It is a foggy morning, patches of snow melting on the sides of the road and the air is so humid you would think it is raining but no. Temperatures hoover above freezing but barely and it is a rather grey day. I have just come back from a trade fair and taking the morning off from work and it happens you also have a free day too. We are meeting in a cozy little café tugged away in a side street. It smells of coffee and spices when we enter.
After we have peeled ourselves from the coats and scarves we collapse on the bench near the window and quickly order the biggest mug of teas. We have decided it is tea weather today. It is a chai tea for me and you are pondering earl grey. Most likely we will order a second round because we have so many things to discuss.
If you and I had coffee…
…I share, that I have just spent four days in Hamburg for work. I was at the trade fair for one of my clients over the weekend and added an additional day because I had a new client to meet. It is not a real new client as it is a subsidiary from the previous client (watch this little video!) I worked for in Hamburg. They finally have some budget to book me and I couldn’t be happier. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the port and the gantry cranes. I really missed it and I wasn’t aware how much. Fingers crossed all is going well and I will be traveling to Hamburg a bit more. I also managed to meet two of the team members of that previous job for a dinner and a lunch. And I added a coffee date with one of the fellow AI students from the course from last year. It was all just overall some great four days but now I am really tired since I didn’t have a weekend.
If you and I had coffee…
…I quickly tell you the end of the story from my red flag client I had complaint about last year. The one that cost me a week of my vacation because he was so unorganized. Well it happened that on the 28th of December he wrote an email telling me he will discontinue working with me by end of the year (in two days!) because he wasn’t happy with the performance of the produced content. Sigh. I really didn’t care and was happy to have him gone but I was (pardon my French) pissed off by the way he did it. We had a call the 13th on my last day before the break and he wanted to have ideas and a strategy how to move into the next year. Content for January and February. So this is just so infuriating. But it also shows exactly what I had to deal with. Jumping back and forth in decisions, not knowing what he wanted, not listening to suggestions and planning… Oh well, good bye. More time for favorite clients.
If you and I had coffee…
…I share my wish to host a (huge?) party this year. I feel like this would be a lot of fun. The husband is somewhat on board but was thinking of a Friendsgiving again. While I love the idea I feel like it is more complicated. Everyone has kids now and that would make a seated dinner party hard and also I wouldn’t know what time to do it. Also it would be a limited amount of people since we only have a table for 8 and maybe we can fit 10 people. And don’t feel like this would be a buffet kinda event.
A summer party on the terrace on the other hand could be bigger and people could drift in and out and could keep schedules with kids and dogs and what not. Unfortunately summers are always so busy at my husband’s work that he would like to spend quiet weekends. But maybe I would just need to decide and set a date and then he would/will be on board? He is not against it but makes it a bigger issue (like we need to get the apartment in perfect shape etc. – I don’t care. People are not coming to admire how we live). Anyways… any thoughts. Should I do it? I rarely do parties as I am always afraid no one is showing up (I have had that happen on my 18th and 22nd birthday and it was heart breaking).
If you and I had coffee…
…I chat a little about new things on my blog. Maybe you have already seen my recent post about blog treasures. I decided this year to go back through archive of eleven years of blogging and pulling out some treasure to point you to hidden treasure on this blog. I really hope you will like these posts. I will also introduce a new photo post every month as I will partake in Hanna’s phot challenge. With these new series and I have a rather full schedule which reads like this:
- First day of each month – elevating happiness
- First weekend of month – book recaps
- 10th of each month – blog treasure
- 15th of each month – our coffee date
- 20th of each month – photo challenge
The is five set posts monthly and all the other things I want to share. In recent years my posts have gone up because I just love writing and sharing stories and people stopping by. It is such a fun hobby.
I just wished sometimes that I had a chance of getting a little email or ping when someone answers my comment on their blog. I never manage to go back to all the comments I leave and see if the conversation was carried on. Why don’t blog provide make this a standard feature. Don’t they know what blogging is about?
If you and I had coffee…
…I have to talk about the big dream – an arctic expedition to Sweden – I have put into the universe. I have shared the story in my post about the fitness goals. Just before our little meeting I have scheduled a call with the tour guide to get more infos and maybe already a trainings plan. It feels so surreal and ambitious and scary but I am really putting it out there and telling more and more people to hold myself accountable and hype myself up for the adventure.
How would you prepare besides the physical stuff? Is there some books I could read? I have read “A woman in the Polar Night” and “A winter amidst the Ice” but maybe more current non fiction recordings? I think I need to look into it.
If you and I had coffee…
…I asked how your year has started. Did you easily found your footing in 2025 or did it bang open the dorr and overwhelmed you? How are things going?
After sharing our stories we sit a bit in silence. Sip the rest of our beverages, observe the people strolling by the window and finally manage to say our good byes. This little nugget of time we had was heaven for our souls and we head into the day full of joy, inspirations and happy feelings.
On my way home from our virtual coffee date I come across this spot and share the view
What was the last party you hosted (besides Christmas and Thanksgiving)? Do you have a (secret) dream adventure you would like to take? Do you keep a blog schedule or just go with the flow? Did you end up with the earl grey tea or did you drink something else?
13 comments
Friendsgiving is such a fun idea.
I don’t really like hosting big parties, but I’m in awe of people who do.
I love Earl Grey – probably my favourite tea. Though this morning I had a mug of green tea and then a mug of coffee with my favourite seasonal peppermint mocha creamer. YUM!
Earl grey is such a good flavor and it can easily substitute for coffee.
I usually don’t like big parties either but every once in a while I feel like it so i probably should take advantage of it.
I enjoyed your video – wow, how cool! And good riddance to the bad client. You’re right that it means more time for your favorite clients. I could not host a party, aside from our close family. And even that can overwhelm me! But if it’s something you enjoy, then I hope you go for it and write all about it! I don’t keep a blog schedule. I tend to write 3 posts per month. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I do love it when people have a way to notify me when they answer my comment. Like you do!
I rarely enjoy hosting parties but every once in a while I really want to.
We haven’t decided or set a date though. We’ll see.
I am not forcing myself to stick to the self imposed blog schedule but it’s a good guideline.
Yes, good riddance to that client from hell. Hopefully, the next person he hires will be even less accommodating than you and he’ll realize what a terrible person he is! (Doubtful, but one can hope.)
I’m not someone who ever wants to host a big party, but I love that you do! One of my friends does a monthly potluck with a theme and everyone comes with something yummy. It makes it a lot easier on her!
I wish all blogs had notification options! I like when I get an email, otherwise I have to remember to check back on older posts when I’m commenting on a newer post.
I am usually not one for big parties but every once in a while I feel like it’s worth all the prep work.
I guess I just need to pick a date and make it happen. Potlucks are a great way to dived some of the work.
A monthly one though is a lot. Wow.
I know I love all blogs that notify me so I can reply if I have more to add.
That client being gone gave me a fresh start into 2025 and it is good because I was thinking of dumping him but had no real idea how.
Look at you with a blog calendar. I really should be better about things like that, but…I’m just too lazy about my blog. That is also the reason I do not have notifications on my blog because I will be on blogger forever and ever. LOL. That is the way of it, I guess. I actually get sort of grumpy when I get emails automatically from blogs (WordPress blogs do this, I think). I hate it when I get an email clogging up my email saying “So and so liked your comment.” But if you can opt in to notifications, I can see how some people would like that.
Having that calendar in place doesn’t say those posts make an appearance as planned but it is a good guideline for me.
I prefer having an option to only sign up for comments to my blog. All other emails is just too much. But I take what I can get these days.
I wish we had a big house and more friends locally, I do enjoy hosting a big party. I love the idea of Friendsgiving, but not everyone sits around the table for a fancy meal for Thanksgiving, what if you found a way to blend your ideas? Have a Friendsgiving in early October (like they do in Canada), make it a potluck, so you don’t have to cook everything yourself, and if the weather cooperates, have a lot of it outside, so you can enjoy your beautiful outdoor space?
I’m sorry for the loss of income from the client, and the way they did it is horrible, but you are clearly better off without them. Like Stephany, I hope that they learn what they lost when they lost you, and somehow improve their behavior. Also, yeah, as she said, doubtful.
I guess good riddance to that client, and at least you won’t have to put up with being mucked around anymore. Congratulations on your new/old client. We kind of hosted E’s 21st, although not at home, but we will probably be hosting their engagement party at our place which should be big. I say go for it with the party. I don’t like Earl Gray tea, so I would have a Chai Latte, green tea or another herbal tea.
Hosting an engagement party is fun but I bet lots goes into it.
Yes it’s a better fit with the clients so all played out well.
Enjoy your chai latte
Thank you for this soothing coffee date and the view..
I am looking forward to seeing the regular blog updates from you- and I think it’s such a great idea. Right now I am a bit overwhelmed so I stick to “and then this happened” style of blogging but I really want to branch out into more philosophizing/reflecting on a variety of subjects on my blog.
I have a secret dream to move to NYC (New York City) for a few months or a year. Don’t tell my husband lol. I just want to experience what it’s like to live in a big, big city. I would roam the streets, sit in cafes, and go to the theater every other day. We are really close- about 1.5 hours away by train but it’s not the same. Also: African safari and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Heck, sitting on a beach in Zanzibar after the climb.
I LOOOVE earl grey. I dumb a lot of sugar and add cream- yummy!
I love your idea of a summer party with no schedule. As a mom people literally rake me over the coals (grrr) about leaving places early to keep kiddos schedules but (blowing raspberries to them- they aren’t the ones that end up with even worse sleep. I don’t need help in that department. Ha ha.
I had an off-beat party. I don’t do parties. I don’t like people, lol, but we had my partners extended family over after Christmas for game night. Super informal with some snacky foods and found my new favorite game out of it. So that worked. And it was nice. And the kids all got to see cousins and the like.
I have no wild travel plans as I am really a homebody, even moreso now with kids.
I don’t keep a blog schedule. I really fell off quite a bit with Masters Uni studies and then licensing, etc. and then kids. But I want to get back into it more. Thanks for commenting on my “serenity now” series, it keeps me sane for a hot moment in the middle of chaotic days.
And if you ever wanted to share your art, I am sure it would be enjoyed by all.
I did also have coffee and probably a tea. Because the mama doesn’t sleep and I need alllllll the caffeine.