#also the weird soda flavored gum was/is a real thing

[hermannsthumb]

Hermann preparing for date night with Newt by selecting where to eat solely by what he has a coupon for. Or, ya know, frugal connoisseur Hermann. <3 ksci

inspired by a convo re: the fact that ksci @k-sci-janitor likes to make fun of me for never letting a coupon go to waste even if it means walking like 2 miles in the cold to use it :/ like im gonna NOT get a free Baja blast. (there is one small little allusion to some M rated stuff towards the end in this)

-------------------

It’s not a rare occurrence that Hermann will treat Newt to dinner when the mood of dining out strikes them, but the point is that he’s doing it in a way that’s supremely…shifty tonight. Well, maybe not shifty. Weird? For one thing, he didn’t tell Newt where they were going until they were already on the bus headed there, for another, it’s their sharing-a-lab-anniversary, which tradition dictates they evenly split a bill (even if the origins have more to do with both trying to show up the other and take advantage and order the most expensive shit on the menu). The weirdest thing is definitely that, when Hermann got up to pay the bill five minutes ago—a small, folded piece of paper clutched in his hand—he left his wallet laying next to his wine glass on the table.

Newt stirs his straw around in his cup of soda, clinking ice cubes against the sides, and squints at the wallet. Did Hermann bring cash to pay with? He could’ve stuck some in his pockets without Newt seeing, or his bank card, even, which would explain the forlorn wallet. Or maybe forgetting the wallet was totally an accident, and he’ll be back in a few seconds to pick it up and pay for real when he realizes. That’s probably it.

When Hermann comes back to their table, though, he doesn’t bother with his wallet—he takes his seat, picks up his wine glass, and tips it at Newt. “That was quite lovely, wasn’t it?”

Newt hums. “It was.”

“I quite liked the fish I got,” Hermann says.

“I loved my noodles,” Newt says. “We should try to copy the recipe back at the base.” He sets his straw delicately on the table. “How’d you pay without your wallet?”

“My wallet?” Hermann says. He makes a show of catching sight of the wallet, arches his eyebrows in mock surprise, and picks it up. Here we go. “Oh, goodness. Did I forget this? Well—it’s not as if I needed it…” He tucks it neatly into his inner jacket pocket.

“Hermann,” Newt says, rolling his eyes. “What’d you do, get a hundred-percent discount by reminding them we saved the world a few months ago?” Hermann shakes his head, and takes a long sip of his wine. “Did you write a check? Did you pretend we got food poisoning or something?” Hermann shakes his head again, and this time, his mouth begins to creep up into a smug smile. Newt remembers the piece of paper. “Dude. You got us a fucking Groupon. No wonder you were being so weird about what I was ordering!”

(“I think we ought to stick with the entrees labelled B, Newton,” Hermann had said, flipping a page forward in Newt’s menu. “They look—er—far better.”

“More expensive,” Newt had said.

“What’s it matter? I’m paying.” Hermann had pointed at the noodle dish Newt had ended up getting. “Look, I reckon you’d like that.”)

Hermann finally grins triumphantly. “I did—and saved us quite a decent from our ‘date night’ fund. Pity it didn’t extend to dessert, I suppose, but we could always find some ice cream at the commissary later.”

Newt can’t even pretend to be exasperated. The noodles rocked. And they would’ve rocked even more if he knew that Hermann was saving them a few bucks. “You’re such a weirdo,” Newt says, shaking his head, though he’s mirroring Hermann’s grin. “Is that why you picked this place?”

“Not entirely,” Hermann says. He takes a long, slow sip of his wine. “Mostly I picked it to make a point.”

“About?”

“About my being right.”

Newt sighs. Only Hermann would dredge up old arguments on Lab Anniversary Night. It wasn’t even an argument, really—all that happened was that Hermann asked Newt to hand him his glasses cleaning cloth from his parka, and it took Newt almost ten minutes because Hermann’s pockets were so jam-packed with a million little coupons for everything from granola bars (which they can get from the mess hall for free) to mouthwash (which Newt can snag from the commissary, also for free, whenever they need it) that he couldn’t find anything but. A majority of them were expired. Then Newt remarked on how Hermann was nuts, and Hermann remarked on how Newt didn’t understand the value of making smart financial decisions, and they went back and forth for a bit like that. This was a whole week ago, too. In terms of Newt and Hermann arguments, that’s more than ancient history. “Are we really talking about the fucking coupons now?” Newt says.

“Frugality pays off,” Hermann says, cryptically. “Now we really ought to head out. The forecast is calling for rain, and I don’t fancy getting caught in it.”

They get caught in the rain anyway. Newt invites himself over to Hermann’s bunk to dry off, because Hermann bought a space heater back when they were stationed in Russia, and it travelled with him here to aid through the long nights of overpowering A/C. Right now, it’s aiding Newt through stripping out of his wet clothes. When he’s down to just his boxers, he snags the quilt from Hermann’s bed, and waits for him to finish up in his little en suite bathroom to hopefully catch a hot shower. One of the unexpected side effects of the world not ending and most nonessential personnel leaving the ‘dome in doves is that they almost never run out of hot water anymore. Newt can take a shower at midnight and not freeze his ass off. It’s awesome, really.

Hermann emerges from the bathroom in a dorky little pair of pajamas, a dressing gown knotted at his waist. “Oh, Newton,” he sighs, and prods at Newt’s blanket cocoon with his cane, “not my grandmother’s quilt.”

“I’m dry!” Newt says. “Mostly!”

He gives up the quilt to Hermann and ducks into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He stuck a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet at some point, for when he was too sleepy and lazy after makeout sessions to go back to his bunk, and sure enough he finds it alongside a suspiciously generic-looking tube of toothpaste. It doesn’t even have a label. He doesn’t think much of it until he starts to use it, which is when he immediately gags and begins to rinse his mouth out with hot water. “What the hell is this toothpaste?” he chokes out. “It tastes—awful.”

“Ah,” Hermann says. He ducks his head into the bathroom, looking a bit sheepish. “Well. I found a coupon for that brand, and I know it’s not very, er, pleasant, but—I saved forty percent, Newton.” Newt continues to rinse his mouth out, this time adding some mouthwash into the mix. “Oh, really, now you’re just being dramatic. It’s only toothpaste.”

“Dude,” Newt says. “I feel like I just rubbed, like, acid cement all over my gums.”

“Ah,” Hermann repeats, guiltily.

A bit later, Newt goes in to kiss Hermann goodnight as they settle into Hermann’s bed together, but pulls back with a sad little pout when Hermann merely flinches away from him. “Oh, Newton, I’m sorry,” Hermann says, quickly wrapping his arms around Newt and kissing his neck. It softens the blow somewhat. “It’s that bloody toothpaste. You still smell like it. You’re right, it’s rubbish.”

“Tell you what,” Newt says, grumpily. “I’ll buy you a brand new tube tomorrow. My treat.”

Newt mostly forgets about the coupon thing for a bit. The odd little item crops up in the lab that makes him roll his eyes fondly at Hermann, but nothing as major as the Groupon or toothpaste. Hermann’s preferred tea brand swapped out for something Newt’s never heard of in a flavor that Hermann clearly detests, if his face when he drinks it is anything to go by, for example, the chocolate digestives Hermann keeps in his desk replaced with plain ones, his new box of chalk all in a salmony shade of pink and weak enough to snap apart under his fingers if he presses down too hard on his chalkboard. When Newt asks about the changes, the answer’s always the same: Hermann had a coupon for them, or they were less expensive than his usual. Newt just wishes he could understand where this sudden bought of thriftiness came from. It’s not like it was back during the war, where they had to pinch pennies and save in every area they could if they wanted to supplement their nonexistent funding. They’re actually getting paychecks now, on behalf of the UN’s guilty conscience! They have free room and board! They even put a few neat bucks away from some (heavily-redacted) interviews they did back in late January.

What Newt’s getting at is Hermann doesn’t have to limit them ordering out sushi to only places with free delivery on date nights, or skimp on his pizza toppings (four-topping down to two) so they can use a better coupon, or buy any of those subpar teabags or digestives or toothpaste tubes. But he just…is.

The tipping point occurs on a Saturday night about a month after the Groupon incident.

“Nn. Hermann. Do that again.”

“Do—?"

“Yeah.” Newt groans, turning his head to the side. “Oh, shit.”

“Newton—” Hermann kisses his throat. “Newton, you’re—”

“Wait.” Newt pauses. “What is that?”

“Oh, er.” Hermann pulls his hand away. “You mean the—the—?”

“Yeah. It feels…weird.” He frowns. “That is not what we used last time.”

“Oh. No. It isn’t.” Hermann clears his throat. “Well, Newton—see—we were out, so I thought I’d—I’d buy a larger bottle, to last us longer, and I happened to find a coupon for this lovely—er—gallon-sized—”

“You’re kidding,” Newt says.

“Only I thought it was a very frugal purchase,” Hermann says. “We do tend to, er, burn through it rather quickly.”

Newt rolls away from him. “Dude. We need to have a talk.”

Some brief amount of time later, they sit together on the end of Hermann’s bed, clad in their pajama bottoms and, in Hermann’s case, one of Newt’s sweatshirts. Newt waits until Hermann meets his eyes blushingly before he proceeds. “What is up with you lately?” he says. “You’ve been acting so—weird. Weirder than usual,” he amends. “Since when have you cared about saving a couple bucks on random shit like pizza?”

Hermann fidgets, and sighs, and finally reaches to pull open the drawer of his nightstand. He retrieves a piece of paper folded into quadrants, and for a wild moment Newt thinks it might be another Groupon. “Oh, I wanted it to be a surprise,” Hermann says. “I was going to wait until it was all finalized—but it’s close enough now, so I suppose there’s no harm in it.” He thrusts the paper out at Newt, and Newt—still wondering if it’s not another Groupon—unfolds it with surprise to find what looks like a flight itinerary. Two tickets for Hong Kong to Boston, with a short layover; then two more tickets a week after they land for a short trip from Boston to some town in Maine Newt recognizes as being seaside. They’re made out to Hermann Gottlieb and Newton Geiszler and purchased a little over a week ago.

“You kept telling me you wanted me to meet your father,” Hermann says, and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “And—I thought it might be nice, to have an—er—vacation, for a few days. We’ve certainly earned one. And it’s not as if we have any truly pressing obligations at the moment that can’t be put on hold for a week or two. I was planning on booking us a little cottage up in Maine—or maybe just a hotel room, I hadn’t decided—but we don’t have to if you don’t—”

“And you’ve been saving up for it?” Newt interrupts.

“For a few months now,” Hermann says. “Since February, in fact.”

“And that’s why…?”

The tips of Hermann’s ears turn red. “Every penny helped,” he says.

Newt carefully re-folds the itinerary, sets it aside, and then kisses Hermann soundly. It would be safe to say that Hermann’s thoughtful, romantic moods tend to be on the spontaneous side, probably as spontaneous as they are in Newt, so when one strikes Hermann (and in such a perfectly Hermann way as this one) Newt doesn’t like to take it for granted. “Of course I wanna go on vacation with you,” Newt says. “You rock. Seriously.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Hermann says, looking pleased.

[halorocks1214]

HMM. for the weird asks, 1–10, 16, 24, 38, 44, 58, 78, 87, aaaaaaaaand 92, just for fun

IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN FRIEND. I’m always ready to give you unnecessary essays lmao

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

This one is so confusing to me aaaaaa. I guess all of them outside of teacups? I’ve used all of them for one reason or another and they worked for their intended purpose so I guess all of them except teacups because I don't have any in my house :|

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

I only like a few specific flavors of lollipops, whereas I can get down with chocolate about 80-90% of the time~

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

I’m cheese-ing this question with bubblegum since I don’t actually like real bubblegum, but I have this really nice grape/lemonade gum stash that’s my absolute fave <3

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

I was always the Good Child, but also, like, genuinely kind and generous? I like to think that’s how I was, also very shy and quiet so yeah

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

The only soda I currently drink is Diet Pepsi and it’s always from cans (I go through like 4-6 a day man it’s an addiction)

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

If comfy stuff like hoodies and sweatpants are considered “tomboy” than yeah basically. I’ll wear formal stuff for formal things though, gotta love a nice dress every once in a while

7. earbuds or headphones?

Headphones for the most part. If I have to use earbuds then fine, but I prefer headphones over my ears rather than those tiny things getting shoved into my holes and having the potential to fall out :/

8. movies or tv shows?

TV shows... technically. I have a hard time sitting completely still through anything longer than 30 minutes (I have a hard time sitting completely still in general but we don’t gotta talk about that)

9. favorite smell in the summer?

CHLORINE FROM THE POOL DON’T @ ME I LOVE IT SO MUCH

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

Badminton all the waaaay. It was honestly like the only one I was good at too so hell yeah (remember all the times birdies would get stuck in the ceiling? I do)

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

This question is a callout because referencing Question 8 again I literally cannot sit still to save my life and I find myself changing how I sit every 20 goddamn minutes. The longest I can stay sitting is simply sitting in an office chair with my feet propped up on something like a step-stool with one leg crossed over the other so there’s that

24. favorite crystal?

I know this probably doesn’t count but like

Any kind of refraction crystal that incorporates light tbh

38. lemonade or tea?

Lemonade bitches. Get bitter stuff out of my FACE

44. favorite scent for soap?

Anything floral. It’s a basic answer but gonna be honest I don’t really think about this that much lmao

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

Good with music (multiple instruments and singing somewhat), good at video games (I hope), I’m considered pretty funny/witty by my friends, and hey, from what I’ve seen I’m an okay writer too so that’s pretty Gucci

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

I hate both of these things why would you make me PICK. I GUESS I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO TRY SUSHI MIGHT AS WELL DIE DOING IT

87. your greatest fear?

The best way to word it would be dying unexpectedly. I’m absolutely terrified of just being alive one second and then boom. Something like a car crash happens or something just goes wrong with my body for no reason or choking on food suddenly... idk out of all things this spooks me the most and I’ve never been quite sure why

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights? 

Fairy lights for Aesthetic Reasons, lamps for practical ones

Ask me weird questions dear followers

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: TokyoTreat Oct 19

I think I’m doing pretty good progress wise, please be patient with me as I continue to try to review old boxes~

“October is here, bringing with it those spooky Halloween vibes! Halloween has been growing in popularity in recent years, and since Japan loves their seasonal snacks we had plenty of new, interesting items to choose from! In the spirit of being spooky but kinda cute, we’ve created a Poke-Monster Night for you to enjoy! No sharing these tricky snacks though!“

For this months contest, the winner could receive figures of Naruto and Sasuke from Naruto, while runner-ups won a cute pokeball candy and stamp. Lucky Treat consisted of Full Metal Alchemist, Dragon Quest, AND three devil fruits from One Piece, the Gomu Gomu (Gum), Mera Mera (Flame), and Ope Ope (Operation. Also, they accidentally mislabeled as the “dark dark fruit”). I was very excited that they included the 3 belonging to 3 of my favorite characters~

Pokemon Ramune & Strange Syrup DIY

(Please see top pic for images)

For this month, we get a basic, straight-laced ramune drink. Thank goodness :P as much as I like to try new flavors, sometimes I forget the original is probably the best... especially in comparison to those yucky flavors that I’m still traumatized by <_< and this month we even get a really cute pokemon label.

Ramune is basically that “soda“ flavor you’ll see in Japanese candy. It has a sweet, sort of lemon-ish taste but its not sour. It’s a little like sprite, but in my opinion it tastes way better. It’s especially yummy whenever it’s warm out or if you worked up a thirst. It’s also really fun to open because of the marble inside!

If you have ever wanted to try out Ramune, I would suggest checking on Amazon (they have a variety of fruit flavors too), or maybe the Japan Haul website (the website made through Tokyo Treat and its various brands).

- - - - -

The DIY I just included a bonus pic of because I’ve done it several times. It’s a super-sticky, thick syrup like candy that only requires you to mix the 3 flavors, which are strawberry, soda, and lemon. Together they make grape... which looks like this:

Because this candy was a little old, I think it was a bit off. The lemon and soda flavors were fine, but I noticed that not only was strawberry orange instead of pink, which might explain this... greenish-honey color. It’s usually a little purple if I recall.

Also, it didn’t really taste like grape this time, and it wasn’t as good in my opinion- but I guarantee if you open it as soon as you get it, it tastes much better. If you don’t like sticky/gooey textures you might wanna skip this one though.

Halloween Milk Senbei & Bloody Cola Marshmallow

Since I subscribed like 3 years ago, I’ve only seen senbei in a box once; I was very excited to see it again! It’s stuff like this I wish they would include more of, because I want to try the unique foreign flavors you know?

Anyway, the milk senbei is a plain, very thin melt-in-your mouth cracker-like snack that pretty much tastes like ice cream cone, but a teensy bit sweeter. This one comes with a cola flavored sauce to put on top of it. Each 1 (or one pack, not sure) is around 25-27 calories.

♥ ♥ ♥

I really like the taste of ice cream cones, I don’t know why, I just always have. Meanwhile, the jelly/sauce is purple, but it indeed tastes like cola ♥ it’s very yummy. However... together, they get a strange taste and that I’m not very fond of. I can’t even describe it, but its weird. But eating it in small doses is tolerable.

- - - - -

Speaking of cola, we also got a really cute marshmallow filled with a cola jelly! It’s like they combined two of my favorite things~

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

It’s very soft and yummy, the jelly inside tastes about the same as the sauce from the prior item, but it tastes so much better with the marshmallow.

Apple Pie Kit Kat & Brown Sugar Sweets

Instead of orange kit kats this year, we get to see fun purple one :D these kit kats are inspired by an apple pie. As you can see they also come in a large pack to share with others or to eat yourself. Each pack is 65 calories. 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I love the coloring of these, first of all. It’s such a pretty purple, and its fun too. The apple flavor is very prominent, and it has a very small hint of spice, while the wafer brings to mind a sugary crust. It’s sweet, but mildly.

- - - - - -

These are popular for their melty and soft texture, with a very thin, crisp layer of rich brown sugar coating. Each one of these is 17 calories.

♥ ♥ ♥ 

These are kinda basic, but it’s a yummy sweet that isn’t overly sugary. I think it goes good with the apple pie kit kat, and maybe some milk.

Disappearing Taste?! Mixed Gummies, ZomB Grape Gum, & Blue Green Soda Gum

We got 3 gums this month! Our first is very familiar, because we’ve had this gum before. The only difference is this is its washed out, slightly different cousin. Basically, you’re given a set of flavors of gum, in this case yogurt, strawberry, orange, and white grape/muscat. You can eat them as is, or mix the flavors to make new ones, like a fruit drink, melon soda, or different fruits.

What makes this one special however, is that there is a special gumball that supposedly makes the flavor disappear? I mean, isn’t that what gum does normally?

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

This gum is really nice, you get a lot of them per-resealable pouch, and the flavors are always pretty good. Plus I like how the gum is smooth and soft in texture. I didn’t really notice any difference with this one from the last pack I had other than flavors.

- - - - -

Next up, we have the ZomB Gum; a popular Halloween item that we have seen before; I think about 2 or so years back, when we got the red cola vampire version. What makes this gum really fun is that it colors your tongue as you chew it, and it has a delicious grape flavor.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

This gum has the same texture as the other gum, so I really like it. The color effect isn’t nearly as strong as the package shows, but it’s a cute little gimmick, and it tastes great. The flavor lasts about 5 minutes.

- - - -

Our last gum is another brand I’ve had before. I have had both this flavor, and their cola version. It’s pretty much the same concept as the ZomB gum (they’re made by the same brand), but its in two sticks and you get a soda flavor, and a melon flavor.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I’d pretty much say the same things as I did about the previous two gums. All three were delicious and I would recommend any of them.

Poteco Pumpkin Gratin & Pringles

Here we have two salty, savory snacks for the box. But of course, the Poteco are not new to us, in fact I think last Halloween we got the exact same pack; minus slightly different packaging. Poteco is good and all, but I got so tired of seeing it that I tend to... shy away from it now. This flavor wasn’t really that different from the original/normal Poteco either.

- - - - -

I was a lot more excited for this item, a unique pack of Japanese Pringles :D Looking at the package, this is a type of ramen or noodle bowl flavor. It’s a mystery item in the booklet so I’m not really sure, but for this small can it is 267 calories!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Honestly, these are so yummy that I don’t even care how many calories there are. The flavor is very strong, it tastes exactly like this cup ramen I like to buy. Trying to describe the flavor, I would say it’s sort of like beef or soy sauce broth, with a hint of a corn taste?

Pokemon Halloween Chocolate & Pikachu Gummies

These are both snacks we’ve had before, so I’ll try to just gist this one.

These crispy snacks are shape like pikachu heads and come in fun, colorful packaging featuring a variety of Pokemon, while the back usually has a fun puzzle or image. Each bag is 83 calories and they are by the brand Tohato.

These are really yummy x3 they have a slightly bitter chocolate taste and remind me a lot of the coco crispy cereals.

- - - - - -

The other snack is also pikachu-shaped, but besides its head, there are also the occasional tail you might find ;3 These are by Lotte, and each pack is 90 calories. The flavor is grape and they taste really good too.

The only real thing to bother me about these is that they didn’t cut the gummy around Pikachu’s ears. It’s a minor thing but it bothers me a little.

Halloween Corn Potage Umaibo

Okay, so... because I talk about this a lot, I’m not actually planning on saying anything about it this time :P long story short, corn potage Umaibo is the best.

Squid Legs & Halloween Pizza Corn Snack

Don’t let the name fool you, these are not real squid legs- they just have a fishy taste. I’ve had these before too, and I have fairly complex feelings about them. On one hand they don’t taste terrible, but I don’t like seafood and the flavor is still unappealing to me. I like their crunchy texture though.

- - - - -

Next up is this corn puff snack featuring a delicious pizza flavor! They taste exactly like the pizza-flavored combos, if you never had those before I would recommend them too~

Pokemon Cola Chewing Candy

This is our final item... and now that I look at it, it kinda looks like a wafer cookie doesn’t it?

Anyway, these are sticks of chewing candy that come in various series and flavors. Before we had some grape Thomas the Tank Engine ones, and this time we get some cola Pokemon. Each wrapper usually includes a unique design, craft, or puzzle of some sort.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ I don’t know if these are hard because they had to sit around for a while, or because that is just how they are. I don’t remember the Thomas ones being so hard, but they weren’t as thick as these. But if you suck on them for a few minutes they soften up, or you can crunch them to softness. The flavor is very yummy, I think it might be my favorite cola flavored item in the box.  

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 4.5 out of 5. Everything is very yummy, even though a fair amount of it was repetitive. I really liked it. Theme - 4 out of 5. Well, given the packaging and theme, I could say yeah they did pretty good. We had a decent amount of Pokemon items, but they could have done a little more too I think. Total Rank: 9 out of 10. I really liked this box, I just wish maybe we would have had a couple more unique items.

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

(I’m sorry, but by this point I’m not really feeling well. I want to finish the review so that I can go lay down DX)

[whatshehassaid]

Favorite Things

I’m bored out of my mind at.... hell, I don’t even know what time it is. 

Food and Drink

Favorite Fast Food Restaurant? 

Umm, it really depends. I like Chinese/Asian type foods and pizza and a lot of things, so... I can’t really choose one? I really love Thai Express though.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor?

It’s a toss up between pistachio and mint chocolate chip. Chocolate chip cookie dough is really good too

Favorite Chocolate Candy?

Ferrero Rocher or anything with a chocolate/hazelnut mix

Favorite Fruity Candy?

Sour Skittles or wine gums

Favorite Flavor Starburst?

Either the pink or the red

Favorite dish at Olive Garden?

I’ve actually never been to Olive Garden.

Favorite kind of sushi?

Uramaki (California rolls)... I also like maki.. (oh boy, now I’m craving sushi)

Favorite Asian dish?

I’ve really only had Westernized type Asian food, so.. I love spring rolls, sushi (see above), chow mein...

Favorite Italian Dish?

There’s a lot to choose from there as half my extended family is from Calabria... so...  chicken parmigiana or angel hair primavera

Favorite food of all time?

There’s a lot to choose from there... I really love steak though. Like, a little too much. 

Favorite way to cook a steak?

Medium, sometimes medium well

Favorite pasta dish?

Angel hair primavera

Favorite cookie?

White chocolate macadamia nut

Favorite fast food french fries?

Mcdonalds

Favorite cereal?

Raisin Bran. Don’t @ me

Favorite breakfast food?

Mmmm, omlettes. 

Favorite pizza toppings?

Pepperoni, green pepper, sometimes pineapple.... sometimes olives.

Favorite fruit?

It’s a tie between strawberries, cherries and pomegranates. 

Favorite vegetable?

Broccoli

Favorite dessert? 

White chocolate cheesecake.

Favorite comfort food?

Homemade chicken soup

Favorite way to eat bacon?

On its own, honestly.

Favorite thing at a buffet?

I don’t really go to buffets..... 

Favorite pumpkin flavored treat?

Pumpkin spiced lattes........................ don’t start with me

Favorite dish at Thanksgiving?

Stuffing.

Favorite cake?

Strawberry shortcake... or angel cake w/ strawberries.

Favorite ice cream sundae toppings?

Hot fudge, maraschino cherries and whipped cream

Favorite thing to cook?

I love making pizza..

Favorite soda?

Cherry coke.

Favorite alcoholic drink?

Vodka coke.

Favorite drink at Starbucks?

Skinny cinnamon dolce latte

Favorite flavor coffee?

I just.... coffee? and espresso... I love espresso.

Television & Movies

Favorite 80′s movie?

Um, toss up between ET, the Indiana Jones movies (Last Crusade has always been my fave), and The Shining.

Favorite Harry Potter movie?

Toss up between Prisoner of Azkaban and Half Blood Prince in the HP series... Crimes of Grindelwald (so far) in the Fantastic Beasts series.

Favorite Hobbit from Lord of the Rings?

Bilbo.

Favorite Simpson’s character? 

Lisa.

Favorite cartoon cat?

Felix the cat. 

Favorite TV sitcom?

I Love Lucy. Does that count as a sitcom?

Favorite cartoon?

Peanuts (does that count?) or Looney Tunes

Favorite scary movie?

I’ve watched a LOT of horror movies, but Halloween (1978) hands down.

Favorite funny movie?

Hmmm... I don’t watch many comedic movies, honestly.. Bridesmaids? I don’t know..

Favorite celebrity?

Y’all really gonna ask this? We all know it’s Jude Law.

Favorite South Park character?

I never really got into South Park, tbh.

Favorite chick flick?

Um, The Holiday and maybe Confessions of a Shopaholic....

Favorite Pixar movie?

I’d have to choose three ‘cause I can’t choose one... Ratatouille, Coco, and Toy Story

Favorite Family Guy character?

Don’t really watch it. I watched the first season. Stewie, I guess?

Favorite Leonardo Dicaprio movie?

Aw, you gotta do this to me? Top 3: Titanic, The Great Gatsby and Shutter Island.

Favorite Actress over 50?

Do people who are dead count? ‘Cause I’d choose Marilyn Monroe in a heartbeat.

Favorite Marvel movie?

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Favorite TV Show?

A tie between Hannibal and Twin Peaks.

Favorite cancelled TV series?

Hannibal. Definitely Hannibal.

Favorite show on the Discovery Channel?

I don’t really watch it all that much.... can I use a show from the History Channel instead? (Hunting Hitler)

Favorite classic movie?

Niagara (1953) or Dracula (1931)

Music

Favorite Beatles song?

Golden Slumbers

Favorite string instrument?

Acoustic guitar

Favorite instrument?

Piano

Favorite band or music artist?

I have too many so, Neutral Milk Hotel, Nirvana and Lana Del Rey.

Favorite music genre?

Indie, alternative, whatever.

Favorite style of dance?

I love the way swing dancing looks.

Favorite boy band?

Oof, ya outtin’ me. NSYNC.

Favorite disco song?

Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson or Night Fever - Bee Gees

Favorite 80′s song?

I love a LOT of 80′s music so... I can give you a few (I can’t choose one, that’s impossible): Call Me - Blondie, Take on Me - Aha, Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler, You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) - Dead or Alive, A Criminal Mind - Gowan, Maneater - Hall & Oates, Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson (THERE ARE A LOT MORE)

Favorite cover song?

Byaginc’s version of Losing My Religion - REM and I also really like Lo-Fang’s version of You’re the One That I Want.

Favorite one hit wonder?

Sex and Candy - Marcy Playground

Favorite song you’re embarrassed to like?

Ummmmm.. if I have to pick one.. Irresistible by Jessica Simpson (also the version with Lil Bow Wow is a banger?)

Favorite foreign band/artist?

Catatonia (does that count, I mean, I’m not Welsh.. so). I also like Pink Floyd.

Travel & Recreation

Favorite state you’ve visited?

I’ve only visited one state in the US and it was Florida.

Favorite country you want to visit?

Italy or England

Favorite thing about America?

If you’re referencing the US, I live in Canada, so... I don’t know?

Favorite kind of vacation?

I love beaches... but I also love art and architecture so *shrug*

Favorite car?

1950′s VW Beetle. 

Favorite road to drive on?

I don’t drive.

Favorite way to travel?

Car, I hate planes.

Favorite beach?

I haven’t been to many honestly.

Favorite place to go with family?

DISNEY WORLD.

Favorite vacation you’ve taken?

The first one I ever went on to Universal Studios in Orlando.

Favorite fictional place you’d want to visit?

Hogwarts, let’s be real.

Favorite ride at a carnival?

Those swing carousel things.

Favorite thing to do at the beach?

.....read

Favorite rollercoaster?

I do nOT do rollercoasters.

Favorite theme park?

Disney DISNEY D I S N E Y

Favorite thing about traveling?

I love nice hotels, I don’t know why that’s my fave part, but it is.

Nature & Animals

Favorite dinosaur?

Um, I’ve never really thought about that? T-Rex, I guess?

Favorite breed of dog?

Poodle.

Favorite season?

Autumn

Favorite flower?

Hiscibus

Favorite animal at the zoo?

Elephants... if they have them or pandas

Favorite type of bear?

Panda bears

Favorite natural disaster?

....what kind of question is that?

Favorite reptile?

I love snakes.

Favorite animal?

Tie between cats and sloths.

Favorite bird?

Owls.

Favorite thing in the sky?

The moon.

Favorite thing about a rainy day?

Hearing rain on the roof.

Favorite sea creature?

Can I say the Loch Ness Monster? (haha) Jellyfish.

Favorite color rose?

Light pink or dark red.

Favorite small mammal?

KITTENS!

Favorite big cat?

I love snow leopards. 

Favorite thing about spring?

Flowers.

Favorite wild animal you’d like as a pet?

A sloth.

Sports

Favorite sport?

Soccer

Favorite extreme sport you're too scared to do?

Does snowboarding count?

Favorite Olympic sport?

Figure skating.

Favorite football team?

Don’t watch American football.

Favorite basketball team?

Don’t really watch that either.

Favorite hockey team?

I know I’m Canadian, but I’m honestly not that invested. I’d choose the Maple Leafs ‘cause I’m from TO, but they’re.... aw f ul.

Favorite baseball team?

Blue Jays

Favorite sport to play?

Soccer.

Favorite winter sport?

I do not do winter sports. I’m a klutz as it is.

Favorite sport you wish you were a pro at?

Figure skating would be AMAZING.

Favorite professional athlete?

Serena Williams, Evgenia Medvedeva

Favorite sport to watch in person?

Hockey.

Childhood

Favorite nursery rhyme?

Didn’t really have a favorite.

Favorite childhood memory?

My grandfather. 

Favorite board game?

Monopoly or Scrabble

Favorite children’s show?

I looooooved Looney Tunes. I still do, honestly.

Favorite toy as a child?

I had a Barney the Dinosaur plush (I had Barney everything)

Favorite teacher?

My sixth grade teacher was a pretty cool dude.

Favorite thing about school?

Art class.

Favorite age?

Don’t really have one, maybe 4 or 5?

Favorite Christmas present?

My mom bought me a N64.

Favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Green Eggs & Ham

Favorite Halloween costume you've worn?

Technically I wore it as a teen, but the Silk Spectre II costume I wore when I was 17.

Favorite lunchbox snack?

Dunkaroos!

Favorite Winnie the Pooh character?

Pooh & Eeyore. 

Favorite thing to do during recess?

Read.

Favorite superhero?

Wonder Woman.

Favorite video game?

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Favorite color Power Ranger?

Pink.

Favorite fairy tale?

Does Beauty and the Beast count?

Favorite game to play outside?

Catch the flag.

Fashion & Beauty

Favorite department store?

Does Sephora count as a department store?

Favorite place to shop?

There’s a lot of places I love to shop. Mostly bookstores though.

Favorite store in the mall?

Indigo/Chapters (I love my books)

Favorite perfume/cologne?

YSL Black Opium or Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle

Favorite hair color?

On me? A mix of auburn and dark brown

Favorite makeup you can't live without?

Eyebrow pencil 

Favorite shoes?

My thigh high dark brown suede go-go boots. ;)

Favorite occasion to dress up for?

I’ll honestly dress up for anything. I love dressing up.

Favorite hairstyle?

Anything wavy/curly with or without braids.

Favorite outfit you have?

Right now I have a super cute wrap dress that I like.

Favorite soap scent?

I like the smell of Dove soap, is that weird?

Favorite article of clothing?

I love high waist mini skirts.

Favorite place for a piercing?

Upper ear.

Favorite piece of jewelry?

Right now I’m a dork for the replica pendant from Crimes of Grindelwald. I also love this bracelet/ring/hand jewelry thing I have.

Favorite thing to wear to bed?

Sometimes lace and silk stuff ;) Sometimes just huge t-shirts

Favorite luxury brand?

YSL

Random

Favorite candle scent?

I love coconut scents.

Favorite extracurricular activity?

.....reading? (again)

Favorite day of the week?

Sunday

Favorite holiday?

Does Halloween count as a holiday?

Favorite website?

Well, I’m on Tumblr QUITE a bit...

Favorite way to communicate?

Usually face to face.. I hate talking on the phone. Text message is a close second.

Favorite Youtube video?

I love this dork. [x]

Favorite kind of house?

Victorian

Favorite car color?

Teal?

Favorite baby boy name?

I don’t know...

Favorite baby girl name?

Charlie, Evelyn

Favorite thing to do when you’re sick?

It’s an odd habit of mine to watch The Mummy or HP or Spice World for some reason

Favorite person you’ve never met?

Famous? Bryan Fuller Person in my life? MY THREE BEST FRIENDS!

Favorite question you’ve answered so far?

I don’t know...........

Favorite thing you’ve done in the last 24 hours?

I literally slept most of the day. Don’t judge me.

Favorite place to meet up with friends?

Kitty Cafes and.... cafes in general.

Favorite hobby?

Reading, making art.... listening to music

Favorite way to cheer you up?

Anything to do with Jude Law usually does the trick, bahaha

Favorite thing to look forward to?

Leaving this god awful small city to go explore other places.

Favorite kind of gift to receive?

Things that are heartfelt... things that people make whether it be handmade or... whatever... it’s really sweet.

Favorite crafty thing to make?

Does sketching count? Funny story, I used to get in trouble in art class in high school for sketching human anatomy (hands, collarbones etc) instead of reviewing art history notes, which I also loved by the way.

Favorite way to relax?

Reading, bubble baths.... other ways ;)

[lazyphiladelphiareviews]

Old People Candy!

Hello. This isn’t a restaurant review. This is about candy. Don’t read it if you don’t want to I don’t care. I don’t get paid to do this it is basically to make myself laugh and to send to Paul because he can never remember what this website is called.

These are the candies that old people have / eat. And what I think of them.

Good N Plenty – inedible. Poisonous. This is what they give to kids in the hospital after they eat paint and they need to make you throw up so you don’t die. These should be called Bad N Few. At least be honest.

Speaking of puke on my walk to work today I saw a lady puke on the side of a building it was awesome.

Werthers Original – I don’t know why they have to call these the original. Nobody is copying them. Nobody has ever copied them. I don’t know what their flavor is but it’s not appealing. It’s like a poor man’s butter scotch which isn’t great either.

Strawberry Wrapped Strawberry Hard Candy – I love these. I love the packaging. It shows you what you’re gonna get. A strawberry wrapped strawberry hard candy. I also love the shit in the middle when you bite into it, that blast of moisture that gushes into your mouth. It’s like an angel jizzed or squirted into your mouth, whatever your sexual preference.

Nat said these come in hickory farms meat boxes which is outrageous and hilarious at the same time.

Purple Lavender Candies – I am not sure if this is even a real thing or just a thing I saw in a movie or in a dream one time. I think they are big in Europe which is like a whole different country. The thing about these purple candies is that they taste like perfume which is not something you want to be eating a lot of unless youre one of the drunks on that show Intervention. Love that show.

Green Spearmint Jellies – These are gross. You bite into them and it leaves that weird tooth mark? You know the ones. These are like what you eat after dinner in a restaurant to help your digestion. These are a decoration only.

Speaking of decorations.

Ribbon Candy – old people keep this in their fancy crystal dish and its just for décor youre not supposed to try to eat it, but that’s what kids do is try to eat stuff. One time when I was a kid I ate a Lego. The best is when you try to grab this stuff and it shatters all in your hands and all over your Christmas sweater. Ribbon candy is like weapons grade sharpness. Its like trying to eat shrapnel. I hate it. But god damn if I don’t respect it.

Cinnamon Dots and Butterscotchs – If you eat both of these at the same time, both hard candies, it forms what my dad calls a “hot setup” and the flavors are amazing. I used to eat them all the time but then my teeth started to like hurt randomly lol.

Ice Blue Menthol Hard Candies – Grandparents love these. Grand dads carried these with them in France when they were fighting the Axis powers. They are basically medicine. It’s like eating vicks vap o rub. Good for a cough. Bad for food.

Bit O Honey – I don’t even know what to say about these except that I am not eating it. I don’t even look at this like a food. It’s like all the people you pass on the street when youre walking to or from somewhere. You don’t even realize they are people. They are just obstacles. Bit O Honey is just an obstacle that gets in the way of you eating actual good candy.

Circus Peanuts – I don’t now where you would find these things, they just like, appear in old people’s parlors next to the couch with the plastic on it. Has anyone ever eaten one of these? I never have. I have no idea what these are like. They are like a movie prop, or like the punchline of a joke. 0/10

Orange Slices – Ok these are like the spearmint gummies, I used to LOVE these when I was like 13 I would get them at 7/11 when I wasn’t digging through their dumpster for discarded HUSTLER magazines. But I don’t think I could eat one of these things now. I would probably get diabetes instantly. Like this would be my body’s final straw.

Reisens – Ive never found one good reason to eat a Reisens.

Rolos – This is like, maybe not old people candy but it sucks in earnest anyways. What a shit candy. When was the last time you saw someone purchase a Rolos on purpose? How does that candy survive in this economy?

Atomic Warheads – I am including this one because it is the opposite of old people candy. This is young man candy. This is the snapchat of candy. Imagine trying to explain Warheads to your grandparents. “its not like, good, its pretty gross, it hurts, but yeah.” They would just shake their heads and go back to watching price is right and voting for trump.

Orange and Black wrapped peanut chew things – These are revolting. I cant imagine a reason to eat one of these things. They are always what’s left over after you go through all the good shit you got on Halloween. They are the Mr Irrelevant of candy. Final pick in every draft. I wouldn’t give these to my dog. And he likes peanut butter but he deserves better. He deserves better.

Here is me and my dog this Halloween we are lumberjacks.

Candy Cigarettes – These are awesome. IDK if you can find these anywhere anymore but they were great. I loved the bubble gum ones bc you could actually blow like what looked like smoke out of them. They don’t sell these anymore if you want to be cool like we used to back then you have to do other things like vape and eat laundry detergent pods.

Dots on paper – What is the point of these? What is the point of that paper? That is just a waste of paper. Also you always end up eating paper. Eating paper! This is the CVS receipt of candy. This is a good candy to eat if you hate the environment. This candy makes Greta Thunberg upset.

Those Little Wax Soda Bottles – Idk if these are old ppl candy but I wanted to mention them bc I used to like these as a kid. Lemme sip a little of that green syrup then seal that bottle up for later. Gonna sip a little more of that action later. Love these things. Love chewing wax. I could go for one of these right now.

Necco Wafers – This is just old candy, not necessarily old people, its just fucking old. I love it though! Nice and chalky. Chalk one up for me. Except not the chocolate ones those are bad. But I can get down with a Necco wafer.

Tootsie Rolls – These are worthless. Let me ask you a question. What the hell is the flavor of a tootsie roll. Is it chocolate? It’s like some discount rack chocolate taffy and its not good at all its just irritating and don’t get me started on the different color ones like the orange tootsie roll just stop. It’s the 90s now. It’s time to grow up Gossip Girl.

Ok that’s all that I can think of right now. Let me know if I forgot something that you hate. I love hearing about things that you hate. Good n Plenty sucks and now I am like visibly angry about it.

Share this article with your friends who like candy. It will distract them from the upcoming civil war. Thanks! 

[thewritershelpers]

Prompt Challenge: Day 34

Using this article write a short story about the “weirdest fact” from your state or any state in the article. 500 word minimum.

View the competition FAQ, here! Submit to the February submission page, here! For competition rules and information, visit the original post here. You can also submit your own prompt ideas, here!

Deadline for submission is March 5, 2017.

Admin A Response:

Michigan Superman ice cream is the unofficial ice cream flavor of Michigan. It's an insanely-colorful treat with red, blue and yellow swirls and can differ in taste from ice cream shop to ice cream shop.

I have loved Superman ice cream all my life. I would say that it’s not a flavor you can entirely pin down but to me it usually tastes like bubblegum. I’ve also had versions that taste like cake batter, cotton candy, fruity pebbles, and sweet tarts. It wasn’t until I lived out of state that I realized it wasn’t a common ice cream flavor.

I was really craving superman ice cream one day after I got home from work. I told my room mate we should go try to find some. I was living in Ohio at the time but I was living with a girl from Georgia. She looked at me like I was crazy and started laughing. She thought I was joking. I told her it was a real thing and even looked it up online to show her. She asked me what it tasted like and I told her I’ve had a few different versions and explained which ones I’ve encountered. I also told her that just in my part of Grand Rapids there were several ice cream shops within a few blocks of each other that all sold superman and how all of them tasted different. They also have varying color combos, and mix-ins. I’ve had Superman with bubble gum pieces, cake, cake and icing, runts, and even pop rocks mixed in. This is just the pre-made ice cream too. This isn’t like a cold stone set up where you have those things added or a toppings scenario. It’s what comes pre-mixed into the ice cream.

I think the funniest part of our conversation was when she started asking questions about the ice cream. Why is it 3 bright colors? Why isn’t there an official flavor? Why the mix-ins? Most importantly why is it called superman? I really couldn’t answer any of these questions. I’d never thought about this. She said we could look it up but I told her I wanted to keep the mystery. We even went on a road trip across the Michigan/Ohio border and found a pint at a grocery store so she could try it. It’s weird thinking about the things you grow up around that take for granted until you realize that it isn’t the norm for everyone.

She then introduced me to two things that I’d never heard of. First was a fluffernutter sandwich. I’d never had one before and honestly thought she was making it up. She had the ingredients in the kitchen to make me one. A fluffernutter sandwich, if you’ve never heard of it, is a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich usually on white bread. She also told me how it was hard being a waitress in Ohio because where she’s from everyone calls soda coke. When she’d ask for drink orders she had to stop herself from asking people if they wanted a coke. The restaurant she worked in didn’t even have coke products. When someone would say yes to a coke she’d ask what kind which really confused the customer. After that conversation I started asking my other coworkers if they’d heard of superman ice cream and if there were any things from home that they didn’t realize were specific to their city or state. It’s a great conversation starter.

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Kawaii Box June 19

I don’t have much to say for this one, but I decided not to include the prices and such. I know I probably should but I don’t actually know if it serves any purpose...

Word of the month: Ma-meido - Mermaid

Chocobar Z & Marukawa Kirby Mix’n‘Match Gum

This is unusual, I’m beginning with the snack items first. For this month we got 2 of them, the Kirby Gum and a Special Surprise Treat, something they also did last month, but it was a bonus item rather than a snack. So this is an item I’m semi-familiar with, pretty sure I had one before.

This is pretty much a chocolate umaibo; but it’s not of the Umaibo brand and they have their own chocolate flavor. This reminds me a lot of it, but it has a bitter aftertaste and it’s much thicker. It also brings to mind a chocolate breakfast cereal, it’s pretty yummy. But I wasn’t able to locate it on Blippo.com.

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Our next item is a delicious Kirby packaged gum set. Basically you have so many flavors of gum that you can chew separately or mix to get a new flavor, as you can see by the pic.  

I had this years ago back when it first came out and it’s essentially the same, but I noticed right away that before it only had 4 flavors (Yogurt, Mystery, Apple, and Orange), and you could make a few of the same combinations, one of which was actually cola, which was removed because it’s is a flavor now, along with white grape/muscat and soda.

Of course, being a curious person I sat down and tested everything; and once I did I still had a good amount left over. Here was what I thought: 

Cola - a little tangy, tastes like cola candy.

White Grape/Muscat - normal muscat/WG candy, but my tongue felt like I had a little salt on it from this one. No idea why. 

Soda - typical ramune or soda flavor, very yummy, hard to mess up.

Orange - tastes like orange tic-tacs. I loved these when I was little.

Apple - a sweet apple, delicious~

COMBINATIONS

Soda + Apple = Champagne - It was unique but I’m not sure if I liked it or not. It confused me.

Soda + Cola =  Gingerale - Same as above, and I’m not sure it reminded me of gingerale either.

Soda + WG/Muscat = Melon Soda - A strong melon taste with a hint of grape! Very tasty.

WG/Muscat + Apple = Wine - Weird -_- but it tasted better over time.

Apple + Orange = A fruit mix? - I mostly taste orange and couldn’t tell what it was supposed to be.

Soda + Apple + Orange = Vitamin Drink - It was very tasty with a strong citrus flavor.

WG/Muscat + Apple + Orange = Pear - Like the gingerale one, I found it hard to tell if I liked it and if it tasted like what it was meant to be. This one felt a little more successful to me, but I was still unsure.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

None of the flavors tasted badly, I really like them. The flavor lasts for a bit, maybe like 10-15 minutes; and weirdly enough, every piece I spit out had a really pretty pearlescent color and they all came in a different color of the rainbow! I’d recommend these; especially if you like Kirby!

Round Neko Plushie Charm

(Sorry about the items in the background~)

Our next item is an adorable plushie charm based on a round kitty. They’re the purrrfect size to roll around in your hands and squish on when you don’t have a squishy available or just want something different. They also come in a variety of cute kitty colors and patterns and they are completely stuffed with filling.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

As cute as the kitty is I have to admit, the face detracts a fraction of cuteness away from it in my opinion, but I still think it’s very sweet looking. It’s decent looking in terms of sew job and if you like firm plush then I think this would be a good one to get; but I prefer squishier, softer plushies and if you look at the picture, doesn’t the whole thing feel a little unbalanced? It might be easier to see in person, but it kind of bothers me a little.

Dreamland Puffy Stickers & Mermaid Nail Stickers

I love panda bears, so I thought this pastel themed sticker sheet we got was very cute! Besides the panda we also have cute flowers and clovers, birds, and bubbles. Oh, and if you’re wondering they’re sadly not scented.

Rating: ♥ ♥ 

This bothered me, because I ADORED these. But they get a 1 or 2 out of 10 on the puffy scale, they have a very slight puff to them in appearance, but when you press them they’re very hard. I find them ultra-kawaii but if you’re looking for actual puffy stickers, then you’re not going to be satisfied with these.

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Besides adorable panda clovers, we also get a cute mermaid themed nail sticker set by Snow Fox. Specifically these are their 3D Design Nail Stickers, due to have a 3D element in the form of cute little diamond accents. These are perfect for summer or if you just like mermaids; I especially love how they look like Ariel.

So.. because I didn’t use these yet, I decided not to rate them. Also, I’m pretty sure they’re just like any other sticker; there isn’t much you can say about them and you could probably use them on other things if you wanted to.

Aiko Little Mermaid Face Towel

As of late we have been getting adorable exclusive Kawaii Box/Blippo.com goods featuring the adorable Aiko-chan~ They always fit the theme and they’re made in really good quality too, I love them and it’s such a nice touch to personalize the box more x3 But you can also buy them off of Blippo.com. 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

It’s on the smaller side, but it’s perfect for a hand and face towel/rag/wash cloth. The details are really nice, it’s spot-on with the theme, and it feels very soft, and it’s small size makes it very handy for putting into numerous things you might want to bring with you.

Little Twin Stars Key Cover

This item is a bit random (in my opinion) but it’s still cute! This is a Sanrio original item you just pop on over your keys to add a touch of adorableness every time you pop them out, and it includes a ball chain so if you don’t plan to use it for the intended purpose, you can just turn it into a cute charm or keychain. 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I like Little Twin Stars, but Lala has always been my favorite out of the two. I was a little disappointed I didn’t get her, but I still think they’re both really sweet and adorable. The chain is good and the key cover is made from rubber with really nice, but simple and bright detail. It even has molded on writing on the back for the branding that looks amazingly crisp and clean.

Our Little Mermaid Notebook & Puffy Narwhal Sticky Notes

To go with our theme, we have these 2 cute writing stationery items by Tree in Art; a gorgeous mermaid notebook, which I’m sure you can tell is a lot bigger than what we usually get in these boxes; I was surprised! And it came in a few variations, all with a lovely watercolor/pastel theme.

The paper is basic lined, nothing fancy, but it has Discover Your Senses written on the bottom of each sheet. I like how it seems to go with the image.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

So I know you can judge paper quality by doing various things or using various pens and coloring tools on them- but I don’t really know paper at all, so I can’t really do that. But I mean, I didn’t notice anything wrong with the paper the one time I’ve used it thus far, I wish the pages were a little more decorative though to match the outside.

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I don’t really know anything of the Tree in Art brand, but so far I’ve been liking what we get. It’s very soft and sweet looking, like this puckered lip narwhal sticky note set o3o

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I really like the detail they put into the backing of these, you can see it in the pic right? It’s a very cute touch to go with the very cute sticky note image. I could see these floating around quite quickly in the office or school among friends~

Also, these tear very easy. Not easy enough that they won’t stick to each other, but easy enough there’s no issues tearing them off.

Kawaii Jellyfish Pen

Our last item, and one of my most favorites in this months box is an adorable Jellyfish themed pen :D besides having a cute, simple design on the tube using various pastels and pink tones, there’s an adorable jellyfish charm hanging from the top, the main attraction! The jellyfish feels like a light plastic and has fabric strands as the tentacles; it can also be taken off if you wish to turn it into a keychain, or a charm for a necklace or something.

The pen is a fine tip, and these came in a few color variations if I recall.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I love love love it~ it’s so adorable and fun looking, and I love fine tip pens x3 you need to give them a few seconds to dry when using them, but they right so smoothly. It’s also really fun to use the pen and watch the jellyfish wiggle around on the tip.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 5 out of 5: I really liked this box, all the items were well-made and seemed thought out, and like usual we got a mix of things. I didn’t see any real quality issues or problems.

Theme - 4 out of 5: Only half of the box fit the mermaid/sea theme; but to be fair, the other half seemed to fulfill the fantasy side. Lately Kawaii Box has been confusing me with its themes and items, but I felt like this one was really obvious :3 perfect for summer too!

Total Rank: 9 out of 10 Cuties. Besides one or two little issues with a single item (and they were minuscule and only my opinion), I felt like this box really picked up the pace after the past two or three boxes. I liked them but with their confusing themes and lack of items fitting them, this one nailed it! Everything is really kawaii and fun, I’d recommend this box!

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Mermaid Notebook - I love the gentle colors and overall sweetness of the cover. I do wish the pages were a little more matching with it, but I still really like it.

2. Jellyfish Pen - it’s so cute the way it sways around~

3. Narwhal Sticky Notes - Very cute, I love how decorative the clear backing is to go with them.

4. Kirby Gum - I love Kirby, and I really did like this gum so it was really fun to experience how it changed over time.

5. Aiko Hand Towel - Perfect for the summer season x3 Aiko-chan looks so cute. 

6. Dreamland Puffy Stickers - Very sweet and cute, they give me a dreamy vibe that I love to look at them; but I was disappointed by the lack of puffiness.

7. Mermaid Nail Stickers - They’re so pretty, I’m a little afraid to use them~

8. Chocobar Z - It was delicious~

9. Neko Plushie - I was surprised by this because I love cats. But I don’t know, I just wasn’t feeling it.

10. Little Twin Stars Key Cover - it’s cute but I don’t know when I’ll use it and I feel like out of everything its the least practical for me.

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: TokyoTreat August 19

The other day I received what I assumed was my November NMNL box- but as it turns out, it was a REPEAT of my October box! I was so confused because I knew I already had this box, and as far as I know I wasn’t supposed to get a repeat. I contacted them, and according to what they found, the box I should have gotten was actually the November YumeTwins. Now, they are going to let me keep this box, as well as re-send the box I was supposed to get. So... I was thinking, instead of keeping it, I might do a giveaway :D

This months theme: Slice of SUmmer

“We hope you’ve been enjoying the summer weather where you live, we certainly are feeling the heat here in Japan! This month we wanted to bring you a box that conveys the feeling of summer in Japan and have brought together a number of fresh fruity flavors, and some salty savory treats as well! We hope you enjoy this month’s Slice of Summer TokyoTreat box!“ This month prize items include a few figurines and quality ramune candies, while the Lucky Treat is full on My Hero Academia and a couple other anime series. As you may notice in the picture, I got a brand new candy kit :3 so I’ll be covering this in a separate post.

Pepsi Refresh Shot

When you’re in need of a quick pick-me-up, this cute little Pepsi is just the drink you need! It features double the caffeine and a sweeter taste to give you the energy you need and a refreshed mind. ....I beg to differ though. It smells like an average Pepsi, but when I tried it out, it tasted like a stale or flat Pepsi <_< It wasn’t opened, nor did it expire until April, but I didn’t like it. I only had a small amount of it so I can’t say it did anything, and even when I had someone else try it they said the same thing. I didn’t finish it, but I did hang onto the can because I thought it was cute.

Mandarin Orange Gummies & Fruit Gummies

Our first item is an adorable cup of mandarin orange gummies. These are by the brand Kabaya and the entire cup is 158 calories. These gummies are made with fresh orange juice, and have the look and taste of a real mandarin orange! I have mixed opinions on these. I like mandarin oranges and they taste like them with a slight sweetness. The only problem is, due to the “injury“ my cup took, the lid was slightly peeled open and that caused the gummies to become hard (unless they were like that originally?). The gummies are still edible, but they’ve become tough and chewy and gummies like that are too much for my mouth to handle, I prefer the softer, smooth ones. But I find them pleasant enough to suck on until they soften. ------ I had bigger hopes for this next item, which I’ve seen a lot but never personally had before. They felt much softer in the bag, and for 81.7 calories I figured they’d be a good alternative. The fruits are chewy, but softer than the others. I know this will sound bizarre, but they reminded me of lemon hand or dish soap with juice from the fruit its supposed to be. I really liked the green apple/lime and strawberry ones, but the Pineapple was also really good. The only one that disappointed me was the grape one, because it had a weird taste.

Ramune Caramel Corn & Crab Biscuit 4-Pack

Not everything we got in this box was super-bright and colorful; for example, we have these two crispy-crunchy snacks! Our first one is ramune-flavored Caramel Corn by Tohato. Caramel Corn is a caramel sweetened corn puff snack that can be found in several unique flavors; like ice creams, drinks, desserts, etc. You can even find normal/original caramel corn with nut pieces or clusters inside, usually peanuts. The only downside about these is that the calories are very high; this entire bag is 415 calories! It’s also a very sweet snack, so they can begin to taste cloying after a while. If you never tried caramel corn I would still recommend it though because it’s really yummy and would make a great “sharing snack”. This ramune flavor is perfect for summer because it brings to mind a refreshing ramune drink you might get after a long day walking through summer heat, or maybe for the commute home. ------ To balance the overly flavored snacks and sweets, this month we also get a 4-pack set of cute sea animal themed biscuits. The biscuits are also on the thicker side, so you get a really nice crunch when eating them. Each bag is 73 calories, and you get a nice handful so I think they would be a nice little snack. The booklet mentions they have a slightly sweetened taste- but I couldn’t notice anything of the sort. They just taste like really thick animal crackers to me. I’m not a huge fan of plain biscuits, but I don’t hate them either. Like I said, they counter-balance all the sweetness we did get in the box, so in a way they’re kind of nice.

Salt and Lemon Kit Kats

Yep, you read that right- SALT and lemon kit kats :D It might sound a little strange, but I guess it depends on the person because I’ve seen salt and lemon mixed before, but when I showed these to my dad he found it to be really strange. And yes, they are kinda warped because heat likes to melt kit kats. Each mini-pack ss 63 calories. These unique kit kats feature a delicious white chocolate coating on the outside with a yummy lemon flavoring that brings to mind the meringue of a lemon pie, or lemon cereal pieces. The wafer contains the saltiness, and together, you get a creamy lemon with a slight sourness and salty after-taste; it feels like you get a simple, yet still complex flavor profile while eating these. I really like them!

Lemon Umaibo

To go with our lemon theme (or perhaps citrus would be more accurate?), we also have a LEMON umaibo! Usually Umaibo have a savory taste, so it’s always weird trying the sweet ones. I’ve only tried chocolate, apple pie (which didn’t taste too sweet if I recall), and sugar rusk, so lemon is a new experience. Each stick is 43 calories. As you can see, it looks like a plain umaibo. There wasn’t really any physical sign of a coating or flavoring on it. It’s very crunchy, and it actually tastes a bit like the kit kat, but not as salty or sour. It didn’t have a sour taste at all, it kind of reminded me of a salty lemon meringue pie. Which might sound weird, but when you actually try it, it’s not terrible.

Fruit Ramune Powder Candy & Strawberry Soft Serve

These next items brought some nostalgia to me. Our first one, the strawberry-shaped container is full of strawberry ramune (powder pressed) candies. It was available in strawberry, grape, or green/muscat grape! I love strawberry, but I also really like grape and muscat so I would have been happen with any of them honestly. Now the reason I found these nostalgic is because when I was little we had candy like this at all the stores that sold candy. They had powdered tablets like these, as well as little pellets, and just straight up edible powder. My mom’s grandma even collected the containers and had a display of them; I remember spotting them the few times I saw her as a child and just loving how colorful they looked~ These ramune candies are very soft, so when you put them in your mouth/liquid they turn into a dis-solvable mushy texture before disappearing. They’re light on the tongue and pretty sweet, but you don’t get a strong fruity flavor from them. ----- Meanwhile, the other item is also very familiar to one I would get as a child a lot; they were little wafer ice cream cones with marshmallow “ice cream“ on top. They still make them but as an adult I never really get them, even though my marshmallow obsession has grown since I was a kid. What makes this one special is that no only is it a regular sized cone, but the marshmallow is strawberry and sugary, and features a tangy jelly on the inside. Each one is 65 calories. So, while I was eating this I noticed something funny. There was something inside the cone moving. I bit into it and a bunch of white pressed sweet powder came out. It was very delicious, and it did make the rest of the stuff taste better (considering I only took a few bites of it, then let it sit for a few days).

Grape Ramune Candies & Pokemon Gum

One of the things I enjoyed about this box was how a lot of the snacks went together in some shape or form. If i wasn’t the flavor it was the textures, or in the above case nostalgia behind it. The next item is one I had before- but never in this flavor. I’ve had it in soda, strawberry, mixed fruit, and now this grape, which is one I never saw prior to getting it here. I really like these ramune candies, because they taste good, come in an adorable ramune-shaped bottle, and some even have cute little droplet characters on them. The lid is also really fun to pop! The entire bottle is 100 calories, and there is grape and muscat flavors, as noted by the 2 alternate colors. I like how these taste, but I will admit that the grape flavor tastes a little like grape medicine. The muscat one is really good, and has a bit of sour fizziness to it. ------ To go with those crunchy ramune candies, we also got some ultra-soft grape gum! Each stick is 22 calories. So far I’ve come to really like Japanese gum, it’s very smooth. This gum is sweet, but the grape flavor is really light. Like if I didn’t know what it was, I’m not sure I would have known what it was <_< but the flavor lasted for a while, so I’ll give it that.

Wasabi Chips & Texas Corn Salty

As the odd pair out I decided to save these last items. As you can tell they’re not fruit at all :D as much as I like sweets and fruity candies, I’ve come to find I love savory snacks (unless its fruity or chocolate pastry) way more, so I was very happy to see these and by this point I really wanted more salt/less-sugar. By Lucky Cone, we have a cute little bag of salty texas corn for 70 calories. They were definitely a good item to eat after trying everything else- but I was disappointed because they don’t taste like corn at all. I love Japanese corn snacks, while these just taste like salty puffed corn cereal. I didn’t hate them though. ----- Our final item is a bag of wasabi chips! Now these, I feel like I’ve tried before, but I have tried a couple up to this point so I can’t exactly confirm if these were one of them. Each bag is 359 calories, which is kind of a lot >3< but it’s not terrible if you ate the bag over the course of a few days/week, or shared it. As a person who only likes incredibly small amounts of wasabi (the overly strong mustard taste is a big turn-off for me), I always get a little uneasy about wasabi flavors since until you try them, you never know how much wasabi will be in there. You can’t smell the wasabi on the chips, but you can taste it. They’re not spicy at all (unless you eat several), but they do taste like wasabi. I really like these :3 I think they’re worth recommending if you’ve wanted to try wasabi but might have been too afraid of the real thing, or if you wanted to try to build up your wasabi-tolerance level, this might be a way to go.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 4.5 out of 5. After making so many complaints about repetition these prior boxes I was very glad to see that this wasn’t like them. As much as I prefer savory-sweet balance in boxes rather than one over the other, I did like the items, and I especially like getting cute containers. However, I feel like that even though we got several small items, I’m not sure it equals what we pay. I’m always iffy about that because I kind of have to “guesstimate“ prices. Quality - 5 out of 5. Everything was fine, with one item being barely damaged. But it was still edible and I’m not sure if it was my fault or maybe it happened during shipping. I almost opened everything about a week ago and snacking on it now as I write this, it all still tastes perfectly like it did upon opening. But other than 2 items, these aren’t re-sealable and will need some containers to keep fresh. Theme - 2 out of 5. I thought they kind of failed this time around. The theme was perfect for summer, but when I think of the beach I think of flavors like pineapple, mango, coconut (I hate coconut so I am thankful none of that was included), other fruits, and maybe grilled flavors. The mint, soda, and melon flavors were great for the theme to provide a refreshing and light taste, but I wish they had played that up some more. Total Rank: 6 or 7 out of 10. Lately the boxes are improving I think, I keep liking them more and more and I really loved this one (with the exception of the poteco rings and the DIY, they’re good but I’m just tired of seeing them!). The flavors are all very yummy, but the items correspondence with the theme needs some work. Let’s see if they do better next month with our last of the 3 summer boxes this year :3

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

1. Wasabi Chips - I never thought I would like wasabi-flavoring the most out of everything, but here we are.  2. Lemon Salt Kit Kats - They were amazing~! 3. Caramel Corn Ramune - Yummy, but I could never eat a lot of these at once DX they’re so unhealthy, and cloyingly sweet. 4. Strawberry Ramune Candy -  They’re good, but the strawberry flavor could be a little stronger.

5. Grape Ramune Candies - They weren’t as yummy as I thought they would be, but I did like them.  6. Texas Corn Salty - I was disappointed because the images and branding implied corn flavoring and I didn’t get that at all. 7. Umaibo Lemon - It was worth trying, but nothing special.   8. Mandarin Orange Gummies - I loved their flavor, but they are too hard >3< 9. Pokemon Gum - I loved its texture but I really wish the flavor was stronger. 10. Pepsi - If I really didn’t have anything else I’d have drank it, but I didn’t have much of a positive opinion on it.  11. Fruit Gummies - They were good, but they could have been better?  12. Strawberry Soft Serve - When it was fresh it was delicious, but having sat, it kinda lost its quality. It was expected, but. . .  13. Crab Biscuits - They’re fine, but they were really bland. I can appreciate the difference they bring to the mix, but this would have been better with the prior box.