Souvenirs from Texas

I didn't really do that much shopping on our vacation (husband and kids were around) but these are a few little things that I found. These cute little cards were found at "The Mercado" a big touristy open air market place in downtown San Antonio.

Of course I had to bring back some bluebonnet seeds. I don't know if they'll grow in New Hampshire. I think they are just a shorter version of our lupin. We'll see...

I found the nicest little fabric store in Fredericksburg called Things in a Room. It wasn't very big which proves it's not the size of the store but the quality of the selection!!! They had lots of retro Moda prints, repro barkcloth and some the Free Spirit fabric I have been searching for for ages here in NH. The fabric stores around here only carry traditional (boring) quilting stuff and the chain stores are the same old stuff. This was great. I bought small samples and will find something to do with them.

This was actually a Moda napkin from a set with a matching tablecloth. Would have liked the whole set but I need another tablecloth like a hole in the head. I restrained myself.

Had to make a stop at the World Market which I love! We don't have any in the Northeast at all so I always jump on one when I am traveling south. Got these nice handmade papers in a roll. I found some cool stuff for the kitchen too and some hard to find spices. You can see how shopping deprived I am in our small corner of NH... I practically hyperventilate when I get to a shopping rich area!

Scenes from the Lone Star State

We are back from our family vacation in Texas and we did enjoy that warm breezy weather! This was one of the many restaurants on the River Walk in San Antonio. It was really crowded so we ate somewhere else but still along the river.

Lots of catfish on all the menus! Some of the beautiful architectural details outside the Alamo.

I was dying to get to the Fredericksburg Herb Farm but got so distracted by all the great shops in the town of Fredericksburg that we were 1/2 hour late for the luncheon seating! Oh well... we ended up having some good fried chicken in town. The farm was just getting going with all their planting. The menu looked really good too.. maybe next time.

My two favorite parts of Texas was the beautiful limestone buildings you see everywhere with the old weathered doors and shutters.. just love them. I love the interior limestone walls too. Everything looks great against that backdrop.

The other fav was all the gates to the ranch entrances. There was such a variety of different gates and entrances. I could have filled a photo book just of them! Sometimes the gates were much more elaborate than the house beyond.

This was taken behind "The Homestead", a wonderful shop in Fredericksburg that I was anxious to see after reading about it for many years in various magazines. It was great but the best part was the wonderful building that housed the shop itself. Tin ceilings, cast iron railings and this wonderful courtyard out back.

We enjoyed all the nooks and crannies of the River Walk in San Antonio and really enjoyed our night time river cruise. Our boat was named the "Miss Caroline".

Tomorrow I will post about some of the little goodies I picked up... hint: Of course it is textile related!

A Breath of Spring!

This was our annual trip to the Smith College bulb show in Northampton, MA. It is so nice to get this early taste of spring.

Four girlfriends on our day out! (I took the pic). We're enjoying the greenery but already thinking about lunch!

I love the greenhouses here. They are older and slightly shabby. They do a spectacular job with their bulb display.

The prize lemon for a lemon lover like me. This could make one great pie!