I broke our coffee pot on New Year’s Eve, and spent the first three weeks of 2012 getting takeout coffee from a nearby Starbucks. The coffee was good and the baristas were super nice, but the amount of time and money I was spending on a cup of coffee was killing me. I solved half the problem by buying a Keurig (Starbucks coffee! made at home!) but then I needed to figure out how to take the coffee with me once it was made.

My life is hard, you all. Fortunately, that’s about when I discovered the KeepCup.

I mean, how cute are those cups? So cute.

The KeepCup is like a sippy cup for grown ups; it’s made of sturdy BPA-free plastic, and can go in the dishwasher and the microwave. Cups come in standard barista sizes (4, 8, 12 and 16 oz) so you can hand them over at your local coffee bar and get your normal small/tall/whatever coffee in your own cup. I’ve been using mine to take coffee I make at home on the road; the KeepCup works perfectly with my Keurig machine. So easy.

Even better, though, is the fact that you can design your own cup. KeepCup’s website lets you customize the color of the mug, the lid, the band and the plug, or choose one of their designs (Wade was really into the Fog and Blue Steel options; I liked the Hipster and Metro versions). The KeepCup is significantly better looking than the old metal travel mugs we used to use, and it doesn’t infuse my coffee with any weird metallic taste. It’s also a nice alternative to throwing away a cup every time I stop at Starbucks.

The KeepCup retails for between $8.50 (for an 8 ounce cup) and $14.50 (for a 16 ounce cup). Smaller cups are perfect for kids, while the bigger sizes will hold your Venti everything.

Thanks to KeepCup for sending me a cup to try out — I seriously take it everywhere.