Simple things

This morning's coffee

There are the simple things in life you miss while out of the country, and sometimes even while away from home in your own country! Home brewed coffee is one of them, for me.

In India, tea is much more popular. And they don't generally make it with a teapot of boiling water and tea bags. It's made with loose tea, boiled in a sauce pot, using half milk and half water, and then sugar is added. Don't get me wrong, it's delicious! Very creamy and I love it. Below is me drinking the Indian tea. They use tiny cups compared to our usual coffee mugs!

But for over 2 weeks I didn't get to have my morning coffee! My first pot brewed back home on Friday morning felt so nice.

I had coffee a few times while away, mostly iced coffees during the afternoon. My husband would buy a couple of these bottled coffees for me every few days to store in the (small) fridge at my in-laws. It tastes similar to a bottled frappuccino.The two other times I had coffee while out, it was at Indian coffee shops. Once at the coffee shop called "Barista" and once at "Cafe Coffee Day". Below is a finished latte(husband's choice, which he doesn't usually choose!) and an indulgent iced mocha coffee drink(mine heehee).
These coffee chains are relatively new in India. There are always a lot of young people sitting in them, mostly college aged. It's a new hang out place. They are nice little shops! I have been to three different coffee chains in India so far. The two mentioned above plus the year before we went to Costa Coffee. (These are not my pics below, I found them)
1. Not available, 2. Barista in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, 3. cafe coffee day, 4. Barista Coffee

You might have noticed the mehndi still on my hands in the first photo. It's still there! But fading to light orange. Here is a picture of my left hand yesterday.

My family left yesterday. We had a great time! It always goes by too fast.

I feel a lack of concentration for my blog at the moment. I need to get back into the swing of things. I also really need to work on more items for my Etsy shops, especially pillows. I have some almost done and need to make others. I have ideas in my head that take a long time to create, because it takes me awhile to get around to it!

The weekend was fun but also tiring! When you go from not going out a lot to being very active for 3 days straight, it zonks you out. So I love coffee even more than usual.

On that note, it's time to look at fun hand made/embellished coffee mugs!

A less girly bird mug.

Bear family mug

Love Birds Mug

Latte bowl

Happy Days mug(two sided)

Coffee Needed

I feel like I need a coffee cup that big. :)

I didn't have a picture lined up for Flashback Friday today so I am skipping it this week. That makes me a little sad. But I am really tired today and I just wanted to write a thinking out loud post. I am drinking coffee. I woke up a little earlier than usual today because of my son. I thought by the time he was 2 1/2 years old he might sleep more solidly. But it hasn't happened.

On a different subject...
Something I find interesting related to Etsy recently is that I have sold 2 pillow covers(the same one, relisted) to the same state/province of Australia in one week. Is there something I don't know about going on in Australia? Someone talking about me? on a blog, or in person? or...? It could just be an interesting coincidence! I sold the first to Australia on Monday and this morning sold the other.

I find it exciting when people from all over the world end up in my shop on Etsy and buy something! And then it has to go traveling all the way there. Of my sales in both shops, I have had a good amount of international orders. The most common international destinations are Canada and the UK. But Australia is probably next on the list. I have shipped to Germany and Thailand also. Maybe somewhere else too but I don't remember.

I have added a couple new items to TheCozyNest recently and need to finish up more to add soon. I don't have enough items for sale in the shop! These are already in the shop now:

Time for some coffee!!

...or tea, if you must! :)

1. coffee, 2. Family Picture, 3. My New Tea Cup In All It's Glory, 4. Coffee & Books, 5. Helsinki 2010 - Coming home, 6. Classic Tea, 7. Untitled, 8. 033 | 365, 9. waiting

I can't believe that I still get such a nice feeling every morning when I go to make my coffee. It's that comforting feeling. And the smell, mmmm!! When I was pregnant, I lost my desire for coffee most of the time. I drank tea a lot. Then I reverted back to coffee being my #1 choice. I still love tea, especially Twining's Decaf English Breakfast Tea at night. But still nothing compares to brewing coffee in the morning!

Coffee recipes book!

I was given a cute recipe book recently by a friend(Nancy). It contains coffee and espresso recipes!! And not just recipes for drinks but also for sweets!
I haven't tried any recipes yet but I really want to soon! Look at these delicious examples.
If I do try some soon, I will share them on the blog of course! Fellow bloggers, isn't it funny how everything turns into a blog opportunity? A Blogortunity? Yes I had to be dorky and say that. I had taken pictures of lemon poopy seed muffins once after baking them, to put on the blog. But I forgot about them! I'm pretty sure I've done that more than once. But you need those pictures, just in case! (haha...)

I have noticed the adorable google search homepage the past week. It's been Sesame Street themed! But why does Sesame Street get so many days as google's decor? I like it, but still - why so many days? I find it funny but cute. Today's image:
I need to work on getting to bed earlier at night! I'm a night owl. That doesn't really mix well with motherhood! I am a tired mother these days. And Kavi has been testing limits more and more often. I want to be a good and fun mom but also a good disciplinarian because I don't want him causing a ruckus while we are out and about. He is a good little boy most of the time, but you know, the normal phase of testing has been going on! He is 21 months old, not much longer until two!!

Tired Sunday

We are the "sleep in" types, especially on the weekends. Although my husband is much better at waking up early than I am, he also likes his sleep in weekend time. Well Kavi(our son) has been messed up by the time change. He wakes up earlier yet goes to sleep later. Aye aye aye!! So last night he fell asleep much much later than he should have but was up since 7:30am this morning. That might sound normal to most people, but we like a 9 am awakening around here haha. So I am pretty tired, and Kavi must be as well although he will fight it! I see a nap in his future...

Well I have coffee brewing and will make some breakfast now - probably french toast since it is Sunday! :)

Vintage Mugs and a Song

This week's vintage items are coffee/tea cups and mugs! Click picture to get to Etsy listing.

And here's a song I have liked for a couple years! It just never gets old. "Soul Meets Body" by Death Cab for Cutie.

Coffee Love

Just showing some love for coffee!

<--Morning Coffee scented 4 oz jar candle $3.49 by VersaMe






Click each item below to see their Etsy listings.

There's nothing like a cup of coffee in the morning...

Coffee Flickr finds:

1. Heart Shaped Coffee cups, 2. anyone for coffee?, 3. Heart Shaped Coffee Cup, 4. Kawaii Cute Japanese Mug Cup-Decole-The LIttle Red Riding Hood, 5. the coffee pot, 6. heart in coffee... trying for the virgin mary tomorrow, 7. Morning Coffee, 8. Coffee + Cream, 9. Morning Coffee - 2007,

I am writing this late at night, scheduled to be posted in the morning. So, sadly I don't have coffee at the moment. But tomorrow morning I will definitely be making some! I hope you enjoy the items above that I found on flickr. Maybe they will inspire you to get some coffee (hehe) or help you have a better day! Look at that awesome middle picture - the giant coffee pot!

I have been blessed lately in my shop TheCozyNest! On Sunday I sold three items! And last Thursday I sold an item. It's very encouraging. It also means i need to start new designs and projects for the shop! I have so many ideas in my head, and so much fabric that can be used for the ideas, but the time to actually make the items? That is the issue!

Coffee and To do's

"Cool, Calm, Collected - cup and saucer" $3.50 from RiceBucketVintage!

Finishing some coffee and then it's time to get ready to go out soon. Me and Kavi are going to Nancy's house. We go there on Thursdays for what was once a womens' bible study time, but now it's just me and Nancy most of the time so we chit chat. :P She also always makes very delicious coffee.

To do today:
Take pictures of a couple new jewelry pieces, as long as the sun is available later!
Finish some laundry
Uh oh there was something else that I already forgot!

Favorite smells...

Some of my favorite smells...Lemons, Roses, Coffee, and Cinnamon(below are flickr finds that express these!).

1. Faking it.., 2. smaller version of Pink Roses in aqua urn, 3. cinammoon rolls, 4. I made this cup of coffee and it danced for me, 5. Lemon Love_Affair, 6. Vintage Rose Handkerchiefs

I am editing to add more to this post! I was very excited to sell two items on Saturday at The Cozy Nest. Someone bought the lemon pillow cover! I am happy it will have a home. It is going to California. I notice a lot of my items that have sold lately are heading to different cities in CA, that is cool. The opposite coast! And the postal service has been very fast, getting things across the country in two days most of the time.

Also a sweet person I know through cyberspace, who LOVES squirrels, bought my newly listed "Squirrel and Tree Stump" pillow! That was great. I am always encouraged when something sells.

I received in the mail today delicious smelling soap I ordered on sale from dennisanderson.etsy.com, Lemon Sugar Cookie scent. Mmmmm.
And it came with a whole free lip balm! "Butter cream" scented lip balm. I'm telling you, it also smells so delicious!!! I highly recommend the lip balm. The soap I also recommend but I don't know if they have any Lemon Sugar Cookie soap left! :( I got it for 2.40 + 1.25 shipping. A Christmas in July deal, you better go check it out! I first read about the sale at Lillyella.blogspot.com. I ordered it late Thursday night and it got here today, all the way from Portland, OR!

That certain coffee cup!

Why is it that coffee seems to taste better if I drink it out of certain coffee cups? I think many people have those favorite mugs that they like to drink their coffee out of. I am drinking some really good coffee right now. I am still away visiting my family in Alabama and having a very nice time. My husband couldn't stay long so he is back home in Florida already. My son Kavi is having fun and entertaining the family with all the cute things he does.

We are going to meet my grandmother for lunch today at a downtown lunch place called "The Choice". It's only open for lunch Monday-Friday but all the people who work in the cute downtown area or live nearby head there and it stays busy all through lunch.

I am going to finish my really good cup of coffee now in a cup I picked out because it looked like I would enjoy drinking my coffee from it! So silly, but it's true!!

Consider the Coffee!

As I mentioned in the description above *points to top of blog*, I came up with this name by combining my and my mom's etsy shop names. A lot of coffee names were gone, so this worked out good.

And, it is IMPORTANT to consider the coffee when buying a cup. LOL. You don't want a nasty, weak cup of coffee. Weak coffee is the worst, as nothing can help it improve. If you are desperate for whatever caffeine might be in it, you drink it down out of desperation. Nothing sastifies like a good cup of coffee. If a little strong, adding half and half helps it. A strong cup of coffee can be fixed.

A Dunkin Donuts close to my house used to have good tasting coffee, but over the years it has gotten weaker! Unfortunately I think it may be due to the large retirement community here, which always complains if the coffee is too strong. Argh! :)

Serious coffee

This hasn't been printed yet, but should be soon. I really like the yellow. I've been into yellow the past couple weeks. I am not sure when I want to get it printed as my other prints haven't really been selling yet. I have other vintage style prints like this over at my etsy shop coffeeandcream.

I am also working on a couple pillows. I have an adorable owl applique I need to decide what to do with. Ornament like the one I already sold? Pillow? Hmmm.