little black journal

We are 22 days into our third annual frugal January, and although we’ve done extremely well in our efforts to live on a shoestring budget, some sacrifices have seemed harder than others.  The lunchtime hour has proven to be tricky – not just because that Chipotle burrito sounds soooo much more appetizing than my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but because I often rely on lunchtime as my chance to get out of the office and take a breather.  Whether it’s for a bite with the ladies to catch up on office chatter, or for a latte at my favorite cafe to catch up on my reading, there are days when I absolutely need to unchain myself from my desk to recharge.  So…what to do?  Can’t go grab a bite.  Can’t head over to Macy’s to peruse the shoe department (shopping without even the remote possibility of buying is no fun at all).  Can’t even go sit in a cafe.  Ugh.  Luckily, my office is only four blocks away from the Seattle Public Library, which is absolutely free to hang out in, and also happens to be my most favoritest building in the city.  Score!  Yesterday, in need of a break from the pre-deadline stress that’s been buzzing in my head for the past few days, I grabbed my book and headed up the hill to this funky-shaped, diamond-gridded reader’s oasis.  And I tell you, this place blows me away every. single. time.  There is so much I love about this building, from the innovative plan of the book ‘spiral’, to the intense, saturated colors that surprise you around every corner, to the reading rooms flooded with lovely natural light, even on an overcast winter day.  Being able to regularly spend 30 minutes or an hour here almost allows me to let go of my grudge that I can’t buy a latte.  Almost.