It’s gonna be a good day when you have home-made coffee cake for breakfast. Especially when it’s Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake.
I made the coffee cake yesterday to go along with dinner for last night… which then we didn’t eat. Waking this morning I was excited for coffee of course but sometimes coffee just tastes better with cake.
My flowers kept me company as I ate and enjoyed my first cup. A reminder to stop and take in the beauty. This arrangement is one the better ones I’ve done. The purple roses give off a wonderful aroma. While I ate I scrolled through my phone and checked the Ikea website again… Ashlynn’s bedroom set is available. So it’s ordered and will be here before she starts her Senior year. Woot!
Now I’m gonna grab myself a refresh of coffee and then get ready to head out for errands.
Hope your day is a good day and enjoy your mid-morning cups.
I love salads. And yet I can count how many times I’ve had them for lunch since leaving the workforce on one hand. I would have a salad for my lunch (or dinner depending on my work schedule) most of my last few years in retail. One thing you could count on in our house was a container of our base salad (greens, bell peppers and green onions) in our fridge. Then Scott and I could mix whatever else we wanted in a tuperware to bring with us to work. I even had dressing in the fridge at work. Don’t get me wrong… I still ate out, brought leftovers or soup some days too but most the time… salads.
Being home now I have fallen into a relaxed sort of life. No time tables means my meal times are scattered day to day and it’s much easier to eat whatever is lying around and not an actual meal especially lunch. We tried having a basic salad in the fridge a few times but neither of us really felt like eating it so it would go bad. So, we stopped doing them.
We now have salad makings in the fridge again as Scott is working on being a healthier weight and last week I went grocery shopping. I wound up getting all sorts of fun things to add into salads. It made me happy.
Today’s salad… mixed spring greens, sprouts, garbanzo beans, black olives, avocado, cherry tomatoes, mini bell peppers, chicken and feta. Yums!
I can’t guarantee that this will become norm for me again but oh, it felt and tasted good.
Sometimes I get annoyed at shopping… especially shopping Ikea online (in store too). As I mentioned last night I was measuring and shopping furniture. I found exactly what I want. 3 pieces. 1 piece is an ify… but we want to try it. The 2 others are definite buys. Went to check out… either in store pickup (I have a piece I need to return from last year’s purchase anyway) or delivery. You know what’s not available for either option… yeah the 2 pieces we definitely want. Gah! First world problems I know.
Anyway… that has been my morning. Hoping that as stores open the product inventory is updated and in my favor. I’m hoping that they come back in stock and soon. It is messing with my plan.
But now I’ll pour another cup of coffee and make get my bake on making Travis’ birthday cake. Yay 17!
After a late night of Olympics watching and sleeping in, after Scott was awesome and still went to the gym and after writing a grocery list… my first coffee was at brunch. Where we discovered it’s hard to hold a conversation (First Watch is loud) if you feel like you’re yelling. But surprisingly we stayed quite some time talking.
After brunch we went minor grocery shopping before major shopping in the next few days. Some things can’t wait like getting contact solution and other personal care items, cake stuff for my nephews birthday cake for tomorrow’s celebration and a few other things.
Our afternoon had family conversations where tears were had and new plans formed (raising an almost adult is hard). But then all of us were productive. I did some furniture measuring and shopping online and some minor cleaning. Scott made a menu for next week and major grocery list. Ashlynn cleaned and rearranged her room. And we all rocked out to music. Always need the music… all the music. Scott also made me a Spotify station after a conversation we had about how a teen angst artist today sounded like another teen angst artist from our past.
Dinner tonight was one of my favorites and my main go to when dinner plans don’t fully fall into place. Make your own pizzas. Where it’s turned into Corrine’s Pizzeria since I tend to make them rather than each of us making one. Tonight Scott helped. I made 3 tiny ones cuz Ashlynn likes having a variety of pizzas (ok, she learned that from me) and one large one. The 3 tinys… A Reuben, a ham and pepperoni and a ham and pineapple. The big one… a Veggie. I love making veggie pizzas they are always different depending on what veggies we have in the fridge. This one was spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, mini bell peppers and black olives. Yummyness!
Now it’s Olympic watching time… Yay! Where I’ve already shed a few tears watching the athletes. Seeing their emotions gets me in the feels. Anyone else watch and cry too?… Yeah.
So there you have it… a day in the life of us… Saturday edition.
I’m hoping this cup is truth today… I stayed up too late finishing Vacation Musts last night and after waking up with Scott’s alarm decided to stay up.
So far I’ve filled the dishwasher and run it. Cleaned the kitchen counter, rearranged the coffee corner and pruned the flowers and herbs that are trying to spring back to life after a week of not much attention.
Unfortunately my blast of awake has subsided and a cozy blanket and snuggles are calling. I’m giving in for a bit but hope that my glorious cup gives me the warmth and energy needed to do some much needed cleaning before watching Opening Ceremony of the Olympics tonight.
When we go out of town we try and find local food, local beer, and local coffee. Because when in Rome… Ahem, Minneapolis…
Last week we were in Minneapolis on vacation and we found all those things and a bakery too. Our down day had us checking off the entire list… and totally not on purpose (Only thing scheduled for the day was laundry).
This is our first vacation we’ve had that was long enough to make an itinerary… a kindof loose one at that but full enough that we scheduled a down day. A day to sleep in, do laundry and chat with our hosts. Which was brilliant and Scott totally gets credit for it. It was also a switchable day with the previous day… which we needed. A rain forecast made us switch days so as to not mess with our outdoor plans. Plus a rainy day calls for relaxation and laundry, right? Right.
Anyway both Scott and I woke with the same idea… finding a local coffee spot. After using our handy dandy vacation brochure (Google on our phones) while laying in bed we found a few shops within walking distance and no raindrops to be seen.
We walked the one and a halfish miles to Sovereign Grounds. It was a wonderful walk through old neighborhoods to the shop that sits in a small shopping district at 48th and Chicago. The scent of roasted beans inticed me even before we walked in the door.
I love walking into a local shop. Each one is unique but familiar at the same time. I was amazed by how the owner knew the orders of his frequent patrons and had started drinks before they even reached the counter.
I ordered a vanilla latte and a gluten free quiche, Scott ordered a house cup of coffee, the Turkish Roast, and a cran-lemon bread (I think… I can’t remember the bread). The bread was a little dry but my quiche was phenomenal and seriously the slice was enormous (I swear it was a quarter of the whole thing). The coffee’s were tasty and I was tempted to buy a bag of the Turkish Roast to bring back home.
We chose to sit outside… the smell of the impending storms circling the air… the rich smell of moisture and earth mixed with the smell of beans roasting. We sat and talked at the simple bistro table on the sidewalk as we drank our coffee’s. We talked of the architecture, the streetlight fixtures and what it would be like to vacation/work remotely for a month at a time in different cities. We could get an Air B&B house in Minneapolis for the same cost as our mortgage… hmmm… this could be a possibility… sounds fun right?
We walked back to the house and again I was taken with the beauty of my home state. The lush of green, of the tall flowers and the beautiful houses. It started to sprinkle on our walk home… a slight drizzle turned steady. We commented on how the abundance of trees truly shelter you from the rain. I love walking in the rain.
Rain softly coming down on our heads. Did you notice both of us have a little bit of the humidity curl?
Vibrant fowers, Fairy Villages and Minnehaha Creek
That night we tried out another local spot… Buster’s on 28th with our fabulous hosts… our family friends Debbie and Tom. Ashlynn and Scott both tried cheese curds for the first time and the onion rings were HUGE. Ashlynn and I both had scrumptious burgers and Scott had the Walleye Rachel sandwich. A hole in the wall joint but definitely worth the stop plus their selection of local craft beers was awesome.
We then tried the bakery next door (A Baker’s Wife) for dessert to bring back to the house. Unfortunately we weren’t as fond of well, anything… and we bought a lot of different things…because it all looked so good. We brewed coffee in the Keurig to accompany our desserts and ended up just drinking the coffee and trashing the desserts… the taste still makes me cringe. Oh well, you can’t always have great experiences right?
Our down day was exactly what we needed in a jam packed week of fun. A day of rest, laundry, errands and of course Coffee.
What are some of your favorite local spots near you?
First coffee since coming back from vacation. It’s a rare thing in my world not to drink coffee. For the caffeine certainly but mostly for the taste and smell and the warmth it brings to my soul. Recently coffee has not been a norm and ooh have I missed it.
The little over a week leading up to vacation I gave up coffee and drank hot water with lemon, ginger and honey. I was trying to get rid of a cold that came on strong. It was soothing to my throat and cough.
I did have one last cup of coffee the morning we packed and left for vacation. Home brew with a touch of my creamer is the best cup this girl could ask for. You know that feeling when you’re on your last days of vacation or away from home and you’re joansing for the comfort of your own bed. I have that feeling with my coffee too. So that Thursday I had homebrew coffee knowing it would be awhile before I could partake again. I can’t say it was the best cup but it was a comfort to have it.
Vacation brought the vacation mindset… most the time. We tried local coffee shops and visited chains too (Caribou). I’ll write more on those experiences later. Granted I did buy lemon ginger tea and honey and made that a few times instead of coffee. We tried local food and drink and stayed out way too late chatting with old friends and family.
My body had enough the day we flew back home and was telling (mostly yelling) at me to rest as my cold was trying to rear it’s ugly head again. I couldn’t drink enough water… which has been my last 4 days. I could have made my lemon, ginger and honey concoction but that took energy… so instead just water and sleeping.
Today however after sleeping most the morning I looked at the coffee that Scott brewed and it called to me. Luring me with its seductive scent. Teasing me with hints of hazelnut and vanilla. I was hesitant as I poured knowing my throat is still healing but couldn’t help the anticipation of the first sip. The smell filing my nostrils and ooh that taste. I held that first sip a moment longer in my mouth letting my tastebuds rejoice. Letting the warmth fill every inch.
I’ll stick to just the one cup and go back to water today but I can’t help feeling at peace in my cup of liquid warmth. Knowing that soon I can partake in its warmth again more than just a cup.
Happy mid-day cups my friends.
A big thank you to Ben who gave me a nudge to write again. ❤☕
