Happy Anniversary!

Hooray coffee fans! It has been one year since I started this blog.  123 blog posts means hopefully some of you have been able to enjoy or avoid some of the coffees and teas I've shared with you along the way.  I love to blog but sometimes life gets in the way but I hope to be posting more soon.  I have so much to share still!
Today's coffee was made at home.  Smart and Final has their own brand of coffee called Ambiance with several traditional coffee flavors.  All their coffees are made with Arabica beans and so far, I've had the Kona and the hazelnut.  Because it is the store brand, it runs about $2 less per bag than any of the other coffee brands the store carries.  Between you and me, that's the reason I bought it in the first place.
It's good.  Nothing outstanding about it but with the right sweetened creamer and a magazine while in your pajamas, it's pretty dang relaxing.  As I said to the Little One when I first tried it, "It's good but it's not McDonald's good".
In my cup was the last of the Kona and the freshly opened start of a hazelnut bag.  Hazelnut creamer and I was all set.  There was pajamas but no magazine.  I had my coffee around my arm exercises and ice packs.  Treatment for the Tennis and Golfer's elbow I recently found out I had in both arms.  After I did these things, I took my second cup of coffee to the couch and defrosted with it.
Thank you all for following my coffee and enjoying it with me. Here's to another fun Year!

Cute, But It's Been Done

My friend in Seattle and my friend in Texas are cousins.  It was like that before I knew them.  It's nice that they can be brought together and to California for a family member’s wedding.  They recently came out and we had coffee throughout their stay.  I went with one to IHOP for Swiss mocha's and to Blu Jam with the other for lattes.  My friend from Seattle flew in and out via the Burbank airport.  On her way out, we stopped at a Coffee Bean but when she arrived, we wanted to try a new place.  She found Olive and Thyme in Burbank.  

Right down the street from Bob’s Big Boy, which is a registered historical landmark, is this quaint cafe that reminded me of my visit to Wildflour in Agoura Hills.  Locally sourced food, wine, and beer with daily specials offered and decent prices make for a positive review.  The fresh flowers on every table and large windows bringing in lots of light, was welcoming and calm.  There was a huge bakery case with lots of desserts but we only stayed long enough for a quick bite and some lattes.  She had the vanilla and I had the mocha.  It was after the normal lunch hour and not terribly busy.  We sat by the window which had a nice view of the small theater across the street.   There is lots to do while in Burbank and the money they make from all the metered street parking helps maintain the nice roads and clean sidewalks.  

Overall, our mocha's were good but without flair.  I enjoyed the charm of the location and style of the restaurant.   The valet parking was a nice as well but with so many great offerings from the city of Burbank, I don’t see myself back there soon.  
In case you missed the blog about Wildflour, check out the link below.
http://followmycoffee.blogspot.com/2015/07/wildflour-cafe.html?m=1

Swiss mocha's with mom.

I ordered a hot tea with my latte.

I love the green tea ice blended at Coffee Bean.

A picture hanging inside of Olive and Thyme.  That's what the front of the building looks like.

On To Bigger And Better Things

There is really not much more I enjoy than seeing my peers succeed.  The day one of my closest friends told me he got accepted to UCLA, I toted around like a mom proud of her child’s first A.  When a girlfriend of mine that I had trained at work was promoted to be my boss, I happily took her out to dinner to celebrate.  When another girlfriend enrolled into college (she had to wait a year to be a state resident for cheaper tuition) after moving out of state, I immediately sent her some school supplies.  I’m so proud of my friends when they take the steps to better themselves.  Having two coworkers leave their current location to move forward in life at the same time was hard, as I had to say goodbye, but I was bursting with pride for them.  The Little Boss and a girl that came to work at our hotel over the summer were both moving on.  The girl, Little Boss, and I became fast friends in her short time with us.  Her dad worked as the manager of the Sheraton Downtown Los Angeles so we decided to grab dinner there together one last time.

What a beautiful property.  They were still in the middle of a renovation so there was only one elevator running the whole of 26 floors, plus the restaurant and bar below the main entrance.  After dinner, we got a private guided tour of the property.  The main entrance we entered after valeting the car was bright and upscale.  Since our visit during the summer, the renovations were completed but at the time, the lobby had a large, welcoming chandler, a check in desk, a quiet sitting area, and a big wall at the top of some marble stairs that just stopped the room dead in its tracks.  The guy showing us around told us how this was to lead to direct shopping and dining when everything was done.  He took us to see the pool (not open at the time) and cabanas, and even on this cloudy, humid night, you could see this breathtaking space would come to be the hot spot for the rest of the season.  Up at the very tip top of the hotel, the 360 view room had been split into 2 separate spaces.   What was once a revolving restaurant was now a fitness center on one side and the Sheraton brand Club Lounge on the other side.  (The Club Lounge is a fancy name for a room to get complimentary breakfast and snacks if you paid extra for your room or were a high end rewards member)  The revolving parts were sold to the Westin Bonaventure not too far away which is a good thing.  I can't imagine running on the treadmill while the room is spinning.  Endless views of the city at night were like a postcard.  (Wish you were there!)  

As for dinner, the restaurant and bar offered no views but we saw the wall that would become all windows eventually with a view upward to the city street.  I’d like to go back and see how that turned out.  The restaurant and bar inside had already gone through the renovation and the restaurant was called The District.  I’m not 100% sure they kept that name but the decor was subway station meets old Hollywood.  Open pipes above us and a large cage holding the wines but heavy fabrics and exposed light bulbs leading to a private entertaining room and a wine tasting room.  The food was good, our waitress was a doll, and when I ordered my coffee, I had to wait… because they brewed me a fresh pot.  I loved the little metal milk tin the creamer came in.  The coffee itself wasn’t amazing but Sheraton is partnered up with Starbucks so there’s a chance it was because of that.  Not bad, but not an extraordinary brew.   Oh, and the hotel picked up the tab on our meals.  It helps to be related to the manager.

After a toast to a job in a new city and to the sophomore return to college, the three of us split dessert (it was our friends birthday, too) before taking our tour.  It was a terrific evening celebrating and I’m so very proud of those ladies.  I just wish they would send more postcards.

Wine cage.

Pool and cabanas.

The view looking up from the pool area.

This sign by the elevator made me laugh.

I Made It Myself

As one of our many great Christmas gifts the husband and I received a Mr. Coffee bean grinder and coffee beans from our friends in Seattle.  This prompted us to go through buy a coffee maker, as we had been thinking of getting one for a while.  We needed a small one for our tiny kitchen.  All this time we had been using the French press to make coffee but if we had more than two guests over, we would have to make batches.  I picked out a nice 5 cup Black and Decker coffee maker with "Keep Warm" base.  It's perfect for our needs.
The coffee beans were from Mercury Coffee.  A local coffee company with seven locations in Redmond, Washington.  It is a favorite of my friends since she moved out there.  This was the 100% Organic Fair Trade house blend.  She ordered some for herself, me, and her cousin for our recent holiday visit.
We set up the grinder and the coffee maker.  I added the beans to the grinder and got them to a nice consistency, yet Nugget was not a fan of the new sounds.  In no time at all, the house filled with the wonderful smell of coffee.  Our favorite family (and Nugget's best baby friend), gave us a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf collection of teas and coffees in a giant mug with saucer.  I decided to use that for my inaugural cup.  It almost fit all 5 cups of coffee.
The end result was pretty good.  I know the coffee from having it before so I noticed that it was a little more watery than I remember so I assume it was because I didn't add enough beans to my water ratio.  It was my first time grinding my own so eventually I'll get it right.  Can't wait to do it again!

Expo Weekend

Founded in 2009, Disney officially created a fan club for Disney fans of all ages.  D23, named for the year Walt Disney came to Hollywood and founded his company, has different tiers of membership, ranging from basic free with few benefits to an expensive membership with exclusive perks and gifts.  Every two years, starting in 2009, D23 holds the D23 Expo for guest to come and enjoy all things Disney (even for people without a membership at all).  The Little One and I went in 2011 and had a blast so we set up with our experience for optimal fun at the 2015 Expo.  I flew in from Seattle on August 12th (my birthday) and we drove out to Anaheim on the 13th.  We got a hotel closer than the one we had and planned meals better for our budget.  We brought along my sister’s boyfriend and her best friend to join us and they made it even more fun.  The Expo is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and on Sunday, The Boss and her husband and daughter came down for the day.  Also, just as prior years, there is a pop up Disney Store selling exclusive items.  I got to see a lot of coworkers who volunteered to work there for the weekend (paid, of course).  The Vice President of Stores, Jonathan Storey, and Bob Iger, CEO of the Disney Company, spent some time at the pop up store.  I saw Jonathan Storey from outside of the shop but was too nervous to go talk to him.  He’s one of my bosses but he’s kind of a hero of mine.  I love the ideas he brought back to the Disney Stores when he came aboard.  

At the D23 Expo, there is booths to purchase Disney items (some handmade), interact with new Disney technology such as previously unreleased Disney Infinity 3.0 game play and being the first to use the Star Wars Battlefront Pod, meet artists who partner with Disney to create wonderful Disney art, participate in sponsored events like the Target Store’s Star Wars photo op, and go through museum style exhibit put on by Disney.  The reason my sister and I go (other than I get really cheap tickets being a Cast Member) is to go to the panels where they talk about all the new and exciting things to come to Disney.  Those panels are usually riddled with celebrities.  No one knows who for sure but everyone has their guesses.  We were not disappointed.  During the Expo weekend, large chunks of people who attended dressed in Disney themed costumes.  Some are downright incredible, so everyone stops to take pictures.  In 2011, I got a picture with Mr. Poppins, a man dressed as Mary Poppins. The husband and I returned from Seattle on my birthday, August 12th.  The Expo started on the 14th.  Leaving the husband home, my sister and our small gang, made way to our hotel which was walking distance to the convention center (on the 13^th) knowing we had an early morning ahead of us.

On the agenda for day one, Friday, we got up and went to go wait in line for the Disney Animation panel.  They talk about the upcoming animated Disney and Pixar films and shows.  We ended up waiting in the long line and in the heat for 3 hours before we got in but we made it.  We heard people talking about a different entrance for people who showed up at midnight the night before.  Though it sounded crazy, we knew that if we wanted to get into the Disney Live Action panel the next day, we would have to go that route.  My coffee for the first day was a Starbucks mocha I picked up when we stopped at CVS for snacks on our walk over.  It was nice and cold as we waited in the increasing heat for those few hours.  Once in the panel (no camera or phones allowed), we got to watch clips for The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, and the new Star Wars Rebels show due to premiere on the Disney Channel (to name a few).  When they started to talk about Finding Dory, Ellen DeGeneres came out and talked about how excited she was that her sequel is finally coming in 2016, of course, after 3 Toy Story movies already.  She was hilarious and probably more excited about the movie coming out than anyone else around.  The showed a preview announcing the newest upcoming Disney Princess, Moana.  It is about a Hawaiian Princess who wishes to visit a fabled island and is joined a demi-god who is strong and tells stories through his tattoos.  Being a Samoan God meant giving that character a great and powerful voice.  Naturally they picked Dwayne Johnson, The Rock.  He came on stage and elaborated more on the story and his role in the movie, but not without taking a huge selfie with the whole audience first and doing a chest pounding, audience participating, God-like chant before leaving the stage.

After the panel, we checked out the main floor, got dinner, and went back to the hotel for a nice swim in the pool before turning in, as we were going to get up in the middle of the night to start day two.

For day two, the Little One and her boyfriend, took off half an hour ahead of us to hold our place in line.  This time, we were not outside, but in a basement style room in an air conditioned building.  We brought a blanket to sit on and at 2am, we started the wait for the 1030am Live Action panel.  The problem with Expos and Cons like this is you end up needed to wait for what you really want to see, so you miss other panels.  You have to plan what is priority and choose wisely.  We chose this panel over the Disney Legends panel and missed Johnny Depp and George Lucas being inducted as Disney Legends.  It was ok because we knew the Live Action panel would be more fun and tell us about all kinds of amazing new movies that were slated to come out.  As we waited in the basement, a guy on an inflatable mattress started snoring across from us, people were playing cards, and after 6am, they opened a small walk up restaurant selling burgers and pretzels.  The best friend and I were bored so we decided to go wait in line to get coffee and snacks.  The line ended up being an hour wait.  They were showing cartoons and previews on the TVs above our heads so we had a little entertainment but the Little One ended up curling up in the blankets like a burrito and falling asleep while we were in that line.  The coffee was hot but mostly bland.  It didn’t really go with the Mickey shaped pretzel I ordered but oatmeal wasn’t exactly being served at the time.  Once inside for the panel, we started discussing which celebrities we thought would make an appearance and which movies they would show us. Some of the movies they talked about were the new live action Beauty and the Beast, Captain America; Civil War, Dr. Strange, The Jungle Book, the next Pirates of the Caribbean, The Finest Hours, and of course what we came for, Star Wars; The Force Awakens.  For Beauty and the Beast, they were recording over the pond but they played a previously recorded message from Josh Gad.  Captain America, himself, came out to talk about his movie.  Boy Howdy!  Chris Evans sweater was bulging with muscles.  Dr. Strange, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, also gave a recorded message, as he was also working in the UK.  For the newest in the Pirates movie coming out, Captain Jack Sparrow joined us.  Johnny Depp, but in his pirate attire and asking if the audience wanted some of the grapes he was eating, then throwing grapes to people in the audience.  He got a pretty big standing ovation but it was quickly forgotten as Star Wars was the next movie to talk about.  All the characters from the new movie come on stage to talk about what it was like to be in such an iconic franchise and to become the new faces of Star Wars.  All the new faces, Rey, Finn, Captain Phasma, were all in awe, as was the audience, when a familiar face from long ago came on stage.  Han Solo!  Harrison Ford came out and the whole panel room went nuts!  As it was, no new information was leaked but as Harrison Ford talked, he grinned from ear to ear because he knew all the secrets.  We all would have to wait four more excruciatingly long months for the movie’s debut.  At the end of the panel, we were rewarded for attending with D23 Expo exclusive The Force Awakens and Jungle Book movie posters.  We immediately saw postings for those items on eBay.  We went to a grilled cheese truck for lunch and a woman dressed as Dr. Krunklehorn from Meet the Robinsons (such an underrated movie) was handing out Caffeine Patches, just like in the movie.  I think she was more excited that I got her reference than I was of getting the sticker.

The last day of the Expo was met with more of a relaxed approach.  We checked out of our hotel and went to go wait in the same basement room as the day before.   It was only for 2 hours this time so we could get into the Disney Interactive panel.  There, they talked about Star Wars: Battlefront, the holiday release of the Darth Vader Playstation 4, Kingdom Hearts 3 featuring Big Hero 6 and Disneyland ride features, and the much anticipated (mostly by the Little One) Disney Infinity 3.0 with Star Wars now included in the Infinity universe.  The gifts at the end of that panel were an early release Mickey Mouse Infinity figurine and a D23 exclusive Kingdom Hearts costume for said Mickey figure.  
After the panel we got to create mini Coca-Cola cans with our names on them (limited nicknames were allowed but I was able to make one with my new married name on it and the word Love).  We walked through an exhibit for the Shanghai Disneyland resort that is being built and set to open in June 2016.  My eyes were instantly drawn to the tea house they are planning with a view of the castle.  Throughout the Expo floor, there was a touch of history.  An original People Mover car and an original Sky Bucket from Disneyland was present and available for pictures.  Before ending the day we grabbed a coffee from one of the convention center food stalls and sent out mail.  The US Post Office partnered up with the Expo and for each of the three days had a special cancel stamp to commemorate the event.  Of course I got all three.  When we felt we did and saw everything we wanted, we went to get dinner at the resort hotels or Downtown Disney.  Lots of places were crowded due to the summer busy season and the fact that all the other Expo attendees had the same idea as us.  We ended up at the Storytellers Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel.  The kids surprised me by telling the waiter it was my birthday so they brought me a cupcake and an autographed picture of the first Disney Princess, Snow White.

The 3 days of coffee were uneventful.  A cold mocha and two hot regular cups of coffee.  But they served their purpose over this long weekend of celebrity cameos, blistering outdoor heat, long waits, and everything Disney.  Weekend long conventions usually need a vacation after.  Good thing the D23 Expo is around every other year.

We each received an early release of the Mickey Mouse Infinity 3.0 figure.  He looks great just outside the convention center.

This was just a small portion of the large basement we waited in.

Cinderella's step-sisters were spotted just outside of where we had dinner on of the days.

My Caffeine Patch.

#Shareacoke

Part of the upcoming theme park in China.

Some potential Shanghai park product.

Disneyland Sky Bucket then and now with the Little One.

USPS got really into the D23 spirit.

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What's In A Name

A rather interesting place we came across in Seattle was SoulFood Books and Cafe.  I use the term interesting because this place had far too many things going on and it had almost nothing to do with its name. Let me explain.

The building from the front, is small and a little dark.  There is an additional side entrance with an overpriced, independently owned toy store across the walkway.  The first thing you see when you walk in is the “bookstore” section of the cafe.  There is a handful of bookshelves with maybe 150 books, and most of them are spiritual books.  Hardly a bookstore.  To the right is some seating and a children’s play area filled with toys.  The center houses an area to buy incense, body oils, cooking oils, coffee, candles and jewelry.  In front of that is the cafe and behind that is a stage for performances such as open mic night for musicians.  While there, at a tall table where the books were, a palm reading was going on.  To me, having a palm reading in the same place as a children’s area, a stage, and a shop, seems like it wouldn’t be an accurate reading.  The noise surrounding would cause them to lose focus.

At the cafe counter, there is more incense and jewelry to purchase.  Odd but ok.  The staff was nice.  They have a whole counter of syrups so they can make just about any drink (hot or cold).  I ordered the Irish cream chocolate espresso, pretty good.  The bestie ordered the barista's choice which tasted like caramel and chocolate.  And the husband ordered a London Fog.  Overall, good drinks but probably not a place we will go to again. It's theme is overwhelming and it's focus isn't on high quality coffee but to profit from the sales of random stuff. 

This is the ceiling in the back space by the stage.

Kickin Back In The PNW

The Pacific Northwest (PNW), mostly encompassing Northern California, Oregon and Washington, is one of the prettiest places I've ever visited.  When we were little and the Little One wasn't around yet, my family rented a RV and we drove all the way up through California stopping at Mount Shasta, visited with dad's friends in Oregon, and went up to do a turn around in Washington before driving back down to L.A.  In my recent trips to Washington, I have been able to take in the beauty of the PNW.  Crisp air, clean, smog-free skies, and trees galore.  I can't get enough of the gorgeous pine trees that coat the PNW landscape. 
We spent a couple of the days from our recent visit, beating the heat (87 degree highs in August) by just hanging out with our friends in their house.  The way the their place is set up, the balcony overlooks a bit of the parking lot, but straight ahead are two trees that act as an anchor for the homestead.  Beyond those trees, you can see vast hills, jam-packed with pine, maple, and birch trees.  It brings me a sense of peace to just have a cup of coffee and take in all the forestry.
My friend offered me this Owl brand white coffee with coconut sugar.  I've have Owl brand coffee products before and they are pretty good.  This instant mix had a light coffee flavor with a slight toasted coconut finish.  It's good but nothing to rush out for as it is not as prominent a flavor as expected.  Still it was a great compliment to take in a few of our days when we weren't running around being tourist.  I'm looking forward to my trip back to Seattle in January and hopefully will get to see some of those trees covered in snow.  I'm sure it will be picturesque.