Hello, all! This weekend has just honestly been filled with so much fun, and next weekend promises to be even better! 😻

I found out that, once upon a time, Times Square had its own Sanrio (Hello Kitty) store… But it closed down as of June, 2016. So bummed that I missed it! ;-; However, what Times Square does have now is its own Line Friends shop that opened about a year later in July 2017!

Hanging out with Brown–I want him for my apartment! 🐻

For those of you unfamiliar with Line, it’s a messaging app created by Line Corporation (a Japanese subsidiary of the Korean search engine, “Naver”) that’s incredibly popular in Japan. It’s their largest social network with 700 million users. Line Friends are the cute characters that make up the stickers used in the app. They all have names and stories, similar to the Sanrio characters we know and love. The characters can be seen in LINE OFFLINE and LINE TOWN, two anime shows, as well as an actual limited-time theme park that popped up in Taiwan!

I used Line as a fun way to message my friends when I lived in Japan, so I really enjoyed seeing the characters here in New York! Such a nostalgic, bittersweet experience. 💕

There are all kinds of goodies at the Line Friends store here in NYC, from cute pajamas to stuffed animals, lamps, stationery, keychains, lunch boxes, New York-inspired merchandise, and so much more than you can imagine! It’s also a great spot for photos, since there is a huge stuffed Brown greeting guests at the entrance to the store, and statues of the characters just waiting to take selfies with you throughout! As you can see, I had lots of fun with them, hehe~

I actually adore these pajamas! They look so cozy! 😀 Hmmm.. Cream or pink??

Conor caught struttin’ his stuff haha, he’s such a good sport to accompany me :3

Brown dressed as a fox is TOO CUTE! ❤ Which is your fav?

James is just the coolest, eh? 😉 Haha

Cute BT21 characters waiting to pose with you!

I want all of the RJ the Alpaca merchandise… he’s just so lovable! Also a fan of dino Brown~

A peek outside at Times Square–it’s so colorful, I’m mesmerized 😮

BTS (Bangtan Boys), the Korean boy band, has recently debuted their collection of emoji stickers in collaboration with Line Friends, calling it BT21. I’m obsessed with RJ the Alpaca, shown above! Conor’s favorite is the robot, Van. c: The Line shop here in NYC actually has an entire room dedicated to merchandise for the BT21 characters. Just more to love! 😉

I hope your weekend was nice as well and that your week of school/work/etc. to come is lovely! Until next time!

💜 Cat