My mom always told me, if you don't have anything nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all. So, in the interest of following her advice, I am going to keep this first story short and sweet.

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there is a little rock and stone building on a busy street in east asheville. i've passed it numerous times knowing that i would go in at some point for fika. but to be honest, i wasn't too excited about it every time i passed it, hence it's on day 36 that i finally darkened the doors. though i was totally intrigued by the rock/stone outside. i mean, seriously, how cool is the outside? still, it's east asheville. and though i live in central-east asheville myself, there are not that many funky, cool places over here. or not that i know of yet. the coolness is left for central and west asheville.

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i was heading east again, to the cute little town of black mountain. all ready to walk the downtown streets and find this new cafe called the artisan. as i approached the town, i typed the address into my navigation system and was slightly confused when it showed me a route that led through downtown and then south a little bit. i had no idea that i'd be outside of black mountain. and i didn't understand how (or why) a new little cafe existed off of one of the windy country roads. but, i listen to my navigator's voice and headed south.... but, i got lost. or i did't get lost, actually. what happened was that i ended up circling back around on some back road which spit me out in the middle of downtown black mountain again.

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it was mostly cloudy and chilly, and all i wanted was to find a little, dark, cozy cafe corner all to myself. i wanted to order something warm and pumpkin-y and yummy. i wanted to open my computer and sit there for a couple of hours. working, nesting, snuggling. sounds perfect, huh? do you think that's how it went for me? nope. it did not go like that. not at all.

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well, get ready for a ton of photos. seriously. i'm sharing so many with you because this place is absolutely beautiful. it's like walking into an old, english library. or a museum. or an early 20th century men's billiard room (without the billiards). well, it's actually all three rolled into one. and it is perfect.

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there is a place where i can go if i am homesick for sweden. well, perhaps not sweden specifically, but at least something that's a little bit european.

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everyone's talking about dynamite coffee roasters. like really. quite of a few people have mentioned it as their favorite place. so, i decided that's where i needed to go. and i was looking forward to all of the hype. the only problem, to tell you the truth, was that i was feeling excited and blah all at the same time. i think my mood matched the weather...

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i found myself driving on i-26 north today. and that could mean only one thing.. i was headed to weaverville, a small town just about 10-15 minutes from asheville. i had not planned this at all. like i said, i just found myself on the highway, headed north.

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let's face it. there is nothing better than coffee and books together. they go together like peanut butter and jelly. like peas and carrots. like tom and jerry. don't ya think? i certainly do. so, to get my week started off right, i decided to head downtown to malaprops... THE bookstore in asheville. a staple in asheville's cultural and artsy scene. an independent bookstore, a supporter of local authors,  an advocate for peace & equality & coexistence, and a community-oriented gathering place. but, it's not just a funky, cool bookstore with lots of books of all kinds  - mainstream, and not so mainstream. it's also a cafe. and it's a cafe that encourages sitting down, sipping coffee, and reading books.

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just off busy hendersonville road, south of the biltmore estate and biltmore village, you can find biltmore coffee traders. set back from the road a bit, the cute, red cottage looks inviting and, based on my previous experiences, i knew to let all expectations fall to the wayside. i just parked my car and went inside.

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