We wanted dessert. A little something sweet to follow up the savory sushi lunch we’d just eaten at a restaurant we stumbled into walking down King Street in Alexandria, VA. So we stepped into Le Pain Quotidien. And it was there I realized another little thing in life that makes me happy. Actually, that’s where this all started but I didn’t really figure out exactly what that little thing was until I sat down to write this here blog post.
After we ordered our delights, Eric and I sat at our rustic unfinished wood table and looked around. We were surrounded. Surrounded by things that seemed ordinary but, upon closer inspection, were so much more special. More unexpected. The regular old glass jar where you would expect to see regular old white sugar was filled instead with large raw sugar crystals. The long, rectangular table to the side of us was communal – large enough to fit at least a dozen friends. I sat there just loving the atmosphere thinking about how this neat little bakery must be one of my “little things.” I loved the muted colors on the walls and the glass blocks that made up the wall near the kitchen, the low lighting, the textures of the rough wooden table. Oh, and the tea was brilliant. And it was served to us in an unprecedented amount of cups and pots. Then I noticed hunks of bread everywhere. Real life bread as decoration in the center of the table – right there with the grey sea salt, fresh black pepper balls, and the honey. So I snapped a photograph because I thought that summarized it all. You know, heaven in a bakery.
And now I realize. I am in love with the unexpected simplicities in life. Little spots in life where, instead of giving you the standard you’re used to, the world decides to go a little above and beyond. So now I know it wasn’t just that specific bakery itself that made me happy (though I swear, I must go back!), but the way they surprised me. Subtly, delicately. Unexpectedly.
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