Is there anything more exciting than when you stumble upon a hidden gem in your own city? That’s how Ohio Book Store was for Joe and I about five years ago. Joe moved to Cleveland right after college and I moved back home to Cincinnati. When he’d come down to visit for the last five years (read here if you missed the info about our next move!) we’d always try to do something fun and different to make the most of our short weekends together.

Joe is an avid reader, and one weekend when he was visiting Cincinnati he mentioned he wanted to find a bookstore to look for some new books. I started my usual Googling process and came across a brief blurb about Ohio Book Store downtown. I had never heard of it, and there wasn’t a ton of information on it, but it sounded old school and interesting, so we ventured down there to see it for ourselves.

I was instantly happy with my bookstore find the second we walked through the door. The first floor has extremely high ceilings, and there are books lining the walls from floor to ceiling. Ohio Book Store is a book lover’s dream. Joe was like a kid in a candy store which made me super excited, especially since it was a hidden gem in my hometown. There are actually five floors of books to shop from there! Even if you’re not a big reader, I highly recommend just spending a day exploring this historic and charming store. They’ve been in business since 1940, which pretty much speaks for itself!

We’ve been making trips to the store every year now and decided to go a few weeks ago after Joe moved here. This time I brought my camera along, which was long overdue because I’ve wanted to take pictures inside each time we visited!

I didn’t want to dress up specifically for the bookstore, but I wanted my outfit to be somewhat in line with the theme of the location. I knew this Club Monaco ruffled sweater would be the perfect option. It’s been my most worn sweater this season and I am obsessed! It’s so comfortable but the white ruffled cuffs make it so chic. Also, the ruffles give a nice Shakesperian vibe, which is always bookstore appropriate.

I am a sucker for these shelves and shelves of colorful books. Seriously, I have twenty pictures of this exact same shot because it’s just too fun and colorful!