Monthly Archives: March 2014

Soda Pop Motherlode in Frederick Maryland

Posted in Shop Reviews, Soda Pop Reviews by
North Market Pop Shop

North Market Pop Shop located in Frederick, Maryland.

In the mood for some chocolate covered maple bacon flavored soda? Want to add a twist of irony to your next house party or shindig by serving your guests some icy-Cold War Leninade? Or do you miss the unusual, almost painful flavor of Moxie cola from Maine? If you answered yes to any of these questions or you’re just a soda pop fiend, a motherlode of soda is available for your sipping and guzzling pleasure at the North Market Pop Shop in Frederick, Maryland.

This delightful, petite shop in historic Frederick stocks a whopping 115 different varieties of soda, including 24 varieties of root beer alone!

You can also stop in for some thick, gooey, locally made ice cream, a hot dog, or some hot cider on a cold winter’s day. As you probably already guessed, you can also score an ice cream float here, albeit in a flavor combination you have probably never experienced before.

A limited amount of seating is available out front where you can also ogle the creative storefront window (which currently

Wall of Soda at North Market Pop Shop

Wall of Soda at North Market Pop Shop in Frederick, Maryland.

contains a delightful mix of retro toys interspersed with colorful soda bottles).

Walking into the store, you might experience childlike glee and have to suppress yourself from jumping up and down with excitement, or else you might feel petrified, overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of fizzy beverage options arrayed before you.

Don’t worry, you are encouraged to mix and match, so take home a 6-pack for less than $15. The friendly and informative staff can recommend some options if you can’t decide what you want. Pick up a convenient bottle opener while you’re there, too, and you are all set, ready to embark upon your journey of carbonated bliss.

On a final note, Jolt cola lovers, North Market Pop Shop stocks not just one but two varieties of Jolt, so you can resume your ill-advised addiction now! This hard to find uber-caffeinated cola has been the inspiration behind thousands of term papers authored in the middle of the night; one could say it was the original “energy drink” of the 1980s. Please drink responsibly!

North Market Pop Shop

237 North Market Street in Downtown Frederick

240-575-9070

Honeymania Body Scrub by Body Shop

Posted in About BubblesandFoam by
Honeymania Body Scrub by the Body Shop

Honeymania Body Scrub by the Body Shop

Finally someone has invented a sugar scrub that exfoliates and moisturizes without either scratching your skin or leaving a slippery residue in the bottom of the bathtub–Body Shop, with its deliciously scented Honeymania Body Scrub. (I kind of want to eat it, but that’s not recommended.)

The scrub, which will make your bathroom smell just like a summer meadow in July, contains fair trade honey from Ethiopia, a natural moisturizer that also has antibacterial properties.

Although the product is categorized as a “scrub,” which sounds harsh, it’s actually very soft, creamy and spreadable; you can smooth it on with little effort. Other sugar scrubs contain granules so large they can scratch the skin; in contrast, the Honeymania scrub has a gooey, smooth, emollient texture.

Even better is the fact it rinses off clean without leaving sugar grains or a greasy film behind; you emerge from your shower feeling smooth and soft rather than oily and you don’t have to be afraid of falling in your tub the next time you step into it.

To be fair, the scrub doesn’t really bubble; but I also purchased the very-bubbly Honeymania shower gel, which is dense and heavily scented, just the way I like it. And I must sheepishly admit I also bought the body butter, which sinks into the skin fast, a benefit I appreciate. I’m a sucker for a nice bath and body product set.

The Honeymania line also includes a lip balm, a bath melt (so tempting!) and related products; you can find your own at your local Body Shop location.

Bubble wrap. You know you love it.

Posted in Bubbly Goodness by

Bubble WrapI have never met a single soul who despises or dislikes bubble wrap; even the most serious, stoic adult will get a gleeful smirk on his or her face when presented with a fresh strip of unpopped packing material to play with.

I know some Marines who used to sneak naps at work while resting on bales of bubble wrap, blissfully dreaming away their troubles on a bed of full of bubbles. Who wouldn’t want that?

Maybe we could even achieve world peace if we could give everyone a little strip of bubble wrap of their own and a few moments alone to sit on the ground methodically popping the stuff.

It’s one thing that unites all of humanity: the deep urge to snap those little cells of air, again and again and again…

I know that when I chance upon stray bubble wrap I tend to zone out into some kind of bubble popping reverie, a strange look on my face, similar to the one my cat Smokey gets when he’s purring and relentlessly kneading a fuzzy blanket. It’s magical, soothing.

Thank you, Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes of New Jersey, for inventing this mesmerizing material for us back in the 1950s.

 

 

Rituals Netherlands Yogi Flow Indian Rose and Sweet Almond Oil Foaming Shower Gel

Posted in Bath and Body Product Reviews by

Rituals is a pampering line of bath and body products produced in the Netherlands; I randomly stumbled upon it when touring Amsterdam for the first time back in autumn 2013.

Rituals Shower Gel in Indian RoseI probably could have died and gone to bath and body product heaven right there in the Rituals shop (there were so many sublime options to sample there), and it was terribly difficult to select only a few small products to carry home in my already-heavy suitcase, but I ended up choosing a petite canister of the Yogi Flow Indian Rose and Sweet Almond Oil Foaming Shower Gel, and I’m so glad I did.

With a light press of the button at the top of the canister, clear gel sprouts from the canister, instantly warming your shower with a comforting spicy rose scent. Touch the gel and it instantly turns into a thick, luxurious, velvety foam.

Rituals offers other products within the same product line including lotion and shampoo, allowing you to layer and increase the presence of the scent on your body, if you wish. Although I brought home the travel sized shower gel, full sizes are available.

I’d definitely be interested in sampling additional products from Rituals and I’ll keep an eye out for their products in the USA.

Where I found my shower gel: A Rituals shop in Amsterdam.

Where you can find your shower gel: Try the Rituals website; the Internet claims you can also find this item at Barneys New York.

Oogave Watermelon Cream Soda

Posted in Soda Pop Reviews by
Oogave Watermelon Cream Soda

Oogave All Natural Watermelon Cream Soda

Hunting through my local Target store for fun new things to try for lunch this week, I came across this Oogave Watermelon Cream all natural soda. I’m always intrigued by soda flavors I have never experienced before, so I instantly snapped up not one but two bottles, and I’m glad I did.

My enthusiasm was piqued by the fact this is a product flavored with agave, a substance which has a low glycemic index (in other words, agave syrup is less likely to make you fat than cane sugar.)

Ironically, to me the soda neither tastes quite like watermelon nor quite like cream, but that’s okay because I love this stuff. What it reminds me of most is some of the mixed berry soda sold in Finland, where I spent many of my childhood summers guzzling pop and downing licorice ice cream cones.

The best way to describe the pop’s flavor is “fruity bouquet.” I know that’s not specific enough for some of you, but other words that came to mind the first time I drank Oogave watermelon cream included “refreshing,” “sparkly” and “pink” (which it is). Yes, somehow this soda tastes pink!

At any rate now I am excited to try any other Oogave flavors I can find.

Where I found my soda: At my local Target store.

Where you can find this soda: Click the link in the first sentence of this review to connect with Oogave and learn which stores near you stock this lovely drink.

Tokyomilk Dark Shower Gel in Destiny No. 79

Posted in Bath and Body Product Reviews by
Tokyomilk Dark Destiny No. 79 Shower Gel

Tokyomilk Dark Destiny No. 79 Shower Gel

I am a sucker for anything that smells even remotely like cardamom, and even though Tokyomilk Dark Shower Gel in Destiny No. 79 does not specifically list cardamom as an ingredient, I get a definite cardamom vibe when using this luxuriously thick and perfumed shower gel.

Tokyomilk indicates the gel contains notes of ginger, jasmine, and honeysuckle, as well as jojoba and shea butter to moisturize skin.

This stuff is thick, so a little bead in the palm of your hand will lather up into a dense pouf of bubbles you can apply liberally–great for shaving, although the product is not advertised for this purpose.

I just love the texture of this stuff–such plush, soft lather! I’m also a big believer in the power of shea butter, so I’m thrilled the ingredient is present in this gel.

If you like exotic, spicy scents and shower gels that actually perfume your skin rather than simply evaporating, this or any of the other Tokyomilk Dark products might appeal to you, as they do to me.

Where I found my shower gel: Gift shop at the famous Brown Hotel of Louisville, Kentucky

Where you can find this shower gel: Use the link at the top of this review to go to the Tokyomilk online shop.

The best things in life are bubbly.

Posted in About BubblesandFoam by
foam03

Welcome to BubblesandFoam.com

A brisk, bracing Italian cappuccino to help wake you up at dawn. A hot bubble bath after an arduous day at work. Sipping champagne from a delicate glass flute at your best friend’s wedding. Blowing bubbles with your niece in the summertime. Guzzling green apple soda when you’re totally parched. Foamy surf crashing to shore at the beach. Moisturizing lather in the shower. A thick head forming on your lager as you perch on a bar stool in your favorite neighborhood dive. Receiving a scalp massage during your shampoo at the spa. Strawberry milkshakes and frothy chocolate floats.

The best things in life are bubbly, that’s for sure.

This blog–which celebrates all things effervescent–was launched by me, Miss Bubbles, in spring 2014, just as the first few snowdrop blossoms emerged, heralding an end to one of the wettest, snowiest, coldest winters the Mid-Atlantic region has seen in years.

After so many months of dealing with freezing temperatures and thumping around in clunky snow boots, it’s uplifting to contemplate bubbles, which are all about light and flight, delicacy, levity and fun–characteristics I also associate with spring. What a perfect time of year to launch a new blog.