Making Tea (ASMR?)

I don't have ASMR, but I've heard it's becoming very popular on YouTube.  For those of you who don't know, ASMR is a physical response to sounds.  Most people experience "tingling" down their spine, triggered by specific sounds.  For some people the trigger could be whispering; for others it could be pens scratching on paper.  I don't really understand it, since I've never experienced it... But either way, I wanted to make a video of making tea, anyway.  So if you have ASMR, I hope you enjoy.  And if you don't, I hope you'll also enjoy!

Etsy Finds || Tea Time

Etsy Finds || Tea Time

Top L-R: Tea Cup Candle, Tea Time Banner, Cupcake Wrapper

Middle L-R: Tea Cup Stickers, Floral Tea Towel, Cosmos and Tea cups Art Print 

Bottom L-R: Silver Tea Set, Tea Party Sugar Cookies, Wooden Tea Box 

My birthday is coming up.  #justsaying

;)

Note: This is not a sponsored post

Tea obsessed?

Am I obsessed with tea?  Let's let Instagram decide:

And a video:

I've always said I should have been British...

(Maybe some day I'll figure out a cute project to do with all these tea photos...)

Thanks for reading!

Beijos,

Julie

(Follow my Instagram)

Pics from my balcony and why I don't like Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour

So the other day I was sitting down to write a review of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour, and I realized I should take a picture of the coffee cake I had made.  I also realized that I was drinking tea out of an adorable tea cup that my friend gave me (my friends are the best).  I also realized that it was a beautiful day outside.  So I got a stool, a tea-towel to cover the ugly stool, and snapped these photos.

Here's the thing - I'm afraid of our balcony.  I'm not afraid of all balconies... just ours.  You see, when you step out on the balcony, it jiggles.  It really does.  And, maybe I'm weirdly paranoid, but I just don't trust that the balcony is going support my weight and remain attached to the building.  So I try to avoid it as much as possible.  But the views are just wonderful.

View facing right, toward the ocean:

View facing straight ahead:

This tea towel was embroidered by a lady at Peter's family's church in Sao Paulo.  It was a wedding gift!  How cute!

View facing slightly left:

*****

BOB'S RED MILL GLUTEN FREE FLOUR

When I decided to be gluten free, I basically stopped baking or eating baked goods.  The minimal recipes that I tried just avoided flour whatsoever, or called for almond flour.  I have bought some pre-baked goodies that tasted ok, but I just try to avoid the sweets altogether.  However, somehow, when we moved to Brazil, I ended up with a couple of packages of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (I think some family members gave it to me to try).  So over the past 8 months, I've tried baking with it.  Some recipes that I've tried: Brownies, Coffee Cake, Apple Fritters, Cupcakes, Fried Fish, etc. 

Here's the thing - it's gross.  It tastes really gross.  You know how a lot of people don't like gluten-free sweets because they taste "weird?"  Yeah, this is the flour that tastes weird.  Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour is a mixture of garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, white sorghum flour, and fava bean flour.  I'm not sure which of those ingredients gives it the weird taste.  I have used tapioca flour before, so I know it's not that.  Maybe it's the sorghum?

I'm not an expert food reviewer, and I really don't know how to write a food review.  So, for me, what it all comes down to is the taste.  All I can say is, this stuff tastes gross.  It doesn't matter what other flavors you add to it (sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, etc), it just doesn't taste good.

*****

Side note: I did try making the coffee cake recipe you see pictured above using a different gluten-free flour blend (a Brazilian brand), and it tasted reeeeally good.  I need to tweak the recipe a little bit before sharing, because even though the flavor was amazing, it turned out super dense and difficult to eat.

So I hope this post was helpful to someone, and I hope you enjoyed my pictures!  Rio de Janeiro is a beautiful city, and I'm really sad that it *most likely* won't work out for us to stay here.

Beijos,

Julie

P.S. By the way, "beijos" (bay'-joos, with a soft j) are kisses in Brazil.  Another post on that, soon.

How do you deal with stress?

Stress has been a hot topic around our apartment these past few weeks.  We've had plenty of it thrown our way.  From hating disliking our job, to asthma attacks, to thinking worrying about the future, to trying to get my visa stuff done, we've been stressing out way too much!  We've been talking about what we should do to eliminate or relieve our stress.

In a perfect world, my stress reliever would be this:

From DustJacket

Or this:

From PlumPrettySugar

Ah, but where am I going to get such pretty, fancy things?  

In reality, my favorite way to relieve stress is so hang out with friends, talking about our lives, confiding, complaining, giving advice, laughing, and eating good food!

Somewhere like this would be ideal:

From DustJacket

Or this Persian Tea Party:

Or La Lune Sucre with my SJSU besties:

From my Instagram

So what I've come to realize is that, sometimes, being "alone with my tea" isn't so fun.

(Maybe I should rename my blog, "Alone with my tea but wishing I had company."  Or, "Brazil is cool and all but I'm really starting to get homesick and miss my friends.")

So... what do you do to relieve your stress?  Comment below!

It's the little things

One cold and rainy day in Rio de Janeiro, I arrived at my (British) violin student's house.  Her mother asked me if I would like a cup of tea.  Of course I replied, "YES!"  This is what I was presented:

I almost died of happiness!  My little heart was in heaven!  It (obviously) doesn't take much to make me happy!  I think I was born and raised on the wrong continent!

Next on my to-do list: visit London and have high tea in one of these places!

I Knew It! - "Why tea makes you happy, healthy, and smart"

Maybe you've seen this article on Yahoo?  It lists some benefits of drinking tea.  According to the article, tea "boost productivity... makes you happy... helps you lose weight... builds bones... is heart healthy..." (Eloise Sole, Yahoo)

We all know I don't need any more reasons to drink tea.  But now, what's your excuse?

Here are some cute, tea-inspired, do-it-yourself Christmas present ideas for the tea-lovers in your life.  Or make them for yourself, no one is judging! ;)

Homemade Tea Bags by Songbird, via Pretty Handy Girl

Tea cup journal cover by Born in '82

Adorable sugar cubes by Nifty Thrifty Things

How cute are these vintage inspired tea tins?!?! By Damask Love

This idea has been floating around for awhile, but I'm still in love with it!  Tea cup candles via Martha Stewart

Customize your tea bag holders!  Free printables via Mino Paper Sweets

Tea party printables by Arian Armstrong via Heart Handmade

I hope you're inspired to brew a pot of tea!  We're coming into summer now, supposed to be 100 degrees Fahrenheit today, so I have a feeling most of my tea consumption will be in the iced form!

Terminology - Iced Tea

(Ok, so maybe I'm a perfectionist, but it drives me crazy when people say "ice tea."  Tea made out of ice???)

Iced Tea = tea that has been iced

Photo credit: here, here, here

A Persian Tea Party

This post is long long long overdue!  Before I left San Jose (back in June!), my friend hosted a Persian tea party.  We would have done it just for fun (actually it was more of a goodbye party), but, of course, I wanted to take pictures for my blog!  Let me tell you, this tea party was the ultimate!  Get yourself prepared for lots of pictures and detailed instructions on how to host the most perfect, Persian tea party!

1.  Make sure your guests are greeted by cheery, colorful wildflowers (optional)!

2.  Make sure you are completely adorable, and if it is a hot day, serve lemonade or cherry syrup first.

My adorable friend, and the hostess, Rashel

3.  If you are hosting for young ladies, you may serve chips and dip first.

4.  While the guests are drinking lemonade and snacking on chips, the hostess must prepare the tea.

A Russian Samavaar steeping the tea

Pour a just a little bit - the tea will be very strong

A nifty strainer that attaches inside the spout

Add hot water to dilute the tea

5.  Serve tea with cake.  Sugar cubes must be available at all times.  It is very important that the hostess do all of the serving.  My friend told me, "Guests don't touch anything, at least at the beginning or until they are told to help themselves, which they still, rather, do not touch anything :)"

Gluten-free chocolate cake with powdered sugar

Yellow cake with chocolate powder

Did you know - In Persia, how a young woman serves tea is an indicator for how good of a wife she will be.  Older ladies will gather together for tea time, and the daughter of the hostess will do all of the serving.  This gives the other ladies a chance to notice her, which is especially important if they have sons!

6.  After cake comes nuts and other types of desserts.  Tea is still being served constantly.

Gluten-free shortbread cookies

It is very important that you chat with friends and have a lovely time enjoying each others' company!

7.  At the end you must serve fruit with no tea.  This is an indication that it is about time for the guests to leave.  

But, of course, we didn't want to leave, and instead preferred to look at all the beautiful items in my friend's house.

I'm coveting these seashell coasters.  Might be an easy DIY project in the future?

Thank you to my wonderful friend, Rashel, for hosting this Persian tea party.  It was so fun to learn about her culture.  I was getting very nostalgic while going through these photos.  Of the four friends that were there, two are now in Europe (one in France, the other in Ireland), and two are still in San Jose.  I miss all of them!!!

Learning about different cultures is the most wonderful thing about being human.  Doing it over tea makes it even more fun.  Do you have any friends that could teach you how they serves tea (or coffee, if that is more applicable to their culture)?  I know they would love to share with you.  Even if you only have "acquaintances" from other cultures, I challenge you to ask them how they share tea.  I bet you will quickly make a new friend!  I would love to hear about it; please send pictures my way!

P.S. Did you enjoy this post, and would you love to see more like it?  You can help me out by hosting your own (or asking your friends to host their own) tea party.  Be sure to send lots of pictures to alonewithmytea (at) gmail (dot) com.