Coffee Day

September 29th is International Coffee Day and it got me (Michael) thinking of how I first became interested in coffee!  I have enjoyed coffee since I was young and thanks to my dad and his famous mochas, I've gotten into brewing myself.  Since living in the Northwest my interest in coffee has grown exponentially and  I owe it all to early roots.

Those who know me know that I get Caribou Coffee whenever I can and while I love their Campfire Mochas and Carmel Coolers, I've grown to enjoy more serious coffee as well.  For this post, though, I'm sticking to my roots and giving a glimpse into the coffee that got me started.

The first time I ever enjoyed coffee was a 

White Chocolate Mocha from Caribou Coffee in 2005

Caribou Coffee in Chicago, IL 

Dad's "famous" Mocha 

"Best Ever" 

I keep my cold-brew in a Caribou Coffee growler to this day!

So, if you ever find yourself in the Twin Cities or an airport equipped with Caribou, grap a cup and find something to "stay awake" for.  As for me, I'm here in the Northwest attempting to refine my palette, roast, and brew as much coffee as I can get my hands on.

-M&K

Noah Gundersen

Last night we got to see Noah and Abby Gundersen play a free concert at Whitworth... it was outside in a kind of wooded area, there was a slight fall chill, and beauuutiful music. It was magical.  

Getting lost trying to find the concert

Then we stumbled upon this...

And then this happened.

Michael loved the American flag wrapped around the mic stand...

This is how we first found them

And this was our favorite in last night's set

AND, they're from Washington.

Enjoy!

-K&M

"Here I stand on the edge of the ledges I've made

looking for a steady hand

Here I stand in the land of the rocks and the valley

trying to be a better man"

Honeymoon Pt. 3: Lake St. Louis

 About a week into our honeymoon we got to spend a few more days with my family.  I wish that we would've gotten more pictures of/with them while visiting, but they are COMING TO SPOKANE in December for my graduation, and I'm sure lots of pictures will be taken.

Cousin Cori and Brother Jack

Nosed? I can't remember what they called this!

The Kolache Factory... a Cumbie/Brennan/Shaw favorite  

Fueling up to hit the road to Chi-city!

Isn't he cute?

The month I owned Chacos. I thought I'd at least try to be an authentic Northwestern-er... 

Thanks for everything, family!

-K&M

Honeymoon Pt. 2: St. Louis

Our second destination was St. Louis (Illinois, technically), but it came with this WONDERFUL view of the arch... and bathrobes! 

We decided to dress up a bit for our steak dinner.... yummmmm

 

And of course, we got to enjoy a little STL traffic on the way out of town.

I will always always always love the city.

What an enjoyable little interlude to our road trip this was.

-K&M

Honeymoon Pt. 1: Jeff City

 Our honeymoon road trip started off... at Waffle House

Just Married!

The pearls were M's wedding gift to me

Missouri's capitol

 

 

Michael's FAVORITE burger (his stomach wasn't as big of a fan...)

Jefferson City was an interesting experience... the whole town shuts down at 2pm and Central Dairy doesn't take cards or checks from more than 30 miles away!  The last couple pictures are from when we spent the day in Columbia, which was a nice change of pace.  The time overall was lovely.  I'm pretty sure we could've gone anywhere and just been happy to husband and wife.

-K&M