An employee offers free samples of drinks outside Starbucks' Vigo Street branch in Mayfair, central London January 11, 2013.STEFAN WERMUTH/Reuters
It sounds like a Portlandia joke: A woman who calls herself "Beautiful Existence" has pledged to subsist solely on Starbucks goodies for 2013.
Why? She hopes the challenge will help teach her (and everyone watching) the meaning of being "limited" while living in the Western world.
It isn't the first year-long challenge Existence has taken on: In 2011, the Seattle resident resigned herself to shopping exclusively at Goodwill. This time, she'll be noshing on Marshmallow Dream bars and raspberry truffle cake pops, experiencing the transformative power of a limited menu.
"We're really lucky, and I would say actually spoiled as Americans, because we have all these different eating options," Existence told Linda Thomas at MyNorthwest.com.
"You go to all these other countries and they don't have these luxuries. Really? Is it really going to be that hard for one year of my life to limit my menu? We'll find out."
Like others who have embarked on year-long projects – from photographing one cloud daily to writing one song a day – Existence will blog her experience.
Citing Morgan Spurlock and his McDonald's challenge in the documentary Super Size Me, Existence said she is taking on Starbucks … for women: "Where is HER VOICE on how an international company is directly or indirectly impacting everything, from her waistline to her bottom line and every other woman's, man's, child's, society's and planet's world, with their presence?" she bleated from her blog.
She also told MyNorthwest.com that, so far, her challenge is costing her $18.79 (U.S.) a day, or nearly $7,000 for the year, Eater.com tallied, pointing out that's about $4,000 more than the average American woman spends on groceries annually.
It's anybody's guess how a cushy Starbucks diet will help alleviate the plight of the world. And though there's no end in sight to year-long-challenges, how about a new resolution: Challenge yourself privately at various points in the year other than January – and try not to be a lemming.
Zosia Bielski