HI everyone,
I hope you had a wonderful weekend…I did! Saturday morning 5 of us ladies (and 2 who joined us later) took some “girl time” and ventured to the small town of Carterville, Illinois, (about 15 minutes away) for a fun day of eating, shopping and Christmas dreaming! It was supposed to be very cold… a high of only 38 degrees was forecast, but I think the sun being out helped, because it seemed cool, but not cold… at least to me!
This is a view of the shops along the street… Look at that blue sky! It really was a beautiful day!
If you click on any picture it will enlarge.
We started at a coffee shop called Crown Brew. It was really neat on the inside…brick walls…(she swoons!) and lots of old elements to the building. It was very homey and VERY busy! Everyone in Carterville must have been there for their morning coffee and the Wi-Fi, of course! :o)
I’m not a coffee drinker, so I got hot chocolate and it was delicious… and BEAUTIFUL too!
Here we are toasting our coffee, hot tea and hot chocolate to you!
We liked our choices and here’s a shot to show that… Rebecca said the Brazilian coffee wasn’t quite as strong as she usually has in Brazil…
There were 3 shops all connected together so we could just walk from store to store through doors on the inside. (Which was VERY nice since it was cool/cold outside!)
I took a few pictures of things I saw in the shops…
Here is a picture I saw that caught my eye…
…and a sweet hand painted ornament. It’s much prettier in person than in my picture.
You could find every kind of crocheted hat imaginable…
We had to hit the Thrift store and I think a few ladies bought something. Rebecca, who is from Brazil, said they don’t have any stores like this where she’s from. She was probably overwhelmed especially in the Thrift Shop…it was pretty crowed. But she found a purse she liked and asked if it was a good one…it was a Chaps and at $3.00, we told her it was a very good buy. I think she was quite thrilled to discover she had found a treasure. Sylvia, from Singapore, found one of those copper skillets, almost brand new, for $1.00. She was pretty excited too!
When we were done shopping we went to a little café and bakery called the Rise Above It Café. It was a quaint tiny place that had lines of people almost to the front door. They served soups, sandwiches, salads, quiche, scones, donuts, cinnamon rolls and things like that. The walls were decorated with old nostalgic pictures of the family and local historical sites. Two sisters own the shop and they each help make it a refreshing place to eat.
When we were finished, I had the ladies stand in front of the Café. Leann bought 2 of the famous Cinnamon Rolls! YUMMY! I wonder how long they lasted??? :o)
When we finished in town, we went to AutumnFest Arts and Crafts Fair at John A. Logan Jr. College. There were lots of vendors there and this fair has been going on for as long as I can remember. I never participated in it, but I always like to patronize them and see what’s “new” in the crafts business each year. We saw a little bit of everything there…Here are some pictures I took…there’s something for everyone!
…painted tiles and plates and outlet covers…
…I guess this person liked horse shoes and glass knobs…
…wooden spindles as ornaments…their display really was eye catching.
I spied some American Girl doll clothes…She had been busy sewing, probably all year long.
I liked this lady’s booth… she had wall hangings done with random stitching and appliques… They were very neat to look at. But her booth was so crowded, I could barely get a picture taken.
…this piece was pretty interesting.
There were cookies for sale…
This was a new vendor… he/she made glass bird feeders from Ball jars and glass bowls and other glass pieces glued together. They were brightly painted and displayed and this was a very eye catching booth.
This is a close up of one of the feeders.
There was fudge… Even Maple Bacon Fudge!
Downstairs we saw woven rugs and placemats…
…and Carol Ann’s famous candies… They’ve been coming to AutumnFest for 32 years! They always have the same space and always have the longest lines! They were giving away samples of English Toffee. I don’t EVEN have to tell you how good it was!
…gobs of jewelry booths…
…arm crocheting…
…machine embroidered baby bibs… (Oh, how I remember doing these at Farmer’s Market!)
This booth was different… This man carved these chunky animals with a chain saw and painted them. I snapped a picture of Rebecca, Sylvia and Leann on the Bear Bench…It was very cute!
…more hats and scarves…
The yummiest peanut brittle… I mean seriously delicious!
More wood cutouts…
I stopped to look at this lady’s doll clothes and when I went up to the table, the lady said to me…”These prices aren’t the real price… they are half price.” I said, “The fair just started this morning, it’s a little early to be cutting your prices, isn’t it?” She said, “Oh, they aren’t mine… I’m watching my friends booth and she said to sell something, so I’m trying!” Her prices were $5 and $10! Yikes… this lady must like to sew for fifty cents an hour!
Sylvia liked these snowmen… these 2 were their last ones… I guess they picked the right craft this year.
There was LOTS of woodworking here…and painted signs.
…More doll clothes…
This booth was nice…she had really pretty things and Leann and Sylvia both bought something from her…
Here are some more snowmen and Christmas decorations…
Leann snapped a picture of me…
When we finished at AutumnFest, I told them about one more little shop in a town on the way home and everyone was game, so we stopped by Golden Goodies. It was decorated for Christmas and I only took one shot of the front room. The rest were just booths of all different kinds of things.
That was our day… We started at 10:00 and got back about 3:30. A good time was had by all… and I actually got by pretty cheaply… hot chocolate, lunch and a $6.00 bag of Kettle Corn as we left the fair.
Hope you enjoyed tagging along!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, what a fun day you all had, Jeanne! I would have loved to have tagged along with you. First the wonderful shops, and then all those lovely booths at the bazaar–a good time to have your gift-giving list with you, to see if anything would work for those on your list! (I saw two or three things that would have….)
Thanks so much for sharing, and “taking” us with you, at least via pictures! I’m glad you had wonderful ladies’ day!
HI Charlotte,
We really did have a nice time and it was fun to see new crafts and the latest trend’s going on. The company was pretty nice too! :o)
Thanks Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, that was so much fun, Jeanne, and I’m glad I could “tag” along with you in the comfort of my own home, in a comfortable chair and sipping my own coffee! And I spent nothing, plus my feet don’t hurt!! 🙂 I just love going on those little treks and seeing all the wonderful things that creative people make! Loved the architecture, loved the “hometown” feel of those older towns too, and I could almost smell the wonderful aroma of the bakery! I’d almost be afraid to go along, since I could probably never decide on what to get!
Have you ever gone to Elsah, Ill.? So pretty at Christmas!
HI Linda,
My favorite line in your whole comment was the one…”I spent nothing, plus my feet don’t hurt!” I loved that and could almost hear the words coming out of your mouth.
No, I’ve never even heard of Elsah, IL…but I’ve been to Bishop Hill…ever been there?
I’ll have to look it up…
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow, what a step back in time! Carterville looks exactly like my childhood memories of our town, Santa Rosa in the 1950’s. Doesn’t look like that now. We too have lots of those brick inside buildings though. All reinforced for earthquake standards.
Loved seeing all of the craft goodies. More ideas of what to do with those boxes and boxes of vintage Mason jars. And of course, I collect vintage drawer knobs. Perhaps I need to make something with them also. 🙂 I do wonder if the sellers made enough to cover their booth costs? I haven’t been to a craft show in years, but I believe our recreation department has booth rents at a reasonable minimal cost.
And 38 degrees? Here I am complaining because it is only 60 inside this morning. Hopefully the heater will raise the temperature soon.
On a side note, we haven’t been able to go outside for any length of time without a mask for five days because of the heavy smoke pollution. Really missing my daily walk. And today doesn’t look any better. Red sun. Fire still going and smoke blowing our way. I think it was 25% contained yesterday, but the death count has risen. With so many people now homeless, they have shelters open up and down the north Sacramento valley in every little town imaginable. It will be a long road to recovery for them.
HI Joy,
They have really fixed up the stores in Carterville, making it much more appealing to shop there. My favorite are the old Chicago style brick walls…just love them.
It’s so sad about the fires around you…all those poor people in Paradise…how will they ever recover from such great tragedy?
Please stay safe where you are.
Blessings, Jeanne
That was like going along, and Joy is right — Carterville looks like Boulder when I was growing up. They need a Woolworth’s and a Penny’s and a Valentine’s Hardware, which was a wonderful place for baking and cooking things. What they have is perfectly charming. I’m so glad you all went and had a great time. I would have bought more, but it’s easier for you to get back than it would be for me. I’ll have a cup of hot chocolate in honor of your trip, since this is milk-delivery day.
Yes, definitely Woolworth’s. I dearly loved that place. They had a lunch counter too where occasionally, my mother and I would have lunch. The red seats swiveled and had these funny little push clips on the back which I found were there to hold the edge of a man’s hat. Oh, the memories.
HI Joy,
Yes, you are right… I told Marilyn it was a soda fountain at Woolworth’s but it was a lunch counter. I don’t remember the clips on the seats… how interesting about them being there for the men’s hats. Oh, yes, the memories…
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
HI Marilyn,
I don’t know how old Carterville is, but they have been sprucing up the down town area and it seems to be paying off with visitors. That was pretty evident at the Café.
Oh, we used to have a Woolworth’s and I remember the soda fountain there. Those were the days!
Hot Chocolate sounds good to me too…cheers!
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, oh my goodness I had so much fun just reading about the fun you were having! You MUST take us all along on your next adventure.
I remember Woolworth’s and McCroy’s.
And did Marilyn say “milk delivery?” I remember when we had that too.
I also remember party lines and 5 cent candy bars. Yikes! That was a gazillion years ago.
HI Dorothy,
I’m so glad everyone had a good time tagging along in Carterville with us. It would have been fun if everyone could have come in person… Crown Brew would REALLY have been busy with a few more ladies and their coffee’s.
Yes, Marilyn said Milk Delivery… I know, doesn’t that sound like it can’t be from 2018? But she’s been talking about it for years, so I know it’s true! :o)
I guess anybody over 40 r 50 probably remembers Woolworths!
Oh those good ole days!
Thanks Dorothy,
Blessings, Jeanane
Looks like you had a great day! How nice!! Lots of Christmas stuff out already. I guess it’s at the stores now, too. I shop from home so I miss all the hustle bustle, but I don’t miss it. My girlfriend is looking for a craft and I hoped to tell her about the fast selling snowmen you mentioned. How tall are they, please, and how much did they sell for? Lots of cute stuff there. I liked the ‘BELIEVE’ pennants. That crazy quilt applique type piece you liked is very cool.
AG doll dresses sell here (on the Central Florida West Coast) for the same low prices. Even Pottery Barn here sells them for $10. I bought the cutest pink Gingham checked dress with a pretty white eyelet pinafore there and for that amount. Their market is young moms and they won’t spend much on them, even though they still have to be sewn well enough to wash and to use real buttons, too. ‘Collector’ dolls are a different market and somehow AG managed to slip in there, too. On the internet, anyway. : ) I’m glad you can get a lot more for the ones you sew! Love and hugs, Ali
Bonjour Jeanne,
Glad you had so much fun with your friend sur in Carterville. So wonderful shops and all those Xmas décorations ! Waouh ! If only I could find such amazing Stuff here in Nantes !
Had a wonderful vicarious trip with you girls. That was a lot to do on one day but what fun!!Haven’t been to a craft fair yet this year. Guess I’d better watch for some signs!
Have a good week!