Toronto Adventure with Melanie

It's funny how you can talk to someone almost every day and still go an entire year without seeing them in person. That's exactly what happened with Melanie and me.

Mel and I have been trying to meet up in person for what feels like forever (almost a full year!) Between work, traveling, and our very busy lives, our schedules never seemed to align. But this weekend, we finally made it happen, and it was absolutely worth the wait. Keep reading to see what we got up to!

Brunch at Sisters & Co.

Our first stop was brunch at Sisters & Co., located at 887 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1V9.

Mel ordered the Char Siu Benedict, featuring pulled char siu pork, caramelized onions, two poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, and parsley on an English muffin, served with home fries and a fresh salad.

I decided on the Spicy Oxtail Stew, a slow-cooked bone-in oxtail and beef rib stew with onions, carrots, celery, mozzarella, a sunny-side-up egg, cilantro, and buttered sourdough toast. Despite the name, I actually found my meal much sweeter than spicy, but honestly, I didn't mind at all. The meat was incredibly tender, the flavours were rich, and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

Book Bar

Next, we made our way to Book Bar, located at 600 Markham St., Toronto, ON M6G 2L8.

This was my second visit to the bookstore/bar, as I'd had the opportunity to attend the preview night before it officially opened. If you missed it, you can read all about that experience in my previous blog post and watch the recap video on my Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Channel. For Mel, though, this was her very first visit, so it was fun to check out the space with fresh eyes and during regular operating hours.

Before settling in, we took some time to explore the store and admire the thoughtfully curated shelves and beautiful space. Then we stopped by their café, where I ordered the Fin Haskap Berry, and Mel chose the Fin Lemon Verbena Soda. Both drinks were refreshing on a warm summer day.

We found a cozy spot and spent the next few hours chatting about books, work, life, and everything in between. Of course, we couldn't leave without wandering the shelves once more and snapping plenty of photos throughout the beautiful space. You’ll be able to find a ton of content on our Instagrams: @jessbeyondthepages and @imnotabeautyg.

Little Ghosts Books

On our way to our next stop, we stumbled across Little Ghosts Books, which is Canada's first and only horror-dedicated bookstore, publisher, and café, located at 930 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1W3.

The decor was really cool and spooky, and I loved seeing the monster romance section!

Hopeless Romantic Bookshop

Our final stop of the day was Hopeless Romantic's new location at 1080 Queen St. W., Toronto, ON M6J 1H8. Specializing in romance books, the pretty-and-pink bookstore also carries a wonderful selection of bookish merchandise, including apparel, bookmarks, book sleeves, stickers, candles, and more.

It was the first time either of us had visited the new space, and we took our time browsing the shelves, admiring the thoughtfully curated displays, and, of course, snapping a few more photos before wrapping up our adventure. They have a cute room in the back with a popcorn m

One of the highlights for me was spotting so many local authors and events featured in the store. I even saw a promotional poster for the Royal City Romance Book Event on their community board. As one of the conference's influencers, I was so excited to see the event promoted in-store. If you'd like to learn more about my involvement, you can read about it in my other blog post.

I was also incredibly grateful that the team allowed me to leave a business card for my author services business on their community board. I always appreciate it when independent bookstores support local authors and small businesses, and I'm thankful they gave me the opportunity to share my services with fellow writers.

Wrapping Up

After waiting nearly a year to finally make our schedules work, I'm so glad we were able to make it out! The day was spent with a good friend, surrounded by delicious food, beautiful bookstores, and lively conversations.

Melanie is honestly one of my favorite people I’ve collided with in the bookish space, and I’m so grateful we’ve met and stayed connected through socials and our voice-note-filled conversations! She’s smart, funny, and so so so supportive. She’s actually one of the reasons why I started blogging again, and this has been such a fun journey!

Here’s hoping our schedules align again before this becomes an annual tradition. Until then!