Steaz Iced Teaz Rocks the Canned Iced Tea Market

My favorite bottled/canned tea beverage brand changed this past year. I still enjoy the occasional Nantucket Nectars brand tea or half & half but now mostly enjoy the Steaz brand selection of teas.

I enjoy the fact that they have a less intrusive sweetness to their teas. They actually state on the cans that they are "lightly sweetened". Sugar, however, is still the second ingredient listed. The flavor I go for most often is the lime pomegranate white tea. I would rank all the flavors I have tried in the following order: 1. lime pomegranate, 2. blueberry pomegranate acai, 3. unsweetened lemon, 4. lemon, 5. mint, 6. peach.

Naturally they are available at Whole foods and other local whole foods stores. If you ask them, one of the crew at Whole Foods will pull a case of 12 for you, when they have them from the back. The usually keep them loose in an open refrigeration case near fresh baked good and prepared foods. Amazon has a case available for $19.30 that qualifies for free shipping. I think I pay around $1.40 a can at Whole Foods.

Discover Great Clifton Webb Film Series

Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell is the third and final film of the Belvedere series. The members of the retirement home steal the movie from Mr. Webb, who is no slouch. Despite few locations, the staging of the scenes with multiple characters is very engaging. This is another example of being unxepectdly being sucked in by a film airing on TCM.


Mr Belvedere Goes to College (1949) - Sorority house / 2nd film in the series

Visit From Christmas Trees Past

A fresh-cut tree with a woodland theme stays fresh with water from a plastic bucket placed in a faux bois flower pot.

Rabbits, though off topic, are good for Christmas too. One year I created a woodland setting inside of a built-in china cabinet. When the glass doors were closed, the woodland creatures appear to be looking over the festive room.

This large bottle brush style tree came from a stationary store. The glittery tree is retro and modern at the same time and requires no ornaments.

Rabbits again! I keep these German candy containers out - almost - year round. They look great with red and green.

I was not always a fan of the feather trees because of the lack of lights. However, I overcame the lack of lighted sparkle by adding all white and silver ornaments to shimmer by day in the natural winter light. By night, they shimmer in the candle light.

This slender artificial tree is a theme tree in the extreme. The tree is plastered with vintage Muppet ornaments and some new ones by Christopher Radko.

Sadie and Jasper Play

Sadie and Jasper Play
Originally uploaded by Chadwick Land

Here is an example of how they are currently interacting with each other. Jasper is nine-weeks-old here.

Two Dachshunds Continue the Bonding Process

Sadie and Jasper watch and protect the top of the stairs.

My two darling dogs, one a puppy going on nine-weeks-old and one an adult going on four-years-old, continue with the ups and downs of becoming a two dog household. They are not best buddies yet but I can hope for that as the end result. Sadie plays with him but is not too rough even when he bites her with his sharp puppy teeth. These teeth snap and close shut like those of a baby alligator.

Jasper the Dachshund Puppy in the Pumpkin Patch

It was windy and cold outside, however, I managed to take a couple of cute shots. He is growing quickly and his older sister, Sadie, is teaching him a thing or two about taking her toys away.

Jasper as Count von Dracula

He wears the smallest vampire costume from the Martha Stewart Pets line available at PetSmart.

The costumes were on sale reduced down to 75% off their original price.

For the sale price of around $4.00, the costume was an inexpensive pet indulgence.