I thought I would tell you about my trip one day at a time. So today I will tell you about last Friday. I flew into Minneapolis and got there at 8:00 a.m. My dear BFF picked me up at the airport. What to do until 3 p.m. and the start of Spring Fling? Shop, of course. So first we stopped at Mall of America that is near to the airport. I thought the little French Bakery would be open and I could get some macarons. Did you know that there are Mall walkers at the MOA? We walked over to Nordstroms and nothing was open and the little French Bakery was not there anymore. But on the way back out of the mall, we stopped at the entrance to the aquarium and there was this machine that turns a penny into an oval stamped with one of four sea animals. I had to make one for Dylan. I chose the seahorse. It was fun. You just turn the crank and this is what you get:
Next we drove out to a place that is called The General Store. It was fun to see all the stuff they had. They have a little cafe so we could eat if we wanted to. I got some nice souvenirs. A shirt for DH. A darling onesie for Claire. They had lots of retro candy. I found a new flavor of the candy I like to eat while stitching. It is sassafras. It tastes a bit like rootbeer tea. I even found some candles that spell out "Dylan". His birthday is coming up so that will be fun to surprise him with.
Then the real fun place to shop: Stitchville USA. I had a list of things in my head that I wanted to buy and they had almost all of them. I love seeing their models too. I got a couple of things just because they were on display and cute. What an organized store. I got charts (9), fabrics (4), threads(3), a mermaid needle magnet, needles. I got all the stuff that I wanted. I've had my eye on this Just Nan Bee needleroll for the last couple times I've gone to Stitchville and I finally just bought it. It was hog heaven. It's a good thing we left when we did, the longer I stay there, the more things I find.
My BFF wanted to go to a Bead Store that was having a sale. So we found it. I wanted to get some stuff for finishing the needlepoint beads that I made.
Then it was time for lunch. We went to a place I have never tried before but they are known for their sausage pizza, Rocky Rococo. It was delicious. I love their breadsticks too. It was nice to sit and talk for a while.
Finally time to drive to Spring Fling. The weather was a bit crazy. It was snowing on the way.
This is my room. It was very nice but I knew I wouldn't spend much time in it.
This is the view from my window seat:
On the desk in the room was a candle, a bird, and three very delicious caramels. So thoughtful!
We went down to the stitching room and got more goodies: a stitching bag with a pretty notebook and one of those glass files, luggage tag (I needed one for my new suitcase) inside.
I've wanted one of those files.
Then on our table in the stitching room even more goodies. Flowers, cherry wood pin cushion, scissors, a wooden box with a place to put stitching in the top, a drinking cup. So many nice things. At the table were three friends that I had met before. It was a nice group. (BFF, me, Pat, Mary Kay and Carrie).
Stitchville owner, Deb, introduced Linda of Chessie and Me.
We got started on finishing our boxes. Linda had painted all the boxes a Pepto Bismol pink. (You can see them lined up behind Deb on the table). We had to rub on wax as a resist and paint them black.
We also had to stitch our pre-stitched pieces to wool. Mine went fine even though I didn't do nun stitch around the edge.
Of course a meal at Oak Ridge is always delightful. The desserts are outstanding.
BFF and I stitched for a while but we were really tired as it was a long day. We will finish up our boxes tomorrow and see what the main project is.
A
What fun! I can't wait to hear more about your grand adventure. I hope you got a picture of your new suitcase. Giggles!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to start your retreat. I enjoyed looking at all the photos.
ReplyDelete