Art Journal Travel Bag

When I travel, I always like to have some sort of project with me. I had to go out of town while ICAD 2019 was still in progress, so I made sure to pack some of my art journaling supplies to take with me in order to try to participate each day.

I'm always interested in how others pack their craft supplies for trips, so I recorded a quick video that shares the contents of my Art Journal Travel Bag.

Here's a look at the bag I used. It's a Primrose Hill, London bag that I found in the cosmetic section of Wal-Mart a while back.

While I wasn't able to participate in ICAD each day while I was away, I did make sure to only use the contents of this bag to create the cards I missed. It gave me an additional challenge but worked out well too. The cards created from this travel bag were cards 26, 27, 28, 29, & 30. They're included in two videos on YouTube if you're interested. 

Do you think I packed too much or not enough? What would you have packed?

Local Feature: Silverhill Market Gift & Garden

The other week, the Southern Bloggers Jubilee group met at the Silverhill Market Gift & Garden. I was so excited that this was the location for our meeting.

I've passed the place several times heading from Fairhope to Robertsdale on 104 but am usually on a mission and don't have time to stop. Our meeting was the perfect excuse to take a look around this lovely shop.

Out front is the garden area of the market.

There were plants and cute decor tucked all over the patio and porch.

From the front doors you enter the gift area that includes quite the variety of accessories and decor. The interior retains the original home's layout with lots of little rooms. (Even one of the bathrooms has been somewhat converted into a display area with the old toilet covered with merchandise - It's really cuter than it sounds. I promise!)

Silverhill Market has a great selection of art from local artists and craftsmen. There's even a small building of antiques (not pictured.) Everything about it is eclectic and quirky, but still full of upscale boutique style.

Our group met in the back of the main building where there's a coffee shop. It has a nice selection of coffee as well as a few other treats. Everything was very reasonably priced too!

Just off the coffee shop is a beautiful bamboo garden into which alcoves of seating areas are situated.

I believe there's a little bit for everyone at the Silverhill Market. Don't believe me? Go see for yourself! The Silverhill Market Gift & Garden is located at 16320 Silverhill Ave in Silverhill, Alabama, It's open 9am-5pm Monday-Saturday. It's a great place to explore.

Pensacon 2015

Over the weekend, Pat and I got a chance to let out geeky flags fly and take two of our nieces to Pensacon 2015 in Pensacola, FL. This was only the second year this event has been held, but it was packed out!

Looking down onto the vendor floor, this doesn't do the crowds justice!

I think all four of us could have spent the entire time just people-watching; there were so many amazing costumes.

This Weeping Angel was one of our favorites

I'm still not sure what this is, but it was creepy-cool.

It took a little time to get on the vendor floor as there was a line, so we got the opportunity to sit in the stands while we waited. This provided us the perfect opportunity to come up with a game plan and sit back and watch all the awesome around us.

We could see these pictures being taken of a life-size Chewy, but he was gone by the time we got on the floor. Darn!

Here's some of the view as we waited. All the people seated (more were on our right) were waiting to get on the vendor floor. Oh, and Where's Waldo? (you might be able to see him if you zoom in some!)

Once on the Vendor Floor, we stuck to our zig-zag route and perused all the wares. I got to speak to some local people I know who were vending there; Chris at Black Flame Creations (amazing Steampunk art and wearables) and Jon from Mini War Game (who I blogged about last month). Again, there was lots to take in.

This elf in chainmail caught my eye even from where we had been seated. The hours of work that must have gone into that armor. . .one can only imagine!

Another vendor stole my attention in his 'armor'. He was selling a variety of leather-goods. However those amazing chops are what caught my eye!

This gentleman made me laugh out loud as I spotted him dozing away in this skull throne.

After leaving the vendor floor, we decided to check out the Celebrity and Autograph area. We were concerned that the lines in there would be even more out of control, but it was surprisingly manageable and not overwhelming. We got the chance to actually see stars from some of our favorites: Star Trek, Star Trek the Next Generation, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Mallrats, and many more. Of course, our favorite of the bunch was Noah Hathaway who played Atreyu in The NeverEnding Story. He was a big part of the reason we decided to go to Pensacon and not some other local con, and I told him that too. Yes, we got to meet him!!

Atreyu!!!

Next to him was Alan Oppenheimer who voiced Falkor, the Rockbiter, G'mork, and the Narrator in The NeverEnding Story. He was also the voice of Skeletor and Vanity Smurf. (Can you say 80s swoon!?) Actually, if you take a look at Alan's IMDB page, you'll see he's been in just about EVERYTHING. His resume is impressive to say the least. We didn't get a picture with or of him, but did get his autograph (and Noah's). Meeting these two individuals was the highlight of our day.

Once we had our fill of celebrity sightings, the four of us held a pow-wow to look over the schedule and decide if there were any other must-dos before we headed back home. There were lots of options: video game playing, parties, panels, Q&As, a costume contest, etc., but we all felt pretty fulfilled in what we had accomplished and were near exhaustion from the excitement. We caught a bite to eat down the street and headed home.

There was no Tardis to take us home (I know I'm oversimplifying the use of the tardis - forgive me), but the hour drive wasn't so bad.

I will say that we had another group of friends there who had a completely different experience from us. They went to a panel and checked out a local restaurant that was decorated for some of the parties with lots of really cool pieces. It sounds like they had a great time too, despite the fact that our paths never crossed. There was just so much to do! All in all, I think there was something there that would interest just about anyone. The Pensacon organizers should be proud of themselves and congratulated for putting on a great convention. It rocked, and I've got two nieces who declare that it was one of the best days of their lives!

Camping in Port St. Joe | Part 2 (Eating Out and About)

I promised more than one post on our camping adventure to Port St. Joe. While there's not much more to say about the park (it was lovely), I haven't mentioned anything about the food. The majority of our meals were enjoyed at camp. We grilled beer brats and steaks, made paninis and pancakes on our new Cuisinart Griddler, and ate cereal for an easy breakfast.

We explored the area some with a couple trips outside the state park. Actually, before we even made it to the park, our friends (who had stayed on Cape San Blas before) pulled over on the side of the road. We followed suit. Come to find out, they stopped to pick up doughnuts from Weber's Little Donut Shop.

Image via A Tropical Breeze - Cape San Blas

I was able to get the last half dozen glazed they had that afternoon and was not disappointed. The donuts were perfect for a little something sweet without going overboard on the sugar.

On our next venture out, Pat and I decided to explore downtown Port St. Joe. We found a couple of antique stores to browse though on Reid Avenue but weren't really in a buying mood. However, we were stopped in our tracks when we stumbled onto this set of doors.

They belong to the Historic Port Theatre which opened in 1938. It didn't look like the building is currently in use, but we sure thought it was cool.

After walking a good length of Reid Ave. and poking around, we were hot and hungry. Pepper's Mexican Grill was right there to give us some relief. Granted, it was a fairly standard Mexican restaurant, but the menu was extensive, the food good, and the margaritas tasty. We had no complaints at all.

That evening, still a little tired from our exploring, we ventured back out for dinner. At Triple Tails Restaurant Pat and I both ordered beers from Apalachicola's Oyster City Brewing Company and some seafood. He got the grilled Mahi Mahi and fries while I opted for grilled shrimp and a side of cheese grits.

Both the meals and the beers were definitely good, but I have to admit that the star of the show was the cheese grits. Pat (who isn't a huge fan of cheese grits) claimed that if all cheese grits tasted like those, he would order them all the time. I'd say that's a winning recommendation!

Oh, and we ordered a slice of their homemade key lime pie. It wasn't too shabby either. There wasn't a crumb left.

The next morning, we awoke to darkened skies and impending rain. Not sure how long we had until storms blew through, we packed up quickly and headed out without breakfast. The Forgotten Coast is a lovely area, but it didn't seem to be bursting with breakfast joints. As such, we drove on to the West of Panama City to the Donut Hole in Inlet Beach.

Pat and I have been to the one in Destin before and knew that it was exactly what we wanted. There was a wait to be seated and we were starving. So, I didn't get a picture of our omelets. I can tell you they were delicious and quickly consumed.

We even got some donuts for the road on our way out. It was a perfect choice and a perfect way to end our trip.

If you ever head along The Forgotten Coast, make sure you stop for more than the scenery. We definitely weren't disappointed with any part of our trip to the area.

Camping in Port St. Joe | Part 1

As I mentioned yesterday, Pat and I spent the weekend camping. We and some friends pulled our pop-up campers to St. Joseph Peninsula State Park in Port St. Joe Florida. The park is located at the end of Cape Sand Blas and has the Gulf of Mexico on one side of it and St. Joseph Bay on the other side.

I could easily get quite picture heavy with this post, but I will try to restrain myself.

The gulf side was beautiful as expected with white sand and foamy surf

I loved that there was so many sea oats on the dunes.

Within the park is Eagle Harbor, part of the Bay. The water there is crystal clear and the sea grass is a perfect scallops habitat. We snorkeled for scallops (mostly I looked at the sea life) and played there most of an afternoon, despite the storm clouds in the distance.

This is the sea grass that the scallops hide and live in. Gliding over it in a kayak is creepy and cool at the same time.

The camping was great too. We stayed in the Shady Pines camp area and there were definitely lots of shady pines.

We even got to see the beautiful full moon while out in the 'wilderness'.

Since we opted for a 'tent' site, it was a bit of a tight squeeze. However, we really didn't mind at all.

I'll share more of our vacation, some of the less primitive aspects, in another post. But, I really had to share how beautiful that whole area is in case you're looking for something a little off the beaten path.