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End of The Blog 30 Challenge: June 2010

WOW another #blog30 Challenge has come to an end. The first challenge  was  started in May and now again for the month of June 2010 where we commit to writing one post a day for the 30 day period.  If you think it sounds like a lot of posting….YOUR RIGHT!

When I first heard about the blog challenge, I thought YES! That is what I need!

I recently started blogging and was not as committed to the whole process as much as I had hoped I would be. I was letting “life” get in the way of having fun and posting to my blog on a regular schedule. In addition it seemed as if there was a lot of new stuff to learn right away and I felt as if everyone else was blogging better/faster and knew a lot more than I did.

Now I see where everyone is getting their experience from: By Blogging regularly!

Now that I have joined in these two Blog Challenges and  made a commitment to posting on a daily basis, I can see how the regular experience has made the whole blogging experience more fun and easy to do. I am not as worried about the technology and all the new terms and techniques that I need to learn. I realize that as the months go on, I AM learning as I go, and some of the stuff will just take more time than I thought. So I have a new respect for regular blogging and will plan to stay regular with this blog!

Thanks to you also Dear Readers, as your support of this blogging journey has been much appreciated. I find I am thinking of you (and the blog) more and more frequently during my days, and especially when I am shopping at Trader Joe’s of course!

Please Please if you have a suggestion or comment or just want to say “hello” please drop us a note at the bottom of any post and let us know what recipes you would like to see, or what kind of products you would like reviewed etc….

We welcome all suggestions!

Cheers!

Kris

Trader Joe’s Organic Mint Melange Tea

Trader Joe's Organic Mint Melange Tea

Trader Joe's Organic Mint Melange Tea

Are you searching for a great tasting, caffeine free tea, that has a little zip? Well we think we have found a winner here with Trader Joe’s Organic Mint Melange Tea.

We both just love tea! We enjoy all kinds of tea  but usually stick to a basic black tea (Trader Joe’s Irish Tea) for the majority of our tea drinking. But like everything, there comes a time when you want a change, or after a meal when you want some tea but do not want to drink any caffeine.

This is the perfect tea for you to try

This mint mélange tea is actually a blend or mixture of peppermint, lemon grass and spearmint, so it is not just a plain mint tea. Those folks at Trader Joe’s really must understand tea blending as well as tea drinkers because they created a winner here.

There is a nice blending of the flavors between the peppermint and the spearmint, with a sorta undertone of lemon flavor in there somewhere.  Now I love many kinds of mint products (gum, teas), but some of them (especially spearmint flavored items) seem too harsh for my tastes.

This is why I think the blending of the different mints and the lemongrass really makes this product a winner.

What are your favorite kinds of tea??

Trader Joe’s Bavarian Rye Bread Instead of a Bagel?

Trader Joe's Bavarian Rye Bread

Trader Joe's Bavarian Rye Bread

Are you looking for new bread? Do you want something a little different for your next sandwich?

If you, RUN to Trader Joe’s today and give this bread a try: Trader Joe’s Bavarian Rye Bread. We recently ate a loaf of this bread and enjoyed every last crumb!

It is funny how it happened. We were looking for a bagel to have with some Smoked Salmon and cream cheese and did not see anything that really grabbed us. I mean Trader Joe’s has lots of great bagels, but quite frankly we were in search of a new flavor. We started to expand away from the bagel section and into the tortilla area when we spotted this loaf.

We did not know it at the time, but it was just what we were looking for.

We sorta had an A-HA moment right there in the store! We quickly purchased the bread, some Trader Joe’s whipped cream cheese with Chives and a smoked salmon. Oh Yeah breakfast was a calling! (all we needed now was to purchase a Sunday paper…hint hint Trader Joe’s…)

We toasted the bread while the coffee was brewing. Then pretending the slices of bread were actually toasted bagels, spread the cream cheese on and arranged the salmon slices on top.

Trader Joe's Bavarian Rye "bagel"

Trader Joe's Bavarian Rye "bagel"

Funny but this discovery might actually be BETTER than the bagel (eeks!)

The bread was thinner than a bagel would be and WOW the flavor from that Rye Bread- Just Excellent!! (and no pesky seeds!) This made the flavor from the cream cheese and the salmon seem somehow stronger without that extra bread… hmmmm

We are so glad that we ventured out and away from the usual bagel to try something new.

Give this bread a try when you are next searching for a new flavor for your sandwiches (or bagels as well)

Trader Joe’s Tea Time Treats

Trader Joe's Mini Orage Cranberry Tea Scones

Trader Joe's Mini Orage Cranberry Tea Scones

We love the English tradition of afternoon tea. We both have traveled to the United Kingdom and enjoyed eating Afternoon Tea in a wide range of English Establishments. Some of these Teas have been real “meals” that included sandwiches and other goodies, while others were much simpler, just tea and a scone.

As a result of these travel experiences, we feel that there is something fun about eating tea and a scone in the afternoon. Especially on a day when it is a little cold and rainy…..

Now since that is a rarity in the summer in Tucson, what we like to do is to pop in a movie that takes place in England and turn town the air conditioning a degree or two…. Then  enjoy….

Today’s movie choice…. A Room With A View

Today’s Tea choice…..Trader Joe’s Earl Grey

Today’s Scone….Trader Joe’s Mini Orange Cranberry Tea Scones

Trader Joe's Earl Grey Tea

Trader Joe's Earl Grey Tea

These scones were the whole reason that we had this cute tea party in the first place. On our trip to Trader Joe’s yesterday someone left this package in the case near the eggs, so when I was choosing a dozen eggs – bingo! There they were….

Being weak when it comes to scones…. Once they were in my hand, it was all over…. I then purchased the tea and began to think about which English movie we would indulge in on a HOT Sunday afternoon in Tucson…

The scones were just wonderful by the way. They had a sweet glaze over the whole scone and the inside was tender and bursting with flavor from the cranberries and orange peel. YUM! Trader Joe’s Earl Grey Tea is one of our favorites- with great flavor and not too much “earl” to over power the taste of the tea.

We hope you get to enjoy your own tea party soon!