If you’ve been keeping up with me online over the past few years, you’ve no doubt heard me mention Fancy Coffee Friday. I’ve talked about it repeatedly on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and it’s even been mentioned in a couple of my past blog posts – both here and here.

But what is it? And why should you get in on it, too?

Read on, my friends!

How Fancy Coffee Friday Started

In 2009, I was working as a graphic designer in Mission Viejo, 40 miles south from our home in Long Beach. Not only was the daily commute on the 405 south totally miserable, but the work environment was not much better. There were lots of days I’d come home in tears. It was just that toxic. One Friday morning, I took the exit before my usual one, and made a pit stop at Starbucks to ease the pain of another day in this emotionally draining office with a mocha latte.

It felt good to give myself a little sigh of relief and pat on the back. It was like telling myself, “You made it through another week at this place. Just keep going. You’ve got bills to pay. You can do this.”

It felt so good I did it again the following Friday.

And the following Friday.

Fancy Coffee Friday became my weekly reminder that I was responsibly sticking it out at that job no matter how much it hurt. It wasn’t just an expensive espresso drink; it was a promise that there was something to look forward to in my work week no matter how much that office environment sucked.

It became tradition. In time, it became a celebration.

My next job after that was much better, but Fancy Coffee Friday stuck around.

It wasn’t a sad little “you did it, even though it sucked” reward anymore, it was a party. That weekly mocha latte became a joyful shout – “Your life has gotten so much better! Your weekend is gonna be just as great as this work week was!”

That job came and went, and was followed by my current full time freelancing. Which is even more of a celebration of life being super completely awesome when you work your rear off to make it so. Working as hard as I have on my graphic and web design business has made it possible for me to pick up my job in southern California and take it with me to the rural outskirts of Savannah, Georgia.

But with that, Fancy Coffee Friday experienced a bit of a hiatus.

The only thing about Guyton, Georgia, and the surrounding towns… is…

Get ready to breathe into a paper bag, folks…

There is no local Starbucks.

None.

You can drive into Pooler and pop into the airport terminal for a Starbucks… Or you can drive into downtown Savannah.

There’s a Dunkin Donuts about 15 minutes from my house… but their mocha lattes are just not as good.

There IS Baibry’s coffee in Rincon (Goshen, technically), and their mocha lattes are great. But I have to leave my house at 6:30am to get to coffee and back in time to start work at 7. And for a long time, that meant the end of Fancy Coffee Fridays.

Fancy Coffee Friday: The Revenge

In November of this year, I started a new weekly tradition that paved the road for the return of my old weekly tradition. Free Project Fridays mean I get to work on my own projects all day, whether it’s illustration projects for my church or tweaks to my own website. The more relaxed work day means I can have a slightly later start time.

Which means Fancy Coffee Fridays are back, baby.

What’s better this time around? Phil and I have been able to get together at Baibry’s with my friend Kim each week for coffee (or tea for me since I’m prego) and breakfast sandwiches. Phil always opts for a chocolate muffin as big as his head. We get to chill out for an hour and talk about what’s going on with work, life and whatever.

It’s nice to have that celebration back. And you need to get in on it. If you’re in Rincon at 7am on Fridays? Pop on by and have a coffee with us!

Maybe you don’t have time for coffee. Maybe fancy coffees at almost 4 bucks a pop aren’t in the budget. That’s okay – but how else can you celebrate your week? Think about something you can do to give yourself a little pat on the back for a job well done.

We all need that little reminder sometimes that our lives are pretty great.

Do You Have a Weekly Ritual, too?

Share it in the comments!