Meetup Report: Shopping Excursion

Meetup Report: Shopping Excursion

Cherry Amaretto Summer
Deliciously wonderful cherry amaretto ice cream! I didn’t expect it to have chocolate, too–but it did!

I’ve been so happy to have my husband to myself for a weekend that I didn’t want to waste a moment of it! (Especially as I am working Sunday and Monday–no long Memorial Day weekend for me~) However, there was a meetup to be organized on Saturday that I hoped to attend, as I keep missing out on a lot of events, and he had no objections, so we went!

We started the day bright and early. It’s easy to let a whole day be consumed by preparing for and attending a meetup (even a short one), but there were other things I wanted to do. We cleaned the house, made breakfast, and headed to the farmer’s market. My original plan was to go the farmer’s market and then to the meetup, but we arrived at the farmer’s market much earlier than I expected to. To bide some of the time, we popped into the free farm zoo that was right across the street.

Cowbellion Supporter
Not sure the gender of that bovine–it probably was a bull–but regardless I thoroughly approve of it.

After wandering through, taking pictures of chickens, and dodging small children, we headed to the market. It was absolutely packed, the best of the vendors’ goods were long gone, and the heat was starting to make everything and everyone wilt a bit. We picked up some oyster mushrooms and strawberries. I was a bit iffy on the strawberries–there are lots of them for sale right now, but they aren’t always sweet. These also looked like they were getting soft from the ride to the farmer’s market and being in the sun. When I was offered a sample, however, I knew they were coming home with us! They were the perfect dessert…and even more amazing when drizzled with maple syrup.

After picking up the goods we headed towards the meetup destination. There was a very casual shopping excursion planned in an area of the city I don’t often visit, starting at LUSH and including Vosges. LUSH and I have a love-hate relationship, but the only strain between me and Vosges is that my wallet isn’t bountiful enough that I can buy everything I’d like. We loitered outside of the rendezvous point for a bit, taking pictures with some of the beautiful pink flowers.

Pink Ribbons
There were also some roses, but they weren’t as vibrant as these flowers, and I tended to block them by accident.

Then, the hostess arrived, and soon the other girls assembled. It wasn’t a very big meetup, but that was probably best for the shops! I don’t necessarily think we could have fit everyone inside if there was more than a handful. We browsed the LUSH for a while. I did my best not to touch anything, even though I really wanted to! It’s a lovely store and I adore a lot of their products, but my stupid allergies complicate things. Even so, I couldn’t resist picking up some shampoo for my husband and one of the face masks. I just like the way it smells! (And the name.)

I really wish I could have brought home a sparkly pink bubble-bath bar, since those were always my favourites, but I knew I’d regret it. ;_; ♥ Why, bubble bar, why? I think I’m going to have to resort to tossing glitter into the bath tub to regain that lost sparkly-ness that I miss so much. (Although I’m sure that glitter is bad for the drain!)

Vosges was our next stop. We thankfully sidestepped a certain deadly stationery store, good for me and even better for another member of our group. Vosges had all of their toffee out for samples today, which was kind of alternatively-deadly~ The original toffee is wonderful, the bacon toffee is that salty & sweet taste that only comes from bacon + sugar, and the chile toffee had a kick right at the end that wasn’t unbearable but was certainly noticeable.

At Vosges
The interior of the store was so beautiful that I just had to get a picture of everyone. The couch and the chairs were really beatiful!

We loitered in the store a bit, waiting for my husband. He had run the farmer’s market produce back to the house and was on his way back to meet us again. Thankfully there was a soft, vintage couch–and the shop didn’t mind. I didn’t want to buy fancy expensive chocolates without getting his input, since I’d obviously be sharing them with him. ♥ I planned on getting caramels, but wound up with toffee instead! I usually get caramels, so I’m glad I went with something new this time. (The samples were very persuasive.)

Anniversary Cake
Tasty, tasty cake-flavoured ice cream. Clearly I am not the only one who thinks cake ice cream is great, since two people in the group ordered it!

We stopped for ice cream afterward. It was sunny, with warm but not scorching weather, and ice cream sounded delicious~ The place we stopped at was a little window from a nearby building where we placed orders, received ice cream, and sat at the umbrella-shaded tables on the sidewalk. I ordered cherry amaretto~ ♥ The shop had a really nice selection of flavours–not the typical Edy’s-supplied lineup. Everything was delicious, too~

After that, it was time to part ways. I had a really great time, and was very happy to reconnect with friends I hadn’t seen in a while, spend time with friends, and make new friends~ ♥ There seem to always be more and more lolita in my area, and I’d love to meet them all! Little by little, I’m making my way towards doing so.