Mushrooms Are Out of This World: Mixed Media Mail Art
Bazaars, Faires and Turkey Legs
Last weekend, hubby and I took our annual anniversary trip. If you remember last year we visited Pittsburgh. This year we went to Lititz, Pennsylvania for 4 days. We did a lot of shopping the first two days and found some great deals at the outlets. We also visited Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, PA (Yes, I can hear your snickers), which is a collection of little shops featuring specialty foods and crafts. They had an entire store filled with baked and canned goods with samples to test for each one. We visited the village after lunch but joked that we should have gone there for lunch instead since one could fill up on all the samples. The food establishments, especially the ones offering baked and canned goods were run by the Amish. You could watch the Amish ladies as they canned in the kitchen. We live around the Amish but for those that have never seen them, I can see why they would enjoy watching them work.
Down the street, outside of the village, was one of my favorite stores. A Global Bazaar featuring gorgeous Turkish rugs, ceramics and lighting. Let’s just say I wish I could have everything in that store.
This gigantic light fixture was hubby’s favorite. Can you guess how much it cost?
A whopping 15,000! And I can’t even begin to imagine how heavy this would be to hang.
We did a few other things but my favorite was the PA Renaissance Faire. We got there when the gates opened at 11am and left when the gates closed. We didn’t dress up but I am definitely planning my outfit for our next visit. The performers stayed in character the whole time as the story line played out throughout the day. We saw a human chess game, jousting, singing performances and demonstrations (glass blowing, pottery). And there were vendors galore selling period clothing, unusual wares, weapons and food. At the end of the evening we all gathered at this theater for the final show where they crowned Elizabeth queen and they recapped the events of the day. All the individual singing groups gave one last performance. I would have to say that was one of my favorite events of the day as they sung a lot of our favorite Irish songs.
Most of the food vendors did not have a place to sit down so most people were walking around with their food. It is quite an interesting site to see people in period costume, strolling along while eating a turkey leg. But hubby and I do love to sit and enjoy our meal, especially in air conditioning so we chose to eat at the Anchor and Mermaid Tavern, the only sit down establishment with AC. I had a lobster roll while hubby opted for a platter of roast beef, corned beef with cabbage and bangers and mash. The food prices were a bit steeper than we were used too but that was to be expected since we were unable to leave the faire. A soft pretzel was $4, a coffee or tea $3.50 for a small, and our meals were $17, $19 each. But since it was just the two of us we didn’t mind, not to mention you are paying for the experience.
Guest Designer at PaperArtsy
I was over at the PaperArtsy blog a few days ago but am just getting around to sharing it. The theme is Mushrooms. Since I didn’t have a mushroom stamp, I created my own out of the stamps I had on hand. Hop over to the blog to see my project HERE.
Tea Day
I am sharing in with the T ladies hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard. Today my drink is a White Spicy Peach that I purchased last weekend when we visited Lititz. Whenever we visit that area, I go to my favorite tea shop, A Tea Affair. I love spicy teas particularly white teas. YUM! I learned a little more about tea this weekend by reading The Tea Book: All Things Tea
Happy Tea Day,
Kate
Glad you enjoyed your time in Intercourse, looks like there’s a lot to see and do there, and you evidently had fun. The food looks great, and the shops had some gorgeous items on sale. Your mushroom piece is wonderful, love the dimension and texture you achieved. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie
Paying for the experience is exactly right, and that’s the attitude to keep in mind when you’re at an event. Cheap coffee is not to be expected, but we can get that at home 🙂 The event does sound like something worth staying all day for and worth coming back to. I’ll be interested in what garb you plan for your next visit 🙂
I like your mushroom art, and your layers and textures always impress me. Happy T Tuesday!
I always enjoy hearing about your anniversary trips and it looks like you had a wonderful time again this year! The shops look amazing and I loved seeing all the sights and costumes 😁. Your meals look so delicious too – yum! Your art is fabulous and I love how you created the mushrooms! Happy T Day! Hugs, Jo x
what a wonderful trip!! I have been to those places- including the Global market- which I love!! And the Renaissance fair- Oh so fun too.It’s been some years since we were there though. Glad you had such a nice time and enjoyed such yummy food and culture. Love your mushroom art project- very creative!! Happy T day!
First, I need to comment about that Tea book. I want chocolate tea, but I fell in love with the way they shared where all the various teas came from. Who knew is right!!!
I love your mushrooms. Using that telescope for the mushroom stems was brilliant. Very unique and a great way to use what you have on hand.
I’ve eaten in a lot of high end restaurants (and more than a few “greasy spoons,” too) and I assure you, this was not your average restaurant, even for the Renaissance Faire. This was well worth the price you paid, and considering where you live (east coast area), the prices aren’t all that much. I’ve never had a lobster roll, so that made me quite hungry. I see a drink on the side, too. Thanks for sharing your trip, your beautiful mushroom postcard and envie, your book of tea, and your loose leaf white spicy peach tea with us for T this Tuesday, dear Kate. What a great trip you had.
I have dressed up at a couple of Renaissance Faires in California, and a couple I just went as a “patron.” The one in Kansas City pales in comparison to any I’ve been to in CA. The first time a woman served me an ice cream and she raised her arm and showed she hadn’t shaved, nearly blew me away. Talk about staying in character! I’m delighted you enjoyed it. It’s always a fun experience.
That looks like a fun outing. I love all of the Turkish items. The Faire looked good too. Your food looked delicious. Happy T-Day!
Looks like you had an interesting trip this year. I like the variety. That Turkish shop had some fascinating items and if you hadn’t shown any other photos I would have guessed you were at a bazaar in Istanbul. Happy T day Kate-or hope it was a happy one! hugs-Erika
It looks like you had a super, memorable trip away. A themed fair must be awesome to walk around and see what is happening..
The food looked delicious even though you thought it a little expensive.
Your mixed media mail art looked fantastic as well.
I am off to follow your link about The Tea Book, now, it sounds interesting to a tea lover like me.
Have a great day Kate.
Yvonne xx
Yes, I ´m in love with your mushrooms, they are fantastic !! Great viti to this Turkish store Kate, I like very much all the things there´re inside. Happy belated T-day ! (sorry I´m late ) Your meals look delicious.
I wish you a very nice afternoon, and send big hugs,
Caty
I love those touristy collection of unusual shops. That light fixture sure was something, but I wouldn’t want to clean it. Though I suppose if you could afford the price tag, you could afford to pay someone to clean the light fixture for you. The Ren Faire looked like a lot of fun. I went to one years ago and enjoyed the jousting. Like you, I’d rather sit and eat my food. The lobster roll looks really good. Enjoy your day!
Looks like a wonderful trip, Kate – full of inspiration as well as delicious food! I loved your mushrooms over at PA – a glorious piece!
Alison x
That sounds like so much fun, Kate Happy Anniversary! When we lived near Morristown, NJ, we loved to drive and spend a day in New Hope, PA or Flemington, NJ. Similar type of shopping fun, but no shows. This was a fun read.
Happy T-day! Eileen xx
Oh what a wonderful post! That Turkish shop is indeed ‘to die for’. I love everything you showed. The plates and bowls are beautiful and the lamp price is outrageous.
What fun to dress up and stay in character all day. I only hope they didn’t speak in Elizabethan English too.
Your meal looks really nice. I mean, that is proper food. I would go for your hubby’s meat platter. Bangers and mash, you can’t beat it!
Your book on all things tea looks very interesting.
Sorry I’m late in commenting. We are having problems with the power lines in the strong winds. The power goes off every few minutes for a short while and then it takes my computer a few minutes to boot up again. Nightmare!
Happy belated T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca