Starbucks rubber stamp

Seen @ Wonderland Room

A super cute rubber stamp spotted on Wonderland Room.

Am seriously considering buying it but I am also taking into 

consideration that I have a heap of other stamps that I have not 

had the pleasure of using that is still in its pretty plastic casing. 

Perhaps once I have used all my stamps at least 3 times each...

*snickers snickers* but its cute, no?

Toughest job ever had

Stumbled upon an article about working at Starbucks the 

other day while trawling the interweb. 

The article was titled "Why working at Starbucks for three 

weeks was the toughest job I've ever had". 

I now feel more compassion towards Starbucks barristas.

I also got a book on Starbucks which I have bought.

I think its about how Starbucks changed someone's life. 

Seen @ Rubenerd 

Speaking of Starbucks, I stll miss my dark cherry mocha.

Possibly the bestest coffee drink I have ever had. 

Please bring it back Malaysia, Starbucks!

Starbucks - 40th anniversary

Seen @ Yum Sugar

Who will drink to 40 years of Starbucks? and A changed Starbucks. A changed CEO. These were the two articles that I poured over today. These articles are good case studies for such a global brand like Starbucks. Here in Malaysia, it seems that Starbucks is going strong - in my area alone, there are two Starbucks outlets.

Am trying to cut down my Starbucks intake by perhaps once or twice a month since it is rather expensive but it is quite hard since I am quite used to chilling out at Starbucks with friends but in order to save more {damn inflation and the rising costs of living} I would need to cut down.Doesn't help that I have taken a liking to their new Cocoa Cappuccino *snickers*

Anyways, happy reading folks!

Seen @ Starbucks, Singapore 

Remember: "Hoarding & Collecting is not a crime. It is an art!"

The fate of Starbucks

So Starbucks is changing its branding. The words Starbucks around the “Starbucks Siren” {or mermaid thingy as I call it} will be missing and so will the heavy mugs we have come to love {so much so that we feel like nicking them every time}. The photo above depicts the ‘evolution’ of the Starbucks brand. I for one will miss the current ‘old’ logo of Starbucks though after reading serveal online articles about the re-branding and the thinking that went into this redesign, I do think that this is right move for Starbucks. Goodbye circle and Starbucks name and hello to bigger mermaid.


I don't know for certain if the Malaysian market will be affected but it will be interesting to see some changes at our local Starbucks which I have come to enjoy visiting to catch up with friends, play card games, read my magazines or to just to edit photos or surf the web with B.

Note: This will not be the first makeover the Starbucks siren has received. This is the 4th version of Starbucks' logo since the company's beginnings as a small coffee, tea and spice shop in Seattle in 1971. The first update came in 1987, taking the original bare-breasted siren in brown to a more stylized -- and modest -- version in green as the company began to expand. The image was further refined in the 1990s as the company went public and its growth soared.

After reading a couple of articles {here, here, here, here and here} on the change in rebranding, I have decided to summarize {ok… cut and paste} the articles that I have read for your reading pleasure:

Starbucks...  *$

Starbucks was cool… “It meant 'hanging out' for hours without being tutted at by a waitress. It meant off-site meetings and muffins and it meant sitting alone in a corner with a laptop Mac and looking like you had a blockbuster screenplay in your head rather than an impossible dream of ever getting a date…” and then they were not… “Then it all went to hell. As the shops proliferated, their bright, studiedly informal interiors began to look like cynical clones, the staff quietly morphed from stunning resting-between-jobs actresses into stunned looking minimum-wage droids with thousand yard stares, and everything began to smell of sour milk. What had once looked like the brightest of futures began to look like McDonald's”.

What changes are we going to see for Starbucks?

• Starbucks is going to change its image with a raft of carefully selected authenticity cues. The centrally dictated colour palette and drear interiors will be smartened up with local artefacts, community noticeboards and possibly, whisper it low, second-hand furniture.

• As part of a "rebranding" initiative in the US, they've opened a new site in Seattle branded '15th Ave. Coffee and Tea Inspired by Starbucks', which is an awful precedent.

• Starbucks familiar chunky white mugs will disappear from its British stores this year as part of a major rebranding exercise that will also see the American company drop its name from its well-known logo. The big heavy mugs used in stores, which is apparently a "bit dated", will be replaced with bone china as the company responds to increasingly sophisticated coffee consumers and tough competition on the high street.

• The most famous name in coffee will soon disappear from Starbucks' cups

• The current ubiquitous logo -- a deep green ring emblazoned with "Starbucks Coffee," which encircles a black-and-white siren -- will now be banished from their recycled-content cups after nine years in action.

• The revamp will make the face of the woman who appears in the logo – known as the "Starbucks siren" – bigger

• It will be replaced by a circular image of the green and white siren, with no mention of coffee or the company.

• "We've allowed (the siren) to come out of the circle in a way that I think gives us the freedom and flexibility to think beyond coffee," said chief executive Howard Schultz. The new wordless logo also is better suited to the company's expansion beyond coffee into a wider array of business lines and into more international markets. The brand is now evolving to a point where the coffee association is too confining and restrictive," said John Quelch, a marketing professor at Harvard Business School. "Starbucks is fundamentally selling an experience, but by no means is coffee the only part of the experience. It is important that they not have a logo that is too confining."

• Starbucks plans to go back to its roots creating more 'grungy and individual' stores to hide its corporate image. The bland colours will be banished to make way for bold colours, second hand furniture, community boards and work by local artists.

Some future plans for Starbucks

• The rebranding was a "meaningful update" that fitted in with Starbucks' plans to increase its groceries business, which already sells branded tea and ice-cream in supermarkets

• The company has also brought its store design in-house and will bring a series of new formats to Britain this year, including its first small "neighbourhood" store in London's Soho, which will boast a restored Georgian facade. It will also open its first "walk-through" store on Borough High Street in east London, which will have no seats and will be just 17 feet wide.

• In every store, there will be something that is locally relevant  - 'We’re currently reviewing our approach to the design of our stores, with an amplified focus on local relevance and environmental responsibility however, these will still clearly be branded as Starbucks coffeehouses

• Starbucks is testing a system for customers to order and pay for coffee by mobile phone. It's seeking a way for rewards card holders to earn points buying Starbucks products at grocers or other stores.

• Starbucks is considering offering beer and wine at night in some of its cafes. Starbucks also suggested it is looking at new food business opportunities, though company officials would not disclose details.

 Remember: "Hoarding & Collecting is not a crime. It is an art!"

yay

Am sitting comfortably in Starbucks sipping my peppermint mocha frappacino and daydreaming about the possibilities and the new year... And from where I am sitting, the outlook is simply amazing!! Off to do a spot of shopping now.

Thank you again God.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A rather long and eventful day

Today was a rather long and eventful day. The kind of day when I look back and realise that there are few regrets and many high points. It is the sort of day that makes me smile wider and wish more fervently that all days could be like this but I guess if every day was so good it would be less appreciated. 

As I type this, I try to put aside the list of things that I gnawing at my mind (mainly work stuff) and I listen instead to the snoring of my dear Belly (she is snoring rather loudly today and fast asleep and so tired that she didn't bother to greet me when I came home which is a rare thing indeed for this little beagle!).

I enjoyed today immensely because I got to wake up late, read a book in my jammies, play with Belly, eat curry puffs for lunch, drink grape juice from a box and pad around like a zombie for a couple of hours. I then went for a lovely body massage (though it was too short a time I thinks!) and ear candling session with B and then proceeded to go to Tropicana City Mall for a snack and coffee. 

We tried the new Chick King from UAE and well, its a KFC duplicate except that it doesn't taste like KFC. In fact, it was pretty tasteless and the chicken tasted like a refried day old chicken. The service needed to be improved as well. I give them a year to survive as I am ever hopeful. B gives them 6 months. It's a pity that I found out that my camera was flat when I switched it on. I wanted to document the day for B but alas... it was not to be.

The next shop we visited was the arts and crafts shop Scrapbook Memories  which B wanted to visit (how cool is that, not having to ask to go there this time round!) to buy a gold leaf pen. I browsed the store, ooooo-ing and ahhhh-ing as I played the "touch and put down" game. There were a number of very pretty things that I fancied but I think the prices there are inflated. So after buying B's pen, we proceed to go to Starbucks for a taste of Christmas. I just love their Christmas drinks. Two Christmases I ago, they had this dark cherry drink which was just awesomeness!!! but then the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha is pretty good too. Btw, I am short of 8 stamps to get the organiser this year, anyone who wants to buy me coffee or who wants to donate their stamps to me, do let me know *snickers*

Dinner with the malats followed suit. Most of the malats were there though it was such an impromptu event - thanks for coming all! The Chinese dinner was excellent. We had fried kam heong lala, tofu, vegetables, mantis prawns, pork knuckles, bbq pork, champagne chicken, sliced fish with ginger and erm... I think that was about it. Frontera was of course the choice for after dinner drinks. I really think that we should have our own corner there and a discount card the way we always celebrate occasions there and all that. At the Front, we played a couple of rounds of Monopoly Deal and chitchatted though it was an early night for all for most of us. 

Yes, a full day indeed, huh? So, I came home and went online to blog and facebook and all that. I sent out invitations for a Christmas party and a wedding brainstorming cum Christmas party. Let's all hope that these events do materialize. I love planning parties and stuff and enjoy colour coordinating things. It's just lovely. It would be nice to have more time and $$ to organize these things. Perhaps when I have my own place with B, who knows.

I also had a long chat with B, which I will share with you one day. However, there were three things that stood out today... they are:

1) There is such an awesome release  that follows when you decide to tell the truth. And what a relief it is to have someone not judge you or think any less of you after you have said the things you needed to say.

2) Sometimes, it is not about what we want but what other people want. If there is some small kindness that we can bestow upon someone, we should. Simply because that small gesture might mean so much to someone and we can really make a difference that person's life no matter how small or insignificant the act.

3) I have grown up.

Goodnight... or is it good morning, all *smiles*

Bali Adventure #3 - Murni's Warung, Ubud

After a late lunch at Ibu Oka's and checking into Villa Sarna, we relaxed, had our snoozes and took a dip in the pool before heading off for dinner at Murni's Warung  in Ubud town. We were initially dropped off at a different restaurant which apparently had very good Bebek Betutu, but we felt that place was a little touristy, so we opted to go to Murni's instead which was initially on my list of "Places To Eat In Bali". 

Now before I talk about Murni's Warung, let me tell you a little about Bebek Betutu.  Bebek Betutu is a traditional Balinese Dish. Bebek means duck *quack quack* and Betutu is a popular dish where chicken or duck are wrap in banana leaf, slow roasting with a lot of spices and herbs for at least 4 -5 hours. 

So, naturally, that's what we ordered. We also had their satay lilit, a chicken dish, a vegetable dish and spring rolls. I have to say that the food was very tasty. There were several comments that I had read online that said the place was overrated and that the service was slow, however, I personally didn't quite note the service as we were having a very leisurely dinner. We enjoyed the food tremendously and I had an awesome time trawling through the knick knacks that were sold there. Do enjoy the photos of the odds and ends at Murni's as well as the photos of the food that we enjoyed. A good place to eat - 8.5 stars!

* The chicken dish *

* The satay lilit *

* Bebek Betutu - yums *

* Spring Rolls*

After a scrumptious meal at Murni's, we decided to walk to Ubud town where our pickup point was located. The walk was slow and we "oooo-ed" and "ahhhh-ed" at the architecture and the little restaurants and cafes on either side of the main Ubud street whose name I don't quite know... *snicker* Truly a pity to not be able to hangout at these cafes or browse the delights in the little shops. T'was a good day with good food and friends *grins grins*

* Note the different coloured Starbucks logo 

to fit into the Balinese theme I suppose *