clementine had a lot of fun digging around in this basket!

– ryan & gub

today is the one day without shoes campaign from TOMS shoes. the goal is to “spread awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child’s life by taking off our own.” to show your support, take off your shoes for the day, or if work won’t allow (like me), just wear your TOMS!

read more about the TOMS movement here.

– ryan

after my recent tour of the batdorf & bronson roastery, i went on a quest to brew a better cup of coffee. i learned on the tour that there are many factors that go into a good cup of joe. these range from the quality and freshness of the coffee, to using the proper ratio of grounds/water, to hitting the ideal brewing temperature of 205°. the problem is most consumer coffeemakers never reach such high temperatures. for that, you need a hand-brewed method where you are in full control and as much as i love my french press, it sounded like a pour over coffeepot was the way to go.

after a little research, i decided on the stylish chemex coffeepot. it’s both a great coffeemaker and a beautiful piece of design, even 70+ years after its creation. plus it only set me back $31.95 at dancing goats in decatur. i did have to buy special chemex filters for it, but they were just $5.95 for a 100 pack, which wasn’t that bad.

for my inaugural pot, i picked up some nice costa rica la minita del sol coffee. the description on the bag was “full bodied & sparkling sweet, maple, almond & orange juice,” which sounded interesting. the beans were 100% sun dried instead of fully washed, like most central american beans, so it’s supposed to be fairly unique.

the brewing process was pretty easy to follow. i put a chemex filter into the top of the coffeepot and added a tbsp of freshly ground coffee for each 5 oz cup, 8 tbsp for a full pot. i boiled 40 oz of water and removed it from heat for roughly 20 seconds until it reached ~205°. i then wet the grounds with 4 oz of water and let “bloom” for 30-40 seconds. from there i added the rest of the water, making sure not to overflow, and composted the spent grounds. voilà, the perfect cup of coffee!

the results were definitely worth the effort! the coffee had that fresh, strong taste you get from a french press, but seemed cleaner and less-bitter since the oils and sediment were filtered out. it was a nice, crisp cup of coffee where I could actually distinguish some of the descriptive characteristics. i wouldn’t say i sensed the orange juice, but i picked up some sweet and nutty elements, especially when sampled next to a cup of french roast. it was some of the better coffee i’ve made at home!

on top of that, the actual coffeepot is gorgeous and looks great on the countertop! it’s on permanent display at moma and was featured in the modern by design exhibit at the high museum of art, further proving its elegance.

for more thorough brewing instructions, or to check out some great mid-century illustrations, head to the chemex website. there are also some slightly different brewing instructions offered from dancing goat, although i tried this method and didn’t care for it. it used almost twice the coffee and was a little strong for my taste.

enjoy!

– ryan

dancing goats coffee bar

419 west ponce de leon ave
decatur, ga 30030
404-687-1100

happy easter! clementine had a blast playing with her first easter basket of goodies. afterwards we dyed some eggs, although they weren’t nearly as crafty as our stenciled eggs a couple of years ago.

– ryan & gub

gub planted some daffodil bulbs right before clementine was born. she acquired a bucket full of them from a pottery student at the art center, so she planted them in our backyard.

this spring they finally bloomed when clementine was 9 months old!

– ryan & gub

clementine’s first trip to the high museum of art was for the modern by design exhibit last august. she was right at home in the gallery with this ellsworth kelly piece.

we also had a lot of fun checking out the new addition to the permanent collection from anish kapoor. This is the same artist that created cloud gate (aka “the bean”) for Millenium Park in Chicago.

– ryan & gub

high museum of art

1280 peachtree st ne
atlanta, ga 30309
404-733-4400

there is a new venue in atlanta called terminal west. i haven’t been yet, but the photos look pretty cool. it’s in the king plow art center over on the west side. both black lips and washed out are on their schedule, so it definitely has potential.

– ryan

i’ve always loved the steel building near the dekalb farms market on east ponce. you don’t feel like you’re in atlanta when you drive by it.

this building made me realize the pittsburgh steelers logo is just the american steel logo, also called the steel mark. who would have thought it was so simple? the colors represent the three materials used to produce steel, with yellow for coal, orange for iron ore and blue for scrap steel.

– ryan

have you ever been to henri’s bakery? it’s a deli & bakery in buckhead that’s been open since 1929. my sandwich didn’t knock my socks off, but the deserts looked very tasty and i loved the neon sign. i would definitely go again if i was in the area, especially to try some sweets!

– ryan

henri’s bakery

61 irby avenue northwest
atlanta, ga 30305
404-237-0202

clementine and i recently had a free afternoon so we went on a trip to the fernbank museum of natural history. she is finally getting big enough to enjoy the nature quest area, so there’s a lot more for her to do. she caught story time and totally loved playing with these tabby blocks!

we also walked through the wildlife rescue exhibit, although it wasn’t her first time. clementine likes watching the bird simulation and all of the bright lights.

– ryan

fernbank museum of natural history

767 clifton rd ne
atlanta, ga 30307
404-929-6300