Coffee Talk: Spill the Beans! with Katie McCarthy

Alright we're trying something new on 60 beans today!  Here's a guest interview of a good friend of mine, Katie McCarthy, who is one of the coolest and cutest horn players you'll ever meet. Katie lives with her husband Benjamin in Chicago, where they have lately been taking further steps into the world of coffee aficionados (cofficionados?). Read about her history with coffee after the jump! 

Birthday Week

Hooray! My last post already seems so far away because the sun has started shining, the breeze blowing, temperature rising, and now all the snow is gone and it feels springy! I hope it is here to stay. I was looking through some photos today that I took during my "Birthday Week." I had decided that the week before my birthday I would do one small, special thing each day to make the days feel a little out of the ordinary, and to put me in the mindset of transitioning into my next year. See, it's already starting to feel like time goes by so quickly, and I know it will just continue to race forward as I get older. I don't like the idea of my birthday flying by in one day and barely having time to realize I've reached a different number. I just need a little more time to process...plus I like celebrating birthdays! Well anyway, the week started off well, but then I caught some sort of flu-like virus, which was the pits. I was knocked off my feet for a couple days and birthday week seemed to be officially derailed. There were some bright moments though; Will came over to make soup multiple times, and Trish sent many funny texts to help me smile :) These photos are from the beginning of the week, a visit to a French bakery just 2 blocks from my apartment that recently opened - it is so good - with my friend Nicola. Everything is delicious (amazing croissants and quiche) and filling, and the atmosphere charming. If you order coffee or cafe au lait they serve it in a bowl, which is nice because, some days, mugs just don't seem large enough. Also, I started using a new bar of soap that I received as a gift from some friends when they were passing through, which doesn't sound like too big of a deal, but it's just a really nice bar of soap. It smells so clean! It's Swedish and it's so pretty, and in case you'd like to give it a scrub, here it is.

So you see, it was still a nice week despite getting sick. And now I am 26! (Does that sound old??)

September 29th is...

Better drink up!  According to Wikipedia, we share the day with Canada, England, Ethiopia, Malaysia, and Sweden :)

There is an Orchestra in my Mouth

Yesterday I was chatting with Carolyn in the morning while we were both drinking coffee, and she thought hers was particularly flavorful, so she said,  "There is a marching band in mouth.  Oh wait, that would be horrible.  There is an orchestra in my mouth!"   :)

~xomo


ps:  The delightful cups above are from the Frothy Monkey in Nashville!

Life in Graz, Austria

I've been in Graz for a week!  It's a lovely city.  Before this, I've only stayed for one week in Europe, in Paris.  It's good to experience the German-speaking lands :)  This whole week I've found myself thinking, "People seem to be doing something right, here."  The overall appearance is happiness and healthiness.  You see a lot of people out and about, enjoying their city.  It's not that surprising - if every building is beautiful, almost every other storefront is a cafe beckoning you to stay awhile, and there are beautiful parks, markets, and a riverwalk, why wouldn't you be out?  Austrians seem to value time with their friends, which I love seeing.  Places for children have areas that cater to adults, too (ie, cafes in parks).  The setup of the city and its venues really support the mingling of people and families!  

We had the other day off from rehearsals and I spent it doing things I enjoy no matter what city I'm visiting: walking and jogging around, drinking coffee, people watching from a bench, laying down with a book for a couple hours.  The cup above was from a cafe on the top floor of a shopping center that had a beautiful view of the city, and the coolest furniture!  I looked up the maker, Georg Maehring, if you'd like to see his work.  Not a bad life here at AIMS...more stories to come!

xomo

T.W.O.R.G.B. - Day 4

The Week of Really Good Breakfasts - Day 4:  Latte and Grape-nuts

Wow, it's actually a little hard keeping up with these posts.  Here is yesterday's breakfast, which had to be quick due to a combination of waking up late and early-ish class.  Have you ever had cooked Grape-nuts?  They're really good!  You just put them in a pan on the stove with some milk (I like using whole or almond) on low heat, and let them slowly absorb the liquid.  Pour honey on, generously.  Super easy and satisfying.  Coffee took center stage yesterday, and you're seeing the result of two really great Christmas presents:  a stovetop espresso maker and milk frother.  Definitely a worthwhile investment if you're an avid latte/capp drinker; they work really well.  Unfortunately it had to be gulped down and I made it to class fashionably five minutes late.  Which also unfortunately just means that I was late.  Whoops :)

Happy Eating!

xomo

Birthday Breakfast

Happy Happy Birthday to my best friend in the world!  Carolyn turned 24 today, and we celebrated with a great brunch on the porch, cocktails in the very late afternoon, and a festive dinner with lots of laughter and stories at night.  Food, family, and friends; what more could you need?  Well, we all gave her presents too, I guess :)

Sipping and Stamping

Today was ideal weather for coffee-drinking and letter-writing outside, and a handful of envelopes were dropped in the post this afternoon :)  A tip for anyone visiting La Crosse:  Bean Juice has the best dry cappuccino around.  Seriously, check out that foam!

Birthday Festivities

Irene's birthday was about a week ago, and there wasn't a lot of time to celebrate the day because of school and concerts, etc.  But we spent the afternoon drinking coffee and eating assorted desserts, playing birthday-themed bananagrams, and chatting away.  And she received a very nicely wrapped present :)  Just a bit of quality sister time!

"Road Trip"

Well, I've moved - again!  This past week my cousin and I rented a car, left Worcester, and drove back to my homeland, where I'll be living for the spring and summer.  Unfortunately it couldn't have the classic road trip vibe, as we just needed to reach our destination as quickly as possible.  We went straight from Worcester to Chicago in one day, whew.  Here's a tip for long drives:  it turns out that they don't feel that bad if you leave practically in the middle of the night.  My alarm went off at 3:20 and we were on the road by 4 am, ha.  We made really good time to Chicago and were able to go for a long walk around the city to admire the buildings and parks (Trish has never been there) before dinner, beers, and much needed sleep.  We also made a quick stop in Madison on the second day for caffeine.  I wanted her to experience Bradbury's, one of my favorite coffee and breakfast places, and it turns out they are giving away free espresso all through April.  Really good, you should probably stop by if you're in the area.  She's staying for a short visit in the midwest, so I'm showing her some of my favorite places in La Crosse, unpacking, and starting to look for a job.  Wisconsin continues to be one of the best states ever, and I'm looking forward to enjoying this time here.  Hopefully some exploring will reveal new sides of my hometown :)  


ps:  The picture of us at the bottom is, of course, at the Chicago bean.

Vegan: Day 10

The world of breakfast has seemed limited since abolishing the wonderful variety of the egg and eliminating yogurt.  I was looking into options for vegan baked goods to make the morning exciting and came across a recipe for coconut-carrot muffins.  Yum.  These were very hearty and filling, and not super sweet, which I liked.  It's interesting trying to bake without eggs...after perusing recipes it seems like it's common to use what's called a "flax egg", which is just flax meal mixed with water.  It gets thick and helps hold the batter together, but I think it also makes it more dense.  I generally followed this recipe, but ended up adding a lot of water to the batter to lighten it up, and also a more generous amount of spices, fruit, and nuts.

One year ago...

I had just moved to Israel, and started four months of awesome exploring, eating, making friends, and great cello lessons.  Looking forward to my next visit!  and the one after that, and the one after that... :)

Taste of Winter

It has been unseasonably warm for the past few months, and now Christmas is just a week away.  There was some snow on the ground when we stopped in at Bradbury's in Madison, but then it warmed up and it all disappeared.  I am sort of enjoying not having to deal with bitter cold...but, where's the white??

We go together like...

...a pair of mugs?  One for me, one for Trish, and two lovely additions for the kitchen countertop by a local artist.  Merry Christmas to us!  Anything ceramic that supports the consumption of coffee or tea will always be joyfully given and received in this household :)