I have always adored coffeeshops. 

For me, living my dreams is writing in coffeeshops, every day. Growing up, my AIM screen name was coffeeshopauthor. I had this bookmark that said Cafe Girl, and admired this cool illustrated lady as exemplifying my aspirational life.

[This still is my lucky bookmark, although the tassel fell off, and I’m terrified of losing it so I swap it out for traveling bookmarks when my book is leaving the house…]

So while I’m living in my favourite city, with my favourite coffeeshops, it would be silly own a coffeemaker.

I see no point in taking up precious kitchen space, when I enjoy spending time in cafes so much. 

I want my conversation over the counter with my Americano. I want the coffeemaking noises whirring over the music, the delight of a favourite song of mine popping up on a random playlist and making my day.

If I had a coffeemaker at home, I’d feel badly for spending extra money on drinking coffee out – I do feel this way about tea sometimes!

Maybe one day, if I don’t live in walking distance to so many options, I’ll invest in a coffeemaker. I’ll shop for coffee beans and tools, and educate myself on the top coffeemaking tips. 

It’s like not having Disney Channel. 

Growing up, my sister and I didn’t have Disney Channel. We would look forward to going to our friends’ houses to watch Disney Channel with them. We happened to be in Walt Disney World during the ever-anticipated premiere of Phil of the Future, and guess what? They had Disney Channel there. 

So perhaps this went a bit far, because there we were, in our hotel room, watching Disney Channel, but one cannot theme park all day, and hey, it was memorable, wasn’t it?

It was a big deal if our friends had MarioKart. 

And really, even though we had both fooseball and air hockey tables, we enjoyed them most when friends came over to enjoy them with us.

So these days, it’s such a luxury when a hotel or friend has a coffeemaker. It’s a luxury to go over to a friend’s house with an actual tv screen, rather than watching Netflix on our laptops.

There are certain things that don’t suit our lifestyle right now, certain tradeoffs for living in the heart of the best city ever, that don’t feel like deprivations when I think of it that way.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of wanting more and more, dwelling on what we don’t have instead of appreciating what we do have in our cosy little home.

The nesting feels forever incomplete, but we’ve chosen to draw the line somewhere, and on the other side of that line is a cottage.

There are some things, some luxuries and nice things, that simply don’t fit in our tiny flat, and therefore into our current lifestyle.

When we identify a thing like this, we say ‘save it for the cottage’. We can dream about it. We can picture it. But we can’t have it yet. And that makes anticipation for the next phase in our lives even more exciting.

Some things we’re saving for the cottage:

A coffeemaker at home

See above.

A home office

Or, a desk that’s not the kitchen table. There isn’t space for a home office, and the best spot in the flat to write is in the big window in the living room anyway. 

A guest bedroom

We would love to have a nice, private space for our friends to stay. At the moment we have a sofa and an airbed, but they fit in the living room that’s also our kitchen, dining room, and, as you know, office. 

A home cinema

Maybe one day we’ll have a proper screen (or a projector?) with proper speakers that doesn’t dominate our living space, but is available for cinematic use.

A record player and small collection of vinyl

I long for the simpler, more mindful days of a CD player with buttons and tactile appreciation for what we’re listening to. I don’t enjoy the faff of opening Spotify and selecting selecting selecting. One day we will have a record player, and live every day like we’re dining at the Gardener’s Cottage. But for now, we dream.

THE LESSON:

Save it for the Cottage.

Sometimes enjoyment comes from opting out. Save some things for later. 

What are you ‘saving for the cottage’?

P.S. Shoutout to my favourite cafes in Edinburgh with wifi.

P.P.S. For constant photos of my portable coffeeshop workspace, find me on Instagram :)