Alexa and I revived our monthly hangouts! Since June 2020, we've been able to consistently set aside one Saturday a month to spend time together but then with the holidays, work, and just life in general we inadvertently put them on pause. Spending this past Saturday with her in New Jersey (she took the bus to me!) made me realize how much I had missed these outings.
We started the day off with breakfast at Sugar Tree Cafe. I had never been before but once I saw pictures online, it seemed like our kind of spot and it totally was. We loved the aesthetic of the interior and thought their waffles and cinnamon toast dishes were delicious. Plus their large mugs of coffee really hit the spot since we both had to wake up fairly early.
From there, we headed to Short Hills Mall (without traffic, it's a little under a 30 min drive from me) and our main reason for going was so Alexa could see Indigo Books (and find out why I loved the store so much). We had a field day in there! It was only my second time visiting but I still found myself being super impressed by the amount of books they had and all the complementary products they sell in store (stationery, puzzles, candles and home goods, backpacks, pajamas, Little Words Project bracelets, and more!). If you're ever in Jersey and you love books, I highly recommend going.
And since we were at the mall anyway, we ended up walking around a bit too, which was nice. We went inside Hermes (where I may have walked out with something...) and Dior (where we went to "visit" the Dior book tote for the third time and I feel absolutely sure this will be my next bag purchase; Alexa approves!).
After the mall, it seemed like a good time to grab a snack so we went to Kubo Coffee & Creamery, which is my favorite local Filipino-owned business that sells boba, coffee and ice cream. We got the Ube Mochi Taiyaki and it was honestly better than Taiyaki NYC (yes, we said it!).
Then to cap off the day, we decided we needed more books so we went to the Barnes & Noble by me and again -- very impressed by the selection and the huge manga wall. We browsed almost every aisle and walked out with three items each. At that point, we went back to my apartment to take a short break and drink coffee before Alexa caught the next bus home (note the last photo above which I took while waiting at the bus stop with her; we have matching kumare bracelets!).
It was just the loveliest day spent in conversation and indulging in all the things we love! I can't wait until our next hangout.
This sounds like such a fun day!
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