Baby's First Liquid Death - Berry it Alive

Liquid Death canned water sounds like it's ripped from an episode of Metalocalypse, but it's legit! And it's actually been around for a while. 

You'd think I would have gotten into this stuff a lot sooner, what with it being covered in skulls and having the tag line, "murder your thirst." Completely my aesthetic, and yet, I never got around to it. 

Then, last night, I was at Walmart grabbing seasonal cat treats (because I'm that kind of pet-mom), when I spotted an 8-pack of "Berry It Alive," on the discounted food end-cap. I figured, what better time to drink Liquid Death than in the midst of Spooky Season? Plus, it's discounted! (Not sure why, but it was only $7.00, a bad omen?) 

So, let's find out if this is...to die for? 

Purse-sized Desserts - Senjaku Berry Cheesecake and Triamisu Candy

Even with my backlog looming over my head, we all know I can't resist an adorably packaged hard candy. I spotted these at Hung Vuong and next thing I knew, they were in my cart. Funny how that happens. 

Portable purse sized desserts? Will they satisfy the sweet tooth? I guess we'll see. 

I've Created A MONSTER in Cookie -Form - Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough

Monsters Cookies - Walmart

Count Chocula and Franken Berry were busy this year, we got the the KAWS designed cereal boxes (plus Boo Berry and Fruit Brute), some themed yogurt, the Monster Mash fruit snacks, and now these take-and-bake cookies. 

Normally these kinds of cookies aren't my thing, but they're Halloween-y, and cereal monster themed! Plus those weird little extruded faces have a certain charm to them. It's like these were made for me.

What do you say? Let's bake up some monsters! 

Monster Mash (Chewy Edition) - Spooky Berry Fruit Snacks

Monster Mash Fruit Snacks - CVS 

Last year we got a Monster Mash cereal, I loved the concept, but the execution left something to be desired. The logo was great, box art was great, but the cereal itself was generic berry and marshmallow, which is the go-to for any novelty release and pretty, "meh." Thankfully, the Monster Mash concept and logo isn't dead and buried. This year we have the same concept applied to chewy fruit snacks!

Snap, Cackle, Pop! - Ghoul-Aid Popping Candy

Ghoul-Aid Popping Candy - Dollar Tree

Back in 2015 I reviewed pouches of Ghoul-Aid, but those were blackberry flavored, so I think this product might be a in-name-only kind of deal. It says "Ghoul-Aid" and it's purple, but according to the illustration, it's generically berry flavored.

With Halloween items getting discounted and disappearing from shelves, let's see if it's worth scooping up.  

Blue are the feelings that live inside me - Pepsi Blue

Pepsi Blue - 7-Eleven

I wanted to introduce this as a "taste from my childhood" but I was in high school. So it's more accurate to say it's a taste from frizzy-haired-awkward-teens.

I remember getting this from gas stations from time to time, so I was excited for it's return. Just looking at it brings back every lyric to Eiffel 65's, Blue (Da Be Dee.) I had their CD back in the day and used to stay up watching MTV2 on the weekends so I could see their weird music video with CG aliens (along with other animated videos like Daft Punk and Gorillaz.) 

Without further ado, let's drink some Windex Da Ba Dee Da Ba Di!  

Nostalgia is Weird, Ring Pops are Weirder

Ring Pop Freeze - Dollar Tree

I can still recite the late 90's Ring Pop jingle by heart. (And I'm sure I'm not the only one.) 

"It's a lollipop without a stick, a ring of favor you can lick! In Wacky and Sour flavors too. Ooh, Ring Pop!" Tune into my brain on any given day and you'll likely hear the Crossfire jingle playing on loop with the Dum-Dums commercial popping in now and again for good measure. 

As vividly as I remember these commercials and their jingles, they actually played a very small part in my childhood. I mean, I never even played Crossfire, and I had maybe one hand's worth of Ring Pops as a kid. Still, whenever I see these things dredged up on a Buzzfeed "90's kids remember" list I feel this overwhelming flood of unearned nostalgia. 

All that build up has lead us to this point. I, a 32-year old lady, with my own money, mortgage, and responsibilities, saw a weird flavor of Ring Pops at Dollar Tree and I bought them for myself. 

Soda Sipping Spree

Soda Sipping Spree   - Misc.

As soon as you put something out into the universe, like "I'm quitting soda," forces immediately start to work against you. So, here we are. Barely a week later and I have not one, not two, but THREE new sodas to try AND even more soda coming in the mail because I am a sucker for Stranger Things and their New Coke promo.

The re-released Stranger Things themed cans of New Coke use the formula previously released in 1985, which is before I was born, so I jumped at the opportunity. As for the other sodas, my fiancee bought me the Spider-man themed Dr. Pepper as a gift, because he knew I was interested in it, as well as the orange-vanilla coke. The California Raspberry coke? That was all me. 

Time to jump in and see how these taste! (Sweet sugary caffeine, how I've missed you.) 

Strawberry Cheerios - Walmart

Strawberry Cheerios - Walmart 

Why are Cheerios so popular? I've tasted all different kinds and they always taste bland and boring, yet they've been around for ages and are practically a breakfast staple. Maybe it's because I grew up in a Cheerio-less household?

As someone who worked at a daycare facility, I always relate Cheerios to toddler-finger-food-fodder. (Sounds like a tongue twister!) They're the perfect food to sprinkle on a highchair tray so kids can practice feeding themselves, and they're easy to clean up. Are those qualities I really want in my grown-up adult breakfast? (Provided that I don't have any heart problems.) I, a self proclaimed Cheerio-hater, have decided to give this brand one last shot thanks to their newest flavor, Strawberry, and I really hope they convert me this time...because I had to buy a family sized box.

Caffé Bene Strawberry Bingsu (I like Dalki Edition) - NYC H-Mart

Caffé Bene Strawberry Bingsu (I like Dalki Edition) - NYC H-Mart

New York was pretty hot and muggy, and my boyfriend and I had a normal sized Smeg refrigerator in our hotel room, so we took advantage of that and walked over to H-Mart to take the edge off with some frozen treats. He opted for a box of Melona honey dew bars, and I grabbed this Dalki version of Strawberry Bingsu.

I tried Bingsu for the first time about a year ago. There was a cookies and cream version at my local H-mart featuring K-drama actor, Kim Soo-hyun that I just couldn't resist. My H-Mart offered two other flavors, a coffee version and a green tea one, but never strawberry. I felt like I owed it to myself to check this flavor out, plus this package features Dalki! She's kind of like the Korean version of Strawberry Short Cake!

America Mix Skittles - Walmart

America Mix Skittles - Walmart

Apparently Memorial Day/Fourth of July themed candies are a thing and for some reason all of the candy companies are releasing theirs super early. So...America Mix Skittles. That's a thing. Part of me wants to make fun of it, because it's America-themed Skittles, but as cheesy as it is, it's nice to see Skittles doing something new, and let's face it, it's a good marketing move. With the upcoming election and national holidays these are going to sell like hot cakes!

Let's get this review started! Taste the patriotism!

Mike and Ike Shredders - Dollar Tree

Mike and Ike Shredders - Dollar Tree

For the record, this product has been sitting in my to-be-reviewed pile for half a year, but I swear it ALWAYS looked like this! (It did, I promise!)

I saw these "Shredders" at the Dollar Tree when they were first introduced and I thought they looked interesting, sort of like mini Sour Straws. Each bag had a little plastic window so your could see the product inside and they all looked kinda...icky. There were two flavors available, this Sour Wildberry one and some pink colored bag with another flavor variety. This flavor looked like it had less sour sugar coating and it also looked kind of oily, while the other had a sour-sugar overload! I grabbed the best looking one of each and tossed them into my cart because I'm a food and candy blogger and I can't resist trying new stuff. Then they sat in the giant back-logged food-valanche pile of products I've been meaning to review for over half a year! (So much for being "New.") I'm slowly but surely working my way through the backlog and since we just recorded a Mike and Ike themed episode of Candyology 101, what better time to tear into these bags? First up, the less sugary-looking of the two, Sour Wildberry!

Strawberry Shortcake Oreos - Walmart

Strawberry Shortcake Oreos - Walmart

Another month, another new Oreo. Between these, Peeps and all the new m&m's...I'm getting pretty overwhelmed! It seems like the second I buy a new flavor of one, three others pop up in it's place. My stomach just can't keep up with it all! Heck, I still have a pack of the limited edition chocolate lemon Oreos somewhere in my avalanche-worthy food horde...I think? They're somewhere around here. I should probably find those and review them soon...

I'll get to those eventually. For now, let's find out if these Strawberry Shortcake Oreos are just strawberry flavored, or actually shortcake-like. 

Dum•Dums Heart Pops - Target

Dum•Dums Heart Pops - Target 

Every time I buy a Dum-Dums product I get the song from their 90's commercial stuck in my head. Looking back, I feel like that commercial and the Blow Pop one were always being shown on Nickelodeon! I can still recite them both from heart, along with the kickass song from the Crossfire commercial!

Dum-Dums lollipops have been around for quite some time but they aren't letting their brand get stale. They've been having some fun releasing pizza, bacon, and buttered popcorn flavored lollipops, some jelly bean centered candies for Easter, and now these new Heart-shaped pops offer two flavors in one. 

White Strawberry Shortcake m&m's - Target (exclusive)

White Strawberry Shortcake m&m's - Target (exclusive)

New year, new limited edition m&m flavors! Recently the cherry flavored ones were re-released, and Walmart had some new chocolate-based strawberry ones (review coming soon), and now we have these fancy white chocolate Strawberry Shortcake ones that are Target exclusive! I guess 2016 is the year of the strawberry, and as a fan of all things berry flavored, I'm all about it!

Crafted Dark Berry Mountain Dew Black Label - Asian Food Market

Crafted Dark Berry Mountain Dew Black Label - Asian Food Market

We're only ten days into the new year and I'm already dead on my feet. I've got places to go, things to do, reviews to write..I don't have time to take a nap! Most people in my situation would grab a cup of coffee, or drink an energy drink, but that's a little too intense for me. Energy drinks always upset my stomach, and coffee gives me heartburn. What am I to Dew? (See what I did there?)

Berry Airheads Bites - Five Below - Marlton, NJ

Berry Airheads Bites - Five Below - Marlton, NJ

The original Airheads bites are something I've been meaning to review for quite some time now. I've purchased at least 5 packages in the last two years hoping to take them home, photograph them, and write up an official blog post, but they never make it. I start out with the best intentions, but I love Airheads! (I'm candy-addicted and weak.) I always end up eating them in the car on the way home.

I'm not sure how truly "new" this berry version is, but I saw it at Five Below during my expansive search for the Minion Tic-Tacs, and couldn't resist giving them a try. Thankfully, they made it home in one piece.

Mike & Ike Strawberry Reunion - Dollar Tree: Berlin, NJ

Mike & Ike Strawberry Reunion  - Dollar Tree: Berlin, NJ

I'm finally putting a dent in my foodie-stash! There's still a ton left for me to review, but I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. (Or in this case, I can see the bottom of the box.) I bought these Mike & Ike's a really long time ago, embarrassingly long, and I'm finally ready to give these a try!

Berry Carnival Pocky - Asian Food Market: Cherry Hill, NJ

Berry Carnival Pocky - Asian Food Market: Cherry Hill, NJ

It's snowing again, and instead of digging out my car like a responsible adult, I'm going to stay inside and review a tropical pack of Pocky featuring a toucan. (I think I've got this life thing figured out.)

Mike & Ike Sweet Paradise (Limited Edition) - Shop Rite: Berlin, NJ

Mike & Ike Sweet Paradise (Limited Edition)  - Shop Rite: Berlin, NJ

This Shop Rite seems to be trapped in a magical time warp of some kind. I found limited edition products well after their release dates, like this Jelly Bean chewing gum, and I've also seen products that I've never heard any other food blogger mention. Like these "Special Limited Edition" Sweet Paradise Mike and Ikes. I haven't seen this special edition flavor listed or reviewed on any other food sites. Is this new? Is it super old? I guess I'll open the box and find out.