I sit here drinking a warm caramel coffe and eating a muffin. The energy in the bakery is so low that there are barely anyone in here, but you can hear the murmuring from the people who are here. The smell of fresh baked goods fills the whole bakery. I love to write on my breaks, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, which puts a smile on my face. Writing makes me happy. I’m not happy with my jo...

I like when my life feels small.

Just big enough for me and my thoughts.

The people around me have their own lives too but they feel like dear friends as we sit here together in comfortable quietude.

We never seem to catch eyes.

I can’t help but gaze upon them and in moments when I am lost in my work, I suddenly feel the prickle of someone watching me as well. I don’t look up; I just l...

i went up

to the counter

and ordered another

black coffee

i gave the young woman

a few bills

and got my coffee

and sat back down

at my laptop

the blank page

stared back at me

taunting me

that the woman

half my age

makes more than i do

by pouring black coffee

into a cup

but

that is my choice

because the page is

still blank

because

instead of making

the croissants

and the coffee

i will just orde...

She closed her eyes and took in the warmth of the bakery. The quiet chatter from the tables around her accompanied by the noise of the ovens behind the counter, releasing a sweet aroma of cookies and cakes into the air. She was working, but didn’t have a care in the world. All was quiet and the chilly fall breeze couldn’t reach her in here. It was warm and peaceful. She took a sip of her pumpkin s...

Warm bliss settles as you sit tucked in the corner, laptop humming. Silent yet alive, the sensual aroma of yeast and salty vinaigrette fills the air. Hyper-intense calm anchors you, free-thinking and relaxed. Solace wraps around as your mind flows in dream-like clarity, cradled by the bakery’s comforting scent arousijg sensual desires from the heart uplifting to the surface....

Warmth.

It swells in my heart, filling empty holes and mending broken strings.

Warmth can come from many things.

A steaming cup of coffee.

A cat purring in your lap.

The embrace of a loved one.

This kind of warmth tickles inside you, stretching and traveling until you just have a feeling of joy left in its presence.

A feeling of peace.

A feeling of belonging....

Ayame Weber ordered an apple maple tea latte from City Bakery in Tokyo, Japan. She was a Japanese/German American visiting her mother’s homeland for the first time as an adult. She felt right at home in the bakery with its warm light and enticing smells of bread, cinnamon, and coffee. Hurriedly, she picked a seat in the corner, eager to write in her blog.

_“One by one, they’ll hear my call, then...

The sweet smell of warmed milky espresso wafted up from the white porcelain diner mug. The heat from the cup warmed her. The anticipation of drinking her first coffee of the day had Saris salivating. That first sip, a bright light in her early morning, the perfect amount of foam like a soft marshmallow, a sense of relaxation washing over her, after the chaos of her commute.

Walking into Billie’s...

So much hustle and bustle of holiday spirit, High Rise & Shine on the corner of 6th and Pine welcomed bundled faces to warm drinks coupled with fresh pastries; business men and women on their routine route, but can’t deny mingling tones of cinnamon, tang and yeast aroma wafting out after the swing of the garland decorated door, to saunter inside, greeting Cadence’s son, Travis, who nods and notes ...

Brendan sat huddled in the corner, still shivering from the cold he had endured outside to arrive at work at 2 AM. He had switched on all the lights and ovens first after entering. The cosy bakery was not quite so cosy at 2 AM, nor was the life of an apprentice baker, for that matter.

It would not take long, however, for his shivering to stop and the familiar warmth of his cosy little bakery wo...