31 Days of Coffee: Home Brewed Windows

Today is our four-month-iversary at the house! And what better way to celebrate than with new windows!

Window installation week has been progressing right on schedule. It's really starting to take shape, and I can see where the house is being transformed every day.

We chose Andersen 200 series windows, in a classic six over one pane style. I like it! I think it looks a little more unique than the old eight over eight colonial style windows that were formerly in place.

We are having a wider cedar trim installed on the outside framing of each window. After the trim is installed and the house and trim are painted, I may decide that I don't even need shutters. Right now, I'm so happy that the faded plastic shutters are down.

I'm not so happy with the front doors. The blue has never won me over. I'm toying with the idea of painting them a "wood" look to give it a classic feel. But that will have to wait until the exterior painting is done next week.

When the painting is finished, we will update the exterior lighting and add a little special something to the side entry garage doors.

Time to celebrate the progress with a nice latte.

Blessings on your day, cafe friends!

31 Days of Coffee: The Must-Have Biking Accessory!

My husband is a serious fitness biker. He likes to wear spandex and go great distances, getting all sweaty and dehydrated in the process. Thus he needs not one but TWO water bottle holders for his bike.

Me? I'm more of a fun rider. My needs are a bit different. I need a cute basket or bag to hold important things...lip gloss, my cell phone (for photos, of course!), a few tissues, my sunglasses, a hair band, and maybe a yummy snack. My bag must be cute, and it must match my bike.

I probably won't be wearing a single article of spandex clothing (okay, maybe my undies and that's it!) because I won't anticipate sweating.  Water bottle? Maybe. But you know what's more important than staying hydrated? Staying caffeinated, of course!

Electra makes this handle bar holder for your To Go coffee cup. It's adorable, isn't it? I know you want one now, don't you?

Stay caffeinated, my friends! :)

31 Days of Coffee: Joy!

The much anticipated window installation began today! Joy! The crew arrived this morning, so I put on the coffee, set out the snacks, and told them "Today, my house is your house...so make it pretty!"

And it's looking prettier already! Seven windows have been installed, and I'm starting to get a vision of what it will look like when it's complete.

This week, during Bible study, we discussed the topic of joy. The question was asked "Do you embrace or struggle with the fact that our God is filled with joy?"

1 Thessalonians 1 :6-7 says "You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit."

Beth Moore says that "Joy is happiness without the moodiness." And then she adds "If we want our happiness to outlast a caffeine buzz, we're probably referring to joy."

I love that!

Jesus tells us "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (John 15:11)

We have the joy of Jesus inside of us! Maybe it's time that we show it to the world.

My oldest son works for Aldi, and he hates to work on Sundays, when the cranky church folks shop after services.

Ask a waiter or waitress, and they'll probably tell you that the Sunday church crowd are notoriously bad tippers.

That's not sharing joy.

We need to be known by our joy. We need the world to see us at the grocery store or the cafe and say "I'll have what she's having!"

Friendliness and cheerfulness cost me nothing, but it's free to share with the world. I want to be an imitator of Christ...both caffeinated and decaffeinated, nonfat, with an extra shot of Joy!

And here's a cup of joy...Tammy from Michigan! You won the Michigan gift giveaway! Send me your address and I'll send this to you!

maryrosescafe@gmail.com

Joy to you, cafe friends!

31 Days of Coffee: Cafe Love at the Egg Harbor Cafe

Yesterday was one of those days where you thought you had things planned, but then nothing went according to plan and you didn't know what to do with your day. Do you ever have days like that? Sometimes, you just know it's going to be an unproductive day even before you've had your first cup of coffee.

On a day like that, it's a good idea to let someone else make the coffee for you. So we took the boys for brunch at Egg Harbor Cafe in Geneva.

I love this restaurant so much! When you sit at the table, there are brightly colored coffee mugs at every spot, and you never know what color you will have that day.

Yesterday, it was an autumnal orange...perfect!

They had updated autumn menus, with lovely artwork on the cover!

I decided to bring my planner to brunch so that we could sit down as a family and coordinate our schedules. If I don't do this frequently, then our unproductive days start to outnumber the productive ones. And then we have conversations that start like this...

"Didn't I tell you? I'm going to South Bend tomorrow."

or

"Can't go out of town...I work next weekend."

or

"Now what date is my first communion again?"

Planners help me keep my sanity.

I have quite a lot to plan for in the next few days. My windows are being installed this week...hurrah! Just in time for cold weather! Also, my entire exterior of the house is getting painted shortly after that. Eek! I can't wait for the transformation! Tom, my window guy, told me to take a lot of before and after photos because it will be quite a difference. (Coincidentally, Tom also told me that the color I picked for the house is the same color he'd used on his last house...Navajo White. He warned me that it had a lot of yellow in it...no alarms there, as I love yellow! He told me to go drive by the house, which I did, and I absolutely love it. Can't wait to see it applied to our house!)

It's good to have a plan. And it's even better to have a planner with coffee.

Blessings on your Sunday, cafe friends!

Reminder! Today's the last day to enter the blog candy coffee cozy giveaway! Check out Friday's post and leave a comment to win!

31 Days of Coffee: Home Brewed with Pumpkins

Pumpkins make me smile.

They have a magical way of making the house look happy.

We went to the local pumpkin patch yesterday...

...okay, I confess, that's a lie. We bought out pumpkins from Aldi. $2.99 each! That's a bargain. At that price, I can afford to buy several.

Oops! I see my morning coffee cup in the photo. Can you spot it?

There it is again!

Just a peek of it here.

Aah, happiness! Coffee on the front porch on a beautiful autumn morning. What could be better?

GIVEAWAY!

Don't forget to leave a comment on yesterday's post for a chance to win some blog candy!

31 Days of Coffee: A Michigan Giveaway!

Aah, Michigan! Have you ever seen the Pure Michigan commercials with the voiceovers by Tim Allen? Whenever they come on the television, I am invariably glued to the scene. By the time Tim Allen says the words "Pure Michigan", I have tears in my eyes!

Driving the backroads of Michigan always makes me want to hum a John Denver tune...

...take me home, country roads, to the place where I belong.

Michigan in the autumn is a thing of beauty at every turn. Bennett's Orchard in Ottawa Lake, Michigan was so sweet, I couldn't stop myself from taking a dozen photos!

Michigan coffee? Yes, please! I want some...every morning!

Today I pulled out Farmer Mouse stamp from The Saltbox Studio because he's sitting in a wagon that reminded me a lot of the wagon in front of the orchard! Aww, he's so darn cute!

{Today's Brew: Farmer Mouse (The Saltbox Studio), Lawn Fawn papers, PTI card stock/button twine/ button}

And here's the giveaway part!

I'm giving away a Farmer Mouse stamp from The Saltbox Studio, along with a coffee beanie handcrafted by Michigan artist Old Maid New! Yea! Blog candy!

Just leave me a comment telling me where your favorite country road is located! I'll randomly draw one name to win this prize. I will keep the contest open until Sunday evening at 6pm. That means you'll have to stop back on Monday morning to see if you're the winner!

Thank you! See you soon, cafe friends! Blessings on your Friday!

31 Days of Coffee: Cafe-Inspired Bible Journaling

It was time.

Last weekend I went home to Michigan.

It was time for golden delicious apples, apple butter and crisp apple cider. But more importantly, it was time to go home. Home to the people that I know and love.

While I was there, I popped in to my new favorite local cafe, DaCapo's Coffee.

I love the interior of this cafe! It's funky and artistic, but also warm and welcoming. Lots of earthy colors mixed with wood and metal. Those turquoise and orange walls! I love them!

Who is that handsome young man? That's my son, John, trying not to look too embarrassed that his mother is whipping out her cellphone to take photos again.

I had the Pumpkin Pie Latte, and it was yummy! Spicy, and not too sweet.

I wish I could live closer to home. I would come to this cafe every day just to read my Bible and doodle in my journal.

I was inspired by the colors of DaCapo's Coffee when I painted this page.

This verse has been on my heart for the past few weeks. Isaiah 54:10.

This speaks to my heart for so many reasons. My mountains have been shaken and my hills have been packed up and moved four times now. It never gets easier. But through it all, God promises me that His love is unfailing. He promises a covenant of peace. Oh how I want that! I need that peace every day. Sometimes it feels like peace is that little bird that flies off when I get too close to it.

My God, my great big God, has compassion on me. This is the one that chokes me up when I read it. I don't have an unfeeling God who cannot relate to my situation. My God doesn't tell me to just snap out of it and get over it. My God actually feels what I feel, when I feel it. And through it all, he does not remove His peace and love. 

I needed that promise today. I hope you did, too.

Blessings on your day, cafe friends!