how decaf coffee is made

i found this video online and thought it was interesting. in case you were ever curious on how they make decaf coffee, here is the answer.

better buzz coffee

on a recent trip down to carlsbad, we got our morning buzz at better buzz coffee in san marcos. it's an adorable little walk-up/drive-up coffee shop.

yep, that's hubby ordering us a couple of drip coffees at the drive-up window. the brews of the day were caramel creme (flavored), night sky (dark roast) and kenya (peaberry). if you want to drink your brew there, they have a couple of patio tables outside with umbrellas to shield you from the sun but there is no indoor seating. as a matter of fact, there is no indoors. you order your coffee at the walk-up window.

they offer their drip in two sizes, regular ($2.15) and large ($2.35).
we both went with the regular (16 oz), kenya.

this is the sign you will see as you exit the parking lot. they were quite busy with a constant flow of cars and a few walk-up patrons as well. we will definitely be back here. it's a very convenient location for us but most importantly the coffee was very good.

904 w. san marcos bl, san marcos

caffeinated garden art

i love caffeinated garden art and i have a few pieces scattered here and there in my yard. my next project was to reuse this old aluminum coffee pot that i had previously used as a planter.

i knew what i wanted to do with it but i wasn't sure what supplies i would need, so i got hubby and we went to our local home center. we ended up getting the 5 items shown below: 3' pipe, 45° elbow, close nipple, flat washer and a lock nut.

the hardest part of this project is making the hole on the bottom of the coffee pot. after drilling several small holes and one larger one, it just took a little sawing and some filing to get a nice round hole.

then you just screw the pipe, elbow and nipple together. insert it into the hole and from the inside add the washer (for stability) and the lock nut to keep it all together.
note: my coffee pot was a light weight aluminum. if you have a heavier pot, these supplies and application probably won't work for you.

and there you have it. stick the pipe into the ground in your garden and you now have caffeinated garden art.
oh, as a finishing touch, i added a glass "drop of coffee" from the spout.

hidden house coffee

this past weekend we drove down to capistrano for the day. it's been a while since we've been there and there's a great antique shop i love to visit while there. but i digress. on this trip i found an adorable little coffee shop that i never knew existed.

it's called hidden house coffee and they aren't kidding about the "hidden" part. it's down a quiet little "residential" road where all the houses have been converted into various businesses. the mix of patrons ranged from locals to tourists, teenagers to seniors.

i love supporting the independent coffee houses and i always seek them out when i'm in need of a caffeine fix.

hidden house coffee
san juan capistrano, ca

note to self: remove lid before adding beans to grinder.

it's a good idea to take the lid off of your coffee grinder before you pour your beans in; otherwise, you will have this situation on your hands:

reduce, reuse, repurpose

i am always thinking of new ways to use old things. why throw something out, when it still has plenty of life left to give. what started out as a cute little candle ...

... ended up as a "vase" for my air plant.

enamelware

i found this enamel coffee pot at an antique shop in monterey, ca and the matching cup came from ebay.

for a touch of whimsy, i hung the pot on a shepherd's hook under our plum tree and placed the cup on a little table i had in storage. as you can see, not all yard art has to come from a garden center.