coffee with inspiration

it's a very rare occurrence that a coffee cup lead the conversation. but that's exactly what happened on my most recent trip to caribou coffee. my cup, tattooed with words of inspiration, had my attention and thoughts. starbucks red cup holiday campaign, i thought, was and always will be one of the best non-marketing marketing campaigns, but this comes pretty close, in my mind. caribou coffee asks, what do you stay awake for?

i must have spent at least twenty minutes reading my cup and pondering the words marked over my {absolutely delicious} turtle mocha. it was an added perk to my caffeine intake.

a few favorites of mine:

• be the first to enter and the last to leave the dance floor
• dare to adventure
• step 1: rake leaves step 2: jump
• have a favorite charity
• learn to say thank you in ten languages
• you'll only be your current age once

i definitely recommend stopping by a caribou coffee and checking purchasing a little inspiration. {see, amazing marketing.}

Coffee and Conversation

If you could have a cup of coffee with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

I'm sure there are so many people I am forgetting, but I would love to sit down and chat with... Dorothy Parker, Cary Grant, Paul Newman, Humphrey Bogart, Bobby Kennedy, Grant Pick, Bob Dylan, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, John Lennon, Bob Uecker, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Frank Sinatra, Jack Kerouac... to name a few.

{image via Keep The Coffee Coming}

VIP at the Coffee Shop

Yesterday, I sat outside for hours at my favorite coffee shop.

I'm visit so often that when I walk in the baristas greet me by name. I even have a special VIP customer card.

The view is beautiful on a sunny day.

Drinking Coffee and Writing Stories

One of my favorite things to do is grab a latte and a comfy chair in the corner of a coffee shop and write short stories. I'm sad to say, it's been a while since I've done that.

But now that I'm done with school and have more free time, I think I'm going grab a chair at the coffee shop and work on my stories again.

In a perfect world, I would wake up about 9am, slowly enjoy a strong cup of coffee and a delectable croissant at home and then head to the coffee shop on the harbor. I would spend my afternoon reading engaging, delightful books and writing stimulating, pleasing stories. If only...

Mmm, Coffee

Today the girl at Starbucks asked me if I ever drink coffee. Yeah, I couldn't believe it either.

The last few times I went in there, I bought apple cider or a chai, but that doesn't mean anything. So I set her straight: I had three cups of coffee already today. She laughed at me. But at least she knows me a little more now.

The Coffee Pot

I went to brunch with my family today at The Coffee Pot, a small diner in my hometown's downtown area. We stood at the door and waited for a table at the thirty-something-seat diner; walked to the counter for coffee refills rather than making the waitress come to us; chit chatted with neighbors; had a great time all around.

I love the rush of big cities but nothing makes me happier than going to a small coffee shop or diner for brunch. I know I've said this a million times, but it's the best way to start the day. I absolutely adore the warm, friendly feeling of an intimate diner.

If I life in a big city, I would need that small place to feel at home. I want a place where I can walk in and someone asks, "the usual?"

Afternoon at a Coffee Shop

I spent this afternoon at my favorite coffee shop on the harbor at home. I absolutely adore coffee shops but sometimes I find myself people watching and eavesdropping more than concentrating on the book I'm supposedly reading.

Today I sat next to a group of college foreign exchange students from Germany, Columbia and somewhere I can't remember. I couldn't help but listen to their conversations. They all had such different stories and experiences than I have heard before- and lovely accents.

It was definitely a great day at Common Grounds.

Healthy Drinking

The fact that I titled my blog "Coffee and Conversation" should be enough to show my love for/addiction to coffee. But because my busy schedule doesn't allow me time to cook healthy meals, I thought I might as well try to drink a little healthier. While I know I will not be able to skip my morning cup of coffee, I am going to try to trade my afternoon cup for a mug of green tea instead.

The Best Way to Spend a Saturday Morning...

I know that as a weekend approaches I should be most excited about a few days break from work, but mostly, I get excited for Saturday morning bruch or an afternoon reading at the coffeeshop. I have been sick for a few days but am finally feeling a little better so I am excited to wake up before noon and enjoy my favorite time of the week... Saturday morning.

At Least I Had Coffee

A wicked blizzard was supposed to hit Chicago last night and force Northwestern to cancel classes today. Nothing but snow flurries, classes were still on. UGH.

After an hour on the "L", I got off and headed to class. I was already in a better mood. (Probably because I spent the entire ride reading about that fascinating creature Edward Cullen.) However, that didn't last long. About half a block from my building, my computer bag broke, forcing me to carry everything under my right arm.

I had coffee in my other hand.

Now this was not a cheap, flimsy bag by any means. I destroyed it by cramming too much stuff it in, which I suppose will happen from time to time as journalists become "one-man-bands" and I continue carrying everything I own around the city of Chicago.

So I decided take out whatever was not absolutely necessary before transferring it to another bag. I removed two CDs. They were obviously the cause of my broken bag.

What did I leave? My laptop, a digital camera, a voice recorder, my cell phone, an iPod nano, a flash drive, two small notebooks, a reading packet for class, a handful of pens, two highlighters, a nalgene bottle, my wallet with assorted cards, four different flavored lip gloss, a granola bar, medicine, a packet of gum, assorted jewelry, a pair of gloves and a pin that reads “What if the Hokey Pokey is what it’s all about?"

Sadly, this is less than I usually carry.