The Couch Tomato in West Chester, PA

On Saturday afternoon, my family and I stopped by The Couch Tomato in West Chester, PA.  I don't usually spend a lot of time in West Chester but my husband does. He easily found us a decent parking spot fairly close to the restaurant. (Hint: The parking meters nearby have free parking until 5PM on Saturday!) I believe there are some parking garages in town but they aren't quite as close to the restaurant.

We arrived around 4:30PM. Strangely, the only other people in the building were the two guys that walked in before us. However, more people arrived after we sat down, closer to 5:00. 

The Couch Tomato is set up a little bit like a fast food joint. You place your order with a cashier then you find a seat until they call your name over the loudspeaker. Once you hear your name, you head back to the front area to pick up your food. You also bus your own table, separating the recyclable materials from the food waste and placing the dishware onto shelves next to the trash can. So maybe not quite like McDonald's but not like a sit-down restaurant with waiters either. 

I had a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato bisque soup. The grilled cheese was delicious. It had a mix of cheeses and arugula grilled on...well, OK, I'm not sure what kind of bread it was. But the bread was chewy and crunchy at the same time. As for the tomato soup, I'm not a huge fan of tomato soup and, since this was a bisque, it wasn't quite a creamy as the tomato soup I'm used to. It wasn't the worst soup that I've had but it wasn't something I would have usually ordered. 

While my food was delicious, it took a very long time to come out. My husband and my daughter ordered food and both of theirs arrived before mine. My daughter got a Hail Caesar salad and my husband got the Couch Club sandwich. (More on those later.) All of the sandwiches are grilled so I'm not really sure why my sandwich took 20 minutes to cook while his only took less than 10. 

This was my daughter's Caesar salad. We both really liked it. (Yes, I tried her food too!) The salad dressing was perfect; the lettuce was nice and crisp; and the hard boiled egg was well-done. My daughter didn't like the croutons too much but she doesn't usually like croutons to begin with.

My husband had the Couch Club sandwich. This is turkey, tomato, turkey bacon, cheddar, and avocado ranch on a weird sort of sesame bread. As I said, all of their sandwiches are grilled, unless otherwise requested. I think I liked his sandwich better than mine. It was a little bit bigger so it might be difficult for small mouths to bite into but I think it would be well worth trying. The bacon was crisp, the turkey was tender...I didn't even realize there was avocado ranch on it! I would probably recommend this sandwich over the others.

Finally, my husband and I both got fountain sodas. And we both chose the cola flavor. The Couch Tomato uses New Hope fountain soda, which uses cane sugar instead of HFCS. For some reason, our sodas tasted off. We have both drank our fair share of cane sugar soda and he has had New Hope soda before. None of it tasted like this. It had a weird aftertaste that none of us liked.

As a whole, we had a rather enjoyable experience at The Couch Tomato. The only downsides were the soda and the extremely long wait for my food. Otherwise, the food was delicious and very well priced. 

If you would like to see my video review of the restaurant, please click below:

I received my grilled cheese and tomato soup for free in exchange for this review. All opinions contained within are solely my own. 

Gwynnie Bee has let me down

I have been a loyal Gwynnie Bee customer for a little over a year. I opened my account in April 2014 and I haven't looked back. Until now.

Let me start by saying that I have never been particularly "fashion forward." My favorite clothes are jeans and sweatshirts. However, Gwynnie Bee opened me up to a whole new world. They showed me that I don't need to hide under sweatshirts. For the first time in a very long time, I wore dresses. And they were cute dresses. And, even though I am "fat," I could look good. Really good. And I felt good.

In case you haven't seen my Gwynnie Bee video reviews, I will start from the beginning. Gwynnie Bee rents plus-size clothes. From pants to cartigans to dresses, you can probably find something you will like there. For a monthly fee, you can receive anywhere from one to ten pieces at a time. When you receive your clothes, you also receive a blue bag for returning the item. Once you wear the item, you simply put it in the blue bag and mail it back. But if you like the piece, you can purchase it. In the past year, I have purchased two dresses. 

Fast forward to this week. On Monday, a mere five ago, I wore this amazing dress.  At $78, it was a little pricey for me but I decided that I would buy it on Friday, when I got paid. This morning, I logged onto my Gwynnie Bee account, fully ready to purchase the dress. I was stunned to find out that the dress now cost $91.50. In less than a week, the price went up. I don't think I have ever experienced a retailer raising prices on their clothing. Sure, there may be sales or discounts but the cost going up?

So, I emailed the company, hoping it was just a typo. Nope. I received a reponse stating that their prices are dynamic and they change based on how many pieces of a certain item they have versus how many customers have "closeted" the item. Basically, because I chose to wait until payday, I have to pay an extra $13.

Sorry, Gywnnie Bee, I refuse to play that game. I had every intention of purchasing this dress and I probably would have purchased the dress that is arriving today. (It is the same dress in a different pattern.) And I am quite seriously debating on closing my account. Why should I continue to try on clothes without a guarantee on how much the piece will cost if I want to buy it?  What happens if the price changes in the two or three days that it takes for a piece to get from your warehouse to my door? Not only do I get punished for waiting until my paycheck arrives, I also get punished for the delivery time? This is a ridiculous pricing structure and I suggest you rethink it.  

Movie review: Big Eyes

My husband, knowing that I wanted to see Big Eyes, rented the movie from Redbox over the weekend. We didn't get a chance to watch it until Monday night but I'm glad we did.

In case you are not familiar with the movie, Big Eyes tells the story of Margaret Keane, an artist who is famous for painting children with large eyes. After she left her first husband in the 1950s, Margaret did what she could to support herself and her young daughter, Jane. She found a job painting art on children's furniture. But she never stopped painting the big eyed children. It was during an outdoor art exhibition that she met Walter Keane, who would eventually become her second husband. 

Walter was an artist himself. However, where Margaret painted people, Walter painted Parisian streets. When Margaret's first husband threatened to take custody of their daughter, Walter proposed to Margaret. Now there would be a stable home for Jane. 

Ever the businessman, Walter tried to get both his paintings and Margaret's into art galleries. When that failed, he rented wall space at the local jazz club. People would frequently ask about the children with large eyes and Walter began to tell them that he painted them. Margaret was angry when she found out about Walter's lies, but he somehow convinced her that this would be better for sales. 

Years passed. Margaret continued to paint the "big eye" paintings and Walter's fame continued to rise. Profits soared, allowing them to open their own gallery. 

One day, Margaret came upon a shipping box with Walter's name on it. Inside, she found dozens of Parisian street paintings with a different artist's signature. She suddenly realized that she had never seen Walter actually paint anything. After scraping the Keane signature off of one of his paintings, Margaret confronted Walter. 

Despite knowing about Walter's false life as a painter, Margaret continued with their "big eye" ruse. Walter had convinced her that no one would accept a woman as an artist and that business was better if everyone thought he created the paintings. It wasn't until the 1964 World's Fair in New York that Walter's lie began to unravel. An art critic, John Canaday, rejected the piece Margaret painted for the Hall of Education. Canaday called the piece "tasteless" and Walter just lost it. 

Eventually, Margaret tired of the lie and how much of her life she lost to Walter. She took Jane and moved to Hawaii. It was here that she was introduced to the Jehovah's Witnesses. With some support from the community, Margaret sued Walter for slander. Since the case was he-said-she-said, the judge decided that, in order to figure out who was telling the truth, both parties needed to paint a picture. Walter claimed he had a shoulder injury that left him unable to paint while Margaret completed a painting in 53 minutes. Margaret won the case. 

Big Eyes is a very difficult movie to watch in 2015. Since it takes place in the 1950s and 1960s, there is a lot of misogyny and male dominance in the story. Margaret stays with Walter, despite the fact that he is taking credit for all of her work, for ten years! Even when she knew what a con man he was, she still stayed. The viewer definitely needs to keep in mind that, at that time in history, it was very difficult for a woman to leave her husband and be independent. Thankfully, the movie does a fairly good job of setting that up early on.

This is also one of the few movies where I could forget who made it and who starred in it and just lose myself in the characters and story. Amy Adams did a wonderful job becoming Margaret and Christoph Waltz was scarily good at being Walter. On top of that, it didn't have all of the telltale signs of a Tim Burton movie. It is obvious that Burton loved the film's subject and took a lot of care to tell the story properly. If you get a chance to catch Big Eyes, I would definitely recommend checking it out. Margaret Keane's story is an inspiring one, even if it took her a long time to make it happen. 

Cinnamon Vanilla English Muffins?

I don't always eat Thomas' English Muffins. Actually, I rarely eat them. But when I do, it is usually the plain or the cinnamon raisin version. I really love cinnamon-flavored foods. Applesauce, bagels, oatmeal...you could probably make anything taste better with a bit of cinnamon on top. So when I saw these strange english muffins in the bread aisle, I knew I had to taste them. 

Yes, those are Cinnamon VANILLA english muffins. I like cinnamon. I like vanilla. These have got to be delicious, right?

After working up some courage to actually eat one of the muffins, I found out that they are. Despite the fact that they smell like a candle, they are quite tasty. I have read some reviews where people say they can taste a hint of vanilla. I, however, did not. It tasted like a regular cinnamon english muffin without the raisins. (Which works better for me, honestly. The raisins tend to get stuck in my toaster and that is never a good thing.) They were definitely not as scary as I thought they would be. 

So go forth, all of my cinnamon lovers. Eat your fill of the cinnamon vanilla english muffins without fear. They are only available for a limited time. Stuff your face while you can! 

A little help please!

As you may know, I have a 13-year old daughter. She is in 7th grade. Her middle school has a chapter of the Technology Student Association. This is her second year as a member of the club. They do all sorts of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) competitions. 

At the regional competition this year, she helped build a solar-powered car, a bridge, and a website on 3D printing. All of these ended up qualifying for the next competition level - states. At the state competition, she built a glider that flew for over 8 seconds, she helped build another bridge, and she helped build a mobile map of her school. The map display placed third, which qualified her to go to the national competition.

The national competition takes place in Dallas, TX this year. She would really like to attend. However, it is a little expensive to get from Philadelphia to Dallas. So I have started a crowdfunding site to raise the funds to get her there. I would really appreciate it if you could toss a few dollars her way or share the link on your choice of social media sites. She has worked very hard to qualify for nationals. It would be awesome if she could actually go.

http://www.youcaring.com/tuition-fundraiser/send-morgan-carothers-to-her-first-tsa-national-conference/342261

Thank you so much for helping! 

BakeItFun Silicone Baking Mat

My husband enjoys baking. A lot. He is always baking cupcakes or cookies or something that is bound to expand my waistline. Luckily for him but unluckily for me, I am always in charge of the clean up. So I end up having to scrub all of the cookie sheets that he uses. And, usually, there are all sorts of cookie bits (or whatever) stubbornly stuck to the sheet. 

That is why I thought this would be perfect! He would be able to bake it calorie-laden delights and I wouldn't have to scrape burnt cookie crumbs. Perfect, right?

The answer is a resounding, yes! Not only did it keep the cookies from adhering to the cookie sheet, it also gave my husband a way to keep his cookies from getting too large. He tends to put huge dollops of cookie dough onto a regular cookie sheet, resulting in enormous cookies that either burned to a crisp or didn't bake all the way through. Since the BakeItFun Silicone Mat has cookie-sized guides printed on it, we can make sure that the cookies are just the right size. If you are into baking cookies, I highly recommend giving the mat a try. It will make cleaning up so much easier on everyone involved.

I received the green baking mat for free in exchange for this review. All opinions contained within are my own. 

Evian Facial Spray giveaway

I'm pretty sure everyone has heard about Evian, the bottled water.  But did you know they also make a facial spray? The Wilkes Group, the US distributor of the spray, has allowed me to host a giveaway for it. Twenty people will each win two 5-oz facial sprays. Just click below to enter! The giveaway ends on 3/29/15. Good luck!

Never Ending Bad Day

Never Ending Bad Day is a tween book aimed at kids aged 8 - 14. The main character is Misty, a 14-year old girl, who is spending the last day of her summer vacation in South Carolina with her family and their close friends, the Green family. For the final day of vacation, the parents let the children decide the entire day. After Misty and her best friend, Stanley, plan their day, Misty decides to toss a coin in a nearby fountain in order to wish for the day to never end. Little did she know that the gargoyle statue topping the fountain was actually an ancient ogre. The ogre curses poor Misty to have the most terrible day ever. Just when Misty thinks the worst day is over, she finds that she is doomed to repeat the day over and over again. Will she be able to break the ogre's curse or will she be forced to live this day for the rest of her life?

I thought the plot of the book was rather interesting. However, the author spent way too much time on the minor details of the first day then glazed over the events of the consecutive days. As a result, some of the chapters were extremely short (for example, a page and a half) while others were a lot longer. It may work for some of the younger readers but it is a little jarring for more experienced readers. I also thought that the ending was a little abrupt. It was almost like the author randomly thought to add in some "cool" magical ending, even if it didn't make a whole lot of sense in the context of the story. In addition, there were some minor misspellings littered throughout the text. Overall, the book wasn't terrible but it wasn't the best tween book either. 

If you would like a get a free copy of the book, you can sign up for the author's newsletter here: http://www.ladyjennivieresquill.com/join-the-newsletter-2/

“I received a copy of this book for free. All opinions contained within are solely my own.”

Waves of Love

Waves of Love is a slightly different type of romance novel. Thirty-two year old Sage owns a bookstore/cafe in a small beachside community in Florida. Little did she know how drastically her life would change when surfer/writer Derek Chambers showed up in her shop looking to promote his newest book. Will they be able to overcome their age difference or will they be destined to float through life alone?

I don't usually read romance novels. This novel, however, was very different from any other romance novel I have ever read. Not only were the chapters really short, most of the story revolves around the budding relationship between the main characters and not just their sex life. It was also extremely easy to read. I could have finished it in a few hours, if real life didn't get in the way. 

Admittedly, I enjoyed Waves of Love far more than I expected to. I was actually a little disappointed that the book ended. Since this seems to be the first of a series, I may need to pick up the next book to see where their romance goes. 

“I received a copy of this book for free. All opinions contained within are solely my own.”

Trapped Tales

Trapped Tales is an anthology of short stories written by a group of writers called The Columbia Writers. Each of the 10 stories has the theme of being trapped. Sometimes this means the characters are physically trapped, sometimes it means they are emotionally trapped. It is interesting to see all of the different ways one can interpret the word "trapped."

While not every single story is amazing, I did find it wonderful that none of the stories were similar. Even though the theme was the same for them, each story had its very own theme, setting, and voice. I highly recommend giving the book a try. I bet you will find a new favorite author!