I ❤ You a Latte!

When I was very young, probably around six, my Grandma introduced me to café lattes. They were her morning drink of choice and so naturally I had to drink them too. Not only did I drink them but I really enjoyed them and we could frequently be found sipping our morning lattes and watching Captain Kangaroo. A few years later my Grandma's latte habit and mine as well gave way to tea and I really did not begin drinking lattes again until I was in college. 

:: Captain Kangaroo & Mr. Green Jeans ::

For the last five years or so I would have a latte a few times a week but I was never one of those people who ran to Starbucks or Peete's every morning. My mom on the other hand is another story. She had actually never had a latte or any form of coffee up until a few months ago, but one day I made her take a sip of my venti, half soy, half non-fat latte and low and behold she liked it. What I never anticipated however was that I had just created a monster. My momma literally in a matter of weeks went from never having touched coffee or espresso to easily drinking a latte and sometimes two daily! Needless to say as her Starbucks consumption increased so did mine as she would often grab one for me while ordering hers :) 

:: nom nom nom nom nom ::

Up until a bit ago our little Starbucks habit was a bit pricey but I figured what the hell. I've always had the Gold card from Starbucks and so we never paid for the additional soy. When Starbucks revamped their rewards program they got rid of free soy and so instead of  $7.70 a day for lattes, my mom and I now found ourselves paying $8.90 and that's if we only had one latte per day. Needless to say this price hike didn't keep us from our coffee but it did make us think long and hard about other viable options.

:: meet Miele - our new best friend ::

After some preliminary research we decided on this puppy and we've already fallen in love. I purchased espresso and soy milk from Starbucks as I needed to ensure that I would be able to replicate our drinks or really what's the point? One of the main reasons we selected this machine is because it allows you to customize everything from the temperature of your coffee or espresso, to the brew strength as well as the portion size of the shots and coffee. Not only is it a breeze to use, but it makes exceptional espresso, coffee, fluffy steamed milk and it cleans itself! We've only had our Miele for a little over a day but I'm not going to lie, I think it's going to be really hard to go back to Starbucks when I'm now able to enjoy my lattes in my PJ's before I even shower! I've also found that since it's so convenient I don't think twice about making myself an afternoon latte! 

:: you know I love to accessorize and our new coffee bar is no exception ::

:: I came across these adorable containers and knew they would be perfect ::

I'm also really excited to be able to make coffee for people when we entertain as I've never owned a coffee maker or known how to make coffee :) 

Do you have a guilty pleasure? What's your favorite drink? I'm always intrigued by what other's drink, half the time I have no clue what they're ordering! 

xo,