The End.

There are two things I can’t believe about what is happening to me right now. One, I cannot believe the semester is coming to an end. I think it flew by quicker than any other semester I’ve been at Texas State. It also happens to be my last on-campus semester, so this is an especially sad moment for me.

The second thing I can’t believe is how sad I am to be done with this blog project. I never expected to enjoy this as much as I did. I really loved being able to use my own voice in my writing and do something not in a news or academic writing style.

Here’s me being bummed about this project being over.

I would really like to say I’m going to maintain this blog after this semester, but I don’t believe in lying. So, to wrap everything up, I’m going to talk about what I liked and disliked about this project.

What I thought was effective: I really liked making the YouTube video, surprisingly. The Star’s multimedia adviser was kind enough to recommend I use Adobe Premiere, and I really liked getting to know that program. I liked the Storify and I can see how it would be really effective, although I wasn’t able to find as much information in it as I wanted to.

What I thought was ineffective: I wouldn’t really say it was ineffective, but I was really frustrated by the slideshow assignment because I had a lot of trouble getting it to embed in WordPress. Obviously slideshows are useful, but I wish it was easier to do on WordPress!

What I want to improve: I wish I would have done more blog posts! I understand why the requirement is set where it is (and my stress level is grateful for it), but I loved writing this so much that I wish I had been forced to do more.

How this benefits me going forward: This blog project has taught me a lot of new skills and developed ones that I already had. Knowing how to maintain a blog with lots of multimedia elements will be extremely useful in my future as public relations professional. Being able to write successfully, include links and create a slideshow, YouTube video and Storify will be invaluable in my future, especially if I work for a company that expects me to maintain a blog.

So long, San Marcos Coffee. It’s been fun.

San Marcos Coffee: Storify Edition!

For my second-to-last blog post ( 😦 ), I compiled a Storify that includes local students and residents talking about the coffee shops I covered this semester! There surprisingly wasn’t a ton of tweets, but the ones I did find are pretty great. So without further ado, check out my Storify on San Marcos coffee!

https://storify.com/LesleyVWarren/san-marcos-coffee

San Marcos Coffee: University Star edition!

This YouTube video features my best friends (including a surprise guest of the canine persuasion!), my awkward face and my adorable office at The University Star. After this experience, I would definitely not refer to myself as a YouTube personality… In fact, I would be perfectly happy to never appear on film again. (Please excuse the tiny bit of Texas twang that comes through in that last part before I die of embarrassment… no one is perfect, okay?)

Without further ado, here’s me and my miscreant friends talking to you about coffee shops. Enjoy.

Videographer’s (ha) note- The song in this video is Married Life from the movie UP! I chose this song for no particular reason other than that I love it (like a lot).

San Marcos Coffee: ACL edition!

I attended the Austin City Limits Music Festival for the first time ever this past weekend, and I have to say, I was blown away. It was probably one of the best weekends of my life. It helped that I got to go to cover it for the Star… There were lots of perks for media that the average festival-goer does not get to experience (free food/drinks, a place to charge your phone, bathrooms that aren’t disgusting, etc.). What does this have to do with coffee? Well, while I was in Austin, I decided to check out a local coffee chain! I went to Austin Java and ordered (what else?) a white mocha. Not only was it truly delicious, it was exactly what I needed to one, get me through my third-straight day of festival coverage and two, recover from the oddly cold weather we had Saturday and Sunday. The place is sort of a chain, but it’s still a local chain so I don’t think it counts as corporate, exactly. And this particular location was pretty cute! Anyway, the slideshow below includes photos from Austin Java as well as some general festival pictures that I included just for fun (I apologize for the selfie… Even though it’s not really a selfie because Amanda took it).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Overall, ACL was the one of the funnest (and muddiest… that rain, man) experiences of my life. And Austin has great coffee!

I give Austin Java 3 out of 5 stars (and ACL 5 out of 5, for what it’s worth).

Tantra Coffee House

Folks. It finally happened. I found a bad one.

A rightful critique of this blog is that it might just be too positive. I don’t think any place I’ve reviewed has disappointed me so far, but that streak ended this week. I had been to Tantra Coffee House before, and I remembered really liking it, but now that I’ve been again it doesn’t hold a candle to most of the places I’ve been to. So without further ado, listen to some emotional (but very beautiful) Samuel Barber while you read my first negative review. 😦

The Drink

So basically, this coffee was incredibly disappointing in comparison to the other places I’ve been recently. I didn’t know my beloved white mocha could let me down so much. It had a generally weird taste and just wasn’t that good. On top of that, it was very expensive compared to everywhere else I’ve been. I ended up paying almost $7 (after a small tip) when I paid less than $5 everywhere else. Sorry, Tantra, but no coffee in the world is worth that much.

The Atmosphere

Tantra is a pretty cute place. More cute that Jo on the Go and Mochas & Javas, but much less cute than Wake the Dead. It feels a little like a Wake the Dead rip-off (this could be completely unfounded, I’m not sure which came first).

I like the chalkboard menu!

It has some inside seating and a large outdoor area, but it’s located on the very busy Hopkins Street so it’s noisy out there. Not my favorite.

Other inside seating

The Location

Like I said before, Tantra is on a busy street. Geographically it’s not too far from campus, but still not the most convenient for me. The location is just decent to me.

Did they carry the Star? I did see a copy! But I think someone had just carried it in… More disappointment.

Overall, I give Tantra 1.5 out of 5 stars. It hurts me to do it, but I have to be real. Sorry Tantra.

San Marcos Coffee App

So for the app assignment, I was thinking it would be neat to have an interactive coffee shop guide. I built this app on iBuildApp.com. The app would include a map with all of the coffee shop locations, menus for each place, specials and hours of operation, including my reviews on each one. It would also be cool to have a section where other people can leave their reviews. It would solve the problem of when people are looking for somewhere to get coffee. It would be sort of a one-stop shop for coffee shops in town, which is why people would want to use it!

Here is an example of what the menu for each coffee shop would look like:

The map section would like something like this, obviously with the correct geographical locations:

Hopefully this app would be useful! I know I would use it if it were available. Hopefully other people would too!

Wake the Dead Coffee House

This blog is my favorite thing. I never realized how much fun blogging would be. I was starting to think I didn’t like writing anymore, but running a blog and being able to use my own voice in my writing has made it something I absolutely love again. Hooray for blogging!

On a semi-unrelated note, I was recently listening to my favorite playlist on Songza, my favorite music streaming website (they really should pay me for how much I talk about them in my daily life), and I was reintroduced with one of my old favorite songs that is oddly appropriate for this blog. So, without further ado, please listen to Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg and read on for my review of Wake the Dead Coffee House!

The third coffee shop I chose to review is Wake the Dead on Ranch Road 12. Let me just say, I thought I had found my favorite spot in Mochas & Javas, but I learned on a hot afternoon in September that I was sorely, sorely mistaken. WtD (I won’t make a quippy nickname comment this time because really, how hard is it to come up with an acronym?) is the coziest, cutest, coolest coffee shop I’ve ever been to.

The Drink

Oh man. WtD makes a seriously good white mocha. I think it may be one of the best I’ve ever had. It was just sweet enough and the coffee itself was clearly high quality. So good. I’ll be going back over and over again.

The Atmosphere

This is what I really loved about WtD. It was just such a nice place. The inside reminded me of an old house with a fireplace in the corner and small tables scattered throughout the room. It’s somewhere I can definitely see myself hanging out.

Like a little cottage… So cute!

But the best part of WtD by far was the outside seating areas. If there is anything in this world I’m a sucker for, it’s greenery and bistro lighting (very specific, I know). This outdoor area is SO nice, and I hear they often host live music and comedy shows out there. Too. Cool.

LOOK AT IT

The Location

I’m pretty mad that I love this place so much because I used to live down the street from it. I could have walked to it all the time. I had no idea. The thing about WtD’s location is that it isn’t really all that close to campus unless you live near the student recreation center, but it is SO worth the two minute drive.

Do they carry The Star? …No. BUT I loved it so much that I can’t even bring myself to care.

Overall, I give Wake the Dead 4.5 out of 5 stars. This place is seriously great.

Jo on the Go

Clearly, I spoke too soon about the nice weather in San Marcos. I should have known better seeing as it’s September in Texas. One of these days it will cool off and then this blog will be a whole lot more fun. Until then, iced coffee.

The second coffee shop I chose to review is Jo on the Go on University Drive. I had never been to JotG (another acronym I made up—I’m on a roll) before, which is the fun of this topic! I get to try new things and go places I haven’t been before.

The Drink

When I walked into JotG, I told the barista that I had never been there before and wasn’t really sure what to get. JotG has a pretty extensive menu that includes classics like lattes and, of course, my beloved white mocha. However, it also has specialty drinks like the Milkyway (mocha and caramel), the Nutty Irishman (hazelnut and Irish cream) and the Snickers (caramel, hazelnut and mocha). I told the barista that I usually get a white mocha but that I was interested in the specialty drinks, so she suggested I get one of the specialty drinks and substitute white mocha for mocha flavoring. I loved that she took the time to come up with a customized drink for me. I ended up with a white chocolate/caramel creation that was delicious.

The Atmosphere

Cute, but not my favorite.

JotG is sort of cute, but not nearly as cozy as my favorite places. It’s located in what is basically a strip mall, and it’s pretty tiny, so they don’t have a lot of options. It somehow feels bare and messy at the same time, so I don’t think it’s a place I would like to spend much time in.

The Location

JotG’s location is probably really convenient for a lot of people seeing as it’s right across the street from campus. However, it isn’t really convenient for me as I don’t spend any time of that side of campus. I can’t fault it for that, but it was an observation I made.

Do they carry The Star? I didn’t see any copies of the Star (they very well may have had them) as I was in a hurry to get back to the office/producing said paper. BUT I did see a copy of the Taylor Swift issue of Rolling Stone, which is excellent because I am having a T-Swift renaissance.

Overall, I give Jo on the Go 2.5 out of 5 stars. Coffee was excellent, but it isn’t a place I would like to hang out in.

Mochas & Javas

I’ll be honest— this topic is a whole lot easier to do when it’s not 100 degrees outside. The weather in San Marcos this weekend was amazing! It was a little difficult to imagine getting a cup of hot coffee in the weather we’ve had the past few weeks, but now that fall is (sort of) coming, this will be easy!

The first coffee shop I chose to review is one of my favorites—Mochas and Javas on N. LBJ. I would say M&Js (I gave it that nickname; we’re on that level) is the place I frequent the most in town, which is due in large part to the fact that it’s located across the street from The University Star office (coffee is like water in the newspaper business). If frequent flyer miles existed in coffee shops, I would be well on my way to a lifetime supply of free white chocolate mochas. That’s how often I go here. I’ll try to be unbiased.

The Drink

Today was my lucky day apparently, as M&Js happened to be giving out these nifty little coupons in The Quad!

Smart marketing, although I detest needless use of paper. Save the Earth, people!

Normally, I would get a white chocolate mocha, but today I had to settle for its much less delicious cousin, the regular mocha. Hey, it was free. I liked the mocha for the most part, but it seems like M&Js uses cocoa powder rather than a syrup flavoring, and I could definitely tell the difference. The drink seemed a little grainy. I think this is just an issue with the mocha though, because I’ve never noticed graininess in my usual order. Overall, it was a good drink!

The Atmosphere

I love the atmosphere at M&J. It’s mostly lit with natural lighting and small lamps, which gives it a really cozy feel.

I love the industrial feel of the concrete floors and exposed vents!

There are tables spread throughout the room, but my favorite area is the couches in the back corner. I feel like you can hide back there. It’s very cave-like. Very nice.

The Location

For me, you can’t beat the location of M&J. It’s right across the street from the music building and Trinity (home of The University Star), which makes it especially convenient for music majors or people who work at the paper. And, after battling construction woes all summer, it now features a brand new, colorful intersection at Sessom and N. LBJ! Glad it’s convenient again!

Do they carry The Star? Yes. Yes they do. I knew they were my fave for a reason.

Overall, I would give this particular visit to M&Js 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Welcome to my blog!

Photo courtesy of Daria Sapphire

Hi! My name is Lesley Warren. I’m a public relations senior at Texas State with an English minor, and I currently serve as editor-in-chief of The University Star. I am, admittedly, not the most creative person. I wish I was, but the fact is the most creative thing I do is write. So, when it came time to choose a blog topic, I was nervous/skeptical at my ability to come up with something even mildly interesting to anyone at all. I wracked my brain and came up with… nothing. So, instead of trying to entertain other people with my lack of creativity, I decided to do a blog topic that I would enjoy instead! That being said, there is nothing I love more (and nothing San Marcos has more of an abundance of) than… coffee. That’s right; I decided to create an entire blog devoted to finding the best coffeehouses in San Marcos, mainly because it gives me a valid excuse to spend a ridiculous amount of money on something that I love that, unfortunately, really isn’t very good for me. Throughout the semester, I hope to visit as many coffee shops as possible and give an honest reaction to each of them. I’ll be rating them based on atmosphere, food, distance from campus and, of course, ability to make a killer white chocolate mocha. This might not be interesting to anyone other than myself, but I’m okay with that, because I get to feed my addiction and get graded for it. All of this being said, I’m looking forward to this project, and I hope it is of mild interest to at least someone. Even if it’s just my mom. (Hi, Mom.)