Busy Mother's Day Weekend

I've been working hard for the past five weeks... first second shift, and now first shift. I am tired. And with the other events going on (proms, rehearsals), I haven't had time to go to anywhere new.

That changed this weekend when I decided I needed a break from the busy, and we went along to the South Carolina Strawberry Festival in Fort Mill, SC. There's always opportunity to find small businesses at a festival, and I found a few great ones. I didn't find many strawberries, but we did have a great time with what they had. 

Lawrence, Ahja, Janiyah, and I took advantage of the $5 parking and free shuttle from Nation Ford High School (our second driver, Rose, was great). As soon as we arrived, we were interested in funnel cake - one of the few items that contained strawberries. Lawrence and I mistakenly didn't take out cash, so we had to first stop at the ATM, then we were able go eat festival foods.

We ate dessert first - a simple strawberry shortcake with lots of whipped cream, then we found Beef o' Brady's , a chain burger place. Lawrence got a burger, and I got pulled pork nachos. Delicious. Hey, I needed to have my last weekend before my do-over diet starts be the best weekend ever...

Curly Girl Bath Soaps

https://www.etsy.com/shop/CurlyGirlBathSoaps

Our first small business stop was Curly Girl Bath Soaps, where we met Lynn. She's been making soap for a couple of years, and knows what she's doing! Her soaps smell amazing! And she has a great idea - these adorable soap sachets! They are the little pieces of soap in these little pouches, and they smell amazing! She also has fun names for her soaps - Squeeze Me Tight, Wishy Washy sample bag, and the one I purchased, Freud's Favorite - which is gardenia, Sigmund Freud's favorite flower.
Her prices are great (especially the sachets), and she is amazingly pleasant. It would be a treat to purchase more from her - which I know I will. 

Curly Girl receives $4.00 out of $5.00

The Madison Chocolatiers West

http://www.madisonchocolatier.com

So, there was this couple selling chocolate covered strawberries - one of the few strawberry sellers in the fair. Of course I had to stop. The Oreo and Snickers flavors were irresistible! Since it was very crowded where they were located (good for them), we were unable to talk to the people that were at the stand. It's a shame, because they were great, and when I pulled out my camera to take pictures, the lady gave me a couple of great poses!
You can order online, although they do have a disclaimer about when to order so your chocolates don't melt during travel.

The Madison Chocolatiers West receives $3.75 out of $5.00

Elesha Andrea Designs

www.eleshaandrea.storenvy.com

My final shopping stop (other than funnel cake) was Elesha Andrea Designs. She also has Little Rug Bug. She sells adorable jewelry and accessories for women, and shabby chic items and bibs for children. There were so many items to choose from. I fell in love with her pendants, and I just had to stop myself from buying more than one... the price didn't make that easy, but I was good. The pendants are not listed on either site (I hope they are soon), but they were all beautiful. Each pendant came with your choice of style of chain, including the offer of a ribbon.
The shabby chic headbands for girls and the bibs and burp cloths for babies were all very colorful and looked rather well made.

Elesha Andrea Designs receives $3.75 out of $5.00

We got home and slept for at least two hours after that trip! It was fun, and I would go back - IF they add more strawberries. 

The SC Strawberry Festival receives $2.75 out of $5.00

(better utilization of facility space, more strawberries)

Next week, I'll cover the nail salon I visited for Mother's Day, as well as the local food truck event. 

Thanks all!