Mom and I are sitting here at M. Judson Booksellers working.

I HAD to get OUT today. It wasn’t an option. We are SO over being stuck at home due to the ice and snow. Although, we are thankful for white, fluffy snow this time and not ice.

Let’s talk a little bit about M. Judson.

Being housed in the old courthouse makes it one of the coolest spots in town. If you’re a book-lover, it’s a haven. They (whoever ‘they’ is) say you learn something new every day. Today I learned that M. Judson is named after Mary Camilla Judson. She was born in Connecticut in 1828 and spoke Greek, English, AND French. Despite her intelligence, she wasn’t accepted to Yale University because she was… you guessed it… a woman! Boo! She went on to become the first principal of Greenville’s Women’s College.

Just one more thing to love about our city. Its’ rich history.

Even the bathroom contributes to the vibe here. When I first walked in, I looked for a light switch before realizing there wasn’t one. The lights are dim, small lamps put off just the right amount of light. Calm music, calming scents. I almost didn’t want to leave.

Today, we’re reading through a whole stack of children’s books and taking photos of illustration color patterns we like. Laurie and I didn’t really care for the color scheme our illustrator came up with for our book, so they are allowing us to give them ideas, which is pretty cool.

When you write children’s books, you read a lot of children’s books. We found one or two we liked.

We’re packing up our stuff, taking one last look around before stepping out into the FREEZING cold air. I can tell I already feel lighter than when we first arrived. Some days you just need to leave the house, sit somewhere beautiful, and remember why you love creating.

M. Judson is exactly that kind of place.