My Top 11. #1.

My Top 11.

Characteristics of an Awesome City
(continued)

#1:  Coffee Shops! 

The number one, most important thing I have to consider when I am sizing up a new city is this:  its coffee shops.  You may think this falls under the same category as #3 (Great Food) but it doesn't.  It is its own special, #1 category. 

If a city doesn't have any novel, distinctive coffee shops, it's not worth going there.  End of discussion. 

I'm not talking about Starbucks, although I love Starbucks to death.  I'm talking about those special coffee shops that have their own special atmosphere...hippie, quaint, earthy, upscale...it doesn't matter to me.  What matters is just that they have a vibe.  And of course really good coffee.  Freshly baked muffins and scones. (If they bring in their muffins from Costco they're out.)  A couch.  And, hopefully, a broad selection of loose leaf tea.

The first morning we woke up in San Diego we discovered Brickyard Coffee & Tea.  

I knew, the moment I saw it, that San Diego and I were going to be friends.

 

On a scale of 1 to 10 San Diego gets a 10 for this coffee shop alone.

And thus ends my account of our awesome vacation.  

Thankfully the leftover sand we're still finding in our pockets (and in Knox's diaper bag) won't let us quickly forget our adventures. :)

Happy Saturday, Everyone!

Why Whole Bean Coffee is Never A Good Idea

Today at the grocery store I picked up whole bean coffee by mistake for Josh, so I decided to be a peach and grind it all up for him.  

Unfortunately this can't be done without making a mess of the counter.

or without the loud coffee grinder scaring the baby.

 

Jumping to rescue the baby just causes more coffee grounds to make their way to the floor. 

 

So I am faced with a choice: 

cry along with the baby,

throw the entire coffee grinder into the trash can, 

eat a large brownie...

or grab a camera and turn this into a blog entry.  

I choose the latter, and then proceed to vacuum up my mess.

Unfortunately, the vacuum cleaner also scares the baby.

The great thing about being Mommy is...

 

you can make it all better.♥