Never Turn Down A Cupcake: April 2017

Friday, April 28, 2017

Lunchtime Links for April 28th, 2017

Creme de la Crumb: Catalina chicken.
Two Peas and Their Pod: Cheesecake truffle brownies.
Style Sweet CA: Milk and cookies cake.
The Kitchn: Food-themed piggy banks.
Cookies and Cups: Unicorn recipes.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Lunchtime Links for April 27th, 2017

Kirbie's Cravings: Sheet pan stir fry.
Dessert for Two: Chocolate cake for two.
The Kitchn: Removing labels from jars.
Joy the Baker: Sticky finger maple bacon grilled cheese.
Crazy for Crust: Dulce de Leche gooey bars.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Lunchtime Links for April 20th, 2017

I Heart Naptime: Brown butter chocolate chip cookies.
A Kitchen Addiction: French toast English muffin bread.
Picky Palate: Taco Totchos.
Cookies and Cups: Chocolate chip banana bread.
Brown Eyed Baker: Boston Cream pie.

Starbucks - Unicorn Frappuccino

By now, many of you will likely have seen this crazy looking Unicorn Frappuccino online, especially yesterday which was the first official day it was available. Clearly this was something that I had to get, given the combination of Starbucks, limited edition, and made for Instagram!

This drink consists of mango syrup in a pink creme Frappuccino base, sour blue drizzle, whipped cream, and sour pink and blue powder on top. The "Color-changing" aspect in the advertisements likely comes from stirring the blue drizzle through the pink base, making the drink purple later on.

Or, if you leave it alone without mixing it that well, it starts to turn into something like a Lush bath bomb inside of a cup, haha.

After reading a number of reviews online, it seems like there's some inconsistencies with the sweet/sour aspect of the drink. Many people said the drink was too sour, while other said it tasted like a funky colored vanilla Frappuccino with no distinct fruit flavors. For me personally, I got a lot of mango flavor throughout, which reminded me of a mango Rita's water ice (so good!!) at first. Then I did get a few hits of sour flavors, I think from when I finally started drinking the blue drizzle along the side of the cup. The powder on top was pretty sour, but nothing more than maybe a bite of a Sour Patch Kid gummy. But as expected the predominant flavor was very, very, very, sweet. I got about halfway through the drink before deciding that it was something fun to try but I did not have to finish, haha. I can definitely say I'm happy I tried it, especially since I used a drink reward for it so I didn't technically pay up front for it anyway.

As a side note - I have to laugh at the Starbucks Facebook page comments (seriously, go look), with all the people blasting Starbucks for making a drink too sweet and unhealthy. Last I checked, NO ONE is buying this for health reasons, and people can choose to not get this drink (or any drink/food for that matter) if they don't want to. When it comes down to it it's a fun and crazy drink, and I hope they keep coming out with more fun flavors moving forward!

Monday, April 17, 2017

Lunchtime Links for April 17th, 2017

Oh Sweet Basil: 15 minute Pesto pasta.
The Kitchn: Chicken Alfredo shells.
Cookies and Cups: Parmesan garlic biscuit rolls.
Averie Cooks: P.F. Chang's chicken lettuce cups.
Creme de la Crumb: Ravioli Alfredo bake with spinach and bacon.

Friday, April 14, 2017

Lunchtime Links for April 14th, 2017 - Kimi No Na Wa Movie

In lieu of my regular Lunchtime Links today, I wanted to share some reviews for the Japanese movie "Kimi No Na Wa" / "Your Name" that is currently out in select US theatres. This movie was a huge hit in Japan last summer/fall and continues to be really popular, with movie-themed pop up cafes doing really well in Japan. The animation is really amazing, and I love the soundtrack as well. The Japanese band Radwimps worked closely with the director to create all of the songs in the movie, and it's really a great compliment to the story. If you have a chance to see this movie while it is being shown by you, I highly recommend it!!