Category: Sunday Reflections

Monday Reflections – Coffee Fun!

I. Love. Coffee.

For the love of coffee

Anyone who has known me for 10 minutes (or maybe less) is aware of this.

Pooh Coffee

I even worked at Starbucks for a couple of years to support my habit. BTW, it’s a great company and part of my retirement plan.

Starbucks to go

Fellow coffee lovers, check out my COFFEE board. It’s full of delicious, hot (or iced), caffeinated fun.

COFFEE - Hug in a Mug

A few years ago I heard about the Clover brewing system and wanted to try it, but there weren’t any Starbucks around that offered it. I thought it would take a trip to Seattle to give the Clover a try. All that changed Saturday. My HH and I went to Downtown Disney (one of the perks of living in central Florida), and the new Starbucks has not one, but TWO Clover machines. It’s a beautiful location, too.

Downtown D Sbux

And the partners are perfect for the happiest place on earth.

Happy Partners

I met Lenny, the friendliness ambassador and partner extraordinaire.

Lenny - Friendliness Ambassador

He gave us our first Clover coffee experience.

Clover Machine

First you choose your coffee and specify hot or iced and size. It’s not that different from ordering a normal cup of coffee. The beans get weighed,

1 Weigh the beans

then precision ground,

2 Grind2 Grind

then the weight is double checked for accuracy.

3 Precision

The Clover is then programmed with the kind of coffee, the type of brew (hot or iced), and the beverage size.

4 Exact Brew

 

To best show the rest of the brewing process I made a couple of videos.

What a GREAT cup of coffee! When we smelled the coffee when it was freshly brewed, the herbal notes of the Sumatra were prominent. And it was so smooth! Even iced it had to be one of the best coffees I’ve ever had.

I don’t know that a real Pintesting results would count for this, but if I had to give it a score it would be 5 Pins across the board. If you love good coffee and are near a Starbucks location with a Clover brewer, then give this a try.

*Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way for this post. The opinions are my own (and my handsome husband).

UPDATE:

I associate Pumpkin Spice Lattes with the end of summer and the “official” start of autumn. Even though they came out last week, I held off until today to get my first. It’s a big deal, so of course I took a picture and posted it to Facebook.

First PSL of the Season

The best part was that Facebook face recognition saw the Starbucks Siren as a friend’s face.

Facebook Friend Face  Recognition

 

Then I was asked if I wanted to tag her.

To Tag a Siren

It took Facebook to recognize the friendship that I have with Starbucks.

 

Sunday Reflections – June 23, 2013

Jun 23, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

There are a lot of the fun versions of the original “Keep Calm and Carry On,” many of which made it to my Things for My Wall board on Pinterest. Some of them just crack me up. These are some of my favorites. They’re really not in any kind of order, so just scroll through and see what keeps you calm – or not.

 

Keep Calm and Keep Pinning

 

Keep Calm and Love Yourself

 

Keep Calm and Hug a Friend

 

Keep Calm and Go to the Beach

Keep Ca- Why is the Rum Gone

 

Keep Calm and Bake On

 

Keep Calm and Make Cupcakes

 

Keep Calm and Make Coffee

 

Keep Calm and Eat Lunch

 

Keep Calm and Drink Wine

 

Keep Calm and Blog On

 

Keep Calm and Go to Hogwarts

 

Keep Calm and Expecto Patronum

 

Keep Calm and Brains

 

Freak Out and Throw Stuff

 

Keep Calm and Dance Off the Calories

Keep Calm and Dance On

 

Keep Calm and Zumba

 

Keep Calm and Grumpy On

 

Keep Calm and take a cat nap

 

Keep Calm and Moustache

 

Keep Calm and May the Odds be Ever In Your Favor

 

Keep Calm and Travel On

 

Keep Calm and Irish Dance

 

Keep Calm and Stand Clear of the Doors

 

Keep Calm and Dream Big

 

keep-calm-and-be-a-disney-princess-2

 

Keep Calm It's a Small World After All

 

Calm You Shall Keep

 

Well, that’s all for now. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend and Keep Calm – things have a way of working out. What are your favorite “Keep Calm” saying? Please share them in the comments below.

Sunday Reflections – April 28, 2013

Apr 28, 2013 by Anne Hernandez

Happy Weekend! I hope yours has been a time to recharge your batteries. This Sunday Reflections has a theme – Pies! This weekend was the Great American Pie Festival in Celebration, Florida. I have not entered any of the competitions (yet), but I’m an experienced sampler. All the pies you can eat at $10 for adults and $5 for children. What’s not to love? I’m including a few pictures of the festival, but also some of the pins from my Pies-Tarts-Crostatas board. One of these pins will be posted on this week. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!
American-Pie-Council-logo-
The Great American Pie Festival is put on by the American Pie Council
Welcome to the wonderful world of getting Pie-eyed!
Welcome to the wonderful world of getting Pie-eyed!
Part of the 2013 Competition
Part of the 2013 Competition
http://pinterest.com/pin/207869339023131277/
Cookie Dough Tart Crusts

These Cookie Dough Tart Crusts are from this pin and link to the Two Llamas and a Whole Lotta Drama Facebook page.

How to prevent your crust from shrinking
How to prevent your crust from shrinking

This pin is a great how-to on preventing crust shrinkage and links to Lindsey’s Hot Polka Dot blog.

How To Make Lattice Top & Decorative Pies
How To Make Lattice Top & Decorative Pies

This old-fashioned looking picture shows how to make beautiful crusts and decorative pies, and links to Tip Nut.

Lattice Lemon Pie
Lattice Lemon Pie

Here’s a new twist on an old favorite – Lemon Meringue Pie, but with a lattice meringue. This pin links to the Better Recipes’ Daily Dish.

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart
Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart

I made this for a work pot luck. Do you want to know how to REALLY win friends and influence people? Feed them this and they’ll love you forever. This pin links to Rosie’s Sweetapolita blog.

Peach and Cherry Tarts
Peach and Cherry Tarts

This is a super simple dessert that allows the natural flavors of the fruit to take center stage. This pin links to Jo’s blog, Jo Cooks.

Bite Sized Apple Pies
Bite Sized Apple Pies

These are perfect snack-sized treats for lunches or after school or a light dessert.This pin links to the blog Six Sisters’ Stuff.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the pie theme this week. Let me know your favorite pie in the comments!

Blessings, Anne

 

Sunday Reflections – March 3, 2013

It’s Sunday, and I thought it would be nice to take a day to be reflective. Rather than do Pin Tests on Sundays, I’d like to share some of the pins that are thought provoking, encouraging, and funny. We’ll call it my day of rest and meditation. I hope you enjoy.

Don't worry, I know what I'm doing... I saw this on Pinterest

 

Comfortable in your own skin

 

Blessings

 

Only tell your own story

 

Time is free but priceless

 

Laughter, imagination and dreams

 

The avengers explain...

 

Happy Sunday! Anne