Oh, The Places You Could Go!

I'm one of those people who used to believe that there was nothing to do in Springfield and no cool places to spend a day off wandering around that were indoors. Then I took a look around. Downtown is a particularly amazing place these days, has anyone else noticed? Here are a few places I've been to recently and particularly enjoyed.

• Indie Boutique is located at 210 E. Walnut Street and features a nicely organized mix of vintage, locally made and independently designed items. They offer a fairly wide collection of clothing as well as vintage decor items, records, and more. A great place to check out if you're looking to buy clothes or accessories and would like to buy vintage or local items. Not only do they carry women's, but one half of the store is devoted to men's clothing. They don't have a website (that I could find, anyhow) but you can check out some photos of their inventory on their Facebook. 
• Tea Bar & Bites Bakery and Cafe is a quaint little restaurant at 621 S. Pickwick right by Homegrown Foods. The food is great and the atmosphere is cozy and unpretentious. They serve great sandwiches and interesting sides that are a departure from the average tea room menu. They also offer a huge selection of desserts, and you can check up on their daily specials on their Facebook page!
• Funtiques Market is a fun (or perhaps funny, to some) place to go, offering wacky, interesting items from many eras... walking into the store you see an explosion of color, and there is a lot to see, from a wall covered in vintage clothing to an entire room full of vintage furniture. Everything at this store is in great condition if you're looking to buy and is very entertaining if you're not! Check out their website or Facebook for more info. 
• Last but absolutely not least is Askinosie Chocolate! It's hard to believe that one of the best chocolate makers in the country is located just downtown on Commercial Street. I got to take a long-awaited tour yesterday, complete with samples and tons of info about their unique chocolate making methods. Not only is their chocolate amazing (if I remember correctly, their White Chocolate Bar was named one of the ten best chocolate bars by the London Times!) but they operate with a mentality to serve the global community and do good by direct trade with farmers and more. You can read up on the good they do and the great chocolate they make on their website - or better yet, take a tour! They're offered every Tuesday at 3 pm -the same day each week that they bake and sell 2 types of cupcakes: coincidence? I think not. 

Farmers Gastropub

This week's post will be short, sweet, and dedicated to informing you about a restaurant I tried today. I heard about it a while ago, and finally decided to go after spotting it last night while leaving The Moxie (another great local thing everyone should know about!) and I'm glad I did.

Farmers Gastropub can be found in the Wilhoit Plaza on Jefferson Avenue. Their hours are a bit complicated, you can find them on their website in the About section. The menu at this restaurant is constantly changing, which leads me to the coolest thing about it: Farmers Gastropub uses as much fresh, locally grown, organic and sustainable ingredients as possible. Today, on my first visit to the restaurant, I ordered a cup of the daily soup, which was a delicious butternut squash, the English pub staple of fish and chips, and finished it off with a perfect crème brulée. Everything was really great and I can't wait to go back again someday for Sunday Brunch! 

Crafty Geek Out

Highlight of my weekend: myself and a few of my family members hit up the Ozark Craft Fair , an event I had never been to until this year. Now, I preface this post with the perhaps-obvious disclaimer that there are a lot of booths at any craft fair that are just not worth seeing. It doesn’t matter what your taste is, that will always be the case. But this craft fair actually exceeded my expectations. 

Sure, Ozark and Springfield are good places to find flea markets, independent craftsmen, and even a few great antique stores, but anyone, I mean anyone, can have a booth at a craft fair. This fact, combined with the striking presence of fried food (an ever-expanding food category) and the mass of people and pick-up trucks involved can be kind of a turn-off for some. However, the Ozark Craft Fair really had a lot to offer (other than delicious kettle corn). So, although it’s difficult for me to describe the fair in much detail, other than that there were more booth-filled tents than I could rummage through in two hours, I can say definitively that the event was worth attending. In the past I’ve not enjoyed them enough to think of fairs as good weekend activities, even though I love crafting and, if not shopping, getting inspiration for my own projects, and that’s what the Ozark Craft Fair did for me last Saturday. Basically, it fueled me to find information about more fairs in the area, such as the War Eagle Mill Craft Fair, which I hope to attend during Fall Break.

So… am I alone? Does anyone else out there interested in crafting/purchasing stuff from craft fairs at all? If so, are there any fairs or festivals you particularly enjoy? I’d hate to be rambling on about this if I’m the only one, so let me know!

Side note: The word craft has lost meaning in my brain after typing it so many times.