Wordless Wednesday I Heart Fall

Oh I How I Love My Cup of Joe

Mmmm….It’s 3:30 in the afternoon and I’m still thinking about my morning cup of coffee.

Drinking coffee is a ritual for me. I’m not a morning person so having coffee helps kick-start my day. And a really good cup of Joe can really set the tone for my day.

Today is another gorgeous September day with sunshine and a gentle breeze. I poured myself a cup of Café Verona and headed out in the car. By the second sip, I was in such a good mood that I turned up the radio, opened the sun/moon roof and drove all the way to the office shimmying my shoulders.

My first beer was a Guinness at Fiddler’s Elbow in Rome. My first cup of coffee was actually an espresso at my University’s café bar. It’s no wonder that I came back to the States thinking all beer and coffee should be brewed dark and delicious.

I am someone who can drink coffee at any time of the day. And if I have a particularly delicious cup after dinner at a restaurant, I’ll go back to them even if the food was so-so just so I can savor their cup of Joe.

Over the years, I’ve come to love some coffee beans more than others. I’m rather fond of (in no particular order): Starbucks Café Verona, Dunkin Donuts, Raven’s Brew Deadman’s Reach.

The only thing better than dark coffee is combing it with my other favorite food pumpkin! While I am never happy to see summer leave, I do look forward to the changing colors of the leaves, New Jersey Devils hockey and Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

How about you? What coffee do you prefer?

Happy Moment of the Day:  Two Starbucks gift cards just waiting to be exchanged for Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

When In Rome…Enjoy the Moment When You Travel

Dublin

Growing up my mother used to say “Enjoy the Moment.”

I’m pretty sure this was just her way of getting me to sit still. It allowed her to get a few more things done without me fussing about wanting to do something else.

But as I grew up and began to travel, those three little words stuck with me. And it has become my traveling mantra. I don’t wish myself somewhere else. I don’t compare the local pasta dish to my favorite Italian restaurant back home. I don’t wonder why they don’t do things the way we do them in America. I simply enjoy the moment.

So when my mother recently returned from a trip to Key West and I asked, “So how was it?” Her answer had me shaking my head.

She began by telling me this…

Grand Cayman

“I told my travel companions that my daughter has traveled the world and she always tells me to enjoy a place for what it is, not what I want it to be.”

And then she went on to tell me how hot it was (she lives in the South, she knows hot and she went to Key West in AUGUST!) Restaurants didn’t have air conditioning everything was open (um, hello, you’re in a beachy environment, I’d be more upset if things were all closed up). She got bored (one cannot possible be bored when exploring new lands).

I buried my face in my hands as she ended with saying “so it was really good to get home.”

Clearly, she didn’t enjoy the moment.

Oh Mom…

San Francisco

The most wonderful thing about traveling is getting to explore the unknown. Food you don’t normally eat. Activities you wouldn’t normally partake in. Sharing a laugh with new friends you made simply because you said “hello”. 

So as you set out for your Labor Day weekend travels, grab the local paper and see what the town has to offer in the way of activities. Staying at a B&B? Ask your host/hostess where they go when they want to kick back and enjoy a good meal. Spending time with family or friends? Ask them about their farmers market. What better way to say thank you than creating a meal for them with local produce. Get outside and enjoy the fresh air by hiking a trail or strolling through the arts festival. Take time to stop and smell the roses.

Seriously. 

See the roses.

Stop and smell them. 

You’ll be glad you did.