Every time I roll up to Marin Coffee Roasters — no, seriously, I literally roll up because it’s a drive-through — I like to watch the other drivers in line, because most are white-knuckling their steering wheel and rocking back and forth in their seat with a crazed look in their eye, and I don’t blame ’em, because this place sells the best coffee in the county, hands down, and when you need your coffee…you really need your coffee. Lucky for me, I live five minutes away from ’em, mwahahahahaaa!
My go-to drink of late has been their iced latte.
Now, most iced lattes taste like punishment to me — burnt, and almost sour — but MCR’s is buttery, smooth, creamy, and precariously easy to drink. Perfect amount of buzz juice, too, because they leave me peppy but not shaky, and, most importantly, they never give me a tummy ache, which has been happening more and more lately when I get something from Starbucks.
Last time at MCR, when I saw the barista walking out to my car with my drink, I felt the sudden urge to leap over the hood of my car like an American Ninja Warrior! Seriously, best dang coffee in Novato, IMO. Highly recommended.
Who makes the best coffee where you live? Hopefully, you have a cup to sip while you read this week’s Saturday Surfing!
- Are the intense multi-step skin care regimens that have been all the rage for the past few years starting to fall out of fashion?
- On that note, say “Greetings!” to the latest skin care trend: “Skip Care” , something I’ve evidently been sort of doing since I realized that the less I mess with my skin, the better it generally is.
- BRO, I thought these guys were a comedy act at first, but apparently they’re legit interested in skin care. Meet the Dewy Dudes!
- Meet the new ambassador of SK-II skin care: Yumi. She isn’t an actress or an influencer, or even human for that matter. Yumi is an AI collaboration between SK-II and Soul Machines, a New Zealand startup that creates digital humans that (who?) look and move like we do. (Side note: SKYNET, HERE WE COME.)
- The best over-the-counter retinol creams, according to Shape magazine
- A L’Oréal and Karl Lagerfeld collaboration will be hitting shelves in the fall.
- Analyzing hair is a frustrating task for forensic scientists.
- Nail tips and trends from Beyoncé’s nail artist
- If you have thin hair and are longing for curls, you might want to check out these hair curlers.
- Veterinarians and rescuers love these litter boxes for cats.
- My future second husband (sorry, El Hub) is having a cultural moment.
- Wait–are you telling me that other people also believe that Keanu Reeves as their Internet boyfriend?
- And just in case you really can’t get enough Keanu…!
What goes down when you get a lash perm (Side note: NOW I WANT ONE).
One of my favorites, and part of the reason I named my daughter Claire.
I’m kind of a creeper and love seeing what beauty products people actually finish all way down to the last drop.
One of the greats
I may have lost my damn mind when SWV came out.
You have a good day, OK?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Colectivo makes the best coffee. They are only in WI and Chicago area I believe. It is true coffee. Not the Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, gas station variety. Only real coffee lovers should frequent. I am not a cold brew, iced coffee, or frappucinno fan. Turns my stomach. But I will purchase whole bean, a latte or cafe au lait from Colectivo or places brewing Colectivo any day over any other place!!
Happy Saturday, Karen!
I’m sure you’ve had delicious coffee while on the islands. The best whole bean I’ve ever had in my life (made into drinkable coffee, of course) is Kauai Coffee Company’s Polihale Sunset Blend. ER.MAH.GERD good.
Recently had surgery so I cut caffeine out of my system for maximum healing. It was fine, I suppose, but I transitioned to black tea with heavy cream and xylitol and then I thought, why am I wasting liquids, just get “back on” coffee?! And so I did. I couldn’t be happier.
My hubby (a drummer) introduced me to the work of H.E.R. She creates beautiful music. Did you know she is half-Filipina? 😉
I hate coffee and am not supposed to have caffeine because of my heart so I judge every coffee place based on their hot chocolate LOL. My favorites here are Black Diesel and Espresso Royale.
Ooh those curlers for thin hair look nice and relevant to my interests.
This is TMI, but Starbucks coffee gives me the most explosive diarrhea ever. Like worse than when you drink that stuff they give you before surgery to clean out your digestive system.
I did a lash perm the other week, and it was meh. It wasn’t on par with just curling my lashes, and I think part of the reason why is because I have stubborn Asian hair, so it probably needed a few more minutes of processing. I just did an online consultation for Latisse, so I’m going to try to grow them out and get another perm once they get longer and fluffier.
Love, love, love getting my lashes “lifted” and tinted! Highly recommend!
That iced latte looks so goooood! Yum! My favorite coffee place is classic, old school Italian, so they don’t do iced lattes or flavored drinks. Just espresso, cappuccinos, Americanos. Although they do make that thick Italian hot chocolate that you can practically stand up a spoon in. And they do apertivo in the late afternoon/early evening.
I kinda felt like that Allure article on the skip care trend was just an AD for SK-II essence. I don’t mind. I’ve been using their toner/tonic for a while and I’m trying a small bottle of the essence right now. Think I might prefer the Missha Time Revolution essence a tad more. Maybe because it’s a tad less in price.
I wonder what it says about me, that even though I don’t have a cat since Nora passed, I still looked at the best cat litter boxes. Dear Daughter is going to Iceland for two weeks and instead of boarding Nibbler, she asked if I would take her for two weeks. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to it.
I’ve been doing extensions for a hot minute, and while I don’t dislike them, I’m going to try lash perming. That was just was the doctor ordered ?
There’s a local coffee place I can walk to from work if my keurig isn’t cutting it for me called Urban Stampede. I usually just get a drip coffee but their blend is pretty darn good! I have had 2 eyelash lifts and now consider them a required part of my beauty maintenance!
Hi Karen. I don’t drink coffee, but my husband does. We were in Traverse City, Michigan and we had to stop to stock up on his favorite- Leelanau chocolate cherry festival. You can buy it online, but shipping is expensive.
Love ?Clair de Lune and Amy Winehouse.
BTW- I bought that small black nylon backpack purse from Target- have been wearing it everywhere!
In Fresno, CA our local favorite is Kuppa Joy. So yummy!
Skip Care?? Who knew I was on trend? lol I agree the more I do to my face the more it flares up. Simple is better for me or I just made it suffer so long with simplicity that that is all it knows. Works for me. And all the new technology freaks me out. Skynet is totally real. Kidding kind of. 😉
Speaking of Keanu have you seen him in Always Be My Maybe or Destination Wedding? Very different roles for him but fun to watch. He is cutie but his beard bothers me. I prefer him more cleaned up.
Lastly I love SWV! Thanks for sharing!!