Red Riding Hood's Basket

Tonight we went to the official grand opening of an old friend's new coffee shop. It has been open for a few weeks and we had checked it out and just love it. It is located in Southwick, MA on Congamond Road. The atmosphere is so homey. It makes you want to curl up with a book or laptop or newspaper or just have a cup of coffee, latte or hot chocolate or smoothy and a delicious baked good. It's a fantastic place to meet to talk with an old friend and that is exactly what we did tonight.

At the grand opening were three friends that I grew up with and some of their families. I don't know about you, but for me, whenever I run into the friends that I spent 6 years of elementary school with, it is so comfortable. There are no pretenses. There is no one to impress. We can reminisce about yesterday and share about our todays. It seems that since we all grew up in this small town, we have a bond that is always there.

As we get older and our kids have left, it seems that we want to reconnect with our past more. We have decided that although our friend's coffee shop is 15 miles away, 25 miles for some, that we will try to get together every month or every other month. Will we ever run out of things to say? I doubt it. I'll keep you posted.

Let me describe Red Riding Hood's Basket a little more. There are tin ceilings and walls, different chairs and tables--each table with a small vase of fresh cut flowers. The front of the store even has Little Red Riding Hood in the display window with a tree and a very scarey wolf hiding behind the tree.

There is a case of delicious homemade baked goods, an offering of coffee, teas, lattes, hot chocolate and smoothies. We were fortuate enough to sample a number of these tonight and they were fantastic. She plans to expand to quiches, soups and sandwiches. I can't wait.

If you go around the corner, there's even more. There's a section with two couches, an artifical fireplace, and an old school desk and two bookshelves--one for adults and the other for children. What a great place to hang out.

Let me also tell you about my friend who owns this place. She is a multi-talented person. I do beleive if you were to put her head to head against Martha Stewart, that she could out do her. She is more multi-talented than Martha. Does Martha know how to play the oboe, work with kids, act, write a play, sew? There are so many other talents that Margie has, I'm sure I don't know them all. I have to get caught up with her life to date.

So, if you are ever in Southwick, please go there and tell them Debbie W. sent you.