雨に泣いていた。♥

It's a lovely Saturday evening, and I've just arrived back home from a fun little excursion out to a place known as Taraval street. I sought out a sweet little coffee shop called Greenhouse Cafe  a few blocks down from the bus stop. Greenhouse spoke to my expectations quite well. As it was pouring rain, I couldn't get get the mental picture out of my mind of me sitting with a hot beverage cradled in my hands, perched on a cozy stool or chair, gazing out the window into the city. From the moment I walked in, I knew this would be a place I'd be coming back to often.

There's a great selection of specialty hot and cool drinks,
 jars upon countless jars of loose leaf tea, and french press coffee always. 

Greenhouse reminds me of a little forest, with beautiful wooded fixtures, flowers, and artwork hung up on the walls. It's a nature-y play on a modern coffee house. It has a comfortable atmosphere, and free wifi! But on a more personal note, what isn't to love about a myriad of specialty drinks, some which I've never even heard of like Authentic Hong Kong Milk Tea or a Korean Citron, and of course, what I'm crazy about right now, the Mexican Hot Chocolate.

Mexican Hot Chocolate. yum

 I ordered that Mexican Hot Chocolate, of course, and a cucumber and herb cream cheese sandwich. While it's not the most dainty looking of sandwiches, it was quite satisfying, I actually couldn't finish it all. All of Greenhouse's sandwiches are prepared on a multigrain wheat or wheat sourdough. The sweetness of the bread with the crisp cucumber and savory cream cheese made for the perfect afternoon lunch.

Beyond the food, the atmosphere of Greenhouse cafe was spot on to my liking, with renditions of the classics  "They Can't Take That Away"  and "The Way You Look Tonight", sent me off into a whimsical state of thought, like I was in some kind of indie film, or a coffee shop in San Francisco. 

The second half of my excursion, was shopping for food to last me all the way to April.  I think it was successful, there was much spending, a little bit of price shock, a little bit of crying, and lots of walking in the rain with paper bags (much to my disappointment, not everything could fit in my Equatrade and Care bag). I had a hard time with spending $90.00 in one sitting, especially since the money isn't mine, but when the food went in my fridge and freezer and in the pantry, it made a lot more sense that I wouldn't be wanting for quite some time, and probably into the month of April as planned. Oh being a college student has it's great times and challenging times, but life is full of these things, and that is why life is beautiful. 

I was actually reading 1John this afternoon with my Mexican Hot Chocolate and Cucumber Sandwich. I am taking 1John really slowly, because to be honest I'm not sure if I understand it completely, or if it's just my translation that's tripping me up ( I have a Bible that's translated for Japanese, and so it's a play on the New King James, but has some different word choices.) but the fourth chapter's second half really stood out to me. 

The chapter talks about loving others, and how when we are loving toward each other, we know God, and when we know God, we know true love. It's just a complete full circle, that reminded me a lot of the serious relationship I'm in right now. It's a long story, that I'll save for another time, but I'm so happy to be in a Godly relationship with a young man who loves the Lord more than he loves me. 

What also came to my mind, though, is that even though in 1John, it makes the act of loving someone else seem easy, Jesus asks in one of the gospels, "What good is it to love your friends and hate your enemies?" Yipes! It's easy to love my boyfriend, it's easy to love my friends and my family, but what about the people I don't get along with? Food for thought, definitely. 

And lastly, because this is getting so long~ 

Earlier this week, I stumbled upon something that made me laugh - because I know this post is getting worse and worse as I continue, but I can't pass up this encouraging message from a childhood friend: 

... ain't it the truth.