Wes & Erica finally travel!! - part 2: Ft. Wayne, IN -- Where to go

Downtown had several murals and gardens throughout. 

With how much this blog post is being split up, you'd think Wes & I were on vacation for weeks but in fact, we were only in Indiana from a Thursday (arrived late at night) thru Monday (left mid-afternoon). Dominique just took us to A LOT of places. One of her and Kenny's favorite pastimes is hiking/walking so we did a ton of that all around town. Dominique told us that Fort Wayne is known for its nature trails and she is actually a certified Master Naturalist. She took us on a short hike through Matea Park. The park had several trails and we took the Raccoon Trail. While on the trail she showed us the Indiana state tree (Tulip Tree) and identified some other plants and animals (mostly insects but we also saw a tiny tree frog). Since the weather was amazing (about 78℉ - 80℉ each day we were there, slight breeze, no rain!), we went on a couple of other hikes.

We walked through Headwaters Park, which is a beautifully maintained park in the middle of downtown. It lead to the old historical fort that Fort Wayne is named after.  The fort looked like a huge campus with brick ovens, several lodges and a large plaza. The outer perimeter is always open but the gates have been closed all of the other times Dominique has visited. Luckily on the day we went, there were groups of school children going for educational tours so we just followed them in. The lodges had their windows propped open so we could look inside to get a glimpse of how the inhabitants lived.

Dominique also took us walking through Johnny Appleseed Park. Remember the Johnny Appleseed legend from grade school? He's kind of a big deal in Fort Wayne. We saw his grave site and many apple trees. There were some other random graves near his but we couldn't figure out who the belonged to. Probably just some regular townspeople.

OTHER THINGS TO DO AROUND TOWN -
       Castle Gallery (☆☆☆☆☆) - this was an amazing art gallery housed in a three-story home. The old neighborhoods in Fort Wayne are beautiful. We spent a day just driving around, looking at historic homes. On a neighborhood walk, we ran into a LuLaRoe consultant who was getting out of the direct marketing business. She was selling all of her inventory for crazy cheap ($3 leggings and $5 for all other clothing). Dominique & I did a little shopping while Wes patiently waited. LOL And around the corner was a gorgeous mansion -- the Castle Gallery! I would love to be neighbors with an art gallery. The Castle Gallery had mostly oil and water color paintings (my favorite!). The house, which is currently lived in by the gallery owners, was immaculately decorated and each room had so much personality -- art, furniture, antiques. There was so much there but it didn't feel cluttered. Our favorite room was the upstairs loft on the third floor. It was a little hectic on the day we visited because the owners just acquired some new art and were rearranging the decor. The women were still super nice and welcoming. Their cat, Stella, followed us around. Sadly, the gallery dog wasn't at home that afternoon.

       Fort Wayne Museum of Art (☆☆☆) - the museum was tiny. It looked fairly large from the outside but only the first floor was open. There are no permanent exhibits. There were five temporary/travelling exhibits on display. The only one that I enjoyed was Tim Tate's The Persistence of Visions. The artist glued ceramics onto a mirror and used light to manipulate depth perception. It was really cool.

The other exhibits showed lithographs, etchings and wood block panels. There was a photography exhibit by Imogene Cunningham. She is known for her black & white photography and her revolutionary interpretations of the human body. The other artist being shown was Marlene Rose with her Japanese glass art. We weren't too impressed with the museum but I guess we just showed up during the wrong travelling exhibits.

       Artlink (☆☆☆) - a small non-profit gallery for creative arts. It showed several different art mediums, from paintings to jewelry to the ballet (a rehearsal was happening but it wasn't a public one so we couldn't watch, but we did hear them stomping about). There was one thing there that I would have bought if I had $1,500 and space in my luggage. It was a rock covered in glass beads (the pink blob pictured above). An artist wrongly interpreted the story of the albatross (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner) and it ruined the gallery for Wes. LOL
       Creative Women of the World (☆☆☆☆) - a cute little boutique in downtown. I liked that everything was handmade but I don't think many cultures/styles were represented. It was mostly beaded art. There was a nice variety of beaded products - a TON of jewelry, which is normal, but there was also some clothing, home decor and purses. I really wanted a souvenir from our vacation but I didn't see anything there that I wouldn't see at a local craft show in Oklahoma.

       PugFest (☆) - was a complete bust! 😒😑😔😩The event was held in the huge Fort Wayne Coliseum but the turnout was awful. I think there was at most ten pugs at the event. There were some other dog breeds, too, so probably a total of fifteen dogs present. There were a handful of vendors but they were mostly selling items for humans and not for dogs, which kind of sucked because I was really wanting to buy a souvenir for Sadie & Athena. We watched the pug costume contest (I wanted the "pugicorn" to win but he didn't), a pie eating contest (they ate whipped cream and the Chinese Crested dog won) and the talent show (turns out that pugs are not talented). The only good part was that all of the dog owners were very friendly and didn't mind me petting all of the dogs. There was a pug that coming back around to us for more and more cuddles!

       Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Chapel and Museum (☆☆☆☆☆) - the Gothic style cathedral was erected in the 1800s. I love going into cathedrals, so I insisted we take a peak inside even though Dominique & Wes aren't Catholic, and this one did not disappoint; the woodworking on the alter area is stunning. The baptismal font had glass "cut outs" so it looked as if the water was flowing out of it. The organ was beautiful. And there was a crypt but it was not open to the public. Otherwise, we wold have gone downstairs. We walked around the diocese grounds and viewed all three buildings since everything was open. The chapel had all limestone and/or marble walls and ceiling. The museum had some interested displays. I especially enjoyed the display of communion wafer making tools.

       Hampton Inn (☆☆☆☆☆) - simple and comfortable hotel. Sometimes that's better than the ritzy ones. We were barely "at home" so we didn't need anything too upscale. Our room was clean and furnished nicely. It actually looked like a cozy bedroom instead of a stale hotel room. The staff was really friendly. The check-in receptionist complimented Wes's eyes -- and not his hair!-- and she gave us lucky room #222. I wasn't sure why it was lucky. The hotel is right off the highway and near a lot of restaurants. Breakfast was a bit lacking but all the other amenities were good.

Wes & I enjoyed our vacation to Fort Wayne. It is a very small town so don't expect too many things to do around town. Besides visiting Dominique, we mostly went for GearFest. GearFest is a huge music festival hosted by the Sweetwater music gear & equipment company. More on that in next week's blog post.

SURPRISE! More craft shows...

I have pillows! I have large stuffed animals! And, I have small stuffed animals (ok, not really small, they're the size I've always offered)!

Guess what, guys? I WILL be having a spring craft show season after all! HOORAY \(^_^)/  As you already knew, Wanderlust Pop-up Shops was my only spring craft show this year and it was cancelled because Oklahoma weather is terrible (100% chance of rain and a high of 40℉ forecast for its previously scheduled date, um... no thanks 👎) The new scheduled date will be Sunday May 5, 2019. While stressing out about Wanderlust, I picked up two more shows, so, you'll have a couple more chances to buy that pillow or stuffed unicorn you've had your eyes on. 😉 I will have ALL of my inventory at these remaining shows (there will be tons of inventory to choose from because I was sewing like a madwoman in preparation for Wanderlust Pop-up Shops)... that means SO MANY pillows, the entire stuffed animal menagerie, plus other fun stuff like tote bags, wall hangings, cell phone and tablet pillows and anything else that is in my crafting closet. This will be my first time participating in these two shows but I've heard good things and I'm sure they will be pretty fantastic.

Arts & Crafts Marketplace

Saturday, April 27, 2019

9am - 3pm

The Station at Moore Central Park, 700 South Broadway Ave., Moore, Oklahoma 73160
https://www.facebook.com/events/2287826001277874/

The "marketplace" will be outdoors on the lawn. I won't have a tent so please pray for good weather. Actually, the event coordinator told me that if it rains, she'll move the entire show indoors so maybe we should all pray for rain. LOL The main goal for this show is to be an artisan marketplace but there will be a handful of direct sales vendors. This show was recommended to me by a fellow crafter, Elizabeth (owner of Zee & Zeus dog treats) so if you come out to see me, please also swing by her booth to pick up some goodies for the fur babies.

I know this is the most generic craft show flyer ever but this is what they posted on their Facebook event page...

Arts & Crafts Fair
Saturday, May 4, 2019
9am - 4pm
American Legion Post 12 - Bethany/Warr Acres, 6101 NW 50th Street, Warr Acres, OK 73122
https://www.facebook.com/events/2348265302058651/

This will be a true craft fair; only handmade items and no direct sales! The craft fair will be held in conjunction with the lodge's annual pancake breakfast (which starts at 7am... vendors are allowed to start selling at 7am but I won't be there until 9am). Breakfast and shopping all in one go! What more can you ask for?

Wanderlust Pop-Up Shops
Sunday, May 5, 2019
10am - 6pm
Wheeler Ferris Wheel, 1701 S. Western Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73109
https://www.facebook.com/events/284402045529166/

I hope you guys can make it out to the rescheduled Wanderlust. I know its on a Sunday, which can be a little inconvenient but I promise it'll be worth your while to come out. It's all local, handmade, Oklahoma artisans!! There will also be food trucks and kids' activities. And, it will be my last craft show before summer break (no shows for the rest of May, and all of June thru September).

Wes & Erica go to Linde Oktoberfest Tulsa

This blog is quickly changing from DIY craft instructions into my own personal travel journal (complete with fun photos! 😀)  I used to journal excessively in my teens and early twenties. I guess that part of me is being revived. LOL Again, its not Monday but how about a little Wednesday travel blog?

Wes and I have been going to the Oktoberfest celebration in Choctaw, OK for a few years now. Earlier this year, I caught wind of the Linde Oktoberfest in Tulsa, OK. 🍺 Its supposed to be one of the best in the nation. The festival "celebrates authentic Bavarian culture and represents an incredible setting patterned after the Munich Oktoberfest in Bavaria, Germany." Their website also stated that the festival "hosts international German bands, Bavarian delicacies, authentic arts & crafts and competitions." I went for the food, beer and mainly, the Dachshund Dash (aka adorable wienie dog races and Halloween costume contest!) A few days before we went, I told a coworker about our plans and she convinced her boyfriend to go so they met us there.

Audrey, Ryan, me and Wes

The festival lasted several days but I chose to go on Sunday because that wast the day of the Dachshund Dash. 🐕 The activities started with a Halloween costume contest and parade. The winner was a pup dressed in lederhosen and suspenders. Its owners were also dressed in traditional German attire. My favorite was a group of wienie dogs dressed as a flock of sheep. After the winners were announced, the races started. The contestants were divided into heats and each dog was placed into a wooden box (the starting gate). The gate was opened and the dogs busted out! A few of the dogs knew to run toward their owners at the finish line but the majority of them were just confused and ran in circles. It was so stinkin' adorable!! We saw some owners with squeaky toys and treats at the finish line to lure their pup toward them faster. There were over thirty heats so we didn't stay for them all. It was announced that Mustang Sally won (she was also the winner in last year's competition).

The rest of the afternoon was dedicated toward exploring the beer and food. There were tons of (SO SO MANY!) beer tents and food vendors. I wish I had come hungrier! The only downside was that items could only be purchased with tickets. Each ticket was $1 and had to be bought in advance at one of the concession stands. We spent the majority of our time walking around trying to add up how much food and drink we wanted so we could buy the proper amount of tickets. We settled on Polish platter for Wes (rice, sauerkraut and pierogis) with beers - a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter and a Benediktiner Oktoberfest (which I really liked and should have gotten one for myself) and a German platter for me (bratwurst, sauerkraut and potato salad) and Bavarian cheesecake with beers - a 401K and a Kona Hanalei Island IPA. The 401K was really light and citrus flavored, yum! The other one was supposed to taste like tropical fruits but I didn't think it did all too much, so not yum. We listened to some polka music while we ate; no one wanted to participate in the chicken dance with me. 😔 Before heading out, we stopped by the arts & crafts tents. There were a couple of unique vendors but most of them were either direct sales or cheap toys/clothes that are also sold at state fairs. I was a little disappointed but that could be because I'm a craft show snob. LOL All in all, it was a good day out with friends. The Linde Oktoberfest Tulsa lived up to all its hype and we had a wonderful afternoon.

RagsReborn's summer craft show schedule.

I was originally planning on writing about Part 2 of Wes & mine's New Orleans trip tonight but then I realized that I have a craft show coming up. I actually have SEVERAL craft shows coming up so I need to do a craft show schedule post!  You peoples gotta know where I'll be at, right? Of course you do! So here it is, RagsReborn's summer craft show schedule-

Newcastle Friends of the Library Book Sale, Craft Show and Blood Drive
Saturday June 2nd, 2018
9am - 4pm
Newcastle Public Library
705 NW 10th Street, Newcastle, OK 73065
https://www.facebook.com/events/999344373573001/

This will be my first appearance at this show. I don't know much about the event but I do know that I love books and I love libraries so I'm pumped to be a vendor supporting this cause. The first one hundred shoppers will receive a free swag bag with goodies from many of the vendors. And the books from the library are being sold by the bag-load. You can fill an entire bag full of books for only $5! I have a feeling I'll be checking out the book sale more than being present at my booth. LOL Does anyone else have this issue when they're vending at shows? Where you're too busy looking and shopping at other vendors' booths so you're constantly away from your own booth? I'm hoping its not just me. Haha!

Wanderlust Pop-Up Shops Spring/Summer 2018
Sunday June 10th, 2018
10am - 6pm
Wheeler Ferris Wheel
1701 S. Western Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73109
https://www.facebook.com/events/2040947109520102/

Wanderlust is back, y'all!!! Yippee! Crazy winter weather prevented the show from happening in April but now it's June and the weather is nice and sunny! This event has been moved to a Sunday (its traditionally been held on Saturdays). I am so excited to participate as a vendor with Revolve Productions again. Tobi puts on the best shows. There will be a wide variety of local makers and artists, including my friends, Paul (Pens & Things) & Melida (Mama Dragon Studios), who make fancy ink pens and steampunk jewelry, and my friend Elizabeth (Zee & Zeus Dog Treats), who makes gluten free & organic dog treats. My booth should be sandwiched between theirs. There will also be food trucks, events for children, pet friendly, and the list goes on. If you only go to one of RagsReborn's show, I highly suggest this one.

Made in Oklahoma Fest
Saturday June 16th, 2018
10am - 6pm
Sheraton Midwest City Hotel at the Reed Conference Center
5750 Will Rogers Road, Midwest City, OK 73110
https://www.facebook.com/events/1630004580403449/

This is my first time participating in this event and I hear it's a good one. I believe this will be the seventh year for this event and it keeps growing each year. There will be both indoor and outdoor vendors so expect a good variety of products. Aside from merchandise vendors, there will be local wineries, craft beers, and food vendors (which is probably what I'm most excited about!) This will be my last show of the summer season. I'm not sure how it happened but I scheduled my entire summer craft show schedule in one month! June is going to be a busy one! After these three shows, I'll be taking a break until September. I hope to see you soon!

Erica & Wes go to Ft. Worth, TX, pt.1

At the Active Pool at the Fort Worth Water Gardens.

In the midst of craft show madness, I was still able to sneak in a weekend getaway last month. Wes & I took a short trip to Fort Worth, Texas for our annual El-versary. (If you don't know what that is, it is the anniversary of when we drove to Las Vegas to have our wedding vows renewed by an Elvis impersonator. Read about it here http://ragsreborn.blogspot.com/2015/11/erica-wes-do-las-vegas.html). We chose Fort Worth because we had originally just planned to drive to Pauls Valley, OK to eat a meal at Punkin's. But since Texas was so close, we drove the extra hour and a half to do some touristy stuff after lunch (which turned into a weekend's worth of activities).

You might be asking, why did we drive so dang far just to eat lunch? Well, because Elvis supposedly ate at Punkin's! And the food was really good. I got the catfish plate; the catfish and tarter sauce was amazing. Sadly, the fries were a bit bland and the hush puppies were too sweet for my liking. But the fish was so good, I really didn't want any sides to fill up on anyway. Wes got the sliced brisket bar-b-que sandwich, which he said was good except the bun wasn't baked all the way. I think his favorite part was the bar-b-que sauce. He praised it for being tangy instead of sweet. I had a few house potato chips off of his plate and thought they were way better than my fries. I will probably substitute poato chips for fries the next time we eat there. They also had a house pickle bar that I was pretty excited for. I actually love trying restaurant "house" anything just to taste their version of it.

Traffic into Texas was crazy, as usual, but we made it safely to our hotel at the 3pm check in time. Yay, a chance to relax. NOT! The night before, Wes booked us a room at the La Qunita through Travelocity. Unbeknownst to us, rather than simply removing availability from Travelocity, the La Qunita continued to accept reservations but on the following day, started kicking out reservations made through third party travel sites because they were over booked. So when we arrived, an incredibly unenthused clerk told us that our reservation was one of the unlucky ones that was kicked out and there is nothing she could do. We drove around in more crazy traffic (and construction!) and ended up at a Hampton Inn, which was probably a better choice anyway.

After de-stressing a bit (and venting about how much we hate La Qunita), we headed out for our evening's activities. Our first stop was the Fort Worth Water Gardens. The gardens represent a "cooling oasis in the concrete jungle." The area expanded a pretty large section of downtown Fort Worth and consisted of three pools and a large concrete mountain. Wes enjoyed climbing up the gigantic concrete slabs to the top of the mountain. On a normal day, I would have enjoyed it as well but on this particular evening, I was wearing a sundress and my fear of exposing myself got the better of me. I slowly ascended and descended the mountain taking extra care to maintain my dress in proper position. LOL The three pools are the Active Pool (which was a gigantic water fall), the Quiet Pool (which was a shallow meditation pool) and the Aerating Pool (which was a bunch of color-changing spray fountains). Both mine and Wes' favorite was the Active Pool. The pool is made up of several concrete steps of various sizes that are unevenly spaced and lead down to a large pool at the bottom. Completely surrounding the steps is a loud rushing waterfall. The loudness of the waterfall was probably my favorite part. We both thought the Active Pool would be an accident waiting to happen but, surprisingly, only one family has been killed there. And after their tragedy, the city reconstructed the pool to make it safer. Standing at the bottom of the pool and watching the water cascading almost 40 feet down terraces and steps all around me was a pretty neat experience. I would recommend this as a destination if you're ever in Fort Worth (and the best part is that its free!)

We stayed downtown and walked (almost a mile! Wes says it was 0.8 miles.) to dinner at Rodeo Goat (a trendy beer & burger joint). I was surprised by how dark it was downtown. There were barely any street lamps and none of the establishments were well lit. We got to Rodeo Goat at the traditional dinner time and most people would expect a wait time. I say most people because the patrons behind us (two douchey-looking frat boys) were aghast that they had to wait to be seated. Their exact words were, "This restaurant has a wait?" The hostess confirmed and asked how many would be at their table. They gave her more attitude and walked away. Rude. The wait was only about five minutes before Wes & I were seated. Rodeo Goat was another delicious meal. I got the Nanny Goat and Wes got the Olivia Darlin'. I was in love with my burger... seriously soooooo good. The patty was cooked just right (nice n' juicy!) and it was topped with plenty of fragrant goat cheese. It also paired well with my Rahr & Sons Pumpkin Ale.  

After dinner, we were faced with another stressful drive home (well, mostly I was faced with it since I did all of the driving). There is construction on literally every freeway in Fort Worth. Normal construction isn't bad but this construction was insane. The signs signaling lane and exit closures were incorrect, the lanes were not properly marked and even if they were, I couldn't see them because nothing (NOTHING!) was lit. Fort Worth is the darkest city I have ever driven in. Someone, please petition your senator to use tax money to put in some street lights! Besides the roads, we had a very enjoyable Saturday. Sunday adventures to come in next week's blog! 

Here's a preview... we got to the Modern Art Museum. 

RagsReborn's Spring Craft Show Review

~*~*Awesome pillows galore! ~*~*

This past spring, I decided to take it easy and only do five shows. I was originally scheduled to do seven but one show had to reschedule for a different date--and I wasn't available--and another one cancelled all together. While I would love to be selling at shows on a regular basis, I am glad I did not overbook myself. (Less stress is always a good thing, right?) I had more time to focus on new designs & patterns and try out different ideas creatively, which I believe turned out to be a better investment than participating in back-to-back shows. Per tradition, here is my recap of the previous handful of shows I participated in.

Each of the shows I participated in was a good one and I really don't have much of a critique. \(^_^)/ The event organizers at each venue did an amazing job with advertising and vendor hospitality. Unloading and booth set up was a smooth process at each event, the organizers and volunteers were friendly & helpful and a steady stream of shoppers was present all day. If invited back, I would definitely repeat each show next year. 

My first outdoor show was a success! Wanderlust Pop-up shops was one of the most fun shows I ever participated in. The turnout was amazing... I think around 5,000 people came out to support the local artists and crafters. I had the pleasure of borrowing a tent and being neighbors with some friends; the day went swimmingly. Not even the crazy gusts of wind brought our spirits down! The other show that I really enjoyed was DUCK Week. It was my first time sharing a booth and that was also a success. It was nice to have company throughout the day and to also have someone keep an eye on my belongings when I had to step away. Now that I've passed those tests, I will be signing up for more outdoor shows and sharing booths with Rachelle.

My shared booth with Moon Drake Soaps.

Unfortunately, the shows with the lowest grossing sales were at the Newcastle Fair Barn, Western Oaks Christian Church and the Quarter Mania Auction. I attribute the poor sales directly to scheduling (Quarter Mania occurred on Good Friday so turn out was very minimal) and weather...ugh, that blasted Oklahoma weather! *shakes fist at sky* The show coordinators did the best they could, but the weather was really out of their control. Despite that, my sales weren't horrible.. just not where I would have liked them to be. The show in Newcastle occurred on the coldest weekend in March and the show in Western Oaks occurred on the coldest weekend in April. I learned a fun trick from one of the volunteers in Newcastle. He said that whenever his son had a baseball game and they wanted to influence the weather, he would draw a turtle on the baseball field if they wanted rain and draw a cactus if they wanted sunshine. He drew a large cactus right outside my booth and the sun actually started to peak out! 

Speaking of sunshine, my summer show line up is getting finalized this week. I won't be doing too many shows this summer so my pillows will be "limited release" LOL I'll post the schedule on next week's blog post. You won't want to miss these shows!

RagsReborn's Spring Craft Show Schedule, pt.2 (April)

Here it is, guys, the April craft show line up everyone has been waiting for!! I am beyond excited that RagsReborn will be participating in each of these craft shows. I promise you that each and every one of these shows will be a good one. Guaranteed. (Three out of four of these are repeat shows that I have done before so I'm allowed to say stuff like promise and guarantee. LOL)
       Since my spring craft show season turned out so poorly in 2016, I decided to act a little smarter for spring 2017. Instead of signing up for any show I could find, I decided that I would only sell at repeat shows that had good traffic & sales previously and/or shows that came recommended by fellow vendors. Its the creme de la creme this year!

Friday April 14th, 2017 - Quarter Mania
5:30pm - 8:30pm (auction starts at 6:30pm)
Mustang Town Center, Grand Ballroom 1201 N. Mustang Rd., Mustang, OK 73064
https://www.facebook.com/events/436857180039275/
       I am starting off with my absolute favorite charity event. If you haven't attended a Quarter Mania event, I highly encourage it. It is so much fun! All you do is buy a paddle and then pay quarters to bid on the auction items. The vendors always go all out and donate some amazing stuff! All the vendors there are super friendly and the entire night is filled with energy & excitement. All of the money from paddles and vendor booth rent is going to be donated to Friends of the Mustang Animal Shelter and Mustang Parks & Recreation. That's right... one event aiding two charities. Doesn't get any better than that!

Saturday April 15th, 2017- Wanderlust Pop Up Shops
10am - 6pm
Wheeler Ferris Wheel 1701 S. Western Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73019
https://www.facebook.com/events/1714056515572283/
       Wanderlust is my big (MAJOR!) show for the year. If you can only make it out to one show on my agenda, I would definitely choose this one. It is going to be a very large event with a huge variety of talented vendors. It'll be outdoors at the newly installed Oklahoma Ferris wheel. Yes, you read that correctly... outdoors... as in my first outdoor festival! Huge shout out to my friends Paul Bowman (Pens and Things by Paul) and Melida Bowman (Mama Dragon Studio) for letting me borrow a tent. Without them, I would not be participating in this show.
       This is a first time show (because the Ferris wheel wasn't here before) but it is being put on by a company that runs many other large and successful reoccurring craft shows. I am oh so very excited about being a part of this show. And, I have a surprise announcement... at this show only, I will be selling tote & messenger bags! I've been working diligently on these and spoiler alert...they are flippin' adorable!

Saturday April 22nd, 2017- 8th Annual Spring Craft Show
9am - 3pm
Western Oaks Christian Church 8100 NW 23rd., Oklahoma City, OK 73127

Saturday April 29th, 2017- The Handmade Show
9am - 4pm
The Crown Center 13300 S. Western Ave., Moore, OK 73170

https://www.facebook.com/events/1556590987702686/

I participated in the shows at Western Oaks Christian Church and The Crown Center last year. This will actually be my fourth time at The Handmade Show! The vendors and event organizers are like one big family. Although they are smaller shows, they are certainly worth visiting; if not for the vendors, then for the amazing lunch cooked by the church ladies and friendly atmosphere of the show. I will be in my same booth space as previous years, so when you come visit, you'll know where to find me! One last thing to mention, out of all the shows that I have participated in, these are two of my three favorite church shows to do. (The third one is only a Fall show, which makes me sad. Jan, if you're reading this, Triumph Family Worship needs a spring show, too!)
     

So there you have it. The next couple of weeks will be very busy for RagsReborn and I hope to see everyone out and about supporting not only myself, but all the other amazing local talent that is the Oklahoma crafters and small business scene. 

Erica is baaaaaack!!

Erica & Wes' belated honeymoon road trip, part 1 -
       INTRODUCTION & CONCLUSION aka the short version.
(...for those of you who don't have time for the in between details. This will be long enough anyway.)

We finally have wedding bands!! 

They both arrived just in the nick of time, too. I got mine the Tuesday before our trip and Wes' came in that Thursday (we left on Saturday).

We survived our 12 day road trip. \(^_^)/ We drove across 5 states, totaled 3,000 miles and I drove all but about 8 hours of it.  **applause please** This is quite impressive since I've never driven further than Dallas, TX before embarking on this trip. And because I hate driving. LOL Driving 8 1/2 hours straight from one state to another is horrible. I had a wonderful vacation over all but Wes and I agreed that we're flying on our next trip.

My coworkers got us a "just married" sign for my car. I accidentally rolled down the windows and lost it on our second day. My bad >.> 

"Why a road trip?", you ask. Well, I've always flown to and from my vacation destinations. I've never done a road trip before. Okay, I take it back...we drove to a few places here and there when I was growing up but I hated it. My mom, dad, two aunts and two cousins (that is 7 people in a 5 passenger car...good thing we were all small) piled into my dad's car and drove straight to wherever we were going--usually Lake Murray or Houston, TX--with no stops. No potty breaks. No snacks. No sightseeing. No whining. When Wes and I were talking about honeymoon ideas, I decided I wanted a real road trip. One that was the exact opposite of the trips I took when I was younger. I wanted stops at random interesting locales. I wanted to take my time and not have a destination timeline. I'm not sure if Wes was 100% on board but he didn't object so I decided that's what we were going to do. I mean, who would want to vacation in Aruba when you can spend two weeks in a car? Hahaha...

My coworkers gifted me with an awesome road trip goodie cooler the day before I left. We only got through about half of the snacks.

I had a few destinations planned out (mostly friends and family I wanted to see) and Wes was my navigator. With my car serviced, cleaned and filled with snacks- thanks, Elizabeth, Rachel, Tashara, Brendon & Audra--we set off. We were on the road from Saturday October 3rd until Wednesday October 14th.

   
We drove out of Oklahoma (there were no interesting stops) and into Texas. Somewhere in Texas, I stopped in a "trading post" aka touristy rest stop + gift shop and got some Minnetonka moccasins. We also missed a turn and accidentally drove through the town of Anson, TX. That was one of my favorite stops. We barely stopped (only at the Dairy Queen to use the restroom) but it was the cutest town to accidentally get lost in. The speed limit was only 30mph so I got to take in the sights. They had quaint homes along the street, a park, town hall and some old fashioned looking restaurants. They also had all the expected small town shops: a bakery, pharmacy, general store and church. It was like driving through Pleasantville (remember that movie with Toby Maguire & Reese Witherspoon?) I wish we could have stopped to explore but it was our first day out and we wanted to get to New Mexico before dark. If it was around dinner time, I would have insisted that we eat at the Anson Diner.

Out of Texas and into New Mexico... and straight into monsoon season. We got into New Mexico pretty late at night and it was raining solid sheets of water. Living in Oklahoma my entire life, I was accustomed to driving through rain. I was not accustomed to driving through streets that had no drainage systems. Seriously, zero storm drains on the streets. All of the roads immediately flooded. You know how on the news they tell you to not drive through water if you can't see how deep it is? That was like every intersection. There was flooding everywhere and I couldn't tell if it was just a foot deep or 6ft deep. Getting into New Mexico that first night was the worst part of driving the entire trip! Luckily, we made it to Carlsbad, NM without any trouble (just one stressed out Erica :/ )

We spent the next day in White's City, NM exploring the Carlsbad Caverns. I will blog about that experience in full next week. (I took tons of pictures!) There was an Apache Trading Post that had cherry cider but they were closed when we drove by :( Literally, every place was closed on Sunday. I feel like the only good part of New Mexico was the handwritten thank you note our hotel left for us when we checked in.

I took a picture of my car in almost all of our destinations. I started to forget to toward the end of our trip.

Out of New Mexico and into Arizona... but not before passing through El Paso. That was another stressful drive. I'm not sure if any of you have driven through El Paso, TX but it is terrible. The speed limit changed from anywhere between 45mph to 65mph every 3-4 miles. I was constantly either speeding or being run off the road. And there were cops EVERYWHERE. I was waiting to get pulled over but we made it with zero speeding tickets : ) After passing through border control, we were safely in Arizona. We stopped in Arizona to see my cousin, Sieu, and his family. We also went to Arizona Mills (the mall I go to every year when I visit) and IKEA. Wes & I got some good home decorating and furniture ideas. I picked up some candles for my mom and drooled over a sewing machine. Then Arizona was done and we were off to Nevada!

I didn't consider that we'd be driving through mountain and desert for a majority of this trip so my options for interesting touristy stops was very slim. Most of our stops were at gas stations for potty breaks. Nevertheless, I got to take in gorgeous scenery and drive through a few mountain ranges--I don't remember which ones. I do remember that the Guadalupe Mountains were really pretty. I wish I would have pulled over for pictures but I will just have to keep the images of the mountains in my memory instead of on my camera roll.

Before driving into Las Vegas, we stopped at a bridge over the Hoover Dam. We got to walk over the dam and we walked out of Nevada & back into Arizona (then turned around and walked back into Nevada. LOL).
       Las Vegas was a lot of fun. Besides the usual Las Vegas Strip tourist stuff, we got re-married by a spunky Elvis impersonator. And we gorged ourselves on Korean BBQ when we met my uncle for lunch. My uncle is only in his fifties and he still gets around just fine but he had a stroke a few years ago. He was having a hard time getting out of my car (we dropped him off at an Asian grocery store where his wife was meeting him after lunch). I stopped in front of the store & put my emergency lights on. My uncle started to get out and the car behind us honked their horn at us. Ummm...excuse me...first off, you don't honk at an elderly man with a cane and secondly, you don't honk at a Ngo. My uncle turned around, glared at the guy behind us (first an angry look then an "oh watch me" look) and proceeded to take his sweet time getting out of the car. Wes & I laughed. And I wished for myself that I can be that sassy at 50 years old.
       I think both Wes and myself were too grownup to truly enjoy Las Vegas as they portray it on television. We only drank in moderation and didn't gamble our life savings away.  But for me, that isn't what I wanted to do anyway. I will have an entire blog post devoted to Las Vegas activities but for now, I will just leave you with a picture of me and David Copperfield, who is still dreamy at 59 years old.

We spent four days and three nights in Las Vegas and were both ready to leave. We did everything we had on the list and didn't feel like exploring anymore. It was entirely too hot. I really wanted this evil eye bracelet from the Cosmopolitan but oh well. I suppose I can always order it online if I really wanted to. We drove back to Arizona to see another cousin & her family (Trevor and Andrew!!) and then to lunch with an old friend. Details and pictures of our Arizona ventures will be posted on later blogs, if you're interested. It'll mostly be pictures of me and my cousin's kids & dog and then pictures of me and Christine. Because family.

Then out of Arizona and back through New Mexico, Texas and back home. We had to drive through the scary city of Holbrook, AZ. It was an old paleontology site so all of their town decorations were old run-down life-size ceramic dinosaurs. The entire city was old, drab and unwelcoming. I wanted some pictures of the dinosaurs but not enough to actually get out of my car. All the gas stations had signs proclaiming "no free restrooms." We finally went into a Dairy Queen and Wes asked about the signs. The teen at the register said they needed to have those signs to prevent the homeless population from ruining their restrooms. There were zero homeless people on the streets when we drove through so either the homeless are all invisible ghosts or the town of Holbrook just hates people. I vote the latter. On our way out through New Mexico, there were signs on the highway advising drivers to not pick up hitchhikers because the Federal prison was nearby. Then we saw a few hitchhikers. We both had a good laugh about that. I wanted a picture but decided against it. And, no we didn't help anyone escape prison. LOL

The later half of the trip wasn't as fun as the beginning because we both started to get sick. And I started the monthly dread. (x_x) Between cramps and a sore throat, I was just ready to get home. That was the only time I couldn't do all the driving. I had to pass the wheel off to Wes as I laid in a painful ball. But, it wasn't all bad. We did stop in Albuquerque, NM and spend a day at Old Town. I really enjoyed Old Town and will be writing about it on a separate blog. I paid for an hour of parking but spent two hours walking through the plaza and looking in its unique gift shops. I would have wandered more but I started to worry for my car. Wes decided he wanted a souvenir kachina doll but he was too picky to find one he liked. Nothing else noteworthy really happened on the way home. Oh, we did stop in Cline's Corner. Wes and his family used to stop there on road trips in his youth so we made a stop for nostalgia's sake.

I will blog more about each of our Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada stops later. I have so many pictures (SO.MANY.PICTURES.) and stories I want to tell you! I love to journal and I'm pretty long winded so be prepared. LOL Overall, it was a wonderful honeymoon vacation. I'm glad we drove it and I loved all the extra stops we got to make. Our vow renewal ceremony in Las Vegas was my favorite part. Elvis was hilarious and I can't wait to get our pictures back. It was amazing getting to see my family along the way and catch up with old friends. But...like I said earlier, we'll definitely be flying to our next vacation. Driving for 8+ hours really put its toll on my old bones. And I've rediscovered why I usually don't go into gas station bathrooms. I have a crazy month of craft shows coming up so travel blogs might be put on hold. But yay for craft shows, right?!!?! (^.^) CRAFT SHOWS! TRAVELING! RAGSREBORN! Sometimes, the Universe is pretty swell.