Claremont, My Hometown

The front of Some Crust, my favorite bakery in the entire universe.

People who know me, not even very well, know that I have an absurd attachment to my hometown, Claremont. I talk about it all the time and how I would love to move back there someday. I imagine buying one of those old craftsman homes with creaky floorboards and cast iron pipes that now cost over one million dollars but I don't care because they're adorable. 

This past weekend, my husband was out of town and my son went to go spend time with his grandparents so I spent a weekend ALL BY MYSELF, which was rare and glorious. In addition to making a filet mignon dinner, drinking red wine and tearing up as I watched Leap, I went back to my hometown to eat pastries from Some Crust and walked around aimlessly, shooting photos of places dear to my heart. 

This is what it looks like inside Some Crust and that's only a partial inventory of their baked goods.

And then you have funky and eclectic boutiques like these: 

Barbara Cheatley on Yale Avenue.

Folk Music Center on Yale Avenue (this shop is actually owned by Ben Harper's parents!).

We have the most adorable city hall.

And homes that look like this:

Below was the very first home my husband and I lived in together as a married couple. It's a duplex and we lived on the second floor. It had hardwood floors, large windows and a fireplace on a tree lined street—everything a newly wed couple could dream of from their first home.

My mind is always devising some sort of plan to move back to Claremont but as I was walking around this weekend, I had a realization that sometimes, hometowns are better just to visit than to live in. As a visitor, it retains its charm without me ever taking it for granted. Another thought that's been on my mind lately (as I'm getting ready to move) is inspired from a gardening concept called crop rotation. My parents are gardeners so they taught me that plants must be moved from their indigenous soil every few years so that the plants stay healthy and strong and the soil stays healthy and strong. 

I think this applies to people as well. In order for us to grow constantly, we need to be uprooted, shaken up, and challenged once in a while so we never get stagnant and continually evolve. We are happiest when we are always becoming better versions of ourselves as humans are by nature, growth seeking beings.

That said though, Claremont will always have such a special place right smack in the middle of my heart.