Treat Yourself

Summer Heat

~ shawnaborman ~ 2 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? It’s August in Texas, so it’s hot and muggy and generally gross outside. I’ve been spending my time inside, as usual. Reading, slushing (the place I’m a first reader at opened the submission floodgates recently, so yeah), and even writing a bit. Funness. Anyway, it’s hot and I kind of want ice cream, but I won’t get any because Dad shouldn’t have it. Okay, I might order a small one I can eat in one sitting if we order from a restaurant, but no pints or anything. So, I thought I’d just share my top 5 favorite flavors with you while I think about them, then go back to ignoring ice cream’s existence.

1. Coffee. Just plain coffee ice cream. No chocolate chunks. No espresso beans. A smooth, creamy, rich coffee ice cream. It’s the best and I haven’t had it in forever. I also like it mixed into a milkshake with my second favorite flavor.

2. Cookies and Cream. It was my favorite as a kid and I still love it. Alone or with coffee ice cream. Yum. I’m not picky.

3. Vanilla. Yes, I prefer vanilla over chocolate. It’s more versatile if I want to add something to it (fruit, liqueurs, whatever). Plus, if it’s a good brand, vanilla has a more complex flavor and I like that. It’s just better all around.

4. Salted caramel. I like caramel in general. As with coffee ice cream, I’d rather it not have chocolate chunks or toffee or whatever other surprises companies want to throw in there. Just caramel with a little salt.

5. Chocolate, I guess. I don’t really have a strong preference for any other flavors. I like raspberry, but not enough to give it it’s own spot on my list. Same with mint chocolate chip. Peanut butter is too hit or miss. So, I suppose a basic chocolate is good enough.

What are your favorite ice cream flavors? As always, feel free to share your thoughts or comments or questions here or on my social media pages!

Fancy Chocolate is Fancy… I Guess

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Fall is here! Kind of. Pretty sure the temperatures are supposed to go back up a bit the next few days. Anyway, if you read last week’s post, you’ll know that I was thinking about buying myself a treat. After much hesitation, I got the fancy chocolates! I ordered from Recchiuti in San Francisco because they’re on all the “best chocolates” lists I looked at, so I figured they were at least okay. Guess what! They do indeed taste like chocolates. I haven’t tried all of them yet, but I thought I would share my thoughts on the ones I’ve tasted so far.

In order to make the shipping price hurt less, I ordered the Black Box 16 (because I like to try different things) and a box of Peppermint Thins (because I love all things peppermint). The Black Box was $52 (so like $3.25 a piece) and the other was $28 for 24 (around $1.17 each). I shouldn’t focus on the money, but I’m a miser, so this was a really difficult thing to talk myself into. I’m constantly wondering if things are worth the money, not just chocolates. Everything. But let’s get to my thoughts thus far:

1. Peppermint Thins. These are about the size of a nickel (I don’t think they’re as big as a quarter but it’s been a while since I’ve seen actual change, so maybe). The inside is thick and the whole thing is reminiscent of a York Peppermint Pattie without the white coloring. I like letting them melt on my tongue. You get to taste the chocolate first and the mint gradually gets stronger until it’s almost overwhelming. I enjoy that. Would I buy them again? No, but I’m not mad I tried them this time.

2. Black Box 16. So far, these are not bad. I’ve only had 5 as of me writing this and mostly they’ve been good, but nothing impressive. I’ll let you know if I come across one, but for now, it’s like with the Peppermint Thins… I’m enjoying them and I’m not mad I tried them, but I probably won’t be getting them again.

2a. Sesame Nougat. This one was definitely nutty and I liked the wafer that was hidden inside. I didn’t look at the legend until after I ate it, so I wasn’t sure what it was, but I enjoyed trying to figure it out. Did guess sesame specifically, but I knew it was a nut or seed. It was interesting.

2b. Kona Coffee. It’s coffee and chocolate. What’s not to love? So far, it’s my favorite.

2c. Rose Caramel. This one was interesting, but the flower oils left a perfume kind of taste that lingered. I wasn’t a fan.

2d. Force Noir. I love dark chocolate, but this one was just okay.

2e. Burnt Caramel. My second favorite. It has very intense dark caramel flavors that I like.

So, yeah. I got myself a treat. They’re not bad, but I think I’ll just stick with Hershey and the like. Future treats will probably just be useless pretty things.

Trick or Treat?

~ shawnaborman ~ 1 Comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m trying to trick myself into buying myself a treat. I’ve been trying to talk myself into something for a while, but always make excuses not to. It’s very hard to come up with a reason to buy things that I want. If I don’t need it, why should I waste the money? It’s not like anyone is telling me not to buy shit. On the contrary. I’m constantly encouraged to treat myself. I just don’t. So, if I can talk myself into buying a treat in the near future, what should it be?

1. Fancy chocolates. I’ve been leaning towards a literal treat, but I keep putting it off because the shipping is like half the price of the chocolates. And fancy chocolates are always a let down. It tastes like chocolate. My palate is not sophisticated enough for expensive chocolate or coffee or whatever else people try to convince you is a whole different experience when you pay stupid amounts of money for it. It’s still just chocolate. But the flavor combinations sound fun and the ones I’m looking at aren’t too ridiculously priced. Except the shipping. Maybe I’ll feel better about it if I add a couple of other items and the shipping stays the same.

2. A sweater/nice top. Or just clothes in general. I bought a lovely, thick sweater last year and have only worn it once. I can only think of a couple of situations to wear it since it’s Texas, but I still love it. I could use a thinner sweater or just a nice long sleeved top. I have a nice summer top, but I have a feeling I’ll need a skirt to wear with it. I keep forgetting it exists, though. But we don’t really do anything that requires nice clothing, so I have a hard time justifying spending the money on that stuff. I can’t even talk myself into buying stuff that will go into my every day rotation.

3. Shoes! I’ve refrained from buying shoes for a long time, but they are some of my favorite frivolous things. I stopped buying them because I only wear two pairs of boots (biker boots I’ve had since I was like 16 for every-day-winter-leaving-the-house wear and a nice bronze/brown pair with short heels in the event we go somewhere dressy during the winter), my two pairs of Converse, a pair of wedge sandals, and a pair of purple flip-flops. I have dressier shoes for summer, but never wear them. I also have my fluffy slipper bootie things that I wear most of the time in the winter. I just don’t need more shoes even though I love them.

JessyHerc

4. Jewelry. I randomly buy myself bracelets and necklaces, but then feel bad because I only wear them once or twice. I do want a new ring or two, but I don’t remember my size and I’m too socially awkward to go into a jewelry store, get my fingers sized, then leave without… you know… buying something. Rude. I guess I could just buy a sizer or print out one of the paper ones. I just haven’t. But I would definitely spend money on new rings because I wear one 99% of the time. That’s probably why I haven’t actually gotten sized. I don’t want to spend money.

There’s also art and knickknacks and things that I’ll never convince myself to buy. Also, weapons. I’ll never be able to afford the weapons I want unless I become a millionaire and can convince myself to part with a couple of thousand for no reason other than I want to. Anyway, should I buy myself a treat? What? What kind of treat would you buy yourself? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts or comments or questions here or on my social media pages!