stuffed muffins, life chapters and lafayette square

photo via

This Sunday, after keeping three squirmy-wormy 4-year-olds in their seats and talking about God for an hour during Sunday School, I met Joe at Urban Eats, a cafe in South City where I used to display some of my paintings.  I love going there, because, not only is their food really tasty and innovative (french toast muffins stuffed with cream crease frosting.  homemade red pepper pesto and pita chips.  need I say more?), but the owners are the nicest people you will meet.  The cafe also gives back to its community in so many different ways and fosters the creativity of amatuer and full-fledged artists alike.  I also love their karaoke, hosted by Jacqui, each Tuesday night.

photo via



Joe had never been to Urban Eats and I thought it was about time he saw the place.  We ordered sandwiches and a muffin to split, headed over to a table by the window.  We ate our sandwiches and played a game I call, Name the Chapters of Your Life.  You start out by estimating how many chapters you've had in your life thus far, were you to write an autobiography.  Then, you tell the other person the title of each chapter (what the content would include, why it deserves a chapter in your book, etc).  It was fun and helped us learn more about each other.  Then, after lunch, I showed Joe where my paintings used to hang in Urban Eats.

my paintings hanging in Urban Eats, October 2011

We planned to spend the evening in the city with some friends, so we decided to explore more of the city until we met up with them.  So we ventured into the Lafayette Square neighborhood, a short drive from South City and Urban Eats.  Lafayette Square is one of my favorite places to visit.  I love the architecture, the old, lovingly-restored homes from the 1800s, the beautiful, tree-lined park, the neighborliness of the people, the late-night hours of the cafes. 

a few of the historic homes in Lafayette Square



Joe had never been, so we took a walk down Park Ave, close to Lafayette Park and admired all of the houses on the block.  I told Joe that Lafayette Square hosts a home and garden tour in the summer and a parlor tour around Christmastime.  I went to both last year and loved seeing the inside of each home on the tours, hearing about the renovations and the care with which each was restored.  I love that our city has historic homes and that there are enough people who care about owning and restoring them.  Owning an old home is one of the items on my mental bucket list, and I am reminded of this goal each time I wander past these houses.