The Wire.

Alright, so here's the thing. I haven't had the time/money/people to go get coffee this week. However..I did hit Sonic's happy hour and tried something new. Sometimes coffee just isn't the thing. So this week, it's just a drink for cheap [cheap issue, anyone?] anyway, today I got a large peach tea, and it's fabulous. I'm not much of a peach person, but I'm lovin' it. [yes...I'm still drinking it.] And since it was happy hour, it cost me abour 75 cents. Fantastic? Yes. I've also been one to get diet cherry limeaides. also great, along with cherry Dr. Pepper's. The point it, if you aren't feeling the price/caffeine of coffee, you have some other options besides a smoothie [which Sonic also has.] Rainn Wilson also has a nice Twitter update stating his opinion on the word "smoothie" and how he appreciates it. Random, but true.

Into the Wild...

This week: Wild Tribe Mocha from the MudHouse. I can't exactly remember what was in it, just bananas, but I do know this: it was tasty. It has a nice, cold, fruity taste, without having to give up the caffeine and just get a fruit smoothie. That's not to say a nice fruit smoothie isn't also a fantastic idea....but that's for another time.

The Wild Tribe Mocha is a good way to get yourself through the "it's 10:00 and I'm still doing homework" blues......gets stuff done, but still lovin' the wild side.

They Will See Us Waving From Such Great Heights...

Okay, so it was kind of a rough week including an exam that I almost peed my pants trying to study for, forgetting my words during a performance, my advisor accidently setting up my schedule for a 24 hour semester, and capping it off with my four week old puppy dying, so there were a grand total of three comfort trips to Barnes & Noble. Therefore, lots of Starbucks. Small variations of the caramel frapp. However, I did variant a little.

I tried the caramel frapp with a shot of espresso. While it tastes alright, not quite as caramel as I needed, though. Nice shot of caffeine, though. It tasted almost buttery, which was nice.

I also tried the caramel frapp light...which doesn't have whipped cream on it! Not a fan. I'll make the sacrifice of calories.

In the end, I decided on a regular caramel frapp. If you're going for warm, go for the macchiato. It's nuttier, but gets the caramel effect across.

I also had to use self control at Barnes & Noble, as a found close to a million books I wanted to read.

There are 12 Starbucks locations in Springfield. The caramel frapp is approximately $3.50, not including tax.

Someone to watch over me...

I decided this week to get my coffee from Sinatra's, since I hadn't ever been there before [and it was where my friends were going....] Let's just say, that decision was up there with the decision to go see Jason Mraz in concert. Fan-freakin-tastic.

First: The atmosphere. Besides the obvious giant picture of Franky on the main wall, you walk toward the bathroom, and there's a picture of Jimmy Stewart in Harvey. Then you go into the bathroom and there's pictures of Cary Grant and Clark Gable.. Seriously? This is my favorite place in the whole world at this point.

The menu is pretty expansive, even though at first I didn't think so, since there weren't a billion versions of flavored coffee up there. I later figured out the reason for this: because the coffee they DO have is freakin great. I myself ordered a Latte Macchiato, being a fan of the caramel macchiato at Starbucks. It DID have caramel in it. However, you couldn't really taste it, therefor I don't count it as breaking my own rule. I'm not entirely clear on the exact content of the macchiato, but I know it consisted of milk poured through espresso steam with flavors of vanilla and caramel. It was amazing. My friends both got the mocha drink. Also fantastic.

I've heard from many good sources that the food here is also really good. Any place that serves broccoli cheddar soup is good in my book!

Sinatras is located on Chestnut Expressway across from Ozarks Technical Community College.

Little who you know add on: My friend's grandmother was the housekeeper for Frank Sinatra. Other random tidbit: I have another friend who's uncle is the sports guy on Anchorman, and Todd Packer on The Office. Boom. Roasted.

Skipping....though the mud. Ouch.

Tonight: the MudSkipper. A warm espresso drink, the MudSkipper is a mocha drink with hazelnut and whipped cream [always, always, always fantastic. at least for me. love it.] Tastes great. However....I may or may not be up the entire night. My mistake.

The MudSkipper is great if you're looking for a simple coffee, nothing terribly sugary [my caffeine addicted friend chastises me for putting creamer in my coffee or ordering the tasty drinks at Starbucks. If I'm paying that much for coffee, it's gonna be something I couldn't have made at home. She also drinks close to 20 cups of coffee a day.]

I'm sitting at the MudHouse at the moment, incredibly happy that every other song is Ingrid Michealson. Still a fantastic atmosphere, which is made even better by this AWESOME lamp next to me. I love lamp.

Closer to home....

I wasn't able to get to any coffee houses this week, so I decided to make some suggestions for your morning coffee at home :)

My current favorite is Starbuck's Ground Espresso Blend coffee, sold at grocery stores for between $7 and $9, depending on the store. I add in just a little bit of CoffeeMate Hazelnut creamer, sold for around $4, also depending on store, and it's a tasty start to the day.

I've also become addicted to Starbuck's Italian Roast Ground coffee, sold for the same price as the Espresso Blend. Add some CoffeeMate caramel creamer and pair it up with a blueberry bagel, and it's perfection.

Both of these are bold blend, so they aren't for the faint of heart coffee drinkers. Definately something to build up to, especially if you drink coffee only for the caffeine while hating the taste. Pick out your favorite creamer, CoffeeMate's International blends are also amazing, and start out your day!!

Who is this....Picasso? He'll never make it anywhere with those...finger paintings.

Another Rendezvous week for me. This week I tried the Picasso, which is a coffee made with almond and honey. It was pretty good...nothing memorable, but it tasted nice :) I had it warm, with tons of whipped cream [is it really okay to turn down whipped cream? I'm pretty sure it is NOT.] It's not terribly sweet, which is nice, and it's a great way to warm up in this crazy warm/cold March Missouri weather.

On another note...I just finished the book "The Road to Eden's Ridge." If you're looking for a good book to sit down, drink some artsy coffee, and read, this is a good option. And it had a great review from Willie Nelson [alot of the reason I bought the book.......]

So pick up a nice coffee of the arts, grab your favorite book [or tv show.....] and have a great week!!

Faces of Norman Rockwell....

I went to Rendezvous for the first time this week.....twice. The twenty-four hour coffee shop idea really appeals to me, although alot of the times it's hard to find a seat, and not the greatest environment for homework or really hanging out, since it's so busy. But I'm not going to knock the place for being so popular. I actually randomly ran into an old friend from high school there, which was nothing but AWESOME.

Rendezvous has their section of coffee's called 'the arts,' which are named for, well, artists. I decided on the Rockwell, which is a candy apple latte. I thought it sounded weird, and this coffee thing is a growing experience/reason to buy ALOT of coffee all the time (I'm pretty darn caffeinated these days...phew!) I had the Rockwell both warm and frapped [remember I went twice in three days...we had two hour rehearsals three days in a row for the Verdi Requiem and Kellie and I needed a bit of a pick-me-up. Enter Rockwell and Monet.] It's pretty good both hot and cold, although I preferred the frapped Rockwell, but I lean more towards cold drinks anyway, since I've burned myself entirely too many times for a 20 year old. It's sweet, but not terribly. I actually drank it while eating Rendezvous' spinach dip, which is also incredibly good. It wasn't a big enough portion of dip for us, but...we tend to have that problem anyway, so it was probably just the healthy serving :) Kellie had the Monet, which is caramel and mocha, also fantastic. I believe hers was also frapped...I can't exactly remember. Either way, it probably tasted fantastic.

On a home coffee note, I'm currently addicted to the Starbuck's Espresso Blend coffee...add in a tiny bit of hazelnut creamer, and you've got yourself a day.

Rendezvous is located downtown at 320 Park Central W, Springfield, MO 65806.

Merry Berry Mocha White Christmas

So, this week...I visited the one and only Potter's House. I hadn't ever been there before, so that was a good experience. It's a great atmosphere for the serious conversation that the girls and I would up randomly having...

Anyway, on my visit to PoHo, I decided to try the Berry White Mocha. Frozen. Awesome. It's sweet, but not too much for a sweets hater [at least not in my sweets loving mind....] However...if you've eaten a bigger size meal [like the taco bar...] you might want to pace yourself. It's a filling coffee. Very filling. I felt like it was after Thanksgiving dinner. With coffee. And without pumpkin pie [though Lord knows I had enough whipped cream. no complaints.]

Conclusion: Another great success. I'd definatly recommend PoHo's Berry White Mocha. Frozen or hot. Just pace yourself.

Also.....I fixed my comments! Much thanks to Amanda....it turns out the two hours [literally...] that I spent Friday night could be solved by a simple setting on the comments page. Who knew?

Nuttier Than Squirrel Poo.

If you need to get stuff done, the MudHouse is the place to be. I was there for a little over an hour, and while I drank my fantastic Mocha Nut coffee, I did what I thought to be about two to three hours' work in a much smaller amount of time. Just throwing that out there.

If you like your coffee to be sweet and nutty, the mocha nut is the one for you. It doesn't really taste like coffee, but it definatly includes the caffeine fix. It is made up of vanilla and hazelnut, and it's pretty much one of my favorite drinks that I've ever had. It can even go with or without the crazed amount of whipped cream on top, which is more than I can say for alot of drinks.

On a side note, the chocolate banana Vivanno at Starbucks (with a shot of espresso, of course) was less than I expected. Then again, the barista did warn me.....

And if you're wondering about my title.....read Harry Potter. It's definatly worth your time :)

For the love of Antarctica...

I've always loved penguins. They're the best part of the St. Louis Zoo. When I was little, the Rolla theater had discount matinee prices during the summer that my mom and I would go together [we even did a double feature once.] One of these was the movie The Pebble and the Penguin [still one of my favorites....honestly, I'm still a small child alot of the time.] The point is, penguins are pretty fab. So...why not make a coffee inspired by them?

I went to Big Momma's yesterday for my weekly coffee excursion. Since I'm trying to venture out of my caramel spell [even though Kellie, being the great friend she is, got the Ol' 66, which is vanilla and caramel...she loved it, by the way.] I decided to take a baby step and move on to chocolate. I drank the penguin, which is dark chocolate and white chocolate [like a penguin....get it??] I have to say, it was pretty darn good. Not to mention Lyle's excitement when the woman behind us announced it was her first time at Big Momma's. There's nothing like a welcome.

So, if you're looking for a nice, chocolately caffiene fix [and what a great fix it was.....I was wired for the following couple hours.] I'd definately recommend the penguin. It's sweet, but not too overpowering. It's definately worth it. I even ordered the large.

Mess Up.

So...I messed up when I made this blog and deleted the Followers widget..[yes, widget.] If you've tried to become a follower [and I know you have, right??!] and it wouldn't let you, I fixed it, and the link is at the bottom. That way you don't have to worry about ever missing out on a great drink recommendation :)

To Smell It Is to Love It.

My body doesn't handle caffeine well. If I have more than one cup of coffee with a good amount of caffeine in it in the morning, I get hyperactive. Sometimes I even get the shakes. On election day, I had a cup of coffee I made myself, and then another free cup at Starbucks an hour later. It's a sacrifice I'm usually willing to make.

My favorite thing to do on warm days is head out to Barnes and Noble, grab a new book, and get a caramel frappachino. My plan is to grow out of my caramel shell and try something new each week. Whether it's from Starbucks, the Mudhouse, Big Momma's, or Rendezvous, it's time for something new. Maybe I'll even post some reading recommendations ;).