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Two weeks ago, I decided to break up with Starbucks.

Our relationship started back in 1999 when I landed a consulting gig in Chicago. In the lobby of the Sears Tower, there was a Starbucks tucked away in the corner.

I’ve been a coffee lover since I was little and enjoyed a home-brewed cup or two with breakfast. The lure of trying something new enticed me into that Starbucks shop the second day on the job.

I remember feeling slightly overwhelmed by the offerings on the menu board, so I decided to play it safe and ordered a plain latte. It was decent.

The next day, I tried a fu-fu drink. It was a caramel macchiato. From the moment I saw the barrista lavishly drizzle caramel onto the latte’s foam, I was hooked.

Macchiatos, Mochas, Lattes, Oh My!

It did not help that a co-worker was obsessed with Starbucks too. Before long, we made it our daily ritual to take a break, go down to the lobby, and get an afternoon pick-me-up.

My love affair continued long after my consulting contract ended. A new store opened within blocks of our home, and it had a drive-thru to make it more convenient! Dad was hooked too.

I’ve had coffee aficionados tell me that Starbucks coffee isn’t really that good. Some say the espresso is bitter, others have said it has a burnt taste. For me, none of that mattered. You see, it wasn’t the coffee or the caffeine I was addicted to.

I was in love with my daily ritual.

When you work full-time and have kids, six in our case, Mom and Dad don’t have a lot of alone time. After work, our older daughter would watch the littles for us. We would take a quick trip to Starbucks for coffee and a few minutes of catching up. I so enjoyed this time with Dad.

Insanity.

My addiction came at a price. First, it was $4 a day. Then the prices went up and my favorite drink cost $4.20. Now I think it’s to $4.35. Sometimes I would go in the morning, and then again with Dad in the evening. I’m embarrassed to admit that this addiction was costing upwards of $70 a week.

All for the “good feelings” that come from enjoying a cup of coffee with my husband. The funny thing is, the service at Starbucks hasn’t been stellar lately, and sometimes the coffee tastes so-so. Not worth the money.

So, we quit cold turkey (well…we are trying).

We started a new ritual. Dad and I sit on the patio together in the morning and enjoy our home brew. When I feel like having coffee in the afternoon, I whip out the Bodum coffee press and in minutes I’m indulging in a great cup of coffee for a fraction of the cost.

Breaking up is hard to do.

I did find out that Dad “cheated” last week when he was waiting for an oil change. There was a Starbucks within walking distance so he indulged. I also caved when I was out shopping with my daughter. I tried to keep the cost down by ordering tall hot chocolates.

Two visits in two weeks is a great start, considering we were going almost daily before. The goal is ZERO visits this week.

I am keeping track of how much we’re saving by not going, and I plan on sharing that here at end of the month.

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We have a local food market that has a nice variety of produce and ethnic foods. I stopped by there yesterday to pick up some sweet rice and coconut milk to make a Coconut Rice recipe which I found on Sora’s blog.

While I was at the market, I browsed the meat section and found chicken thighs (free range) for 99¢/lb What an incredible price! I picked up a family pack that was a little over 4 pounds. This was bone in, so I trimmed away the bone and used that to made chicken soup stock for tommorrow’s dinner. I used the boneless meat for Teriyaki Chicken that we had today. I served it with brown rice and fresh green beans. Yum!

Here is a simple recipe I use for the sauce:

Teriyaki Sauce

1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Honey (could use sugar)
1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer on low heat until thickened. If a thicker sauce is desired, combine 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 1 Tbsp of water and add to other ingredients.

This sauce is good on chicken, steak, or salmon. For my chicken thighs, I just put them in a shallow baking dish and baste with the sauce. Bake at 400º for 50 minutes, (baste with remaining sauce at the halfway mark).

Tommorrow I will make the soup with homemade noodles and serve with fresh baked bread. It’s amazing that we can get two nice meals from $4 of meat! I’m going back to the market tomorrow to stock up!

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A recent review of our checking account statements revealed that we are spending $40.00 every 4-6 weeks for the boys’ haircuts. Frank pays $20 for his, which is reasonable and then the place charges $10 for each child. I use to cut the kids hair myself, but one day last year (when things were particularly hectic); Frank told me that he couldn’t remember what color the boys’ eyes were. He decided to take matters into his own hands. Not by wielding the clippers himself, but by taking them to the local haircut place. Our 9 year old son likes to go with his dad, it’s their version of “Boys Night Out” and while our 3 year old enjoys going out with the boys, he doesn’t enjoy the hair cut experience.

I felt up to the challenge of saving $10 a month by cutting the little guy’s hair on my own again. After all, I still had the clippers and scissors stashed in the linen closet. Quin has a simple style and his hair looks best short. I use #2 clippers on the sides and back and #3 for the top. I decided to cut his hair today. With clippers in hand, we set off for my bathroom to perform the delicate procedure. I try to keep the mood happy and light, because I know that when he hears the “buzz” he will start to complain. Quin’s issue with haircuts is the “tickles”. He dislikes the feeling of the clippers and the hair clippings touching his skin. Mom dislikes having hair clippings all over the floor!

I devised a system that takes care of both our issues. I have him get undressed and wrap a big towel around his neck and shoulders and tuck the ends in. Then I have him stand in our shower stall (the cord on the clippers is plugged into a GFCI outlet and can reach this far). Surprisingly, he does very well for me because he knows that the reward for standing still is getting to take a shower right after we’re done to wash off the tickles.

We’ve decided that I can only use this method while he’s still little, or else I’ll give him a memory to repress. Maybe when he’s older we can move it to the kitchen, or I could find a way to save $10 and Frank can start taking him again.

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