Simple Living

Finally!  They had the Moon Swatch in stock and snagged the Mission to Mars.  My 1st choice would have been the classic Mission to Moon, but the Red Mars is captivating. The watch is so thin it actually does better on a NATO strap and the stock white strap is too stiff and bends at an odd angle that swapping to a new strap is a must. Overall, for $260 this is an expensive Swatch, but seems worth it as a value prop in getting a cool collaboration with Omega. Ironically, this is the closest I’ve gotten to acquiring a real Speedmaster…someday. Update - 11/11/22 - 5 day review So, the verdict is in…the MoonSwatch is a meh…it’s too fragile for certain tasks and I have to be mindful if I’m near water like cooking or washing my hands. Otherwise, it’s comfortable and light on the wrist.  Takes a few days and adjustments to wear in the watch strap, but it starts to settle and you get used to how it sticks out on the side buckle. The best part of this Watch is the red and white colors pop and gi

Moving up to $40 wines and trying the Darioush Caravan - Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was definitely better than the cheaper wines I’ve had thus far. It didn’t impress me as much as the $40 Flowers Pinot Noir, but I’d likely give Darioush another go.

I’ve had to change my drink order and gave Renew Coffee in Frisco a try and was pleasantly impressed by their hot Matcha Latte. I also tried their Iced Cappuccino and that was decent, but the Matcha Latte was the standout. Giving this place 8/10 rating for their Matcha Latte. So far there are 3 decent shops around Frisco, this is one of them worth a try. Summer Moon - Main St Starbucks Reserve - Legacy West Renew Coffee - off Main St

Wasn’t expecting anything special and was correct as I ordered a plain hot coffee.  The bakery is decent and enjoyed some walnut puff cookies. Their coffee is regular drip from a bunn brand machine, stuff you find in a Denny’s or McDonald’s.

I can never get enough of Magnolia’s and their espresso drinks have been good so far.  My second round of an Affogato and it’s like a perfect pairing between gelato and espresso.

I thought, A Buck 25?  Why not and picked up some bags of coffee from H‑E‑B.  Well…it’s meh at best.  I’ll give them they did the flavoring and aroma right, but it’s sub-par coffee. For those who drink coffee with cream and sugar this might be their jam.  Not for me.

It shouldn’t be this hard to close all 3 activity rings for my Apple Watch, but this is only my second time ever and the first time was almost 4 years ago! My goal for rest of 2022 is to make this happen 12 more times in the final 12 weeks! Then keep it up in 2023 and onward. Update - 5/14/23 This is hard!  I only got my 4th consecutive just now this week in May 2023.  Last time I got this was October 2022. I’ll keep trying and will hopefully get it a few more times this year.

Time for a refresh in 2022 and currently have 44 items in my wardrobe with plans to add 7 items (1 jacket, 1 shoes and 5 shirts). I’ll retire a logo T-Shirt to keep my wardrobe to 50 pieces. My planned 7 items: Green Bomber Jacket - $30 - DONE Air Jordan 1 Low - $110 - DONE Uniqlo T-Shirts (3 Black, 2 White) - $50-100 - Hold for 2023 My wardrobe would then rest at: Shirts - 18 Outerwear - 14 Pants - 12 Shoes - 6 For 2022, I’ve already acquired and replaced a few items to add to this list: Adidas - Superstar Shoes (replaced in 8 months…) Nike - Court Vision Shoes 9.5 H&M Green Chore Jacket M Green Varsity Jacket L (retired to car kit) Air Jordan 1 Low Update - 12/10/22 Picked up pair of Air Jordan 1 Low.  A Red BR Crew Sweater.  I’m done for 2022!

It’s the utility of a simple pair of scissors that makes a 58mm Classic Swiss Army Knife probably one of the best for urban EDC.  While a knife can work, the scissors just works better in most situations. Bottles, bottles… The one drawback of a Classic is the lack of a bottle opener that is remedied with the similar sized Rambler or Manager. For me a Manager, which is essentially a Rambler with a retractable ballpoint pen is my ideal urban EDC. Size and Weight are also factors in dubbing the 58mm Swiss Army Knife one of the most convenient and therefore practical EDC tools. It also free’s up simplifying my choice of a completing the Classic with a separate knife folder and Im finding a 91mm Camper or my 111mm Trekker ideal. But the awl… The only additional tool I could find useful on a 91mm SAK is maybe the awl.  It’s surprising how valuable it is to make a hole in a plastic lid using an awl. That said, the Cellidor 91mm awl is in an inconvenient location in the bottom tools and can ea

Bummed on the quality of Adidas having gone through my 3rd pair and all wore out within a year.  Both Superstars developed a hole on the right foot on the outer side below the little toe; the tailor’s bunion.  The Stan Smith’s developed tears on the upper sole. I’m going to give Nike another go and added a pair of Court Vision Low to minimize usage of my AF1’s and also to prepare me for eventually a pair of Jordan 1’s. Court Vision vs AF1 The closest comparison I have are with the Air Force 1’s and the Court Vision are a cheaper version.  Build quality looks coarse and I don’t have confidence it’ll hold up as well as the AF1, but at 1/2 the price, it’ll do fine as a beater pair of white shoes. I’ll see how they go and likely go for a pair of Jordan 1 Low in the classic red/white/black color way.  From what people are saying go either lows or highs on Jordan 1’s as mids build quality might not be up to par. Inventory Check 2022 Converse - All Stars White - Beaters Nike - Court Vision Wh

Joe’s Bakery is worth a stop for breakfast.  They have some pretty good Mexican food mixed with classic American Bacon & Eggs. The scrambled eggs is amazing and the Barbacoa wow.  It’s like a perfect match with some tortilla’s. Very affordable.  I did small half price plates too and was filling for me. Also, my first few photos with the new 14 Pro’s camera.  It’s an improvement over the 11, not a leap above like the 11 was vs the 6s, but still better.

This is probably not a fair comparison as the 11 is the entry level model for the 11 series and the 14 Pro is one of the premium ones for its series, but I own both and very familiar with the 11 having owned one for two years and just started using a 14 Pro. Initial Impressions? Since the 5.8 inch iPhone X, most modern iPhones since have looked and behaved roughly the same.  They seem to have standardized around the 6.1 inch form factor that was introduced with the XR and then the 11; the only real difference between the XR and the 11 were the single vs dual back cameras. So the 14 Pro being the exact same 6.1 inch screen as the 11…it basically feels like a similar iPhone in function. Yes, triple cameras that are huge and 48MP vs 12MP.  OLED screen, better processor, memory, and so on…but a lot of these features feel like they are incremental…nothing significantly different. There was a big leap change when the iPhone X launched and sadly the 14 does not feel anything like that. Next y

Did it.  Got the Apple Watch SE 2nd Gen 44MM in White.  I have the Cellular+GPS model so curious to see how that compared to my old Series 2 GPS only model. I wanted to wear for a few days then get around to giving my review.  Overall, it’s very similar to my old Series 2. Update - 10/1/22 - 10 day review It’s good.  I’d recommend an SE 2nd Gen for anyone seeking a smartwatch and didn’t want to spend $400 for a Gen 8 or $800 for an Ultra.  The SE covers all the basics and I find it helps me ‘untether’ from my phone. There is something liberating not having to always have my phone with me. It takes time to configure the watch faces and I’ll likely continue to experiment until I find the right set of Watch faces. Another benefit, the activity rings help motivate me to exercise more and I’ve pushed my daily walking average to about 8k steps; before that I was closer to 4-5k steps. Update - 7/23/23 - 10 month review The SE 2 has been a good watch.  It does what its supposed to, but I'm

Still searching for a good Cappucino in Dallas.  Tried Kona Reserve in Frisco and it’s meh.  They slightly burnt the espresso, but surprisingly that helped it not taste like a cup of warm milk. Excluding the coffee, place is very nice, friendly staff, great parking.  Most coffee shops in Dallas at least have that going for them…but still searching for a good Cappuccino. Cappuccino rating 5.5/10