In a moment of intense 'cheesiness' I decided to bake (coconut) cupcakes for P. and take them to him at work. (He works only one block from our apartment).
I also treated myself this morning.
I had an appointment with my midwife at some nearby local shops and decided to drop into my favourite secondhand bookshop afterwards. Unfortunately, it was closed and so I decided to get myself a hot chocolate at Tilleys (Tilley's Devine Cafe to give it its full name) while I sat there and flicked through interior design magazines.
I love Tilleys. It is a strangely comforting place that has featured throughout all of my life.
When I was very little, I used to fall asleep under the table at Tilleys while my Mum caught up with friends. Back then it was a tiny place - just a few tables and a small bar. It was also a women's bar (men could come in only if they were accompanied by a woman), so it always felt safe and comfortable.
As I grew up so did Tilleys. It started to take over the shops around it - the butcher was one of the first to go (obviously a good trade in my book) - adding more tables, then a stage, and then finally a full size kitchen.
In High School, I used to go into Tilleys after school for a hot chocolate when I wanted to feel grown up and have a really good chat with my best friend. On my 18th birthday, I met a group of my friends at Tilleys for my first legal drink (I think it was around 3:30 in the afternoon, which is a bit of a worry, but I felt that there were many places to make my way through that particular evening). Throughout university, Tilleys was the ideal place to study. You could spread out your books on the big tables and hole up there for the day without ever being bothered - except by friends who might stop through during the day for a short coffee break. It was also the location of our regular Saturday brunches - again the big tables being the perfect size to spread out the weekend paper and spend a good few hours lingering over coffee, beans and toast.
When I moved to Sydney, Tilleys was one of the first things that I really missed. I couldn't find anywhere similar - no other cafe seemed as tolerant of customers settling in for hours on end without buying anything more than a coffee or a juice. The absence of somewhere comfortable and homely seemed to represent everything that I found so hard about Sydney in the first 6 months that I was there. Everyone seemed to be permanently in a rush and I felt as though there was nowhere that I could just sit and catch my breath.
This morning there was a large group of women sitting up the back with their babies. All the little ones looked around the same age and so I guessed that it was probably a 'mother's group'. Looking down at my massive belly I realised that Tilleys may well play host to yet another milestone in my life.
I couldn't think of a better place.
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