Star crossed lovers.

This magic machine is just what every coffee lover needs; providing endless, fresh brewed coffee within an instant. Each cup brews in about 30 seconds. It's amazing! I'm actually feeling a little guilty that I didn't give this Christmas gift the proper praise sooner, but will consider it for the better since I feel more informed and experienced in my opinion.

I first experienced the Keurig some time ago. It was limited to one cup and complicated by my first time use coupled with the reusable K-cup basket. The whole thing kinda went by without a thought. A year or more later, after an incredibly long night at the hospital with my dad accompanied by a restless sleep filled with worry, my dearest gal Rachel presented me with a little 'cup' and seconds later I was indulging in the most magnificent taste of warmth and rich coffee flavor against my lips. Three cups later I knew I had fallen in love...

Upon return from Ohio, I started hinting around and making indications of how eternally content I would be if received such a majestic gift from dear old santa. Deep within, I knew this was selfish because I already own a perfectly good coffee maker, even if it does require some effort. I was born and raised in a worker class family. I'm not afraid of a little work at 5 am just so I can have that first god damn beautiful cup of coffee each morning. Not to mention that I'm also a cheap ass and starting thinking that maybe it was the most affordable option for heavy consumer such as myself. And what about the extra waste using an individual plastic cup each time? Dear mother earth don't hate me! I wanted, no I needed this.

Regardless of whatever internal turmoil I was experiencing, come Christmas, Mr. Keurig made his appearance. Santa is a smart man and who I am to argue?

After over a month of use, I'm just as pleased as day one. I quickly got over any issue involving laziness. "Hum. I feel like coffee." No debating about whether or not it's worth making a pot because no one else is home or no one else wants ones. And I hardly ever stop at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts now because I know that it will be just as easy to get a cup at home. It's freakin' awesome! The biggest problem is that due to the effortlessness, I'm compelled to drink coffee all day long when I'm home.

My second biggest concern was the combined issue of the waste and the cost of the individual K-cups. I was advised to check into Green Mountain's monthly membership delivery. Concerning price, it equals out to less than $.50 per cup. Less than even Wawa or Dunkin Donuts on sale. They have a ton of varieties including flavors like chocolate glazed donut and the classic french vanilla, plus travel mug strength, teas, and hot chocolate. The shipping is free with a certain order amount. You can choose the time frame between deliveries according to your consumption, so no worries about getting overstocked. In addition, Green Mountain is also equally concerned about the waste of the K-Cup and working to make improvements. It is in fact, "top priority." If you're equally concerned about your waste production you can read further about what they're working on. If that's not enough for you, purchasing the reusable basket is always an option to cut back on waste, but also cutting back on the major convenience factor.

So, pretty much I have nothing bad to say and love my Keurig the mostest. If you see me on a Saturday afternoon running around in circles in my front lawn it's probably because there was just too much lovin' for one girl and her coffee

p.s. Make sure you buy one of the models with a water reservoir and cup size option.

Good Morning...

Wednesday is the new Friday...

...at least for me it is. I'm heading off to Ohio tomorrow for a long weekend and boy do I need it! This has been the longest short week ever. I'm still recovering from the weekend war of the doors that not only had us up in the middle of the night to apply a 2nd & 3rd coat of paint, but rolled right into my Monday night forcing me up way past my bedtime.

No sleep=grumpy Rachelle.
No one likes grumpy Rachelle.
Except for maybe the Folgers.
Because I've consumed about 10 gallons of coffee at work this week.
And you know I'm tired if I'm drinking Folgers anyways.

I even missed my morning workout yesterday. gast! Next thing you know I'm heading down the slipery slope from Thanksgiving right through New Year's and starting 2011 with an extra holiday 15lb gut.

Does it seem like I skipped right over Thanksgiving? Well, that's because Thanksgiving pretty much just skipped right over me. The day started with a little baking & green bean casserole preparation, followed by leaf raking until we basically got snowed out, then we hopped over the bridge to in-laws for dinner, aunts for dessert, then back home to get ready for work on Friday. You heard me, work on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Truly sinful.

Guess I should have just titled this post Wednesday is for whiners.

What's mine is NOT yours.

We have 4 travel mugs in our house. Two of them are absolutely Jim's...they were both given to him as gifts. Of the remaining 2, one is pink (obviously mine) and one was sent free in the mail through a chiropractic association that I belong to, so I'm going to claim it as mine.

I'm really not a mine and yours kind of girl, but in some scenarios it's necessary. Jim is terrible about bringing the travel mugs back. So, he typically ends up with 3 of the 4 mugs at his office or stuffed into the bottom of his bag with mold growing on a damp papertowel inserted into the bottom to absorb in remaining coffee. But he always curtious enough to at least leave the pink one alone. Until today. When I opened the cupboard and there were NO travel mugs!!!!!
Where is MY pink mug?!

It was 5:30 and I was tempted to shake Jim in bed a throw a royal fit. How am I suppose to make it through my hour commute without coffee? It's almost as bad as the time my friend Sarah substituted my morning coffee with decaf. gast!!

But, I'm not that mean and decided I would just prefer to call him out on it to a larger audience (i.e. my blog). And I found the 'free' mug in the dishwasher b/c I had used it yesterday.

You got lucky this time Jim....

Monday...

"Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven."

~Jessi Lane Adams

Thursday's thoughts

I really need to change the songs on my iPod.

I have nothing planned for dinner.
I wonder what it's like to have a personal chef?

I think I am incapable of making a decision on new countertops for kitchen.

My hair is super duper frizzy today.
and I don't even care.
I wish I had been around for afros.

I want to go back to Vermont.
In the Fall
and go apple picking.

I just got a little surge of excitement just thinking about Fall
and candy corn.

Now I can't concentrate.

What was I thinking about?

Is it really only 2:30?

Dunkin Donuts ice coffee is the best.

a love affair.

A patient brought me this chocolate cake last week. Layers of moist chocolate cake and chocolate mousse and a hard chocolate icing. It was a tad bit crazy last week trying to unpack and get life in order at the new house, while continuing with bazillion project we had started over the weekend. I was smart enough to unpack the essentials first, which of course includes the Bailey's.

Coffee with Bailey's... AND chocolate cake! A dream come true.

I don't remember the exact moment I had coffee with Bailey's , but I do know when I started loving them. In the fall of 2003 I started waitressing at Emile's, a family owned restaurant in upstate NY. I had quite a bit of waitressing experience when I started. Mostly chain restaurants that use a system of limited table assignments and overlapping shifts, so that the staff is largest during prime dinning times on the weekends. It's common in these types of restaurants for some of the service staff to leaver earlier in the night, when things start to die down and a small group stays to close the night.

Emile's was famous it's prime rib and the salad bar. Patrons loved it. For me and the other gals, it meant more work; setting up, filling and cleaning throughout the night, and putting it all away at the end of the night. This, combined with the way the restaurant was set up, led to a pooled tip system. All the waitresses put their tips together at the end of the night and it was divided equally. This meant that everyone stayed the entire night.

This also meant at the end of the night we all gathered at the bar for an after work drink. The bartender was usually Karen (I found her picture on the website, so I guess she's still there.)

via

My drink was coffee with Bailey's. I worked there almost every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night for over a year. I had a coffee with Bailey's at the end of every shift. We've been in love every since.

a little secret...

Have some extra Maxwell House from your grandma's last get together that needs used up?

Looking to spice up your the hum-drum of your daily home brewed coffee?

Love the smell of cinnamon in the morning?

Here's a little secret I learned back in my waitressing days. Sprinkle a little (or a lot) of cinnamon on top of the coffee grounds in the filter before brewing.

Viola!

Ok. So it looks just like any other coffee I've ever brewed in this house. I haven't figured out how to capture smells in my blog yet. Give me a break...I'm still learning. But trust me! It tastes and smells like I snuck over to Starbucks and married my coffee with a cinnamon dulce latte.

Day 2. No Coffee

Dear Coffee,

I miss you already. Don't worry I'll come back soon. I just needed a little break. I think our relationship was getting a little too serious. You were my first thought every morning, and I felt tired and grumpy in the afternoons without you. I just needed to know I can be independent again. I love you forever and hope we can still be friends.

Love, Mrs. Robinson

White chocolate mocha & vintage

Tuesday night I decided to drudge through the mall for the last of my Christmas shopping. The most delightful part of it was indulging in a white chocolate mocha. The pick me up not only got me through the rest of my shopping but also had me wide awake when I arrived back home at nearly 9:00. It had been a long day for us both, so Jim and I decided to cozy up on the couch to watch The Pianist.

Excellent film adapted from the autobiography of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jewish man from Warsaw, Poland who survived WWII. Need I say more. Anything regarding WWII tends to leave me teary eyed and feeling a strong sense of quilt for EVER complaining. But, I've always loved the stories.

This was the second time I'd seen the movie, but the first time I took note of the beautiful fabrics and decor of the early 1940s displayed in the beginning of the movie (this is quickly replaced with bare necessities as the families are taken from their homes and forced into ghettos). Lovely floral and paisley patterns, prestine china and vases, conservative knee length wrap dresses and pencil skirts. If you're in to sewing check out this website for lots of patterns for vintage dresses.

In summary.
White chocolate mochas.
The Pianist.
Vintage dresses.

"the best part of waking up...."

Our upstairs neighbors, Mike and Marissa, have started a coffee company. They've been spending a lot of weekends at local festivals and fairs promoting their new venture. But, Mike still makes time to offer his expertise on my ice coffee recipe. Thanks Mike!! Check it out here.

Ice Coffee

Jim and I finished up our Memorial Day weekend relaxing in the backyard with a fresh pitcher of ice coffee. I'm still perfecting the recipe but it was still a cool, refreshing, and uplifting treat!

Grande low fat mocha whipped....

I discovered I can drink coffee with a little Splendid and nothing else. Probably bad news.