Eight Sugars in My Coffee, Please

One of the small pleasures of being a stay-at-home mom is that I rarely have to use a travel coffee cup.  Sure, I may have to reheat my coffee three times before I make it to the bottom of the mug, and I have a tendency to set my coffee down randomly only to stumble upon it days later, but at least I avoid that perilous first sip from the tiny hole when you just know you are about to burn your lip.

My husband, of course, is not so fortunate, so when I received a sample KeepCup — “the first barista standard reusable cup” — I passed it on over to him for a trial run.  His overall assessment was that it wasn’t too bad, although the color scheme made him feel like he was drinking from a sippy cup.

In both of our opinions, however, the greatest thing about the KeepCup is the rubber band/bracelet thingy that came with it.  Actually, it came with two of them, in case you and your S.O. don’t like the same kind of coffee, but are too cheap to buy separate cups.

I think the idea of this rubber band is that you take the world’s finest tipped Sharpie, and darken in your coffee preference.  Then, you just hand the cup to the cashier and avoid that annoying moment of social interaction wherein you actually tell the barista what you would like to order.

I do have a few questions about this band, though.

1. What the heck is doppio?  Is it the marijuana brownie of coffee?

2.  What is flat white supposed to mean?  It sounds insulting.

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Good Enough to Put Your Name On

Once, last year when I was pregnant, my husband and I had Chipotle for dinner.  He ate his whole burrito. I ate half of mine.  I put mine in a container in the fridge with a note that said, “Do not eat this burrito.  If you eat it, you will be stealing your baby’s food.”

In the same vein, my friend Colleen is one of the most generous people I know.  She lives in community at a Catholic farm in West Virginia, where she, her husband and a  handful of other year-rounders play host to hundreds of volunteers every year.  She is a master at cooking food for a crowd.  And, sometimes, she puts her name on her food.

So, what is it about certain foods that turn normally mild-mannered women into petulant 3-year-olds, yelling, “Mine!” while clinging to a beloved box of truffles?  Well, it’s not a character flaw.  It is simply a sense that certain foods and beverages deserve special treatment and savoring.  I don’t want my husband scarfing my burrito at 11pm when he could just as easily make a peanut butter sandwich.  Similarly, volunteer coming across some tangerine Spritzers in the fridge would probably not recognize that they were imported from the nearest Trader Joe’s, which is four hours away. Which brings me to the tea.

 

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The Perfect Companion

Have I found the perfect companion to Endless Cocktails? Maybe.

A few weeks ago I traveled to Vegas to attend Bloggers in Sin City ,where we were given Sprayology’s Party Relief Spray. Yes, a spray that claims to prevent and cure hangovers.

I know what you’re thinking. This can’t possibly work, right?

Well, it might. The instructions are: spray 2 sprays under tongue prior to drinking, then again after each hour of drinking. Considering Vegas never sleeps, this is a lot of fucking sprays in one night. For two nights in a row I diligently sprayed each hour, and both mornings I woke up hangover free, even after drinking Four Loko and Mad Ballr. The third night was a bit fuzzy…I tried to remember to spray, but when you’re at the bar until 3am and Brittania is buying you drinks….sometimes you just forget and wake up the next morning with the worst hangover of your life.

I have yet to have a hangover while using this spray, but if I’m remembering to use it, maybe I’m not drinking enough to have a hangover in the first place.

What are your best hangover preventions/cures?