The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Published by: Doubleday

When Celia's mother commits suicide, she is sent to live with her father, the magician known as Prospero. What Prospero realizes instantly is that she, like him, is magical. Excited by this, he sends for his friend, Alexander, and proposes a competition. Alexander will get to chose his player and Celia will play as Prospero's. Alexander agrees and rescues Marco from an orphanage to become his protege. Though they learn in two very different ways, both Celia and Marco spend their childhood learning magic. Finally, when they seem old enough to officially start the competition, the Night Circus is constructed as their venue. Within its monochromatic mystical tents, the two magicians create elaborate, otherworldly scenes for people to enjoy. With no known rules, no known judges, and an incomplete understanding of the game at hand - which magician will win and what happens to the loser?

This book was wonderful. It is unlike anything else I have ever read. It's magical, mysterious, beautifully written, and leaves you feeling as if you've woken up from a dream.

The story contains many characters: the main ones being Celia and Marco but the story truly revolves around the circus itself. It is its own character. It seems to live and breathe, enchanting people of all ages who venture into it.

In between sections of the book, Morgenstern places you within the book, using second person narrative. You enter the tent. You eat a candy apple. It gives you a connection to the wonder. It made me wish The Night Circus were real and I could visit.

What I found interesting is how I pictured this book in my mind. The Night Circus's color scheme is white, black, and grey. I found that even when I wasn't reading parts about the circus I envisioned the characters in black and white. Then, something would be said about a particular thing or person and they'd be in color. Kind of like the Pleasantville effect. This made it easier, in my mind, to pick out what I thought was important. It made things have a more significant impact and it wasn't something I consciously knew I was doing until about halfway through.

I loved everything about this book - even the characters that I hated. Each character, however minor their role, seemed to be fully developed and none were simply a throwaway. The way Morgenstern sections the book helps it flow and even though the years and characters change within the chapters, I was never confused about what was going on.

It was a beautiful book about magic, wonder, life, and love.


I give the book 5 out of 5 cateyes.

Liver & Mashed Potato Dog Cake

I mentioned in my last post about our furbabies birthday that my Mum had found a recipe that I used in part to make our dog cake. Well, here is how I made this totally delicious (to dogs anyway) liver and mashed potato cake.


For the cake you'll need: one and a half pounds of liver, two eggs, and a half cup of flour. I used all purpose but you can use whole wheat or whatever you have lying around.

We found that blanching the liver really helps the stinkiness of it when it bakes. Your kitchen will still smell funny but nowhere near as bad as if you didn't blanch it at all.

When you first add the liver, the blood will turn the water red. I take the liver out when the water turns from red to murky which will just depend on how much liver you bought or your stove settings.

You can see the water is no longer red but is murky with foam. 

Drain your liver.

You can see that some pieces are still not cooked but we'll be throwing it in the oven so it's okay if not everything is ready yet.

To a food processor add your liver, eggs, and flour.

Then pulse until everything is incorporated and the liver is in small chunks.

Add your mix to a 13x9 jellyroll pan lined with parchment or silicon. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for about 15 minutes.

While that's cooling I made my instant mashed potatoes. I ended up using about two cups.

When the liver is cooled, cut it into four rectangles - these will be the layers in the cake.

Add the first layer to your platter and put some mashed potatoes on top, like you would frosting. Continue adding the liver and potatoes in layers until you have liver on top.

I rolled my mashed potatoes in between two sheets of plastic wrap to get it looking like a nice, smooth fondant but you can just scoop and frost it like a normal cake.

Crush your dog's favorite doggie treats and sprinkle on top. Voila! Great looking & great tasting dog cake.






This recipe is based off of: Diabetic Dog Treats from AllRecipes.com

Liver & Mashed Potato Dog Cake

Ingredients
For Cake

• 1.5 lbs Liver
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 flour

For "Frosting"

• 2 cups instant mashed potatoes

For Topping

• 3 Beggin' Strips or your dog's favorite treat

Cooking Directions

1. Take all of your liver and blanch it in boiling water. Leave it for a few minutes. I take the liver out when the water turns from bloody to murky.
2. Strain the water. Some pieces of liver may not be fully cooked and that's okay.
3. Using a blender or a food processor add the liver, eggs, and flour. Pulse until everything is incorporated and the liver is in small pieces.
4. Spread the mixture onto a 13x9 inch pan lined with parchment.
5. Bake in a preheated 375F degree oven for about 15 minutes.
6. While it's cooling make your potatoes according to box instructions. Reserve half for the top frosting. 
7. When the liver treats are cool cut them to make four rectangles.
8. Place your first "layer" of liver on your plate and add some mashed potatoes on top, spreading it like you would frosting on a cake. You don't need a lot, just enough to ensure that the next layer will stay on top. 
9. Place the next layer of liver and add more mashed potatoes on top. Do this until you have all four layers of liver.
10. Reserving one cup of mashed potatoes, put them in between two layers of plastic wrap and using a rolling pin or can, smooth out the potatoes into a rectangle a little bit longer than your liver cake.
11. Take one plastic sheet off and using a cookie sheet, plate, or whatever you have around flip the potatoes onto the liver cake. You should end up with the plastic wrap on top to help you smooth out any lumps or bumps.
12. Lastly, crumble up your Beggin' Strips or whatever treat your dog likes and sprinkle on top.

Stout Stout Stout

You can join the link up here: The Hungry Goat 

The time has come for more beer-drinking with the Into the Pint Glass link up.

This week we are trying Stouts! I convinced John to join me on this journey - and I'm not only talking about beer tasting but also vlogging.

Yup, we vlogged our Stout Tasting Experience. I hope you enjoy!

Happy Birthday Babies!

When we adopted Belle we were surprised to find that she and Boyboy celebrated a birthday only a few days (and 4 years) apart. This excited me because when the time came around I would be able to throw them both a cute little doggie party.

And doggie party it was.

I wanted to make them  a doggie cake but neither one really likes their fruits or vegetables, even in dog-approved treats. Carrots and carob? Forget it. Apples and pumpkin? No way. Our doggies like meatmeatmeat.

Mum had found a dog treats recipe a while back on All Recipes. We've been whipping some up ever since. They LOVE them. They go absolutely crazy for them. When John takes Belle to her obedience classes he uses them as her special treats. I figured that this would be the best way to make their cake since

1) I already know they like it and
2) it only has three ingredients.

I think it came out pretty great, if I do say so myself. If you want to make this cake - just click here! to be taken to the recipe.

Don't worry - they didn't eat it all in one sitting!

You can find out how I made this cake by clicking here! 

At the Dollar Store I happened upon some fun party hats and a cute princess tiara for Belle. She loves anything pink & bright. Seriously. Only my brightly colored clothes are ever in danger of being eaten. She leaves John's drab clothing alone. She just wants to be ohsopretty. I totally get it.

She's so dark I have to tweak all the camera settings just so you can see her. 

I may have gone a little overboard. But they are just too cute and we love them so much.

Happy 2nd Birthday to Belle and Happy 7th Birthday to Boyboy!

Sushi & 90s Teen RomComs

John and I aren't very big Valentine's Day people. Last year he bought me these beautiful brightly colored daises and some chocolate covered strawberries. I'm always happy with chocolate.

This year because Valentine's Day was going to fall on a Saturday we decided to not even try and brave the masses.

In the day we did some errands. After we did that, we ended up at DouchieB because I needed my next beer for the Into the Pint linkup. While there we decided to grab some sushi to take home and stay in the rest of the night.

While stuffing our faces with raw fish, we watched 10 Things I Hate About You.

Can I just say that 10 Things I Hate About You is like one of my top favorite movies. Not because it's an amazing feat of movie magic but because it's awesome. I love Kat so much. She's such a badass.

Plus, Heath Ledger as Patrick is just the perfect casting choice.

John had actually never seen all of this movie. He'd only seen bits and pieces whenever it was on TV. I like to think that because of me I have now changed his life for the better.



After we finished that we decided to continue our flashback to the 90s with She's All That.

Which isn't as good as 10 Things but really, what is?

And because I'm always happy with chocolate John bought us some chocolate covered strawberries.

And an orchid! Which is like the most beautiful, weirdest, minimalist flower that actually fits perfectly with our living room/dining room decor.

All in all, it was a really fun, low-key Valentine's Day.

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

The Vanishing Season
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Published by: HarperTeen

When Maggie moves from Chicago to a small dilapidated house in a small town, she isn't holding out much hope for liking it. But when she meets her neighbors Pauline and Liam, things start looking up. Soon after Maggie has settled, a serial killer starts targeting young women in the town. Pauline's mom sends her away until after the murderer is caught which brings Liam and Maggie closer together. But when Pauline returns things between the trio get tricky.

What makes this book interesting is that it's told from both Maggie and an unknown ghost's perspective.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where the interesting ends.

The ghost doesn't understand why it's there, what it's looking for, or who it is. So I read to figure out who she was. Is she one of the murdered girls? Was she murdered in the house?  Will she help Maggie figure out who the serial killer is?

You don't actually find out who the ghost is until the end and it's disappointing. The point of the ghost's perspective isn't compelling reading. The book couldn't have been worse without it.

Maggie, like the book itself, is boring. She's a good student. So smart that her parent's home school her. She loves reading, drawing, and doing everything she's asked. She's aware of her parent's finances and vows not to be something else they have worry about. It's all well and good for a kid but it makes the story a tedious read. You have to push yourself to keep going. She doesn't have to disobey her parents to be interesting but she isn't really affected by anything. She doesn't have her own thoughts or emotions. Everything she feels she keeps inside. And though we are privy to those feelings they aren't expressed with the appropriate words.

For example, when she and Pauline have a falling out, she completely ignores her and never, even in her head, gets angry. Then, she pretends nothing has happened and they hang out. She can't stand up for herself, express herself, or even voice what she's feeling. How boring is that?

Maggie's character is devoid of interesting, descriptive thoughts and ideas. Which begs the question, why should we be interested in her? I honestly don't know.

This book just seemed confused. It seemed as if Anderson didn't know what she wanted the book to be about and in doing so many could-be-interesting plot points not one comes to a fulfilling conclusion.

I also have to mention that I usually like to put some of my favorite quotes as pictures in my posts and this book did not leave me with one I would feel good about putting in here. The writing wasn't bad but it also wasn't very memorable.

I give this book one out of five cateyes.

Sunday Stealing #4 & YouTube Video

Love Is In The Air Meme

• Define love in your own words. 
• Love is waiting for your significant other to get home so that you can watch the same episodes. It's loving dark chocolate and still sharing it. It's not being able to decide which entree to get so the two of you get one and share it.
• What do you want in a relationship? 
• I want someone who laughs with me. Pushes me to do better, to be better. Who encourages me. 
• What do you contribute to a relationship?
• I hope I contribute happiness and laughter. I hope that I can make John's life a little better, easier to manage, and that he realizes I believe in him. 
• Do you have a Valentine? 
• Duh. His name is John. 
• Describe the perfect V-day date in your opinion.
• I am definitely a homebody and I like that we stay in and just watch Netflix or whatever and eat fancier take away. 
• Dream Date?
• I don't think I have one. There are just so many cool fun things. As long as I'm with John it's all good. 
• What is your crush's name?
• JohnPoopybutt. 
• Do you believe in love at first sight?
• Nope. I think that you can be very, very attracted to someone the first time you meet but you can't love them without knowing them. 
• Chocolates or Flowers?
• Chocolates! Dark chocolate.
• Short kiss or a big hug?
• Short kiss. 
• Cute and dimwitted or average and brilliant? 
• How about....cute, amazing, funny, handy, and the best.
• Turn ons?
• Humor, easygoingness, crinkly eyes.
• Turn offs?
• Douchie, overly macho, trying too hard. 
• What thing should a guy never say to you? 
• Ugh. So many things. I hate when guys try to impress me but they don't know me enough to do it. So they go on about their jobs or their salary or whatever and I couldn't be more uninterested. If you had just kept your mouth shut - you'd be in a better position. 
• How do you feel about kissing on the first date? 
• I think it's okay to kiss on the first date. But only if you're actually feeling it. Not simply because Dudebro paid for your dinner.

I hope you had a good Valentine's day. Whether you celebrated with someone or not. I have an upcoming post about what John and I did but right now I wanted to talk about my first foray into YouTube.

Yup, that's right.

YouTube.

I have made my first video and it's really simple and easy. I think I look horrible and act awkward but hopefully soon I'll find my groove. Anyway, here it is!

Top Five - Book Crushes

Happy Valentine's Day! Last year I recounted My Top Five and I thought I'd keep the tradition alive. This time though we're doing it book-style.


I'd like to state that these aren't in any order. I'd be happy to have had a summer romance/high school relationship/or friendly wizarding duel with any of them.



Wes from The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

Wes is absolutely perfect and everything a book crush should be. He's artistic, caring, was a bad boy but is reformed and looking to further himself and become a better person. He's funny and sincere and most of all - he loves and cares for his younger brother. Wes doesn't care what other people think and that's always sexy. Plus, he plays a mean game of Truth.



Marcus Flutie from Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

I love the Jessica Darling series. If you don't know what you're missing you should read my guest post on Caught Between the Pages so that I can convince you to pick it up. What I love about Marcus is that he's constantly changing. There are five books in the series and though they are about Jessica, we get to see Marcus grow and evolve as well. I think there's something sexy about a guy who is okay with his feelings, realizes his mistakes, and learns from them. Plus, he writes some awesome poems.


Jesse from Shadowland by Meg Cabot

Shadowland is the first book in another series but I can't help it! Jesse is the best! His tragic background and his optimistic future is enough to make me giddy every time I reread this series. He's so good to Suze, especially when it comes to protecting her from her vocation...which isn't always easy because Suze is one independent woman. Still, Jesse is right there by her, fighting the battles along with her, and tending to her blistered feet. Plus, (I imagine) he looks sexy in his cowboy shirt.

Alex from Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I know I hated the last book in the series but I love Alex. When feelings of love and strong emotion are nonexistent it's brave for someone like Alex to go out of his way to try to bring these exact feelings to Lena. He's actually putting himself in danger by talking to her, hanging out with her, and even touching her. But to him, it's all worth it. Because if you can't love - what's the point? He's obviously very in touch with all of his feelings, brave enough to pretend he's fixed, and still be part of an underground resistance. Plus, there's something sexy about the guy who shows you what love really is.


Hermione from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

So far I've kept my book crushes to men but I just COULD NOT put Hermione in. I have loved her forever. I loved her before Ron and Harry did. To everyone who thought that she wasn't going to be a good witch simply because she was Muggle-born; she proved them wrong. She's the smartest, best witch and let's be serious, without her Harry wouldn't have lasted a year. She might have been a bit high-strung at first, but she learned to mellow out. She also became braver and super tough over the course of the books. Especially when she stayed with Harry while looking for Horcruxes but also when she yelled at Ron for waiting to ask her out as a last resort. I have never read another book with a character as important as Hermoine without it actually being the main character. She's just amazing. I don't know if I want to be her or be with her.


Who are some of your favorite book crushes? Did any of mine make your list?

Worst Date. Ever.

All names have been changed.

I watched as he crookedly scrawls across my paper in his messy, small print -

You doing anything tomorrow? 

I look up into his deep blue eyes. I shake my head no. We've been partners in class for a few weeks, we've hung around the same group of friends for even longer, but I'd never gotten over my nervousness of talking to him.  Leaning over the paper he starts writing again.

Do you wanna come over and hang out? 

He looks at me expectantly. I nod. He smiles, his eyes crinkling.


My dad drops me off at the curb. I wait until he leaves before I ring the doorbell. After a minute,Mort opens the door, all tall and good-looking. We are supposed to watch a movie, hang out. He leads me upstairs where there is a TV, a couch, a tank with a snake, and tons of stoner posters. He shows me his room which is surprisingly bare. It has a bed, a guitar in the corner, and a weight-lifting bar. He escorts me back out to the TV room where we sit awkwardly. He puts some music on, we smoke a bowl, and once the effects take hold, we start talking.

Things are going well. Mort's easy to talk to and I'm happy I'm not sounding like a complete idiot half the time. We don't have a lot in common but we aren't finding it hard to talk to each other.

Out of the corner of my eye I see a door open.

And out walks his ex-girlfriend.

Beatrice smiles at me but it doesn't reach her eyes. I smile back, uncertainly looking between the two of them. "You two know each other right? From school?" Mort asks neither one of us in particular. She doesn't answer. She goes to the bathroom and then goes back to her room, closing the door.

"She's been living here for a bit. My mom's cool with it. We just sleep in separate rooms and it's not like we're together anyway," he says hastily. I don't know what to do. I have no idea what I've gotten myself into. Trying to salvage the situation he takes his snake out of the tank and brings her over to me. I'm still confused, my head is telling me to get out, but he's still really good looking and his eyes are so blue. I hold my hands out willing myself not to show any sort of fear or revulsion. The snake isn't actually so bad. I get used to her crawling and soon Mort is telling me a story. I can almost forget that Beatrice is in the other room, save for her music that is competing with ours.

"...so um then I..." he peters out as his phone rings. He looks at the screen but doesn't answer. He continues with his story. The phone rings again. And again. Then text after text after text. After what must have been the 5th text, he excuses himself and walks into her room, closing the door behind him.

All I can hear are raised voices. Now my head is telling me "I told you so. I told you so." I want to go home but don't have a cellphone to call my parents. I wish the snake was big enough to suffocate me but she's curled up, sleeping in my cupped hands.

When he comes out his whole demeanor is different. He grabs his snake, puts her back in her tank. When he comes back to the couch he sits farther away from me than he did earlier. He looks about as good as I feel at that moment.

"You know, I don't feel good. I should probably go. Can I borrow your cell?" He looks at the screen before he hands it to me. I call my dad and ask him to pick me up now. If my dad is wondering why the date is over so quickly he never asks.

After I hang up we just sit there. There is nothing I can think to say. I'm staring at our reflections in the blank TV wishing the couch would swallow me. Wishing I had a car. Or a license. Enough change to catch a bus. Wings. Anything to get me out of this.

We've been sitting in silence for five minutes. "I think my dad should be here soon," I tell him even though I know he's still a good 10 minutes away, "I should go out and wait for him."

He doesn't protest. He walks down the stairs with me, opens the door. I step out onto his front porch hoping, praying, that my dad has, for once in his life, driven faster than the speed limit. No such luck.

I keep peering around the corner, listening for my dad's car. Mort stands behind me, shuffling. It's obvious he wishes I was gone already.

We both turn around when we hear the front door open. Beatrice stands right in the middle of the open doorway, her long arms gripping the doorjamb. I can see that her eye makeup is smudged and runny, obviously from crying, but when she talks there is no quiver or trace of weakness in her voice. It carries nothing but viciousness.

"Hey Valerie," she says to me while looking right at him, "did he tell you he fucked me this morning?"

I know that her words aren't really meant for me; she's still looking right at him. But that doesn't mean at 16 years old I have any idea what to do. I look over to see Mort slowly shaking his head. He looks like a parent whose child won't behave.

Just then I hear my dad's car coming up the street. I've never been so relieved in all my life. I run up to it and get in before he even has time to fully stop. As my dad pulls away from the curb they are both still standing there, staring at each other.

Strawberry Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

Since John and I have been together he's begged me to make him his favorite dessert - cheesecake.

And every Valentine's or birthday I'd just buy one...because I don't like cheesecake and I don't like making things I won't eat.


But this year, I finally decided to indulge him.


And it turned out great.


Happy Valentine's Day!

I used Barbara Bakes's recipe which you can find on her website.


I have an old-school, circa 1950s, hand-mixer that I found at a thrift store a while back. It's never let me down.

Until this cheesecake. The four, FOUR!, packages of cream cheese were just too much for it and its little motor just couldn't handle it. It started smoking and I was scared that I had just wasted all that money on a cake I couldn't finish.

But as John suggested, I threw it in our Ninja blender with the dough attachment and it worked that way. Phew.

Barbara's recipe shows you how to make the frozen strawberry glaze, which I tried but my glaze never thinned enough. I was scared if I kept heating it up that it would reduce to nothing and if I added water I'd end up with gross-watery strawberries. I left it as it is and spread it on top of the cheesecake, like a jam, and placed the fresh strawberries on top.

John looooved it. I have to say that I cut myself a sliver and didn't hate it either. Though if that's just because of my toil and labor over it or the tons of cream cheese and eggs I don't know.

It's probably the latter.

Liebster Award # 2

I've once again been humbly awarded the Lobster award! This time the nomination came from Shawna over at The Modern Musings. If you like your girls a little weird, a lot of random, with a healthy dose of Disney trivia knowledge you should definitely check her out. 

So, the lobster rules go:

1. You must thank the person who nominated you. 
2. You must answer the questions the nominator asked of you. 
3. You must then nominate 11 other bloggers who have less than 200 followers and link them. 
4. You must create your own 11 questions for the nominees to answer.
5. You must notify all nominees via social media/email/blogs so they know you've done it. 

Here are Shawna's questions. 

• You are on a desert island and you can bring ONE book, what would it be and why?
• How to Build a Raft. 
• Same desert island, what celebrity would you want to be stuck with and why?
• I would love to be stuck with Robert Downey Jr. because I'm pretty sure he'd be able to get us off and/or he'd be the best person to keep spirits up.
• Why did you choose your blog's name?
• I actually changed my blog name from The Seven Year Bitch. I liked the SYB but it didn't really seem to fit me. I mean, I can be a bitch, but more than that I am always so indecisive and looking for new things. I'm always bored. So I just wrote a list of adjectives that describe me and Indecisively Restless fit together. 
• What is your favorite vacation ever? 
• I've been on quite a few vacations when I was younger. My parents have tons of pictures of me at Disneyworld, Vegas, New York, etc. But I kind of don't remember them all. I really like going to San Diego because it was my first big vacation with John. 
• Favorite movies as a kid?
• I loved and still love, Beauty and the Beast. I watched a lot of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, My Neighbor Totoro, Nemo's Adventures in Slumberland, and The Little Mermaid. 
• What is your dream job/career/life goal?
• I actually answered these on my Sunday Stealing! I would love to be a professional Netflix watcher, dessert taster, or book reader. 
• Who are your top 3 favorite bloggers? 
• I follow a lot of blogs with a lot of different niches. The ones I almost always click on though are Rock 'n Roll Bride, Junebugs and Georgia Peaches, & I Heart Organizing.
• Favorite place to splurge?
• I tend to buy a lot of my clothes online but we do have this new awesome pinup shop that I want to go and drop all my money.
• Name the top three things to see/do or eat in YOUR state. 
• Oh jeez. I'm from Texas. There are TONS of things to see, eat, or do. In San Antonio alone we have a Six Flags, a Sea World, a Splashtown (waterpark), a zoo, an aquarium, the Riverwalk, tons of malls and flea markets, and tons of delicious restaurants. 
• What do you do when you're not blogging? 
• I'm usually working, cleaning the house (ha), baking or cooking, watching Netflix, or reading. 

Now it's time for my questions!

1. What is your proudest moment?
2. What is your favorite blog post?
3. What is your favorite breakfast cereal?
4. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
5. What is your guilty pleasure TV show or movie?
6. What age would you like to relive? 
7. If you could meet any celebrity/famous person, living or dead, who would it be and why?
8. Name your favorite carb.
9. What is one of your pet peeves?
10. The most famous dessert maker on the planet has decided to make one in your name: what would it be called and what ingredients would it have?
11. What cause/charity/organization/foundation means a lot to you? 

And now my nominations: I don't really know how many followers people have...so if you want to be awarded just grab the button and answer the questions! And if you want to just answer the questions - then be my guest! 

Guest Posting

Hey Everyone!

I am so excited to say that I am doing a guest post on Kayla's blog, Caught Between the Pages. I'll be reviewing and trying to convince you to read one of my favorite books. Hop on over to her blog, see it, read it, comment on it, and stick around to see if she or another guest has reviewed one of your favorites. 

German Pils - Pinkus Ur Pils

Link up here: The Hungry Goat

I've mentioned before that I am loving the new blog group I joined, The Blogging Elite. There have been so many people with all different kinds of blogs, all of whom have been really friendly and nice. It was from TBE that I discovered, Katie's blog, The Hungry Goat (which you should totally check out). She and Mariah from Food, Booze, and Baggage decided to start a bi-weekly BEER LINK UP.

Yeah, that's right. Beer. In the name of science. 

I like beer but I definitely don't know everything about it. Or even that much about it. Thus, I joined the link up. Besides getting to drink all the time, I would actually be able to learn about different kinds of beers, fermentation styles, flavor notes, and I'd finally be able to answer the age old question: Which beer is your favorite? 

It sounded like so much fun that I asked John to join me on this beer guzzling journey. He agreed and I'm hoping that next time we'll be able to vlog our tasting experience instead of just writing about it.


So without further ado: the first beer - German Pilsner. 


I think I've mentioned our super fancy HEB store before. It's usually referred to as GucchiB (or as John and I like to call it DouchieB). They have tons of high class, organic, free-range, whatever stuff so we knew it would be the perfect place to find what we needed. Plus, they sell tons of beers in singles which is perfect when you're not sure you're going to be liking what you get.

I had pulled up a list of beers from Beer Advocate but looked like an idiot standing in front of the beer aisle not being able to locate anything so eventually John told me to just ask the Beer Guy. He was actually really helpful and pointed me in the direction of...

Pinkus - UR Pils.

Yup, that's right. This is organic! Weird! For those that care it was 3.50.



UR Pils smells really sweet with a hint of hops. You can smell it as soon as you open the bottle. Upon pouring we found that it was light, clear, and had little head. It was crisp and light but with a definite hop flavor. I could see eating seafood with it. A salad, something light.

I called it boring but John didn't think so. And I guess it's true that it wasn't boring but it just wasn't that good. John said that it tasted like a better version of Budweiser and he was right. After some Googling we discovered that Budweiser is an American pilsner. So they're kinda the same but different.

It definitely has more flavor than Budweiser but it wasn't amazingly good, even for organic. If we were at a bar and we could get a Bud for 1$ or Pinkus for 3$ - we'd both stick to the cheap stuff because the flavor just isn't that great to compensate for the higher price.

When we go out we tend to drink darker beer, so we're thinking that it's just a flavor preference for us. The beer itself isn't bad, we'd just rather have different flavors.

Hopefully soon, we'll be able to tell you just what those different flavors are.

But it was really fun to sit there and actually sniff the bottle, taste the flavors, and try to put names to them. It was fun drinking to actually see, if and what we like, as opposed to just drinking it to get drunk or without much thought.

I'm already in love with this link up and can't wait to try more beer. This will also give us an excuse to go to some growler stations that've popped up but that we haven't visited. Also, I see us crossing off some beer brewery tours and I think soon I'll learn Beer Guy's actual name.


So as the Germans say: Zum Wohl!! (Bottoms up!)