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Starbucks Year of the Dragon Seasonal Drink?

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No, there isn’t one of these, but could there be? I’d be interested in a Starbucks seasonal drink associated with the Lunar New Year aka Chinese New Year. The drink wouldn’t necessarily have to represent each of the twelve Zodiac animals. That’s just too many drink recipes that will span 12 years – too long. No, one seasonal drink with a custom cup design will do. I believe Starbucks does have A Year of the Dragon collectible mug already.

Or would this promotion come too quickly on the heels of the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasonal drinks? Would seasonal drink fatigue set in? Possibly.

Maybe the drink would be a custom tea drink, not necessarily coffee. Just an idea. On the other hand, how appealing would this seasonal drink be during the Year of the Rat (2020) or Year of the Pig (2019)? Hmm, 2016 is the Year of the (Red Fire) Monkey and that would be interesting!

My First Pair of Air Force 1

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For all my years of collecting and wearing kicks, I’ve never owned a pair of Nike Air Force 1’s. Yep, it’s true. The closest I got was my pair of the Air Force 1 and Air Jordan 3 fusion, aka the AFJ3 but never the classic AF1.

Back in 2007, I thought that would be my AF1 breakout year with the focus on the Round Mound of Rebound, Charles Barkley. But I never pulled the trigger.

Most recently, the Year of the Dragon AF1 caught my eye. Its design is clean and simple and ethnic. But then I learned this was a Quickstrike, not a general release. That means waiting in line for the hopes of getting a pair. And did I mention the $200 price tag?

So I passed on the AF1 YotD, but a funny thing happened. I came across the new AF1 Camo (as in camouflage). Available in black or an olive green “cargo khaki,” the images of these AF1s stuck with me. The colors are still somewhat muted but that camo pattern is unmistakable. I couldn’t get these out of my head. Even better, they’re a general release, costing half of the Year of the Dragons. So I got them.

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And wow, they don’t disappoint. The cargo khaki colorway is greener than they look on Nike’s site but in a good way. There’s definitely some character with these kicks, and I am pleasantly surprised.

The Gluttony of Living Social

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The deals offered by services like Groupon and Living Social can’t be beat that’s for sure. But once you engorge yourself with so many great deals, you face the gluttony of redeeming these deals, especially when the expiration dates come rolling around.

At Office Max, I bought 3000 labels to use a $10 coupon. Over the weekend, dinner at CPK (with another coupon) was followed by dessert at Cold Stone Creamery ($10 discounted). All the while, I was wearing one of the many shirts ordered from Threadless.com.

So yeah, getting deals is great since you feel like you’re saving money. But soon enough, when you commence your spending binge, you’ll feel the gluttony of living social.

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Free Blonde Roast

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When you go to Starbucks for “The Roast You Love the Most” tasting, be sure to ask for a free sample bag of the Blonde Veranda Roast. It’s not just grounds to make one cup, rather you can make a small pot of blonde coffee with the sample.

You also get a coupon for $1 off the entire Blonde product line.

And as I was reminded, the lighter the roast, the more caffeine is retained. So, the Blonde Roast has a higher caffeine content compared with the medium and dark roasts. The Blonde will definitely pep you up.

Have You Sampled the Blonde Roast Yet?

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Today officially starts the Starbucks tasting where you can sample the spectrum of the (new) blonde, medium, and dark roast coffees. And if you pick blonde as your favorite, you can take some home for later.

What’s your favorite? Right now, I’m fascinated with the blonde Veranda, mainly because it’s a different taste. I still haven’t sampled the other blonde, the “multi-dimensional” Willow Blend.

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Who Knew I Preferred Blondes?

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Lighter-bodied and mellow that gently awakens the senses? Yes, that’s for me. Of course, we’re talking about the latest from Starbucks – the Blonde Roast. The Veranda and Willow Blends are hitting the stores and starting tomorrow until Saturday, Starbucks is letting you sample their blonde, medium, and dark roasts of coffee to see which one you like best.

I wandered in today to get my free coffee and tried out the Veranda Blend. Who knew, but I prefer the blonde roast. Maybe I’m a coffee lightweight or maybe I already had enough coffee during the day, but the Veranda was easy to drink, not bitter or acidic. Its mellow flavor profile is a welcomed addition to give more variety to the basic brew. The rest of my free January will be dedicated to blondes.

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Signs of Hawaii: Leonard’s Bakery

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If you’ve been in the Kapahulu area, you’re very familiar with this sign and the pink boxes that frequently leave this establishment. Of course, we’re talking Leonard’s Bakery and their cannot-resist malasadas.

You don’t have to wait long for your malasada fix since they aren’t made to order – they’re made continuously! And it’s only a rumor that they have Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me blaring in the kitchen as the malasadas are being “sugared up.”

Filled, flavored, but must be enjoyed while warm, the malasadas from Leonards are the greatest! Are you drooling? I am. Eating just one is a crime, especially if you’re at the bakery. Custom courtesy is to eat at least two, maybe even three. 🙂

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Air Jordan 11 Madness

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#23. December 23, 2011. Air Jordan 11 retro. Concords. Black patent leather. The release date for the most iconic Air Jordan has been on every shoe head’s calendar.

Leading up to the release, original design sketches were released by The Architect, Tinker Hatfield. All MJ wanted was a shiny shoe.

Then, December 23, the clock hits midnight, the shoe drops virtually and physically.

Pandemonium. Across the nation, fights and riots ensue to own the Concords. By now, you’ve seen the news reports.

Online, you felt the Nike servers melt under the onslaught.

You wondered, “What does a blank checkout screen really mean?  Did the order go through?” Nike.com is inaccessible.  In an instant, the holy grail of kicks is no more. Good try. Move on. Catharsis.

And then…

Tinker made them shine. Mike made them fly. You made them iconic.
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“Free” Coffee from Starbucks

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Did you manage to get one of those special Twelve Days of Christmas tumblers from Starbucks? The special on Day 12 of this promotion was a $20 tumbler that gets you free brewed coffee for all of January 2012. Yes, bring the 16-oz tumbler into Starbucks and get it filled for free!

At $1.70+ for a grande coffee, this tumbler can surely pay for itself soon enough. It’s the cup that keeps on giving (well, during January anyways).

I managed to get one after giving up on it. I slept on this deal, not planning on getting to a Starbucks early to buy one. I didn’t realize quantities of this tumbler were very limited with just a few allocated to stores. I went to one Starbucks at around 7:30am and asked about the tumblers. They said they sold out a long time ago. I then started calling every Starbucks on the Leeward side. Most laughed when I asked about the tumblers, saying they sold out “hours ago.” So I gave up on my hunt.

Then after work, I told my wife about the tumbler. She happened to see one at Starbucks Kaneohe while buying gifts there. I called and sure enough, they amazingly had one remaining. They held the cup for me so now I’ll be enjoying free Starbucks coffee to kick off 2012!

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