On a beautiful Wednesday morning, I drove out to my favorite coffee shop a couple of towns over. I enjoyed some “me time” there, playing around on my phone while savoring a delicious large cappuccino and chocolate croissant. A cappuccino never fails to remind me of Italy. And since my trip to Paris, a chocolate croissant is a pain au chocolat! This is what happiness looks like…
I rarely patronize this place due to not owning my own car and trying my best to adhere to a strict budget. The items you see above cost $7.50, an amount that could also afford me five days worth of lunch. And so every once in awhile, I truly value each visit. I love this “me time.” This frequency could change as I saw my brother’s new car with my own eyes today, so now I’m the only one who shares a vehicle with my mother and have the opportunity to borrow it more often than before.
In addition to the product, I also love the atmosphere. The down-to-earth staff give this cafe a friendly vibe. On my last visit, Mark, one of the owners, was chatting with two patrons on their way out in front of me and held the door open for all of us. As I was exiting, I thanked him and threw out a casual “see ya.” He replied, “Goodbye, Michelle.” His using my name caught me off guard. He had thanked me for an online review a long time ago and must have remembered my name from that. Like I said, I haven’t been a regular for a couple years now, maybe visiting once every other month at best. In fact, the last time I was there was on a first date five and a half weeks prior. Plus, I’m a quiet individual; I tend to keep to myself. Anyway, the personalized experience he provided makes me feel a true part of their business, their community. I love good customer service. It’s such a special place for me and I’ll continue to go back as much as I can.
I have written about this establishment before, at least here, here and here. I say the same thing in these posts, but don’t want this series to get old for you, readers. It’s more than just this particular pleasure too, I repeat so many of them in real life. I don’t think a couple of days go by when I don’t savor at least one Lindt dark chocolate truffle! This summer, I didn’t even bother snapping a picture of my blood orange margarita when my mom treated me to lunch at Outback Steakhouse, my professional pedicure done in Red Hot Rio by OPI, nor the tub of Dolle’s caramel popcorn I celebrated with for surviving the busy work season of summer, for example. Even though they could have been among the highlights of my week, I didn’t think I would say anything different in a post than I did previously. Even though I know I need a break or something, getting rid of the simple pleasure series would be wrong because I feel it is important subject matter and each post epitomizes what I want this blog to be about: being passionate about life, elevating the everyday, making the little things in the day-to-day a big deal. As an INFJ, I adore the details, but always see the big picture.
So… I’ve made a decision. I will introduce a new series next Sunday. On this particular day of the week, you can expect either this new series or a Simple Pleasure Sunday post. It will just have to be a surprise which series I will go with each week. That way if I luxuriate in a few of the 80 previous simple pleasures one week, I can still write about something else, something new, and as a result, won’t bore my readers with the same old, same old. Posting a regular feature once a week with other posts published whenever I can works well for me. I’m excited about this new series and already know what I’ll going to write about first. Join me here next Sunday to find out what it is!
I also, as you do, love coffee shops and coffee at all. There is some magic atmosphere in there. Coffee Shop is a nice place to gather with friends, have a cup of hot coffee and talk on different themes.