Posting now for Valentine’s Day because I want a place to keep all of the great present ideas I’m finding- and hopefully provide some inspiration for my Dearest Boyfriend.

;^)

First up, the perfect hat for work or play…. Something that says it all.

$25 at Uncommon Goods

Moxie is a site well known for having adorable chic items, like this very cute necklace. When in doubt, get her jewelry.

$39.50 at Shop At Moxie.com

Hopefully more ideas to come soon!

So Josh and I love Cabos. Truly, we have out favorite waitress (who has vowed to run away to NYC with me when we make it big) and we always order the black bean dip for an appetizer. Their Margaritas are pretty awesome too.

Hence why we were so excited to hear that they served Brunch.

For once we woke up early enough on a Sunday to where we could consider eating out for breakfast. We arrived at Cabos around 11:30am, and waiting for only a minute or two to get a table cleaned off. The place was packed and loud, and while we saw our favorite waitress in the distance, we were served by someone else who we only vaguely remembered from dinner service.

I got a water and hot tea- Josh got an orange juice. I expected to get the basic lipton tea bag, but our waitress returned with a cafeteria-like tray beset with 8 different teas, all in large plastic-wrapped boxes. Evidently not many people order hot tea, but they are certainly ready for the opportunity. I chose a Pomegranate Red, which was quite nice, and we ordered our food. Josh ordered the Vegetarian Breakfast Fajita with a side of home fries and bacon and I ordered the Eggs Atlantic (promised to be a favorite of the staff) with a chocolate chip stuffed pancake.

Then we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The crowd was dying down as we waited, and food was coming out of the kitchen, but not very quickly. When we finally received our food, the waitress dropped it off, refilled Josh’s orange juice, and whisked away.

Josh’s entire breakfast fit onto a small plate, although it was crowded. The bacon was greasy and the omelet (loaded as promised with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and other veggies) was virtually tasteless.

The Eggs Atlantic was a glob of poached eggs, broccoli floret shreds, and mushrooms congealed with a sickly-sweet “sherry sauce” over four triangles of toast. The whole thing was, at best, lukewarm. The eggs were poached just right, so I ate those and a bit of toast, then moved on to the pancake.

The top was perfectly brown, and I drizzed the syrup and slipped pads of butter onto the top. Then I took a bite and felt like an old Wendy’s commercial. Where was the chocolate? An inspection of the bottom proved that the chips had all sank to the bottom of the pancake and burned on the stovetop, leaving the majority of the bottom of the pancake a lump of charcoal.

We hadn’t seen our waitress since the food was served, and had to ask a nearby waiter to help us find her. When she returned I showed her the bottom of the pancake and she asked if I’d like another. I agreed, and another was brought in a fraction of the time that it took to make the first. This one had the chips evenly distributed, but was overcooked and dry, so I only ate about half of the cake.

After all of that, we still love Cabos, but it will certainly remain a “dinner-only”.

Website: http://199.44.235.18/cabos/

Cost: $-$$ (Brunch for two will cost around $20)

Rating: Never Go Back!

So I’ve decided to change this into a food blog for Tallahassee restaurants. I’ll need to figure out a judging system and try and take pictures of food in the places, but I’d like to have a real list of places I’ve eaten and what I’ve liked. I figure, with a good list I can actually find places to eat every night.

So if you read this and would like to submit places for me to look into, let me know.

All credit goes to Good Housekeeping and Gimp (Photoshop-like Freeware Program).

So I’ve gotten it into my head that I should explore new culinary boundaries. Today I shall start with… Cupcakes.

In that vein, lookie what I found!

Panda eats, shoots, and leaves. This time, it’s cupcakes. Johnny Cupcakes is a company in MA that specializes in cupcakes and crazy shirts. Honestly, I’d love any of their cupcakes, shirts, hoodies, undies, or jewelry. Just in case you were wondering. ($34 at johnnycupcakes.com/shop)

If one ate cupcakes all the time, one might gain a bit of poundage. So here’s something fresh, yummy, and… Wait! It’s a USB drive! And damn cute too! ($100 on Dynamism.com)

So my boyfriend loves Tabasco Sauce. But does he love it this much? ($37 at Countrystore.tabasco.com)

Mmmm… Now I’m hungry!

In commemoration of my new job with a top advertising company, I’ve found a few things that I’d enjoy buying for my new office (even if it’s in the hallway!)

So your New Year’s Resolution is to eat less chocolate. Yet, you crave that goodness at work. This handy gadget smells like chocolate, yet will never melt, expand your waistline, and will hold anything you can fit in between the cubes of “chocolate”. Found on Uncommon Goods for $15.

I don’t know yet if I’ll be allowed to hang things on the wall, but if I can, what better thing than a coat hanger? Or maybe a coat hanger masquerading as a trio of darts? Found on Elsewares for $34.

Keeping yourself hydrated throughout the day is very important in a high stress environment. This handy gadget hooks up to your USB port and keeps your chosen beverage cold- found on Perpetual Kid for $29.95.

So I’ve been having quite a few interviews lately, which made me wonder. How can I bring oddness to an office? What if my office is a cubicle? I’ve scoured the internet for the answer….

Am I obsessed with poo? Some would say so. In this vein, I have found a company that creates paper out of sheep poo. Of course, it’s sterilized and unrecognizable as poo, but the shock factor is fun. Especially if you make the item into an air freshener. If anyone asks questions, I’ll just say that I’ve worked in a barn for too long… (Offered through Sheep Poo Paper in Wales for 1.49- that’s pounds, not dollars)

Obviously this wouldn’t be a good item if I end up working with kids again. But in an office of adults, you might as well recognize the elephant in the room and say what needs to be said. Then you can erase it with this product by Paper Source ($4).

Back scratcher? Don’t be so blase. This is a ball scratcher.

No. Really.

Found at Gadget Pages for 6.75 in pounds- lots of Brit stuff today!

Spice it up!

Have you ever wanted to pass for normal, but just couldn’t contain your geeky-ness? Try this shirt from Mental_Floss. Not only do they make great magazines, they also have great t-shirt ideas. ($14.95)

 So  you’re moving soon, but want to make sure that all of your belongings will arrive safely? Let them know that Ninjas guard this loot with the special packing tape by Archie McPhee ($4.95)

Librarian by day, but biker by night? Archie McPhee still has you covered. At least, parts of you.  With inscriptions like “Librarians Rule”, you can let those little punks know who’s in charge. Psst! Quiet in the Library!! ($7.95)

Ok, so maybe I’m a little old to be interested in playing the “FanGirl”. But hell, who wouldn’t want these shirts?

The question everyone wants to know: Does it come in black? Applies to shirts, shoes, and Batmobiles. Found at Stylin Online for $18.

Of course Godzilla dances! Honestly, the poor guy works so hard helping Largo destroy Tokyo, he might as well cut loose every once and a while. Provided by Megagear (Through the creators of Megatokyo) for $17.

In today’s world, it’s important to know your options. And summoning a creature larger than the Empire State Building should always be one of them. Created by Penny Aracade, sold through ThinkGeek for $17.99.

Even though my sister’s the big Serenity/Firefly fan, I did take quite a liking to this shirt. The inscription reads: “Dear Buddha Please bring me a pony and a plastic rocket”. Maybe if she gets the shirt we can share. Offered through Stylin Online for $18.

I never felt that the Winter Holidays were over until Valentine’s Day. Of course, I have a birthday person before and after (Amanda and Freak) but Valentines is one of those where everyone gets involved. So in that vein…. Valentine’s Goodies!

These chocolates aren’t just decadent sounding and packaged beautifully, but isn’t chocolate the quinticenssial Valentine’s Day present? These are from the New Tree’s Belgium Chocolate Company and would be the perfect thing to hide around the house for a sweet scavenger hunt! (Currently unable to find “Cocoon” online… other varieties on Amazon.com and can be purchased locally at Clusters and Hops)

Ok, Ok… I know that chocolates are much more traditional for Valentines. But I’ve got a special soft spot for cookies. A rather large soft spot. And packaged in these little silk bags, could you really say no? These are also Oprah’s favs from the Pacific Cookie Company for $24.95