Fun at the Apple Festival & Christmas Village

Our Fall schedule is typically slammed with family fun activities and two of our favorite traditions includes attending the Ellijay, Georgia Apple Festival and the Christmas Village at the BJCC in Birmingham, Al. Last year we took everyone to the Apple Festival, but have since decided to make it a yearly tradition only for my husband and me. We love visiting festivals and craft shows, and since our anniversary lands right around the same time, we thought it would be a perfect overnight getaway for just the two of us.

We headed out to Jasper, Georgia to our hotel late Friday afternoon. But, first we stopped and ate at our favorite local Mexican restaurant. We ended up renting the cutest little hotel room which basically consisted of a bed and bathroom. It was perfect for just the two of us. Once we got settled we headed out to find some coffee and local fun. We ended up at the nicest Dunkin Donuts either of us had ever been to, then we went to Walmart, 😂 Yes, we're officially old!!

The Apple Festival is an outside event located at the Ellijay Fair grounds. Unfortunately, the weather was dismal and it rained off and on throughout the entire day. 

Thankfully, the yucky weather didn't deter the festival craftsman/craftswoman from peddling their wares. 

The fair grounds were filled to the brim with booths set up selling all sorts of fresh baked goods and hand crafted items. Our typical plan of attack when we visit a craft fair, is to walk up and down all the isles and make notes of items we might be interested in purchasing. Once we're done, then we evaluate the list and decide what we really want to buy.

Once we were done enjoying the Apple Festival we went looking for some local food and we ended up at the cutest pizzeria called Ellijay Wood Fired Pizza. The food was so delicious and fresh!! This was my salad and it was AMAZING! Best salad I have ever eaten! 

I'm not typically a fan of pizza, mostly because I usually end up not feeling well after I eat it. But, not this time. I didn't get sick and we enjoyed every last bite!

The pizzas are baked in this wood fired oven, which was shipped in pieces from Italy.

Finally we found ourselves in the quaint Ellijay Coffe shop, trying to warm up before we drove home in the pouring rain. Despite the rain, we really did have a wonderful time enjoying the Apple Festival and celebrating our 20th anniversary.

After the Ellijay Apple Festival we went on our family vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains ~ I shared all about that trip over here. Then the next weekend it was time for the Christmas Village. 

I started attending the Christmas Village with my mother-in-law when I first married my husband. After she passed away (five years into our marriage) I quit going. But, as my first-born daughter was getting older, I realized I wanted to rekindle that tradition with her. Now Lydia goes with us too and so will Abigail. This year my husband tagged along because I was so far along in my pregnancy and I was concerned about navigating the downtown traffic. 😬

This year we were blessed with a gifted over-night stay at a hotel which connects to the BJCC (where the Christmas Village is located). It was absolutely fabulous not to have to find parking or walk in the cold to the craft show. Maybe somehow the girls and I can make that a new addition to our tradition of visiting the Christmas Village.

The Christmas Village is a giant two-story craft show. We approach this craft show the same was as the Apple Festival; walking through, taking notes, and then going back and buying what we really want. This particular craft show is very strict about NOT taking pictures, so I don't have much show-casing how awesome the event really is.

They do set up a few 'picture-taking booths' to help all of us crazed picture taking women commemorate our visit to the Christmas Village. 

We don't usually spend a whole lot of money at any of the craft shows we attend. It's mostly about enjoying the atmosphere, food, and visiting with the craftsman/craftswomen who labor to create awesome baked goods and crafts. Much of the items sold, are perfect for holiday gift giving and/or decorating. 

After we wrapped up our fun at the Christmas Village, we went to another town which has some great shopping and dining locations. So we indulged in some really good food and did a little shopping at some fun stores we don't have around us. We ended up cutting the day short and heading home as the girls and I were starting to get sick ~ sigh.

I had all but decided not to attend either craft show because of how far along I was in my pregnancy, but I am glad we decided to go anyways. While neither trip went as planned, they were both fun and now a treasured memory I get to hold onto forever. I'm grateful my family enjoys doing all my crazy traditions, even if they seldom turn out the way we plan, lol. 

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer

Exploring the Clarkson Covered Bridge

Well, I told y'all in the last post that I was going to split our Friday the 13th 'family fun' into three separate posts, so today I'm sharing our adventures to the Clarkson Covered Bridge in Cullman, Alabama. 

The last time we went to the Steel Apple Orchard we had the lovely privilege of touring with a preschool class full of amazing mamas who graciously welcomed our family into their close-knit group. They so kindly invited our family to picnic with them at the Clarkson Covered Bridge (which I had never even heard of before). Since we had so much fun picnicking there during that little adventure, I knew we had to visit there again this year. We're big fans of picnicking and rarely eat out when we go on our little road trips. Feeding this crew via dining out could get quite expensive pretty fast; and to me, picnic food just tastes better in nature anyways.

There aren't any trails at the Clarkson Covered Bridge (that I know of), but there is plenty to explore; especially with the creek and large rocks blanketing the area.

I love when the children go searching through nature to see what they can find. One of my boys turned over a rock to discover this little frog. Another one is convinced he saw a snake head! {{YIKES!}}

During our last visit to the Clarkson Covered Bridge, there was plenty of water flowing, turning the giant water wheel. This year we are experiencing a major drought so the water wheel was not moving. My middle boys thought it was a prime opportunity to see if they could make the wheel move. And yes, y'all they could make the wheel move, lol!

So much to touch and feel and discover! Even though it was hot and I had cranky littles, we still had fun exploring the area. I was kind of sad to see that in the two years that have past since our last visit, the park seems to have been neglected. There was quite a bit of trash and debris littering the scenery. But, on a positive note, the bathrooms were maintained and in working order ~ a major bonus when you're in the middle of nowhere, have a bunch of littles, and are pregnant!

The last picture of my kiddos did not go as planned, especially since we had to wait for two other families to finish taking photos on the bridge. The little bitty ones were in dire need of a nap while the rest were just done taking pictures! One of these days I'll learn to take my "must-take" pictures at the start of our adventures and not at the end. (sigh)

I love this picture, even if we were being silly. My three little photo bombers in the background give y'all an idea of how long the bridge really is!

Here's a little clip showcasing the profile of the covered bridge. Quite amazing for something that was built in the early 1900s! Yes, it has been restored, but still, men originally built a similar bridge with very limited tools and resources in the exact same spot ~ I'm totally impressed!

We really didn't stay long at the Clarkson Covered Bridge, just long enough to eat and stretch our legs before we headed back home. I love traditions, and visiting the Steel Apple Orchard and Clarkson Covered Bridge is a perfect back to school tradition for our family (even if the drive is LONG). While the day didn't go exactly as planned and none of us really felt 100% well, it was absolutely worth the effort to stick to our plans and immerse ourselves in nature for a short time. Thankfully the drive home was relatively uneventful. We made it home with just an hour to spare before we kicked off our final family fun event on Friday the 13th of September; which I will share all about in my next post!

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer

Pepper Place Farmers Market

I am a huge fan of farmer's markets, craft shows, and agricultural festivals. If I had my druthers I would travel the country attending them and hiking all around the areas we visited. But, I also love having a place to call home; plus the idea of 11 people in a small home on wheels just doesn't sound appealing, lol. Even though we don't spend our days traveling full time, we do enjoy visiting many different farmer's markets, craft shows, and agricultural festivals within driving distance of where we live. This past week we visited Pepper Place Farmer's Market located in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Pepper Place Farmer's Market is nestled in an urban setting and TONS of people flock here to buy locally farmed produce and fun homemade wares. It's August in Alabama folks ~ the heat has been intense and the 100 degree day didn't seem to deter folks from coming out to enjoy the outdoor market.

Live music just seems fitting for an outdoor market. This couple were amazingly talented in their musical abilities, singing a wide range of music including several different instruments. We listened to them perform as we downed a few dozen fresh baked donut holes from a local bakery who had set up a booth peddling their amazing pastries. 

While Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks are great, sampling the brews of small-town mom and pop coffee shops is so much fun, especially when they are authentic to roasting and grinding their own coffee beans. The Red Cat Coffee House had a booth set up as well as a brick and mortar shop conveniently located along the route of the outdoor market. 

The flowers were in full bloom at Pepper Place this particular Saturday. I have never seen so many beautiful bouquets! Absolutely gorgeous flowers! And if I wasn't such a penny pincher, I would have loved to bring home a bunch of lovely flowers to decorate our dining room table. 

One of the most awesome things about visiting such venues, is the variety of creative and fun items made and sold by folks for all walks of life, including the furry little friends in our lives. These folks had set up a booth selling gourmet doggy treats that looked just as tasty as some of the human food showcased at the market. Even though we didn't purchase anything from this particular vender, I'm assuming from the long lines, that the cute pooches loved the delicacies their beloved owners were buying for them.  

While we really didn't buy anything during our adventure to the Pepper Place Farmers market, we did enjoy some fresh bake goodies and coffee which were all wonderful. Sometimes the adventure isn't really for buying things, but just for the fun of experiencing the local culture and enjoying family time. 

A huge reason I enjoy attending places such is this, is that they're full of family-run business whether it be from farming, baking, handmade items, or the like ~ it's products made or grown by good old fashion American hands. It's such a blessing to find such items not in a major chain store, which seems to have taken over our country. I truly wish we'd have a back-to-basic revolution in our purchasing power, but I know it's highly unlikely. And hey, even I'm forced to buy from the local box chains since we don't even have many family-run stores where we live. But, like many of you I'm sure you'd be more apt to buy from local farms and artisans if it was more readily available (and affordable). Until then, I suppose our family will do the best we can to live simply and support American made products and wares when we can.

If you're ever in the Birmingham, Alabama area I highly recommend a visit to the Pepper Place Farmer's Market. I can assure you, if you're a fan of homemade and homegrown products, you'll not be disappointed. 

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer