Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Road Trip Tea Review: Sprite + Tea


It’s time for my annual Road Trip Tea Reviews, my critiques of those questionable bottled teas that I try each summer so that you don’t have to! Saturday, I stopped for gas at a local convenience store, and since I would be gone a while and hadn’t paused for lunch, I went inside the store for a snack. Here’s what caught my eye, not-so-attractively styled in the front seat of my car.


Some of you may remember that trend a few years ago of getting a bottle of Sprite and steeping a tea bag inside of it. The result was just so-so, Sprite being way too sugary a drink for me these days, but I was curious when I saw this ready-to-drink version and had to give this new variety of Sprite a try. And it tasted like … sugary Sprite with some tea in it. (You know how they say that the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing while expecting different results? I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.)


And that snack cake? I am ashamed to admit that I paid nearly three dollars for this thing. Have you ever been cleaning out the pantry when you found that, wedged in between the beans you never cooked and that flavored oil you never used, you came across a wayward Hostess snack cake from the late nineties? Well, that would *still* have tasted fresher than this cake, which lured me in with the words “Hershey’s” and “Limited edition.” Couldn’t finish the drink or the cake. And before I went home for the day, I headed to the store and got a nice big bag of Pink Lady apples so that I won’t be tempted by “snacks” like these the next time I’m out and about!

Monday, June 1, 2026

A tidbit tray for your July 4th display


I'm not usually a Target shopper, two Walmarts being closer to my house, but on Saturday, I happened to be near a Target and decided to run in for a few things. You know, creamer, a bottle of glue, and some shampoo. Ah, but it never ends there, does it? And so it was that I found myself drawn like a fly to honey to those five-dollar bins, where I spotted a mini red-and-blue tiered tray.


Actually, that was the end result. It comes like this, about the size of a saucer and a dessert plate.


Since I'd put these things together myself plenty of times, the DIY angle didn't bother me. And in under three minutes (I clocked it), mine was assembled. Now I'm thinking I should have gotten two!


And because I wasn't in a cooking mood that day, I was also drawn to these red-white-and-blue Chips Ahoy cookies. Festive, huh? I'm so looking forward to celebrating our nation's 250th birthday next month, and as I streamed the excellent new movie "A Great Awakening" last weekend, I was reminded again about the promise of America and the wisdom of our founders. I highly recommend watching it if you enjoy US history without the present-day politics!