October 01, 2007

A Day at the Fair

Saturday was the big day and for those of you that were unable to make it to the Country Living Fair, I thought I'd give you a little tour.



The lines to get in to park and to get tickets were horrible but the grounds were so beautiful, it was hard to mind much.


There was so much to see that it proved a wonderful distraction for the rest of my family, who, it may not surprise you to learn, had no interest in shopping.



I was shocked by the crowds and I'm not sure if the fair organizers realized just how many people there would be, as the setup didn't seem to accomodate all of the shoppers very well.



I finally had the honor of meeting The Farm Chicks in person. Their booth really stood out among the rest and was pure Farm Chick chic! Teri and Serena are the warmest, friendliest gals you would want to meet. Why can't I have neighbors like them? By the time I made it back around to take photos I was on my way out & Teri was at lunch. I was so sad I missed her! After the unexpected heat causing me to melt in the sun and having "hat" hair from my sunhat, I'm horrified at this picture of me, but Serena looks gorgeous and I wanted you to see their lovely booth so I'm going to be brave and post it.


I really enjoyed my day and bought some great things. Another hightlight was meeting the charming Robert from Mahar Dry Goods who, incidentally, now has a blog. He was fantastic and it was such a treat to see some of the things he sells in person. The quality is first rate. Among other things, I bought one of these doughnuts in pink & white with sprinkles (of course) to hang on Miss Emma's Christmas tree.



Another favorite of the day was discovering McMaster & Storm. Check out their blog. These ladies and their products are special. The attention to detail and the wonderful customer service add up to give you a one of a kind shopping experience. They have the kind of things I would sell if I had my own store. I can't wait to visit their real shop in Greenville, Ohio which just happens to be barely out of my way when I visit my Ohio relatives. I have a feeling that I may want to visit more frequently now.


All in all it was a fun day and I did bring home a few treasures that I will share with you later. There were a lot of primitive type country things which didn't appeal to me so much and also the prices on a lot of the antiques were a shock to a girl who loves to discover treasures at bargain prices. I was more drawn to the cottage booths (of which there were few) and the booths that featured handmade items. I would really recommend the show to those of you thinking of going in the future.

28 comments:

  1. What are you talk'n bout - you look great in your photo! I wish I had neighbors like the Farm Chicks too. Sounds like it was fun - it looked like you had nice weather too.

    Manuela

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  2. What an awesome event and I would have adored attending but, alas, it's not very near Tucson. I'm so glad you had such a grand time and found so much with which to be delighted as well as the opportunity to meet such creative people.

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  3. I SO wanted to attend that fair. But, I live south of Atlanta and it just wasn't going to happen.

    I loved seeing your pictures. Maybe I'll get the chance to attend next year. I'll also be checking out the folks you wrote about.

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  4. You are so lucky!!! Looked like so much fun! Wish I could have been there too!
    Have a great Monday!
    Rosemary

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  5. I think you look wonderful in that photo! What a fun time. Thank you for letting me see some of the fun.
    Penny

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  6. Hi Jen,
    I attended the fair with my DIL and her friend. We arrived early and there were no lines and we entered at the back. By noon, there were supposed to be 10,000 people through there. I can believe it. We left early because you couldn't get through the crowds. Neat things - high prices but I enjoyed it before it became to crowded. Next time, I think we should attend on Friday.

    I bought one tin picture of a horse (love horses). We then went to the antique stores in Waynesville and Lebanon. Next week in Waynesville is the Sauerkraut Festival. Have you ever been to that one? Waynesville also had a neat fabric shop in town along with many other great store.

    Show us what you bought.

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  7. I would have really loved that. Sounds like you had a wonderful time - despite the crowds!

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  8. What fun! Can't wait to see more pictures of your treasures. My mom and I are thinking of planning an antiquing trip. Maybe we should consider this fair.

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  9. darlin photo of yall....SO glad you got to go...sounds wonderful!!!!!!!!!

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  10. Sounds like a great day!! I wish I had access to great outings like that. I'll just have to live vicariously through you...
    Thanks for the tour!

    Linda

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  11. Lucky you Jen being able to go to the Country Living Fair!! AND meeting the Farm Chicks - wow! I can just imagine what a fantastic time you all had.

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  12. What great fun, that sounds like a blast! And so glad you met Kara (McMaster & Storm) she is a real sweetie!

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  13. jen: i love your blog and visit it often. i've tagged you! do you know what that means? would you consider playing again if you have already done so. thanks, even if you don't play along...your blog is great!

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  14. That looked wonderful. I was so sad that I had to miss it.

    Bristol

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  15. Looks like you had a great day. The UK Country Living Christmas Fair is coming up in November and I can't wait to go. It's always such an inspiration and a really lovely day out. I'm lucky that it's in London so is nice and handy to get to. Looking forward to seeing what little treasures you picked up.

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  16. Oh how awesome, thanks for letting those of us who didn't have a chance of getting there get to see it through your eyes, that was wonderful!!! :)

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  17. Hi Jenn,

    Looks like even though it wasnt what you "dreamed it would be" it was a great day to be -out and about-! Lil ol me here WAAAAy over on the coast would have loved to gone also, Farm chicks are from Washington state, as myself. I am going to plan to get to Spokane this summer they are having a big barn sale/party- Who knows, might even try to get a booth together and sell some stuff-treasures-junk. Gotta love it. Cant wait to see your -stuff- you got! Thanks for sharing.. Did anyone else go???
    Lisa
    coastalnest

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  18. Thanks for this post, Jen. I wondered how the CL Fair would be!

    Great photos and you look great, hat hair or not!!

    Pat

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  19. Hi! I attended the fair and shared about it on my blog, and we took some of the same photos!! You might enjoy stopping by my blog and reading my thoughts about the fair too.
    :)

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  20. It sounds wonderful other than the crowds. Fall is such a great time for outdoor fairs and festivals.

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  21. swoon. i'm jealous. glad you had a great time. hat hair...hate it. your's doesn't look all smashed with a ridge in it. mine would. can't wait to see the goods! blessings!

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  22. SOunds like an awesome day! thanks for the photos!

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  23. How fun!! Thanks for the update for us poor folks who couldn't make it. :)

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  24. I am so glad you got to meet Serena & Teri (The Farm Chicks)! I am going to be in their show this coming June, can't wait!!

    Teresa

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  25. Hi! I found your blog in a round-about way through McMaster and Storm and The Blissful. If you've never checked out The Blissful you need to! Kara and Darcy from McMaster and Storm are friends of mine and I say they have the BEST shop around!
    I went to the Fair on Friday and I will say that is NOT the day to have been there! It took us over and hour and a half to get to our parking spot from 5 minutes away! The restroom lines were 1 and 1/2 hours long and the food was already selling out at noon. The response was just phenomenal! Kara and Darcy said it was better organized on Saturday and Sunday so be glad if those were the days you were there!
    I found some fun stuff there and I didn't think the prices I paid for the things I bought was bad. Of course I didn't see nearly everything upclose because of the crowds. I know some of it was high priced but I was happy with the things I found. My favorited is a huge old picture frame I'm going to use in my new living room when the remodel is finished!
    It's fun finding new blog spots through my favorites!
    Jill Flory

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  26. It sounds wonderful! I wish that they would do several fairs around the country, maybe regionally.

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  27. Hi, Jen--

    I am so glad to meet you! Thanks for stopping by and saying hello on my blog. I, too, went to the Country Living Fair (as you probably noticed from my blog). My friend & I didn't realize until Monday when we talked to others who had gone how lucky we were to have walked right up to the ticket line and gotten in without a wait on Sunday. Apparently, that was *not* the case on Friday & Saturday. But I'm glad the Fair was so well attended.

    Aren't the McMaster & Storm girls the best? I feel so lucky to have them as "sisters in retail." I could've spent an hour trolling their delightful booth but for the dozens of other people trying to cram their way in, too! What fun. I'm thinking next year I may have to set up a booth, too.

    I am really glad to have discovered your great blog and will be stopping by regularly to say hello!

    --Abby from The Blissful

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