Green Bean Machine

I got two, count ‘em two, beta invites this week. I’m still figuring out what to track with my Daytum, but the site which I’m super excited about right now is Spoonflower. I found out about them from a back post of Emily Martin’s (Black Apple). I’m going to start working on some patterns.

When I was in college, I worked at a coffee shop. I liked it. It was fun. While one of the fun things about it was making friends with the regulars, it bothered me to think how much these folks were spending on coffee every morning. The average transaction, if you got a drink and pastry, came out to about $5 (prices have gone up, so it would be more now). Some folks came in more than once a day. I never did the math, but I figured that would come out to about $2000 a year. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of money for me!

I love having coffee in the morning, but I’ve decided to make mine at home instead of hitting up the café several times a week. Yes, it takes a little more time, but for me, the savings are totally worth it. Here’s a breakdown of buying a foofy drink vs. making drip coffee at home.

If I spent $3.50 on an espresso drink once a day for a year, it would total up to $1277.50.

Here is the cost of making coffee at home (for me anyway. The numbers will be different depending on how much you drink and the type of coffee you buy):

• 4-cup coffee maker: $30 from Amazon with free shipping
• #2 paper filters: $3.25 for 100
• 1/2 lb of Peet’s House Blend: $4.95 (ground on #5/cone filter)
• 1 pint of Half-in-Half: approx. $2

Now, let’s do the math.

$11.86 (365 filters)
+ $257 (1/2 lb coffee per week)
+ $104 (pint of Half-in-Half per week)
+ $30 (cost of coffee maker)
= $402.86

So by making coffee myself vs. going a coffee shop every morning, I save $874.64.* Not only is this the frugal choice, but it is much greener because less electricity and water is being used; there’s no printed receipt; there’s no disposable cup and lid.

*Actually, this number would more like $1000 because I usually tip my baristas.

I realized after the fact that my last post was a bit out of left field. What I meant to say was that I’m going to be posting less product, more practicality. Mr Dukes and I have been making strides toward living more economically, efficiently, and environmentally-friendly*. I’d like to document it, and hopefully inspire others to do the like. That’s all.

Also, I thought it was an appropriate time for a minor redesign. Subtle drop shadows always boost my spirits. (No, really. They do.)

 *Alliteration rocks.

The goal for this blog was to be lighthearted and fun, a place for me to share the pretty and inspiring things I come across. I’ve been wanting to spend more time developing it, but the truth is, I’m a busy girl; the blog hasn’t made it very high on the priority list. (Until now!)

There are certain issues I’d like to talk about that don’t fit in with the happy-go-lucky attitude of previous posts. While I haven’t wanted to stray off course from my original intent with the blog, I think I need to. 

I want to talk about serious things. (Don’t worry. I’m not going to rant about the election. I haven’t the stomach for it.) My heart is heavy, thinking about our economic situation. Even though “everyone” is talking about it, not enough people are.

I’m no economist, but I do know a thing or two about history and people and American culture. I see how people are losing hope and trying to ignore the situation around us. While I don’t wish to bemoan our current situation, I want people to realize that this will affect our children and our grandchildren. It is imperative that we do whatever we can to change the course of history, even if it is only within our family structure.

I have some ideas. Stay tuned. I’m puttin’ the cutesie-wootsie on hold.

I saw this TED video on a flight to LA over the summer. (Virgin America is my favorite.)

Erin McKean is a self-proclaimed word nerd who has some great things to say about the history of the dictionary and how it has and needs to evolve to accommodate our web lives.

When we moved in, our kitchen had mini-blinds. It took me awhile to figure out what to do with the windows. (I mentioned them here last October.) Café curtains ended up being the best solution because they let in light while providing privacy. My mom makes window treatments professionally, and she was very sweet to sew them for us. (I don’t have the skills for that yet!)

 

 

The counters are beige, which I’m not crazy about. Having off-white curtains make them more bearable. The cabinets are 60s knotty pine so I wanted fabric that felt retro. (Look familiar? They’re made from an Urban Outfitters’ bedspread).

 

 

Ta-da! Café curtains do double duty by looking cute and disguising the ugly A/C unit.

A couple months ago, my uncle started a family tree on Geni. I’ve played with other family tree applications before, but this one is bar none, the best ever, because it’s actually a social community.

I’ve gone a little nuts with researching my lineage (I’ve added over 2000 people to the tree already). My mom had a small stack of family photos, which I’ve been scanning and uploading to Geni.

Joel and Lavinia Mitchell, my great great grandparents. (1946)

Great grandma Addie, looking thoroughly modern. (1927)

Discovering distant family relations and their stories is so much fun. For instance, one of my most distant ancestors I’ve been able to trace, Luke Dillon, emigrated from Ireland to America in the late 1700s. He apparently was a quite the drunk. One winter, he was riding home from a tavern in the snow. He dismounted, sat down by a tree, and was found six weeks later, frozen. Can I just say “!!!!”

Mr Dukes surprised me today by cleaning up my bicycle and returning it to the shop. We’ve had to take it in for repairs too many times, but thank goodness for 100% guarantee policies!

So now I’m contemplating what to do with my store credit. Living less than two miles from work makes a cruiser/comfort bike a possibility for me. I’m not as serious a biker as Mr Dukes, and I’m more concerned with form than function at this point. Schwinn’s Coffee & Cream line is looking awfully appealing. I mean, how cute is this!?

*swoon*

We’ve been having fun around the office with Wordle. I love stuff like this.

I’ve been keeping an eye out for big letters to adorn the walls at home. These colorful metal letters might be an option. There’s unfortunately only a few letters, but they have mine and the mister’s first initials. Hmm…it’s a maybe, especially since they can be painted.