peace

As promised, I am updating again rather quickly...I am trying to make up for not blogging in the last several days...or weeks. I was gone for a while, so that is a contributing factor to my absence. Well, here I am again. Nate tagged me in this revolving blog post, and while I have already actually done this once on my other blog, I will indulge my readers and complete this again...my answers may be different...we'll see.

AbRaCaDaBrA, WoW!
I LIKE boys with real confidence, not bravado
I LIKE girls with keen, intelligent conversation.
I like coffee
I like tea.
I like sunshine soaked days followed by cool nights.
I like learning and growing as a person.
I like friends who know you better than you know yourself at times.
I like waking up to sunshine through my window and a song in my heart.
I like counting my blessings.
I like deep conversations at my favorite coffeeshop.
I like success after hard work.
I like chill Sunday afternoons with a book and a hammock.

I LOVE seeing the world through new eyes.
today I am overwhelmed.
in some ways, I love everything
its less, its less of a thing to like, its less distinct, its less particular
i like things that I like but I love everything
there's more choice in like
cause even the worst things have things you love in them
I don't know what you mean about things I hate
I hate not being the person I could be.
I hate an entire week without sunshine.
I hate prejudice.
I hate thinking with my heart instead of my head.
I hate waiting but in a way, I would rather wait instead of rush ahead.
I hate bad coffee.
I hate when people make cruel statements.
I hate not knowing.
I hate this, wow...
Sorry.

news

A couple pieces of news from the Springfield Coffeeshop circut--

First the sad news. Rendezvous is closed...forever. :(
Yes, it is very sad...

Secondly, there is currently an effort by the Springfield Coffeeshops to encourage visiting them all. It is called the disloyalty card. Here is the announcement with all information included.

Also, The Potter's House is now open for summer hours. I'm looking forward to spending some time there with friends tonight. Lovely!!

Well, there is a brief update on coffeeshop in 417 land.

Until next time (which will be another couple minutes)...keep your coffee strong.

fancy a cuppa?

Confession: So I'm actually just as addicted to tea as I am to coffee. I did live in London for a summer, though, so you will have to cut me some slack as it's a habit I definitely fell into whilst around the Brits. I have always enjoy a spot of tea, but I went waaaay overboard in London-town. I'd say 9 cups in one day is a little extreme even by British standards.

The fact that that was 2 years ago has somewhat lessened my habit, but there are just times when I start craving a cuppa. Lately this has been happening...I have been craving Green Tea with Jasmine. Yes, my tea cravings are always incredibly specific.

And just as with coffee, I am a bit of a tea snob. No Lipton tea for this girl. I will drink a couple of Celestial Seasonings teas, but mostly I am rather picky about my tea. My favorite is Twinnings Teas. That's where the Queen gets her tea, so I guess it's good enough for me. It is possibly the most adorable shop ever. I went there at least once a week when I lived in London.

Hopefully after all the green tea with jasmine that I have been consuming in the last couple of days, I will soon be past this craving.

My impossibly large mug of tea that I had for breakfast.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong (or your tea).

a bit of ranting

There are often times as a barista when I wish everyone was as obsessed about knowing their coffee as some of us are. I understand that that would just be asking a little too much of the general coffee drinking population. When I do come across the occasional person who does know their coffee it is extremely refreshing. I think that's part of what I love about hanging out in coffeeshops (real coffeeshops--Starbucks doesn't count); these people know their coffee.

Connally found this wonderful picture which explains the difference between all these different coffee beverages for those who are coffee-illiterate. I kind of wish I could just blow this up and print it on a poster board and post it by the menu. Then when people order a macchiato they will truly be ordering a macchiato.

Kudos to Connally for finding this little bit of amazing-ness

Okay, rant over...for now. My coffeeshop is currently closed for a couple of weeks, and I miss everyone like crazy...because as I've stated before, this is not just a coffeeshop, but a family, a community, a home. I'm sustaining myself with an iced honey latte, some good music and some work on PoHo business. I might have to go visit some more coffeeshops, though in the next couple of weeks.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

a love affair

I dearly love coffee. I dearly love coffeeshops. What I do not dearly love at this moment are the repercussions I am experiencing from the decision to have a latte at 11 PM.

Here's the situation: I was very tired, so I had my friend make me a honey latte. It was delicious. And it also had two shots of espresso in it. Well, after not having had any caffeine in the past two weeks you can imagine the shock that gave my body.

And here I am 7 hours later, still awake. I guess the good news is that I have gotten quite a bit accomplished. The bad news is that I have a final this afternoon, I am closing at work tonight, and I haven't gotten any sleep.

This is, however, one of the joys of coffee that I was hoping to rediscover after my caffeine/coffee fast, and indeed I have. Caffeine is indeed very powerful, and a very good tool when used correctly.

Lesson Learned: All-nighters sometimes happen even when you don't plan them. Oops.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

Rendezvous

Downtown coffeeshop...open late every night of the week.

Try the Pollock--ask for your second shot (it's free).

All of the Artist inspired drinks are delicious though. The O'Keeffe is equally d'lish (that's how some friends and I decided that delish should be spelled).
My one complaint is that they don't have enough plug-in's for computers.

The environment is chill and relaxing like coffeeshops should be. Exposed brick, ventilator shafts, booths, and board games.

Art on the walls, and the wonderful smell of roasting coffee. A delightful coffeeshop.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.

coffee isn't a competition

Two of my friends are former baristas...and they are attempting to have a competition over who can make me a better latte. I told them that it isn't a competition, but they won't listen to me. It doesn't help that they are both men and that they are best friends. Of course, it has to be a competition.

I do look forward to drinking some good coffee, though. Especially since I haven't had caffeine in over a week...I know...scary!! This is probably not the best time of the year to go off of caffeine as finals are looming before me, but when I realized just how much caffeine I was consuming I was a little concerned about my health. I want to enjoy coffee a couple times a week, not 5 or 6 times a day. Well, that's not really true...I want to enjoy coffee 5 or 6 times a day, but for the sake of my health, I think 2 or 3 times a week is a much better option. All things in moderation.

I'm going to make coffee scones for a friend this Saturday. What a brilliant idea to have coffee and scones combined...delightful.

Until next time...keep your coffee strong.