new coffee machine. new cat toy

I've never really been much into drinking coffee though I do like the taste. It's more how time consuming it can be that turns me off the most. I can't be bothered with grinding the beans, preparing it, and then waiting for it to brew. Plus with a regular coffee machine it's hard to only brew one cup. I have always been jealous of my sister's single-cup coffee machine. When my coworker found this amazing bundle I couldn't resist! He found a machine, the Verismo system by Starbucks, that makes single cups instantly.

AND comes with enough pods to make 70 beverages!

As I was trying to take everything out of the box, of course, the kitties needed to be little 'helpers'.

There were several layers of things to come out and every time I'd turn around Cleo had already found her way back into the box. Even when Waldo wanted a turn she stayed put.

After everything was out I couldn't believe all the pieces that it came with. There is a container that holds the water, and (this part I find extremely handy) a container that holds up to twelve empty pods. The pods automatically fall into this container after use! I was slightly worried about where I was going to find a place for it because my kitchen counters are already so full.

But it was really simple to put together and, with it's slim physique, I was easily able to find a place for it.

And then it was time to test it out! I slipped the pod into the slot and closed the handle.

I pushed the button and my espresso was ready in an instant!

It actually took longer for the soy milk to froth (which only takes 70 seconds). Once it was done I added it to my espresso so I could enjoy it as a latte.

It smelt delicious and was better than most coffees that I've had before. I think that it was definitely worth the buy as those 70 pods will last be a long while. Since Jade has now started working on the weekends, I got up and made her a coffee before work so she could enjoy the experience as well. Then it was time to enjoy my delicious latte.

And it was time for the cats to play around with their new toys. A box.

And some Styrofoam.

water infusions. lemons and limes

Every day I struggle with making sure I drink enough water. Though plain water is refreshing, I thought it may be more enticing to have flavored water to drink. One solution would be to buy flavored water from the store. I wasn't too keen on buying something that was artificially flavored so I looked into other ways to infuse water with different flavors.

There were many different models to choose from but I ending up buying a water infuser from Bed, Bath & Beyond. I chose this one because it came with three different types of infusers. An ice core (to chill beverages without diluting it), a fruit infuser (to add extra flavors to beverages), and a tea infuser (to brew coffee or tea within the pitcher). The infuser that I use most is the fruit infuser cause I can put in fresh fruit to make delicious concoctions.

One of my favorite fruits to use are limes because I love the way they taste in water. I could eat limes on their own if they weren't so sour. This is a nice way to dilute the flavor a bit and still get the refreshing lime taste in my beverage.

Though I don't like lemons I add it anyway because it compliments the limes nicely. Also there are many health benefits to drinking lemon water, from boosting your immune system to giving you a boost of energy.

I like alternating the lemons and limes in the infuser to help distribute an even amount of each flavor to the water. I also have to make sure not to pack them in too tightly or it won't be able to infuse the water as well.

Then I simply add the infuser to the water and it's ready for the fridge. This container is really nice because it fits perfectly in the door of the fridge.

In a couple hours my water is ready for me to drink. I like having a glass first thing in the morning as a perk me up or after work if I'm feeling drained.

Coconut came to investigate if I was making anything with his favorite foods (spinach, carrots, etc.) but decided that he wasn't interested in what I had to offer and left. Silly Coconut.

new tea day. hibiscus punch

When my aunty so kindly picked me up the Spring Collection from Davids Tea, she also got me the Tea of the Month for March. It's called Hibiscus Punch.

Once again another herbal. Yay! I am a big fan of hibiscus so I'm hoping I'll really enjoy it. I'm only worried about the cinnamon and ginger mixed with hibiscus. And if it's not good hot maybe it'll be awesome iced? I mean it is called Hibiscus 'Punch'. Punches are normally cold right?

The herbal's ingredients are:

• Cinnamon
• Rooibos
• Hibiscus
• Ginger
• Stevia

The steep time is between 4-7 minutes but as I stated before you need to be very careful with hibiscus. It will get bitter if steeped for too long. I usually start with the lowest recommended steep time and work my way up if it's not strong enough. Ginger can be overpowering too so I'm going to make sure I watch it carefully.

I love the color that hibiscus turns tea. Such a lovely deep red. As for how the tea tasted, I'm not sure how I feel about it. It didn't wow me but I didn't hate it either. I think that I'd need to try it iced to see if it'll maybe have more of a wow factor. I was very careful with the steep time yet the cinnamon was almost overpowering.

I'm really glad that I tried this tea and that I'll have some more to enjoy occasionally but I don't think that it's one I'd be wanting to buy more of. The Tea of the Month is usually a hit or a miss. For me this one was a bit of a miss. But I won't discount it completely until I've tried it iced.

But man, does it ever look pretty!

new tea day. cool cucumber

I only have one more tea from the Spring Collection at Davids Tea to try! Cool Cucumber.

This one is a black tea. I really do enjoy them but they have the highest amount of caffeine out of all the tea made from the camellia sinensis plant. If I plan on having caffeinated teas, I make sure to have them earlier in the day so it'll have less of an effect on me. One nice thing about black teas is that they make the best lattes. Unfortunately I feel like this particular one made not due to the cucumber/melon flavor.

This black's ingredients are:

• Black tea
• Honeydew melon
• Cucumber
• Sunflower
• Blue mallow blossoms

The steep time is 4-7 minutes. Like green teas, I make sure to steep black teas according to their recommended times otherwise it can get extremely bitter. Sometimes when I'm first trying it out I'll even go below the recommended time to make sure it's not bitter. This also helps with lighten the flavors so one doesn't overpower the others.

This tea smells amazing while I'm sipping on it. It has a light honeydew taste to it with a slight hint of mint which offers a cooling sensation. It's refreshing and light which is nice as sometimes black teas can be heavier. I enjoyed it hot but I wouldn't count it as one of my favorite teas. I think this one would probably be better iced.

steak, potatoes, beer, and furry things

This weekend I went to my friends' house to watch rocket speedboat. Rocket speedboat is code name for Battlestar Galactica. That what we've been calling it ever since I texted them one day asking if they wanted to watch it. I thought it would be funny to use emoticons to ask. The only ones my phone had that I thought were similar was a rocket (cause I thought it looked like a bomb from battle) and a speedboat (cause I thought it could possibly be a ship).

As soon as I walked in the door there was an amazing dinner waiting for me. Carrots, mashed potatoes, and a perfectly cooked t-bone steak. All with a side of garlic bread and an ice cold Keith's.

The steak was so juicy and flavorful. The seasoning was perfect and the middle was a nice pink color. It was probably one of the best steaks I've ever had. He said it was the first time he's ever cooked a steak on the BBQ but you definitely couldn't tell. I've tried cooking steak on the BBQ a couple times and each time has ended in disaster. It's not as easy as it sounds like it would be to cook it perfectly.

For dessert we had my favorite pie. Pecan pie.

The rest of the night was watching TV with two furry little animals by our sides. Both of them were adopted within the last year from the Edmonton Humane Society. They got their puppy, Haley, last summer. She's two this year.

They got their cat, Imoen, in last December. She's a snowshoe with beautiful blue eyes. She just turned one.