taking a day trip across the border (mini haul)

Shopping can be a lot of fun, but it can also be exhausting. Especially when it involves a day trip to the United States and a jam-packed itinerary. Mother's Day weekend was a little over a week ago at this point, and to celebrate the holiday, my mom suggested a bus trip across the border to do a little shopping. Though my mom and I have taken several shopping trips before, this was the first day trip. It was certainly a tiring experience! We met at 6:00 am to head to the bus and we didn't make it back into town until 10:30 pm. Like I said...shopping can be pretty exhausting. Ready to hear more about this day trip to the United States? Find out what I brought back with me? Here are all the shopping-related details... 

The bus ride was pretty long (or at least it felt long first thing on a Saturday morning). It took about three and a half hours to cross the border and reach our first destination. We were dropped off at a shopping mall in Watertown, New York, where we had an hour and a half to check out the stores. All of the malls in the United States that I have visited over the years have been very different than the ones in Canada. Malls where I live are always crowded with lots and lots of people. The malls in the United States that I've been to (including the one in Watertown) tend to be empty and dated. It looked like 1989 in the mall, for real. Definitely a strange experience! That being said, there were a couple of stores that we spent time in, like Burlington, which was a discount store similar to Winners or Marshalls, and American Eagle Outfitters. Then it was back to the bus.

From there, we went to Walmart for a few hours. My mom and I spent time wandering around and seeing what was there. There were some cute clothes (I bought a pair of comfy shorts for the summer) and some interesting beauty products, but mostly, my focus was on Little Debbie snack cakes. Those delicious snack cakes were available in Canada for as long as I remember, and then last year, they were gone. Which is why I brought home a couple of boxes of Swiss Rolls, Zebra Cakes, and a box of Birthday Bars. Excessive? Absolutely. Do I regret it? Not at all. After the Walmart visit, it was time to head to a plaza that had an Ulta, Five Below, and Target. I found an REM eyeshadow palette at Ulta, some snacks at Five Below, and sadly, not much at Target. (Though I still love Target and miss when they used to be in Canada.) After all of that shopping, it was time to head back towards the border. There was a stop off at Cracker Barrel, where I was able to find a Dolly Parton CD. After that, we made the long trek back home. It was a busy day, but a fun day, too. Here are some of the items that came home with me...

As you can see, there was some makeup purchased (stay tuned for reviews on the Disney Villains palette, REM eyeshadow palette, and neon nail polish), a few CDs (Jonas Brothers and Dolly Parton), new jeans (mom style jeans from American Eagle Outfitters), a 90s inspired Nickelodeon baseball jersey, and lots of Little Debbie snack cakes. Definitely an odd assortment of items, but it was fun to see what was out there. Yes, shopping can be exhausting but it was certainly a day to remember. 

Have you done any shopping lately? Do you like to take shopping trips?