CNY Book Crawl

Saturday Laura and I set out to visit a couple book crawl locations. But the day kind of took on a life of its own. 😂 Spoiler alert, we ended up visiting 8 different locations (not all of them on the Book Crawl).

Our first stop was the Liverpool Lit Lounge, where we both got caramel iced coffees (which sadly were underwhelming). But it was a cute little spot. Not quite what we were expecting I guess. The book rooms were smallish and there were some random people browsing and hanging out so it felt a little bit awkward.

Also there were no passports to be found. Although upon returning home and counting up our stops, I realized they were not part of the book crawl after all. :P 

So we decided to pop down the road and around the corner to Golden Bee, this has always been a fav stop in the past. But she also only had black and while copies of the passport and the store was super crowded when we were there and just felt overwhelming and not our vibe that day so sadly we didn't linger there long either. We headed back to the car feeling somewhat disappointed.

Our next stop was to be Remi Reads, a little shop that looked delightful on social media. Professed to be women owned and was named after a dog. I was very excited to check this one out.

But Laura was googling how much it would add to visit That's What She Read- a store we visited on a sister coffee date a summer or two ago- we knew it would be a sure win and a pick me up so we decided it was worth the brief detour. On our way we drove right by Divine Realm Books so we stopped there too. It's a fantasy bookshop, which Laura is not really into but I read occasionally. She also knew the proprietor- so that was a fun little stop. We each pick up a book there.

Another short detour and bathroom stop at the Marcellus Library on our way to That's What She Read, we didn't get anything there but enjoyed browsing in their little library store.

That's What She Read was just as delightful as we remembered.

We just love that they wrap the book you purchase for you, with lavender and a ribbon! I still haven't unwrapped mine yet! 

From there we headed to Remi Reads. But were getting a little hungry. We happened right by this place that has been on our Sister Coffee Date list for a couple year- Baliwick Market. So we stopped and had ice cream for lunch! 

Finally we made it to Remi Reads. Unfortunately it was a bit of a let down. It was a smallish alcove in the back of another boutique, which in and of itself was not bad. It was pretty cute. And we found a super cute dino book there for Evan. Maybe my expectations were too high from their fb posts. Maybe I was expecting to see the dog and a couple of down to earth friendly bookish ladies. Instead there was a slightly grumpy, kinda creepy old guy manning the store so... also the p*nis bookmarks really ruined the vibe for us. I did consider getting the "Just Here to Pet the Dogs" hat. 

Anyway- we left there feeling a little let down too.

We headed for home, very glad we had added the stop at That's What She Read- otherwise the day was kinda a bust.  We talked about next year taking some days off so we could hit all the bookshops on the crawl, we talked about the vibe of what our bookstore would be like someday and a part of the book crawl.

As we zipped down the highway once again entering Syracuse, Laura was like- you know... Parthenon Books is practically on the way home. So we stopped at one more store! I forgot to take any pictures here. We felt happier just walking in. The back of the store was pretty sparse, but we both found a book to purchase and then were gifted an ARC (Advance Reader Copies of the past they were most likely just disposing of) with purchase. So free book. The lady at the register was very friendly and kind.

All in all we enjoyed our day! Starting plotting our next book trip- maybe for next year and a much bigger- let's visit a bookshop in all 50 states travel project! As well as dreams of our own bookshop someday.

Here's our bookstacks!

Can't wait for our next bookish adventure. I'm already plotting one with my girlies and hopefully hitting up one of the shops kind of near Mikayla's house that we didn't make it to yet. Hannah will be home this weekend and I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday than with my girls for coffee and books! 

We have a family dinner planned on Friday as my uncle will be visiting too. I can't wait to have all my kids (and grandbaby!) together in one place- my heart is exploding with joy just thinking about it. 💖

May Sister Coffee Date

Saturday Laura and I were able to get together for a sister coffee date.  We visited a new coffee shop that had opened recently- Caffe Cosi.  We found it delightful!

We both got hot lattes and sausage egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches. They were a little messy but so yummy!

We sat and chatted for a while, delighting in just being in one another's company. Chatting about our children and life, etc.

Then we headed down the road to Books End Bookshop, a used bookstore we have visited before. 

We again found ourselves sitting on the floor of the children's section.

I talked Laura into getting From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler- somehow she was not familiar with this childhood favorite of mine! I think my 5th grade teacher read it to us aloud in class. 

We found these books titled Amy and Laura so naturally we had to get them- they even had two copies! 

I came away with a few other treasures from the Children's Section.

At the checkout I began questioning if I had already purchased Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry. Vaguely remembering finding it on our Massachusetts trip. Laura eagerly said she'd take it off my hands if I did indeed have it at home. Turns out I did- but it was a hardcover, so I kept the newly purchased paperback because a- that's my preference and b- it matched the other two books in the series.

My mom questioned why I had purchased Little House on the Prairie- I received and still have the whole box set from my 9th birthday.  They were well read and loved by both myself and then Hannah and the cover of one of the books was torn off and missing. I thought it was Little House on the Prairie but turns out I was wrong... although has you can see Little House on the Prairie is in rough shape too.

I've seen a lot of videos on Instagram of people rebinding books so I'm toying with the idea of picking up a new hobby and rebinding my whole set but we'll see. Maybe I just keep an eye out for Little House in the Big Woods at used book sales- it would have to be the same yellow covered editions. But then what do I do with my worn out copies- do I recycle them? I have still hung onto my childhood edition of Anne of Green Gables Bruno chewed up as puppy because I couldn't bear to toss it out.

I also got a sticker to had to the cover of my commonplace book.

Our adventure filled my soul and was a needed break. Looking forward to our next bookish coffee adventure.

The Crusty Cup + Letter and Leaf

In an effort to focus on the good. Here's our Birthday Sister Coffee Date Adventure!

I started out the day taking the boys on a good walk, the sun was shining and the birds were singing and it made my heart feel happy and hopeful.

Laura picked me up about 9 o'clock after she dropped her youngest at daycare.  Our first stop was The Crusty Cup... and yes the name did give us pause. 😂 They are a new coffee shop I had seen on facebook and was eager to check out.

It was a cute little shop, the girl who waited on us was kind and funny.

There were no fancy coffee drinks, basically drip coffee and limited menu. But they are just getting started.

Laura and I both ordered coffee with a flavor shot in large mugs. Upon first sip we were dismayed to discover it was sugar-free syrup.  But we loved the mugs we used.

The breakfast sandwiches were pretty good.

Our next stop was a used bookshop The Letter and Leaf.  This place was packed with bookish delight. We were easily there an hour and could have spent so much longer. There were so many books. Every where. Piled high. Double stacked.

We wound up sitting on the floor in the children's section pouring over the selections.

I came home with 6 titles- 3 middle grade (?)  favs and 3  from my challenge TBRs

We then head back to Chittenango to meet up with Mom and Dad for lunch!  We had a great time sitting and chatting with them. 💙

We planed to visit another local(ish) bookshop but upon putting it into google maps realized it was closed on Tuesdays. So we went to the library instead!

I also picked up a book I had on hold.  Honestly I put this one on hold because I just finished Pearl in the Sand by this author last week, which is the story of Rahab. This is the story of Ruth and I guess I am hoping Rahab might have a cameo appearance in this story (as she is Boaz's mother) and I wasn't ready to leave her story behind.

We also went to the Salvation Army where I snagged a sweater and another book. 

I also seriously considered getting this hat and using it for my Easter dress inspirations.

Laura and I enjoyed a cup of iced coffee in my kitchen before she headed for home.

Ryan and Nicole later stopped by to wish me a happy birthday and bring me these gorgeous flowers.

Here's to 46!