i was facetiming with my mom the other day, and she asked (again) when i was going to go home for a visit. i love my annual visits, but have had an overwhelming sense of dread on the topic since Z was born. not that i don't want to take him home to meet his great-grandmother and introduce him to ding tai fung, but the thought of having to deal with baby jet lag makes me want to stay on EST for the next 10 years. from all accounts, it will ruin your trip. (i'm still recovering from our trip to L.A. last week, and that was only 3 hours' difference!) so while i ponder whether or not i have the courage to do such a thing, here are some photos of an adorable bookstore 「新手書店」 in taichung that we visited last may.

i love the wood and black metal exterior. when i build our dream house, this is the look i'll be going for.

the interior is a similar aesthetic, with stripped wood and lots of vintage taiwanese tchotchkes.

hhh picked up a few photography books while we were there - he couldn't read the others. :)

if you're in the neighborhood and want to visit, it's at: Táizhōng shì xīqū xiàngshàng běi lù 129 hào [台中市西區向上北路129號].

a trip to taiwan isn't complete without a visit to eslite. i usually manage to leave the building with all kinds of stationery and japanese magazines that i didn't know i needed. hhh can't walk away without dozens of tiny notebooks. (this is my go-to store, in taichung.) eslite was founded in 1989, and has since become one of taiwan's most recognizable brands. in the last several years, it's expanded from a bookstore to much more, including department stores, art movie houses, performance venues and even a hotel. (and a friend just told me that they also have a thriving business in high-end commercial kitchens). last year, it launched eslite spectrum at the songshan cultural park in taipei. songshan cultural park is another one of these former SOE conversions, like huashan 1914 creative park. when we visited one weekend in december, the space was packed.

as we walked up from the street, the hotel was the first thing to catch my eye. i totally want to stay here next time we go to taipei.

eslite spectrum is a design-focused department store. there is also the requisite food court in the basement, as well as whole floors devoted to local taiwanese-made goods ranging from textiles to housewares to teas and tasty local edibles.

designed home goods - mostly imported on the ground level.

there is a lot to take in, including this random collection of taiwanese hipsters strumming away on one of the upper floors. i am not totally sure if this is a shop, performance art, or what.