~Elf~

One of my favorite Christmas movies is "ELf." It's funny and heart warming. I want to share this funny scene in the movie where he visits a coffee shop. It always makes me laugh. 

 Video By Michael Edward

~Yiruma~

Have you ever heard of Yiruma? If not you have missed out on some great classical piano pieces. My favorite piano piece is "River Flows in You." It is very soothing and I love to listen when I am in a coffee shop or at home drinking a cup of coffee. 

 Below is the piano piece by SweetPinkxPL T

Below is me playing the piano to "River Flows in You," by Yiruma

~Better Together by Jack Johnson~

This is "Better Together" by Jack Johnson. This is definitely good coffee shop music. Enjoy!

~Coffee Cartoons~

I found some cute coffee cartoons I thought you would enjoy.

 

photo from mooseheadcoffee.wordpress.com

Photo by www.glasbergen.com

Photo from www.condenaststore.com

~Cake Boss~

Last night Buddy Valastro from TLC's Cake Boss came to Topeka Kansas, and guess who got to see him? Me!

The popular baker put on an interactive event at the Topeka Performing Arts Center (TPAC). Buddy showed the audience how to do tips, techniques and tricks with cakes and cupcakes and answered all kinda of questions. He had the audience participate in competitive events to win some of his cakes and Cake Boss merchandise. People in the audience were selected by Buddy to compete against other audience members in hula hooping, dancing, and other contests. People laughed and it was a great time. 

At the end of the show people who purchased VIP tickets got to meet and take pictures with Buddy and I was one of those people! It was an awesome experience and I got his new cook book that was signed by him. It was a night I won't ever forget. 

I have to say he's a very nice guy. 

Here is one of his many wonderful recipes; Buddy shows how to make tiramisu which is a coffee cake. 

~ Blackbird café~

Tonight I tried something new, and from a coffee shop I've never been to. I went to Blackbird café here in Topeka Kansas. I've been doing some research seeing what kind of coffee shops are around my town because I tend to go to just a couple in my area on a regular basis. I was surprised to see there are more than I thought. I stumbled upon Blackbird café which is fairly close to where I live and work. It's a cute little coffee shop in a little shopping area. I have personally always loved those kind of stores so I thought I'd check it out. 

The outside of the store was exactly what I imagined. I felt like is was in another town on vacation, which is always a nice feeling for me. The coffee shop has a few sets of chairs and tables on the outside for people to chat with friends and family, have a cup of warm coffee and enjoy the night sky. Although, right now it's a little cold out for that. 

When I went in I was not as impressed. The atmosphere changed for me. I went from thinking the place was adorable to "ugh," if that is a feeling. The place was plain and didn't have a lot of decoration. Also their comfortable chairs are a little outdated. However, I decided to give the place a chance anyway. 

When I went up to the counter I had no clue what to order so I asked the bartista lady what she recommended. She kind of went on a rant of every coffee they have which is not what I was asking but nonetheless she was helpful. After telling me about all the espressos and lattés I ordered a hazelnut latté. I must it was delicious and I was surprised I liked it. 

I'm not a big hazelnut fan. I've always been a person who is scared to try something new but I'm glad I did because I came across something I really like. I will definitely go back to Blackbird café. The bartistas are friendly and the drink was great.  

~Panera Bread~

If you ever are looking for a great place to have a meal or a cup of coffee with friends you should go to Panera Bread. I can say a lot of good things about Panera Bread. They have variety of foods. They serve breafast, lunch, and dinner. They have all kinds beverages (soda, tea, and coffee). My favorite things to order are their hot chocolate, green tea, blueberry bagel with cream cheese, and Frontega Chicken Panini. I've liked everything I ever tried from there. 

Here is a map showing the Panera Bread location in Topeka Kansas 

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~Why You Should Drink Coffee~

11 Reasons Why You Should Drink Coffee Everyday According to The Huffington Post:

1. Americans get more antioxidants from coffee than anything else. 

2. Just smelling coffee could make you less stressed. 

3. Coffee could lessen the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. 

 

4. Coffee is great for your liver (especially if you drink alcohol). 

5. Coffee can make you feel happier. 

6. Coffee consumption has been linked to lower levels of suicide. 

7. Coffee could reduce your chances of getting skin cancer (if you're a woman).

8. Coffee can make you a better athlete.

9. Coffee can reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. 

10. Drinking coffee can help keep your brain healthier for longer. 

11. Coffee may make you more intelligent. 

Moral of the story is coffee is the best thing ever!

~Colbie Caillat And Gavin Degraw~

Two of my favorite music artists are Colbie Caillat and Gavin Degraw. They have really unique voices. They're great individually but also sing really well together. I would say Colbie Caillat's genre would be easy listening/pop and Gavin Degraw's is easy listening/rock. I love their music and I would consider it coffee shop music. Take a listen. I think you will enjoy it.  

~World Cup~

World Cup is a facinating coffee shop, at least the one here in Topeka Kansas is. Facinating how? I guess that can be taken a couple of ways, but in this case facinating means odd. In all honesty I have only been to this coffee shop once before going again this weekend. It's probably not fair of me to judge the place because I have only been there a couple times, but I feel like I should tell my opinion anyway then you can go and decide for yourself if you like it, that is if you have not ever been there. 

To simply put it I think the place is crowded, is not decorated well, and the coffee is ok. However, the bartistas are friendly and helpful. They do have a good variety of food and drinks to choose from that other people may enjoy. I can't give my opinion on their food becasue I have not tried any. I have had a couple of coffee drinks and was not impressed by the taste of either. I recently tried the Dark Chocolate Mocha. I expected it to be more rich and have more of of chocolate taste. It did not which disappointed me. As far as the design of the building, the outside is decieving. 

The place looks bigger on the outside then it is.When I walked in I felt cramped and that was with nobody in line. I can only imagine how it is when people are lined up. There is not much room to walk at all. It made me want to hurry up, get my coffee and leave. I like coffee shops that fell the opposite of that. 

I think that is the main reason I don't like the place. It's the atmosphere. It's really unfortunate too becasue the atmosphere makes it hard for college students like me to want to study there and it is so close to campus. I would personally rather drive 15 minutes away to another coffee shop then hang out there, but just because I don't like it does not mean others won't. In fact I know some people who do enjoy going and hanging out there. 

~Gingerbread Latté~

The holidays are just around the corner and as I'm counting down the days until Thanksgiving and Christmas I realize I have not had a real holiday drink and by holiday drink I mean something that tastes like Christmas in a cup. The number one place I know where to get that kind of drink is indeed Starbucks. I know I write about Starbucks a lot but it is my favorite place to get coffee. Right now they have a nice variety of holiday drinks to try. There is the Caramel Brulee Latte, Peppermint Mocha, Eggnog Latte, and the Gingerbread Latte which is the one I will be discussing. 

I have been wanting to try this drink for about a week now. I have seen several of my friends and family post on their social sites about wanting one or how good it is. Someone I follow on Instagram posted a picture with the festive red cup saying, "Baby it's cold outside, but I have my Gingerbread Latte so it's all good." Also one of my friends on Twitter said, "Now I want a Gingerbread Latte. Yummm." All the posts made me finally break downn and get one. 

 It was nice because I had a birthday reward from Starbucks so my drink was free. Let me explain how that works. Starbucks has a reward system. What you do is purchase a gift card and put money on it, then you go to the Starbucks website and register your card. Starbucks explains how it works on the website but if you have any questions you can ask me or your local Starbucks bartista. 

 Starbucks is absolutely crazy this time of year. It seems like everybody in town feels the need to get coffee. Whhen I went this afternoon to get some I had to wait in the drive thru for awhile. I'm guessing you are probably wondering why I didn't go in? Well it was busy inside too. It wouldn't have made a difference. Anyway, when I finally got up to the menu board to order I saw all the wonderful holiday options which made come close to changing my order, but then I thought I should stick with what I was originally going to get. I thought I can always come back and try something else later. 

 Long story short, I loved the Gingerbread Latte and I will get it again. It lives up to the name and reviews I have read. Everyone should try this heavenly holiday drink and get the biggest size. It's incredible and perfect for the holiday season.