My girlfriend Laura and I had a belated birthday ladies' day out in Iowa City today. It was absolutely perfect fall weather with vibrant leaves everywhere we looked.
The first stop was in Coralville, Iowa at Michael's (got lots of new Martha Stewart punches with 20% off coupon) and then on to Hobby Lobby (they had 40% of Nestabilities, but I ended up having to get rain checks because none were in stock). Laura did find some fun clearance papers however.
Next, we stopped at Memories on Fifth where I picked up the Pebbles Spellbinders Impressabilities, some fun BoBunny Holiday papers, and a new Snowflake embossing folder from QuicKutz.
After that it, we headed to downtown Iowa City. The football game was on television, so the usual crowds were thin. We had a delicious lunch at Atlas Restaurant, which ended with us sharing their fabulous flourless molten chocolate cake.
I love how Iowa City has incorporated art into the every day in this part of town. I love the murals on the walls.
My favorite artistic elements are the metal plates in the sidewalk with book quotes. This is one is by John Irving from The Hotel New Hampshire and says, "To each other, we were as normal and nice as the smell of bread. We were just a family. In a family, even exaggerations make perfect sense."
After that, we set off to explore a new (to us) store … The Haunted Bookshop … and what fun we had. Used bookstores are one of my favorite places in the world. I love the quirky decor, the requisite cats wandering freely, and the fun little surprises you find around every corner.
I was on a hunt for inexpensive books that I could use in my cardmaking. Also, after receiving my my fabulous Art Journal book for my birthday (check out Lauren's art journaling fun), I also was looking for some books that would be good to start trying out some Art Journaling techniques. I hit the jackpot. They had an entire $1 book section that was a fund raiser for a local food cooperative that was just filled with possibility.
I also loved that there was a piano in the store if you wanted to sit down and play a tune … however there were Piano Rules on a post-it note that read "No Cups on Wood. No Fur Elise. No Heart & Soul. No Chopsticks. Thank You."
Our final stop when we returned to Cedar Rapids was at All About Pictures where I picked up some great Harvest Hayride papers from Pink Paislee. I also got a close-up looks at some cool Flower Soft creations … what fun color and texture.
I think the fall colors were my favorite.
All-in-all a fabulous ladies' day on the town. Now to go play with all of my new goodies …
Stephanie – I just LOVE reading about your shop hops! Because I live in the Quad Cities, I frequent the same shops as you. I’d love to meet you some day. I read your blog every day and enjoy your cardmaking style.
Happy Hi from your Nebraska neighbor! Too bad Iowa City is way on the other side of IA because I would *love* to join you on your fabulous shopping trips! It looks like you and your friend had a wonderful time and I really enjoyed reading about it! Happy Stamping now with all your new goodies!