Just a little mug swap...

Some weeks, you get so behind you think you are never going to get caught up. That's where I've been. But I'll get there. One of these days. Finally. Maybe. Right?

A few weeks ago, I had a ball joining in with The Java Mama (aka Becky)'s mug swap! It's no secret I'm a total coffee nut, so the chance to  make a new friend, shop and get a new mug was too fun to pass by!

Becky herself was my partner, and she sent me the cutest owl mug stuffed with goodies. I loved the hot chocolate mix - and have been saving the chocolate spoon for Thanksgiving break - and tomorrow, I am going to enjoy it!

Check out the mug I sent Becky on her post here! Happy early Thanksgiving, and I'll talk to y'all soon!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Happiness is a red cup...

There's something about the calendar flipping to November, pulling out the first sweaters of the year, and heading to Starbucks to find that the red holiday cups have made their debut.

It makes me so happy. I smile. I instagram the heck out of my cute little cup. And then I drink my non-fat peppermint mocha as I turn into an incredibly happy holiday person.

It's not just me, is it? Tell me you love the red cups too. Please?

I may or may not be ready to buy my Starbucks holiday ornament for the year. I love the red cup ornaments and how they are different every year. One day I'll have a tiny Christmas tree on my desk at work, full of cute little Starbucks ornaments. :-)

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Sunday morning thoughts...

Happy Sunday morning, y'all….

I've got a lot of posts in the works, but it's a quiet morning at our house so far, and I'm enjoying coffee and listening to the laundry and dishes get clean.

It felt like the perfect time to actually sit down and write a little bit, so here I am. My sweet husband and  pup are curled up under the covers still asleep. They are definitely enjoying Daylight Savings Time already. Watching the two of them early in the morning is definitely one of the cutest things ever, that's for sure. And I totally envy how easy it is for both of them to roll over and go back to sleep whenever they want. I do not have that as a skill, sadly.

I'm ready for the laundry to be done so I can put my favorite sweatpants back on. I've worn them as PJs every night for the last 5 nights already, so I thought they may need a night off. I live in them during the winter.

It's taking everything in me not to start decorating for Christmas just yet. The weather is cool, and I just don't have a lot of Thanksgiving decorations. Mr. Jones' was a Thanksgiving birthday, so when we got married it was all about "respecting the turkey" but now… now we usually both give in and start decorating early because we love it so very much.

I'm extra excited for decorating this year, because for the first time we will have our separate Disney-themed tree. Few things excite me more. It's going to be so much fun. I just have to figure out where it will go….

This weekend has been a lazy one so far at our house. We've got church in a few hours - we HAVE to get back in the habit of going. We've been bad. And there might be a little landscaping in our future as well. But yesterday we watched lots of episodes of The West Wing, and I cleaned out my part of the DVR while I did laundry and cleaned up our room. It was heavenly.

Here's to the first lazy weekend in months and months. It's been good for our souls…

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Ode to Salted Caramel Mocha...

My coffee addiction is no secret around these parts. But I've found a new twist on my daily coffee made at home with my lovely Keurig Vue.

It is heavenly. 

It is inexpensive.

It is addictive. 

It is International Delight's Salted Caramel Mocha.

Yeah. So. About that.... go buy some. If you are any kind of coffee treat drinker like I am, you'll fall in love. I've already finished one bottle and am working on my second. I can't get enough.

Just wanted to share the coffee love....

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

A perfect morning Vue...

To wrap up my Keurig Vue house party, I even took the Keurig into the office for a day! I offered special tea to my boss and her friends, and even had our "big boss" sample the Italian roast. He was really pleased!

I don't have pictures of everybody, because I don't really want to post work people/stuff, but I have a few shots to show you! It was a lot of fun to extend this house party to another location and day! I love sharing the coffee/Keurig love!

I'm a Keurig girl for life now, that's for sure! Happy Thursday, y'all!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

A little Vue-riety...

Since I shared about getting my Keurig Vue from Keurig and House Party already, I wanted to review a few of the Vue packs I've gotten to try!

Since this is a new product, everything hasn't hit my stores. I'm currently hunting the Barista Prima Cafe Mocha packs and the  Donut Shop Sweet & Creamy Iced Coffee. If I don't find them soon, I'll be finding a way to order them instead!

I immediately picked up a pack of my current favorite coffee the week my Vue brewer arrived. Breakfast Blend by Green Mountain Coffee is one of my go-to coffees in the morning! I love it. It's not too dark or strong for me. Throw some Stevia, ice and creamer in it, and it's the perfect blend for an iced coffee too. :-)

My party pack from House Party? It was massive. One of the best I've seen, and I got to offer my friends so many different options at the "official" House Party!

They sent SIX packs of Vue packs for us to try, including:

Donut Shop Coffee's Medium Roast

Celestial Seasonings Southern Sweet Tea Perfect Iced Tea

Barista Prima's Italian Roast

Gloria Jean's Coffee's Hazelnut Blend

Green Mountain Coffee's Iced Nantucket Blend

Barista Prima's Cappuccino

The cappuccino is awesome. My sister-in-law loved it, but we both had to add a little bit of sweetener. I'm not an iced tea fan, but a few ladies at my office enjoyed trying that.

My favorite right now is the Donut Shop Coffee, and second place is probably the Iced Nantucket Blend. I'm in love!

What is your favorite coffee? Are you interested in the Keurig Vue?

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Important to note: As I said, Keurig and House Party provided me with all of these items for free. But you are getting my honest opinion on these products (as always!)

A spectacular Vue...

I was beyond ecstatic a few weeks ago when I found out I was one of 2,000 selected to host a House Party for Keurig's new Vue Brewer. Y'all know my coffee obsession. This just made it even worse, because it is an AMAZING addition to my kitchen. Plus? This $250 coffee maker was NOT in my budget, so House Party and Keurig giving me one to try for free? Totally awesome. I'm grateful.

Even the big brown box got me excited to see what was inside! And boy, did it live up to the hype! It's certainly a beautiful little thing, isn't it?

What I love the most about the Keurig Vue is the custom brew technology they put in place. It's completely digital, and you can choose to brew stronger coffee, larger coffee (there are Vue packs specially made to brew a bigger cup at the correct strength), hotter coffee, and a bigger variety of drinks.

There are three main settings, and I've used two of them so far. You can brew coffee like normal. But there are settings for tea, speciality cafe drinks, cocoa and iced beverages. Talk about awesome!

This was the first box I got from Keurig - my House Party package came later, and I'll share that in another post. But WHEW! I was excited.

Do you have a Keurig? Which one? I have had two Keurigs in the last four years. The Vue upgraded from a B40 elite, which was only a year old. I'm taking it to the office so I have great coffee there now as well!

More on my House Party and the Vue soon....

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Important to note: As I said, Keurig and House Party provided me with all of these items for free. But you are getting my honest opinion on these products (as always!)

Adventures in caffeination...

It's no big secret around here that I am a huge Starbucks fanatic. But I've also been looking to save some money so I can do a few other things, and lately, I've found a non-$5-a-pop solution. :::cue the cheers:::

So these little beauties arrived - the bittersweet mocha sauce is awesome. I've been experimenting with K-cups, espresso and more - like syrups - to make the perfect coffee, and I'm happy to report, I've only been to Starbucks three times in the last two weeks. That's a miracle.

What do you think about my adventures in caffeination? I'm pretty proud, and enjoying the ride.

My favorite is a Breakfast Blend K-cup with one pump of mocha sauce, one Stevia pack, chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes, then iced with Natural Bliss french vanilla creamer.

***

There are still some awesome giveaways going on over at Neely's blog:

Emily is giving away a $20 gift card to Starbucks here.

Brook is giving away a precious prize pack including a Target gift card here.

Robin is giving away a $30 gift card to Target here.
Tyler is giving away a girls night in package here.
Heather is giving away a precious necklace here.
Angela is giving away a Thirty-One prize here.

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That's all for now! I hope everyone's weekend is off to a fabulous start. I'd better get back to cleaning.

XOXO,

Mrs. Jones

Happy Red Cup Season...

It's the most wonderful time of the year. I've had two red cups this week. Yay, Starbucks. I have not, however, tried the SKINNY (yes, did you hear me? SKINNY!) peppermint mocha yet. But I will be soon... that's a brilliant invention, so thank you Starbucks!

I know I'm supposed to "respect the turkey" and all that jazz, but really, I don't. If my sweet husband's birthday weren't on Thanksgiving, I'd already be decorating for Christmas. But he loves Thanksgiving. So I do too. Kind of. My biggest celebration comes on Thanksgiving night, when Christmas season has officially begun. Anyone else feel the same way?

That's all for now.

XOXO,

Mrs. Jones

It feels like cheating...

You all know what a Starbucks addict I am. Like, big time. My favorite baristas know my hot and cold drinks, that it's ALWAYS a venti, and they even keep up with my family goings-on. I love it.

But in preparation to head out of town last week, I found something new. Gasp. I know. I really did. And part of it is being somewhere with no Starbucks, but the other part is a knowledge of JUST how much money I'm saving. Instead of $5 a day, I can drink two of these and spend about $.50....

So, I feel like I'm cheating on my lovely Starbucks and my favorite mocha light Frappuccino.

But with what, you ask? With Starbucks Iced Via!

It's cheap, easy, and I enjoy it a lot. Maybe now I'll have a little extra money.... but don't think I won't be getting some normal Starbucks as well! (Ahem, husband!!!)

XOXO,

Mrs. Jones