Simple Living

Did a small haul and got 8 pristine Swiss Army Knives. Fieldmaster x 2 Huntsman x 2 Tinker Delemont Evo Junior 9 - Sold Pruning Knife - Sold Bantam Champion Plus Deluxe Climber I’m now fully stocked on Huntsman and Fieldmasters as I wanted those for my car and backpacks.  Now let’s take inventory of what I have in the collection… I did some adjustments and sold the Delemont and Pruning Knife.  I’ll keep the Bantam, kinda cool knife. Current Collection - 35 knives 111mm - 1 Trekker Black // 2011 91mm - 18 Swiss Champ Red // 2011 Champion Plus Red // 2009 - 2016 Huntsman Silver Tech // 2009 - 2011 Black // 1979 - 1985 Red // 2011 Red // 2011 Camo // 2011 Fieldmaster Red // 2011 Red // 2011 Explorer Red // 1991 - 1992 Deluxe Climber Red // 1992 - 1998 Climber Red // 1979 - 1985 Traveler // 1979 - 1985 Hoffritz // 1985 - 1990 Ruby // 1999 Camper Red // 1999 - 2005 Spartan  Red // 2005 - 2009 Black // 2009 - 2011 Ruby/Sapphire // 2009 - 2011 Tinker Red // 2011 58mm - 10 Classic Classic x7 S

Mariana’s Tacos is decent.  I got the Chorizo, Pastor and Barbicoa.  All were tasty and a good size.  It didn’t quite match what I had at Del Sur, but so far it’s second best in North Texas for me; although there are so many more places to try before I can say that. I will dine here again as I forgot to take photos of the food.

The pho is excellent at Pho Pasteur II in Carrollton on Belt Line Rd.  I was curious and was pleased that I tried the Bahn Mi sandwich.  One of the best I’ve had. Update - March 2024 - Bahn Mi is still awesome.  Prices seemed to have gone up though to $6.50, but still good.

Pricing is decent and they are a bit on the dry side in texture, but overall a decent taco from Mr Tako in McKinney.  Giving it a 7 of 10. You’d need double the street tacos to match the size of a loaded taco.  Both had their merits and if you’re hungry buy loaded, if you want flavor go with street.

I’ve been here 5 times in past 2 years but never stayed more than a few hours.  I remedied that and stayed 2 nights to catch up with how Los Angeles is doing.  Overall it has the same vibe as when I remember it from a decade ago. Day 1 - Arrived LAX - Hilton Hotel Day 2 - Santa Monica , El Segundo Day 3 - The Grove, Departure LAX Day 1 - Flight In to LAX and stayed at Hilton LAX Had some drinks and chilled. Day 2 - Santa Monica after Starbucks Breakfast and Dinner at Kagura Sushi Starbucks for breakfast.  Then Santa Monica and finished off at Kagura for dinner.  Fun, cruising about. Then Santa Monica Place & Pier Kagura in El Segundo for dinner.  Umai! More beer.  Enjoying the Lobby.  Kinda nice actually. Day 3 - Flight home Went to Century Blvd McDonald’s for breakfast.  Then ice tea at The Grove as well as a light lunch and said bye to LA.

My first $100 bottle of wine.  And I was impressed.  The Barnett Vineyard 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon was my first real experience of a Napa Valley Red and I’m hooked. What I liked was how balanced it tasted with fruit forward flavors and a perfect dryness that reminds me of some good sake. I’ll reserve these special experiences for worthy celebrations and this was a New Year’s treat to ring in 2023. In hindsight, this was a wine that you’re supposed to wait and enjoy a decade later.  It was still delicious, but as I learn more about wines, I’ll start rotating and leaving these special bottles for future occasions.

Fiction is my favorite shop for the best espresso drinks in all of DFW.  This is a tall order and after trying 30 shops I can’t find any better. The espresso has a hint of butter that you cannot actually taste but just sense it’s there.  The taste is more like dark chocolate so it’s going to be my baseline when comparing other shops.  I’ve become accustomed to ordering both the espresso and another drink so I can evaluate both.

Another excellent taco shop is El Gordo’s south of intersection of I-75 and 380.  It’s not as heavy a portion as Del Sur, but very nicely balanced. Between the two, I’d go with Del Sur, but this place is also excellent and it’ll be hard for me to go back to Fuzzy’s or Torchie’s after discovering these amazing places. I’ll give this spot 8 out of 10.  Very decent tacos.

Yelp has rave reviews for Del Sur Taco in McKinney, Texas so I wanted to check it out and the reviews were spot on.  This place is amazing! Compared to what you can find in North Texas, Del Sur is awesome.  Prices are reasonable considering what they provide. Worth a visit.  I ranking it above El Gordo’s with 8.5 of 10. Another round of Barbacoa and Cochinita Pibil.

I’ve owned various iPhones starting with the iPhone 5 in 2012 and now in my 12th year enjoying my current model the iPhone 14 Pro. 2012 - iPhone 5 2016 - iPhone 6s 2020 - iPhone 11 2022 - iPhone 14 Pro 2027 - ? I was upgrading every 4 years until the iPhone 14 Pro was released and picked it up only 2 years after buying the 11.  I decided to do so as I was previously buying older models  2 years past their original release date so I figured buy the latest and greatest so I can enjoy it for 4-5 years. I will likely save money in the long run by changing my iPhone less often if I upgrade to the latest model available.  So on that theory I won’t upgrade until 2026-2027.  But I may buy iPhone's every 2 years if there are good deals, so who knows. My hunch is to wait 5 years til 2027 as that’ll be the 20th anniversary iPhone. Favorite iPhone?  iPhone 5 In terms of favorite?  I really loved my iPhone 5.  It was the perfect size and design wise was why I wanted the 14 Pro as it looks so m

I hit my weight goal of 170 and decided to splurge on a pair of Airpod 2nd Gen.  They were on sale and got them for $60.  I also scored a free pair of PowerBeats 2 from a friend so I wanted to compare them after several weeks of use. In short, they are very different form factors so hard to really compare them as they serve different purposes.  The PowerBeats are more rugged and designed for outdoors and exercise, while the Airpods are more for casual and indoor use.  Airpods are packaged nicely in their carrying case making them easy to slip into a pocket or backpack. The Power Beats are more substantial in size, but that is the benefit of having it on a wired cable that you can hang around your neck and also manual inline controls.  Perfect for outdoor exercise, especially my daily morning walking sessions. 1. Battery Life - Power Beats wins I only use the Power Beats for 30-60 minutes at a time, but don't charge them for several days and know they outlast the Airpods that requir

I found a new coffee shop called Eiland that roasts its own beans and I’m impressed the espresso was decent.  It had some bitter, but much better than most of the shops so far in Dallas.

More bulk buys.  Some Bourdeaux and Cabernet-Merlot mixes.  Let’s see how they fare as I’ve been impressed by the Garnache, GSM’s and hopeful for Bourdeaux. My wine rack is full at 24 bottles.  Not that difficult with the inexpensive but delicious wine options at Trader Joe’s. Update - 7/13/23 - Fonbadet Bourdeaux is good The Fonbadet Bourdeaux is good!  I’m quite pleased and will bulk buy this along with the La Sonrieta Grenache.  Rounding it out with GSM’s.

It’s a nice concept with a coffee shop in an old house.  Staycation in Richardson Dallas Texas was on my list and it’s acceptable.  It’s acceptable as they do far better than the coffee in North Texas, but not quite as good as those nearer downtown Dallas. I tried an Espresso that was sour indicating it was under extracted, but still better than over extracted bitter shots that North Texas is infamous for. The Cortado was a little better as the milk masked the sourness of the Espresso. Overall, 6 of 10 Espresso rating so I’d imagine the Cappuccino would be comparable. I’d drive further to Houndstooth if you’re seeking good espresso. It’s still a nice coffee shop overall.