By Golly, Ollie!

  • Motor City Comic Con 2019

    Motor City Comic Con 2019

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    I don’t think I have ever openly declared my nerdom here on my blog, but I have demonstrated it here, here, here, and here. Now however, I would like to declare it:

    I. Am. A. Nerd.

    Like a stay-up-well-past-my-bedtime-even-though-my-infant-son-has-me-sleep-deprived-so-I-can-sneak-in-some-video-game-playtime kind of nerd. Or a I-lost-track-of-how-many-times-I’ve-read-Harry-Potter-kind-of-nerd. Or a I-used-to-write-Lord-of-the-Rings-fan-fic kind of nerd. I can’t believe I just admitted to that last one, but you’re beginning to see the picture, I hope. And now I can add to this list: a visited-the-Motor-City-Comic-Con kind of nerd!

    A couple of weeks ago, Jon and I visited the Motor City Comic Con, and it goes down as one of the coolest things we’ve done together.  Over 60,000 people visit the Motor City Comic Con over a weekend, and the convention floor is filled with comic book vendors, artists, cosplayers, celebrity guests, tabletop games, and celebrity guest-led panels.

    Since this was our first comic con, we were a bit overwhelmed when we first arrived, but shortly we found our home in artist alley. We spent most of our time (and perhaps way too much money) there, but it was rows upon rows of artists and crafters selling fandom-inspired prints and coasters and comics and candles and postcards.

    Here were some of my favorite pieces of artwork:

    Robocop and the Wizard of Oz mashup print
    It and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mashup Print
    Alf and Alien Mashup Print

    I love these clever pop culture mash-ups by Steve Jencks, especially Robocop replacing the Tin Man on the yellow brick road and Alien preparing to dine on ALF, while ALF prepares to dine on a cat. [WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM]

    Okay, okay, so Jon may have chosen the wrestler prints, and I may have chosen the X-Files print, but I still love how they look like the covers of comic books. Artwork by Erik Hodson [INSTAGRAM]

    venom by sean anderson
    x-men by sean anderson

    These images hardly do the artwork by Sean Anderson justice. What you don’t see are the metallic and holographic leaf elements that make his superhero artwork truly impressive. He also had a series of superheroes set against Detroit landmarks, which was cool to browse through. [INSTAGRAM]

    tardis by andrew heath
    pop culture dynamo by andrew heath

    The artwork by Andrew Heath was perhaps my favorite. I loved it so much that along with a TARDIS print I also purchased a book of his artwork to display on the coffee table (that I will someday soon buy). [WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM]

    As much as I loved Artist Alley, I know we missed out on the cosplay contests, and I would have loved to visit some of the guest panels (especially the Doctor Who After Hours event!) but, toting around Oliver made that challenging to do. Maybe we can look forward to that next year though.

    Have you ever been to a comic con? What are some of your favorite fandoms?

  • Tea Review: Rooibos Pecan Turtle from Adagio Teas (plus 4 tasTEA recommendations!)

    Tea Review: Rooibos Pecan Turtle from Adagio Teas (plus 4 tasTEA recommendations!)

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    I haven’t always appreciated rooibos tea. I’ve struggled to put into words exactly what I sense when I sip this type of tea, and the best I’ve been able to come up with to describe my experience is something between imitation vanilla extract and tobacco– not always the most appealing of flavors. However, Adagio Teas has changed my mind about Rooibos teas, and lately I have not been able to drink enough of it! Their Rooibos Pecan Turtle is quickly becoming a new favorite, just like their Vanilla Rooibos.

    Adagio’s Rooibos Pecan Turtle is a blend of rooibos tea, apple pieces, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, dark chocolate chips, chicory, golden pecan flavor, natural caramel flavor, natural chocolate flavor, and marigold flowers. A bit of sugar, turns this caffeine-free tea into a perfect after dinner dessert.

    Have you tried the Rooibos Pecan Turtle from Adagio Teas? What did you think of it? If you’re looking for more dessert teas, check out these tasTEA recommendations:

  • Taste Test: Cacao Husk Tea

    Taste Test: Cacao Husk Tea

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    Back in December, Tea in Spoons hosted a Tea Sparrow teas giveaway, which I won (yay!) So first, thank you for the opportunity.

    Second, if you haven’t heard of Tea Sparrow, please go check them out! Tea Sparrow is a tea subscription service, and for $20 a month, subscribers receive 4 loose leaf teas to explore– one black tea, one green tea, one Rooibos tea, and one herbal tea.

    The first tea I tried from Tea Sparrow was the Nut Crunch Rooibos, and it was especially dreamy as a latte. But, the tea I was most curious about was the Cacao Husk Tea!

    Cacao Husk Tea is…well, pretty self-explanatory. It’s tea made from the shells of the cocoa bean that would have otherwise been discarded. The Cacao Husk boasts an antioxidant and vitamin-rich, mood-boosting, caffeine free cuppa while tasting like a mug of hot chocolate.

    So does Cacao Husk Tea live up to its reputation? According to my tastebuds…not so much*. Check out the YouTube video at the top of this post for more thoughts on this unique tea. Have you ever tried Cacao Husk Tea before? What did you think of it? I still have some Cacao Husk Tea left, so if you have any pointers on how to brew it, I would love to hear them!

    * I feel the need to offer a disclaimer here: my feelings on Cacao Tea are not a reflection of Tea Sparrow or the product they deliver. This one just comes down to preference. Some people prefer black teas, some people prefer green teas. I prefer tea that is not the Cacao Husk!

  • Berry Creme Compote Iced Tea

    Berry Creme Compote Iced Tea

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    Today, I’m sipping Berry Creme Compote from Adagio, and it’s one of those teas that makes me think it’s a lot warmer than it really is. Which is why it’s only 39 degrees outside, but I have the back door open to let in that cool Springtime breeze. Did I say “cool”? I suppose I really meant to say “chilly”.

    Look at this tea though. It’s practically a fruit salad! Berry Creme Compote is a blend of rose hips, hibiscus, apple pieces, blue cornflowers, natural creme flavor, raspberries, natural blueberry flavor, natural strawberry flavor, raspberry leaves, strawberries, blueberries, and natural black berry flavor

    The first time I had this tea was while I was on maternity leave back in October. I had it hot, and slightly sweetened, and I thought it was tasty then. But, this tea really shines when it is iced; it becomes a refreshing treat for a warm, Spring day.

    I steeped about 2.5 heaping spoonfuls of leaves per 8 oz of water, and I let it steep for easily an hour to get a really concentrated liquor since pouring it over ice would water it down a little bit. Aside from the beautiful and bold red liquor, Berry Creme Compote is a blend of tart berries and cream. I sweetened my iced Berry Creme Compote with a drizzle of maple syrup too, which helped draw out the creme flavor even more. (I find this tea is a little too tart for my tastebuds without sweetener).

    This herbal tea is a refreshing treat for a warm spring and summer day that had me longing for warmer weather.

    This tea, along with Adagio’s Lemon Meringue Green tea, is one of their seasonal teas available only for a short time during Spring, so make sure you snag some bags of this tea before it goes back to hibernate!

    Looking for more fruity teas to sip this Spring? Check out these blends:

  • Tea Vlog: What I Drink in a Day

    Tea Vlog: What I Drink in a Day

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    We ran out of Bubly (which is just flavored seltzer water, like La Croix, but I feel less like a hipster drinking it), which means in attempt to avoid drinking plain water, I decided to drink a cup or two more tea than I usually do.

    Teas tasted in this vlog:

    Twinings Earl Grey – I might write a lot about loose leaf teas, but most mornings, I tuck in to a cup of Twinings Earl Grey tea. It’s a quick, easy, and consistent cup of caffeine to get me going in the morning. Plus, it’s inexpensive and I can pick it up at my grocery store whenever I’m running low

    Mint Verbena from Harney and Sons – This tea is a blend of mint and lemon verbena. I personally did not pick up the lemony aroma from the verbena, but the mint was bold and refreshing. It was a great caffeine-free tea to drink to improve alertness.

    Rooibos Mango from Adagio – This tea is a blend of rooibos tea, natural mango flavor, apple pieces, mango pieces, and marigold flowers. This particular rooibos blend from Adagio did not work for me, and I was unable to pick up the mango notes. That’s not to say this tea is bad, but there are just other rooibos blends by Adagio that I’m over the moon about.

    Caribbean Crush from DavidsTea – This tea is a blend of apple, pineapple, papaya, hibiscus, cranberry, and artificial flavoring. I cold brewed this tea, and even though my sample size was not the ideal amount of tea for a cold brew, I still thought this fruit, herbal blend tasted amazing. When I’m finally done with my tea buying ban, I definitely want to get more of the Caribbean Crush.

    Just Chamomile from T2 – This chamomile night-cap was absolutely dreamy. The flavor was very honey-like, and overall it was a very soothing tea for the evening.

    What teas do you drink in a day?

About the Blogger

My name is Jackie, and I am a millennial / mother / Michigander / blogger / wannabe runner / accountant / local library enthusiast / gamer, kinda. This is a personal blog, which means I’m not entirely certain what you’ll find here, but it will definitely not show up on the first page of Google search results.