Ahhh, coffee. Morning post!

I’m about to enjoy my second cup of coffee as I type this.  It’s a cool 55 degrees outside, and I wish it would stay that way all day long.  October is here, and the weather isn’t quite cooperating yet; we still have temperatures in the 70′s during the day.  It’s one of my favorite months, because it means Halloween, the coming of winter, and beautiful colors everywhere you look.  The bright oranges and reds of the trees bring out feelings of comfort, the desire to sit in front of a warm fire and sip a hot beverage, and the excitement of the holidays.

I’m rambling a bit, I know, but hopefully you’ll forgive me.  I didn’t set out with a clear plan when writing this post, I wanted to give an update.  Kathryn and I are doing well, though the second bedroom is still empty.  I’m not quite sure if we plan to keep it empty, or if we will be looking for a roommate.  I’ve not been drawing as much lately, because I’ve been painting miniatures again.  For my store I’ve made another crooked house; this time it’s the Fairy House – Gingerbread Edition.  I also still have these little Spooky Ghost Plushies available, and I’m rather fond of how they turned out.

I decided the other day that what I’d like to do is focus a bit more on gaming-related items.  I’ve been playing Dungeons and Dragons and various other roleplaying games since high school, and it’s part of me as much as my costume skills are.  I sketched an ogre the other day, sitting at a bar drinking coffee and complaining about the adventurers who burst down his door.  I liked it so much that I’m going to do more of the same – I’d like to call it Adventuring Inn, and have a series of illustration that are very D&D themed in nature.  They’d all feature the same location, the bar or tables in the inn.  Why not capitalize on what I’m good at?

While I’m talking about gaming, I might as well put up a quick reminder – I have a section for Drawstring Bags in my Etsy.  Gamers always need a good, sturdy dice bag, and I stand by the construction of mine.

Sketch Bomb. Wherein I Show Art and Muse

The past week or so has been filled with sketches and ideas.  I’m still trying to improve my skills, and that means drawing as much as possible.  Unfortunately, there’s always the interwebs, and that means distractions galore.  I spend a lot of time on Etsy, the Regretsy forums, miniature wargaming websites like Privateer Press, and illustration/art blogs.  However, I still have some images to show in today’s post.

I’m finding that I can get a little bit more work done when I’m away from my laptop altogether, and so I’ve occasionally been heading to Panera Bread in the early mornings to grab some coffee and sketch.  My wife often works an early shift, which means I can be at Panera from about 6:30 to 8:30 or 9am, when I catch public transit back home.  Panera Bread is a great venue, because they allow free refills on their coffee, and a small coffee is less than two dollars.  I’ll grab a coffee and then drink maybe 2 or 3 cups total over the time I’m there.  Not too bad, and right now it’s the only little pleasure I’m allowing myself when it comes to treats.  I know a lot of people grab coffee/lattes every day before work, which seems like a crazy amount of money to me, but I feel like $2 every week or so is worth the quiet sketching time.

What I’m currently working on is a storyboard for an idea I had regarding dwarves.  I have a few small thumbnail sketches worked out, and those will be posted below.  I’m playing with the idea of a greedy, out-for-gain group of dwarves holding a town hostage by blocking off the only exit roads.  It’s just a basic idea for now, but I’d love to explore it some more.  I’m not sure what direction I’ll take the final pieces in.  Karl Kerschl does a webcomic called The Abominable Charles Christopher, and he inks his works and then adds grey toned washes in Photoshop.  I lack Photoshop or a scanner, so I may have to do everything on paper.  We’ll see.

For my Etsy, I’m toying with the idea of doing some Halloween-themed items.  Unfortunately, everybody and their grandmother is jumping on the same scheme… which means it might be hard to jump out of the pack and get noticed regardless of what I do.  I did get a bat in a creepy mask painted up, and that will probably get photographed today.  I also have another small crooked house in the works, with a new roof design that I managed to stumble across on Pinterest, on a kid-sized gnome house.  I’m going to paint it up in fairy/dark colors and list it soon as well.  The hand-cut tiles look really great on it.

And now…. pictures!  Enjoy.  :)

Starbucks?

It’s everywhere.  The little green mermaid logo.  You see the cafes everywhere, including in grocery stores like Kroger, chain stores like Target, and bookstores like Barnes and Noble.  Starbucks has become an American institution, and the opening of a new Starbucks somewhere is cause for celebration.  Millions of Americans head through the drive-thru every morning before work for their daily caffeine fix.  But is it really worth it?

Generally when I head to Starbucks I get a grande cup of coffee, bold preferably.  We’ve purchased Starbucks coffee to make at home, and we do enjoy the Yukon blend.  Lately, however, I’ve been a little dissatisfied with the ubiquitous chain, and it has to do in part with my preference for coffee and Starbucks’ own choice to push a particularly bad blend of coffee.  Yes, I’m talking about their Pike Place Roast, the blend that “got it all started”.  To be frank and honest, it’s terrible coffee.  I refuse to touch the stuff, and I generally either ask for bold coffee or the “not Pike Place”.  Unfortunately, Starbucks seems to have a policy in place that requires stores to always have Pike Place brewed, over better, tastier blends.  As well, many Starbucks stores in the Atlanta area also don’t brew bold coffee after 12pm.

This particular decision puzzles me to no end.  I can’t be the only person in town who wants bold, strong coffee after noon.  I know I’m not the only person who thinks that the Pike Place is a pretty gross blend.  I’ve heard that stores should offer you a pour-over if you ask for bold coffee and they don’t have any brewed.  For the unfamiliar, this is where they take a coffee filter with enough grounds for a single cup of coffee, and hand-pour the water through the filter to get you bold coffee in your cup.  It’s fresh and tasty.  It’s a lot of work for the barista.  I don’t know if they’re supposed to offer it, or if you need to specifically ask for it.  I don’t generally ask for it, since I know it’s a lot of work.  But I do really, really wish that Starbucks had bold coffee brewed for me after noon.  I like strong coffee.

However, since I’ve been constantly running into the above problem – not being able to get bold coffee at Starbucks after 12pm – I’ve been looking at other choices and ways to get my fix if I need to.  I find that the Nordstrom’s cafe brews a pretty good cup, and it’s a good bit cheaper than Starbucks.  I like the Ariva blend there.  A few local coffee shops also brew great coffee.  There’s a place within walking distance called Land of a Thousand Hills that serves a wonderful cup of Rwandan coffee.  Best of all, some of the proceeds go to bettering the lives of Rwandans.  My fiancée and I have been purchasing coffee from Whole Foods for our morning fix.  We particularly like the mocha java blend.  Best of all, a pound of coffee is about $10, a good $2-3 cheaper than a pound of Starbucks.  We get the whole bean, since we grind it fresh every morning.

Living in Atlanta also lets us take advantage of a program called Scoutmob, which uses an app on your iPhone to bring you daily deals on local restaurants and shops, often for 50% off your order.  There have been several very tempting local cafes and coffeeshops offered in the past few months.  The ones that come to mind are Condesa, a coffeeshop downtown(I forget the exact location), and a place that serves traditional tea each afternoon.  The tea place is located in Roswell, which is very close to us.

I think it’s often important to skip the chains when you can, and try to find local flavor.  This applies not only if you’re visiting foreign countries, but also when you’re simply vacationing in different states.  If you’re vacationing on the Texas coast, why would you want to visit Applebee’s for family dinner when you can jut as easily sample great local seafood in a locally owned and operated restaurant?  One of my favorite coffee places in Corpus Christi(my hometown) is Cafe Calypso, in the Moore Plaza shopping center right off of South Padre Island Drive(S.P.I.D. to the locals).  It’s directly attached to a Half-price Books, so you can browse literature and find a great book cheaply, then make your way through the adjoining doors into the cafe for a great cup of coffee while you read and enjoy the atmosphere.  The cafe offers two flavors of brewed coffee each day, ranging from Columbian to Coconut to Organic Mexican to Creme Brulee and many, many more.  They have a variety of delicious baked goods, and their scones are some of the best I’ve ever tasted.  (Why can’t my own be that good?)  One of my favorite drinks to get at Cafe Calypso is the iced Vietnamese – an espresso shot over ice with lots of sweetened condensed milk.  It hits the spot on those hot summer days… which, in Corpus, means it’s a great drink to try 90% of the year.

Cafe Calypso also has a great and friendly atmosphere.  I would head to Barnes and Noble to browse the shelves there, and  then make my way to Half-price to continue the window-shopping, only to end up in Cafe Calypso to enjoy a cup of coffee while I read, wrote, or sketched.  If you go often enough, you begin to notice that the same regulars are there day in and day out, and there is always great conversation to be had.

I know this started off as a Starbucks rant, and I didn’t have much more than that in mind when I started typing this post, but I really do want to emphasize going local when you can.  Your local businesses will appreciate seeing you, and you’ll enjoy finding an adventure in a place that’s off the beaten path and a step away from corporate America.  What you find might not always be great… but I can guarantee that you’ll remember it more than you would a trip the Chili’s in town.