This weekend, I got to play host to my best friend from Cape Breton, Janice. She drove down without any of her 4 boys or her husband. She took her time and did some shopping on her way down. And then she was all mine!! She even brought me flowers…..at my request. Plus a pretty bowl and candy for my children. And a chunky orange necklace! I’m spoiled, I know.
We sat down to a yummy chicken supper and then headed out for a short trip to Mission Madness, a fundraiser that my other bestie’s church puts on every year to fundraise for a certain Mission Project, this year for Vanuatu. There are carnival style games, cookie decorating, face painting but most importantly, a cake walk. Every year we go and try to win a cake. And we almost never do. We have been known to stop at the grocery store on our way home to buy one! { We went home empty-handed, but one showed up at our door – Thanks, Rachel!! }
We stayed up late, chatting and looking at decorating magazines. That is a common thing when we get together. Its fun to bounce ideas off each other and get opinions on rooms, colours and furniture. We’ve been doing it since we met way back when we studied interior decorating. We may have ate ice cream, too…..as per tradition.
We got up the next morning, and headed out the door for breakfast at Sugar Moon Farms. Have I mentioned how much I love it at Sugar Moon? Have you been? I highly recommend it. Highly. Hannah wrote a note on her placemat for our friend, Dave, who helps boil, and left it for him at the front desk. It was a tasty meal that carried us a lot further into the day.
We headed to Truro from there and spent some time wandering the streets of Truro, hitting some of my favourite places. We hit the Truro Farmer’s Market and smelled all the yummy smells and looked at some adorable handmade goodies. Then we went to Babbling Brook, and we each found some goodies to take home there. { I got more spoons – surprised?? } We stood outside the shop and talked about heading to Noveltea but we weren’t hungry yet and our caffeine levels were still up so we skipped that stop and headed down the street to Inglis.
Now, if you know Truro at all, you know Inglis has it going on. That street is filled with awesome shops and businesses and we could’ve spent the entire day there. But we hit my highlights, the first being Pearl & Daisy. We smelled soaps and candles, deciding that some of them smelled good enough to eat. I love the displays and how open and airy it feels. Definitely a great place to shop and sniff!!
We ducked into Onslow Historic Lumber. Janice has plans to paint her pine bed and so she needed some Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint….I may have highly recommended that option…… It was great to see Rosemary and poke around all the cool bits and pieces she has in the store. I left with a Miss Mustard Seed Lookbook and two key holes plates. Janice is armed for her first milk paint project!! And Lena still says she’d like to work there…..a kid after my own heart!!
We decided a bathroom break and refreshments were in order by this time. So we popped into Jimolly’s for treats and coffee. { I may or may not have had some of those treats for breakfast….it had peanut butter in it, that’s breakfast food!! } We sat and enjoyed a little rest and my girls snuggled in on a comfy couch there. Janice took our picture…..
We continued our wander up the street, waved at Jaime at the Clay Cafe and decided to pop into Alderberry Village. There are two things I love about this shop. The first being it always smells so good. The second being that they have a vintage section in the back. And I always find something. Yesterday it was a table and a vase for me. Janice took home a pitcher. And they were nice enough to let me leave the table there until we were ready to head back to the car. Score!!!
Our last stop was Above & Beyond Home Decor. It was so springy and bright and very welcoming there! Lots of colourful spring accessories, awesome furniture and of course, fabulous staff!! While we were there, a few friends walked in, too, so that was a nice surprise!!
We headed up back to the car, and up the road to another shop, The Reclaimed Cottage. I had been following them on Facebook for a bit so it was neat to get to see the shop in person. But we left empty handed. In the car again, a quick bite for a very late lunch and then homeward bound.
When we got home, we unpacked all our goodies and gave Janice a quick tour of the studio and the projects I have on the go now. Then, goodbyes 🙁 It is always so wonderful to see Janice, our visits are never often enough or long enough. Is that how it is with your best friend, too? We will be the crazy old ladies taking bus tours and barking at the the traffic.
To be continued,
Lori
