Junk Bonanza & Minneapolis // Day 2 // April 2014

We decided after a late night of playing board games, sleeping in would be nice. So we all took our time getting up and around the next day before we headed out to Shakopee for day two at Junk Bonanza. (See Day One here!)

We wanted breakfast so we decided to stop at a little diner in Shakopee called Wampach's. It seemed like one of those local joints that has been around forever and serves homestyle food. The signs were all originals and set the tone for a fun breakfast.

Inside, the place was partially kept in (what I am guessing) is it's original decor, but with some added paintings and mirrors from Bed, Bath and Beyond. In the corner I noticed a few vintage photos of the restaurant, printed in black and white and framed nicely. I think that it would make it more inviting and fun if the whole restaurant was decorated that way with other memorabilia from the town. I love that kind of vintage, historic feel in a restaurant!

We all ordered breakfast of one kind or another and it was all very good! I was especially impressed by the pancakes! Which is not my typical favorite breakfast food! I don't think there was anything that wasn't good. Plus you've got to love a place that has a dish of Dum Dums at the register! The flavor I wanted was gone so the waiter told me 'we've got the whole bag!' which in a Northern accent comes out more like 'behg'. I really enjoy the Northern accent, I think it's really charming in a homey sort of way. :)

After we finished breakfast we went out to Canterbury Park to do a second day of treasure hunting. I think the first room was quickly overwhelming for Emy & Matthew, but once we got through some more and stopped for a frozen yogurt break it was a bit more relaxed!

I was so excited about my sprinkle cone, I couldn't even hold still for the picture! haha :)

We stopped by a booth called ReUSE Minnesota where they had a book making project you could do. They took pieces of old file folders, old book pages, maps, stickers, nails, twigs, glue etc. to make some really cute little books. Emy & Matthew, KC and I each made one. 

What do you think?

I had a mental list going of things that I was eyeing the day before and through the current day that I debated between before we left. One thing I decided to go back for was gone, oh well.

But I ended up with an adorable vintage black handbag (It's an obsession!) with these gorgeous rhinestones around the clasp, at $24 it was a little more than I usually pay... but for the detail I couldn't pass it up!

I also purchased a whimsical little gnome planter from my favorite springy booth! I think he's really pretty cute! And since it was the last day of the Bonanza I got him for 20% off! :) 

And on the way out I picked up a silk scarf I had been eyeing the day before and a music box from the same place. The woman at the booth tried to convince me the day before to purchase the scarf, but it had a few stains (I think that would come out) and a very small hole, I wasn't up for paying $10 or $8 (what she offered to lower it to), but luckily it (along with the music box) were both on the half price table the last day! Score!

I also found a fun little page from a book with lions on it that I want to frame for a friend!

Emy also got a vintage black bag, twins. :) And together they got some cute little bird baking soda cards.

Overall I think I did pretty well! I got some really neat things, some at sale prices and I can't wait to do projects with them and incorporate them into our home!

I think focusing on only buying things that were really unique, I couldn't find again, or were just perfect for some reason or another helped to keep me from over-spending and ending up with things that were just ok. It was a good system and something new and different to do together and with our friends. Thank you Flea Market Style / Ki Nassauer and Junk Bonanza for the free tickets! I will definitely be back in the future... and hopefully ordering one of your sold out shirts! :)

After the Bonanza, we went back to Emy & Matthews to rest before heading out to dinner. We decided to go to Cosetta, an Italian Eatery in St. Paul. It was sort of a cafeteria/food court/deli style setting with lots of tables upstairs. It was really nice, and it was very fun to try so many different types of food!

After that we went into their dessert room.... what. a. dream! The cases were just gorgeous! Filled with everything from Canoli to Macarons & Biscotti to Tarts.

I couldn't decide... so I got a bunch of macarons and a mini raspberry tart (which ended up being my breakfast the next day! :) ). 

It was all extremely delicious! I highly recommend this restaurant whether for dinner or just dessert! 

Thank you Emy & Matthew for hosting us and for being terrific tour guides and eating companions. We were so glad to catch up with you and spend a fun weekend together! :) 

Then we drove back to Kansas... straight into a storm.

Did you miss Day One? Post here.

What have you found thrifting recently?

What are your favorite cities to visit? 

Always happy to have travel recommendations, feel free to leave them in the comments! :) 

XOXO,

Alexandra

Junk Bonanza & Minneapolis // Day 1 // April 2014

If you saw THIS post, you might remember that I won tickets to a junk show called 'Junk Bonanza'. This is a show filled with tons of vendors who sell antique, salvaged, vintage, unique or upcycled items. Since we have friends who live in Minneapolis (a mere 30 minutes from the venue in Shakopee) who graciously invited us to stay with them for a few days, we went ahead and attended the event. I'm so glad we did!

It was wonderful to see our friends Emy and Matthew who moved to Minneapolis over the summer and get a taste of their life up North! We missed getting together with them for game nights and dinner dates, so it was so great to see them for a few days! As you might recall, we have visited the Twin Cities several years ago, which was a blast (post here), but to see it through the eyes of people who live there... that's a whole new adventure! :)

We left school after lunch on Thursday and drove straight to E&M's apartment, we caught up a bit and then called it a night, I'm really not that much fun after 8 hours in the car! : /

Check out this gorgeous Minnesota sunset! A trend, by the way!

The next day E&M set off to their respective jobs and we headed to breakfast, at a recommended bakery before making the short drive to Shakopee. We stopped at Wuollet Bakery and grabbed a chocolate frosted long john (KC), an apple turnover (me) and two iced mochas to go. The bakery was cute, you could tell it had around for a while. There were so many delicious looking things in their cases! Both of our pastries were good, our coffee was just ok... which is too bad.. but you win some, you lose some. Definitely stop here for desserts and breakfast pastries, maybe get some type of coffee... It's completely possible that I'm a picky iced latte consumer. :)

The drive was easy, we drove past some scenic wetland areas and then arrived at Canturbury Park, the venue, which is a horse racing park. We got there right around the time the doors opened and didn't have to wait too long to get through the doors.

At first Junk Bonanza just needs to be observed. There is SO much to see! Everywhere you look there are old globes, bins of scrabble tiles, vintage linens, costume jewelry and refinished furniture. It is a bit overwhelming but at the same time paradise for someone like me! I got so many good ideas and picked up some treasures for our apartment.

We made it to the second room and entered a raffle to win a gift card. Every six minutes they drew a name. It was pretty hard to hear at times, but KC actually won! :) He received a $25 gift card to a huge booth on the second level where we picked out a vintage card game called Rook, adorable cat book plates (worth $50!) and some fun little Scottish tartan fine bone china mugs. We only spent about $7.50, because the gift card covered most of our purchase! Not a bad way to start the day! :)

After that we found this priceless post card of a group of water skiers with a stuffed bear on their shoulders. It is so ridiculous that I couldn't pass it up! It only cost $1.

Then we made it to a booth that had a lot of more quality vintage items including quite a few things that had a circus theme. For those of you who don't know, my grandparents are members of the Shrine. So every year since I was an infant I have been to the Shrine Circus in our area. My grandfather passed away when I was in high school, but we have continued going. Every year I have become increasingly worried about the welfare of the animals, and after an abuse report just the day after we saw the show this year, I think it will be my last. It makes me really sad to end the tradition... but relieved that I won't be worried about watching those animals yearly. That was a long interjection... but it explains why I wanted to find a piece of memorabilia that could sort of represent the tradition in my life. So this booth was really cool for me, and I ended up finding a bunch of Shrine circus posters from the 1940's! KC and I, after much debate, decided on this really cool piece from a Milwaukee Shrine Circus in the 1940's. It was marked at $55, but the woman at the booth took $49 for it because we were so interested, and also because a small amount of the paper on the front is missing. I think it is going to be such a neat addition to our home, one that will add variety to our wall collages and make me smile when I see it.

What do you guys think?!?

Then we grabbed some corn dogs and cheese curds (duh!) at one of the restaurants onsite and ate lunch out on a patio. It was a sunny day in the high 60's - low 70's, so it was a great treat to be outside during the day! :)

We went in and voted on some lawn decorations with money to raise money for a Minnesota no-kill shelter (great idea! & fun to see the displays!) and then continued looking around.

Before we left we also stopped at a booth from a local store where we found a few Batman comic cover reproductions ($3 each, $9 total), a map of the great lakes from an old book ($4.50), and two Kansas flash cards ($1.50 each, $3 total).

When we left there were a few things I had in mind for the next day... but I felt pretty content with my purchases. :)

We decided to rest our legs and caffienate at Starbucks for a few hours while we each did some computer stuff.

After that we met Emy & Matthew back at their place and decided to get dinner. They decided on Pizza Luce, a local pizza restaurant, not too far from their place. We started by getting the cheese sticks and followed  it up by splitting the Pizza Luce (Sausage, Tomato, Onion, Sauce, Cheese). Both things were super tasty and we had fun splitting a casual dinner. Sometimes I think KC and I could eat pizza 5 nights a week... :)

Then Matthew went out for a bit while KC, Emy and I played dominoes back at their place.

During dinner we kept thinking about the SNL skit called 'The Pizza Eater. It is hilarious and we had to show Emy & Matthew since they hadn't seen it yet! You can find it HERE if you haven't seen it! Melissa McCarthy is so great.

We spent the rest of the night playing games and relaxing at their apartment. We started with this 'new' game I scored at Goodwill for $0.50 called 'Pass the Pigs'. Have you played it? It's crazy, you literally roll two plastic pigs like you would dice! It was really fun, and surprisingly easy to retain the scoring!

After that we played Qwirkle, which is a new favorite. It's sort of a hybrid of Dominoes, Scrabble and Set. I think it's really fun, and very different from the board games that we play most frequently. Plus it's very nice that you can purchase this one for a reasonable price at a normal place like Target. You don't have to hunt it down or shell out $50+ for it!

Then we called it a night before we set out for another day at the Bonanza!

Have you ever been to Junk Bonanza or anything like it?

Have you thrifted anything great lately?

What are your favorite board games?

Stay tuned for finds & food from Day Two!

Thank You for Reading!

XOXO,

Alexandra

$4 Cashmere & The Case of the Broken Clasp

I know that it's technically spring, and no one wants to see or even think about sweaters... but let's be honest, it snowed in Kansas again Monday... so sweaters really are in the mix for at least part of the country for a bit longer.

Sometimes you hit thrifting gold at the salvation army and goodwill. Seriously, it's possible! I recently found this fantastic bright pink cashmere Izod sweater at Goodwill for just 4 dollars! It is so cozy and fits really well! It will go with so many more things... but it was so comfy paired with my leather leggings. 

Izod Sweater: Goodwill, $4

Leather Leggings: Target, $25

Studded Black Flats: Target, $21

Camisole: Old, Clearance. - gift

Bow Earrings: Icing, $7?

Vintage Necklace: Salvation Army, $3

Purse: Target, $20 - Pictured Below

Outfit Total: $80?

I love this purse. I really wanted a basic everyday, black purse. So I got this at Target for only $20, but within the first week of wearing it, the magnetic clasp on the flap broke. :( So every time I pick it up, or turn a corner in the car and it falls off the seat... its entire contents fly everywhere. I'm sure that if I try, I can find some type of magnet or piece to put in there that will fix it. But I'm a little irritated, because I haven't bought a purse in a while. So I'm choosing not to try to fix it right now... haha.

This is what happens when KC is shooting pictures of me. :) Silliness. 

Have you ever found a super nice quality piece at a typical thrift store?

I would love to hear your thrifting stories! :) 

XOXO,

Alexandra

Snapshots of New Orleans & The Road // Days 5 & 6 // March 2014

Day 5

Since it was our last day in New Orleans we woke up pretty early and packed up our stuff so we could check out of our hotel as soon as we got back from walking around. 

We passed this mural with whales on it (right next to our hotel) and I had to get a picture before we left. So neat! For those who don't know, I have a major thing for whales. :) 

We decided to eat breakfast at a place called the Ruby Slipper (you know, because we were clicking our heels back to Kansas after lunch..).

I ordered banana pecan pancakes with sausage and OJ and KC got an omelette with potatoes and an iced coffee.

The food was just ok, I was really hoping that it would be amazing... but mine was kind of bland, and Kyle's was nothing to write home about. The pancakes were probably pretty decent, but I just enjoyed that banana nut muffin so much on Day 2 (link below)!

After that we walked back around near the market, picked up lots of souvenirs for family and friends and took in our last moments in the city.

We walked back through Latrobe Park and admired the gorgeous fountain and statue!

Lastly, we stopped at Faulkner House Books, the house where Faulkner lived in New Orleans, now turned into a book store. 

It is a literary landmark, and a fun little place to visit! We looked around and I bought a little poetry book about food, of course. I felt like I should have bought a Faulkner... but I wasn't sure what I wanted. Also, it's so hard for me to buy full price books. I usually get them used, at Goodwill or library booksales. So paying $15 for a small book feels so excessive! All the same I am glad that we went.  

By this point my feet (that had been killing me daily) were dead as can be. So so unhappy. We made it to the hotel where I parked it in the Starbucks (with the postcards) while KC (so, so sweetly) packed the car, checked out and picked up a muffuletta to go at The Central Grocery for the ride back to Memphis. 

A muffuletta is a sandwich named after the Italian bread of the same name. This bread is sort of flat, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside covered in sesame seeds. The bread is then filled with olive salad (olives, carrots, celery, seasonings and olive oil), mortadella, salami, ham and provolone. 

It is huge and all kinds of delicious! Not only is it as big as KC's head, we really could have just eaten a half of a sandwich! But boy, was it yummy! :) 

Then he picked me up and we hit the road! 

The drive was fine, Mississippi has some really fancy rest stops!

We made it to Memphis and checked into our hotel. I was getting kind of tired and worn down, but we decided to go to dinner and get ribs (Memphis is famous for them!) at Central BBQ. 

We always think that ribs sound good, but they never are. Anybody else have this problem? Anyhow, we ordered ribs to share, and Full House was on... so that cheered me right up. :) The ribs were actually very good! The baked beans were really great too, they had a jalapeno sort of flavor! :) 

Day 6

We woke up and finished the ride home! Nothing eventful to report. But our kitten sure missed us. :) 

Well there you have it! See Days 1& 2 here, and Day 3 here and Day 4 here. See other travel posts here. :) And as always, stay tuned for more!

Where have you guys been recently?!

Give me suggestions in the comments! I love a good recommendation! :) 

Thanks For Reading! 

XO,

Alexandra