Have You Entered My Mason Jar Giveaway?

Time is running out.....

Would you like....

World Market Mason Jar Measuring Cups

World Market Mason Jar Measuring Spoons

a $10 Starbucks Gift Cart

And
this cute towel set from Target?

Then please click HERE to leave a comment to enter.  

Easy peasy!

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Did I Mention I Love Coffee?

Oh yes, I've mentioned it many a time.

You might even call me a bit obsessed.  

Don't worry - others do.

(True story, two Fridays ago I went the entire day without a drop of coffee passing these lips.  You might have read about this incident in the news, but then again, maybe not.  All survived.)

Can I start by saying it's all the More Creative Bee's fault?  She's the one who oh so slyly said, "Let's get a cafe mocha while we're here at Barnes & Noble."  (true, more creative bee - this is not an exact quote)  I said, "Sure, I kinda' like coffee."  (again, not an exact quote)  Little did I know it would degenerate in to late nights at coffee bars, sleepless nights, and eventually making "shots" at home.  I even got my brother hooked.  (And he's more hardcore - he drinks that stuff straight.)

Well, I've always been a latte fan, but recently I have a new obsession.

French.

Pressed.

Coffee.

Doesn't it sound elegant?  And difficult? And fancy?  And high faultin'?  (not sure I've ever actually typed high falutin' but I couldn't resist)

Actually, it couldn't get much easier.

Wanna' see how?

1.  Get yourself some wicked hot water.  I heat mine in a tea kettle, but not quite to boiling.  If your water gets that hot, it might crack the glass carafe you're going to press the coffee in.

2.  Pour your hot water in the carafe.  Scoop about 3 heaping spoonfuls of your coffee dujour (sneaky French, n'est ce pa?) and put it in the water.  Give it a quick stir with a wooden spoon.

3.  Now wait.  Go put your make-up on, brush your hair or something else that takes about 5 minutes.  Of course, you can plunge it at 3 minutes or you can wait and plunge it at 15-20 minutes.  Your choice.  I forgot to plunge it one day and it was still delicious after about 20 minutes.

4.  Now, come back and slowly push the plunger down.  Voila (more sneaky French) - your coffee is done!  Drink up my friend.  I like to add a splash of half and half (and by splash I mean about 2 ounces - I love my dairy products) and some turbinado sugar for a little sweetness.

Now you aren't intimidated by this anymore, are you? (It's okay - I used to think it was too high falutin' too.)

And trust me - this will the most delicious coffee you EVER make!  I also recommend getting a Bodum  French press - it does such a nice job with keeping the grounds out of your cup.

Now......would you like for me to make you a latte or a cup of French pressed?

Thanks so much for buzzing by today!  

So happy to see you!

P.S. Why are the pictures so dark?  Why we are having a thunderstorm!  Now we rarely have spring thunderstorms, let alone summer ones.  We are very excited listening to rumble of thunder and seeing the flash of lightning and smelling the sidewalk after the rain.

P.P.S.  Linking up to Cozy Little House
and
Share Your Cup!
Fun!
Thanks ladies!

Vintage Style Coffee

Sometimes it's just the little things that can make a soul happy.

My mom, Baby Bee, and I ran some errands in the big city today.  One of our stops was Macy's.  Haven't really been there for quite awhile.  (ummm....that was not the little thing that made my soul happy)

So, we're at Macy's and HAVE you heard of this Martha Stewart?  Yeah, she makes some wicked cool kitchen tools.  This Martha lady has this line of vintage style enamel canisters.  She really has a good eye. 

So.....I've been needing an airtight container for my espresso.  The glass jar looks pretty, but my coffee would start to get stale before I finished a whole pound.   

(uh oh - need some new java soon!)

And I bet you can guess where this is going, right?

I found a new coffee canister!  

With a gasket to keep the coffee fresh!  

And a label in JADEITE GREEN!  

See, I told you, it's the little things!  

(And it was on sale - under $10!)

Cannot wait to make my latte tomorrow morning!

Pssst......can you tell I've been playing on PicMonkey? 

And Martha has flour, sugar, and tea canisters too!  Ssssssweet!

Oh.....
and one more thing.....

Susan Branch is a bad influence on me.

Do you see what she made me do?

Love Susan, but I'm blaming it all on her.

Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Have I mentioned lately that I love coffee?

You might have noticed that I sort of like coffee.

Yes, my name is Sweet Bee and I am a latte lover.

It all started way back in 1996 when I first started teaching.  I had a 45 minute commute -one way- to the middle school I was teaching at.  This was not freeway driving, it was all country driving.  So I found a great little coffee place in the town I lived in and I would call the owner, order my drink, and then he would bring it out to me.  This was costing about $80 a month.  Ridiculous, right?  But I just couldn't give them up.  So I bought my first espresso maker.  It was a Krups that cost about $50.  The problem with that one was that it scared me a little bit so Worker Bee always had to make my drinks because I feared it would explode on me.  Why I wasn't worried about it exploding on him I don't know.  Well it died, so I progressed to a $100 Krups machine.  I wasn't afraid of this one but it only lasted a couple years.

So I finally broke down and bought a Starbucks Barista machine.  Yes it was expensive, but it came in blue!  (Still my favorite color.)  I bought it in 2002 and it is still running great.  I make one every day, sometimes two a day.  Think of all the money I've saved by making my own?  Right?  Right?  Are you with me people? 

So where does the magic happen?

Our kitchen is "L" shaped and we have this island along the wall because there isn't room for it to really be an island.  The cabinet fits the microwave just perfectly.  It took a very long time to find the perfect island but did I hit the jackpot when I did.  Don't you just love when that happens?  It was at one of those cheap oak furniture stores and there were only two of them.  I was ecstatic when I found it and it came home with me immediately.  All these used to be in an armoire that held the microwave, tv, mixers, etc.  The armoire now lives in the guest room/studio.

I have some plans for a cabinet above this island, but I need to do some rebuilding on it before it can be hung.  It's all part of the plan for updating the kitchen on a budget.

So, what kind of latte would you like?  Hazelnut?  Mocha?  White chocolate?  Peanut butter?  Yes I have peanut butter syrup.  No, I'm not sure why.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope your holiday was great!  Ours was filled with family, love, and chocolate (with coffee ice cream, of course).

edited to add:  This post was inspired by Brenda's post about her coffee bar over at Cozy Little House. Thank you Brenda!