The Best Cup of Coffee in Town

When I moved from Lake Stevens to Upstate New York, I was blessed enough to be given the opportunity to work from home. My company actually let me continue in their employ, working from my cozy (small) home office. There were a few downsides to my new gig, but mostly big benefits.  For instance, when I became pregnant and experienced rather prolonged morning (every-moment-of-the-day-for-months-on-end) sickness, my working at home was of benefit to everyone because I was completely miserable and who wants to see their colleague running to the restroom 8-10 times in a two-hour period? And I knew whom to blame for unpleasant smells in the kitchen (my husband, of course).

Some other nice things about working from home are:

• I don't have to commute 30-45 minutes each way to and from work (thus maximizing my sleeping and mommy-daughter hours, time with my husband, etc.). Before I moved to New York, I spent easily two hours per day in the car. That would not be easily fit into the schedule at this stage of my life.
• I save a ton of money on gas (see above).
• I am spared work drama and office politics (seriously, the people I work with are the nicest people and there is very little workplace drama or politics, but it is nice to not have to listen to people talking on the phone when I am trying to concentrate on something complicated).
• Since I have no commute, I am not tempted to buy coffee every day.

(I'll write about some of the negative things about working from home some other time. There are a few, of course.)

I will stop my list there, since this post is about the last item on my list: saving money on coffee. I cannot tell you (I seriously have no idea) how much money I have saved on coffee since transitioning to a home-office. I should confess that along my former home to work route (Lake Stevens to Bothell, along Highway 9), there was a Starbucks that during particularly stressful times or busy weeks, I would stop at once, sometimes twice a day. Okay, admittedly, I'm a cheap coffee date (Grande Americano with Cream -- under $2.25 as of my wedding in 2010 -- the price has gone up a bit since then, but compare that with a latte...) but still. It adds up over time. I don't even want to know how much I have spent on coffee over the years. The thought just gives me a headache.

Thanks to my husband's well-timed tax refund gift (received on Valentine's Day of this year -- that Uncle Sam is such a sweetheart) of a Keurig, and the refillable K-cup filter I bought, I can make a great cup of coffee in under 2 minutes for a mere fraction of what I spent in my former life. I usually mix equal parts flavored grounds (this week it is dark chocolate) with plain old medium roast. It tastes delicious, and I don't have to skip paying the mortgage this month if I want a few cups.

Sometimes I do buy coffee still. If I have to run an errand in the morning before work, sometimes there is nothing more wonderful than a Dunkin' Donuts medium-sized cinnamon or hazelnut coffee with cream (again - cheap coffee date - less than $2.25). And I must say that driving through and handing someone my hard-earned money in exchange for hot, caffeinated goodness (instant nice person!) just brings back good memories.

But, in a startling turn of events, I have recently discovered that the best cup of coffee in town is not my own "office" brew, or even Dunkin' Donuts. It actually comes from the little tea pot in my daughter's Disney Princess play kitchen set. Awww, aren't you sighing now? But seriously, it's so cute when G. offers me a cup of coffee. There is nothing better in the entire world and it is worth more to me than the entire Starbucks empire.