the morning times

ideally, i'm a morning person. waking up early and enjoying my solitude as the quiet world comes to life, fearlessly facing what lies ahead and embracing the unknown. there's so much possibility that lies within the transition between light and dark. i love the thought of matching my rhythm with daylight, slowly rising with the sun - that natural synchronization which occurs when you are somewhere remote; or the thought of taking it slow and watching the dim morning develop from grey to pink before the sun fully awakens; or lingering over coffee, dreaming and planning. the beginning of a new day is inspiring, full of hope and potential. ideally. there are two ways to fully appreciate mornings: the first comes after restful sleep and the other, by way of incentive. the reality is that i rely on the latter, which in my case is coffee. 

when ever i go back down to north carolina, part of the visit involves a tour of my favorite haunts. at the top of that list is the morning times, so much for its COFFEE, that draws you in with its warm buzzing neon, as its locally inspired everything - to me, there are few places more "raleigh". it's a quick IN and OUT (with corresponding doors labeled to help the flow of traffic) for those shuffling down the bar before work or  it's an invitation up creaky wooden steps to linger over espresso dregs in the upstairs gallery. art, coffee, food: all sourced from the community and proudly served with a latte heart. there's a feeling you get from places like that and mornings like those and every time i try to put my finger on it, it comes out dripping in coffee. ;)

p.s. check out oftreesandhues and taravictoria for more beautiful interpretations of mornings

proprietor of a portuguese pizza parlor

printed under my dad's senior picture in his high school year book it says: "proprietor of a portuguese pizza parlor". when i asked my dad about it he laughed and explained that his class had been asked to write down "what they wanted to be when they grew up" and he thought it was such a ridiculous question, that he gave a ridiculous {and impressively alliterative} answer. i was slightly disappointed that he didn't actually ever aspire to own a restaurant. but more so, i was relieved that my dad - a super successful business man at the time - had no clue as a kid where he'd end up professionally. it's been fifteen years (!) since i graduated from high school and i'm still chasing after my dream job. it's never too late,  i think. while my current  job fits cozily in with the degree i earned in college, my heart has never really been in it. i refuse to settle for anything less than inspiring, though and coffee inspires me.

i fell in love with coffee right about the same time i fell in love with andy. he taught me to appreciate the taste with out all the milk and sugar i had grown up drinking it with {though i still enjoy a good cappuccino}. the first time i hung out at a coffee shop, i ended up staying for hours. it was comfortable and i felt as relaxed as if i were sitting in my own living room, sipping a latte and reading a book. i watched people come in and out all day, many of them "regulars". it made me happy seeing the interaction between them and the employees. they were like extended family, stopping by for their daily cup. whether they were quickly popping in for "the usual" before heading back to work or coming to spend the afternoon reading like i was doing, there was a sense of community. we were all brought together by the common joy of a simple cup of coffee. it was then that i realized that i wanted to own my own shop one day.

whenever i'm in a new city, i make it a point to visit the local coffee shops to see what they're doing to set themselves apart. it's my "coffee research" but honestly, i'm just looking for a good cup and a cool place to hang out. the little red fox is both coffee shop and market. the owners pride themselves in supporting the local community by selling specialty grocery items in addition to some impressive homemade goods. the space is bright and the service is friendly. seating is limited but everything is very well-curated and beautifully displayed. most importantly, they make a solid pour-over coffee and the lattes are as delicious as they are beautiful.

can you believe these combinations? corn cookie + blueberry? snickerdoodle + cappuccino? geniuses!

we never were asked to give our future jobs for the senior year book when i was in school, but now that i've had time to think about it, i'd write: "connoisseur of carefully crafted coffee". here's to chasing dreams, cheers! 

well, that was a freebie

 

we woke up to thirteen inches of snow last thursday. it was the kind that was fluffy enough to accumulate in heaps but light enough to keep the tree's limbs in tact and the electricity on. we dusted off the snow shoes and took a long walk, which i didn't get any pictures of on account of having a baby strapped to my chest while plowing through the white stuff. friday started like any other until the lights went out at work and we were sent home. woo-hoo! it's friday, i'm in love! on saturday morning, the olympics provided hours of entertainment, as usa spanked russia in hockey. then, on sunday, we did the patriotic thing and honored our nation's first commander-in-chief with a tour of d.c. it's not what you think though. we explored dupont cirle, brunched at duke's, drank flat whites/long blacks at filter, and browsed the phillips collection.  on monday - the fifth and final day - we rested, which is to say, we stayed in pajamas all day and never left the house until seven p.m. forced us to the grocery store for the least ingredients required to make a meal.

february has been extra good to us this year. it already had high marks for being the shortest month at a time when spring can't come any faster, but then kicking the long weekend off with valentine's on friday and two snow days? SOMEONE was good this year for jolly old saint george to bring all that for president's day. what. wrong holiday? well, after five consecutive days off, i'm founding the new church of no power outages, midday naps, and coffee that's not brewed from a k-cup, hallelujah.

friday roundup

 

first, can i get a T-G-I-F? woot, woot!

now.

lately i've been coming across all kinds of goodies on various media outlets that i just have to share. it's a random assortment which i hope will pique at least one of your interests, but even if something doesn't immediately jump out, give it a chance, you never know what you might find. anyway, just some things to peruse over the weekend:

+ have you all heard of picmonkey? i downloaded the free online service two years ago when it replaced picnik as a photo editing program but didn't even use it until recently. now i'm hooked. it's photoshop or lightroom for the non-graphic designer. see the nifty icon by current tempo up there on the tab? yeah, i did that on picmonkey. no big deal. also, their blog post on 2013 word-of-the-year, 'selfie', gave me courage to snap the sequence you see above. i still need some work, obvi (<-- 2014 word-of-the-year?).

+ i've developed something of a crush on nana. a few weeks ago i stumbled across her photos on instagram and now sort of obsessively follow her @urbanxkoi. her feed is gorgeous.

+ another new acquaintance thanks to instagram is mary beth of the blog annapolis&company. her pictures and writing reveals that she is a beautiful person with amazing perspective on life - both literally and figuratively. she hosts this series on IG (#theeverydayproject) where she encourages people to search for the beauty in the everyday and capture it. if you're new to photography or just looking for some good photo tips, you must check out her tutorials.

+ this excerpt from molly wizenberg's talk at food blog south where she shared her gut feelings about writing and creativity. i love molly's writing and apparently, her speaking is just as good. p.s. her next book comes out in a couple months and i.can't.wait.

  + last, great news runners who are coffee lovers! turns out caffeine really had absolutely no influence on hydration status. also, the wonderdrink is said to improve memory, hence my DOMINATION in scrabble versus the husband. so. stay thirsty my friends. 

Cawfee Tawk

It's high time I address my obsession with coffee. It's good I break you all in now because this will likely be the first of many tributes and you still have time to bail out before this crazy train gets moving too fast. They say acceptance is the first step towards recovery and since I dressed myself in big girl pants this morning, I'll come right out and confess: Hi, my name is Lucinda and I'm a coffeeholic.

I'm not your typical junkie either. It's quite the opposite, actually. My pathology resembles masochism more than addiction. I restrict myself to only one cup a day (unless I'm irrationally tapped to reckless abandon) and usually only a few cups a week. I treasure my passion for the black gold and want to maintain it's integrity in my heart by not overdoing it or dulling the sense.

In addition to its consumption, I'm also very particular in its preparation. I'll obnoxiously stand at the counter, scrutinizing each barista charged to the task of preparing my drink. If during the production, things go astray in my mind, i'll begin to uncomfortably shift from one foot to the other, wringing my hands, shaking my head and silently talking myself to reason: 'course a latte definitely has two shots. I'm an excellent judge in taste; excellent judge. I can't imagine what this does to the nerves of the coffee steward.

It all began at a young age. You, see in Bolivia - the country from which my mother hails - the great bean is a staple commodity and not restricted to adults. People there are exposed to it early in life and are served cafe con leche or more accurately, leche con cafe (since the proportions are adjusted to the tolerances of a child). When she married my father and came here to the states, my mother kept the tradition of 5 o'clock tecito (Tea Time) where refreshments are not limited to tea. My siblings and I were thus exposed as we joined her for that happy hour.

Since then, I've been hooked and my palate has developed to where I can appreciate the lush acidity and fragrant roasts without several ounces of cream and sugar. And without said dilution, its potency became more apparent too. So then I was able to appreciate it on another level: COFFEEEE! (read in your most excited and spastic voice) That there got me through many a late night in college and beyond.

Delving just a bit further into the history and psyche behind my coffee passion, we come to the final stage where I'm able to tame the coffee-beast evoked by caffeine and harness the creative (albeit hyper) influx that ensues its consumption. Coffee is to me what the Muses were to the greats. And it's cliche, I know, but coffee shops are the best for writing. A lot of my writing lately is induced by either an injection of caffeine or deprivation of sleep (hmmm, that's funny...I just recognized the dichotomy).

Anyway, sitting here in my new favorite coffee shop (and one of the best in Raleigh) the words come out flowing like the shots being pulled in succession behind the bar. You like the poeticism? Yeah. Coffee. In all seriousness though, there's something to be said for the popularity behind coffee shops and writers. There's got to be some scientific research behind it. So that's it; I've said my peace, for now. What gets your creative juices going? What makes you happy, gets you up in the morning?