From Cacao to Coats to My Fav Accessory

Today is a little bit of a mish-mash.  First up, to continue our chocolate discussion, Adrienne from The Rich Life asked me yesterday how the cacao smelled when we were stepping on it and the funny thing is, I don't really remember!  So I had to do a little investigating! 

My raw cacao beans

I pulled some raw cacao beans out of my pantry to see what they smelled like.  When I first opened the package there was no noticeable smell wafting my direction.

Raw cacao beans with the packaging {in case you want to find some of your own ~ it's always helpful to see what it is you're searching for.}

So I stuck my nose a little closer to the package and they smelled kind of fruity.  Not chocolatey.  Which is interesting to me {in a way, but I'll explain more about that tomorrow}, because if you eat real dark chocolate it definitely doesn't taste like the chocolate you are probably used to.  In fact, if you're like Rebekah from Cupcake Caramel, she thought it tasted like dirt.  And I have to admit, when I first started cooking with it and trying to make my own chocolates, it didn't taste so great to me either!  But!  The fudge sauce recipe I blogged the other day is definitely sweet, yet dark and doesn't taste like dirt!  I promise!  It's taken me a while to perfect the recipe, but I think we got it right finally!  :D

But in other news, I am continuing along with my fashion experiment and trying to acquire the correct type of clothing for my type.  Yesterday as I was thrifting, I came across this coat:

In the past I haven't been a huge fan of yellow on myself but I'm willing to step outside my comfort zone to try this out. It fit the criteria of things I need to look for plus it felt so springy!  So I grabbed it.  I think with the right styling it could be quite fresh and cute looking!

I've also been thinking a lot this week about my favorite accessory after Janet at The Gardener's Cottage showed us hers.  I couldn't really think of one off the top of my head because I actually have quite a few that I adore, but I finally narrowed it down and I'm going to say that this scarf is my favorite:

I love it because it is lightweight, fun and springy {as in bouncy!} and the perfect creamy shade.  And those cute little "grapes" are so fun!  And amazingly it is one of the accessories I already had that still fits within my type!  Hallelujah!  I would be so sad if I had to stop wearing this one!

So there you have it!  An odd assortment from chocolate to coats to scarves!