With Monday comes the beginning of a new week. And with the beginning of a new week comes coffee. Spring Semester 2015 has revolved around caffeine and productivity, both of which could not exist without the friendly neighborhood coffee shop. In the Fargo/Moorhead area, this personal oasis of mine exists in the form of Moxie Java, which provides me with not only a place to study and fuel up, but as of recently a barista job as well! It has been a tradition for my friend Lydia and I to trek over here and get things done every Monday (even if it's unplanned, somehow we always end up here anyways). We call these days "Moxie Mondays" and they often help turn our Monday blues into productive & caffeinated brews.

With that, welcome to Moxie Mondays. A weekly post dedicated to those days where we all need a little pick-me-up. Whether its about my current coffee ravings or my attempts at productivity, the goal is to turn Mondays into something more welcomed. I encourage every one of you to find your own Moxie Java oasis and let's get rid of those Monday blues all together.

I am a huge advocate for small town businesses, and Fargo is full of them. Today I want to introduce you to my previously mentioned oasis of productivity: the Moorhead Moxie Java. Just recently I was offered a position on their barista crew, and I could not be more excited. So yes, now I spend even more time here, I should just start paying rent at this rate. 

Complete with wifi, multiple menus of caffeinated goodies, and a fireplace for those classic Fargo winters, I haven't changed my preference of coffee shop since I first moved up here 3 years ago. The cups are stacked higher than my head and the coffee seems to flow endlessly (sometimes in a wolf mug if you're lucky). The regulars are quite the characters and the rest of the crew hold some of the nicest personalities in the F/M area. What more could you ask for?






If you want to see the place in action, the local news crew did a little filming of my dude Paul behind the counter to advocate new medical benefits of drinking coffee (as if we needed another reason to be addicted right?). Check it out here!

So that's the inside scoop on my local coffee stoop. Have a local gem of your own? Don't be shy, brag about it below, I'm always looking to add to my list of shops to visit while on the road.

Happy Moxie Monday!

Welcome to Northern Grounds - a personal blog following the life of a Graphic Design major battling the elements of Fargo, North Dakota.

I'm Leah, the person behind the keyboard and the person hopefully you'll be checking up on every once in a while! With the help of inspiration from the world around me, and a lot of a push from my sister Laura at According to Laura Jean, I decided to give this whole blogging thing a try.

But I believe an introduction is in order first off.

1. I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and moved up to Fargo, North Dakota (yes, like the movie. The wood chipper is in our downtown hall and everything) to pursue a BFA in Graphic Design. I have since realized that I do not believe I could live anywhere south of Minnesota. The winters might be bitter, but the north part of the country couldn't be anymore dear to me.

2. There is a large, large space in my heart for my man, Aric. Throughout almost 3 years, he has not only pushed me to become the best me possible, but he's also taught me how to capture my creativity and how to date a western North Dakotan.

3. Along with Aric, comes his basset hound Kramer. Named after the quirky Seinfeld character, he compares to no other dog out there. He takes up most of the space on my camera SD card and has recently become quite the hit on his Instagram account. No doubt you will be seeing much more of him on here.

4. The creative side of my brain completely takes over when it comes to life. I've never had much success at anything factual related, but get me in front of a computer or light-table, and things get rolling pretty quickly.

5. Coffee. And I'm not talking the casual cup every morning. I've worked at little coffee shops for over 2 years now and I can honestly say any job barista related can be one of the most rewarding part-time job opportunities out there. The people you meet and the experience of creating tasty drinks is pretty cool. Plus coffee itself is pretty cool.

6. My favorite past-time (besides re-watching episodes of Friends) is watching documentaries. Whether award winners on Netflix or even just random ones on YouTube, there's something interesting about learning more about events and the people around us in the world. I'll admit, some can be pretty dry. But you just have to get past the mono-tone narration.

7. I'm the official "band mom" of the local Fargo Band High Hopes. Although biased because Aric is the drummer and the other 4 guys are some of my best friends, their music and shows always put me in a good mood. There's nothing better than seeing the people important to you, doing something they love and have a passion for.


8. I'm an all out nerd for anything related to color schemes, typography, neo-traditional design, and mixed mediums. I will take any opportunity I can get to learn a new medium or technique that helps my art background and experience.

9. I love books, bookstores, and libraries. My only wish is that I could find more time to read for fun, but school makes that pretty difficult. But on the top of my favorites are George Orwell, Kurt Vonnegut, and any sort of space book (again, back to the whole documentary thing. surprise.) Fingers crossed these upcoming warmer months clear up some time to keep exploring through pages.

10. My friends and family mean the world to me. I have a hard time remembering to take time to myself just because I enjoy spending my days with the people I care about. Being surrounded by so many unique and beautiful personalities helps the stressful days seem not so terrible anymore.


Well that's it. And I'll admit, writing about yourself isn't the easiest.
I hope that through this blog I'll be able to help my fellow designers and artists with inspiration like other bloggers have done for me, share a look into what it's like constantly being on the run in Fargo, & connecting with the other wonderful people on the internet and sharing our adventures with each other.