A visit to King Arthur

 

Last Saturday we met up with friends at King Arthur Cafe, Bakery, and Store in Norwich, VT.  It was so much fun!  

I was enamored of the outdoor trees, so Mr. T got several shots of them. 

To me it looked as if stars had fallen into the evergreen branches.  Just so pretty.

And the indoor decor was nice too -- not just the festive winter look, but also the beautiful collages of vintage kitchen implements and utensils.  I was especially taken with the look of the tall jar or vase at right in the photo below:  It's filled with copper cookie cutters and then topped off with greenery and white branches.  I would love to recreate this decor at home with a smaller vase, and would almost certainly add some red berries to the branches and greens.

I wish that the timing had been right to get coffee and a pastry, but it just didn't fit with our schedule and supper plans.  The Nutcracker Cocoa -- Steamed milk, Mocha, Hazelnut Syrup, homemade Marshmallow with a Marshmallow Whipped Cream -- sounded so good.  And I think I would've tried a Cardamom Bun.  The hometown bakery of my childhood was run by a family with Swedish roots and I instantly recognized (by the photo) the cardamom bun as something I loved as a child, though I'm pretty sure it had a different name.

I had specific gifts in mind that I wanted to shop for here, but most were not available.  Out of stock.  I found a few other things that would work, however, and I did get some cookie cutters I had hoped to, for me and for my daughter -- the classic "truck with tree" and a snow globe shape.  Also some nifty and very detailed snowflake cookie stamps. 

I also found some bakeable paper loaf pans I'd been eyeing in the catalog but wouldn't pay $17 for.    Now on sale for a much more reasonable price!  $6 sounded much better.  The ones I got weren't exactly like those below, but you get the idea:

I already used four of the ones that I got to bake my Little Apricot Fruitcakes in.  To be honest, I wasn't really sure how well I would like baking in these paper pans, but I do.  I like them a lot.  They were easy to work with and fill, nice and sturdy, and the cakes baked well in them.  When cooled, it was an easy matter to just wrap them in foil -- not plastic wrap and then foil, as I would do with cakes baked in ceramic or metal pans and removed to cool on racks.  I am glad I bought a package of 12, as I may make some chocolate chai tea bread if time allows.  If we get the opportunity to return to King Arthur anytime soon, I will probably purchase more.

An additional fun touch was that there was live music -- a Celtic duo with fiddle and guitar -- last Saturday during the time we were there,  so that made it even more festive.

And there you have it -- a winter afternoon at King Arthur!  So happy we got to do this.

Candy Cane Christmas Company

 

 I recently found the Candy Cane Christmas Company on Instagram and decided to check and see if they had a website.  They do!  I took a few screenshots to show you all the sort of decor that they carry.  It has a nostalgic, vintage vibe that many of you will enjoy greatly!

Oh, the ornaments!

The most popular categories include Boxes & Buckets, Ornaments, Reindeer, Santa, Snowmen, Tabletop/Mantel Decor, Throw Pillows, and Wall Decor.

In the Nostalgic Feels corner, you will find Bubble Lights, Shiny Brites, and Dummy Boards.

Many of the items here are out of my price range, but they do have sales.  And it's an inspiring, delightful place to visit just for the fun ideas!

Head on over for a sparkling visit at Candy Cane Christmas Company and see what's new!

Black Friday in July at Dayspring!

 

 I decided to check Dayspring to see what deals they might have that would work as Christmas gifts or as part of a family's Christmas celebration.  They are having a wonderful Black Friday in July sale that you might like to take advantage of!

The Bring on the Merry set here might be a meaningful gift to share with a family ahead of Christmas.   The book features 25 days of devotions, activities, and classic Christmas stories.  The ornament book contains 7 pop-out ornaments with coordinating Scriptures and devotions.  $12 for the set is a real bargain, as the regular price was $36.99.  That's 2/3 off!

This t-shirt would make a fun gift for a teen girl: Joy Love Peace T-shirt.

And this festive tea towel could be a great hostess gift!  It's only $5 and there's a coordinating mug for $5 as well.

Or maybe you just need some wrapping paper or cards.  Both of these are on sale.  These great Thomas Kinkade cards are only $10 for a box of 50.  Now that is a deal!  Regular price is $30.

The wrapping paper is $8 for the 4 rolls.  And the paper is reversible!

In addition to the Black Friday sale (which includes quite a few more items), Dayspring's clearance sale for gifts and home decor has many wonderful goodies.  And they've also got a clearance sale for Bible journaling items -- lots of delightful gift possibilities here too.  I can see these as great gift ideas for my teen granddaughters.

So head on over to Dayspring and check out their sales.  I think you will like what you find.

A lovely little shop for gifts

 

If you have ladies on your Christmas list who enjoy  unique jewelry with a natural touch, you will want to check out my friend Sarah's Instagram account, White Mountain Resin.  I just purchased the earrings shown in the photo above, and I couldn't be more pleased.

Above is another set of earrings I purchased from Sarah.  These are made with rose petals and baby's breath.  She has many more earring designs, too.

Sarah also makes necklaces and bracelets, and I will show you a few below.

An ocean scene

Pretty blue flower necklace

Customizable charm bracelet

Sweet summer necklace

 She also offers coasters, key chains, bookmarks, and other fun items.  Her prices are reasonable and the shipping is free to the USA.  Check out her creations -- I think you'll find perfect gifts for some of the friends on your Christmas gift list!

A Christmas shop worth visiting

In yesterday's post I promised to come back and share more about Kellerhaus, the shop where we traditionally take several of our grandkids for ice cream after our Christmas shopping trip with them.

We often brought our own kids here during the Christmas times of long ago.  Now it's fun to share this with our grandkids too.  Back in the day, there were a lot more animated figures, like elves in a workshop, or a Bavarian band (if I remember right).  But there is still plenty of enchantment.

Some of these photos are from previous years.  The decor varies quite a bit from year to year, as do the items being offered for sale.

Kids love the player piano that plays Christmas tunes for 25¢.

They were very disappointed that it was out of order.

Such a magical place to enjoy an ice cream sundae!

And I mean REALLY enjoy an ice cream sundae!

Santa is "sleeping" at his workshop.  Turn that dial beside the red and green stocking and you can see him breathe and hear him snore!

 The view of lake and mountains is lovely this time of year.  This is the view from the ice cream parlor area.

Pretty Christmas trees are everywhere!

These felt trees from this year are gorgeous in person!  I hope to try making some trees like these.

Josiah liked these tiny bird dishes and put his hand in the photo so you can get an idea of just how tiny these little plates are.

"Lake life."  Need we say more?

These lake-themed plates and mugs are beautiful too. 

These dimensional winter scenes hold flameless candles.

Last year, Josiah posed with an elf in the "Pictures with Santa" area

This was a fun display from last year.  That is a cookie jar front and center!

Kellerhaus is a candy shop too!  The chocolates and other candies are made in the room in back of this display.

I always enjoy seeing the beautifully decorated fireplaces.  There are many!

There's even a pretty lighted wreath on the chimney!

Hope you've enjoyed browsing through one of our favorite Lakes Region shops!  If you are ever in New Hampshire, Kellerhaus  is well worth a visit.

A fun morning with dear grandchildren

With December upon us once again, it was time to plan our annual Christmas shopping trip with three of our local grandchildren.  I think we've been doing this for around five years.

We take them out for a meal (usually breakfast), then go shopping so they can buy gifts for their parents and one another.  The grand finale is a trip to a favorite shop for the ice cream buffet.

We had decided while we were together on Thanksgiving that December 1 would be The Day.  It turned out to be perfect weather -- mostly sunny, with mild temperatures.

I will share more photos of the gift shop tomorrow.  It's a pretty amazing place and well worth the visit if you are ever in the lakes region of New Hampshire.

Breakfast was at a favorite McDonald's, as usual.  This year we gave them the option of a diner or cafe instead, but the general consensus was that we would not tamper with tradition.

This McDonald's has a definite North Woods theme.  Look at the chairs with the moose cutouts on the back!

Not the best photo of the fireplace, but you see my Peppermint Mocha!

A better (though older) photo of the fireplace and eating area ... what a difference three years makes!

Yes, there are snowshoes on the wall in this McDonald's!

After a successful and marathon shopping trip to Ocean State Job Lot (funded by us with Crazy Deal gift cards acquired throughout the year), we headed to Kellerhaus for our ice cream and browsing.  Although we seldom buy much, we all enjoy seeing the beautiful, unique things on display, and the kids usually get a bit of candy to take home.

The ice cream buffet features homemade ice cream and all the toppings you can think of.  Kinda pricey, but it's an experience as much as a snack.

The one disappointment was that the player piano (at far right) was not working.

Check out that view, above!  The White Mountains in the distance, and even a bit of Lake Winnipesaukee is visible.

Following our ice cream, we head home, where the kids sneak their gift purchases into their rooms to be wrapped later and placed under the tree.  As we left Kellerhaus on Saturday, we all agreed -- this is a tradition worth doing again next year!

A Cracker Barrel Christmas with Arlene!

Image of Woodland Cardinal Mug from CrackerBarrel.com

My friend Arlene blogs over at Nanaland, and she recently visited a Cracker Barrel where the Christmas goodies were already on display.  Check out the post here:  A Cracker Barrel Christmas.

Our nearest Cracker Barrel (and the only one) here in New Hampshire is quite a distance away, certainly not a trip to take on the spur of the moment.  So I went to their website instead and enjoyed browsing the Christmas section there.  It's not arranged as beautifully as in the store, but the merchandise is all there.  (Arlene's photos, of course, do give the flavor of actually being in the store.)

I was smitten by the Woodland Cardinal Mug at the top of the post, even though I certainly don't need another mug of any sort.  Maybe for decorating?  It would work for fall right through Christmas!

Here are a couple of other neat finds from CrackerBarrel.com:

This sweet Woodland Chickadee Ornament would make a nice gift, 

Photo from CrackerBarrel.com

 and I also love the  Paper Barn Ornament, a cute variation on a putz house.

Photo from CrackerBarrel.com

 I would love to hang either on our own tree.  Both are very reasonably priced.

Thanks to Arlene for the Christmas inspiration from Cracker Barrel!