A LIBRARY, A CIRCLE, A PUPPY, AND CUPCAKES IN ORANGE, CALIFORNIA

(photo by Travelin' Local)

Old Towne Orange, in Southern California, is the quintessential "Main Street USA" kind of place.  There's a town square, the "Plaza", with a traffic circle, surrounded by historic old facades (which house quaint restaurants and over 60 antique dealers), Watson's Drug Store (where scenes from the movie THAT THING YOU DO were filmed), charming arts and craft style homes, and little neighborhood churches...  

And they have a remodeled library & History Center that fits in perfectly!  The children's section is great.  I headed over there this week with my library side-kick, Sophie and her Mom. (The puppy part and cupcakes are coming up). 

This "Orange Crawl" leads into the Storytime Room

Don't worry - there's a regular door for parents!

Detail from some HUGE murals near the entrance to the children's area.

Jungle animals watch, as you pick out books!

In the center of the room is a huge computer area...

...complete with animal headphones!

Our library book picks-of-the-day (two cautionary tales):
Sophie's: THE GREAT WHITE MAN-EATING SHARK, by Margaret Mahy, hearkens back to "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" in a sharky kind of way!  
Mine:  GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS by Lauren Child.  You won't believe what happens to Goldilock's little red shoes!

Now:  on to the puppy and cupcakes...

Yes, the town of Orange is THIS CUTE!  (photo by crispyleaves.com)

The "Orange Circle" is a traffic round-about surrounding a park in the center of town - right around the corner from the library.  And "The Perfect Circle Cupcakery" was the perfect place for an after-library-treat. (We got ours "to go", but the inside of this place is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!)  Now for the puppy: Sophie's new Rottweiler, "SADIE"!

Somebody wants to go inside...

What are you looking at, Sadie??

Ohhhh...Sophie's decadent. chocolate. cupcake.