It has been unseasonably warm as of late, so today, I ventured out by foot into the nearby shopping centre. I sat in a cafe in the company of a cup of Earl Grey and The Secret Garden. I read this book a very long time ago, but I have since misplaced that particular copy, and so when I saw this cute pink clothbound copy at the Renaissance Faire a month ago I knew I had to buy it! It is really an enchanting story.
Unfortunately, I am very sensitive to caffeine, and I found myself becoming more and more excitable, to the point that my heart was pitter-pattering and I could not sit still to read a book anymore. (To be honest, this happens 7 out of 10 times I drink tea or coffee, but I just can’t help myself sometimes.) So I walked around the rest of the plaza and did some Christmas window shopping, enjoying the free smells of pine needles and rising dough in the farmer’s market, as well as sampling a bit of perfume. I took the long way back through the little nature trail on campus. There is a little bit of path where you need to hop on stones in a shallow creek, and it always makes me feel so delightfully girlish. 
Today was certainly a relaxed sort of day, but soon enough I will be caught in the flurries of final exams and holiday festivities. I do so love the holidays, they are the only thing that gets me through that dreary first winter month–besides cider and cocoa, of course.
