Cappuccino at 49th Parallel

Maybe it's the rain, or the cozy Christmas vibe at my house, but today I'm hiding inside all day. And it's making me think about cozy things like wool socks and coffee.

So, for your viewing pleasure, I'm posting a few of my favourite coffee videos from Vimeo.

The first two are amazing if you're trying to learn how to pour latte art or up your milk texturing game. Those two videos alone are what helped me actually start pouring somewhat okay looking latte art...

VCR StreetSmarts #11: Milk Steaming from Verve Coffee Roasters on Vimeo.

VCR StreetSmarts #14: Latte Art from Verve Coffee Roasters on Vimeo.

And these ones are great for learning about pulling great espresso-- straight from the Intelligentsia in Venice, California.

Espresso, Intelligentsia from The D4D on Vimeo.

and of course, a great cappuccino:

Cappuccino, Intelligentsia from The D4D on Vimeo.

I have been thinking a lot about coats lately. It's gotten really crisp outside these days and it seemed to sneak up on me, so now even though I have plenty of outerwear to choose from, I still can't help that feeling of needing more options...

Often my clients will, for one reason or another, have almost no good outerwear. For some reason it's one of those things that kind of gets pushed to the bottom of the list because it's sometimes tricky to find a good coat that doesn't feel too bulky or frumpy.

What I usually tell people when buying outerwear is to have at least two options, and always in black: 1) a "puffy" jacket, or a parka, that's super warm, but more casual for every day wear.
2) a dressy black wool peacoat.

The main key for buying these items is that they fit properly-- shoulders aren't too big, arms fitted, not too long if you're petite, etc... otherwise you end up looking like the michelin man, and you dissapear in a pile of fur and down-filled nylon.

Zara is a great option for coats, as they usually have TONS of options. Here are some of my favourites this season:




Also, The Selby meets Caitlin & James Freeman (of Blue Bottle Coffee and Modern Art Desserts). This article is worth checking out just for the Mondrian cake. All my senses are drooling (okay that didn't make sense... moving along...)

This post is for those of you who, like us, are aspiring to maybe, possibly, one day become a true coffee geek (and really, can one ever actually achieve such status? Other than actually being "the" coffee geek Mark).

There are lots of places to buy coffee gear, including most of the third wave coffee shops in Vancouver, and Espressotec in Richmond. But a fun surprise for me was to find a bunch of legitimately "nerdy" coffee gear at Crate & Barrel, of all places.

So, while I wouldn't buy an espresso machine from them, they do carry a great selection of fun drip coffee accessories, including Hario and Chemex products.

Hario scale/timer and Buono Power Kettle

Chemex and Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee

Also if you're addicted to buying mugs (like me), there's a wonderful selection of colourful ceramics that please the eye.

Feeling super thankful around here! Especially for one of our favourite places to get cappuccinos, Elysian cafe :)

So we decided to start an actual blog. We've been on Tumblr for awhile, but with the launch of our new website, we decided we really wanted to share with you a little bit more detail, (and a lot more photos!) of what we're up to, things we're excited about, and of course, tons of fashion stuff! So we'll keep it brief, but for starters, here are a few photos of our last trip to one of the best bakeries in town, Beaucoup. Stay tuned for regular updates about the latest in food, coffee and fashion in Vancouver!