San Diego Craft Night & Book Signing with New Dress a Day!

[Another promotional post, and then I promise to write things that will interest those of you that don't live in the San Diego area.]

Tricia and I have been long-time readers and fans of the popular blog New Dress a Day. Marisa Lynch recently published a book about her thrifting/DIYing adventures and Tricia asked me to help her put on a craft night and a book signing party with Marisa at Kettle Coffee & Tea! (I'm geeking out I get to meet her next week).

If you live in the San Diego/Orange County area, we would love to have you join us on Tuesday, December 4th to create a one-of-a-kind ornament with (what else?) thrifted, repurposed materials, and to hang out with Marisa.

The craft portion of the event (from 6pm-7pm) has a limited number of spaces, so please register to let us know you're coming. You can save $2 on the event fee if you select "Other Payment Options" and pay at the door. The fee includes 1 coffee drink and pastries from Kettle, as well as the supplies and tutorial for the ornament you take home.

If you want to join us for just the party - come by between 7-8:30pm to meet Marisa! Books will be available for purchase at the event and you can get them signed.

More details can be found on Eventbrite!

Tuesday, December 4
Craft Night and Book Signing with Marisa Lynch of New Dress a Day

Crafting, 6pm: $10 at the door to make an ornament with Marisa and the ladies of  Latte Love Blog (Katie) & Twinkle and Twine (Rebekah). Coffee and pastries included!

Book Signing Party, 7pm: Bring your copy of New Dress a Day* to be signed by the author and bring your consignment clothing for a free consult!

Kettle Coffee and Tea

119 E. Grand Ave

Escondido, CA 92027

email any questions to me at latteloveblog at gmail

Hope to see you there!

*affiliate link

Welcome, Kettle Coffee & Tea!

When I said goodbye to my co-worker, Tricia a few weeks ago, it was for bigger and much better things. I'm excited to announce that this morning Kettle Coffee & Tea opened on 119 E. Grand Avenue in Escondido!

Watching Trish and her husband Phillip the past few weeks has been inspiring, exhausting, and enormously revealing about life as a small business owner. They have spent 20 hours a day menu-planning, recipe testing, employment law training, wall painting, and floor scrubbing. (I think I can speak for them when I say it has not been all glamorous). E and I have also been impressed by how well they've worked together after less than a year of marriage, and definitively decided that we would either kill or divorce each other if we tried to open a business together.

This is a shameless plug but I do hope that if any of you guys live in the North County of San Diego, you'll swing by and check it out! Here are some of the details:

Kettle Coffee & Tea will be located on Grand Ave in the historic district of downtown Escondido, CA.  Our shop will feature:

•  A local award-winning roaster who offers hand-crafted, direct trade, single origin coffees as well as custom blends 
• A variety of brewing methods, including a pour-over bar, french press, and Chemex! Loose-leaf teas by the ounce and by the cup. 
• A delightful selection of sweet and savory treats from local bakeries and our own kitchen. 
• A seasonal menu for breakfast and lunch, including pastries, paninis, sandwiches, melts, and salads.

Kettle has a Kickstarter account to help them raise money for all the extras that go along with a new business, including a new sign to go on the storefront. There are some great rewards to be had (especially for locals) that are perfect as Christmas gifts!

If you haven't heard of Kickstarter (I hadn't), here's some more information on how it works: http://kettlecoffeeandtea.com/2012/11/19/fund-and-support-us-through-kickstarter/

Beyond the excitement of having a friend start a business, it's also exciting to see a great coffee shop open up in the area (10 minutes away from work). They're serving Klatch Coffee - which is a nationally recognized award-winning coffee roaster in Riverside County that does direct trade with coffee bean growers all over the world.

The couple are also seriously crafty, and made their own pour-over coffee stand, which I enjoyed use of this morning.

Tricia making Kettle's first pour-over coffee for me this morning!

Kettle Coffee & Tea
119 E. Grand Ave
Escondido, CA 92027
m-th 6:30am-7pm
f-st 6:30am-9pm
s closed

find them online here:
http://kettlecoffeeandtea.com/
http://instagram.com/kettlecoffeeandtea
https://www.facebook.com/KettleCoffeeandTea
http://twitter.com/KettleCoffeeTea

It's not goodbye, it's see you later

Today we had a farewell party for my favorite coworker, Trish (the one who has been bringing in lots of goodies lately). We've worked together in a very small office since I started here three years ago and we've become good friends, (see her amazing DIY wedding here) so it was a pretty sad occasion...

But her new job is a extremely exciting entrepreneurial adventure just a few miles down the road. I'm not fooling myself, it won't be the same at work without her, but I'm thrilled as she gets ready to embark on a new journey that I'll be announcing here in about two weeks.
(I'm happy to be a little involved in getting things started and planning an event with her for early December.) :-)

Stay tuned, San Diegans! (particularly if you're in North County)

Style on the Road: Planning and Packing

I've traveled more often than I stayed at home in September and October, and I have to admit I'm not very good at trying to balance my normal life with flying all over the country. Two friends' weddings, one trip to see family, three work trips and it feels so good to be home!



While on the road I try to travel light and in style, and I've gotten a few questions about it, so I thought I'd share some of my packing tips and tricks.

 

On the plane
Some guidelines for what to wear when you're flying.

• Classy, in case of a first class upgrade (!)
• Comfortable, because all of my flights are cross-country and warm, because planes are cold
• Versatile, so I can rewear it, because I pack with only a carry on - even for a ten day trip
• Wrinkle-free, so I can look presentable if I have to meet anyone after 9 hours of travel

[One thing I should note is that I'm a grad school recruiter, so the dress code when I'm on the road can be pretty laid back. I never wear heels on a flight, or a suit.]

My favorite ensemble is:

Travel wear by lattelove featuring slim fit pants

• J.Crew Minnie pants* (thanks for the twitter recs on these pants! I wear them at least once a week. Love)
• button-up shirt*
• blazer* or cardigan
• comfortable flats*
• scarf*

*denotes affiliate link

In my suitcase

1. Shoes. By far the hardest thing to pack is shoes - they're less easy to remix and take up so much space! On my last trip I was gone for ten days and my trip included a wedding, a visit to my family, and work - in places where temps ranged from 40-75. I would have preferred to have about seven pairs with, but I forced myself to bring only four: dressy sandals, black pumps, flat boots and brogues. Always wear boots on the plane, because they're a beast to pack.
2. Clothes that Mix and Match. This seems obvious, but is always harder in practice. The only way to guarantee what I'm bringing will work in several outfits is for me to layout all those outfits on my bed before packing. Every item needs to be worn at least twice - cardigan, blazer and pants should be remixable 3 times on a long trip. The only exception for me was the dress I wore to the wedding.
3. Accessories. The only way I will pack or wear accessories is if I plan them as carefully as I plan my outfits.One of the most frustrating parts of travel for me is when I don't have my arsenal of belts, scarves, necklaces, earrings and barrettes or headbands to choose from each day. I take two belts - a utility and an accent belt, and put my jewelry in a cloth roll I bought on Etsy. I usually wear a scarf on the plane.
4. Folding. I'm a fan of the rolling method, but I don't roll everything. Pants and dresses always get rolled and placed on the bottom, but tops do not. I usually bundle pack tops (see #2 here) where I stack all my tops together and fold them around another item.
5. Packing: Some pro packers like the idea of putting clothing in a large clear ziploc bag so you can compress the air out of as much of your clothes as possible, and compartmentalize. I like this idea for delicate tops and shoes, but I don't pack anything else in plastic bags. I pack rolled items at the bottom with shoes, tops towards the bottom of the suitcase and toiletries go at the top of the suitcase near the zipper for easy access when going through security.
6. Toiletries. Pack light on makeup. I take the smallest toiletries bag I own and typically bring one foundation-type product, mascara, eyeliner, two eye shadows, one blush and three brushes. Other than the foundation it fits in a snack-size ziploc bag. When I'm staying in a hotel or visiting my family I never pack a hair dryer, or shampoo/conditioner/body wash.
7. Outerwear. Most of the time I'm traveling from a temperate climate (San Diego) to a colder climate, and have to pack a coat that I don't want to wear during travel. I travel with the coat thrown over my arm or my tote bag and then after loading in my carry on suitcase, I find a place where I can lay it flat over other items in the overhead bin. (*you should always to try to this after the plane has been boarded, because there may not be room, or you may have your stuff squished when someone tries to squeeze their luggage in too small a space.)
8. Extras. Don't forget the little things! I always use a packing list, even though I know exactly what I'm packing so I don't forget things like: socks, the appropriate underwear, bandaids, feminine products, umbrella, glasses, medications.

Any questions? I feel like there are million resources out there with packing advice (here is one of my favorite collections: http://www.academichic.com/tag/packing/ ), but I hope this was helpful!

What's Next? Part 2

It's hard to believe it's been four months since student-life was our reality. It's been nice, but a lot busier than we planned! This post has been half-written for a while, but I've gotten some questions about what's coming up for us, so I thought I'd finish it and share a bit of where we're at in life right now.

Since E graduated with his Master of Divinity degree, he has been doing a few odd jobs here and there and working as an intern at our church. About two weeks ago the librarian at his school retired, and they offered E the job. He's also teaching two courses here - but both gigs will be up in January. We are so thankful he has such a great job for the time in between. (but I'm still not ready to think about student loans coming due next month...)

He spent almost all summer preparing for his licensure exam at the local presbytery meeting. The church denomination we are in (Presbyterian Church in America, or PCA) requires a process to qualify candidates to become pastors. Usually in the last year of, or after graduation from seminary, future pastors are given an extensive written and oral exam to test their qualifications for ministry. If they pass, they are licensed by the presbytery (a group of local PCA pastors and elders). Last week E sustained his exam!! (and did extremely well, I might add :-). Our pastor said he hit it out of the park.)

Now that he's licensed, he can start to look for a call to a pastoral position in a church and we've been asked more than ever - what's the plan?
I'm torn between knowing he needs to become a pastor (ahh!), and being really comfortable where we are right now. We love the San Diego area, we love our church, we both have stable jobs - so it's hard to imagine moving away. But at the same time, knowing this school thing was temporary, I'm getting antsy for a new adventure.

It feels like we spend every other night talking, praying, and dreaming about the different options for the future: short-term missions, long-term missions, planting a church, college chaplaincy, solo pastoring, in an urban church, rural church, east coast, west coast, overseas - who knows? It's weird and unnerving not knowing where we'll be in one year, five years or fifteen years. But it's also exciting and comforting for us to know that God has it figured out for us.

In the meantime, we are enjoying a lifestyle that doesn't involve E studying every night, and a tiny bit of extra income to start paying down our loans. I'm in the middle of travel season for work as a recruiter, and LOVE this time of year, even though I miss a lot of happenings at home. The midwest and east coast are putting on a great fall color show as usual, and I have one more wedding to finish off this wedding season (in Charlotte, NC!).

What are you guys most looking forward to this fall?

What's Good at Trader Joe's

A few weeks ago I made a very rare visit to Trader Joe's. We have one close, but it's just not on my regular circuit of grocery stores, since I have a lot of great markets like Sprouts nearby. So just before leaving I threw out the question on Twitter

You guys gave me some amazing suggestions! I've been working my way through a few at a time during each visit to Trader Joe's, but here's the list in its fullness for you to enjoy.

• speculoos cookie butter ✓ (yay for my dutch heritage! I grew up eating the cookies that this spread is made of, so not only is it amazingly delicious, it is nostalgic)
• wine ✓ 
• hummus ✓ (E and I eat a good amount of hummus and we were amazed at how much better TJ's is vs. almost every other kind we've tried)
• pretzel thins ✓ (pair with cookie butter)
• chocolate covered: pretzel thins ✓ (see above), almonds with sea salt and turbinado sugar ✓ (cannot recommend enough; we are addicted), raisins, caramels, orange sticks, coconut bonbons, s'mores, pistachio toffee
• goddess dressing ✓ (really good on spinach salad)
• Italian truffle cheese ✓
• lemon pasta
• plain tart frozen yogurt
• salsa autentica
• double-roasted salsa
• dried blueberries
• mint chocolate covered espresso beans
• kettle corn
• mingling olives
• a fig walked into a bar bars
• pesto
• edamame nuggets
• Crotin goat cheese trio
• almond milk yogurt
• pizza dough
• vegetable tempura birds nests
• ice cream mochi
• frozen fire-roasted corn

Anything else?



Edited to add:
p.s. see also the comments section on this post at elefantitas algres
p.p.s. just found the blog What's Good at Trader Joe's

I am apparently not the first to ask this question!