Hazelnut cake!

It was almost the end of my maternity break and I realized that I didn't really have a "break" for a minute..if you know what I mean. The new definition of "free time" was taking a shower or eating a meal and sometimes if I was lucky there was time for both :D A solo trip to the grocery store felt comforting too.

Tasks that normally took me an hour or two to finish became like a day's project after the baby. The other day I managed to iron a handful of my work clothes uninterrupted and I felt like I'd achieved the impossible.

Given the current state of affairs, my dearest better half volunteered to look after both the kids and give me a much needed break. Guess what I did!! I ran out of the house as fast as I could.
That's one thing you MUST learn once you become a  parent- when someone offers to look after the kids, DO NOT THINK ONCE!! TAKE IT and RUN before they change their mind!!!
Go as far as you can until you are no longer reachable. :D (that's a whole other issue that in 2019 you can never truly be unreachable..thanks to the flawless network coverage that these damn service providers offer)

Anyway, I ran for my "timed freedom". I called a dear friend and we hung out in a delightful downtown with a strip mall dazzling with Christmas lights.
It felt good..almost like a luxury to "have a life". I was strolling around smiling cheek-to-cheek at complete strangers to a point where people started to feel scared. I couldn't help..I was just too happy. A wide selection of pleasant brunch places nestled on that lively street made us hungry.
We got into one of them and as soon as the food arrived I gobbled it up so fast as if any minute I would be interrupted by a loud "AAAAAAiiiiiii ("Mom") My friend couldn't help notice and ordered a drink to calm me down.

We then walked into some handbag stores and I kept looking around for my stroller ever other minute only to realize there wasn't one. I had that cheek-to-cheek smile again. It was like a pattern until my mind finally accepted the reality that I was in fact without my kids! My mind seemed to have forgotten how to function in their absence. 

My friend and I spoke about everything under the sun..work, food, cities, family, World politics (why not) and cafes of course! A European gets as emotional about cafes as an Indian about cricket. 

She took me to this interesting cafe named COCOLA. It had beautiful quotes by famous celebrities adorning one of it's walls and large shelves stacked with books covering the other. It's large windows faced the farmer's market outside. A large brown Chesterfield couch with round armed accent chairs occupied the front section while mosaic chairs and tables provided seating for rest of the cafe.
We were lucky to find a table tucked by the window.  Our order of coffee, hot cocoa, tiramisu and Hazelnut cake arrived in no time. The hazelnut cake was out-of-the-world. It had these layers of crunch, cream, caramel, hazelnut nuts of course, chocolate and fluffiness. Mmmm! A treat to the eyes and taste buds.

We chatted some more and soon it was time to leave. We gathered our shopping bags and walked to the car. A wonderful day had come to an end but the ending wasn't bad either. As soon as I got home, the 'Hazelnut cakes of my life' had the broadest, sweetest smiles to see Aai back home. Aaah! Now I know why I don't end up stepping out of my home so often. These never ending desserts that I gave birth to lure me into staying home. Their sweetness is a TRAP!!

(Some more pics below!)