Forever 21 jewelry

The Forever21 store on the upper level of the Town Square Mall in Boise is known for its’ trendy clothing and reasonable prices. You can always find a cute top, skirt, dress or sweater.   It is located in a corner store with display windows on two sides filled with mannequins wearing great eye-catching outfits aimed at shoppers basically within the high school to 30 something age.  There is a section of the store that is especially fun to check out. When you enter, go to the right and you will find a separate room with jewelry, purses,  and other accessories.  There are white framed and lighted jewelry display cases on the walls. Glass bowls contain interesting bracelets and floor displays are filled with earrings.  The floor is covered with large black and white squares.  Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling and Lucite candelabras sit on the white ornate tables.   After looking through this nicely decorated area and the many jewelry choices available, I decided to buy some bracelets –a gold colored bracelet threaded with black string, one with turquoise colored triangles, and a set of three bracelets in black, gold and silver.  The great thing is that each one cost less than $10, so adding new pieces to your jewelry collection is affordable and fun!

Forever21 bracelets: $6.80-$8.80

Pier 1 Imports cloth napkins

If you are tired of the look of the same old paper napkins on your dinner table, using cloth napkins can give a nice pop of color and interest to your place settings.  While shopping at Pier 1 imports I came across some cloth napkins I really liked for the design and bright colors of red, aqua, yellow, white and a green color that matches the color of my dinner plates.  Set up the table with place mats and   your new napkins and maybe a vase of fresh cut flowers from your garden.  A lunch of grilled shrimp and a green salad with heirloom tomatoes would be delicious!  If you like iced tea with your meal, try this recipe:

Lemon/Almond Iced Tea—In a  glass pitcher combine brewed  tea, three or four dashes of almond extract and one container of frozen (thawed) lemonade.  Add one container of water. Stir well and serve over ice.  Enjoy!

                                   

Cloth napkins:. Pier 1 Imports   $3.95

Treasure Valley Coffee / Roastere’ brand

I have driven by Treasure Valley Coffee many times and have been able to smell the delicious aroma of freshly roasted coffee.  But, this week I finally stopped and went in to check it out.  The Treasure Valley Coffee Company sells  their own Roastere’ brand coffee.  They are a gourmet coffee and gift shop and also sell espresso drinks, blended espresso drinks, tea, baked goods, breakfast items, bagels, soup and bread and other items.  You can have coffee there or you can buy a bag of whole bean coffee to take home.  They sell more than 100 of the world’s finest varieties made from hand-picked Arabica coffee beans.  Free coffee samples are available in thermal coffee servers sitting on the counter.  After trying several, I decided that I liked the Sawtooth blend.  The clerk waiting on me gladly ground the whole coffee beans into a medium grind which would be perfect  for most drip coffee makers.  A course grind would be good for percolators and French presses, a fine grind for cone-shaped drip filters and a very fine grind for espresso machines.  You can make your choice of coffee based on your preference for light or dark roast, flavored or decaffeinated coffee or place of origin. 

After enjoying your coffee and maybe a snack, take a look around the gift shop and buy a new mug, coffee maker or any other coffee related item.  If it is a nice day you can enjoy your coffee on the outside patio.  On the day I was there a few people were gathered outside having their coffee in the cool morning air.  The Treasure Valley Coffee Company is located at 11875 President Drive in Boise.  Their hours of operation are: Monday thru Friday 6:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and on Saturday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.  Website: tvcoffee.com

I took my bag of Sawtooth blend coffee home and brewed a pot right away.  It was delicious!  Then I decided to bake a coffee cake to go along with it, because what is a cup of coffee without  a coffee cake- right?  I will share my recipe with you and hope you enjoy it!

Peach Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter, softened

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large can peaches (29 ozs.), drained

Topping:                                                             Icing:

½ cup brown sugar                                            1 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup flour                                                      2-4 tablespoons water

½ cup softened butter or margarine

Preparation:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 13X9 inch baking pan.  In a large bowl beat  together  the sugar and butter using an electric mixer.  Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and then slowly beat into the sugar/butter mixture .  Add milk, eggs and vanilla.  Stir well.  Pour the batter into the baking pan.  Place the drained peaches on top of the coffee cake batter.  In another bowl, beat together the topping ingredients and spoon on top of the peaches and batter.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Cool for 30 minutes.  In a small bowl, blend icing ingredients.  Drizzle over the cake. Serve and enjoy with a cup of coffee!

This coffee cake recipe is very easy to change according to your family’s  taste.  Substitute other fruit such as blueberries, strawberries , plums, apricots, fresh apple slices, canned pineapple, and apple or cherry pie filling.

Roastere’ brand 12 oz. whole bean coffee,  Sawtooth  Blend  $8.20