ROAD TRIP: LET'S EAT

One last post about our road trip to Lancaster and then, I'll move on. I promised you food.
If you're there on a Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday, skip the hotel breakfast and head to Central Market in historic downtown. This is a bustling farm and food market and more. Fresh-baked, fresh-roasted, just-picked, organic, and multi-ethnic foods in what is billed as the oldest continuous farmers' market in the country. Visit them here.

Visit Thom's at their website here. So good!!

Stopped for a chat with this pretty lady and enjoyed some samples. Bought a loaf of rosemary ciabatta. Delicious!  

Found organic treats for Nigel and Scout here. 

I love farmers markets! Our local outdoor market opens for the season tomorrow.
See the Easton Farmers' Market on Facebook.
We visited two restaurants on our trip last weekend that were really outstanding. In the fine dining department, John J. Jeffries offers a seasonable, sustainable, and farm fresh menu. We had a quinoa/beet salad that was so delicious, and my salmon was perfect, tender and moist, with a tiny bit of crispness on the outside that I've tried so hard to perfect at home, but haven't quite mastered. Take a look here.
For more casual fare, it's really worth a little drive outside Lancaster, to Manheim. There, JoBoy's Brew Pub serves the best pork and chicken barbecue we've ever tasted! And we've lived in North Carolina and Virginia, so we feel somewhat qualified to judge. Add their own beer and a selection of local wines, and it was a highlight of our trip. Did I mention the delightfully tangy coleslaw?
So there you have it, three great places to eat in the Lancaster, PA area, should you feel a little road trip to Amish country coming on.
Yesterday, I received a happy surprise in the mail. Staci, of Life At Cobble Hill Farm hosted a giveaway, and I won a set of four handcrafted candles!! Love the soft colors and the subtle scents. My favorite is Tropical Island. You can find the insrtuctions for making  them yourself on Staci's blog.

Aren't Oliver and Emerson the cutest?

 Hope you find good food and a happy surprise or two in your weekend. XO.

ROAD TRIP: THE LOOT

Last post, I showed you a few of the things I didn't buy at the flea market on Sunday. Let's have a look some of the treasures that did come home with us.

Lots of doggie treasure for my little library/dog room.

Bought a stack of these cocktail napkins. Love!

Dickens, another love. How cute is this little trinket/cigarette box? It's like the vendors knew I was coming.

This 1889 ledger has lots of pages filled in with beautiful script. It's the kind of thing that makes a mixed-media, collage artist's heart flutter.

Watch faces. What can I say? I was feeling a bit "steampunk-ish."

Curtain tie-back pins. Now I'm sad that I didn't buy the whole box. What was I thinking?

Check out this stack of quilt blocks. The vintage pin cushion came with all those lovely old stick pins. 

You know that I also have a thing for white pottery, particularly animals. Love this sweet pair of nicely crazed roosters.

Oh there's more, but my very favorite find has to be the little scotty...

Is it just me, or is he seriously adorable?

That's a part of what came home with us from Renningers Flea Market in Adamstown, PA. Spent the weekend in Lancaster.  It's been a long time since we visited Amish country. I think we stopped in when we were doing the college tour with our son.That was several years ago. I had a hankering to see some big barns and do a bit of flea marketing. Little getaways are a good thing. Right now, for this short while that our girl is home, it is possible to leave our menagerie without hiring a house-sitter. We're already planning our next trip.
Next post, I'll link you to some great food, in case you're planning a trip up that way, and I'll tell you about the hidden treasure of a town that we found on the way home. Now, go outside, cause it's SPRINGTIME, baby!! XO.

ROAD TRIPPING: PART 2

We were up and at 'em bright and early today for flea marketing. It was really cold, but so much fun. Here are a few pics of the ones that got away.

I fell in love with this little guy but sadly, he was way too spendy. I held him for a little while, took his picture, and waved good-bye.  Note to anyone who happens to be married to me: I would probably get over it a lot quicker if  I had one of those lambs that we saw yesterday. Just saying...

You know I love a polka dot. I could just picture these with my red Fiesta ware at Christmas.

Some of the vendors could have easily made the short list for "Hoarders." One lady had tables piled 3 feet high with overflowing trays of costume jewelry. Some of my Fly Tribe friends would have lost their minds! Wish they could have been with me.

When I get home and unpack, I'll show you the ones that didn't get away. I unearthed some treasures.

I still haven't told you where we went on this little road trip getaway so here's another hint.

Gotta run. We'll talk later. XO.

ROAD TRIPPING

Took a little road trip. Met these spring lambs and now I want one. Real bad. I would learn to spin and knit. Promise.

This guy was more than willing to come home with us and I am crazy for goat cheese...

Where'd we go? Not telling yet, but I'll give you a hint...

Gotta run now. More tomorrow. Bye.

XO

NIGEL'S FIRST ROAD TRIP AND HORSE BATHS

Busy weekend here. Made a quick road trip to Charlottesville, Virginia, to see our beautiful girl and pick up some of her things before she heads west for the summer. Took Nigel along. When he was a puppy, even short trips in the car caused "tummy trouble," so he's never been on a car trip of more than an hour or so. The vet assured us he would probably outgrow it, and suggested Benadryl.  As Nige is an only dog now, we decided to give it a try.
Well, our little man made us so proud! Charlottesville is a very dog-friendly town. He was welcomed at restaurants with outdoor seating and served his own bowl of water with our drinks.
He shopped in the Dover Saddlery store and enjoyed free dog treats. Too busy shopping in there, to get any pics!  For 10 extra dollars, he could have stayed in our hotel, but our girl wouldn't hear of it. He stayed with her. 
We took him to Petco, where he picked out a new toy and carried it up to the checkout himself.
Gifted?

We hiked...

Pen Park

Hiked down to the Rivanna River.

Dining on the downtown mall.

Snuggling down in the back seat of  Mom's truck for the ride home.

Are we there yet?

On our way out of town, spotted this...

Yessirree! That's the Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile. Unfortunately, it turned before I could get a better pic.
The week is shaping up to be busy as well. It's very warm today (mid 80's), so I'm doing what horse people do on the first hot day. Scrubbing ponies. Oh, they get groomed plenty in the winter months, but there's nothing like that first good, soapy, down to the hide scrubbing in the spring.

Zoey prefers to be grubby!

Squeaky clean from nose to tail!

This is Abby's "oh crap, a bath" face.

Well maybe just a little sip.

Hey, are those cookies?

They are safely shut in their stalls to dry. If I turn them out wet, they will immediately drop and roll in the dirt, undoing all my hard work. Not a chance, ladies. I wasn't born yesterday.
Wishing you a warm and sunny week at your place! XO