Marie Antoinette's Champagne

More info about Marie Antoinette's Champagne Tea:

This tea is a blend of black and green teas that includes mango, jasmine and rose flavors. It is a delicious tea...something everyone should try!

Tea Flavors

After much hard work and deliberation I have finally designed the first menu of flavors Top Shelf Teas has to offer. If you are interested in ordering, please contact me through the blog or Shady Gables at 573-378-2740. Hope you enjoy!

Black Teas

Cosmopolitan-If you are in the mood for a girl's night bring out this tea and let the gossip flow!

Strawberry Fields-A dreamy, creamy tea reminiscent of the classic Beatles song

Pina Coloda- Perfect for when you need a little trip to the beach

Chocolate Martini-A decadent indulgence

Creme de Menth Martini-Rich and creamy yet fresh

Moulin Rouge- The combination of spices, flowers, and fruit will remind you of the colorful costumes of the famous Can Can dancers

Oolongs

Mango Margarita-Refreshing and fun!

Formosa Oolong-A favorite among the rock stars!

(This is a picture of Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails with the Oolong tea I gave him when I recently got to meet him!)






Signature Tea

Marie Antoinette's Champagne-The combination of flavors will combine on the palate to create the flavor of Marie Antoinette's favorite beverage

Paris in a Cup

Something I love about California:

The tea room Paris in a Cup, located in downtown Orange, CA. It is one of the most unique tea rooms I have ever been to. I went there last month with my mom to celebrate our birthdays and we were treated to a yummy tea service where the different menu options are named after famous French ladies. I had the Isabelle and my mom had the Josephine, both were wonderful. Since we were celebrating our birthdays they even gave us each a souvenir bookmark to take with us.

Paris in a cup is decorated perfectly and my mom and I were surprised when the owner told us she has never been to Paris. When you are dining there you feel just like you are at a little cafe in Paris. They even serve real Parisian macarons! My favorites!

25 Things to do Before I Turn 25

I am copying this idea from my friend Courtney. I think making a list like this is a good way to accomplish some of your goals and putting it online makes you really want get them done...or at least attempt to!

1. Learn to surf

2. Play poker at a casino

3. Parasail

4. Finish reading Portrait of a Lady

5. See Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction in concert 3 times in one month. (I have to put some on here that I already have plans to complete)

6. Go to the Getty Museum

7. Attempt to purchase my own property...condo or house

8. Make an effort to call Grandma Rose and Grampy more often

9. Get a tour from Holly of the cool parts of LA

10. Write a business plan for Top Shelf Teas

11. Explore a city I have never been to before

12. Meet a celebrity or at least see one in real life

13. Read at least 3 of the books on my list of books I want to read

14. Take a wine and food pairing class

15. Keep my nails looking pretty

16. Reinstate weekly happy hours with Amanda when I return to Kansas City

17. Engage in some kind of fitness activity 4 to 5 times a week

18. Try a new recipe once a week

19. Upgrade to a semi-professional camera and learn how to use it

20. Get Amazon Associates up and running on my blog

21. Drive through a Redwood Tree

22. Hike Madonna Mountain

23. Complete my VISTA project and feel like I made a difference

24. Wear sunscreen every day

25. Order my flavors for Top Shelf Teas

Wow! Twenty five things is a lot when you start writing them down. I have a lot to do before I turn 25!

Redwood Trees

I love, love, LOVE visiting the redwood trees in Monterrey, CA. Possibly my favorite thing about California. Its hard for me to believe that something so huge is really a living plant. I could wander around these giant trees for hours...no days!

I feel like a fairy when I am in the redwood forest because they are so huge. It brings back memories of one of my favorite childhood movies, The Gnome Mobile.

I am Back!

Sorry I have not written on my blog in so long. I got busy with a visit from my friend, Courtney and then my trip to Florida where I got to see my family and my wonderful boyfriend for my birthday! Then on my return flight I got terribly sick (two z-packs worth), plus my mom was visiting and I had a training for my VISTA job. As you can see I have been very busy, but that means I will have a lot to blog about now!
I really liked what I was doing last month, but I didn't have time to blog everyday, so I decided to continue blogging about things that I love, but I am going to have a different theme every month. I decided that since I complain about California so much I will try to blog about the things that I do love about California for the month of April. Maybe it will help me to start seeing things on the positive side while I am out here.

Friday the 13th

In my family Friday the 13th is a lucky day, because it is the day my mom was born! Today her birthday falls on Friday the 13th once again. I wanted to honor her today by making her my love of the day. Happy Birthday, Mommy!

Happy Birthday Zane!

Today my love for the day is my boyfriend, Zane. He turned 23 today! He is such a wonderful person and always treats me like a queen. As you can see he is very handsome and I can tell you he is as kind and intelligent as he is good looking. We are going to Florida next week for a spring break and I can barely contain myself I am so excited to see him! Happy Birthday, Love!

March 11

My love for today is Romantic Homes magazine. Where they feature beautiful homes and stores, like Crown and Crumpet in San Fransisco. Look how adorable their china is! I can not wait to go there...If you are ever in San Fran you should check this place out!

Hope you enjoy this eye candy and go check out the wesites :)

Paris!

I can't believe I made it this many days without my love being Paris. It is my favorite place in the world and why I am sure love at first sight does exist. I love all things related to Paris, anything I see that features an Eiffel Tower, a Degas painting, or Versailles I have to have. Maybe part of it is because I grew up in Versailles, Missouri. (Somewhat less glamorous than the one in France.) I thought today would be a good day to feature Paris as my love because one of my favorite websites/books/blogs is now on Blogger click here to see The Paris Apartment's new blog devoted to all things French! Sadly I have not been to Paris since summer of 2006 and on an AmeriCorps budget probably will not make it for another year...but as they say "Absence makes the heart grow fonder".
Hopefully I will live in one of these buildings someday.

My favorite store in Paris

Some lovely eye candy you can look forward to at The Paris Apartment.

One More Thing

Cosette with her birthday flowers...she got mini roses :)

Mandy-Pooh

FINALLY, my love for today is my cousin, Amanda, whom I affectionately refer to as Mandy-Pooh! We have always been very close because we were both born in the same year, 1985! I was even a bridesmaid at her wedding and my mom and I hosted her wedding shower tea party. I had a spur of the moment visit from her this weekend and we had a fabulous time. We went shopping, got pedicures, walked on the beach, did wine tastings and just had fun the whole time. I have been missing my family and friends so much lately, a trip from my cousin was just what the doctor ordered. This first photo one from our brunch in Santa Barbara on Sunday morning.

This photo is us dancing at Mandy-Pooh's bachelorette party.

And this one is several years ago at a family wedding.

I love you, Amanda! Come back soon!

Wine

My love for Sunday is wine! On Sunday afternoon my cousin, Amanda, and I went to Solvang. This is the town where the movie Sideways was filmed. I have never seen that movie but apparently it is about wine. Amanda has seen it and she was really excited to visit the town. We both love learning about wine and trying new ones. We had a very nice time doing wine tastings and also cheese and chocolate tastings!

Pedicures!

So, I realize I did not blog at all this weekend and I am sorry, but I do have every intention of doing a blog today for each day I missed.....For Saturday my love is pedicures, which my cousin and I got on Saturday. Although they were not the best pedicures we have ever had (go online and read the review we left) it was still nice to let our feet soak for awhile and sit and chat. Pedicures are one of the most relaxing things I can think of and whenever I really need to pamper myself they are the first thing I do! I have had many wonderful pedicures in my life and this entry is dedicated to them!

Koalas

My love for today is Koalas. Last night my boyfriend and I had a long conversation about how we were going to get boy and girl Koalas and they were going to have babies. Then we were going to go into the Koala breeding business. After I did some research and realized that short of buying my own zoo I was probably not going to be able to just "get" a Koala, I decided to make my love for the day Koalas. I just think they are the sweetest, most gentle creatures. I think what sparked my interest in Koalas was this story about a Koala who survived the horrible brushfires in Australia. It is a really heartwarming story and I encourage everyone to lend their support to the efforts of those who are caring for the precious survivors.

Happy Birthday Cosette!

My cat, Cosette celebrated her fifth birthday today and she is my love for the day. I felt bad because I did not get home from work until after 9pm and did not get the chance to stop and buy her flowers. Cosette likes very few things in this world and flowers are one of them. Here are some pictures of her over the years. We have been through a lot together, she has always been a very patient and caring friend. She will be getting some birthday flowers tomorrow :)

Old Friends

My love for today is old friends. I feel like it has been 100 years since I have seen some of them. The first picture is of my dear friend Megan. I have not seen her in over a year. The other two are from Courtney's wedding in 2006 and are mostly friends from high school. The second picture is when I found out (from my mom over the phone) that Courtney's wedding cake had fallen over. Note the looks of extreme horror on our faces. The third is a picture of my friends Jamie and Breanna who were wonderful friends in high school. I just wanted to let you guys know that I am thinking of you tonight and as we approach the 5 year anniversary of our graduation I am looking forward to seeing you all soon :)

P.S. I went through some of my old files and found some more old favorites. One of a fun night with Kerry, Maggie, Megan, and Christina. (I didn't have any with Mary they are all on my external hard drive which is in the shop, but I still love you!) One with Cookie from a Halloween about a million years ago. Another with Cara and Courtney and one from Kayla's birthday.

Napping

My love for day three is napping. Who doesn't love a good nap?

Day 2

In honor of the Modest Mouse concert that I am missing in Kansas City tonight my love for today is concerts. I love going to concerts, I like to try and get really close or watch from far away and enjoy the music. I have been to two Nine Inch Nails concerts in the last year and I have to say they are the most fun! The first picture is one I took at Lollapalooza last August. That guy in the cowboy hat is security and the silhouette behind him is Trent Reznor...aka my future husband!

Another picture from Lollapalooza.

I like taking pictures of interesting people I see in the crowd. This was at the Death Cab for Cutie concert last summer. I'm not kidding I watched this guy listen to his Ipod and play with his Iphone through the entire concert!

I also like to turn the camera around and take pictures of the crowd. This was Michigan Avenue after the Rage Against the Machine concert at Lollapalooza.

The stage before Radiohead started at Lollapalooza.