When the Weather Outside is Frightful...

Hello all. I am back from the dark-and-gloomy forest of "pre-finals."  The irony of university is: the weeks leading up to finals are nutty, but during the actual week of finals everyone has soooooooo much free time that we have no idea what to do with ourselves.  Or, at least, I don't. You mean I have all morning and afternoon for three days to prepare for a final?  Really. We didn't cover that much in five months. 

Anywho, December and the accompanying frigid weather has descended upon Missoula.  Most days are about 12deg F and snowing/icing. Yes, icing.  It just grows out of the ground in giant puddle shaped tubers. I feel like I live at the North Pole..  One of these mornings I will wake up to the sound of reindeer prancing on the roof.  I bet you those squirrel tracts in the snow are really squirrel tracks either; they're elf tracts.  Nevertheless, I am thoroughly enjoying the winter wonderland.  Even if it means I have to wear two pairs of socks most days to comfortably enjoy it.

 Transfer station for the Mountain Line (Missoula's bus system)

 Can you spot the 'M'?  On Friday it was all lit up for the Griz play-off game.

 My dormitory is antique. Everything is steam heated. Thus by 7.00 in the morning the windows are all foggied up.

The wind!  Not fun to walk in :(  The gusts practically topple me over on my way across campus...

In lou of going out in the weather to make snow-angels, I am expressing my holiday cheer by trucking out to toasty warm coffee shops.  They are all decorated up and I can listen to Christmas music while sipping steaming mugs of spiced coffee. Just keep the caffeine coming people; I have an Anatomy and Physiology exam to study/review for!  My most recent "re-discovery" is The Buttercup Market and Cafe. I haven't been here since the day before Uni started.  So, that would be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in iced-coffee season.  But, I returned on a whim since the Buttercup is the only cafe open near the university after 5pm. 

Reasons why I am newly head over heels in love with the place???????

1) Free Wi-fi. Knuff' said there really.  I would not be writing this post right now without the complementary plug-in. ^_^

2) Monday is VEGAN MONDAY!!!  You heard me right.  The bakery case is chocked full of vegan muffins, scones and oatmeal bars.  And if you swing back around on Tuesday, all of the unsold veg goodies are half-off in their day old basket.  Throw in the fact that there is always a veg option on the menu (whether it be a soup, salad, or samosa), I am a little pig in poo. Today, I picked up a lemon-blueberry muffin.  

3) nummy coffee.  While I will still rank B's Bakery and Le Petit Outre's straight up drip and Americano above the Buttercup's, the Buttercup makes a mean dry cappuccino.  When I say dry, I mean they know how to make a velvety, frothy foamy cappuccino.  No crappy, watery or bitter disgrace of a cappuccino. Also, the cafe keeps soy milch out on the counter next to the half-n-half with the sugar/stevia packets.  I can order myself a bottomless cup of coffee and keep coming back for refills without getting a stink-eye from the barista for stretching that bottomless cup for all its worth.

Not the best picture.... this is after my cappuccino sat for about 15minutes.  When the barista first gave me the cup, the foam was billowing over the top of the mug.  

4) The market!  More on this later.  This deserves a mini-post all to itself.

5) The view and decor.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves here--but anyone who uses cranberries in table ornamentation is after my heart.

6) The collection of old cooking magazines and picture books stacked up along the walls instead of artwork.  Just pull down an old issue of Bon Appetit or a children's book on Frogs whenever you need a mental break from the study-fest.

Where does everyone else go when the weather is snowy? 

Cheers, kaite ;]