Weekend Recap: Teenage Vamps, Bubble Tea and Brews

 

This past weekend was pretty laid back, but definitely successful! 

My bestfriend, Allison, came in town for a visit and we popped over to the theater to enjoy a viewing of Vampire Academy!  It was okay; nothing life-changing, but I enjoy most movies I see without too much extra thought!  Would I recommend it to the masses: probably not, but if you gravitate toward anything labeled "Young Adult" then this might be right up your alley!  I'm basically a 28-year-old child when it comes to books, TV and movie selections!  So, teen vampires in high school - I couldn't resist!

We enjoyed some Fro-yo Friday before the show and then made an appearance at Founders Brewing Company afterward, and finally wrapped up the evening at the Casa over a few more brews and some Netflix!

On Saturday, when we finally managed to coax ourselves out into the world, we went in search of Bubble Tea!  We both acquired a fondness for the delicious jelly bubbles in college, but we had yet to discover a place that could compare!

Enter:  The Sparrows! 

Forgive the glare!  We actually had some sun!

We LOVED it!  So much so that we each enjoyed two teas a piece!  (We couldn't resist grabbing one to-go!)

It was an adorable little café tucked away on Wealthy Street!  If you're in the GR area, definitely check it out!  They have so many options!

Here's a peek at the inside!  All those jars on top of the counter are different loose tea options!!

The menu had so many tasty looking drinkable treats it was a tough decision, but I knew I had to follow my heart and go for the Bubble Tea! 

 

And just to make things even harder to decide they had all these awesome options....

 

We'll definitely be working trips here into our future bestie outings!!!  I tried the Boba Fett special for my to-go tea and wasn't disappointed!  I was really curious about the popping boba, which the gal behind the counter described as being kind of like "Gushers!"  (Tell me you remember those fun little delights - chewy on the outside like a fruit roll-up but when you squish it between your teeth - you're met with a sweet gooey semi-liquid fruit ooze surprise!)  Unfortunately the popping boba weren't quite that interesting, but they were still pretty good.  The didn't ooze, but they did definitely POP! and kind of explode with fruity juicy stuff - so still a pretty cool surprise!  Call me a traditionalist though, I still prefer the plain ole' traditional tapioca pearls!

If you do go, make sure to pit stop at the bathroom!  There's only one, it's gender neutral, and the pot, the sink, and such are all pretty average - but it's decorated with old window frames, which looks pretty cool.  Here's a panoramic for your viewing pleasure!  (I tried to keep pot's and such out of it, so it's a little wiggly, but free interweb high five to whoever can spot me!)

We capped off our evening with a stop off at our favorite watering hole, LOGAN'S ALLEY!  I managed to cross off two more beers from my list Around the World!  (I'll be sharing the whole shebang once I finally finish!)

And, I even got to see my sister for a few on Sunday!  She crept in late on Saturday night to sleep after her friend's birthday party! 

Hope you all had a great weekend too!!!  I want to read all about it, so make sure to link-up with Dateless in Dallas and Showered With Design for Weekend Recap!!

A Groundhog's Weather Forcast and the Big Game!

Happy February 2nd!  Today is not only Groundhog Day, but also the day of one of the most anticipated football games of the season - Super Bowl XLVII!!! 

This morning in Punxsutawney, PA, Phil, the little weather-forecasting fur-ball has secured our fates - 6 more weeks on winter!

Phil even gave his prediction in the form of a cute Super Bowl themed poem in support of the day's shared celebrations!

 

"A Super Bowl winner I will not predict,

But my weather forecast, you cannot contradict,

That's not a football lying beside me

It's my shadow you see

So, six more weeks of winter it shall be!"

 

 



Now that we've got the official weather report and we know for a fact (as if there was any doubt) that we will indeed be graced with the presence of Old Man Winter for a bit longer, it's time to move on to more celebratory affairs:  The Super Bowl!!!

 

Who are you rooting for this year: The Seattle Seahawks or the Denver Broncos?  I'll be cheering for the Broncos - for the simple reason that they are geographically located closer than Seattle is to Grand Rapids!  Do you have any silly ways you choose your team for the big game??  I'm really in it mostly for the commercials....having an Advertising degree (which I don't use...) and all!  Looking forward to seeing what the big boys of the ad world have come up with this year!  I haven't peeked at any previews at all - so I'm ready to be wowed!  I want to laugh, cry, and feel the need to buy, buy, buy!

 

Rob and I are playing it pretty low-key this year!  We're going to stay home to watch - which definitely has it's benefits!!!  I mean, sweats...all day, ummm...yes please!  He's making homemade boneless hot 'wings' and I'll be throwing together a delightful pretzel dip (compliments of one of my sorority sister's recipes)!   

 

I did actually put "real" pants on for a while this afternoon!  We went out earlier to dig out our cars and clean out the spots in front and behind us on the street so we wouldn't have to deal with it tomorrow!  Definitely wanted to take advantage of the 23° weather and daylight while we could!  But this morning and the better part of the early afternoon was spent catching up on some of my stories and clearing out our HULU queue!  I watched a bunch of backed up episodes this weekend of Castle, The Originals, Pretty Little Liars, Once Upon a Time, Switched at Birth and Suburgatory.  I've also recently decided to give up on watching Sleepy Hollow and Ravenswood. 

 

Well....Seattle just won the coin toss, Rob's about done with the 'wings,' my dip is chilling in the refrigerator and there's loads of laundry spinning away in the washing machine.  Time to grab a beer, some grub and watch the game!  Go Broncos!!!!  Keep your fingers crossed for a win or two on my Super Bowl squares!! 

 

What are you doing for the Big Game!?  Trying some new recipes, hanging with friends?!  Let me know below!  But, most of all, enjoy it!

Weekend Adventure: October 26 & 27

This past Saturday I FINALLY got to step foot into an actual Lush store!  I traveled all the way to (almost) Detroit to the Twelve Oaks Mall with a few girlfriends for a day of shopping and adventure! 

 

We wandered about the mall and looked at all the sad puppies locked in the pet store there - discussed the possibility of a PETA-esque rescue mission where we would smash open the glass containers and flea down the halls with a stampede of freshly freed canines bounding along behind us.  Somehow I envision this would be happening in slow motion and there is obviously a giant fan blowing our not-a-strand-outta-place-even-after-a-crazy-puppy-freeing-stunt hair because we'd be heroes and who wants a hero with a bad 'Do!  Seriously though...there were for-real clearance puppies, and if you came from over 100 miles away, you got an additional $100 off.  I thought the whole idea of a "clearance puppy" was just something they said in the movies!?

 

But, on a positive note - I scored a dress for EIGHT BUCKS!  It's an orangey color with an interesting back, perfect for Summer - so you know, I purchased it upon the eve of WINTER!  But, I just couldn't resist such a crazy good deal!  BOOM:  Eight Dollar Outfit - yes please, I'll take two!

 

We moseyed into several other stores and even found these bangs attached to headbands.  Of course we all had to try them on to see what we would look like if we made the chop!  Pretty good learning experience really.  I may go through with it...maybe, if I don't lose my balls on the way into the hair salon next time 'round???

 

And then there was LUSH!  I finally got to try out several of their products via an online purchase I made thanks to my bestfriend!  You can read my review here.  But, they sell face masks so freaky fresh they have to be refrigerated so they don't spoil!  That said, you can't order them online....major bummer since I really enjoy smothering goop on my face and then showing Rob!!  I also really was just looking forward to smelling and touching EVERYTHING in sight!  The store was pretty small and kind of hard to navigate because of the herds of folk every which way, but we managed! 

 

They actually do little demonstrations in the store - which is a great way to test the product before you commit to a purchase!  I ended up with several little treasures, including a couple face masks and two bath bombs (we don't even have a bathtub by the way - just a shower...so I'll be heading to Mom's for a little R&R and to take up residence in her tub!)

 
 
 

Just used my Brazened Honey Fresh Face Mask tonight and it feels like my face went on a vacation to a magical world where everyone has amazing skin! 


And, I can't believe I'm putting this out here on the interwebs but here's what I look like covered in goop! 

 After the mall we went to this little joint called Lucky Stike (or something of that variety).  It was alright - they had an arcade in the other room that looked like fun - kind of reminded me of a casino actually!  All the servers were wearing Halloween costumes - we had the pleasure of being served by 'Officer Naughty-Pants.'  Unfortunatley we did not have time to let our inner children loose in the place since we wanted to make it to the Outlet Mall on our way home and we were definitely running out of time!!!!  Gonna have to save my skeet ball skills for another time I suppose.

 

Sunday was much more relaxed - Rob and I spent a lazy day playing couch potatoes, but we did manage to watch several movies and I did a few loads of laundry so the day wasn't a total wash! 

 

Let's see if I can remember what we viewed....

 

 

1.  Grown Ups 2

2.  The Purge

3.  Monsters University

4.  The Internship

5.  Man of Steel*

 

*Rob Only:  I had seen this one earlier with Allison in D-Box, so I cleaned up the kitchen tornado!

 

 

 

❤

Megan