everyday intrigue: Hudson for a day with a friend from far away.

This past weekend, my friend Jill came to visit from Toronto. Jill is one of my very best friends from college, so it was such an amazing experience to reunite with her after about a year of separation. I will be making another post with the rest of the photos from her visit, but I thought I'd post the photos from our day-trip to Hudson, NY separately.

I had heard great things about Hudson before and had high expectations, which is usually not a good thing. However, the little city really exceeded these. Hudson is filled to the brim with quaint vintage shops, various art galleries, and small, kitsch, independently owned cafes. A friend once described the place to me as "Albany's Brooklyn" and I couldn't agree more with this description.

It was so pleasant to walk around the streets of Hudson, punctuated by old houses and privately owned businesses. If I had to use one word to describe the city, I would certainly use "charming."

Our first destination was the thrift store named Five and Diamond. Everything about this place embodied a thifter's paradise, even down to the window displays. Vibrant and pastel colors spilled out from every nook and cranny of the store. The inventory was masterfully organized considering the small floor-plan of the store.

Looking back on it, I kind of wished I had tried on and bought the shoes pictured below.

A couple of adorable finds from the thrift store across the street:

Simply walking around the streets of Hudson is worth the visit. Vines crawl over every which way and each house seems to hold its own very special story.

Having gone too long without coffee, I developed the standard caffeine-withdrawal headache, so we ducked into this adorable coffeeshop named Swallow Coffee (pun intended, I'm assuming). Honestly, this cafe reminded me so much of my favorite cafe in all of Montreal: Café Névé. The interior was wooden with white walls, creating a homey yet minimalist feel.