The CEO of Starbucks, Kevin Johnson, shared a letter with us earlier this week outlining the brand’s commitment to the community. Now, Starbucks has announced that it would be offering free coffee to those serving on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new policy includes police officers, firefighters, paramedics, doctors, nurses, hospital and medical staff and medical researchers.
Joshua Trujillo, Starbucks
Now through May 3, any customer who identifies as a front line responder to the COVID-19 outbreak will receive a tall brewed coffee (hot or iced) at no charge. Starbucks also announced that the Starbucks Foundation will donate $500,000 to support US front line responders. This money will be divided equally between Direct Relief in support of the delivery of personal protective equipment and essential medical items and to Operation Gratitude which will deliver 50,000 care packages and handwritten letters to first responders and health care workers.
Starbucks has temporarily transitioned to a drive-thru model for the next few weeks. Some exceptions will be made for those cafés serving in or around hospitals and health care centers.
Hummus is available in a wide assortment of flavors. From savory to sweet, the options seem endless. Now, a new and exciting variety is available at ALDI—Dill Pickle.
This hummus is only 50 calories per serving. Its also vegan and gluten-free. If dill pickle doesn’t do it for you, the new Park Street Deli Hummus also comes in two other flavors—garlic dill and caramelized onion.
Starting in March, ALDI’s Park Street Deli Dill Pickle Hummus will be available for $2.29.
The 46-piece set has everything your sushi chef needs to make their fave rolls and sashimi. For just $40, you’ll get sushi pieces with self-stick tabs, fish and vegetable slices and sticks, rice blocks, felt nori wraps, ginger and of course, wasabi.
The adorable kit also comes with a rolling mat, wooden serving tray, soy sauce dipping bowl, chopsticks, in addition to a reusable menu card that labels the pieces and gives rolling and wrapping instructions. Also included is a display/serving counter which holds all the ingredients little chef’s need for making maki rolls, nigiri, and temaki.
Though we’re just now finding this gem of a play set, according to the Melissa & Doug website, it has actually been around since 2017. Either way, it’s a must-have for budding chefs.
What happened before the Skywalker saga? Now we have the answer. Disney Publishing Worldwide has announced the launch of an all new Star Wars storytelling initiative, Star Wars: The High Republic, previously called “Project Luminous.”
This new initiative will feature a series of interconnected stories told across multiple publishers.
The stories will take place 200 years prior to the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in an all new time period. Star Wars: The High Republic is set in an era when the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order are at their height, serving and protecting the galaxy. This is a hopeful, optimistic time, when the Republic and the Jedi are noble and respected. This multi-year publishing program will be rolled out in phases, with Phase I being called “Light of the Jedi.” This period on the Star Wars timeline will not overlap any of the films or series currently planned for production, giving creators and partners space to tell Star Wars stories in a never-before-explored timeline.
“We are so excited to be opening up such a rich, fertile era for our authors to explore,” says Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. “We’ll get to see the Jedi in their prime.”
The first books and comics are set to debut at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in August 2020, and select titles are available now for pre-order.
“Star Wars: The High Republic will allow creators to imagine entirely original stories in a new corner of the galaxy. Our incredible team of authors worked together alongside the Lucasfilm Story Group and Publishing teams to help craft a completely new era for the franchise that begins with Publishing,” says Lucasfilm Press Creative Director Michael Siglain.
Trader Joe’s has our back when it comes to spice blends. We sprinkle Everything but the Bagel Seasoning on everything and cooking is not the same without their Chile Lime and Onion Salt blends. Now, Everything but the Elote Seasoning Blend will become a welcome addition to your pantry.
This mix of salt, chili pepper, cheese, chipotle, and cumin is delicious on corn or roasted vegetables, but you can use it on many other nontraditional elote recipes as well.
According to Trader Joe’s Instagram post, “Throughout Mexico & across the U.S., street vendors sell mouthwatering, well-seasoned corn on the cob known as #elote. While the fixins may vary from vendor to vendor, anyone who grew up visiting the neighborhood #elotero or making elote at home can attest to its crave-ability.”
If your young Jedi’s Baby Yoda obsession is next level, they’ll be over the Endor moon for the Baby Yoda ice cream being dished up at this Southern California gelato shop.
Eiswelt Gelato is betting Star Wars fans will fall hard for their Baby Yoda-inspired ice cream cones and we think they’re right. The dessert shop in Westminster, California, which is already famous for its animal-shaped scoops, is now serving up a cone that resembles The Child from the Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
Customers can order the “Alien Baby” treat with any of the shops green colored flavors like matcha, avocado, pistachio or green tea. It can be made to order in a cup or a cone.
Traditions are important because they impact our lives in such a positive way. The holiday season is a time full of traditions. At Thanksgiving we have special food we eat, we spend time with people and visit the places we know. Christmas is also full of customs with festivities, celebrations, decorations, treats and time with family. Learn to see the good in keeping traditions and appreciate the happiness they bring to our lives.
What are Traditions?
Traditions are rituals, stories, beliefs, customs and routines that we share and pass on. They can be cultural, familial or religious and are unique to your family or tribe. It is the rituals, both big and small, that tend to create lasting memories. They are often more important than the physical gifts that we give and receive.
Some traditions will evolve and change over time and that is normal. Families blend together, people move and life situations change. Customs adapt to our lives as much as we adapt to the customs around us
Benefits of Traditions
Traditions are important in our lives and provide many benefits. We intentionally create and continue traditions because they provide a sense of belonging and meaning to our lives. Family rituals nurture connection and give us comfort. The special customs and rituals we have give us something to look forward to and something to hope for. They help us anticipate what is to come.
“Family traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world.”—Susan Lieberman
Traditions also provide a constant for us in an ever-changing and fast-paced life. In that way, they ground us. One of the most important rituals a family can do is eat dinner together (more on the benefits of family dinners here). Traditions remind us of who we are and where we belong. The memories attached to the rituals of our lives are strong and give us a feeling of connectedness to a time, place or person.
Why Traditions are Important
I urge you to make time for special traditions this holiday season. They often take time and maintenance and it is easy to decide the effort isn’t worth it. However, the effort truly is worth it! The benefits and impact of creating and maintaining traditions will more than outweigh the work involved. The joy and connectedness you feel will make you realize it is all worthwhile.
Favorite Holiday Traditions
Going into the last few weeks before Christmas I am going to try and pause my busy-ness to make time for baking our favorite cookies, sitting down and watching our yearly Christmas movies, filling the advent calendars, singing along to Christmas carols and joyfully attending the yearly concert and play.
One of my favorite family traditions is decorating our Christmas tree. Each year we get the tree set up with lights and garland. Then, a few days later, we decorate the tree with all of the special ornaments we’ve collected over the years. Our kids are given a special ornament that represents something special about their year….a place they visited, a sport they played or an interest they have. As we sit together around the tree and take the ornaments out, one by one, we talk and laugh about the story or memory attached to it.
Our tree is covered in mismatched but meaningful decorations and it tells such a story. Someday, when the kids are grown and in homes of their own, I may change the tradition and have a designer looking tree in our living room. But for now, nothing is more beautiful to me than this expression of our family.
A new tradition we’ve started in the last couple of years is to volunteer at a Christmas store for those in need. We donate and wrap gifts, help people shop and provide a beautiful and meaningful Christmas experience for those who need it the most. We now look forward to this day of serving each year and find so much joy in being a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Challenge for this Week:
What are some new traditions you can start? Maybe a tradition of serving others and volunteering together as a family? Is there something from your childhood that you remember with fondness that you want to start doing now? It is never too late to start a new tradition.
I choose to see the good each day. I am a happily married mom of two teenagers who also works part-time. I write about my thoughts and observations of good thing. My goal is to inspire readers to find joy without changing their circumstances, but by merely changing their view.
Just in time to give fans a green Christmas, Universal Studios’ Green Eggs & Ham Café has re-opened.
Located at Seuss Landing in Universal Studios Orlando, the Green Eggs & Ham Café is now serving visitors a new holiday-inspired menu. Delight your palates with treats even the Grinch would love, like Who Hash, which is actually an adorable can of tater tots with peppers, onions, corned beef and cheddar.
Fans can also try Green Eggs and Ham tots, which is made up of green eggs, diced ham and cheddar cheese on top of tots . Other menu options include a variety of tater tot-topped selections, like Pizza Tots and Buffalo Chicken Tots.
This is the first time the cafe has been open since 2015. No word yet on whether this is just a temporary set up for the holiday season or if it will remain open in the New Year.
You’ve cleaned enough crumbs out of your kiddo’s car seat to know how much they love Goldfish crackers. And now, just in time for the new year, Pepperidge Farm is launching a new product line that is guaranteed to get some veggies into every serving.
Goldfish Veggie crackers are the brand’s first-ever line of crackers made with 1/3 serving of vegetables. Available in two delicious kid-friendly flavors, Cheesy Tomato and Sweet Carrot, you can feel good serving these at snack time.
Goldfish Veggie Crackers will be available at select grocers including, Kroger and Publix starting January 2020, followed by a nationwide roll out in March 2020.
If your preschooler would prefer competing on Cupcake Wars over serving up the been-there, done-that play kitchen fare, the Fisher-Price’s Cake Pop Shop set is the perfect holiday gift.
Your young master chefs can pretend to set up their own boutique bakery with this adorable wooden playset that features all the sweet treats you could ask for along with a stylish cake stand and a to-go bag.
In addition to colorful cake pops, your little baker can serve up cupcakes, cookies and macaroons to their clientele. The set makes the perfect companion to Fisher-Price’s Pretend Charcuterie Snack Set.
The entire set, designed for kids three and up, is available on Amazon where it’s currently on sale for just $12.
