Road Trip Fun!

Hi everyone! I am happy to report I am home and finally rested up after my week long road trip to Pennsylvania! I have missed blogging and am happy to be home to get back to it! Thanks so much to those of you who visited and commented on my two guest posts. Well, I have lots to share from my road trip....gorgeous land,  flowers and other sights I saw, some fun finds, & a whole bunch of thrifty finds! I really want to get it all in one post, but we'll see as I go!

As many of you know, I went on a road trip with my mother-in-law, Joyce (and her dachshund, Elvis),  and my daughter, Miranda to Pennsylvania to visit my brother-in-law and his family. We had never been up there and had such fun! The drive was amazing with such beautiful scenery. I was able to take lots of photos since Miranda drove us. She is one fantastic driver and drove almost every mile of our trip! Anywho, here are a few photos from the drive up. Most of these are taken in Virginia and West Virginia. These states are breathtakingly beautiful!

Here's a tunnel through a mountain...going in and coming out!

These photos were taken at New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia. This was truly one of  the most amazing & beautiful places I have ever seen! If you are ever in West Virginia, I highly recommend you go see it for yourself. These photos just don't do it justice. You can read more about it here if you are interested.

We saw such gorgeous flowers & trees all along the way and everywhere we went on our trip!

We visited Raccoon Creek State Park in Pennsylvania. It was oh so pretty! My niece and nephew had fun playing on the "beach"!

We drove into Holmes County, Ohio, home of the world's largest Amish community. We had such fun driving through their beautiful land, shopping at the flea market and thrift stores, and spending the night in Millersburg with my niece and nephew. 

We saw lots of neat sights along the way there and back. I love the buildings in the photos below and the huge smoke stacks. My brother-in-law and his family live in Industry, Pennsylvania and I know after visiting, where the name came from! Industry borders the Ohio River and there are lots of industrial buildings, mills, and power plants along the river!

There are bridges everywhere crossing the Ohio River and this pretty little creek runs through the hills down the hill from his house. That's my Miranda peeking through the trees!

In addition to the beautiful sights we saw, we found lots of awesome thrift stores to shop in. I was one happy camper! I will share most of the things I bought.

First up are some various storage items I bought for my craft room! I plan to paint the wall pocket and the shelf. My Farah was very curious about all the new things as you can see in the second photo...:)

I also bought a cute little glass pedestal dish that matches a trifle dish I already own, a crystal lamp base, a small cloche, 6small bowls that match some recently thrifted saucers, and four white ironstone pitchers for my collection.

I bought an iron holder that attaches to the wall, as well as this iron cover. Not sure how it works, but I think I will use it for decor in my laundry room. I also bought this cute little wood trash can. I am planning to repaint and decoupage it for either my guest room or my bathroom. I couldn't pass up the frames. The large gold one will get a paint job and the two small ones are very ornate, vintage frames with bubble glass.

If you know me at all, you know I love apothecary jars and I hit the jackpot in one store in Amish country. I love the two round ones. I didn't have any like them...:) I also found this vintage chalkboard that I had to have! And, I found three more metal containers to add to my ever-growing collection for my front porch (if we ever get it built!).

I bought some craft supplies....silverware, small wood plaques, and these adorable little galvanized buckets.

I found oodles of books....some new and some used. We went to a really cool discount store called Ollie's. The book prices simply could not be beat! My daughter and I were in Heaven! I bought several books there for myself as well as for my classroom. I also bought books at the thrift stores for both myself and classroom. The ones in the middle are vintage and will be great for decorating. The top three were just a quarter each!

I fell in love with this little dish and was just intrigued with it. I had to purchase it  since it was just so adorable and just $1.50! As soon as I got the chance, I looked it up online and discovered it is called a Butter Bell and is produced by the L. Tremain Company. The Butter Bell was designed in the late 19th century in France. It was designed to keep butter soft and spreadable without it becoming rancid. You can see below that the butter is placed in the cup shape which is on the underside of the lid (it holds 1 stick or a half cup). The crock is filled about one third full of cool water and the butter sits in the water which creates an airtight seal, so refrigeration is not necessary. This method is supposed to keep the butter fresh for up to thirty days provided the water is changed every three days. Quite a clever little invention isn't it? I love how one side has the word butter and the other has beurre which is French for butter....:)

I found two sets of napkin rings for my growing tablescape obsession!

I found a pretty milk glass pedestal vase for my collection. You can see it in the top left photo. And, my favorite find was these Fire King milk glass cups that I have been searching for every time I go thrifting! I was absolutely ecstatic when I discovered one hanging on an end cap for just $0.25. I rounded the corner and discovered three more....another rose print and two different ones! I fell in love with these after seeing them on a blog some time ago! I have found several online, but they are out of my price range and I am all about the thrill of the hunt! So happy the wait paid off! Now....I need to find the ones I don't have, so the hunt continues...:)

This last photo featured the souvenirs I bought. A Christmas ornament of the New River Gorge Bridge, a slate heart from a sweet Amish gentleman, some Amish made licorice for my sister, and a small quilted key chain which I will use for a Christmas ornament that was hand-quilted in Amish country. 

If you stuck around through it all....thank you! I wanted to go ahead and get it all in one post. I am hoping to finish up a couple crafty projects to share this week. I have a super busy week of appointments...Dr, fridge repair, college for my son, etc., so we shall see! Hopefully I will get to a couple projects...:) Have a blessed week my friends!

Until next time....