Trip to Teavana

While in Florida I stopped in at the tea store, Teavana. A summary of Teavana is as follows:

"The Teavana dream began with an idea that people could enjoy tea in a place that was part Tea Bar, Part Tea Emporium... Then in 1997 we opened our first teahouse in Atlanta, Georgia. The name Teavana was created to mean "a heaven of tea"; this meant to describe the experience each customer has with our tea, and our staff. And so as our company grows, the fairy tale of East meets West continues enriching the lives of our customers by encouraging a healthy, alternative lifestyle." - from Teavana's official site

I tried samples from the tea bar, while browsing all the teas and tea-related merchandise. Here are a few photos from Teavana:


In this photo you can see the tea bar in action.


Pretty flowering tea on display.


I like these whimsical ceramic mugs.

The store I visited is located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Now I just wish one would open in Michigan...

Back on Michigan soil

I've returned from my Florida excursion. The trip was wonderful. I'm quite tired at the moment and so will write more when rested. The photo above is an image of me (well, my feet, at least) at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida.

Last minute travel questions

Do I bring my laptop with me to Florida or do I leave it behind? With the laptop I can complete the following tasks: surf the web while at the airport, update my blog on the go, check my email... There is always the chance of emergency in which case the laptop may be helpful. However, my laptop is quite heavy and I enjoy traveling light. If I don't bring the laptop then I will be bringing more books to read. At this point I haven't made up my mind.

What would you do?

Update: I'm leaving my laptop. I will only be in Florida for a few days and so it would be silly to spend that time at a computer. Also, traveling light really does make all the difference in the world.

Wedding photographer: Linda Wan

For my brother's wedding they are going with Linda Wan as a photographer. She specializes in black and white documentary style photos. She is interested in capturing moments. Months before she shoots a wedding she meets with the couple in order to get a sense of their energy, or vibe. So, she will invite the couple to dinner or spend time with them over coffee. Apparently this is how you find a couple’s vibe.

At first I laughed when my brother explained these details because if anyone wanted to get a sense of my brother, Will, they might as well switch the conversation to sports and meet at the greasiest burger joint in town. Or, bring along a Rubick’s Cube and ask him to go over every single possible move in full, glorified detail. He will do this with much glee and even resort to drawing out every step in the process.

However, the more I thought about it the more it made sense that a photographer would invest time in knowing the couple prior to shooting their wedding. Linda Wan’s portfolio is beautiful. It will be exciting to see the end product.

The image in this entry is from Linda Wan photography.

Google Maps: Why do you neglect the Pacific Ocean?

Most everyone knows by now if you go to Google Maps and ask for driving directions to NYC to Paris, for example, the directions will tell you to swim across the Atlantic Ocean. Even if you pick other destinations (let's say, Boston to Prague) this applies. So, I've been trying to get similiar results involving the Pacific Ocean. I've tried all sorts of combinations (Los Angeles to Hawaii, Seattle to Hong Kong, etc.) but with no luck. Has anyone else noticed this?

On the agenda

Life has been running at full speed as of late. This is my current agenda:

Last week of April: The semester ends. At this point I will fly to Florida to visit my lovely sister, Sara. I turn one year older on the last day of April.

May 4 & 5: Wedding Rehearsal Dinner, followed by my brother’s wedding. I'm still looking for a wedding gift...

May 9: I undergo surgery to have my third molars removed. At this point I will be miserable and heavily medicated. Plans for this dark period include: reading, watching DVDs and possibly blogging? Anything is possible.

Family celebrations

Last weekend I spent an incredible amount of time with my family. My family held a Bridal Party for my brother and his bride-to-be. I call it a Bridal Party, others were calling it a Welcome to the Family Party. So what was it? Well, it was not a bridal shower. There were no cutesy bridal games in the mist of tacky pastel decorations. Everyone was invited to the party. We held the event at a local park, ate amazing food, and played board games.



The photo above is from the party. I found the children burying a giant turtle statue in sand. The scene made me laugh. I guess this is what kids do when left to their own devices.

Life is beautiful

Image from Yahoo! News Photo

Birthday wishlist

I celebrate my birthday at the end of the month. I've been asked, "So what do you want for your birthday?" several times now. I don't have an exact answer to this (also, isn't it rude to tell people what I want?) and so I decided to put together a wishlist. The wishlist is complete fantasy. I don't expect family and friends to rush off to purchase any item on the list. I'm providing it to share some of the things I've had my eye on or that I would enjoy (items that are most likely outside of my budget). So, here is the list.

Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera. I miss having a digital camera. *Sniff, Sniff*

Sony Cybershot DSC-T10 7.2MP Digital Camera. This would be my small camera for spying. Also, for when I didn't want to carry around the much bigger digital SLR camera.

Teaposy teapot. Actually, I just need a clear teapot so I can watch flowering tea in action. I also like the Miko teapot.

Mari's New York brownies. Ok, this isn't exactly something my body needs but they look amazing.

Ikea Expedict bookcase. I like the $129 one. I would put it in the Living Room of my apartment.

Starbucks gift card. This is something I can always put to use.

Also, I love all the items on my Amazon wishlist.

Book talk

I ran into someone in the bookstore today who was reading this book. Except, I knew he was a newbie and not a crazed fan rereading the series before Book 7. He looked to be a male in his 20s, maybe 30s. I don't usually start up conversations with strangers but I couldn't resist. I was correct in my assumptions. He admitted he had just started the series. I can't explain why but I felt incredibly excited and spent the next few minutes chatting away with him. He told me he suspects Harry is going to eventually die. I had to hold back from laughing out loud (I was in a bookstore, after all) so I just smiled and replied, "Yes, there are many theories out there."

On the topic of reading, here are a few books I've finished lately:

Light in August, by William Faulkner
Uncle Tom's Children, by Richard Wright

Both novels were required reading for a class.

Accident of Birth, by Heather Neff
Haarlem, by Heather Neff
Blackgammon, by Heather Neff
Wisdom, by Heather Neff

I read these novels because they are written by a current professor of mine and I wanted to find out about the stories she has written. I'm waiting for the semester to end to give her feedback.

I am currently reading (for pleasure reading):
Saving Fish from Drowning, by Amy Tan

Isn't the title amazing? I love it.

Last May I put up a list of book recommendations from others. Go here for the complete list. I must be a terrible reader because I ignored the list after collecting and posting it. This summer I was planning on reading "the classics" but maybe I'll have time to consider previous recommendations.

Perhaps this entry is going to give off the impression I'm an avid reader. Well, don't be fooled. My ratio of books to movies (and pop culture) is a quite scary. So scary, I shall end this entry before switching over to talk of Britney, or why Little Miss Sunishine was so much better than The Departed.

Trials at cooking

At times I like to cook. Usually such cooking takes place when Nate visits. Otherwise, I tend to ignore the kitchen. Maybe I should take pleasure in cooking for one but the appeal hasn’t reached me yet.

My latest cooking was a batch of chocolate chip and banana pancakes. They were incredibly tasty and because of the chocolate there was no need for syrup. Knowing the timing and flipping ratio for pancakes can be challenging. Also, I can only focus on one pancake at a time. So I make a pancake, pass it off to Nate. Make the next pancake, eat it quickly. Make the third pancake, pass it off to Nate. The process continues.

In the future I plan on moving on to crepes. My favorite crepes of all time would be from Le Village Buffet at Paris in Las Vegas. The crepes (and other food items) are superb!

Dogs of the world

"Around the world, human-canine relationships vary, and sometimes it’s difficult to tell which species is dominant. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia, Matthew Baldwin met dogs of a different breed."

Click here to read the article, Every Dog Has Its Day.

I enjoyed this article quite a bit, but maybe because I am an animal lover at heart.