A Virtual Winter Coffee Date

My friend Amber does these coffee date posts on her blog, and I adore them every time. I've never had the chance to hang out with her and have coffee in real life (Virginia and California are very inconveniently far apart), but those posts of hers always make me feel like we are hanging out and catching up on all the good and necessary things of life.

I've shared a post like this once before, but felt like it was time to do it again.


If we were on a coffee date... it might be in my living room in a blanket fort, because the office is closed for the snow that's in the forecast and I'm working from home...so... blanket forts. Necessary. 

If we were on a coffee date... I would ask you about your creative life. Are you sticking to the role of artist or have you blurred the lines into lawyer, babysitter, armed guard? Glennon Doyle Melton wrote this awesome post called "Three Rules for Surviving a Creative Life" and I just love it. I would tell you about how my word of the year is rhythm so this quote made my heart soar: "What if the rhythm to the creative life is: Create! Call it good! Rest!" -- God showed us from the very beginning of creation that this should be the rhythm of our creative lives.

If we were on a coffee date... I would ask you what good rhythms you have going on in your life. Because everybody's got some good ones and I want to hear about them. (Everybody's got some icky ones too...here's looking at you, snooze button... so we can definitely dive into those bad boys too.)

If we were on a coffee date... I would be drinking a dirty chai latte made with soymilk. Because chai lattes are amazing, and when you dump a shot of espresso in that puppy, it just takes it to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL.

If we were on a coffee date... I would tell you that my Harry Potter-obsessed coworkers inspired me to read the books all over again, and I'm enjoying it. I haven't read them since they were first coming out throughout my childhood, but I'm surprised at how much I remember. I've also never seen the movies (hi, hello, yes, I'm probably the only one in the world who hasn't seen them but I'm stubborn and don't like doing things just because everyone else does them) and I decided that's finally going to happen this year because I need to stop being a brat.

If we were on a coffee date... I would tell you that this Bible reading plan is the bomb.

If we were on a coffee date... I would ask you about what you've done that's scared you lately. I would tell you mine too. There have been a few! One: I went to a bar to watch a Caps game with a guy from Tinder. WHO AM I. (ps-- I had Tinder for like two day because it's amusing and weird but also I really hate it and there are lots of creeps so I don't have it anymore.) Two: I recorded time lapse videos of illustrating/journaling in my Bible for work AND THEN had to record a voiceover reading the passage too. Oh, the super cool/terrifying part of that? Our websites get MILLIONS OF VIEWS. That means MILLIONS of people will watch me drawing (and guaranteed thousands of them are more talented than me and probably laughing at my poor excuse for art) and LISTEN TO MY VOICE. Nobody likes the sound of their own voice. But anyway... scary stuff. Please tell me I'm not the only one trying to bust out of my comfort zone this year! Tell me your stories and your successes and your secrets.

If we were on a coffee date... I would ask what books you're reading. And I would add them to my wishlist because I'm not buying books this year and it's hard but I still want to know about all the good ones so I can borrow/find/read them eventually.

If we were on a coffee date... I would gush about how cool it is to find new friends that just get you. I would want to hear about who those people are for you, too. Tell me all about the people you love.

If we were on a coffee date... I would tell you I'm really far too excited for the #TGIT shows to come back in February. Also I'm still loving New Girl and Nashville, and I'm realizing right now that I watch more live TV than I realized. Weird. What shows are you loving lately? Anything must-watch worthy? Also what about podcasts? Because they are my new THING and I can't get enough. We've been sharing recommendations over on The Rising (Amber's are here, Rachel's are here, mine/David's are coming soon!) and I've subscribed to so many that I'll never be able to listen to them all BUT I WILL STILL TRY.

If we were on a coffee date... I would tell you how sweet it's been to catch up, and I hope we do it again soon. Leave your comments below with all your thoughts/recommendations/feelings so this thing feels like the real deal!