These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

How many of you just sang that title in your head when you looked at it? Anyone? Just me? Ok. Well, I haven’t posted in a while because I got caught up in making crafts. When I get into craft mode, I tend to push other things off and blogging happened to be one of those things. But, I’m back at it!

Fall is my favorite season. The leaves changing color, the break in humidity, sweater weather, Harvest, wiener roasts and, of course, the pumpkins. Normally, I would have hit up a pumpkin patch at least once, but I didn’t do that this year. (And no, I’m not bitter because my own patch died.) We have a small selection of the pumpkins that did survive on our front step and I decided that was enough for us. So, this year I decided to change up my Fall activities.

Fall Fun in Iowa

Around the beginning of September I learned about some events taking place in Iowa during September and October that I thought sounded right up my alley. The first event I checked out was the Vintage & Made Fair in Adel, IA at the Dallas County Fairgrounds on September 19th. You can find out more on Instagram @vintageandmadefair, on Facebook or online at http://www.vintageandmadefair.com. This trip was spur-of-the-moment for me. I literally decided the night before that I would drive South and check it out. The fair had several great vendors both in product and personality.

One vendor I was excited to meet was Michelle of Dirt Road Candle Co. I’ve been following her for a while on Instagram. Michelle handmakes candles, wax melts, soaps and other products. I picked up her candle “Homebody” and love the scent that fills our home. You can find Michelle on Instagram @dirtroadcandleco, on Facebook and online at http://www.shopdirtroadcandleco.com.

The next road trip I took was on October 2nd, a little over two hours away, at the small town of What Cheer, Iowa. The What Cheer Flea Market is a giant flea market on 20 acres at the Keokuk County Fairgrounds and I was excited to check it out. My husband went along with me for this adventure.

I felt very overwhelmed when I first walked into the fairgrounds. I didn’t know where to start. For my Illinois family and friends, this market reminded me of the Prairieland Heritage Steam Show, only on a grander scale. We didn’t cover all of it, but we walked through quite a bit. My main objective was to find an old cheese grater to decorate with and I found two, together for $4. I found other treasures I liked, but opted to walk away with only my cheese graters.

The What Cheer Flea Market costs $2 to get in and the gate lady told us to take one of those rubber wristbands in case we needed to leave and go back in. I didn’t notice until we were on our way home that the wristbands said “I survived the What Cheer Flea Market”. And, that we did.

Supporting Local

The next day I got together with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for the Central Iowa Junk Jaunt. The junk jaunt is a three day vintage road trip to several small town shops. Some shops are antique, others handmade or products specifically made in Iowa. I have driven past several of these places, but had never had a chance to actually check them out until now. The small town of Jewell had the most shops participating in the road trip and that’s where we started.

There were seven shops participating and then a few outdoor vendors. My three favorite shops during our time in Jewell were Urban Heirlooms, Mustard Seed Revival, and DK Soap & Design Studio. After Jewell, we headed to Story City for a delicious lunch at Simply Mae’s Cafe & Boutique. We also walked across the street to a neat shop called The Tin Chandelier. It was a fun day and I was glad I got to check out all the shops for future shopping needs.

So, to end my weekend, I decided on Sunday afternoon to travel to one more shop participating in the junk jaunt. Once again I was able to talk my husband into riding along with me (especially when I said a stop at Casey’s for a fountain Mt. Dew was part of the trip). It was also a gorgeous afternoon to be out and about. We headed to a two-story shop in an old house called JB Knacker in Gilbert, Iowa. There was also a flea market set up right outside this shop. So many great items being offered. If you ever find yourself in these small towns, check out these shops and support local.

***All shops mentioned have Facebook and Instagram accounts. Go check them out and follow them.