Posted on 8 Comments

TWiP: Minty fresh

This Week in Pictures (TWiP) at Polka Dot Cottage

Looking through this week’s pictures, I see a pepperminty theme. I started out the week in Saratoga Springs (I told you about that last week) during which time I had three Irish Cream Peppermint Lattes at Saratoga Coffee Traders. The first one was beyond delicious. The other two didn’t quite live up, but they were still pretty good.

I am not usually a big latte drinker, so I think maybe I overdosed a bit. The hotel served free coffee and tea all day in the lounge, and near the end of our trip I found myself more drawn to the herbal teas (particularly the peppermint) than to the coffee. It seems I reached my coffee saturation point.

Even since I’ve been home, I’ve been limiting my coffee intake. One cup in the morning (if that) and no desire for any more during the day. What’s really floating my boat right now is Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Green Tea. It’s a seasonal thing, but I love it, and I bought four boxes last Christmas. I’m still working on them, although I’ve made a serious dent in my supply this week.

I can’t put my finger on what makes this particular tea so delicious, but it’s really quite good. Probably the best mint-based tea I’ve ever had. In fact, I’m going to stop typing now and refill my mason jar 🙂

So, what is This Week in Pictures?

It’s a roundup of the photos I shot with my DSLR for Project 365 (one image each day for all of 2015), plus some phone snapshots I posted on Instagram during the previous week.

Ready? Cast your mind back to this time last week…

Saturday

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365: 2015 311/365 – I left my less-than-enthusiastic kids in the hotel and walked into town for some local shopping. When my bags got tiresome to carry, I sat on a park bench and enjoyed an Irish Cream & Peppermint Latte. It was really quite good! [in Saratoga Springs, NY]

Sunday

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365: 2015 312/365 – We took separate cars for our weekend away (as we often do, for various practical reasons). The boys and I were home by 3:00, and Neil came rolling in six hours later.

Monday

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365: 2015 313/365 – Sometimes when I leave my daily photo until after dark, I just don’t feel like going to the effort required to make it an interesting shot. For example, this image, while accurately portraying my progress with my current knitting project, does nothing to convey how cozy my evening is about to be, sipping peppermint tea, catching up on some Masterpiece Classic, and finishing up the neck of this vest.

Tuesday

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365: 2015 314/365 – I love rainy Fall days, especially when I have nowhere to go and can spend all day curled up in my comfy pants and heavy sweater, reading or doing something crafty… Today, though, I had a lot of places to go, and I got plenty damp in the process. Even so, I found the rain rather charming. [taken with my phone]

Wednesday

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365: 2015 315/365 – I made cranberry bread this afternoon using my mother’s recipe. I don’t always have a lot of luck with cranberry bread, but this is the best loaf I’ve ever made! So delicious with a bit of cream cheese on top…

Thursday

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365: 2015 316/365 – This morning hundreds of birds flew through my yard (as they do every year at this time) on their way to someplace warmer. They were unbelievably loud, (and a little too Hitchcockian for me to want to stay outside with them for long).

Friday

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365: 2015 317/365 – Our 22-year-old microwave bit the dust this week, and today we got a new one. As always happens when I get something new, I start looking at everything around it with a critical eye. I’m now thinking that old, impossible-to-get-clean-anymore toaster oven’s days are numbered… Also, I’d be lying if I said the idea of an entire kitchen makeover hadn’t crossed my mind. Actually, that idea has crossed my mind every year since we moved in here. In 1997.

Thanks for taking a peek at this week’s photos! If you want to see this stuff as it happens, please feel free to follow me on Flickr and/or Instagram.

I may already have plans to blog about some of these things in greater detail over the coming week, but be sure to leave a comment if there’s something in particular you want to know about!

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Posted on 8 Comments

8 thoughts on “TWiP: Minty fresh

  1. I always look forward to your pictures! Peppermint tea…sounds wonderful! There are some lovely places in New York…if only it wasn’t so darn cold. 🙂

    1. I agree about the cold! (Although, it’s not a lot better here in New Jersey…) Last weekend was great, though. The first two days were in the mid 60’s, and the last two days were in the low 50’s, which I appreciated because it meant I could wear one of my sweaters 🙂

  2. I’m just itching to try that cranberry bread recipe. I was going to when I assumed it was dried cranberries and then saw it was fresh and got much more excited than I had a right to.
    On another note- I just picked up a “new” 1976 toaster over from the Goodwill with everything that came with it in immaculate condition for $12. And with older vintage appliances they can often be repaired for a very long time (and are more reliable).
    Love you blog, thanks for sharing!
    Stacie

    1. Fresh cranberries! I just ate my last slice for breakfast this morning, and I still have some more cranberries left. I think another loaf is calling my name… 🙂

  3. I do love a bit of peppermint!! Sounds like a yummy week!!

    1. It was 🙂 Can’t go wrong with peppermint!

  4. OOOH, I agree about the birds! Saw that movie too young, I think!

    1. I never saw the whole movie, but I saw bits and pieces of it as a kid, and that was enough. I still remember the phone booth scene. Ack.

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