I can't remember the last time I wrote an apartment update. A lot has changed around my house but it's been a very slow process, not only because of the money, but also because I don't focus 100% on my projects because of all the million work related things I always have to do.
Something I really wanted to do was to beautify and pretty much put together a decent coffee station. And since I recently finished it (finaaally!) I wanted to share with you guys. And I know, I've shared it in other SNS already but, not here. So, we're doing this, hehe.
Sadly I didn't take good before and after pics to share but, there is a video on my youtube channel with the whole process, I'll link it here in case you wanna check it out.
Let's go back to when I first moved into the apartment, back then I used a small bookshelf thingy as my coffee station but, it wasn't big enough to fit my coffee machines and we didn't really have space to prepare anything. It didn't look bad but, it was just not working.
So, I decided to move it to my old desk. Since I don't really have an office or specific working space yet, my desk was just working as a table to throw random things, books and other materials and, since it was in my living-dining area, it always looked super messy! Thing was, the desk was already old, it was black and had this (now) dirty and washed off sakura sticky paper. It wasn't my favorite thing to look at.
Screenshot of how my coffee station looked at the beginning. As you can see, it doesn't look nice. Plus, I didn't really like how the black base looked.
I started by painting the base of the desk white. It took me a while because it's metal and I used random white paint. It needed lots of coats to get an even color but, it was worth it.
After painting it, I bought a new sticky paper. This time I chose a wood-like one so it could match a wooden shelf I wanted to put above to display some of the many mugs I have and change them according to the season.
This is the desk/table after painting it and putting the sticky paper. I do think it changed a lot. (P.S. my walls were not painted yet!!)
After painting it and stuff, I took the longest break ever. Mostly because I needed help with the shelf I wanted to put, I didn't have the drill to do it. But, not long ago, I received one of my dad's drills and I decided to go ahead and do it! It was not my first time using a drill but, I always did it with my dad's help. Even tho my wall was a bit damaged and I had to try different plug sizes, I think it looked pretty decent.
Current state of my Coffee Station ♡
In the end, I'm really happy with how it looks. of course, I will change it in the future cuz I'd love to buy another shelf or table to use instead of the desk. But I did put a lot of love and time into it, especially because I used the experience and information I got from my dad when we used to do this things together. I think he'd be proud. ♡ I am proud.
I'll show you some close ups to talk about the things I decided to put in there.
The table and the shelf are the parts that have more decoration and things in general.
On the table, I keep my coffee machines: The black one is an Oster espresso machine my bestie gave me before moving and, the red one is a Necafé Dolce Gusto coffee maker my mom gave me years ago. It's not the newest version but, it works pretty well. I also decided to put a cup holder with some plastic mugs I don't really use. I thought they looked cute.
Next to the espresso machine I have a basket that came with a Christmas pressie I received a couple of years ago. There I keep some coffee. Below it, there's some sugar.
Between the table and the shelf, I put some decoration. From left to right, we have a wooden sign that says "coffee is my cardio", next to it is a wall sticker (that I'm sure will ruin the paint if I ever remove it) I bought right when I moved and saved it until now. They are both from Prichos. On the right, I framed a cute print I bought a couple of years ago at an anime convention. I don't really know the artist tho. Next to it, it's my Starbucks Halloween bearista that came out last year.
Close up to the print so you can see the cute deets. I loved it as soon as I saw it and knew I wanted to use it for my coffee station. I believe I bought it before moving.
Moving on to the shelf. Here I have some cute cups, reusable cups tea and decoration. I'm planning to change its decoration as the seasons change.
I wanted to display my Bleach cup cuz i love it way too much, the sakura mug is from Miniso and was a birthday pressie from the bestie. The container on the back is part of a set by Haus. It was also a bday pressie from my sister. In this one, I keep tea bags. Lastly, I keep my mug lids here too. One's mom's and the other one's mine. They are both from Ale Hop.
Moving on to the center of the shelf, I have a small, plastic tray from JOI with some British tea cans on it. These cans were a souvenir from my besties. I also keep my Sailor Moon Magic Block because she's in a mug, it's perfect! Behind her is my old, pink french press from Mumuso. And you can see more reusable cups, I have many~~~~
And, on the right I have a sakura mug from Dokkoi that was also a pressie from the bestie and a cute tea pot from the same set I mentioned earlier. Lastly, I framed a napkin I saved from a café back in Spain. Some cafés had this type of napkins with different quotes and I just loved them!
Close up to the napkin that says "Low battery, I need caffeine" hehe.
Lastly we have the lower part. There not much going here. It has two divisions where I keep napkins, another french press, a whisk, paper cups and plates and a cute cat tea set.
And next to it, there's this gong that has been in my life since forever. It was part of my parents' house decoration and I took it with me this year. I couldn't really find a good place for it but I don't want to let go of it so, I put it here for now.
I think that is it for my coffee station guys, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I hope I can share more of these projects with you all. I'll remember to take some pics next time tho, hehe.
Earlier this month I mentioned this coffee in a pressies haul post but didn't go into much detail. Today I wanna talk a little more about it.
I usually mention this but, I'll do it again anyway. I am no coffee expert so the info and deets here will be mostly from the internet and the package. Plus of course, my opinion.
With that being said, let's do this. We all know I am a pumpkin spice lover so, it was very exciting to receive this coffee. It is my first time trying Joe Knows Coffee and I gotta say I really liked it! It defo tastes like pumpkin spice and also smells delish!
It is described as a dark rich roast with a smooth finish. It is not super strong but you can always add more coffee than suggested. I don't really have it as my morning coffee, it's more something to drink on a chilly afternoon.
It is artifically flavored, Kosher Certified, vacuum sealed and it's roasted using only 100% Arabica coffee beans.
I haven't tried it without sugar cuz I like my drinks to be sweet but I'm sure it's good without sugar and even with some milk.
Some of you already know I love my Starbucks (especially if you follow me on IG). I mean, I love coffee in general but Starbucks is one of my fav places, despite what people can think or say about it. That's why I wanted to share this coffee with you guys.
I am a coffee lover but I'm no expert at all. I'm not someone who can describe notes, types and all that fancy stuff, I'll just share my opinion here along with info from the package and the Starbucks website.
The Starbucks Pike Place Roast Ground Coffee was a gift I recieved last month. It is a medium roast with chocolate & toasted nut notes. It says is 100% ground Arabica coffee.
The smell is strong and delicious, you can definitely find the chocolate in it. Taste wise, it is not super strong, that's why I like to add more coffee than suggested 😅 and I don't drink it when I want my coffee to wake me up in the morning. It's more like a coffee you'd like to enjoy on a rainy afternoon.
It's still pretty good tho, not bitter at all and the nuts and chocolate notes are defo there.
I've only had it black with some sugar, because I do like my drinks to be sweet, but I've heard it's also good with some milk. Mayble I'll try it like that one day.
Everyone knows how much I love coffee and something that mom and I enjoy doing is to explore different coffee places. I do that with my friends too.
But even tho there are many that I like, I'm only going to share 3 of my favorite ones, here where I live and 2 that I loved back in Spain.
Let's do this! I'll start with the places I like to go often:
☕️ Starbucks
I think some of you already saw this one coming and I know many people have mixed feeling about it because, they don't like the coffee or think it is too expensive. It is true that there are cheaper coffees out there with great taste but, I just love my Starbucks. And I'm not only talking about their coffee, also love their matcha lattes, shakes and seasonal drinks as well as their food and bread. I have a thing for seasonal drinks so there are certain drinks I patiently wait for such as my beloved pumpkin spice latte and other pumpkin drinks in Fall and the cranberry white mocha in Winter.
They have coffees from around the world and have different brewing methods to enhace characteristics in each coffee. Plus it's always nice to costumize your coffee to your liking. You can find Starbucks almost everywhere!
Check Starbucks.com for more info.
☕️ Macadamia Gourmet
This is the place my friends and I like to go for seasonal drinks because their themed menus are the cutest, no only on Halloween season. We started going years ago when it was a very small coffee place, now it is a lot bigger and they offer meals and acoholic drinks too. I find cozy in a way and it is located in a nice place so even the view is kinda pretty.
Prices wise it is a little similar to starbucks and it's a very pet friendly place.
Go to Macadamia Gourmet for more info.
☕️ CachiBache Caffé
I really like the whole vibe this place has, decoration is also pretty interesting. They mostly have desserts and drinks but you can also have a few salty things. They have unique drinks such as the turmeric latte, which I love, coffee is really good and strong too. I believe they work with other local gourmet food brands so they have unique thingies. You can also play board games and enjoy live music in this place. Defo a good place to visit if you're downtown. Add to that prices are great and very affordable for yummy treats.
For more info, check their fb page: CachiBache Caffé
Now I'll move on to 2 places I went often and really liked back in Spain:
☕️ Pastisseria Crespo
This was the place I used to visit at least 4 times a week when I was in Spain. It is in La Pobla de Vallbona, a small town, 30 minutes away from Valencia.
I had my first coffee in Spain in this place and tried bitter kas for the first time so, it's special, hehe. They make their own bread and food is always fresh, they have good variety and food changes depending on the hour. You can go to have meals there or just coffee with dessert. Something I loved about this place is the attention. They always make you feel welcome. Thanks to Crespo I became addicted to café bombon (which is sweet condensed milk and espresso), and that was my regular order in there. I was also spoiled recieving free yummies on every visit. I couldn't find much info about this place online because it is in a very small town but it is really worth it and it has a special place in my heart and tummy, haha.
☕️ LiaoPastel
I only got the chance to go to the one in Vall de Uxo but there are many franchises all over Valencia and Castellón. The one I went to was really pretty and has a big variety of food, desserts and drinks. You can eat for a very good price and its a nice place to get some coffee and relax too. You know how much I love pretty things and most desserts were like that, pretty! And yummy too. I'd defo go back if I had the chance and it's a place that I totally recommend if you happen to go to Valencia. From what I've heard, the other cafés have a pretty decoration too.
Click here to check the one I went to, or here for more info on the other Liaos hehe.
I only chose those two places cuz I went there many times but honestly, Spain had so many good local coffee places with strong and delicious coffee for a very good price. I didn't even miss my Starbucks while I was there.
Coffee and ice cream, two of my favorite things in this world~ ♡
Bailey's recently came out with new ice cream and popsicles (at least I think they are kinda new...), I bought their ice cream because I tried Haagen Dazs' a long time ago and I loved it.
I have to admit that this one wasn't exactly my favorite so I decided to make affogato with it and it was totally worth it. I enjoyed it a lot more than eating the ice cream alone.
For those who don't know what Affogato is, it's an Italian coffee based dessert. Pretty much ice cream topped with hot coffee. It's something super simple, yet delicious.
Once the ice cream melts, it gives a creamy texture to your coffee, along with sweet foam. The combination is just too good!!
I just think they serve a lot less coffee when they make real affogato, my version has a full cup because, I love coffee.
I couldn't picture the ice cream before melting because, it happened
way too fast, hehe
For my affogato, I used the Starbucks house blend americano by Nescafé Dolce Gusto. This one was not espresso but, is one of the stongest they have.
I've had vanilla and chocolate affogato before but the Bailey's ice cream gives it a liquorish taste without having any alcohol. Perfect for those who don't or can't drink alcohol.
This is a super easy to make drink/dessert I've been enjoying lately. The fun thing is, you can make it using your favorite ice cream, as long as it's milk based. (I think).
I kinda want to try with choco-mint ice cream now~~~~
