I was never much of a coffee drinker. The ex-husband had one of those 12-cup models that he could program to start at a specific time every morning, which was great because the coffee was always ready for him. I was more of a tea drinker - if I had the urge for coffee, I'd go to Starbucks or Dutch Bros or whatever was handy. But that didn't happen very often! Certainly not often enough to warrant replacing the coffee pot when we split up. However, one of the (very thoughtful) attorneys at my office brought me a bag of Snake River Roasting espresso beans from a recent trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Which meant that I needed to replace the coffee pot (and get a bean grinder).
I don't think I'll ever need to brew 12 cups of coffee at a time. So I decided to look at the single-serve models, and I found this one! It's by Hamilton Beach (available at Walmart, or through Amazon by clicking here). It does 2 sizes - 8 oz or 14 oz, and even has a flip stand so smaller mugs are closer to the dispenser. And there's no need for expensive specialty cups - the scoop fits right in the filter basket and acts as a double filter. So now I can grind and brew my own coffee in my own house! Not every day, because I can't make myself get up early enough to drink a cup of coffee before I leave for work. And even though this baby will work to fill travel mugs, I never drink out of them. So for me, it's a weekend and day off treat!
As long as I'm talking about things I like, let's update some things on and off the needles!
Off the needles first: I was promoted at work! I'm now the legal assistant to the patent prosecution group at our law firm. I've been working on their transition since they started, and it's truly a fantastic team to work with. So happy. This year-long transition has meant a lot of learning of new skills, which means a lot less mental energy for blogging. I'm trying to schedule a few posts here and there to give you new things to read! (But it apparently also means thoughtful gifts like those coffee beans....)
On the needles: I've been busy! I made each of my girls a coordinating winter accessory set (hat, scarf and fingerless-mitts-with-hoods - there will be tutorials coming on the hats and mitts - pictured above is the scarf I made for K - with an "angel wing" cable pattern). The only problem was I had to remake H's hat, because I made it too small! I made a really cute pair of socks (Vanilla Latte - you can search it on Ravelry - very easy top-down socks, and I loooooved the heel). I have another pair in the works that I need to frog - I bound off and fastened off the cuff (toe-up socks) without trying them on, and I can't stretch the cuff enough to get it over my heel! I think everything else about the sock is right; the cuff was not an intuitive rib pattern, so by the time I decided I was done I didn't feel like messing with the super-stretchy-bind-off. I'm hoping that was the mistake - I would be happy to make them a little bit shorter and redo the bind-off if that will fix the issue! I also have a sweater I've cast on and frogged. And I have Christmas presents in my head. I'll do another post with photo updates of some of these pieces. One thing I've started doing is posting progress pics on Instagram as I think of it: you can totally follow me there to see them "live." (If you're on Instagram, you can follow me by searching for drea_dear_414.)
I'll be back with more pics later, I have to pull them from "the cloud" and get them ready to post...and be witty...maybe after I have some more coffee!
Required Disclaimer: while this post does contain affiliate links, it is not a sponsored post. If you purchase anything through a link in this post I may receive remuneration from the website. Hamilton Beach is not paying me to promote their products, I'm just really impressed with the value and the performance of these particular items. And if you know someone looking for a single-serve coffee maker but you just don't want to get that "other name brand", now you have an option!
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