Coffee, take me away!

The blog posts are a little sparse this week. I'm having coffee shop withdrawal! So, I'll point you to a few interesting things going on around local coffee shops. And I'm making a point to clear my schedule so I can get to a coffee shop 7 days a week!

Tazza Cafe & Bistro is remodeling and asking customers to pitch in and lend some elbow grease the week after Thanksgiving. In exchange, drinks and snacks are on the house. They'll host a grand re-opening on Friday, Dec. 3, so stay tuned for more details.

Robust-ah is featured on a nifty website for designers. Take a look at these 40 Delicious and Beautiful Coffee websites, but only when you've got a great coffee shop drink in hand. Looking at this website without a cup of coffee is like watching Food Network with an empty refrigerator.

Coffee shops, including Tate Street and Community Arts Cafe, are packing the Thanksgiving weekend full of literary & musical events. How did they guess we would need a place to get away from it all?? Hmmmm. . . .

Cafe Roche invites musicians, poets and other talented people to sign up for acoustic nights on Thursdays, starting Dec. 2. Somehow, I don't think they meant me! So, someone with talent please sign up. I can't help ya on this one! You bring the talent, Cafe Roche provides the caffeine.
Caffe Prada is planning Christmas stories and music for the family to enjoy. Hey, kids love coffee shops, too. Your kids work hard all week, too. Give 'em a treat!
Coffee shops, keep the news & events coming so we can inform the fans.

People are Hungry

So feed 'em! Once again, Triad Coffee Shops are stepping up. See the events page for a great idea - Braided Cord Coffee is throwing a packing party to pack Thanksgiving meals to share with others. The Wet Whistle is accepting donations of canned food at its weekly wine tasting Friday afternoon and musical performance that evening.

Holiday food drives will start soon and the homeless shelters need your help serving food 7 days a week -- not just on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We coffee shop fans are fortunate that we can work, earn our living, and have some bucks left over to enjoy great coffee in nifty little shops. But don't assume we are spoiled . . . most coffee shop fans are smart cookies. We contribute to fundraisers all year that coffee shops host.

All year, you'll see fundraisers at Triad Coffee Shops for all kinds of charities. Although CoffeeCat and MochaMutt love to write about the howls & meows, we, along with most coffee shop fans, love helping their human friends, too. Coffee shops, please let us know how you are saving the world and ending world hunger!

No Excuses!

If you think of yourself as a writer, poet, painter, singer, performer, or artistic type of any sort, there are no more excuses to procrastinate! The Triad is full of opportunities to learn and perform.

Check out the Events page and you'll see just a smidge of what I'm talking about. Especially in Winston-Salem, where, apparently, we are taking no prisoners in our quest to be the City of Arts and Innovation. I love all the Triad, but Winston-Salem is keeping my head spinning. There are tons of opportunities from around the Triad on Smitty's Notes official event calendar at http://www.everwondr.com/. 

It's a great time to be CoffeeCat, sampling Triad Coffee Shops and writing about them. My family has caught the bug, too! They alerted me to a new shop in Kernersville and they drank coffee without me in Summerfield.

Ay yai yai, so many coffee shops, so few hours in the day.

Bah Humbug? or not to humbug? That is the question

We all grumble - yes, even me - about the Christmas ads that begin on Halloween. We grumble about the commercialism and materialism of Christmas. We grumble because Thanksgiving gets trampled in the shopping stampede. Have you tried to find Thanksgiving decorations lately?


gingerbread whoopie pies
at Cassanova's Coffee.
Simply Yummy has
pumpkin whoopie pies.



Let it stop with YOU and ME. We can't stop the stampede or the annoying commercials. But we can choose how to spend our time, money, and words starting now. And, of course, CoffeeCat has figured out how Triad Coffee Shops can help!

 First, go to your neighborhood coffee shop and have a gingerbread or eggnog latte, pumpkin spice chai, or apple cider along with a pumpkin or gingerbread whoopie pie. Sniff deeply. Stop to look at the fall leaves and scurrying squirrels.

Next, celebrate the Thanksgiving season as long as you want to! Why give this all-American holiday the short end of the stick? Several Triad Coffee Shops said thank you to veterans today and Perfect Blend in Lexington gave vets a free cup of coffee. So, start celebrating now!



Coffee beans make a
great gift and double as
a fragrant potpourri
for the home



Do some good deeds that show the spirit of the season. Collect nuts for the wildlife. Rake leaves for your grandma. Cook a homemade meal for a hospice patient or take some cookies to the hospice house in your town.

Say thank you to special people with treats from coffee shops and local bakeries. A $10 coffee gift card or a pound of freshly roasted beans are a great token of thanks. Giving at an unexpected time ensures that your gift will stand out in the crowd! And your dollars spent at a locally owned coffee shop will help the bucks stay close to home while helping small farmers half a world away.


CoffeeCat tried something new this year - homemade cakes for our favorite vet & vet techs. It was an unexpected treat and didn't take a back seat to Christmas fudge and cookies. Next, I'm taking on a holiday project for charity which will keep me from turning into a grinch. It also makes me a holiday advertiser, but I'm doing it for the groundhogs!
 
While others are grumbling and fighting crowds at the mall, I'll be relaxing at a Triad Coffee Shop and resisting the Bah Humbug habit! I'm optimistic. Will I succeed? Stay tuned.


Why give neckties and bathrobes from the mall?
Give mom and dad a coffee subscription.



Quilts, Poetry & Cosmic Cows. Whoa! Burros, too?

Triad Coffee Shops truly offer entertainment for people of all ages and artistic tastes. Take a look at the events page. This weekend, we have poetry at Community Arts Cafe, quilts at Chelsee's, cakes & coffee at Caffe Prada.
Green Bean & Krankie's win the prize for most unusual band names - makes me wonder if the Green Bean will be transformed into a beach? I'll wear flip flops just in case.

Curious about the Cosmic Cows? You'll have to check out the Events Page. And while you're browsing, don't forget Howls & Meows. Where else will you find a wild horse & burro adoption fair? For those who love to shop, an exclusive shopping event at The Shoe Market and a huuuuge book sale. I donated a few books to make room for the ones I want to buy!

What coffee shop do you want to live in?

Wishing I lived upstairs over a coffee shop on a bustling urban street, with a wooded backyard so cats can watch birds and bunnies all day. Ideally, rent would include 24/7 access to coffee and a reserved table where my books and papers are safe! Does this slice of heaven on earth exist?

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Coffee shop weather is here!

The Wet Whistle in Archdale
nice patio!

As much as I love summer evenings on coffee shop patios, I love the indoor coziness on a cold day just as much.

On a warm fall day recently, I stopped by The Wet Whistle and admired the patio. I also enjoyed meeting and writing about Serendipity, a great jazz group that played there recently. You can see them at local restaurants & events.

Last week I stopped by Juicy Java in Kernersville and The Coffee Break in Greensboro. I found freshly roasted Larry's Beans at Washington Perk & Provision Company in Winston-Salem. Next week, I'm sure to find a great Triad Coffee Shop where I can come in from the cold and watch the leaves fall.

Sniff! Fall is in the air and it smells like pumpkin chai, gingerbread latte, and muffins. Yum.