"i thought there was going to be chocolate"

it's a gray day here in the northeast so here are a few sunny sites and videos to brighten your weekend!

• coffee. perfect for a gloomy day. and as much as i love going out for a good cup 'o joe, i wouldn't mind giving the guys at gocoffeego.com a shot. it's kinda like netflix for coffee and their list of roasters is amazing!!
• if your looking for a laugh (or maybe just a chuckle) and you love mustaches, bread, and niagara falls, then i've found the site for you! ladies and gentleman, i give you selleckwaterfallsandwich.com. you're welcome. :)
• more funny!! one of my favorite scenes from parks and recreation so far this season...

• and we need a little sunny music for a midwinter day, right?

and that's it for today! cheers!

rainy day diy

photo courtesy of starbucks.com

or at least it's raining in my 'hood. and it is supposed to continue raining all weekend. yuck. i though it would be a good time to share recipe a found a few weeks back on making you own pumpkin spice latte (a la starbucks) at home. 'cause who really wants to go out for coffee when there is a wind chill of 35 degrees and the rain is coming down?

i thought so. here's the breakdown:

pumpkin spice latte

from thekitchn.com

makes 1-2 servings

ingredients:

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons canned pumpkin or 1 teaspoon of torani pumpkin spice syrup (your choice)

2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute - you can halve this amount

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1-2 shots espresso (about 1/4 cup of espresso or 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee if you don't have an espresso machine.)

directions:

in a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. if you don't have a blender, don't worry about it - just whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk. pour into a large mug or two mugs. add the espresso on top.

optional: top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.

if you don't have the time (or ingredients) for all this, try just sprinkling a little pumpkin pie spice in your everyday morning brew. truly delightful!! (thanks kj in boston for hooking me up with that idea!)

instant gratification?

are y'all ready for instant starbucks? if you didn't notice all the ads during saturday night live over the weekend, you certainly notice the pomp and circumstance all up in your local starbucks this morning. today starbucks is launching it's via ready brew across the u.s. and canada (those of you in seattle & chicago have been sampling the stuff since february).

what is it? well, from the best i can tell it's a tiny packet of "coffee" that you pour into your mug and then just add water. after that, add your regular java fixin's.

and since there was a tasting at my starbucks this morning, i decide to give it a whirl. why not?

the verdict? pretty much tastes like brewed coffee. which is kinda scary.

pdxoxo

portland, oregon. the land of all things green and yummy. i've already mentioned my love for portland-based stumptown coffee . and recently, i read that stumptown is making it way to the east coast. yay!!

my nyc friends, i invite you to take a trip to the ace hotel on one of these beautiful, crisp fall weekend mornings and have a most "seductive" (couldn't have said it better myself nyt) cup of java. it truly is delightful. i agree with the writer - the west coast, they get the idea of seriously good coffee. hopefully, after tasting the pdx love, the east coast will soon follow suit.

and speaking of coffee...can anyone fill me in on nc-based counter culture coffee? has anyone tasted the goods? i keep hearing good things and i know they have a training center here in philly, but i wanna know more. hit me up and share your experience:delightfullykiki@gmail.com.

i love coffee

yes i do! i have been lucky to come across some pretty amazing coffee shops here and there. i love exploring new little cafes and seeing what they have to offer. not only that, but i love places that roast their own beans. i mean there is only so much starbucks (very interesting article, btw) you can take after a while.

take, for instance, portland. in portland there is an amazing roaster called stumptown coffee. Very, very good. between there and voodoo doughnuts, portland seemed like a place i could really get used to visiting - or staying! (i'll save that adventure for another blog.)

but, lucky for me, i don't have to travel all the way to portland to find excellent beans. ladies and gentlemen, i give you la colombe. with two locations in the philly area and many more brewing their goods, la colombe's latte is quite possibly the most perfect latte i have ever tasted. smooth and light with a kick that will keep you moving all day. if you are traveling to philly and find yourself in need of caffeine you MUST stop in to la colombe. i promise you will not be disappointed.

i will always try to support local businesses and give them a shout out whenever i can. but don't discount your local starbucks baristas. they are just trying to make a livin' like everyone else. the girls at my local 'bucks love me, and i love them back!