Day 15: Tea & Coffee Bar

Anyone who knows me knows I love tea.  I drink it everyday, several times a day.  Yesterday I realized that I walk across my kitchen to put the kettle on, then walk across it again to get the tea on the other side.  Then I cross it again to get the mug and once more to get my stevia sweetener.  That is serious MADNESS!  For something I do several times daily, I need more efficiency than that!

In comes Pinterest.  I have looked up several coffee/tea bars to get ideas before, but for some reason I never pinned them because I never found one that suited me.  I looked them up again and decided to take bits and peices from each pin to form my own idea about what my coffee/tea bar should look like.

The best thing about this project is that I had everything I needed already.  And, to make it even sweeter, everything I used in the project was either a gift, dollar store find, or a garage sale find.  I started with where my tea was stored and decided to put the "bar" on the counter there.

In the midst of doing all this, I used a few tricks I learned on Pinterest.  My kettle was SUPER dirty with calcium.  So, I followed a pin on Pinterest and put 1 part water, 1 part vinegar in the pot (about 1 cup of each), and swished it around until the calcium started to come loose.  Then I let it sit for a few hours.  I just had to rinse the kettle until the vinegar scent left and it was as good as new!

Before vinegar/water...

...and after!  What a difference!

The next pin I used was one that I wish I had found years ago.  To drill the holes in the wall in the right spot without having to risk measuring the distance of the holes wrong, you just put some tape over the holes on the shelf (a $1 garage sale find!).  I made a mark over each hole and transferred the tape to the wall.  In one swift effort, I was able to drill the holes in the correct spot.  I hate to admit it, but, if you look under some of my mirrors or shelves already hung, you may find more than two holes.  I'm so glad I found this pin!

The last specific pin I used for this project was using contact paper to make a label.  I bought some contact paper at the dollar store the other day that I love.  How perfect to label my tea jar (a $2 garage sale find!) with this contact paper!  It was super simple.  I just cut the contact paper with scalloped shears and used a Sharpie to neatly write "Tea" on the label.  I peeled the backing off and stuck it on the jar. 

I also printed out a jpeg from a pin that says, "Keep calm and drink tea" in a color that matched my kitchen decor.  I brought in my kitchen decor by adding the lemon garland.  Lastly, I added the silver tray, another garage sale find.  I think perhaps I was inspired by all the tea trays on Downton Abbey.  I think it adds a nice touch.  I love how the whole thing turned out!  And now I'm going to go enjoy a cup of tea!

Before

After

(If you are wondering where the coffee comes into this, I don't drink it, but my hubby does, so the coffee grinder and Chemex is in the cabinet above.)

Starbucks Mishap

After the prayer meeting tonight, Troy and I joined our friends Alistair and Lizette at the Starbucks next to our church. We had just ordered and recieved our drinks when somehow Lizette's hot coffee spilled on her and on Jackson. Somewhat due to our reaction, and to the hot temperature of the coffee on his skin, Jackson let out a loud shrill. He began to cry. Troy and I rushed him to the counter and asked for napkins and ice. When the Starbucks employees saw what happened, they gave us a damp, cool towel and ice. After we calmed Jackson down and saw that his foot was okay, we sat back down. Just as I was trying to put my straw through the lid of my Passion Tea Lemonade, the whole cup tipped over, opened, and spilled all over Lizette. "You have got to be kidding me!" I yelled out, and we all just started cracking up, except for Jackson. He was still sensitive from the hot coffee incident, so he started to cry again. I waited to get my drink replaced and we all ended up leaving, exhausted from the series of spills and shrills. The Starbucks employees were very nice about cleaning the mess, and didn't charge me for the second drink. However, I still think I may take a break from Starbucks for a few weeks. Perhaps a month. Oh, and next time, I will just order my normal drink....water. It doesn't leave any stickiness when spilled, and, for some reason, Starbucks water really does taste good!

My cup of tea!

Troy bought a single-cup beverage maker today. I'm not sure if thats actually what it is called, but that is exactly what the machine does. It will brew a single cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. It is perfect for Troy and I because we only have one cup at a time anyway. It works by putting discs of your favorite beverage in the machine and hot water goes through it and into the cup. I had my first cup of hot chocolate in a mug that my aunt got me for Christmas...the saying is perfect for the experience I am going through right now. Although, I must say, on that subject, Jackson slept through the night last night! He slept from about 12:30am to 7:50am! That is almost 7 1/2 hours!!! That felt AMAZING! I'm not going to get my hopes up for tonight, though. He hasn't developed a pattern yet. Any moms who have advice on how to get a child into a bedtime routine, please do, share! Otherwise, I may need more than one cup of a caffeinated beverage!