Sippin' Saturday - Dutch Bros. Italian Sodas

Did you know that Dutch Bros. makes italian sodas? Neither did I until a coworker mentioned it to me. So of course I had to try! Pictured below is a strawberry soda with whipped cream (which makes a huge difference). It was amazing! Super sweet and very strawberries-and-cream. I haven't been adventurous enough to try any of their other many, many flavours, but I'm going to have to branch out soon. Another perk is that they are (at least to my knowledge) caffeine free.

Do you have any recommendations of drink combinations I should try at Dutch Bros?

Funky Friday - Complex Rainbow Zig-Zag Friendship Bracelet

It's been a while since I've made a friendship bracelet, but I find them to be a lot of fun! This particular friendship bracelet was made with the pattern located here. It's a pretty complex one to do, but it's a lot of fun if you understand the basic mechanics of friendship bracelet making.

The first steps are by far the hardest!

 The finished product!

What's your favorite friendship bracelet pattern?

Sipping Saturday - Starbucks Cold Buster

It's cold season - ew. A couple of week ago I caught a cold and, curious, googled around to see if there was a drink perfect for this situation. Turns out there is. On Starbuck's hidden menu is something called the "cold buster". According to starbuckssecretmenu.net, this drink is made with steamed lemonade, jade citrus mint tea, peach tranquility tea, honey, and peppermint.

Pros: This definitely works to clear your sinuses. The mint especially helps clear thing up, and the tea is soothing for a sore throat.

Con: The steamed lemonade made this drink a bit sour, so I couldn't finish it. Mint and lemon are also a weird combination. Perhaps just getting the teas would be better next time.

From the outside, it looks pretty much like any other Starbucks drink.

But look how pretty the tea bags are!

Have you ever tried something off of the Starbucks secret menu? Or, do you have a better Starbucks drink to bust a cold? I'd love to hear about it!

Funky Friday - Easy Jewelry Organizer

I don't know about you, but if I don't have my jewelry out in plain view, I forget to wear it. However, keeping it piled on the bathroom counter isn't an ideal way to do this. So I made a super cheap and super easy jewelry organizer! Yes, there are much prettier versions out there, but my time (and money!) were more valuable to me when thinking of a way to do this.

Supplies Needed
1. Clear thumbtacks
2. Lace ribbon

Steps
1. Use the thumbtacks to pin the lace ribbon in a zig-zag pattern. I got my ribbon for super cheap (less than $1 including shipping) via eBay.
2. Pin a row of tacks below the lace ribbon, about 1 1/2 inches apart.
3. If desired, pin a second row of tacks below the first, staggered to be in between the first row.
4. Hang up your jewelry! Earrings get pinned through the lace ribbon and necklaces (and bracelets if desired) get hung from the thumbtacks.

Miscellaneous Monday - Monster's Inc Tsum Tsum Photo Shoot

So I have a bunch of Tsum Tsums (because, um, they're adorable), but they don't do much other than sit on my shelf. So... I held a photo shoot! For two of them, at least. Mike and Sulley got to once again join the scare floor. So without further ado...

Sippin' Saturday - The Sugar Factory

Last weekend my roommates and I took a weekend trip to Las Vegas. It was a ton of fun - we got a lot done in just under two days! I'll probably post about it on my travel blog Jet Set Annette. But for today, I'm going to share with you a couple of amazing milkshakes we got at The Sugar Factory, which is located in Planet Hollywood.

Their milkshakes are a-ma-zing! They do cost around $9, which is a bit steep for a milkshake, but if you're in the Las Vegas area, I definitely recommend checking it out! I'm going to rate the three we tried from least-favorite to most-favorite. Keep in mind the least-favorite was still pretty darn good!

The Fluffer Nutter
This milkshake is made of combinations of chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow. It's amazing but very rich. Think uber-Reese's, with marshmallows added in!

The Chocolate Cookie Jar

This one tastes like an Oreo milkshake, but more flavorful. It's not as rich as the Fluffer Nutter (but still intensely delicious). Sorry about the half-finished milkshake in the picture - I couldn't get my roommates to wait for my milkshake to be finished before theirs was almost finished. :P

The Barbie

This one was my favorite. It's a strawberry and marshmallow-fluff milkshake with pink rock candy on top. It was soooo good, plus it wasn't too rich that you couldn't finish it. I forgot to mention earlier, these milkshakes still have chunks of goodies in them, and they're served with a giant straw. So this one has chunks of strawberries that just add to the deliciousness. (I don't have a picture of this one, because it was too delicious to wait for a picture.)

Sippin' Saturday - Cups and Crepes

Welcome to Sippin' Saturday, where I review new drinks I've tried. :)

Last Saturday my roommate, my sister, and I went to a local place called "Cups and Crepes", which sells coffee and crepes. The food was amazing, but the service was lackluster. Here are two of the drinks they serve (and they serve much more than this - we didn't even venture near the dozens of flavor Italian sodas they make).

Monkey Mocha Latte

Chocolate and banana! This tastes like you melted "Chunky Monkey" ice cream into coffee. A combination  I haven't seen before, but it was soo good. :)

Hazelnut Frappe

This was also amazing. An offering we really wish was available elsewhere, so we could get it more often. My non-coffee loving friend liked the flavor, but it was still too "coffee" for her. Personally, I would love to try a hazelnut mocha... a "Nutella" coffee.

Look at these! Aren't they gorgeous? They were yummy too.

Any recommendations for beverage (or crepe) places I could visit in the Phoenix area? What's your favorite coffee shop and/or beverage?