E is for Elmo's Diner: A to Z Blogging Challenge

It's April and you know what that means: The AtoZ Blogging Challenge! For those who haven't played along before, the AtoZ Blogging Challenge asks bloggers to post every day during April (excepting Sundays), which works out to 26 days, one for each letter of the alphabet. In my opinion, it's the most fun if you choose a theme.

My theme this year is Places in my Heart, all about the places I've been and loved and that have mattered to me in a lasting sense.

For my regular readers, you'll see more than the usual once-a-week posts from me this month. I'm having a great time writing them, so I hope you enjoy reading them, too.

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E is for Elmo's Diner

Elmo's is our family breakfast place. Initially, it was an us-two breakfast place. It's where we shared our first breakfast as a couple. It's a diner in Carrboro, NC (they have one in Durham, too, but that one's not "ours"). 

Besides lovely aromatic coffee and delicious breakfast offerings, Elmo's also offers friendly staff who know us after all these years and beautiful sunlight through tall windows in old brick walls (the building used to be a mill). The quality of light has always really affected my mood, so it might be the windows as much as anything that won me over to the joys of Elmo's. 

We've all got our regular food choices there. The youngest has her chocolate chip pancake, the eldest her chicken caesar salad, the husband has his southwest salad with chicken, and I have my open face turkey sandwich or salmon cake. And always, of course, the coffee. I love the coffee there so much, my husband bought me a mug from there to use at home. 

Elmo's has memories of many happy meals. It's that rare place that really pleases all four of us. No one is just tolerating it for the sake of others. It's earned its place in my heart.