The carousel at the Garden State Plaza. For more snaps, follow me on Instagram.

One of my closest-held secrets is my unequivocal love of MALLS. I mean, don't get me wrong, shopping upper Madison, SoHo or NoLita is a delight, but there's just SOMETHING about knowing that Cinnabon and Auntie Anne's are in close proximity that makes me feel safe, warm and well, like spending my hard-earned moola. Unfortunately for me, malls are few and far between in Manhattan (okay, there's actually only one, the Manhattan Mall, and it's fully mis), so whenever possible (read once or twice a year), I like to rent a car and take what I call a Suburban Day, which entails me and a friend renting a car, going to a mall and eating at chain restaurant - say Outback Steakhouse or Chili's. It's fun all around, you guys.

The peeps at Westfield clearly understand me, and wish to make my (and your!) life a little less complicated this holiday season though - so, they've launched a FREE Westfield Holiday Shuttle that takes mall-deprived Manhattanites like ME to one of the BEST malls in the tri-state area - the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ. I took a little jaunt out last week, and was thrilled to shop - tax-free! (except fur...I see what you did there, PETA) - the bounty of stores, including Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom - yay! (And yes, I ate a 'bon or two.)

If you're in the mood for some shopping, pick up the Westfield Holiday Shuttle, which runs Monday through Saturday, three times a day from Times Square to the Garden State Plaza mall. The trip takes about 30 minutes, sans traffic:

DEPARTING TIMES: From Times Square 
9:30am, 11:00am, 2:30pm 
(Shuttle Departures board across the street from Madame Tussauds on 42nd Street between 7th & 8th Avenue.)

RETURNING TIMES: From Westfield Garden State Plaza
1:00pm, 4:00pm, 6:00pm 
(Shuttle Returns board at Bus Depot in parking lot by California Pizza Kitchen near Entrance 10 of shopping mall.)