The past week has been quite busy for me, as many of you know, since my boyfriend Victor arrived in the U.S. last Tuesday the 16th. He’ll be here for over a month, until August 20th to be exact, so keep your eyes peeled for our adventures! I don’t usually go out often by myself, but because Victor’s visiting the U.S. for the first time and has not been to a lot of places (like a zoo) or tried a lot of things (like ramen), I definitely want to take advantage of the time and take him everywhere.
The first week wasn’t actually too adventure-filled but was more about adjusting to the New Jersey atmosphere … and weather. Of all times of the year, that darned heat wave had to hit us during his first week. Victor didn’t handle the heat pretty well (thank God the ungodly heat and humidity is gone). In spite of not really venturing out a lot, Victor did get to try (and eat) quite a bit of new things his first week.
Meet Ellie
Besides meeting the fam, he met my fluffy, feathery friend Ellie. I think they hit it off pretty well, as he doesn’t usually quickly adjust to strangers. Ellie approves.
Qin Dynasty Dim Sum
My aunt and uncle actually decided to treat us to one of my favorite places! Qin Dynasty specializes in dim sum food. We had soup dumplings, shumai, pork buns, and other food which I have no idea what to call it in English!
Ikea
For some reason, this was one of the only pictures I managed to take at Ikea – not even the food we ate … what is wrong with me?! But yes, my boyfriend was kind enough to pose for the camera here. This was also the first time he met my best friend Katie and her boyfriend Sal, so it was a fun event. Even though we were just window shopping for the most part, it was fun sitting in each of the show rooms and pretending we owned the place. We literally used the wine bottle props and pretended to serve each other wine. I think the passers-by thought we legitimately were drunk.
Halulu Hibachi
For Sunday brunch, I decided to take Victor out to Halulu for hibachi along with my mom and aunt. It’s super convenient that it’s only five minutes away from my house. It’s one of my favorite places to eat! The food is always well seasoned, brought out in a timely manner, and the portions are generous. Plus, I got an awesome deal of $13 for $30 worth of food on Groupon. Win-win!
Halulu was a big hit for my guy as he enjoyed the chef and the entertainment he provided (like throwing chopped pieces of veggies and squirting sake in our mouths) as well as the tasty chicken hibachi. He looks forward to going back and trying different dishes from the menu.
Starbucks
One thing he really wanted to do even when I visited him in Canada was to try Starbucks, but all we were able to do there was to go to a Tim Horton’s. The day finally came when he got to give it a try! I gave him my phone to play with the Starbucks app and customize a drink to his heart’s content. He ended up choosing a Venti Iced Caramel Macchiato: five pumps vanilla syrup, one pump caramel syrup, extra caramel drizzle, chocolate powder, and whipped cream. To be honest with you, I’ve never played with this option myself because I always aimed to make the drink as cheap as possible … but maybe I will do a bit of customizing next time! Anyway, he really enjoyed his first drink and is definitely planning on going back.
I can’t wait for our adventure this coming week – we did something super fun this past weekend but that will be for a future blog post!
Thanks for reading, until next time! β‘
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It is exciting that you got to see Victor! Wow, considering how this is his first time visiting the US, hope he enjoyed the vibes of our country. It is great that your aunt and uncle treated you two to dim sum. You can never go wrong with dumplings, hehe. Ikea is such a nice place to visit with all of the #homegoals stuff. Glad you two had lots of fun together! Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures!
Nancy β₯ exquisitely.me
Sounds like your having a great time with Victor, and Ellie is such a cutie. His drink order is epic. I don’t typically customize my orders unless its subsisting milk for soy. I can’t wait to read more about your adventures. Thanks for sharing.
How exciting!! I’m glad you’re able to spend a lot of time with Victor and that it’s going off to a great start! Love that you were able to save on your meal at Halulu – groupon always offers great deals. Can’t wait to read what adventures you have planned next for his visit.
Eena βΌ cabin twenty-four
Looks as though you had a great week! I love that you played house in ikea π that starbucks looks more like pudding than coffee π±
How fun!! Can’t wait to read about all your adventures this month π
how fun! im sure exploring the us for the first time with you made it all the more special! So sweet that he and Ellie hit it off!
http://www.sundaydahlias.com
This sounds like a great trip. The food lookS so yummy! Thank you for sharing your experience. You have taken some great photos too xx
Sounds like you had a fun weekend. Ellie is super cute.
http://www.ninakobi.com
Sounds like you guys had a great first week! I’m glad Ellie approves, that photo is so sweet. And that Starbucks order sounds SOOO sweet?! I’m a venti Americano with an extra shot kinda girl so I can’t even imagine what that tastes like x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
I’m glad you two are having a great time! That dim sum looks really good haha
So glad you guys have been having a fun time! The photo with Ellie is so sweet, glad she approves hehe. The food looks great, looking forward to seeing what other adventures you get up to! I also love going to Ikea and seeing all the fancy showrooms.
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
Girl, I am so happy that you’re spending quality time with Victor. It looks like you guys had a great time. Really looking forward to what you guys will be up to next week. Definitely take him to the zoo or an aquarium. (:
Much love always,
GABBY | http://www.gabbyabigaill.com
That dIm sum looks so good! I hope Victor is enjoying his time in the US! Plus, Ellie likes him, so thatβs good! It looks like Victor is haviNg a great Time!
I love it! IKEA is a definite must wherever you go. So it was nice to see victor enjoy it too! I didn’t know you had a feathery friend, she’s so cute and quite clearly loves your boyfriend. It’s a shame that he can’t stay longer with you but in that case it does make the wait that much more worth the while. (:
How exciting you are treating your boyfriend to a trip he’ll never forget! I never had dim sum but it’s something I want to try. I I definitely wanna try the Starbucks drink, it looked so good. I never add extra flavoring to my Starbucks drink but I think I’ll start because it might make them taste betterπ glad Victor is vibing well with the fam tooβ€οΈ looking forward to week 2ππΎ
Natonya | https://www.justnatonya.wordpress.com
aw it looks like you both were having so much fun – glad that you’ve been able to spend so much time together!! Also, the dim sum and hibachi look so amazing – I can only imagine how good the food must of tasted!
Super cute!! Omg i hate knowing i have a date to go back home when i visit my husband.
But its okay, your boyfriend is staying for a long while and thats enough time to make amazing memories!
Thanks for sharing this!