The Bean

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is somewhat of an obsession to Angelenos. In the same way that In and Out is vehemently west coast, people in this town identify with the "other" coffee place (ie: not Starbucks, and not Peet's- which is more Nor-Cal than So-Cal altogether). This morning I got Mudd and Jam in the ridiculously large but unbelievably comfy Urban Double stroller. I swear, this stroller has been known to save lives. Navigating it over the rough and rugged terrain that is my neighborhood is an absolute breeze. It's just that any people within a ten mile radius from the thing need to step aside to give you room to pass. It can get embarrasing because the hulk takes up way more space then it should...
After our run, we headed on over to the "Bean," as Jam affectionately calls it. Jam loves the Bean and I'm sure Mudd will too, it's only a matter of time. Jam really impressed me today. He's really getting so big. He sat at the table drinking his cocoa and eating a bagel, and I saw a glimpse of him at thirty and boy was that wild! Mudd was in his stroller, and having discovered his feet just moments earlier, he was having a grand old time.
The funny thing about toddlers is that they really have no inner monologue. Jam narrated every single happening at the Bean - who entered the store, what color shirt he/she was wearing, and whether or not said person had a mustache (he's into mustaches these days...) Jam was observing the comings and goings with sheer fasination. "Mommy, lady's putting pepper in coffee.." I explained that it was actually sugar and not pepper that the lady was putting in her coffee. Then the lady came over to our table. "Your kids are really cute," "but I actually put in Splenda, a sugar derivative, I would never use the real thing, I'm watching carbs."
Are you kidding me?