My obsession with toast.

For Christmas two years ago in 2012, my parents gifted me some USB handwarmers.  But these aren't just ANY handwarmers, these are toast handwarmers.  Potato bread toast to be exact.

Created by Smoko Inc. (which you can learn more about by clicking here) these toasts were (forgive my humor) rather toasty.  Now, two years ago, Smoko Inc. seemed to only be making USB handwarmers and also USB Flash Drives - in the shape of toasts, of course.

Fast forward to Christmas 2013 when my dad asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  I don't remember how I came across Smoko Inc. again, but lo and behold they have new products!  One of their new products is a toast pillow warmer, and another is their toast Bluetooth wireless speaker plushie.  So cute yet completely unnecessary, my dad surprisingly agreed to get them for me.

The toast pillow warmer has the name of Butta (buttered toast on the left) and looks very cheerful and overly happy - which I feel is necessary here in the cold and gloomy Pacific Northwest.  Basically to make him actually function as a warmer you unzip a small pouch near the top of his head (do toasts have heads?) and push a button on a battery pack which connects to a warmer within the pillow.  Even if you don't actually turn the warmer on, Butta makes a good companion.

The Bluetooth wireless speaker has the name of RyRy (rye toast) and looks kind of melancholy but I feel like I can relate.  RyRy is pretty nifty since he can double as a tablet holder!  To use him you basically pair up the bluetooth device inside (again) a small pouch near the top of his head and can then stream your music to your heart's content!

I posted a video of RyRy in action on my Instagram and it caught the attention of someone at Smoko Inc.  They asked if they could have my videos and promised that they would send me some gifts as a thank you.

Last week the gifts came in and I am quite blown away with the package!  I was expecting something small like stickers or something but I received a pair of Hello Kitty USB handwarmers and a USB Butta flash drive!  Smoko Inc. has incredible customer service and their products are high (and adorable) quality!  I'd definitely recommend looking into them if you're looking for something functional yet aesthetically pleasing goods.  And even though plushies are usually reserved for children, don't forget that you can always be a child at heart!

This is an independent review of products available from Smoko Inc.  The company did not pay me in any way for making this review.

The Melting Pot: I love me some fondue.

This past weekend up in Everett my boyfriend and I had an early Valentine's Day at The Melting Pot in Bellevue, WA.  This was in the middle of the huge Snowpacalypse that decided to unleash some white wonderland snowflake fury on the Pacific Northwest.  You can read more about the Snowpacalypse by clicking here. The Melting Pot is pretty much the perfect place to have a date night if you don't mind slightly small portions, and slightly high prices.  There are a lot of options and I definitely left feeling full, but it's not some place that you can frequent on a weekly basis.  Here are some pictures below of the delicious experience!  All food descriptions and more information for The Melting Pot can be found here.

No full length shot, but I have no shame in saying that we both looked pretty cute!

1st course: Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue (Gruyère and Emmenthaler Swiss cheeses, white wine, garlic, nutmeg, lemon and Kirschwasser) alongside baguettes, assorted meats, granny smith apples, and vegetables)

2nd course: The California Salad, perfectly proportioned.  (Mixed baby salad greens, Roma tomatoes, candied pecans and Gorgonzola cheese with Raspberry Black Walnut Vinaigrette)

3rd course: Our entrees!  We opted for the Mojo cooking broth (Caribbean-seasoned bouillon with a distinctive fresh-garlic flavor and a citrus flair) and ordered The French Quarter (Premium filet mignon, all-natural breast of chicken, and Pacific white shrimp seasoned with Cajun spices and accompanied by flavorful Andouille sausage) and Steak Lovers (Premium filet mignon, teriyaki-marinated sirloin, and seasoned choice Angus sirloin).  These are also accompanied by 5 sauces: Curry, Gorgonzola Port, Green Goddess, Ginger Plum, and Teriyaki Glaze, and a bowl of assorted vegetables.

4th course: Dessert!  Holy moly this was delicious.  We selected the Chocolate S'mores for our dessert fondue (milk chocolate with marshmallow cream, flambéed and topped with bits of graham crackers).  All dessert fondues come with an assortment of strawberries, bananas, red velvet and brownie bites, rice krispies treats, marshmallows, and a cheesecake.

Watch our dessert fondue being made in action!

Cost: ~$50/person

Quality: 4 out of 5

Service: 4 out of 5

Would I go again: Yes!  But only for something VERY special...don't want to break the bank.

They also bring you back seconds for the cheese fondue and the dessert fondue so don't worry about rationing everything out!

Have you ever had fondue before?  Have you ever made your own fondue?  I think that'll be my next adventure!  Don't forget that you can follow me on Bloglovin` by clicking the Eiffel Tower to your right!

Snowpacalypse 2014.

Hi everyone, it's been a minute!  Forgive my lack of blog posts but I blame Snowpacalypse 2014.  I can now say that I've driven through a snow storm!  That's something I thought I would never have to do - considering I live near Portland where it never snows!  And if it does snow, it never snows enough to stick to the ground.

Anyhow to make a very long story short, I was on my way up to Longview, WA for an internship interview when it started to snow.  Hard.  It was actually sticking to the ground and it wasn't stopping at all.  My interview was rescheduled to a later date but even though I was so close to the border between Oregon and Washington, I couldn't turn around due to a 27+ car pile up on the I-5 South!  Going home was out of the question.  I decided to keep pressing onwards and learned that it wasn't snowing further up north (weird), and since I had planned to visit my boyfriend to have an early Valentine's Day dinner, it made more sense to keep moving rather than staying in one place, or waiting in a LONG line of cars to get back home.  (I found out later as I kept driving north that they actually shut down the I-5 completely!)

On Sunday we woke up to find Washington covered in a blanket of snow!  It reminded me of a gingerbread house smothered in icing!  We were going to walk over to a little park area to play in it, but realized that the snow was pretty slippery and we didn't have waterproof snow gear.  Instead we used the snow that had collected on top of my car and managed to make a decent snowman and a snow bunny!  I drove back to Oregon to find my apartment still blanketed in more snow and looking like it was something out of a Christmas greeting card!

I would never wish driving through a snow storm on anyone!  It's incredibly difficult and scary and I'm incredibly thankful that I wasn't involved in any major accident.  

Even though it is childish, I would blame the groundhog for seeing his shadow and causing 6 more weeks of winter.  Here's to warmer days and cozy nights!  Don't forget that you can follow me on Bloglovin` by clicking the Eiffel Tower to your right!