Donna's World - Brooklyn, New York

              Many fans of Asian fashions and accessories usually go to their local Korea towns, or
      China towns to find things to satisfy their wants in cities like New York. (There really
      isn't a "Japan town" here that I'm aware of; you're more likely to see that in California.) In
      any case, what some people don't realize is that just about any neighborhood that has a
      decent Asian population will most likely have an Asian store or two pop up, even if it's not
      in a Chinatown or other similar areas. Donna's World is one such shop; it's a cute Asian
      accessory and gift shop that opened up in the 86st commercial area of Bay Ridge. (This starts
      between 4th and 5th avenues.) Owned by Korean owners, the place gets good traffic, not
      only working as an accessory but as a gift shop as well. I was not able to find a website
      online, but if someone can find one, don't hesitate to link it in the comments! Price on the
      items does reflect on the quality; I 've been there quite a few times, and some of the better
      quality stuff are a bit more expensive for a reason. Also, I sorta consider myself lucky; I
      took quick cell phone pics as I'm not sure if photos of the place are actually allowed. :p But
      this is just to give all you folks an idea that shops like this do exist out of Chinatowns; you
      just have to search for them! Below are some items I bought and photos of the shop itself
      to give you a better idea.

                                                                            
 

                                                                             

More Rose Flavored Drinks~

            Hey everyone! A few months ago, I made this post, talking about a rose flavored drink
      that I liked. At the time, that company Cortas, was the only one I knew that made the drink,
      but I'm happy to say I've discovered others! During my summer to New York, I found
      another drink there, and down here in Arkansas, I went to a Mediterranean shop that had
      rose flavored syrup so you can make your own drinks! (For the syrup, I think you can also
      use it as flavoring if you want to make pastries or similar things.) The drink is by Clic,
      (which stands for the Canadian Lebanese Investment Corporation), and is owned by a Lebanese
      man in Canada. Their drink tasted a little lighter to me than the Cortas drink, but I still
      liked it.~ The rose syrup was by a brand called Wadi Zahle', which I unfortunately could
      not find anything online on them, other than they might be another Lebanese brand.~ Their
      syrup, when mixed with water, tastes closer to the Cortas drink, and I found it tastes pretty
      good when mixed with milk too! The pre-made drinks seem hard to find in some areas, but
      if you want to try a rose flavored drink, and don't mind making it yourself, it seems easier
      to find the syrups in any Arab or Mediterranean shop. ~

                                                                             
   

Welch's Filled Licorice

             Hey everyone! Most people, like me, have only seen Welch's products as only juice. So,
      when I saw they were doing candy as well, I decided to give their licorice a try. It was good;
      it wasn't typical licorice, that's for sure. It's more of a gummy than licorice, and the
      filling inside vaguely reminded me of the top candy in Fruit Gushers a little bit.~ It is
      very soft, and I think any fan of gummies in general should give it a try. (It doesn't taste
      like any of their juices though!)

                                                                          

A Small Review on Calpis/Calpico

                             
                      Calpis is a popular beverage in Japan that is made with dry milk, lactic acid, and
        water, and has a special taste that is a little tangy and sweet. When brought over to the
        United States, the name was slightly changed to Calpico. People speculate it was because
        the original name sounds similar to "cow piss." (Yes, I just got the easiest links found on the
        wiki page. :p)

                     Now, I have yet to try the original flavor, (might update this page if I do), but I
          have tried the lychee flavor one, which I adore. (Might have to also do with the fact I
          like lychee anything, but I digress.) You can taste the lychee in the drink, but I haven't
          the faintest idea if it's artificial or actual flavors.~ The end process tastes like a fruit
          drink , and it's because it's so watery that I don't want to call it a "yogurt drink" exactly,
           because it doesn't really taste like a yogurt drink. (Even if they use fermented milk.)

                   If you like sweet and tangy drinks that remind you of candy, go give this drink a
         look. Most Asian shops, (not just Japanese ones), sell this in Manhattan or Brooklyn,
         and probably elsewhere if you look around. If you have milk allergies, best not to try it
         though.~ ^^

                                                                                  

Mamba Sour Fruit Chews

                   Hello there! So,like I mentioned earlier, my latest posts will be covering only little
         sweets and snacks for now. Today I'm going to talk about Mamba Chews. Mamba Chews
         is produced by the German confectionery company, called Storck. Even though it has
         been produced and marketed since 1953, I only heard about them a few weeks ago. Well,
         I saw the candy a few weeks ago might be a better way to put it, and what intrigued me to
         trying it was the fact that while all the candy in the bookstore was close to $2.00, this one
         was a huge stick of candy being advertised for only 79 cents. For about 18 pieces of candy,
         I thought it was worth trying out.

                      The candy was quite good! The chewables was very soft and tart, (not "sour" but
        still good), and it isn't like other chewables that are hard at first and then soften up; it's quite
        soft from the very beginning. It will make your tongue a bit sensitive if you have too many
        though; so don't do what I did and eat the whole package in one shot. ~

                                                                              

Sweet Drinks- Aloe Vera Juice

              In continuation of me wanting to update my snack/sweet section of my blog, (which the
        following post in the upcoming days will also talk about), I'm going to be talking about Aloe
        Vera Juice. Many sites and people will insist on the health benefits of Aloe Vera, but is it
        actually good for you? I honestly have no idea; I drink it cause I like the taste. ^^
                    
                 Now how does Aloe Vera taste like? The juice part tastes like actual juice, and the
        Aloe Vera tastes like pulp, albeit a little on the gummier side. Many different companies
        have their own version out, but the one I tried was produced by Natural Garden. Some
        people have mentioned it has laxative effects, (a Google search will show this), but as
        for how accurate that is I don't know; I don't remember having any weird reaction to it.~

                If you like sweets drinks I do recommend trying it; it tastes like pulp juice, but at
        the same time it doesn't; it has a peculiar taste. (But not in a bad way!) (I'm not sure
        where Natural Garden comes from, but I couldn't find any information on them.) Also,
        it's easily available in most deli's and supermarkets in New York City; but I haven't
         really looked at availability in Arkansas.~

                                                                      

Kinder Chocolate

           So, having realized I haven't updated my snack section very much, I decided to talk about
     Kinder Chocolate tonight. Kinder Chocolate is a creation by the company Ferrero, and Italian
     sweets company best known for Nutella, and those Ferrero Rocher chocolates. I decided to try
     Kinder Chocolate when a friend who went to Europe mourned that she couldn't find them in
     the United States. In New York, I found them fairly easily at grocery marts, and they are
     available in Arkansas, but usually in specialty groceries like Arab groceries, or supermarkets
     with a big European section. I guess what I want to get across is that this chocolate isn't a
     sweet that is hard to find. :p

           Now, before I dug around for it, I passed it by in aisles but never tried it before. Having
     finally had some, I enjoyed the chocolate, and the filling inside was tasty, but very thick,
     so after a few bites, it left my mouth a little dry. It's best to eat small sections at a time; if
     you wanted a snack and didn't have a drink nearby, you'll have to deal with a dry mouth
     for a while.~  It comes in a few flavors; the one I got was with milk flavored cream. Now
     despite coming from an Italian company, I find the lettering looking like German. After a
     quick search, it looks like it's because the chocolate is from the German branch, and the
      original name for it was Kinderschokolade. Here is the German site.

                                                                        

Arts and Crafts - More Sweets Deco

                      So tonight I wanted to share my deco projects I finished a while ago; I'm too lazy
             to make my own cabochons, so most of the little items are little plastic pieces, erasers,
             broken porcelain and glass figures, and cute beads, particularly Whirl n' Wear beads.
             Like my past projects, I used Whipple Cream for the fake cream, (you can buy it at any
            Toys' R Us), and Mod Podge as a sealer and to make it waterproof. (Whipple cream isn't
            waterproof; it also makes the erasers I used feel like plastic.) The box is a tissue box, and
            the pink thing is a hole puncher.~

                                                                               

 

                                                                         

Arts and Crafts Post! How to Make a Fake Flower Wreath

            Now, I'm sure I'm not the only one looking for easy to make flower wreaths, and although
     one could argue that you can simply buy a pre-made one, or that they're fairly easy to make from
     the get-go, many people, like me, want something simple and not so time consuming. A normal
     wreath, regardless of size, needs many knots and twine, or knowing how to carefully braid the
     branches of the flowers in a circular way. I wanted to have a pastel wreath, which is almost
     impossible to find at this time of the year, so after much searching around, I found the perfect
     way to make a simple make-shift flower wreath. I found all the supplies at Hobby Lobby ,and
     the whole thing will take about 15 minutes to make, if not less.

             First, I wanted a handheld size wreath for room decor in my bedroom, so the pre-made
    wreaths and the regular wreath bases sold didn't cut it for me. I found what I wanted with an
    unorthodox method; I used a wedding band that they sold, originally intended to put the veil
    on the bride's head. Next, near the bridal section, small flowers were sold; the type you can use
    for hair corsages or party favors, and have bendable twine attached to them. Finally, I bought two
    butterflies from the outdoor decor section; (I think these are for indoor crafts though; most of
    the materials were delicate.)
             
         The band is fairly thin, so when I got the flowers I wanted, I twisted them around the
     band fairly easily, and sometimes on top of each other, until I got the look I desired. The
     butterflies were attached around the very end; I had a hard time keeping them in place so
     I had to criss- cross around the shape in order to tighten it, (you can see it better in the photos.)
     I was pretty satisfied with the end result, so now I have something cute hanging in my room. ~