Photo #332/365: An Afternoon at Smokey Row

I'm not really a coffee drinker, but I love the atmosphere of a good coffee shop.  I have two that I particularly like; Smokey Row and the Caribou Coffee on Ingersoll.  I spend a lot of time at both of these places during the summer, but I usually don't have much time to hang out there during the school year.  On Friday, Jacci and I got together at Smokey Row.  I love the vintage look of the interior, and it wasn't that many years ago that this building was the book drop and warehouse for Planned Parenthood.  Mom and I have been to the Smokey Row in Pella, which has a similar decor.

Photo #141/365: Smokey Row Mugs

Today started as another rainy dreary day, but by the time I got off work from Huntington's the sun was breaking through the clouds. I have report cards due on Tuesday, so Mom and I spent the afternoon hanging out at Smokey Row. I worked on my report cards, and she wrote letters and worked on crossword puzzles. It was a very pleasant afternoon. I'm trying to introduce her to all my regular hangouts.

I have one of these colorful coffee mugs. Mine is red with white print. I'm not really a coffee drinker, but it is my favorite cup to drink tea out of.

Photos #29 & #30/365: Belated Birthday Celebration

Lisa and Colin were here for the weekend. They drove down from Minneapolis to prepare a birthday dinner for me. Lisa was in Phoenix running the Rock and Roll Marathon on my actual birthday, so they decided to celebrate my birthday with me this weekend. They prepared a great Mexico dinner, we hung out and watched movies. It was a great weekend.




We are all big fans of coffee shops (even though I don't really drink coffee) so before they got on the road this morning, we spent some time at Smokey Row. It was a great backdrop for some family photos.

Photo #362: Smokey Row Mug

As an after Christmas treat, I brought myself this great mug from the Smokey Row Coffee Shop. First of all, I am a lover of all things red, and second I love the shape and substantial feel of this mug. It feels solid in my hand. I spent time hanging out at Smokey Row on Sunday and Monday. I like the roominess of the place, as well as the historical atmosphere of the building.

Photo #328: Smokey Row

For the first time in the twenty-four years I've been teaching, we had the day before Thanksgiving off. In the morning I ended up working a couple of hours at Huntington, so it really felt like Saturday. In the afternoon Jacci and I checked out Smokey Row. Neither of us had ever been there before.



We met the owner, and from him we learned that this is one of four locations. The building was built in 1904. I love the way it's been refurbished. For many years it was the Planned Parenthood book warehouse. I'm sure it took a lot of work to bring this building back to life. In addition to the great atmosphere, the Chai Lattes were delicious! I really like it. I think I'm going to have to split my time between Smokey Row and Caribou Coffee. Caribou Coffee has the great leather arm chairs for comfort, but Smokey Row has a menu, so you can have your coffee and eat dinner too. I now have two westside offices.