ok folks…i know you’ve been dying for more places and people that have struck me as blogworthy so here we go!

While we were up at Mom’s we went to the Covered Bridge Festival. Indiana has a ton of covered bridges and of course, the festival surrounds them…so they are everywhere in all shapes and sizes with vendors beyond your imagination. While we were at one of them we came across a vendor by the name of Sarah Stogsdill who is the owner/designer of Seize the Night Designs, handmade jewelry and accessories. Now if any of you know my Grace, you know she is always on the lookout for jewelry…and at this tent we found some truly original stuff. This young woman hand stamps metal, searches yard sales for oddball things and turns them into jewelry. For example, old typewriter keys turned into rings. Or a measuring tape turned into a bracelet. It’s not often that you find innovative original pieces at a festival. Normally its just copycat after copycat. But this place was really cool. I’m thinking of having her design a few pieces for me…and i love that each piece is a one of a kind original piece! Anyway, here are her links from her business card:

www.seizethenight.etsy.com
www.seizethenight.artfire.com

Here is a pic of Grace by one of the covered bridges:

Next is a cafe that Carl and I found while trying to find a banking center. I think he already mentioned this place, but was talking specifically about the prayer Sylar said before we ate. THAT was super cool. Anyway, we decided to have lunch out because it was over an hours drive to the bank and then another hour home….yeah, let’s be honest here…we ate out cause we love to eat. Whew. I feel better! ok….the place we decided to try was called the Downtown Diner. I do believe it was THE. BEST. FOOD. EVER. seriously. It looked like a small town diner from the outside but the food was out of this world. Everything was homemade…bread, sauces, veggies…you name it, they made it…except the pasta. The server said that the only thing they bought premade was the pasta. Otherwise there was nothing from a can. And you could tell. I can’t explain how good it was….I’m talking like Thanksgiving at your great Aunt Martha’s where all the women have been cooking for three days good. It was so good we took home an entire pie. It was half a chocolate cream and half a coconut cream. Yep…that’s why I’ve put on a few pounds! I’m going to have to limit our food finding excursions to once a month! Anyway, if you are ever close to this place, you should definitely go…even if you’re not hungry!

Downtown Diner
1626 Broadway
Mattoon, IL 61938
217-234-7770

Now, I have to move on to what turned out to be my favorite place that I hate to love. I found it when we got to Terre Haute and it was my little man’s birthday….he wanted some cupcakes. What I found was the most amazing-unhealthy-think about them every day because every day is a celebration if you have these-cupcake shop!

Caboodle Cupcakes

I went three times to sample their cupcakes…and each time was a new flavor combination that blew me away. If you are ever in Terre Haute and are in the mood for a sweet treat…you should go there! I also spent some time talking to the owners who want to, believe it or not, become full timers! HA! It was awesome to meet some like minded people and share what we’ve learned already! Michael and Susan—I REALLY hope to see you all out here on the road in the near future! And PLEASE bring some cupcakes!!

My last, and certainly not least, place I’d like to mention isn’t really so much the place as it is the person I met there. As most of you know I am on a journey toward a healthier me. Sometimes I move forward at a pretty good clip and sometimes I just sit and spin my wheels. Well, since we’ve been on the road, I’ve actually moved into reverse. I’m working on getting back on track (right G?) and into my travelers groove. On a side note, my hubby bought a TRX system some time ago and it made it’s way into our camper “just in case”. Well, I am really glad that it did! I went to find a place to workout at mom’s b/c it was raining so much and getting colder. I found myself through a series of events at a place called Ultimate Fitness in Terre Haute, IN. I wanted to learn how to use my TRX and they had various group sessions centered on using it….so I bought a few classes and jumped in! I am REALLY glad that I did. Holly Brucken and her husband, Dr. Darren Brucken, are the TRX instructors. They were both really nice and encouraging people who showed me the ropes on the TRX. It’s been a while since I’ve felt that kind of deep ache in my muscles. I really think that it will become a weekly workout for me…as soon as it stops raining! Here is a pic of me and Holly after a great workout:

One thing I liked about their fitness place is that you don’t have to have a membership to take classes. They offer memberships, or you can just buy a pass for however many classes you want. Since I was only there for a short time that worked out really well for me. If any of you are in the area and want a good workout, call Ultimate Fitness and get into one of Holly’s classes….you won’t regret it!

Well, I think that has caught me up for now. The kids and I are in West Memphis Arkansas (just over the border from Memphis, TN) and are waiting for the weekend when Carl gets back! We had an exciting trip here and I’ll fill you all in on that later….the laundry is screaming at me and we have free use of the machines at this park!