frugalista if you pleasa

when Bryce was laid off from his job about 2 months ago, we were both a little nervous since we were 3 months into a not so tiny 30 year mortgage and with the doom and gloom of the 'current economic climate' we had no clue how long it would take for him to get another job. we decided that drastic measures would have to be taken, and thus the trimming of fat began...

first to go was the eating out, since we did that more than we ate in, and although we both enjoy cooking - having someone else cook for you is just so much easier... we cut the cable down to the basics and saved $100 per month just by getting rid of a few channels (what a money sucking rort that is), we talked about cutting Bryce's iPhone off, but the sad face that accompanied that suggestion was just too painful to watch... we stopped the gardening service (poor guy had only started a month before), and then we looked at each other and said the three little words we knew neither of us wanted to hear... no more starbucks...

with the help of our friend mint.com we are able to track exactly where our money goes (which was quite the eye opener in itself), and sadly up to $280 per month has gone to starbucks - averaging about $180 per month, and if you add that up... well, let's just not think about it... but, oh how we love our morning coffee ritual...

so off we went to look at espresso machines... we learned all about tamping, units of steam, burr grinding vs blade grinding, and that the cost of espresso machines can range from $50 to $3500!!! but, we were determined to be baristas and decided upon the krups XP5240 espresso machine which honestly sounds more like a printer cartridge than a sleek stainless coffee maker, but whatever... it had the most units of steam pressure, was stainless and square (two of my favourite things) and at $300 seemed reasonable.

then we needed supplies, the foaming jug for making the milk just right, the thermometer to make sure we wouldn't scold ourselves, some sexy coffee mugs and of course some coffee grinds. we heart illy :) for about $400 we were set to make as many cappuccinos as we could drink.

the first couple of cups were interesting... and the foam (my very favourite part of a coffee) lacked that italian creamy quality I craved, but I must say after lots of practice we make kick arse cappuccinos, lattes, mochas and hot chocolates - so take that starbucks!

and even though Bryce now has a great job that he is loving, and was only unemployed for 3 weeks we prefer our new morning coffee ritual as does our budget :)