earl's Picnic  -- all of which I'm saving for those special days like when I'm on vacation. There is 1/2 can of Creamy Earl Grey left, a little bit of English Breakfast, and a little bit of Murchie's Afternoon tea. I also have a few boxes of misc tea bags from Murchies. And a bunch of fruit flavoured teas used for making iced teas for the summer.

First, I can't believe I had so much. Second, I don't know whatever possessed me to buy "Coconut Cream Tea". And third, I've decided that I don't like Green and Black tea mixtures, teas with maple flavourings, or teas that have a "smokey" flavour to them.

Favourite things

As the weather turns cooler, and the nights get shorter, it's always a good time for soup. I love soup, especially clam chowder. It's one of those things that I don't make at home, preferring to order it at a restaurant or pub instead. But, on a whim, I decided to try this canned version...

OMG! Yum! It was really good. My only complaint... don't add a whole can of milk to it when preparing it. It says to add only enough for desired consistency, but I added too much, so it was too runny. But that didn't stop me from enjoying it!

Not my fave

The store near work stopped selling my favourite root beer - Virgil's. So, on a whim, I decided to try a different brand... Phillips Intergalactic Root Beer...

I was not impressed. It was too "spicy" for me. I definitely like Virgil's better!

Favourite Things

Some of the tea I bought at my favourite tea store in North Van today. Note that there are 2 bags of Creamy Earl Grey -- because hubby likes that one too, and so it doesn't last long in our house.

New Watch

I got a new watch for Christmas, and it is quickly becoming one of my new favourite things. It's a Birks watch, called the Nova Moonphase Timepiece...

 

It comes with interchangeable bands, of which I now have 4. The silver one that it came with. The red one I got for Christmas. And a blue one and a white one, that I bought with the $100 coupon that I also got at Christmas time.

Favourite Things - Tree Island Yogurt

I went to the grocery store for lunch today. I picked up a sandwich, and decided to pick up a yogurt to go along with it. This was on sale...

I hadn't tried this brand before. And yeah, local, grass-fed, organic... bonus, but seriously, I'm hungry. As long as it tastes good, then I'm good.
OMG - it was the BEST yogurt I've had! So creamy! A bit "runnier" than your normal store bought brand, but so good!
From their website...
http://treeislandyogurt.com/

Travel perks

Whenever I go to the Pacific Northwest in the States, I always pick me up one of these...

Virgil's Micro Brewed Root Beer. Better than A&W's, and oh so good!! But I can't find it at home, so it's a perk I enjoy whenever I get to travel to the US.

Murchie's Christmas Tea

One of my favourite things is Murchie's Christmas Blend Tea.
From the website:

Christmas Blend Tea       

Murchie's Christmas Tea is a seasonal favourite; the perfect blend of rich black tea with the essences of oranges and spices. For several decades, many family celebrations have included Murchie's Christmas Blend Tea as part of their holiday tradition.

It goes on sale every year around the beginning of November, and we've been addicted to it now for about 3 years. I usually end up buying 2 tins of it, as even Mr. Coffee (aka Hubby) likes it too. It smells and tastes like Christmas! I took some to work last week, and one of the girls in the office loved it so much she went and bought two tins -- one decaf, so she can drink it all day!

Favourite things

I'm starting a new category in my blog list. It's called Favourite Things, and my first item that I'm posting with this tag is Anco's Spiced Gouda cheese...

It's gouda with caraway seeds, and I love it. And I get lots of compliments on it whenever I serve it at a dinner party. But it's really hard to find! Not everyone carries this version, even if they carry Anco cheeses. The couple of times I have found it have been at the Safeway at 120th and 64th in North Delta.
A similar option is the Caraway Jill from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks. Although not exactly the same, and quite a bit more expensive, it does fill the gap when I can't find the Anco version.

Diffuser obsession

So, it's official. I'm addicted to diffusing essential oils.
One of my co-workers has an account with DoTerra, and ordered a bunch of us in the office new diffusers. Because she ordered 1/2 dozen or so, we got free shipping, and they were on sale and came with 2 oils free of charge. I now have a new diffuser at work...

And a couple of new essential oils to try out...

I really like the Easy Air one. Its not overpowering (like some oils can be) and makes my office smell so fresh!

More things I can't live without

So I wrote about my Soda Stream in my last post. Well, this year, I also go another present that I haven't stopped using since Christmas, and can't seem to live without. It's my Saje Essential Oil Diffuser...

One of the girls at work has one in her office, and she loves it. I thought it would be "too stinky" and didn't think I would like any of the scents. I was wrong. I love it! Some of the scents are so relaxing! Just what I need after a long frustrating day at work. I also got a selection of scents to choose from as I got two different sample packs. The Relaxation one and the Peaceful one.

By far, my favourite scents are "Tranquility", "Unwind", and the one called "Gratitude". The only ones I don't like are the ones that have patchouli oil in them. I really don't like that smell too much. But all of the others have been wonderful. I use it every night now!

soda stream

I got a Soda Stream for Christmas this year.

It was a surprise. I didn't ask for one. I had seen them, but didn't really think I wanted one. But then I tried it. And now that I have one, I don't know how I lived without it. I haven't stopped using it since Christmas! And I haven't even tried the store-bought flavours yet! I just make a couple of bottles a week, take one to work, and flavour it with fresh ginger, lemons or limes, and fresh mint. It turns out that it's a whole lot cheaper than buying San Pellegrino (which I usually drink). It works out to about $0.33 cents a litre. San Pellegrino is like $1.25 - $1.50 a litre (depending on where you buy it and if it's on sale or not). It's one of the best presents I got that I didn't know I wanted.