Road Trip!!!!!!

It is countdown week for this grad student-spring semester begins next Monday. There was so much I planned to do over winterbreak, and I had a whole month to play and explore, but the weather threw a wrench into several of my plans. Sunday I realized I had a handful of days left, so if a road trip was my pleasure, I had better get going. The weather forecast for southern Iowa and northern Missouri and Kansas looked to be favorable for Tuesday, so I put my foot down, literally...on the gas pedal, and took off for the day. I got everyone out the door to their school and work, walked the dog, checked in with the carpenter, then hit the road for Atchison, KS. I have wanted to visit Nell Hills and Garrity's, two shops I had read about in Midwest Living magazine several seasons back. Shoppers, some by the busload, come from all over the region.

Garrity's was closed (the website had not been updated!:{), but Nell Hills was open and what fun! This elegant boutique is chock-full, and I mean full!, of home accessories that are priced so they won't break the bank. It offers two floors of merchandise, a feast for the eyes. I walked through a second time and discovered some beautiful items I had missed in my first pass.

On my way back to the interstate, I passed by a rambling antiques mall and did a quick u-turn. Glad I did because I hit the jackpot. I had been looking for an old rosary to pass on to my daughter. I wanted something with some history...a few prayers already rubbed into those beads. I found a handsome black-beaded rosary made in France. I also found one made with sky-blue beads...the color of my daughters eyes.

I also gathered some awesome postcards dating back to the 1910's. A handful depict landscaping in famous parks in Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Chicago. The rest were valentine and christmas p/c's with dutch children and windmills. I could not resist - I'm dutch! ;} My last treasure was a brown transferware lid to a soup tureen. Granted, the tureen part was missing, but the lid was covered with beautiful orchids and birds. This will be hung above a window in the dining room with some of my other transferware plates...always a nice addition to the Audubon bird prints.

It was a fun day. The weather was perfect for January-38 degrees and sunny. The landscape undulated with rolling hills and was dotted with hardwood forests, farm ponds, and boggy lowlands. I cut cross-country upon leaving Atchison and found some great motoring in the MINI-smooth blacktop, lots of "twisties", steep hills and valleys, single-lane bridges...and no traffic. It was glorious!