Seattle Chocolates: Holiday Collection

In honor of holiday season, which is now officially upon us, I wanted to share these fun new truffle bars from Seattle Chocolates. I’ll admit that it was the cute, retro-inspired wrapper that originally caught my eye, but it was the unusual flavors that really reeled me in! The collection, which is titled Baby It's Cold Outside, was inspired by song titles and lyrics of the 1950’s, and comes in five different flavors: Hot Buttered Rum, Mom’s Hot Cocoa, Candy Cane Crunch, Holiday Cheer Eggnog, and Christmas Cookie.

I shared my bars with my friends and family and they all disappeared fairy quickly, but there were two clear winners: Hot Buttered Rum, which combines toffee and a hint of rum to recreate that warm cozy feeling that you would normally get from the drink, and Candy Cane Crunch, a delightful blend of chocolate and peppermint that also has the distinct advantage of being the only dark chocolate bar in the bunch. These two also happen to be my favorites visually speaking, especially the Hot Buttered Rum, which features an old-school skier against an aqua background. You can check out the full line of holiday truffle bars, and shop online, right here. You can also click here to find a store near you.

MVOTD: TVXQ (Day 248)

TVXQ's The Way U Are. It's so amazing, I feel like it needs to be taken apart scene by scene. However, that won't work so I'll just have to describe it in agonizingly detailed detail (but not really).

 The Way U Are is an epic of a music video that could have been shot in the 90's. However, I know how old TVXQ is and that would have been impossible. The Way U Are's Cheesy 90's "special effects" include; morphing video footage - Tire to wheel, wheel to pool table, pool table to drink-, standing against a wall in slightly less than extremely baggy jeans with knees bent, weird flailing dance moves, and fun funky beat. In my head, I call it the transition from 90's American pop into what is now most definitively Korean pop. Kpop has a completely different style than American pop and in the music video you can sort of see it getting different.

The Way U Are starts off by establishing that TVXQ are bad boys. They are involved with motorcycles, gambling, pool, and alcohol. Or maybe that is lemonade. Then Jaejoong sings. The mild ramen hair is introduced (to be made bigger for 2005-2006), as are the sheer "shirts" the guys dance in. The shirts are embarassing, especially Yunho's which is obviously designed to mainly cover his nipples.

TVXQ is then established as being interested in a lady who is more badass than all of them put together. She drinks, she wins at pool, she threatens men who may or may not be Max, she plays poker, and she defeats Yunho in racing. She also doesn't wear tattoo sleeves in order to look cool. That makes her the ideal woman. They all pine a bit, but just dance in general. Lots of comfortable looking knits are used. Jaejoong's white shirt looks like it is covered in fake blood. Mickey dresses up as a 1920's gangster. It is all very surprising.

This Youtube shot shows Junsu's hair matching the red plant. If you were wondering what "ramen hair" is, Junsu's hair in this scene is ramen hair.

As a song The Way U Are is fun and kind of catchy. The dance looks like it would be fun to learn. The music video is super cheesy, and is therefore wonderful. It all goes nicely together. Good job TVXQ and SM.