Hi! I used to be a massive coffee drinker. However, I lost my taste for it after my last not so great job. What used to be a delightful drink to perk me up was filled with negative associations of pounding coffee back to back and consistently being on the verge of a mental breakdown. So, I just stopped drinking it all together and opted for a crispy AF McDonald’s Diet Coke to wake me up before work. Until recently! The past few weeks in Ohio have been freaking freezing and I just couldn’t bear to drink anything ice cold and I am SO back on my coffee kick. And you know what? It tastes great!

I would never call myself a coffee snob because coffee is just coffee to me. That’s not to say I don’t have my favorite coffee treats, though! Every year I look forward to when Starbucks brings back the Peppermint Mocha because that is my all time fave. I only allow myself one Venti Peppermint Mocha per year because they are so pricey but that one Peppermint Mocha awakened something within me and now I can’t get enough of that hot, caffeinated good stuff!

For the past year my Mondays have started with a Mickey D’s Diet Coke and that tune changed for the winter last Monday. It was eight degrees when I went to work and I needed warmth from the inside out. A hot Caramel Macchiato was the move and it was delicious. What made it even better was the silly Grinch cup that it came in! I loves me a seasonal cup and McDonald’s has definitely taken the cake this year. It was also impossible to feel Grinchy when I was de-thawing. 😀

As much as I love a cup of coffee from Starbucks or MacDo, the gas station is just fine for me too. My very first job was working as an actor at a haunted house. My shifts would end around two or three in the morning and every night before work I would go to the gas station for the biggest coffee they had. I would always mix the French Vanilla with the Caramel Macchiato and it was like heaven in a cup. Sixteen years later, for some reason, I had a hankering for this brew and went to the Circle K up the street so I could take a trip down memory lane. Amazingly, the taste of my classic coffee combo hasn’t changed in almost two decades and it was such a wave of caffeinated nostalgia. Like I said, coffee is coffee no matter where it’s from for me and I think my gas station coffee has been my favorite cold weather treat of all!

My deep dive back into the world of coffee has been excellent. It no longer has negative associations for me – it has simply been having a cup of cheer!

Where is your favorite place to get coffee? What do you usually order? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah