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Gourmet Roasted Coffee Supports Carmelite Monastery

November 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Mystic Monk Coffee

Mystic Monk Coffee is small-batch coffee roasted by real Carmelite Monks in Wyoming to support their way of life. For most of us going about our daily lives, it is hard to think of the secluded nature of life in a Carmelite monastery, where men spend their days in contemplation and prayer.

The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites are a Roman Catholic religious order that may have been founded as far back in history as 1209, although the origins of the Carmelite order are not clear. The focus of the Carmelite monks is to spend their time in comtemplation and prayer. According to Catholic Church tradition, the Carmelites are protected by the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Why Roast Coffee?

The Carmelite monks live a hidden life of prayer and contemplation in the pursuit of God.  They maintain their life by roasting coffee in the solitude near the Rocky Mountains. Roasting coffee properly is something that they can do in their contemplative community to support themselves without requiring too much interaction with the outside world, while it also fits their contemplative nature and focus on perfection.

Due to their drive for perfection in all things, their study of how to make the best roasted coffee has resulted in several excellent blends of coffee. The monks use the proceeds from Mystic Monk Coffee to help establish their monastery and provide for the thirteen monks who reside there. They drink the coffee to help in their lifestyle of prayer at all times of day or night, and therefore have created robust flavor that you don’t have to be a Carmelite monk to love.

The Coffee

Mystic Monk Coffee specializes in robust and dark roast blends suitable for keeping monks alert for their midnight prayers, as well as for you to enjoy first thing in the morning before you go to the morning meeting. Each time you purchase any of their coffee, you are supporting the monks who live in the monastery, as well as the thousands of visitors that come to pray in the beautiful Wyoming setting that they live in.

You can also sell Mystic Monk Coffee for your own fundraisers, helping your local organization as well as helping to support the Carmelite monks. There are many coffee value packages for under $25.00 that make perfect holiday gifts for the coffee lover in your life.

Gourmet Coffee Standards

Mystic Monk Coffee meets the standards and can be compared to any other gourmet coffee brand that you love.  Most of their coffees are in the medium to dark roast range, and they do carry several flavored coffees including Chocolate Cherry, Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Raspberry, French Vanilla, Hazelnut, Royal Rum Pecan, and Irish Cream, all available in regular or decaffenated, as well as several Fair Trade blends.

All of their coffees are roasted from green coffee beans to the finish in their facility in Wyoming, overseen by Brother Java, the master roaster.  I urge you to give their coffees a try, you won’t be disappointed.

 

More About Carmelite Monks

  • Carmelites – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites (sometimes simply Carmel by synecdoche; Latin: Ordo fratrum Beat Virginis Mari de monte Carmelo) is a Roman Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century

Mixing Coffee and Religion

One of the things I find so fascinating about Mystic Monk Coffee is that the focus and deep ability to concentrate that the monastic life brings, is one of the reasons that Mystic Monk Coffee is so good.  The monks spend their days finding ways to perfect the coffee experience so that anyone, religious or not, can benefit by their learning.

Whether you are a Christian or not, one must respect the devotion the monks have for both their religious lives of seclusion and their focus on providing themselves with a living to sustain that life by providing the world with a rich, delicious coffee that for many of us provides both comfort and stimulation to our daily lives.  I know that each morning that I hold my steaming cup of coffee in my hand, I find comfort in my daily routine, and strength for the day ahead.

More Information About the Carmelites

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Steampunk in the Harry Potter Series

October 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Though Not the Main Theme, Steampunk is Found Throughout the Harry Potter Movies and Books

hogwarts express 300x227 Steampunk in the Harry Potter SeriesI was watching the movie Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban last weekend for the umpteenth time with the rest of my family, (Harry Potter is one of the few movie series that we all like), when it occurred to me how much steampunk was part of the the Harry Potter series.

We have been watching the entire Harry Potter series of movies, one each week in order, for the last three weekends, and it was the Prisoner of Azkaban that really drove the realization home regarding how much steampunk was part and parcel of the entire series. Then when I looked back at the previous movies, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, I realized how much I had missed of the steampunk embedded in all of the movies.

In the Era of Steam Engines

When you dig down to what steampunk really is, steampunk is the mix of the components of the steam era like steam locomotives, with elements of fantasy, science fiction, and out of time elements.  And if you think closely about the Harry Potter series, what could be more out of time, than a series of books about a wizard world hidden from the real world.

If you stop watching the main action in the movies, and you look at the side action, the setting, and the details, that happen around and behind the characters, then you really start to see how much steampunk is really there.

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The Hogwarts Train

As the audience, we are well aware that the Harry Potter story exists in an older time than now, just from the way the characters dress, and the style of living.  However, the most evident and blatant steampunk element is the Hogwarts Express train.

Although you read about the train in the books, the movies do a wonderful job at presenting the majesty of the Hogwarts Express steam locomotive as in pulls into the train station, and as the Hogwarts Express travels on the train tracks through the countryside.  Living in an age now when trains are a rare form of transportation, and where steam engines are a thing of the past, it is easy to forget how majestic the steam locomotives were.

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Quidditch Uniforms

The quidditch uniforms in the Harry Potter movies are another place where we see steampunk directly. The quidditch uniforms are a cross between the wizard robes and aviator costumes of the World War I era.

The goggles shown to the right are from the quidditch uniform, and are a distinct steampunk symbol. If you search steampunk sites, you will see the aviator goggles appear over and over again, as replicas and as authentic goggles.

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The Hogwarts Clock Tower

The Hogwarts clock tower is an integral part of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as part of the theme of time travel. In the scenes where Harry and Hermione go back in time to free Buckbeak and save Sirius Black, the views of the gears driving the clock in the clock tower are repeated. The ticking and bonging runs through the scenes. The clock movement is a driver in the scenes because the entire rescue must be completed in a short amount of time, time that is stolen from the regular day. This again is the essence of steampunk, or a place out of time.

Even the time turner that Hermione uses to go back in time comes from a pocket watch design crossed with an hourglass design, another symbol of the Victorian era. Today, pocket watches and hourglasses are only used for effect, not for checking the time.  Who needs to use an hourglass, when you can just check the digital readout on your cell phone? When you think about it, the fact that Hogwarts is a castle, not just a school, is another symbol of past eras, especially to Americans who do not have castles in their native land.

Steampunk Takes Us Back to a Simpler Age

Steampunk as a movement, comes from the wish to go back to a simpler age, when our lives were not ruled by computers, and gadgets.  The wish to live a simpler, less worrisome lifestyle than we have now is natural especially when you mix in the desire to recycle, and spend less money due to our current economic situation.

Harry Potter’s world, while much more complex in the fact that magic is an part of life that can be learned, manipulated, and controlled, is still placed in a time when life was simpler than it is now.  And the wizarding world is even more based in the past with their mail delivered by carrier owls, and candlelit hallways.

By taking the story out of place, and back in time, J.K. Rowling forces us to really focus on every detail of what is happening to the characters, and how they interact with the world around them, which is so very much not the world we live in.  After all, if Harry Potter was writing this article, he would be using a parchment and a quill, instead of typing on a computer.

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Wedding | Do It Yourself Centerpieces

May 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

wedding do it yourself centerpieces Wedding | Do It Yourself CenterpiecesA wedding do it yourself centerpiece can add so much to your event decor. It takes a bit of creativity to find just the right items to create the ambiance, feelings and impression you want your guests to remember — but it is very do-able.

Evolution of the Centerpiece

In the 18th century, the centerpiece was a huge part of any table. Usually it was floral with greenery or foliage. Candelabras were added at some point.

By the early to mid 20th century, event host were becoming more creative with their centerpieces. A themed party or event might have an item added to reflect the theme but florals were still the main ingredient.

During the late 20th century and early 21st century, brides and event hosts alike were ready for a change. It became popular to use ordinary items in unexpected ways when creating a unique centerpiece. While florals are still used a lot, brides and hosts are constantly looking for alternatives and using their own creativity to come up with a unique and different centerpiece.

Today — Wedding Do it Yourself Centerpieces

Creating a wedding do it yourself centerpiece is not as hard as you might imagine. Non floral centerpieces are becoming more and more popular and so is using the florals as an accent instead of as the main ingredient. No one wants a cookie-cutter variety centerpiece — something you see over and over at every wedding. Spending a little time in pre-planning can ensure your centerpieces are uncommon and different.

To design wedding diy centerpieces that reflect your theme, taste or passion, consider the following ideas:

Use design basics when creating your centerpieces. These are tried and true guidelines from interior design professionals:

  • Vary the height — It is very pleasing to eye to travel up and down when looking at a grouping. If everything is exactly the same height, the eye is not sure where to rest. The up and down motion gives it choices. Use one tall item and place shorter items beside it to acheive this design basic.
  • Layer — Place items overlapping or leaned against another item in your grouping. This piques interest in the observer.
  • Odd is Better than Even — Using odd numbers of items (1, 3, 5,) gives a centerpiece grouping visual balance. The eye will recognize your main focal point and supporting cast.
  • Texture — Mixing different textures adds depth and interest to a grouping. Your table linens and centerpiece items can be made of different textures to achieve this design trick. Don’t forget that florals have different textures too. Simply adding a flower or ivy to a centerpiece grouping adds texture.

Applying these 4 decorating basics to wedding diy centerpieces is pretty simple. For example: Let’s say you need a vintage travel themed centerpiece and you want a table devoted to Paris. Let’s put together a centerpiece grouping.

You decide to use an Eiffel Tower in your centerpiece. You find a wrought iron 12″ Eiffel Tower and use it as your main focal point. You might place this on top of a couple of Paris travel books. Your overall height is now around 15″. Next, you place a small suitcase covered in vintage travel stickers next to the tower. Then, you lean a map, postcard or travel brochure against the suitcase and finish the grouping by placing a sepia toned photo of the Arc de Triomphe in a shorter, antique frame.

Breaking it down, you have used all the design elements above:

  1. Vary heights — Eiffel tower is tallest down to the short antique frame.
  2. Layer — Leaning the travel item (map, brochure or postcard) against the suitcase.
  3. Odd — Eiffel Tower, 2 Books (considered one item when stacked), travel brochure, suitcase, and picture frame for a total of 5 items in this grouping.
  4. Texture — Wrought iron, books, paper, smooth glass.

Eco Wedding

In this day and age of environmental awareness, re-using items intended for other purposes in your centerpiece grouping is very green — meaning you are hosting an eco wedding. Being responsible and beautiful at the same time is the best of both worlds.

The days of having every centerpiece match are over. You can actually encourage mixing and mingling of your guests by having different centerpieces on every table. They will get up and walk around to see the displays you have lovingly put together. Borrow items from Aunt Mabel or grandma and incorporate them in your designs. This will have a four-fold effect: cheaper on the budget, pleasing family members, creating original centerpieces your guests will remember and being environmentally responsible.

Creating a wedding do it yourself centerpiece is do-able. Put on your thinking cap and have at it!

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Ideas for Vintage Weddings – Vintage Definition

April 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Vintage Weddings are steadily moving up the popularity list — but what is the vintage definition as it applies to a wedding or event theme? It’s easier to come up with ideas for vintage weddings if you understand the definition.

Designers and decorators throw the terms Vintage, Retro and Antique around a lot — but what do they mean? There is a lot of personal interpretation involved, depending on who is using the terms, but a basic guideline is as follows:

  • Vintage – Usually refers to an item that is at least 25 years old but less than 100 years old.
  • Antique – Although there are some variances, most people consider antiques to be an item of at least 100 years of age.
  • Retro – Actually coined to refer to the decades of the 1960′s and 1970′s, though nowadays some people use it  interchangeably with “vintage” and are using it more often to refer to the 1940′s and 1950′s .

In the event decorating world, the term “antique” is not usually used. Instead, they use “vintage” almost exclusively to refer to any time period or age prior to the present decade or two. Some examples of vintage wedding themes might include:

Vintage means different things to different people but I think the one constant is the term makes you think of a romantic, elegant and even chivalrous era — which makes it a perfect theme for a wedding, shower, rehearsal dinner and more.

Researching other people’s ideas and suggestions for a vintage themed event can inspire your own unique perception of the word. You can give a vintage twist to almost any theme by incorporating family heirlooms, collections, using certain fonts and papers for your event stationery or any number of ideas that bring to mind the bygone era you have chosen. Build from what you find and make it your own.

Whether you choose a Rat Pack – Vintage Vegas swanky theme or prefer a Vintage Travel theme when men wore hats and ladies wore gloves, pay attention to the details. These are what make your theme believable and enchanting. Coming up with ideas for vintage weddings relies on your personal definition of vintage.

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