Lunchtime Links for December 30th, 2011

• Kirbie's Cravings: Fried Oreos.
• Serious Eats: Top 10 chocolate posts. 
• Tasty Kitchen: Cookie recipes. 
• Kathy YL Chan: Morning Glass Coffee and Cafe in Hawaii.
• Steamy Kitchen: Kimchi omelet.

Shake Shack Christmas Cookie Custard

I finally had a chance to try out one of Shake Shack's December custards- the Christmas Cookie custard!

But first, can I just say that my Shackburger seemed supersized on this visit?? Not complaining but everything about this specific burger seemed much bigger than any of my past visits.  The pickle slices were about half the size of the bun, no joke!

 

Ok, ok, on to the custard itself.  It's v. festive, as you can see from the first photo.  I personally prefer regular sprinkles (or jimmies in some areas) vs. the translucent sprinkle cubes that are used here.  I don't know why exactly, they just don't taste as good to me.  So, the top layer of this custard wasn't really all that great for me, haha.  However, the liberal mixing of huge chunks of (what I assume are sugar) cookies throughout the cup is awesome.  The cookies are crisp and provide a nice contrast with the creamy custard.  

As far as the custard itself, I tried to figure out what the flavor is but I couldn't really tell.  For all I know it could be just plain vanilla, but it did taste a little different to me.  It looked pink in some parts- however, that could be in part to the aforementioned translucent cubes, so who knows.  I couldn't find any official description on the internet, so if anyone knows, please let me know haha. 

Lunchtime Links for December 29th, 2011

• Kirbie's Cravings: Osteria Mozza.
• Serious Eats: Rustic chicken minestrone. 
• Tasty Kitchen: Chocolate Nutella and sea salt fudge.
• Cute Overload: Siku the polar bear. 
• The Kitchn: Lightened up recipes. 

Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee Ornament

A little late, but I just wanted to share my newest Christrmas tree ornament!  I saw this at Dunkin Donuts and could not resist the tiny iced coffee cup, complete with the little orange straw.  It's a great addition to my food/candy themed Christmas tree :o) 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas if you celebrate it!

Lunchtime Links for December 28th, 2011

• Serious Eats: Bryan Voltaggio's new Lunchbox. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Nutella lava brownie mug cake.
• I Wanna Be A Domestic Goddess: Love Actually cupcakes. 
• The Pioneer Woman: Hot chocolate recipes.
• Picky Palate: Pumpkin pie French toast bake.

Georgetown Cupcake - Holiday Hazelnut Cupcake

First things first, I'm in lurrrrrrrrve with the Instagram app on my phone.  Look at how artistic my cupcake looks, haha.

Here we have another December-only Georgetown Cupcake holiday cupcake: Holiday Hazelnut.  It's the regular Chocolate Hazelnut cupcake with a little fondant tree on top.  The candied chopped hazelnuts are DELICIOUS, and add that special crunch to the rich chocolate cake underneath.  So good!

Lunchtime Links for December 27th, 2011

• The Budget Babe: The look for less- Burberry ruffle trench.
• The Pioneer Woman: Duchess potatoes.
• Penny Pincher Fashion: Winter wardrobe essentials. 
• Serious Eats: Deep-fried garlic knots.
• Eat Drink Pretty: Snickerdoodle cookies.

Georgetown Cupcake - Toffee Caramel Crunch Cupcake

Hooray for a new free "secret" Georgetown Cupcake flavor!  This one takes a regular menu item - Toffee Crunch - and takes it up a notch with a little surprise:

A gooey caramel center!  The toffee pieces on top add such much needed texture since the frosting, caramel, and cake are all very soft, haha.  If you're a fan of candy bars or caramel anything- this would be the perfect cupcake for you :o)

Lunchtime Links for December 26th, 2011

• The Budget Babe: Spot the real Burberry leather trim trench.
• Serious Eats: Guide to sparkling wine. 
• The Kitchn: Homemade salted caramel sauce.
• Eat Drink Pretty: Peanut butter blossoms.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Easy stove top macaroni and cheese.
  

Tout de Sweet - Pumpkin and Vanilla Macarons

I've mentioned my love for Tout de Sweet's vanilla macaron before, and yes, it's still as fabulous as ever.  I love places that do seasonal items, like pumpkin EVERYTHING haha.  The pumpkin macaron on the left was really really really tasty.  The perfect 2 bites of pumpkin, crisp, chewy, and all things good about macarons.  Also, I love the color of the pumpkin macaron, a great light shade of orange that was so pretty!  

Every time I go here I think that I need to go more often- hopefully this time I actually will go soon to try out new flavors... along with another vanilla macaron, haha!  

Lunchtime Links for December 23rd, 2011

• Sassy Radish: Holiday gift guide- cookbooks.
• Gluten Free Living: Peppermint marshmallows. 
• The Kitchn: Portable and delicious weekday breakfasts. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: One minute brownie mug cake. 
• Cupcakes and Cashmere: Cake pops.

Georgetown Cupcake - Holiday Designs

A Georgetown Cupcake post without ANY cupcake photos!?  It may never happen again, folks.

Right after Thanksgiving, Georgetown Cupcake switched over to this cute holiday packaging.  The bags and the stickers are so cute!

 

LOVE the cupcake-nosed reindeer!!!

Lunchtime Links for December 22nd, 2011

• The Kitchn: Monkey bread recipes. 
• Cupcakes for Breakfast: Sweet holiday. 
• Adventures in Bentomaking: Style Lunch Nature bento boxes. 
• The Pioneer Woman: Cinnamon rolls.
• Serious Eats: Pad see ew.

Georgetown Cupcake Holiday Cupcakes - Chocolate Eggnog Cupcake

 

What a fun way to kick off the holiday season!  Georgetown Cupcake offered this Chocolate Eggnog cupcake before December, when all of these holiday cupcakes are offered.  The really great thing was, it was offered as a free secret flavor so I could try it out gratis, haha.  

The cupcake is a "Valrhona chocolate eggnog infused-cupcake topped with a nutmeg-infused vanilla cream cheese frosting and a fondant snowflake".   I didn't really get much of a real eggnog flavor, but it definitely did not taste the same as their regular chocolate cupcakes.  Which might be a good thing, since I don't particularly like the taste of eggnog haha.  Still, I love that they offer festive flavors during the holidays and I look forward to blogging about all of them :o)

Lunchtime Links for December 21st, 2011

• The Kitchn: Pink grapefruit and pomegranate soda.
• The Pioneer Woman: Prime rib. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Nutella filled red velvet cookies.
• Picky Palate: Buttery crisp XXL chocolate chip cookie.
• The Hungry Runner Girl: Cinnamon rolls.

Hershey Christmas Candylane

Recently, my friend T, her husband, G, and I went to Hershey Park for their Christmas Candylane!  The majority of the park is lit up with all sorts of holiday-theme lights, and people can walk around and enjoy the park at night.  The majority of the rides (like the roller coasters) are not running but a good number of them (pirate ship, indoor rides, carousel, most of the kids rides) were running until closing.  

We checked out the light show that takes place every half hour with Christmas music - v. fun to watch!

 

This house was made ALL out of candy!!

Of course I had to check out the huge gift shop located by the free Chocolate World ride as well.

Has anyone seen these Hershey's Pieces with Almonds in stores yet?  They looked really good!

This was one of the Christmas trees on display inside one of the gift shops - super cute!

 

Going to Hershey Park this time of year was a great way to get excited for the holidays and be surrounded by candy, haha!

Lunchtime Links for December 20th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Ways to get out of a winter salad rut. 
• Picky Palate: Foodie Christmas gift ideas.  
• The Budget Babe: LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl's.  
• Cute: Sammy and the City blog.  
• Best Bites Blog: DC Hanukkah eats.

Georgetown Cupcake Holiday Cupcakes - Red Mitten Vanilla, Santa's Chocolate Chip, and Cinnamon Spice

Isn't this such a festive box of cupcakes???

I brought this box over to T and G's house a few weekends ago (when we went to Hershey Park) from Georgetown Cupcake - I LOVE their holiday cupcakes!

On the top left we have Santa's Chocolate Chip (Vanilla chocolate chip cupcake with a whipped Callebaut chocolate frosting topped with a fondant snowflake).

On the bottom right we have Cinnamon Spice (Cinnamon cupcake topped with a cinnamon buttercream frosting and a green fondant Christmas tree).

And the other two are the Red Mitten Vanilla cupcakes (Classic Madagascar bourbon vanilla cupcake topped with a vanilla cream cheese frosting and a red fondant mitten).

As you might guess, the cupcakes are the same as the regular menu Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Spice, and Vanilla Squared cupcakes, but just jazzed up for the holidays :o)  Super cute!

Lunchtime Links for December 19th, 2011

• The Pioneer Woman: Chunky chicken soup.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Stove top macaroni and cheese.
• The Kitchn: Cream cheese braids.
• Serious Eats: Holiday cookie guide.
• The Faux Martha: Chocolate pretzels.
  

Seattle - Downtown Seattle Eats

Yes, it's super touristy.  Yes, it's packed on the weekends.  But if you get a chance, I'd highly recommend strolling through the Seattle Public Market on a weekday, in the middle of the day.  There were still people milling around, but it's definitely MUCH easier to walk through compared to a regular weekend.  We could actually stop at stands without being pushed by passerby, and take our time looking from stand to stand. 

The main reason why we were by the market at that time is for the Elliott's Oyster House's oyster happy hour nearby!  Starting at 3pm on Monday through Friday, fresh shucked oysters start at $0.75 each, to $1.25 at 4pm, and $1.75 at 5pm.  These oysters are FANTASTIC, really really really great.  Considering the quality of these oysters the happy hour is a great deal.  There were lots of people there right at 3pm (oyster happy hour is only valid at the bar) enjoying dozen after dozen of oysters.  If you're not a raw oyster fan, they also have little bites of fried snacks and other appetizers on the happy hour menu as well.  Also, baskets of delicious sourdough rolls are free of charge - I definitely had a Simpsons "Don't fill up on the bread!" moment before the oysters hit the table, haha.

I passed by a doughnut shop on my last visit, and this time around I had to check it out since we were walking by anyway.  Top Pot Doughnuts in Bis a really cute space - floor-to-ceiling windows so the whole place was really bright and open, lots of tables, and the smell of coffee and fried dough throughout.  There were lots of people enjoying doughnuts and coffee while reading or chatting with friends.  It was a good mix of families, students, and people just looking to take a little break in the day.  I would love to have a space like this by me!  

The doughnuts that we got were: Pumpkin Cake, Cake, and Old Fashioned.  It wasn't quite the same to bring the doughnuts home before trying them out, but I put them in the microwave for about 8 seconds (give or take) to warm them up a bit.  The pumpkin was great, chewy and sweet with a distinct pumpkin flavor.  The other two were good, didn't really taste like much besides fried dough, haha.  I would definitely go back for another special flavor - or if one of the plain ones were freshly made, for sure!

As always, lots of good eats on this visit to Seattle - writing these posts is making me hungry!

Elliott's Oyster House

1201 Alaskan Way

Pier 56

Seattle, WA 98101

(206) 623-4340

Top Pot Doughnuts

2124 5th Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
206-728-1966

Lunchtime Links for December 16th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Holiday cookie recipes from Momofuku Milk Bar.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Chocolate caramel mug cake.
• The Pioneer Woman: New cookbook.
• Penny Pincher Fashion: Birchbox review. 
• Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Recap from TVGasm.
  

Free Shipping Day

For all of you last-minute shoppers (or shoppers in general, haha) - today is Free Shipping Day!  The list of participating online retailers can be found here.

There's a LOT of participating companies, so hopefully you can find some nice gifts for others (or yourself) and not have to worry about shipping costs!

Lunchtime Links for December 15th, 2011

• Serious Eats: Momofuku Milk Bar's cereal eats.
• Kirbie's Cravings: S'mores monkey bread.
• Bakerella: Chocolate candy cookies.
• Cakespy: On the Today show.  
• La Fuji Mama: Gyudon recipe. 

Seattle - Hello, Cupcake + Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co.

I spotted Hello, Cupcake after we were at the Museum of Glass, so of course I had to stop in and check it out.  The store itself is adorable, with lots of pastel details, little cupcake-related goods for sale, and of course, lots of cupcakes.  I picked up three mini cupcakes: chocolate with vanilla frosting, vanilla with chocolate frosting, and pumpkin.  These cupcakes were good, but not great.  They were a little dry which was surprising considering that small cupcakes tend to not be as dry due to their size alone.  I'm glad I stopped in though to check it out.

During my visit, I HAD to make sure to hit up Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. again- SO good!!

On the left we have the English Breakfast with Cream cupcake, and Sweet Potato Pie on the right.  Both of these were REALLY good.  I especially love the light whipped consistency of their frosting, so so so good.  Any chance I get to try tea-based baked goods, I'm all in - and this one was really great.  The sweet potato cake was rich but not too sweet, and a great way to celebrate fall.  If you're a fan of interesting flavor combinations like these two above, you'll love this place!

Lunchtime Links for December 14th, 2011

• The Kitchn: 10 spiced cookies.
• The Budget Babe: Theory cable knit sweater. 
• Serious Eats: Homemade Milano cookies.
• Kathy YL Chan: Bouchon's bouchons. 
• I Am Baker: Tangled Christmas lights cupcakes.

Seattle - Brugge Chocolates

 

Another fun little place that my parents introduced me to in Seattle was Brugge Chocolates in Redmond.  It's a tiny shop in an ordinary-looking shopping center, and the space was filled wall-to-wall with beautiful little chocolates and other treats.  The employee was very friendly and happy to provide us samples of one of the truffles, which was nice especially since it seems pretty high-end and intimidating inside, haha.  

We picked up six pretty truffles, including a seasonal pumpkin, Marco Polo (with crispy layers inside the chocolate), hazelnut, and some other flavors my parents picked out.  Unfortunately there isn't a list of flavors on their website to jog my memory, sorry!  

These were all SO good!  A little pricey for sure ($2ish per piece) but they all tasted amazing and the perfect little bite.  Each one was distinct in flavor but never overwhelming or overly sweet.  There were tons of different flavors, and they all looked great.  I'm definitely looking forward to trying out more flavors during my next visit!

15946 Redmond Way, Suite 103
Redmond, WA 98052
425.882.4722

Lunchtime Links for December 13th, 2011

• The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle: How to safely ship cookies.
• The Kitchn: 10 truffle recipes. 
• Japanese Snack Review: Mister Donut's snowman donut. 
• I Heart Baking!: Hello Kitty pocket pies.  
• Eat Drink Pretty: Cinnamon sticks. 

Seattle - Fumie's Gold

I always love trying out new places, and being that I've just recently started visiting Seattle, there are TONS of places to check out!

My mom had recommended that we try some desserts from Fumie's Gold, a teeny-tiny little shop across the street from a park in Bellevue.  There were a handful of items available, so we got three to share.  On the top left is a cream puff (shu cream in Japanese), in the middle is a Mont Blanc, and on the top right is a matcha roll cake.

Everything was delicious!  They were very similar to pastries I've had in Japan before, which is pretty impressive.  They were just sweet enough to be a dessert but without feeling like it's just a bunch of sugar.  Mont Blancs aren't super popular in my area (as far as I know) so it was really nice to enjoy a tasty rendition of one.  I can't wait to come back and try more of their desserts!

Fumie's Gold

10045 NE 1st St
Ste CU2
(between N 100th Ave & N 102nd Ave)
Bellevue, WA 98004

(425) 223-5893

Lunchtime Links for December 12th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Pre-scooping cookie dough. 
• Hostess With The Mostess: DIY display stands for mini treats.
• Picky Palate: Cinnamon roll swirled gingerbread bars with toffee chips.
• Gossip Girl: Recap from TVGasm.
• Serious Eats: Beer in Seattle.

CVS Deals - Week of 12/11/2011

Once again, this week's CVS deals include another $10 gift card for purchasing $30 worth of specially marked items.

Remember, the $30 requirement is for the price of the items, not the price after coupons.  So with a little planning, you can spend less than $30 and still get the gift card.

This week I got:

• Four Kleenex boxes: 3/$4 on sale, one $1/4 manufacturer's coupon.
• Scott toilet paper 12-pack: $7.49 on sale, $1 manufacturer's coupon.
• Boxed holiday cards: $4.99 - stocking up for next year!
• Advil liqui-gels 80-count: $7.99 on sale, $1 manufacturer's coupon. 
• Reese's candy: 2/$5 on sale, $1/2 manufacturer's coupon.

There's also a deal on Combos this week:

• Combos: $2 on sale, $2 Extra Bucks back. 

Happy shopping everyone!   

Lunchtime Links for December 9th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Life-size gingerbread houses. 
• Serious Eats: Thai-style fried rice. 
• Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Recap from TVGasm.
• The Pioneer Woman: Mulled apple cider.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Gooey caramel chocolate cookies.

Georgetown Cupcake - December Flavors

The Georgetown Cupcake cupcakes are cute year-round, but the holiday ones are especially fabulous :o)  As some of you may recall, last December I attended a holiday decorating event, where almost all of this year's December holiday cupcakes were.  They are all v. festive and would make a great addition to any holiday party!

Here's the full run-down of the holiday flavors:

• Chocolate Egg Nog
• White Chocolate Peppermint
• Chocolate Peppermint
• Gingerbread
• Snowball
• Rudolph Red Velvet
• Cinnamon Spice
• Red Mitten Vanilla
• Christmas Caramel
• Holiday Lava Fudge
• Holiday Hazelnut
• Santa's Chocolate Chip 

Most of these are a regular menu item (Red velvet, Vanilla, Lava fudge, etc.) with a holiday fondant decoration, but seeing as I haven't officially blogged about each one (although I've tried all of them, haha)... looks like I'll have to get each of these again this year to "officially" review them, haha!

Lunchtime Links for December 8th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Useful baking dishes.
• Serious Eats: Jacques Torres' chocolate chip cookies.
• Eat Drink Pretty: Butternut squash salad with warm cider vinaigrette.
• Cupcakes and Cashmere: Gingerbread snowflakes.
• The Budget Babe: Gifts at Francesca's Collections.
  

Treats from Kirbie's Cravings

If you read my daily Lunchtime Links, you will know that Kirbie's Cravings is one of my favorite baking blogs- she makes SO much stuff that looks and sounds fantastic!

A while back I had mailed her a few new Japanese Kit Kats (posts on those two coming soon) because she was interested in the flavors.  Soon after that, I received a surprise thank you package from her, which you can see above :o)  It included some new-to-me Kit Kats which I was really excited about: Tiramisu and Custard Purin (pudding/flan basically), woo!

In addition to the Kit Kats, she also sent me a bunch of homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!  These were soft and super delicious.  Thank you for the great surprise package!!

Lunchtime Links for December 7th, 2011

 Happy birthday to my friend S, who recently started her own food blog, Gluten Free Living in DC!

• Serious Eats: Kellogg's Crunchy Nut cereal review. 
• The Kitchn: Momofuku Milk Bar's corn cookie.  
• Eat Drink Pretty: Holiday baking recipes.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Reese's chocolate cookies.
• The Budget Babe: Holiday gift ideas at TJMaxx/Marshalls.

Marc By Marc Jacobs iPhone Case

Hello, iPhone world!  Thanks to my work I have joined the ranks of a bazillion iPhone lovers, haha.  So to celebrate of course I had to get a fun case!

My mom got me this case at the Nordstrom in Seattle - how cute is it??  It's got the signature Marc by Marc Jacobs cute factor but it's still neutral enough - for me, at least :o)  I also like that it's textured on the back (the white "buttons" are raised) which lessens the chances of me slipping my phone out of my hands, haha.

Do any of you have fun phone cases?

Lunchtime Links for December 6th, 2011

• Kirbie's Cravings: Four ingredient Nutella peanut butter cookies.
• Eat Drink More: Dinner at Little Serow.
• Picky Palate: Chocolate cake Reeses peanut butter chunk cookies.
• The Kitchn: 10 chocolate cookie recipes.
• Serious Eats: Buffalo chip cookies. 

Georgetown Cupcake - The Cupcake Diaries Book

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to TLC's Twitter account for having a DC Cupcakes contest - thanks to them, I received a copy of The Cupcake Diaries!!!!

This has a lot of stories about the sisters' childhood and rise to cupcake stardom, but more importantly...

RECIPES!  Helllllllllooooo, Red Velvet Cupcakes!  There are lots of recipes for cupcakes and other treats all throughout the book.  I can't wait to try out the recipes!

Lunchtime Links for December 5th, 2011

• Kirbie's Cravings: Four ingredient Nutella peanut butter cakes.
• Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Recap from TVGasm.  
• Bakerella: Gingerbread heads.
• Tokyo Terrace: Hot chocolate stir sticks.
• The Kitchn: Asian pear sparkler.

CVS Deals - Week of 12/04/2011

Once again, this week's CVS deals include another $10 gift card for purchasing $30 worth of specially marked items.

Remember, the $30 requirement is for the price of the items, not the price after coupons.  So with a little planning, you can spend less than $30 and still get the gift card.

This week I got:

• Reese's holiday candy bags: 2/$5 on sale, $1/2 manufacturer's coupon.
• Garnier face towelettes: $5 on sale, $1 manufacturer's coupon.
• 2 Chex mix bags: 2/$3 on sale, $0.50/2 manufacturer's coupon.
• 2 Popcorn Indiana bags: 2/$5 on sale, two $1.00 manufacturer's coupons.
• 2 Celestial Seasonings tea boxes: 2/$5 on sale, two $1 manufacturer's coupons.
• 2 Jack Link's beef jerky: $6.99 each, buy one get one free. 

There's a few great Extra Bucks deals this week as well.

• Candy canes 10-count: $1.27, $1.27 Extra Bucks back.  Be sure to get the "generic" candy canes, because they also sell other brands that aren't free (Hershey, Jolly Rancher, etc.).

This time of year, it's always nice to have a bag of M&Ms on hand, for parties or for holiday baking.

•  2 bags of holiday M&Ms: 2/$5 on sale, $1/2 manufacturer's coupon, $1 Extra Bucks back.

If you like the sulfate-free L'Oreal hair products (EverPure, EverStrong, or EverSleek), you can get 2 products and receive $5 Extra Bucks back.  Since it's for any 2 products, I'd recommend buying the shampoo or conditioner vs. the treatments, which cost more.  

• 2 L'Oreal EverPure products: $6.99 each, two $1 manufacturer's coupons, $5 Extra Bucks back.

 Also, if you spend $20 on Schick or Playtex products, you get $10 Extra Bucks back.

• 2 Playtex: $5.79 each, two $1 manufacturer's coupons.
• Schick Hydro shave gel: $4.59, $1 manufacturer's coupon.
• Skintimate shave gel: $4.19, $0.55 manufacturer's coupon.

Finally, there's a deal on household products, where if you spend $12 on select Glade, Oust, Pledge, or Scrubbing Bubbles products, you get $4 Extra Bucks back.  I hadn't originally intended on getting 4 candles, but the CVS I went to was out of the Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner I was going to get.  Glade makes a 1/2 custard, 1/2 apple scent candle I like so it worked out well :o)

• 4 Glade candles: 2/$6 on sale, $0.75/2 manufacturer's coupon. 

Happy shopping everyone!

Lunchtime Links for December 2nd, 2011

• Kirbie's Cravings: Turtle breads.
• In Good Taste: Mexican style baked eggs.
• The Budget Babe: Sally Hansen salon effects real nail polish strips for the holidays.
• Top Chef: Recap from TVGasm. 
• Eat Drink Pretty: Turkey pot pie.

Shake Shack - December Custard Flavors

Another month, another set of custard flavors at Shake Shack!!

• Monday: Egg Nog
• Tuesday: Figgy Pudding
• Wednesday: Christmas Cookie
• Thursday: Chocolate Orange Chestnut
• Friday: Gingerbread
• Saturday: Candy Cane Crunch
• Sunday: Apple Spice Cake

All v. festive and a great way to celebrate the holidays!

Lunchtime Links for December 1st, 2011

• Kirbie's Cravings: Three ingredient chocolate pumpkin cookies.
• Serious Eats: 29 touristy spots in America that are actually good.
• In Good Taste: Shells and cheese with browned butter and Swiss chard.
• Real World: Recap from TVGasm.  
• Target: Bakerella's Bullseye cake pops.

Starbucks Let's Merry!

Hello December!! Lovely to see you in all your festive holiday glory.

Starbucks has a cute promotion starting today with 12 special deals on their products.  The Starbucks Let's Merry! site is super cute, and there are some great gift ideas (for yourself or others) on the Christmas tree :o)

I really like the holiday mugs, however I'd need a separate cabinet just for mugs, I have so many.  If you're a fan of Starbucks products or looking for a cute little gift for someone that is, check this out!

Lunchtime Links for November 30th, 2011

• Serious Eats: Rick's Picks' flavors.
• Cupcakes Take The Cake: Sweet potato cupcakes with marshmallow topping.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Dining at Google.
• La Fuji Mama: Chocolate pumpkin truffles.
• Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Recap from TVGasm.

Georgetown Cupcake - Peanut Butter Banana Cupcake

 

As many times as I am able to go to Georgetown Cupcake, there are a few elusive "secret" flavors that I never seem to be able to snag.  This Peanut Butter Banana cupcake is - or should I say, was - one such flavor.  

Finally, finally, FINALLY, I was able to get to the Bethesda location early in the day and pick up this cupcake.  The most dominant smell is definitely the peanut butter frosting.  This frosting was AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.  Provided that you're a fan of peanut butter, this could be one of the best peanut butter frostings ever.  It was so light and fluffy, super peanut butter-y, deeeeeeelicious.  Which isn't to say the banana cake wasn't good too, but, man......... that frosting!! 

My only criticism... throw some bacon on top, call it an Elvis cupcake! Haha. 

Lunchtime Links for November 29th, 2011

• Bakerella: The Muppets cake pops.
• The Budget Babe: Kristin Cavallari in Chinese Laundry.
• The Kitchn: Grilled cheese croutons for tomato soup.
• Serious Eats: Atlanta food trucks.
• Yahoo:  Ryan Gosling pancake.

Shake Shack - Shackenstein Custard

Yup, it's really THAT green.

Here we have Shake Shack's Shackenstein custard, which is available in October every year.

This custard consists of green-colored vanilla cream cheese frosting flavored frozen custard, with pieces of chocolate covered chocolate cake. So, as minty as it may appear, it's not mint-flavored at all, haha.

The color was a little scary at first, but this was a tasty cup of custard! It's cake IN ice cream, what's not to love? It was a fun way to celebrate Halloween on the actual day :o)

Lunchtime Links for November 28th, 2011

• Chobani: Chobani pumpkin muffins. 
• Serious Eats: Federal donuts in Philadelphia. 
• A Passion For Food: Warm Sunrise tea.
• La Fuji Mama: Quick Mao Pao tofu.
• The Kitchn: 8 fudge recipes.

CVS Deals - Week of 11/27/2011

Once again, this week's CVS deals include another $10 gift card for purchasing $30 worth of specially marked items.

Remember, the $30 requirement is for the price of the items, not the price after coupons.  So with a little planning, you can spend less than $30 and still get the gift card.

This week I got:

• 6 Puffs with lotion tissues: $0.99 each on sale, $1/6 manufacturer's coupon.
• Tide Free & Gentle 32-load laundry detergent: $5.94 on sale, $2 manufacturer's coupon.
• Dawn Hand Renewal: $0.99 on sale, $0.20 manufacturer's coupon.
• 2 Pantene: 2/$6.97 on sale, $3/2 manufacturer's coupon.
• Oral-B Cross Action power toothbrush: $4.99 on sale, $3 manufacturer's coupon.
• 2 Cottonelle wipes: $1.99 each on sale, $1/2 manufacturer's coupon.
• Glade scented oil plug in twin pack: $4 on sale, $1 manufacturer's coupon.

There are also two great Extra Bucks deals this week:

• Complete 12oz contact solution: $8.99 on sale, $8.99 Extra Bucks back.
• Lysol Healthy Touch no-touch hand soap system: $9.99 on sale, $3 manufacturer's coupon, $5 Extra Bucks back.

Happy shopping everyone!

Lunchtime Links for November 25th, 2011

• Washingtonian: Michael Landrum's new Steak and Cheese.
• Ohdeedoh: Milk and cookies baby shower.
• Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Recap from TVGasm.
• Serious Eats: Pennette with spicy Sicilian pesto.
• Eater DC: Little Serow's opening menu.

CVS Deals - Thanksgiving Weekend

Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone!  Everyone knows about all different types of Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, but did you also know that CVS has a number of awesome deals until November 26th?

The majority of the big deals are Extra Bucks deals, which means you pay money up front but get it back in the form of Extra Bucks.  In essence, it's like getting the items for free with a rebate.  And, if you have coupons for any of the items, you get back the Extra Bucks PLUS overage!

On Thanksgiving day I got the following:

- Peanut M&Ms single pack: $0.75 on sale, $0.75 Extra Bucks back.
- Starbucks Doubleshot: $1.69 on sale, $1.69 Extra Bucks back.
- FiberOne 90-calorie brownies box: $3.99 on sale, $0.40 manufacturer's coupon, $3.99 Extra Bucks back.

- LA Looks 20oz hair gel: $2.49 on sale, $1.00 manufacturer's coupon, $2.49 Extra Bucks back.
- 2 Softlips tubes: $2.00 each on sale, $1.00/2 manufacturer's coupon, $2.00 Extra Bucks back.
- 2 Carmex tubes: $1.00 each on sale, $1.00/2 manufacturer's coupon, $1.00 Extra Bucks back.
- 3-pack of Listerine Pocketpaks: $2.99 on sale, $0.50 manufacturer's coupon, $2.99 Extra Bucks back.
- Colgate Total toothpaste: $2.87 on sale, $1.00 manufacturer's coupon, $2.87 Extra Bucks back.
- CVS floss picks: $1.99 on sale, $1.99 Extra Bucks back.
- GUM toothbrushes, 2-pack: $2.99 on sale, $2.99 Extra Bucks back.

- Advil PM 4-count: $0.99, $0.99 Extra Bucks back.
- Advil 10-count: $2.99 on sale, $2.99 Extra Bucks back.
- Excedrin 8-count: $0.99 on sale, $0.99 Extra Bucks back.
- 2 Theraflu single packs:  $0.99 each, $3.00/2 manufacturer's coupon, $0.99 Extra Bucks back.
- Pepto-Bismol 4oz bottle: $2.99 on sale, $2.99 Extra Bucks back.
- Cepacol lozenges: $4.99 on sale, $4.99 Extra Bucks back.
- Breathe Right 12-count: $5.99 on sale, $1.50 manufacturer's coupon, $5.99 Extra Bucks back.
- Be Koool kids' fever reducer pads: $4.49 on sale, $4.49 Extra Bucks back.

- 4-pack of CVS AA batteries: $3.65 on sale, $3.65 Extra Bucks back.
- Philips 3-in-1 remote: $6.99 on sale, $6.99 Extra Bucks back.
- Philips earbuds headphones: $6.99 on sale, $6.00 Extra Bucks back.
- Finish dishwashing tabs, 10-count: $2.99 on sale, $1.00 manufacturer's coupon, $2.99 Extra Bucks back.
- Kleenex Cool Touch tissues: $1.50 on sale, $1.50 Extra Bucks back.

Happy shopping everyone!

Lunchtime Links for November 24th, 2011

• Kirbie's Cravings: Pumpkin biscuits.
• In Good Taste: Quick cranberry applesauce.
• The Pioneer Woman: Pumpkin soup.
• Cupcakes and Cashmere: Homemade potato chips.
• My DC: Mussels.

Happy Thanksgiving!

There are lots of things to be thankful for every day, but Thanksgiving is a particularly nice time to focus on the positive.  This year I am thankful to be spending Thanksgiving with good friends for my first ever Friendsgiving, haha.

On a more silly note, I am thankful for Nordstrom's for taking on such a strong stance on Thanksgiving.  I came across this sign at the Nordstrom in downtown Seattle a few weeks ago:

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Lunchtime Links for November 23rd, 2011

• The Kitchn: Bread basket recipes. 
• Georgetown Cupcake: Interview and recipes.  
• Bakerella: Dark chocolate chip cookies.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Pumpkin spice latte cupcakes.
• Serious Eats: Soft cheesy "focaccia".

Japanese Freshel BB Cream

Some of you may have heard of Asian BB cream recently - "BB" is short for "Blemish Balm", but in reality these products do so much more than that!

I honestly didn't know too much about it until a year or two ago when my mom brought back a tube from Japan.  She said that it was very popular and there were all sorts of different brands being sold in Japan.  I wasn't really jazzed about it at first but the product has grown on me.  This particular brand (pictured above) moisturizes, provides light coverage, and evens out my skin before applying makeup.  Apparently you can also use this for a "non-makeup makeup" look, but I use it more as a base for the rest of my products.  

Here's some more information about BB creams if you're interested.  In the US they might be a little more hard to come by unless you buy them from online sites that are based in Asia, but Sephora has a few versions on their site.

Lunchtime Links for November 22nd, 2011

• Tasty Kitchen: Japanese potato croquettes.
• Joy the Baker: Pumpkin cookies. 
• Gossip Girl: Recap from NYMag.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Three ingredient peanut butter cookies.
• Picky Palate: Sweet potato cupcakes with cinnamon sugar cream cheese frosting.

Buzz Bakery: Cookie Monster Cupcake

 

As many of you may know, I'm a huge fan of Oreos - so it shouldn't be a surprise that I really like cookies and cream cupcakes as well!  

I picked up this Cookie Monster cupcake after dinner with friends at Buzz Bakery's Arlington, VA location.  I couldn't find an official cupcake description, but the cake has a ball of cookie dough in the center, cookies and cream frosting, and a mini cookie sandwich on top!  

Unfortunately the mini cookie wasn't the best thing to try first, as what I thought were chocolate chips were actually raisins.  Isn't that the WORST?! Well, if you don't like raisins that is, haha.  The frosting was great and the cookie dough in the middle was a fun little surprise.  I'm not sure I would get this again - something about the cake tasted a little off to me, but that could've been a one-off situation as well.  They do have lots of sweets in each of their locations though so definitely check them out if you're nearby!

Buzz Bakery - Ballston

818 N. Quincy Street

Arlington, Virginia, 22217

Phone: 703.650.9676

      

Lunchtime Links for November 21st, 2011

• The Kitchn: Trader Joe's pumpkin butter.
• Picky Palate: Reese's Pieces giant cookie for one.
• Serious Eats: Piri piri shrimp. 
• A Passion For Food: Afternoon tea at Bergdorf's.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Pumpkin donut holes.

CVS Deals - Week of 11/20/2011

Once again, this week's CVS deals include another $10 gift card for purchasing $30 worth of specially marked items.

Remember, the $30 requirement is for the price of the items, not the price after coupons.  So with a little planning, you can spend less than $30 and still get the gift card.

This week I got a $10 Shell gas card by buying:

• Six Hershey's holiday candy bags: 2/$5 on sale, three $1/2 manufacturer's coupons.
• Soft Scrub bathroom cleaner: 2/$5 on sale, one $1.50 manufacturer's coupon. 
• Two L'Oreal Everpure hair products: 2/$12 on sale, one $2 manufacturer's coupon, one $1 manufacturer's coupon. If you want to save even more money, pick up the leave-in treatments. They are more expensive than the shampoos or conditioners, but still on sale for the same price!
• Two Ultra Palmolive dish liquids: $0.99 each on sale, one $1/2 manufacturer's coupon. 
• Two Brut deodorants: Buy one get one free ($2.58 regular price), two $1 manufacturer's coupons.

 I also got a great deal on face products that I use on a regular basis:

• Two Clean & Clear face products: Buy one get one 1/2 off on sale ($6.89 regular price), two $2 off manufacturer's coupons.

Finally, there are two deals this week that equal free stuff!:

• Three Hallmark cards: Buy three cards, get $3 Extra Bucks back. I bought three $0.99 cards to get all three for free.
• Excedrin 8-count: $0.99 on sale, $0.99 Extra Bucks back.

Happy shopping everyone!

Lunchtime Links for November 18th, 2011

• Today Show: Georgetown Cupcake's pumpkin spice and caramel apple cupcake recipes.
• The Kitchn: Sweet potato chocolate brownies.
• Gossip Girl: Recap from NYMag.
• Serious Eats: Japanese coffee milk cereal.
• Adventures in Bentomaking: Cute animal doll bento boxes.

Passport to Style - Georgetown Cupcake's Hope for Henry Cupcake

I love Georgetown Cupcake as it is, but I love them even more when they use their cupcakes for good!  In addition to numerous charity-related cupcakes they've had in the past, I recently came across some tasty cupcakes at the Passport to Style event back in October.  This was my second year attending this event, and it's a great event for some worthy causes.  Of course it doesn't hurt that there's always been great food and fashion at this event! 

In addition to a number of fun items in our swag bags for attending the event, there was a signature bright pink box with a salted caramel cupcake inside.  The fondant decoration is specifically for the Hope for Henry foundation, which was one of the charities that our tickets and donations went to:

"Hope for Henry Foundation (HFHF) improves the lives of children with life-threatening illnesses by providing carefully chosen gifts and specially-designed programs to entertain and promote comfort, care and recovery. HFHF brings smiles and laughter, hope and magic into the lives of these children and their families."

Cupcakes for a charitable cause makes them all the more better, in my opinion :o)



Lunchtime Links for November 17th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Oven-baked tater tots.
• Eat Drink Pretty: Hot chocolate recipes.
• Serious Eats: Japanese home cooking.
• With Style and Grace: Pumpkin treats. 
• Millionaire Matchmaker: Recap from TVGasm. 

BOGO Starbucks Holiday Drinks

What great news to come back from Seattle with: Starting today, November 17th, Starbucks is offering a Buy One, Get One Free deal on their holiday drinks from 2-5pm.

This deal is valid from today until the 20th, so be sure to go this weekend if you're with a friend and looking to try out any of their holiday drinks!

Seattle, Woo!

Hey everyone!  Since I'll be heading to Seattle to visit my family today, I figured the blog would take a little siesta of its own.  I'll be back soon, hopefully with lots of new goodies from Seattle to blog about!

Have a great day!

Lunchtime Links for November 9th, 2011

• Metrocurean: Komi's new Thai restaurant.
• The Kitchn: Baked apple cider doughnuts. 
• Top Chef: Recap from NYMag.  
• Martha Stewart: Pumpkin-swirl brownies.  
• Just Bento: Japanese sandwiches. 

ShopHouse DC

I've been to ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen in DC twice now, and I can't wait to go back again!  The concept is derived from Chipotle, which makes for a streamlined ordering process and the line moves fairly quickly.  The only thing stopping the line somewhat is that the various menu items/toppings are not listed on the overhead board, so if you haven't been before you'll need to ask the person behind the counter what everything is. Hopefully they'll have some signage up or menus that people can peruse while they're waiting in line at some point.   

Here we have my friend B's brown rice bowl with grilled steak, Chinese broccoli, green curry, green papaya slaw, pickles, herb salad, toasted rice, crispy garlic, and crushed peanuts.

And here's my brown rice bowl with pork and chicken meatballs, long beans, spicy red curry, green papaya slaw, herb salad, toasted rice, crispy garlic, and crushed peanuts.

Both bowls were pretty similar so they both tasted great to me, haha.  But I have to say, those meatballs were soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good.  Crunchy on the outside, super moist on the inside, and really flavorful on their own.

 

On my second visit, I went with a banh mi instead of a bowl.  I got the aforementioned bomb meatballs, green papaya slaw, herb salad, and crushed peanuts.  The bread was great but maybe a touch too thick for me - there were some bites where I got pretty much all bread and no filling.  Once again the meatballs stole the show for me - as much as I'd love to try the other protein options I'm not sure if I'd be able to stray from these on my next visits, haha. 

Overall I think this is a great concept with some fresh, tasty offerings.  At peak times it may be difficult to find a table but it's definitely worth trying out the food here. 

ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen

1516 Connecticut Avenue NW

Washington, DC 

202.232.4141

Lunchtime Links for November 8th, 2011

• Tasty Kitchen: Nutella cheesecake pumpkin muffins. 
• Real Housewives of NJ: Recap from TVGasm.  
• Pillsbury: Peanut butter cups.  
• Serious Eats: Sweet potato cheesecake.  
• Picky Palate: Reese's peanut butter cup baked buttermilk donuts.

Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Donut

After a few failed attempts to get a pumpkin donut at Dunkin Donuts, I finally had some success one weekend morning!  Make sure you get your receipt when you go to Dunkin Donuts, because they usually have a survey on the bottom asking you to call/go online and answer a few questions.  In return, you get a free donut with your next purchase of a medium drink!  

 

That orange hue is just SO fall, haha.  This was extremely pumpkin-y but not TOO sweet which I was pleasantly surprised by.  The glazed outer layer added the slightest crunch to the donut while the insides were fluffy.  Overall, a great way to celebrate fall!