Categories
Happy Halloween 2015
Categories
Chocolate in bed
I’ve decided that living in a single room with approx 620 square feet of space makes it perfectly acceptable to eat chocolate in bed.
While working, of course. 😉
And especially when I’m savouring this tasty, tasty bar from Fruition Chocolate. I grabbed this limited edition 68% along with their Maranon 76% at the Northwest Chocolate Festival. I can taste why they’ve won so many awards. Both bars are/were amazing – smooth, dark deliciousness.
Happy National Chocolate Day USA!
I’d never heard of today’s chocolate indulgence, Dandelion Chocolates, before happening on their booth at the Northwest Chocolate Festival. I went straight for their Ambanja, Madagascar (of course and always). The chocolate was exceedingly smooth and bursting with fruit notes; the raspberry almost overwhelming. Though perhaps I shouldn’t have eaten so many pieces in such a short period of time [aka a matter of minutes].
The tasting notes they’ve printed on the bar (see picture) were exceedingly accurate.
Definitely a chocolate meant to be savoured!
Other posts about the NWCF:
I was totally planning to blog about these super tasty Fleur de Sel Caramels that I picked up at the Northwest Chocolate Festival from Jonboy Caramels.
But then I ate them all.
Categories
An office in a tool shed.
I’m back on my walking desk and blogging from my new temporary office in the tool shed. In which, even though I said it really wasn’t necessary, Michael insisted on cutting a window so I could have a view.
I also hung my housewarming/birthday gift from my lovely friend, Gertie – the pretty spirit ball at the top of the picture.
This is where I’ll edit Oracle 2 and write Dowser 6.
<3 And I’m feeling pretty damn blessed about it all. <3
I was lucky enough to attend the Northwest Chocolate Festival this year [Saturday, October 3, 2015]. The event was overwhelming but completely fun. Chocolatiers from all over the world had tasting booths spread over two floors of the convention centre.
Today’s chocolate indulgence – TCHO – was on the top floor. And, even though I was in the first wave of eager tasters chocoholics, there was already a line at their booth when we approached it during our first pass. So I skipped. I hadn’t heard of them before. I didn’t know why they had so much hype [turns out they’ve won a bunch of awards]. And I’m not one for standing in lines when there is so much other chocolate to be discovered.
Michael and I – rather overwhelmed halfway through the second floor – took a break for a late lunch and a walk around sunny lovely Seattle. We went back to the festival for another hour in the late afternoon. There was still a line at TCHO’s booth. So now I had to wait because what could be SO amazing, right?
Well, probably needless to say, this is some excellent chocolate. The booth had sold out of the bars I wanted, of course. So I bought the taste teasers pictured above.
The Madagascar (yellow wrapping) is right in my wheelhouse at 67% Cacao. It is lovely. Dark, yet sweet. Smooth and filled with bright citrus notes.
The Peruvian was the surprise (for me at least) (orange wrapping). 68% Cacao. Smooth, creamy, yet dark and really fruity. But without any annoying perfume. Lovely, lovely chocolate.
I would not be surprised to see these bars pop up in a Dowser novel. They get a definite recommend from me!
GIVEAWAY CLOSED. WINNER: LUCKY #56 – Jennifer from Massachusetts, USA!
It’s my birthday today – yay!
I get as much enjoyment by giving a gift to someone else on the day of my birth as I do receiving a gift. Occasionally, I’ll buy a meal for a homeless person or take a group of friends out for brunch, but this year I wanted to collect a few of my favourite things – new and old – into one box and give them away to a lovely reader. Your support this year has been very welcomed and much appreciated!
Fun! Fun!
Without further ado, here are a few of my favourite things for 2015:
I had a great time putting this eclectic collection together. Clockwise from top left: felted wool dryer balls (handmade by MCD); three paperbacks from my favourite urban fantasy series: Magic Bites, Storm Front, and Moon Called; a Little Traveller pin; hand cream, foot cream, and lip balm from L’Occitane (I use these every day!); small-batch caramels from Scarlata (my favourite discovery from the Northwest Chocolate Festival 2015); and, of course, some Oracle Series tattoos.
Would you like to collect this box of favourites for your very own?
You would?
Okay then!
To enter my birthday giveaway all you need to do is:
- Comment below and tell me your favourite thing from 2015 (so far).
Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Each comment will be assigned an entry number. ONE winning entry will then be selected via random number generator. One entry per person. Please make sure to fill out a valid email address in the comment form. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than notifying the contest winner.
If you haven’t commented on the blog before, or you comment from a different IP address, the comments are moderated. So don’t worry if you don’t see your entry right away. I will approve it, then assign it an entry number.
Contest closes MONDAY, OCTOBERÂ 12, 2015 at 8 p.m. PDT.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! 😉
<3Â <3Â <3
Warning: Â the following excerpt is unedited and unproofed.
A black butterfly flitted through my peripheral vision.
My stomach bottomed out even as I raised my head to follow the butterfly’s flight path. It danced along the eaves of the garage, then up over Beau’s shoulder. He didn’t seem to notice as it stopped to kiss his ear.
In fact, he was standing awfully still, staring at something ahead or maybe across the road. I couldn’t see beyond his broad shoulders.
I glanced down at my left wrist. Yep, it was bare, now tattoo-free.
I stepped forward, just until I could see the huge black SUV with dark-tinted windows parked across the street. Beau was gripping the salad Tupperware so tensely I was fairly sure he was going to permanently dent the plastic.
The butterfly flitted across the road as someone turned off the idling SUV and the driver’s side door opened.
Beau was holding his breath.
A slight, tautly-muscled woman in green capris and a goldenrod printed T-shirt stepped out from the vehicle. The butterfly danced about three inches over her green-dyed, shag-cut hair. She lifted her face as if tracking its movements.
No, she was sniffing the air. And possibly smelling the magic of the butterfly?
Kandy, Jade Godfrey’s werewolf bodyguard, was in Yachats, Oregon.
That couldn’t be good. – I See You, Oracle 2, Chapter 2, second draft