This morning I popped into at Starbucks around 8 a.m., wrote my morning blog post and awaited the arrival of my friend Cara at 9 a.m.
Since I love cappuccinos, Melissa recommended that I try a misto the next time I stopped by Starbucks. A few of you chimed in after her comment, echoing her recommendation and when I found out a misto is cheaper than a cappuccino, I was sold.
I ordered a grande misto with one pump of vanilla syrup and must say I am a fan!
For those of you in the dark about caffè mistos as I was, a misto is simply coffee with steamed milk. (Cappuccinos are espresso and steamed milk with foam.) They’re also know as café au lait in France and café con leche in Spain. I shall call them café con delicious.
My coffee date with Cara was a lot of fun!
Cara is the owner of Vitalize Nutrition, a health food, vitamin and supplement store in Ocala. Cara and I got together this morning to chat and discuss the Junior League of Ocala. Last year Cara joined Junior League, a charitable nonprofit organization of women, dedicated to promoting volunteerism and improving communities through action and leadership of trained volunteers.
Cara saw that I have an interest in volunteering and becoming more involved in the Ocala community on my blog and offered to tell me more about it. Since my volunteering with the Taste of Ocala ended last month, I’ve been on the lookout for something new and wanted to learn more about Junior League from someone who is directly involved.
I must admit, I had Junior League stereotyped in my head based on the only knowledge I had of the organization which came from the portrayal of the Junior League in the book The Help. It was not the best impression, but I loved what I read about Junior League online and it seems like a great way to get to know professional women in Ocala who are passionate about volunteering and active in the community.
Cara had great things to say about the organization and I’m hoping to attend a mixer toward the end of the month to meet some of the members and learn more. If you are or were at one time a member of your local Junior League, I’d love to hear your thoughts! I know chapters vary a lot, but I’d love to learn more.
Lunch
Lunch today was yummy, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be eating the exact same thing for dinner tonight since I made a very large portion, so I’ll save blogging about that meal for later so you guys don’t fall off your chair from boredom.
June Book Club
The winning book for the PBF June Book Club with a whopping 64 percent of the votes is…
I am really pumped that this book won because I’m actually about a quarter of the way through it already. I started reading it last week and really love the writer’s laid back, conversational writing style and humor. I’ve laughed out loud a handful of times and flagged a bunch of pages because there’s a lot I’m excited to discuss that I’ve read in the book already, like the fact that humans used to walk, on average, eight to 10 miles a day. Oh how our lifestyles have changed!
Just a reminder that we’ll be discussing the book on July 2 on the blog and the book club is open to anyone and everyone. Be there!
P.S. The Blog Travel page was updated today!
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I’m on my library’s waiting list for ‘Drop Dead Healthy’. I saw him on Doctor Oz, and his ideas sounded very interesting!
Hi Julie!
Just a random thing about cafe con leche/cafe au lait – I actually live in Spain, and a cafe con leche is made with espresso. The thing is in Spain, if you order a coffee, you are going to get an espresso. You won’t get what we consider coffee unless you ask for a cafe americano.
I’m really interested in learning more about the Junior League! And I’m so excited to read that book!!
misto’s in Australia are called cafe latte’s and are just the same price as cappuchino’s. I order them all the time – there’s definitely an art to them. 🙂
Soy Mistos are my favorite – they have an extra sweetness from the soy milk!
I’m a provisional for Junior League of Athens (GA). We do a TON of volunteer and charitable events! I disagree with those who say the majority of their Leagues are about the money and social aspects. Yes it’s social, but a great group of girls you will soon cherish! The money is worth it when you see how it is used toward good- I hope you join and love it 🙂 Plus most members can transfer if they move so you can continue where you end up later in life!
Hey! I’m in Junior League of Ocala w/ Cara. This past year was my first year and it’s a great organization. You definitely get out of it what you put into it. I love the women in JLO and they have a good mind set on community projects. Look into the organization… It’s worth it 🙂
I am so disappointed to hear some of the reviews of the Junior League, because I can honestly say it something that has been a true blessing to me.
Being a girl from the South, living in Denver Colorado, the Junior League was an organization that not only has given me some of the greatest friends but it has allowed me to invest in the community and share my heart to the city of Denver all while being encouraged and inspired by incredible women in the Denver area. The Junior League strives to meet the needs of women and children through the efforts of thousands of women around the US. I canot say enough about the organization, and the lifetime relationships you will make because of it. You are a junior leaguer for life and get to be apart of something so much more. Personally as a full-time professional the junior league has given me an outlet to love on kids, through our after school reading and healthy eating habits program (One of our programs we started). I think you will find this a great fit for you! I highly recommend.
LOVE the Misto. Nonfat, blonde roast, sugar-free hazelnut is my go to!
I’ve never tried the PBF book club before, but I’ve already reserved my copy for this one. 🙂 Looks like fun.
woohoo!!
Yay! I hope my library delivers it soon!
I am a 3rd year member of JL in Ocala and LOVE it! As our lives get busier, it is a built in way to have set time with your friends, as well as work in the community. I have met tons of people personally and professionally that I would have had way more trouble getting to know otherwise.
Our League is relatively inexpensive, especially coming from someone who was in a sorority:) Hope to see you at one of the recruitment events, so you can check it out!
Yay! So glad you are thinking of joining!! You really will enjoy JLO. With anything, its what you make it to be. The more you get involved, the more you get out. I’ve had a great time meeting many new women in a town I’ve lived my entire life. Yes, junior league is social…the social aspect is something I find enjoyable. It’s also a great way to get involved with volunteer opportunities in our community. As far as the comments regarding money, I am assuming it must vary greatly between different JLs as I disagree about it being about money whatsoever in our club.
Hope to see you at the mixer 😉
I’d like to hear how your conversation went.
I was looking into Junior League in my area and when I went to the website I did NOT get a good impression. It seemed really preoccupied with money and exclusivity–which really upset me because the motivations behind the JL are wonderful. Did you have a good experience with your friend?
yes, i definitely did. she was really positive about the ocala chapter. it sounds smaller and less intense than others out there and more focused on community service. she had great things to say and it didn’t sound like an exclusive organization at all, but like one that was rather welcoming to anyone interested. we shall see!
I joined a JL in Arizona and recently transferred to a JL in Texas. I’ve had great experiences with the JL and it was exactly the volunteer and social opportunity I was looking for. I’ve met so many great women who are in the same life stage as I am with the same volunteer interests. Most of the volunteer opportunities through the Junior League focus on women and children. One of the most memorable I experienced was being matched with Habitat for Humanity to help a single mother and her daughters build their house. It was so empowering to work with a group of women to do this. I’ve even used those skills to do some minor remodelling in my own house that my husband and I recently purchased. He was surprised that I knew so much and I was proud that I could teach him a few things. Some of the other volunteer opportunities through JL include Ronald McDonald House, food bank, local homeless shelter, prom dress drive for low income high school girls, school supply distribution for low income grade school students, and many more. The JL is great if you want a wide variety of volunteer opportunities to help many causes.
The JL does have a financial obligation and many of them have hours requirements. The financial obligation helps run the league. The way I look at it is that you have “ownership” in it, you have a vote, and you run the organization. The league is not run by paid staff. Some leagues might have a paid office manager but for the most part it is all run by members.The hours requirement exists to insure that each persons is committed. A unique aspect of the JL is that they train their members. You probably won’t find many volunteer organizations that to this to the extent the JL does. When the JL invests time and resources into training the members they want to make sure the members are committed. JL is not a one time volunteer opportunity but a long term commitment.
I have met some great friends through JL and I feel like I’ve been able to have an impact in my community. I hope you decide to join. Feel free to email me if you have other questions.
Hi Nina!
My name is Ashley and I’m interested in learning more about the Junior League. I am in TX as well, and I don’t know one thing about the league, but I am interested in finding out more. If you could please email me back I would love to get your insight about the JL. Thanks so much!
If you want to get really spiffy with your drink you can try a doppio con panna- Is molto bene! Just two shots with a bit of whip. One of the cheapest things on the menu 🙂
ooooh! thanks for the tip!
Hi! I have a randmom question, that doesn’t have to do w/this entry. Have you tried the Tone It Up plan, or do you have a blog entry about it?? I always read your blog and was curious. I was thinking of buying it – but it’s way pricey for me. Thanks! 🙂
I had to comment on this post as I love Starbucks Misto – best thing ever because you get the steamed milk and coffee! AND I am a past President of the JL of Denver. JL is a great group of amazing women doing amazing work all over the US, Canada, Mexico and London! I have had some fabulous training and actually changed my career because of my training. Each league is unique in their focus and what they do but it is great being part of something that has such a great history. It is also great for a move because you already start out with a community in your new location.
I am going provisional this August for the Raleigh NC JL and I am excited. I had friends in grad school who were a part of other JL and they weren’t your stereotypical southern money girl.
Junior League is a fantastic organization. I joined the DC league in 2006 and have since transferred to Dallas. You get awesome volunteer opportunities that would be much more difficult to come by on your own and it is a great networking group.
I think you will love it.
I just found this post from your post today. I’m really involved in the Junior League here in NY, and I absolutely love it. I’ve met some amazing women through it, and I’ve learned a ton of professional skills and networked through it. It’s a great way to volunteer as well as meet people. Like some of the others have said above, the fact that it’s a longer-term commitment definitely makes you feel more invested in it.
It does all really depend on the location and members though–I first joined in DC, and was definitely less a fan of it than I am of the NY league.
You inspired me to try the Misto on my treat-myself day. Loved it, but they forgot the shot of vanilla I requested, which I think would’ve made it better. Gave you credit in my own daily blog entry for the idea!
New to the blog but enjoying the fitness inspiration 🙂
isn’t it great!? the vanilla definitely adds a little somethin’ though, so i bet you’ll like it even more next time.