Hey everyone! Hope you are having a great week. If you are among those who have been living through some of those tremendous winter storms, I do hope all is well and that you are safe and warm.
I have just a short post today. If you are among those who left such sweet comments regarding our
Our 5000 Mile Road Trip Christmas Vacation, thank you so much! We had such a great time, and we did make a few purchases along the way. The Man and I have made a pact with each other to not buy typical souvenirs when we travel. Why? Well, most of the time, they end up being junk; but mostly because they lose their luster when removed from the setting. You know.....you get them home and you openly declare, "What the heck was I thinking?" So now we pre-empt travel purchases with 3 questions:
1) Is it consumable......can we eat it, drink it or otherwise use it up?
2) Will it enhance our home decor, and I (we) already know where it will be displayed?
3) Is it very unusual, well made, and something we've never seen before?
With those questions in mind, I'd like to share what we did purchase.
If you are a regular follower, then I'm sure you've heard me mention my love for aprons. Well, I found this one at Mt. Vernon and thought it would be a perfect remembrance of our visit here. And, yes, I have already used it!
The Man bought these for me at a street market in Charleston. The design is of "The Tree of Life,"and the artist was just such a lovely lady. The earrings are very good quality sterling and light-weight, which has made them my "go-to" set!
We had lunch in Charleston at a restaurant called "Hyman's," which is a four-generation owned establishment. We didn't really care for the food, but do these people ever know how to do extended marketing! You take one flight of stairs up to the second floor & restaurant, then another flight down, which leads you right through their little gift shop. The restrooms have this salt scrub to use, so I was already sold before I ever entered the shop. I've used (and made) sugar scrubs, but this stuff is so much better! Maybe because it's from "The Holy City!"
Do you know why Charleston is called The Holy City? This beautiful city is known as the “Holy City” because of the prevalence of churches on the city skyline. Charleston boasts over 400 places of worship of many different denominations throughout the city, and religion is deeply embedded in the city's rich culture.
Hmmm.....you will just have to take my word for it that this jug was once filled with beautiful, golden nectar! We stopped at this cute country store when we saw the sign. The lovely ladies who were operating the store, were giving out little samples of the peach cider, and The Man was hooked! Any suggestions about what I could do with this jug? The label is so cute!
At this same little store, I discovered this beauty! I've been wanting one of these for some time, and this one is full and so very pretty. I knew exactly where it would go......above my kitchen cabinets, but that will be for another post!
So what happens when you are "iced-in" in Abilene, TX and can only travel about a mile in any direction from your hotel? You can eat at Denny's or eat and shop at Cracker Barrel's! I always enjoy strolling through their little gift shop but generally just look. Well, when I spied this little "lovely," I simply could not help myself! She has been brewing up some delicious teas and does it in such a cute way -- always makes me smile.
Well, are these not just precious? These were in the same display as the teapot and jumped right into my open arms! I filled one with cinnamon and the other with cloves, which I like to add to my tea.
Well, what do you think? Did we stick to our 3 rules for souvenirs? I think we did pretty darn well!
Thanks so much for stopping by! It's pretty busy around these parts right now, what with "winter visitors," the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and lest we forget.....the SUPER BOWL! I think we will be hunkering down over here in the East Valley and just enjoy the fun from our television. Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of your week and weekend! "Deflate-Gate" or not, I'm routing for
The Patriots.....well, actually, it's all about Tom Brady -- he is just so darn cute!
