May 22 2013

Mid Week MUNCH! May 22nd

This week’s Mid Week MUNCH was so easy to choose, because after attending the amazing tasting event at Starbucks HQ with Pascal Rigo… his artistry has been keeping my taste buds and mind firmly planted in the memories of homemade cooking and family-meal celebrating that I’ve been so lucky to know as a farm girl. Pascal’s wonderful Starbucks SWAG bag with all the yummy La Boulange treats inside have also rekindled these cuisine-related experiences for me that you can now enjoy soon too!

Included in this wonderful gift bag from yesterday’s event was a La Boulange Granola that I tried today with my latest love, Tazo decaf chai latte.

And then when i started reviewing the scrumptious cookbook that was included in my goody bag look at what I found? A recipe for that same granola!

What I ADORE about discovering the granola and recipe is that my mother still makes our family homemade granola, and at certain times of the year when you step into the farmhouse you will immediately smell the dehydrator’s 10 layers either drying apples from the orchard, strawberries from the latest picking or granola (or all of them!) and what a lovely, down-home aroma it is! So when I tasted La Boulange’s Granola I knew instantly that it was truly “homemade” good…that once you get a chance to put La Boulange’s granola over your yogurt, in a bowl with soy milk, or just sit and eat it with Tazo Tea like I did today, you will taste a bit of that down-home taste like I’ve experienced my entire life.

Enjoy these new products everyone, for these are the items that memories are made of! Pascal… thank you. Your items have helped open up my tastebuds to their sweet memories of youth on the farm in the last 24 hours which is a present unlike any other could have given. La Boulange will always have a place in my heart now!

May 21 2013

La Boulange is HERE!

Last week I was gratiously invited to attend a private La Boulange tasting at Starbucks corporate offices. I literally almost jumped right out of my seat in pure excitement!

Not only have I been enjoying the new Starbucks food releases this month… Chicken & Greens Caesar Salad Bowl, Zesty Chicken & Black Bean Salad Bowl, etc. but I’ve been enjoying new creations all month during this Make It Yours May, now an entire new line of food too? And by Pascal?? Be still my beating HEART!! (no seriously)

I immediately started to plan my daily work-out routine (so I could try everything without calorie-guilt afterwards!) and to contact some of the partners that I’ve been communicating with online so I could have the pleasure of actually meeting them face to face!

I did a bit of research and found out a lot about my host, Pascal Rigo, about his inspiration in baking all the lovely pastries that his infamous brand La Boulange is known for, but even with all this I still knew that I needed to keep my senses open to the experience to understand the passion behind these two world-renown brands merging into a great heavenly bliss of deliciousness at a Starbucks near you soon!

So with little pause… I give you the experience I’ve had today at this exclusive tasting bite by lovely bite!

I first went through a wonderful tour of Starbucks HQ and met a wonderful table full of tasting partners.

Then between bites of pastry after pastry of buttery, savory or sweet loveliness… I was engaged in Pascal’s amazing passion about a life full of delicious experiences that is coming into Starbucks world!

So many wonderful things to focus on the La Boulange roll-out for the next 16 months… More quality options for drive-through, children’s focus with grilled cheese. I’m loving these new options AND the focus for a busy mom that wants quality for my family!

What an absolutely lovely afternoon it was with Pascal, my tasting companions (like Starbucks Melody) and of course the corporate partners who were so gracious to invite me to the wonderful event!

Apr 19 2013

Starbucks #ExtraShotOfGood

Last week while I was in my local Issaquah Lake Sammamish Starbucks store I came across this flyer…

And since I’m a HUGE ADVOCATE for volunteering in your community… I called the store manager and got signed up to participate in the Starbucks Global Month of Service project with the Issaquah Food Bank. That same evening I stopped into the Issaquah Starbucks Evening store on Gilman and spoke to another partner, Andrea, about their staff’s involvement in the same community project. I knew this was going to be a great experience to participate in my own community but also to personally meet many of the partners in the area!

We all had a great time helping out the Issaquah Food Bank! Look at this great group of Starbucks Partners!

In this great group of volunteers I met, Sandya (pictured in pink), a local Issaquah resident who found out about volunteering today after watching one of the Starbucks ads after The Voice and logged onto the Starbucks Community Network to give her #extrashotofgood too!

I loved hearing about Sandy’s journey to the food bank, moving here only two years ago and feeling a need to connect with community through giving her time. This is what I love to see, just how easy it is to get connected, go meet a bunch of new people while giving back to your community! Thanks Sandya! Your passion to serve is what helps make our world so wonderful!

Apr 1 2013

Weekend Wrap Up – Easter edition

When I say that Washington state is like PARADISE when it’s sunny here… I’m not kidding! This weekend was absolutely wonderful spending time with family and outside in nature for us. The daffodils were out, the new calves were frolicking around the fields with their momma cow’s, we spent a lot of time walking around the fields and by the river banks and just enjoying the slower paced reflections on what is important in life!

Of course, with the gathering of family I had to try out a traditional family dish… deviled eggs, but this time they were made from Starbucks-inspired ingredients!

I started out with a 5 containers of hard-boiled eggs I picked up from Evolution Fresh, then took the mayo and mustard from a Turkey & Swiss sandwich in the Starbucks deli case, and then added a bit of Greek yogurt with honey (and a dash of NON-Starbucks paprika) and VOILA! Deviled eggs Starbucks style!

And the finished product, YUM!

Another Starbucks product I brought down for the family that I purchased from Tazo Tea was the Biscottea Gift pack that was FULL of all their delicious flavors of shortbreads! We tried EARL GREY, CHAI, BLUEBERRY, MINT, ROOIBOS and TRADITIONAL TEA TIME and they were all eaten up quickly after dinner by the coffee and tea drinkers! I also found out this weekend that the individual packets are nice to keep in your purse or car for those times when you need a little snack to tide you over! I will definitely be picking up this gift pack again for other future gatherings and dinner parties!

So besides the gathering around food this weekend… we enjoyed all the farm had to offer and that means there are usually lots of new baby cows (calves) frolicking in fields…

And of course Nana puts out all her bird feeders! Our family farm has an eagle that nests at the riverfront that I tried to find but couldn’t but there were plenty of other bird varieties such as hummingbirds, robins, sparrows and a bunch of bluejays which are always lovely to see fly around!

This is one part of the river property… there is also a creek that we all enjoy with bonfires, canoeing and fishing when the sun’s out!

Papa even pulled out the 1928 Galion road grader to re-grade the driveway and the boys got a ride (and lesson on how hard it was to do things 100 years ago!)

All in all it was an AMAZING WEEKEND full of sunshine spent outside on the family farm in nature… the PERFECT way to start a month focused on the Earth!

So don’t forget… today starts my April’s month focus of being good stewards of our Earth (in honor of Earth Day and International Mother Earth Day on April 22nd AND to coincide with the Starbucks Month of Service)! Go over to my Challengera.com site to find out more about my challenge to YOU and add your own version of what it means to be Eco, Green, Environmental to win a fabulous Starbucks prize!

Feb 1 2013

Coffee Shop Fiend

Yah think this photo reflects my life?! My Foursquare friends know it!!

So today is the end of my first month of this year-long challenge to only eat/drink at Starbucks and I’ve learned a LOT in these 31 days so far! First of all, the amazing amount of people who have found out about my challenge from all over the globe, it’s been truly wonderful to have you all on-board for this 2013 adventure of mine!

So when I started my year on January 1st I had one main question I wanted to learn about and I decided to focus all month on… would I gain weight from eating Starbucks food?

I set out to debunk this myth of gaining weight on a Starbucks diet and I drew a lot of my initial inspiration from the woman who already did it, Christine Hall. I spoke to Christine earlier today about her “diet” and how it was compared to my weight-focused month and I found a lot of similarities. The biggest difference between us was that Christine initially set out to lose weight so that she could be an organ donor for a dying man, so her inspiration was pretty intense and her dedication was a “life or death” situation in the complete sense of the words while I on the other hand just wanted to keep baby-weight off. Guess what? It doesn’t matter the motivation you have to lose weight by only eating Starbucks food/drinks because I am now the second person that can claim that a “Starbucks Diet” DOES WORK! I have officially lost more than 12 pounds this month and clothes fit right on me again.

Christine and I talked about what she coined as the “bottom shelf options” in the stores… basically, if you want to be able to lose weight, get all the four food groups in and have the energy to run after toddlers both us “Starbucks Dieters” know that the bottom shelf is where to shop! Also, we both have used the tools of the weight-loss trade to aid in our goals. I tried out Jillian Michael’s iPhone app (which hasn’t worked properly for weeks) and Christine chose the better option (and one I’ll be using the rest of this year) the Livestrong.com “My Plate” tool. Christine emphasized this technology part of the equation as being “key” to achieving such significant weight loss, even if you decided do a Starbucks Diet it really is the tools that give you that ability to watch all the items you put in your mouth AND to log all your activity in a day so you can balance everything properly.

Christine was a bundle of energy in our conversation about all that has transpired because of her decision to help save another human’s life… upcoming cover-story features and even a book about the Starbucks Diet! I hope to hear from Christine throughout this Starbucks year of mine and I will second her discovery of losing weight through a Starbucks Diet anytime with anybody! Christine thank you for your inspiration for this first month of my year and please save me an autographed copy of your book!

The second thing I want to showcase during this first month of my Starbucks year is the other “big question” I have gotten… “you are going to spend so much money eating at Starbucks!” Yes, this part of the equation that has been on my mind since the beginning and will be throughout the year… retail does cost money. But I also have been learning quite a few tricks about how to SAVE MONEY when living on Starbucks, so for those people really thinking about doing a Starbucks Diet keep watching my blog this year because I am dedicating all of March (in preparation for tax season in the US) to the theme of SAVING BUCKS @ STARBUCKS! So, like I did for my challenge in 2011 to only buy everything from the Goodwill, I am also saving ALL of my receipts this year to get a good read on what it would take to eat/drink only at Starbucks. Money is a very real equation and I believe that this year of mine, and all the thousands of receipts I am going to receive, will really shed some light on this subject. But, I do expect to keep these tabs down as much as possible which is why a whole month dedicated to the saving-money subject is really exciting to me!

So, the grand total for this month? Drum roll please….

I spent $571.44 on food/drinks for ME this month (I took out the costs for my children & friends in each receipt).

That breaks down to an average of $18.43 a day at Starbucks (or Evolution Fresh, Tazo Tea, Roy Street Coffee, etc.). I will add that this total does NOT include the meals that family or friends have purchased for me this month because I am not going to ask them to save each receipt too. I would like to request that Starbucks looks at a way to email people’s receipts to their email address on their Starbucks cards like Nordstrom does. This would help cut down on the environmental impact of the paper printing for not only me but I’m sure thousands of other people a day. Besides, it is another way to encourage people to utilize their Starbucks cards!

So there you go… first month down and a success! February starts tomorrow and it’s all about the LOVERS of Starbucks and I’m sure you can imagine there are a LOT of them! I have been quickly brought into this “Lovers of Starbucks” world since starting my challenge and BOY, do we have some PASSION for the brand, the items and the environment of all that is Starbucks! I can’t wait to start showcasing all the LOVE in this loving month of February!

One down… eleven months to go!

Yep… I’m a Coffee Shop Fiend!

Jan 24 2013

Scale Me Up!

So this is scary… I’m (kind of) putting my weight out there to the world (yes, this has officially been an international blog for weeks) and I’m showing my vulnerable side here people so please BE KIND!

With that said, I got on the scale yesterday and today and I’ve maintained my weight since last week. I dropped 8 pounds fast in the first two weeks of this challenge and I tried to slow it up a bit this last week by eating that lovely Truffle Mac & Cheese and Bacon-wrapped dates at my first Starbucks Evenings (come on… anything with bacon is BETTER!) but I’m back to watching this figure and hand-writing my daily diet diary to keep track (Jillian Michaels your app is still going haywire!). So far this week has been all about Evolution Fresh wraps, noodle bowls hard-boiled eggs and of course their green and spicy lemonade juices (also trying to utilize that 20% off coupon till Feb. 7th!). I picked up a bunch of the almond nut packs at the Starbucks store yesterday and have been enjoying the Tazo Tea, the Refreshers or good old fashion water as my drink choices. I hope to lose another 2-4 pounds before Valentines month pops up because I already have special plans for a get-away weekend in which a special person is planning on purchasing everything from Starbucks and bringing it with us! (how thoughtful and supportive is that?!)

So far, so good… this Starbucks diet thing really is working. Don’t believe me still? Check out the news from Christine Hall “Starbucks Diet” last year. Christine and I offer living proof that this calorie counting/losing weight option from the Starbucks menu works!

Jan 19 2013

Starbucks Evenings

Before our weekend trip to the farm I changed our departure plans so I could attend my first Starbucks Evenings with friends and try out the menu.

I went to the Olive Way, Seattle location and tried out their Truffle Mac & Cheese, Bacon-wrapped dates and paired it with a favorite beer… Stella Artois.

The dinner selections according to our multiple patrons were big hits! The service was attentive, the place was busy most of the time and over all I have to say that Starbucks did a nice job creating a great little menu. I cannot wait to try the rest of the options out! If you live in Portland, Chicago, Atlanta or LA you have the Starbucks Evenings option too!

I then decided to take a short cab ride up to the other later-evening Starbucks in the area, Roy Street Coffee. This beautiful shop is “inspired” by Starbucks and has a rustic-eclectic interior situated within an open floor plan making it spacious yet comfortable. It is also a bit more quiet since it sits off the end of Broadway avenue, making it easier to grab a table and order a nice plate with some wine or pull out your laptop and get some studying done. And that’s exactly what I did (the wine and plate option). I was lucky enough last night to have the advice of a wine connoisseur (thank you Dr. Max) and enjoyed Roy Street’s Terra Rose Malbec from Argentina.

I have to admit, I have not had a red wine in quite a few years but the experience was SO enjoyable, so rich on my palate that I will have to try the bottle again!

I was enjoying the company, the wine and the food but I was also getting updates via my social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest about a local record shop (Easy Street Records) and a closing party they were having… so I took a quick ride up to the Queen Anne store to check it out.

The DJ’s were fun, people were filtering in and out, rummaging through the isles of CD’s, Vinyl and T-shirts… it was a happy but bittersweet environment.

At least I could say that I was “HERE” before it was gone!

Now off to the farm and a weekend away from a Starbucks store. The Weekend Wrap Up will have more to share…

Jan 16 2013

Movie night

Last night I was tending to a couple of colds in our family so we decided to make it a movie night on Netflix by seeing The Lorax and having some… what else? Starbucks butter popcorn!

The bag is only 150 calories and is nice and buttery, just like movie popcorn!

But even with 240mg of sodium, one bag of Starbucks popcorn has much less sodium than the average small bag of movie popcorn coming in at a whopping 550mg! *center for science in the public interest*

We have been laying low this week making sure the kids get better so that we can take our first trip this weekend to Nana & Papa’s farm. Taking a trip to the farm wouldn’t normally be an issue except now because of mommy’s challenge it makes me a bit nervous because the fact is that Nana & Papa’s farm is at least 20 minutes from any Starbucks! I will be posting all about the trip, what I packed and if we needed to make any trips to the local Starbucks?!

My family is also interested in what items Evolution Fresh offers compared to the juices they stock in the local Starbucks store so I’m going to bring samples to have them test out and report back on with this weekend’s wrap up.

Jan 14 2013

Weekend Wrap Up 1-13-13

This weekend wrap up is back on topic with the month of January’s focus on New Years Resolutions of weight. Weight loss, weight maintain… and hopefully not weight gain when eating/drinking ONLY Starbucks items!

I weighted myself again on Saturday and found to have lost over 3 pounds this week again. BOY, I never knew I would drop pounds so quickly on a Starbucks diet?! BUT, I do think that is dropping weight a little too quickly (thanks for the discussion on our FB page Morgan) so I am incorporating some baked goods again and ate 1/2 a molasses cookie with my son on Saturday and 1/4 of an oatmeal cookie (again with both my son’s) on Sunday. I’ve been trying to keep track of all my food choices for weeks on the Jillian Michaels app but found out last week that the app is having some “bugs” and is doubling up certain items on some days and deleting the entire food log of other days?! So, I think I’m going to just take notes the old fashion way from now on and make sure that I don’t lose information anymore.

Weekend choices:

Saturday: oatmeal, decaf tea, nut pack, Evolution Fresh orange juice/nut pack, 1/2 molasses cookie, Tarragon chicken salad sandwich,water/chicken chipotle wraps (not my favorite), water, 1/2 cup java chip ice cream

Sunday: oatmeal, decaf tea/1/4 oatmeal cookie, nut pack, goat cheese bistro box/Kevin’s Quinoa hot simmer, water and Defense Up Evolution Fresh juice (feel a tinge of this cold coming on)

Besides the watching calories portion of this challenge (and because of comments from readers all over the world this last week) I’m also now tracking my sodium levels and making my future purchases based off of four main criteria: 1) Cost 2) Calories 3) Sodium 4) Volume. I’m hoping that this updated equation helps me keep my weight consistent (or at least only losing 1-2 pounds a week) and keep those average daily costs down. I think that I freaked everybody out last week when the media went crazy with the $18-$20 dollars a day average that I was spending (on the day that I was interviewed) but NO, I’m not averaging that high of a daily cost! And I’m also trying to see how much money I can save on this challenge too, so the cost is going into the equation from now on too.

Speaking of saving money… Sunday night I used the Evolution Fresh COUPON that just came out for 20% off your entire order (one customer, one coupon per day). I was SO EXCITED to save money! *Thanks for the coupon (available to anybody) Starbucks, I really needed that!*

One of the reasons I was so excited about the coupon was because I attended Lina’s (the Bellevue Evolution Fresh Assistant Manager) juicing event with my kids! So actually that coupon was for multiple people and for multiple days worth of my food/drink intake, but at least I can use the coupon again up until February 8th. So between the excellent juice information from Lina (on her own time with friends and NOT as a representative of Evolution Fresh) and spending the time with my family, it was a most enjoyable evening! Just look at how much fun we all had…

Our family enjoying their Evolution Fresh juice tastings…

Lina filled us all with tons of information and a lot of the great Evolution Fresh juice flavors too!

Thanks to Lina and friends, Evolution Fresh Bellevue staff and my family for a great end to this week!

Jan 12 2013

Starbucks Style Saturdays Vol. 1

This week I met up with Kerry Moore for the first Starbucks Style Saturday photo shoot. Kerry is a friend on Foursquare and the owner of an absolutely fabulous boutique in Pioneer Square called Vintage & Moore.

Vintage & Moore has incredible vintage and designer items that sparkle, shine and glimmer when you walk in the door! It is a grown-up girls dress-up dream in one spot AND it is right next door to a Starbucks! How perfect is that for our first post blending my challenge with the styles found on Starbucks regulars?!

Just look at a recent outfit inspiration in her shop…

Thanks Kerry, you are a beautiful model that has a fabulous smile and amazing clothes! See you on social media (or a local Starbucks) real soon!

1 Woman, 1 Year, 1 Challenge

Welcome to my year of challenge living!

Category Archives: 2013 Challenge Year