I’ve had a lot of time on my plate recently. I’m time-rich and money-poor. Jas and I have been slothing on our new couch, playing with our Laptops/Phones/Tablets (yes, that’s right, I am now the proud owner of a tablet!!) and watching movies. I’m not sure what caused it (possibly the long periods of slothing), but Jas started developing a little holiday-sewing-itch, and she kept venturing to Spotlight to look at fabrics and tools for sewing. Jas has been interested in sewing for a while now, so I guess the itch was inevitable. Holidays are a good time to develop hobbies. However, Jas didn’t own a sewing machine. Furthermore, she had no idea that I was planning to get her one for her birthday in late February. I was struggling to keep Jas away from Spotlight, and away from ruining her own surprise. After agonising over the idea for a good 20 minutes, I decided to break the news. Jas was ecstatic at the idea – so much so, that we went out that day to look at machines.

We had great success with an epic discount at Spotlight, and in the last week Jas has sewn about 8 cushions and a cover for our outdoor day-bed! Turns out, 10 years away from Home-Ec did her a world of good!

Jas was too excited to take photos, so I snapped away while she set it up and showed off some random stitch patterns on some off-cuts we scored at Spotlight. The sewing machine is a little electronic Brother number (… wait, when did Brother make sewing machines?) that is easy to use and seems to be well made. Hopefully the on-road costs are cheaper than my damn Brother laser printer.

Look at how proud Jas is with her new toy/hobby!

Jas actually sat there most of the afternoon the day I bought it for her.

Happy (way-too-early) Birthday babe!

Every few days, Jas and I decide to actually leave the house. Last weekend, we ventured up to Brisbane to catch up with my good mate Whipps for some delicious food and coffee at Sourced Grocer.

The shop is really cute, the food is excellent, and the light streaming in the open space was gorgeous. I had to take a few photos. I also snapped a neighbours front yard/fence too – ideas for when/if I ever own my own house.

We arrived home from our morning jog last Friday just in time to meet the delivery man at our front door. Even though I was/am waiting for about 50 packages to be delivered, he had two packages for Jas, only one of which she expected. The other, we soon discovered, was a little surprise from her friend Jordy. We had briefly caught up with Jordy before Christmas and of course, ended up talking about coffee (I <3 COFFEE). Jordy's partner runs Clandestino Roasters up in Noosa (check them out on Beanhunter too, and look at that average rating!) – the mystery package was a sample of two single-origins that they had kindly sent to try. Thank you, thank you, thank you. If the plan was to win me over, you are successful!

Check out how cool the presentation of the coffee is in these earthy brown bags. A little description of the origin and roast is attached at the front, and a roasting date is stamped on the back.

Jordy recommended cupping 6-days post-roast, so I waited until the 16th to try the coffee (which was not easy… trust me).

I set-up my little coffee station and filled the grinder. I decided to use my new Bodum double-walled thermal glasses to see how they would photograph. Unfortunately, I’m still not used to pouring in them, so I didn’t try any fancy art for y’all.

I had no idea if my grinder was set for these particular beans (Cuban), but my first pull looked pretty darn close.

I struggled to get any pictures I liked from cup-level – so I’ll have another go when I try the second lot of beans (probably tomorrow). My milk was well textured (latte) and I actually poured one of my better ferns in the Bodum’s for the photo.

The real success though, was the coffee. The Cuban beans tasted rich, crisp and smooth. The espresso had a nice buttery/thick texture and my shot was not bitter or sour. The cocoa undertones went exceptionally well with milk as a latte. I’ve been impressed each morning with my Cuban-coffees – the colour, aroma and flavour combination from these beans is definitely worth trying for yourself. I look forward to tasting the Sumatran.