254 | Washington County
My sweet friend Jessie asked me a couple weeks ago if I wanted to go check out a coffee shop in the Brenham area. (“I figured if anyone was down to drive an hour for coffee, it’d be you,” she laughed. And she was right.)
The morning started with snow flurries in Katy, which was magic in itself. We chattered as we made our way through rolling East Texas hills, green from rain and speckled with barns and fences. (We decided we should get a farm ourselves, and all our friends could use it on rotation. If anyone is interested in funding this venture, let us know. Thx.)
Jessie found Honeysuckle Coffee Bistro online while hunting for a coffee shop “in the country,” and it looked promising. But you can’t even imagine our delight when we actually stepped foot in it.
For starters, it’s under the same roof as adorable home goods shop True Blue Home. And that roof is attached to the most darling house you’ve ever seen. We combed through the rooms of beautiful (and way-out-of-my-budget) decorations, then wandered back to the bistro and snagged a little table by the fireplace. We drank coffee and ate biscuits and decided to move there. Like into the bistro. Hoping the shop owners don’t mind. Especially since Jessie comes with a husband and three kids.
We swung through Brenham and walked the square before heading back home, popping into a few stores and visiting with the shop owners. As I dug through dusty stacks in The Book Nook and listened to two old ladies in the front of the store discuss the weather, I already knew I wanted to plan a day trip back.
I’ve always rolled my eyes a bit at people who try and rope Texas into “The South.” They’re very different things, in my opinion — Texas lacks the syrupy, flowery, genteel thing that I associate with states like Alabama or the Carolinas.
In East Texas, though, that cultural line begins to blur. The houses, landscape, food, accents and attitude start to shift toward the slow and sweet; and in Washington County, I suddenly found myself not minding it. If you want to be charmed, head that way. And order all the biscuits, while you’re at it.
