thank you points

this evening i called to cancel a credit card (the reason why is a blog for another day) and of course i had to get transferred to a specialist.  i got connected with linda and she was super friendly and chatted my ear off wanting to know all about our weather.  before bringing up my cancellation request, she wanted to know how much i liked my card (now that is a smart sales lady.) she informed me that i had some unused bonus points and encouraged me to go check out my options before cancelling. i was hesitant as i just wanted to get rid of the dang thing but she convinced me and oh am i glad she did.

i went onto the website to see if there was anything worth getting (a couple summers ago i cashed them in for a video camera.) this time around i found that with my points i could get a starbucks gift card...$160 to be exact. 

thank you linda, what a fun surprise!

starbucks christmas

i received a couple more even after this picture was taken.

some people get a lot of dvds, clothes or books for christmas but for me i always hope for starbucks gift cards.  sounds strange, yes i know.  i enjoy going to starbucks but always feel a little guilty for spending so i always ask for gift cards for christmas.  

this year jared got a couple starbucks gift cards as well and shared them with me because i always buy his coffee. i'm sure he'd like me to point out his coffee is $1.50 while mine is $3.98, details.

every year i look forward to walking into starbucks and cashing in all my gift cards and receiving the grand total.  the person behind the counter always says,"these were all holiday gifts?"  and i just love saying, "yes!" 

well the grand total for 2011 is in...$170.00!  woo-hoo, thanks everyone!  this will last me at least through january...just kidding.

recipe recap : lemon bread

the other day the doorbell rang and our neighbor brought over a piece of my mail that had been mistakenly delivered to their house.  i was ecstatic because it was a postcard from starbucks for a free drink. i know it is just a little thing but i work hard for those free drinks.  :)  most people probably would have gone to straight to starbucks and used that drink for themselves, but not my neighbors.

to show them my appreciation i baked them some lemon bread.  i was pretty jealous, i couldn't dig into it myself. it smelled absolutely divine. 

 lemon bread recipe:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
grated peel and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1/2 powdered sugar

preheat oven to 350 degrees.  grease and flour 9x5 inch loaf pan.

whisk together flour, salt and baking powder.

in a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and eggs together until light and fluffy.  add milk alternately with the flour mixture in 2 parts; mix well.  stir in grated lemon peel and poppy seeds.

pour batter into prepared loaf pan.  bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  let bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

mix together lemon juice and powdered sugar to make a glaze.  remove bread from pan.  pour glaze over warm bread (if you poke holes in the bread first, it will absorb more glaze.)

this recipe is super easy and i almost always have all the ingredients in my house.  enjoy!

who wants to be my friend?

i'm looking for a friend to join me at starbucks later this week.  starbucks is offering their annual holiday bogo november 17th-20th from 2-5 p.m. when you buy one holiday drink, you'll get another one for free. yes please.  this is almost as good as the frapp happy hour that starbucks does during the summer months.

you can choose from your most-loved holiday beverages, including peppermint mocha, caramel brulée latte, gingerbread latte and eggnog latte. i love them all so this could be a hard decision. 

"let's merry."

'tis the season

it is officially the holiday season. why you ask?  the red cup has arrived.  thank you starbucks. it is one of my favorite days of the year.  when i see that red cup i get so excited because i know the holidays are near.

today not only did i have my first red cup of the season but also my first egg nog latte. since it was the first one i could jusitfy ordering it full on instead of with skim milk.  let's get real, it is egg nog, does it really matter either way?  to make it even better i got to drink it outside and savor every moment of one of the last nice days we will have before the cold and snow hits.

i enjoyed every sip and it made me so excited for the upcoming months.

happy holidays!

PSL

it's the little things in life.  one of those little things for me is the pumpkin spice latte from starbucks.  this is my favorite coffee drink hands down. 

i knew DSM had no shot at winning the latte early so i was anxiously awaiting tuesday so i could have my first one of the season. well today i headed to starbucks, it is a holiday so i could justify the trip. when i got the counter, i said to the barista, "the pumpkin spice latte arives tomorrow, correct?" she confirmed but said they had received it and i could have it TODAY!  as soon as she said that, i tried to restrain myself from jumping over the counter and giving her a hug.  

as soon as i had my first sip, i knew fall was here. 

PSL

help me bring the pumpkin spice latte to the metro one week early. beginning monday, you can play a game on starbucks facebook page to bring the PSL to your city one week early.

check out this hilarious video from a "town" giving DSM some competition.

i scream, you scream...

"...we all scream for ice cream!"

i have a serious addiction to ice cream these days, i just can't get get enough. not the healthiest of obsessions, but it is the perfect summer treat. here are my favorites:


ben & jerry's collaborated with jimmy fallon and came up with this gem of a flavor, "late night snack." it is a vanilla bean ice cream with a salty caramel swirl & fudge covered potato chip clusters. you don't need me to tell you, i'm sure you guessed right, it is insanely good. their quality of ice cream is top notch, my homemade flavors don't even come close.


starbucks knows my weaknesses, coffee and ice cream. too bad you don't get gold card points for purchasing their ice cream. if you're a lover of their caramel macchiato coffee drink, you'll love this and even if you're not, i think you'll be converted. this is the perfect combo of swirled coffee and vanilla ice cream with a ribbons of golden caramel.

both are conveniently on sale at hy-vee this week, just in case you're interested in trying them out for yourselves.

gold card

just in case you need photographic evidence, this beauty arrived today.

can't wait to start flashing my gold card.

thank you starbucks, you made my day!

gold status

I've reached Gold Level status at Starbucks...what does that mean you may ask? It means I spend too much money there. But either way I am so excited! I've been working on it since January.

In all actuality if you do go to Starbucks it is a great program and it is so easy! Instead of paying with cash or a debit card, you pay with a gift card and it tracks all your purchases. Just for registering your card, you get a free drink on your birthday. Once you buy 5 drinks (green level) with your card, you get to add free extra syrups and milk upgrades, free refills on tea and coffee along with a free beverage with any whole bean purchase. When you get to 30 drinks (gold level) you get all the perks that come with the other levels along with a free beverage every 15 drinks and my favorite part a personalized gold Starbucks card.

I'm beginning to feel a little like George Clooney from Up in the Air right now...

And don't you worry I've done the math, it equates one drink or so a week since January.
30 drinks x $4.19 = $125.70.

If you remember back, I received almost $150 in Starbucks gift cards for Christmas, so I technically haven't spent any of my own money yet.

happy hour

It's the little things in life I treasure most, like Starbucks Happy Hour. Once again this year they are offering half-price frappuccinos from 3pm-5pm.

I can't think of anything much better than a Starbucks treat and a deal, all in one! Better go take advantage, you only have until May 15th!