beauty:design:life

Although I am in a perpetual cycle of attempting to give up coffee, Monday mornings are usually my downfall.  Minnesota summer weekends are often legen - wait for it - dary (I told you I was newly obsessed with HIMYM!) and getting back to the grind (ha ha, get it?) can be downright painful.  Coffee can help to ease that pain, so I thought I would share my favorite coffee & coffee accessories for those of you feeling especially Mondayish this morning.

The Beans:

 Trader Joe's sells several varieties of really tasty coffee, but this is my favorite.  In addition to being organic and fair trade (bonus!) and relatively inexpensive (around $7 for 14 oz) it makes a really delicious cup of coffee.  I highly recommend buying whole beans and a grinder, if for nothing else than the smell of freshly ground beans.  mmmmm.

I recently learned of cinnamon's health benefits and am attempting to incorporate more of it into my diet.  A sprinkle into my morning coffee is a decidedly easy (and delicious) way to do so.  And I just learned that my extra fancy cinnamon won an America's Test Kitchen tasting panel, so please pardon my (unnecessary) smugness.

I add almond milk to my coffee, and this little frother from Ikea is perfect for making my morning coffee feel like a fancy coffee shop drink - for a LOT less money (this tool only costs $2!)

My friend Jessica of Live the Fancy Life and I have both blogged about these mugs from Crate and Barrel, but I still love them (and love to talk about them, obviously).  The best part about them is that they are huge - perfect for the dreariest of Mondays.

Tell me about your coffee routine: favorite beans, favorite shop, favorite method of brewing?