It’s the middle of the summer, and it feels like EVERYONE is going on vacation.
Except me.
Co-workers are taking weeks off to spend at the beach or mountain resorts; a blogger I follow recently spent one month in coastal Connecticut (swoon); and photos of tropical islands are popping up in my Facebook feed like whoa.
And, me? Or, should I say, us? Husband and I are spending a luxurious summer at…the Cottage.
Now, don’t feel too bad for us (even though I kinda do. Just a little bit). The past few years were filled with some great vacations, including Boston and Salem last summer (I ate lobster every.single.day), and London the year before that. We decided back in January that we would stay local this summer and put money into fixing up our little house instead of taking a big trip. However, with all the vacation activity around me lately, I’ve been eyeing up our home improvements with only a small amount of enthusiasm (they are mostly practical, not aesthetic) and wondering if our plan was the best one.
So, we decided to take a little daycation.
I’d been following a Facebook event page for a Lavender Festival for several months, and the festival seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a break from our daily grind to do something a little different. My manuscript is steadily going through its rounds of queries to (and rejections from) agents; the Tart here is launched and doin’ its thang; and the festival just happened to fall on a weekend when I was in between books to read — a.k.a, the perfect time for a little adventure!
Husband wasn’t totally on board with this Lavender Festival idea, but I did some research about the area we’d be visiting, and I discovered that there is a chocolate store and a pretzel factory just a short drive away. Once I promised him treats as a reward for surviving lavender, oh, everything, he was ready to go.
So, it was off to the Pocono Mountains! While we love revisiting favorite spots, it’s always fun to explore a new area together, and the Poconos was just that.
Since we believe in the more, the merrier, we also told some friends about the Lavender Festival, and we met up with them and their adorable kiddos at Ross & Ross Nursery early Saturday morning. The nursery had lots of vendors and craft tables set up to sell their lavender-inspired wares, and the lavender field was just across the street at the Paradise Lavender Farm.
The group of us looked through the craft fair side first, though we ended up staying there far longer than we anticipated because…they had a frog pond. And we had two kiddos with us, so of course we had to go looking for froggies. (I may or may not have been the ringleader on this.)
Confession: I think I had an even better time than the kids with the frog pond. Feeling the need to preserve my status as the “cool auntie,” I decided I was going to try to catch a frog. After numerous failed attempts and the help of several random children all pointing out where the frogs were hiding, victory was mine!
Here I am holding an adorable little froggy for my friend’s daughter to look at. The kiddo was ecstatic. The frog, not so much. He quickly escaped my very loose hold and jumped right back into the pond. Still, though. I was pretty darn proud at having caught a frog, and my rockstar aunt status for the day was solidified.
We then trundled across the road to take a look at the lavender field – the whole reason for this festival in the first place! We had a nice tour guide who told us a bit about the history behind the field, and then she let us wander on our own. We were seeing lavender plants that were only 10 months old, so while we weren’t greeted with waves of purple, some rows had burst into deep and light lavender flowers, and that was enough for me.
I circled round each blooming plant and took as many photos as I could get. I did a little photographer work with the kiddos, too, to try to get some nice pictures for the moms, but I quickly discovered that kids aren’t so eager to sit still next to flowers in an attempt to look “artsy.” The results were hilarious, but adorable.
We spent a good amount of time on the Paradise Farms property. The landscape was lush and green, so you felt like you were surrounded by forest even though you were right near a major road. There was a gazebo near the lavender field, some purple Adirondack chairs (*all the heart eye emojis*) to relax in, a separate flower and vegetable garden to poke around, and there were some visiting farm animals that kids (and unabashed adults) could pet.
My favorite part of the farm was the old stone Milk House. It looked like something out of a fairytale, with its whimsical garden outside and its Provence-inspired décor inside.
I wanted to move in there the second I saw it, and I quickly contemplated what I would have to do to our backyard shed in order to get it looking like this.
Then I thought of all the spiders that must be hiding in nooks and crannies I couldn’t see, and I quickly ran outside and decided the Milk House is best admired from afar. And that my shed at home will remain untouched.
Still, though. #CottageDecoratingGoals.
We headed back to the nursery side of the Festival, where of course we ended up buying some lavender plants to take home. There were quite a few varieties blooming in the lavender field, but I was most taken with the Phenomenal Lavender. It’s my favorite shade of purple.
While the cute little plants we bought aren’t flowering yet, I have great plans for them at the Cottage. Husband planted them in a garden bed created by one of our stone retaining walls, so I’m hoping to get a bit of the Milk House vibe going in a few years.
(Excuse the disembodied thumb. Focus on the cute plants.)
After a nice lunchbreak, we continued on to part two of our adventure: TREATS!
The first stop was Callie’s Candy Kitchen, where you can buy homemade chocolates and candies. The outside reminded me of a gingerbread house, and the gigantic lollipops made me feel like a kid again.
The store is also a candy museum, which is pretty cool. One half of the building is devoted to the history of the candy kitchen, showing all the old machines and molds that were used to make candy back in the day.
My husband was greatly intrigued by the museum side — he loves all things historical — but I soon abandoned learning about candy for taste-testing some. The other side of the store had display upon delicious display of homemade chocolates and candies — and some samples!
There were so many things to pick from, but in the end I chose gummy bears and milk chocolate coconut clusters, and Husband got himself an assortment of dark chocolates once he pried himself away from the museum.
It’s just a short drive from the Candy Kitchen to Callie’s Pretzel Factory, so that was our next stop.
I loved the old car out front – everyone did, since getting a picture of it without anyone sitting inside was pretty difficult!
The pretzel factory is really cool—you get to see the workers making all the pretzels, and there are even pieces of dough at workstations so visitors can try making their own pretzel shapes. Down a short hallway is a Left-Hand Shop – all things for the lefty in your life. It had some funny items and some great gift ideas. (Christmas is only five months away, you know…)
The rest of the building is set up like a general store selling all different flavors of hard pretzels, popcorn, and candies.
Again, there was so much to choose from, but we ended up with pumpernickel pretzel sticks (they taste just like the bread!), honey wheat pretzel sticks, and peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets. We also bought a soft pretzel from the counter up front. We got classic salt (that’s my fault; I was not feeling adventurous), but they had all sorts of flavors there — even a soft pretzel dipped in chocolate glaze! Thinking back on it, I really should have tried that one…
We eventually left the Poconos, but instead of heading straight home, we drove over to visit with more friends. This couple had a baby a few months ago, and it was high time we met her. Our friends live out in the country in a beautiful farmhouse that would make Joanna Gaines jealous, and it’s nestled on about 10 acres of land along with some chickens, a dog, and a bunny. We finished the evening by catching up together and walking around the woods on their property. Our relaxed, summer day stretched luxuriously into a relaxed, summer evening, and it was the perfect end to our daycation.
Do you have any daycations planned for this summer? Or, maybe even real vacations! You can tell me about them. I promise I won’t be (too) jealous! Share below!
