Nell Hill's

I visited Nell Hill's Briarcliff store last year and fell in love with the store and with Mary Carol.  She is a cute, bubbly bundle of energy with a great eye for decorating and hiring the right people to represent her business. Although the building certainly isn't vintage at the Kansas City location once you step inside your head will start to spin with inspiration for your own home.  Room after room of beautiful displays will make your heart go pitter patter. 

I'm leaving tomorrow with two friends to make the 13 hour trek back to Kansas City to visit her store again.  Who in the world would think there was ANY store worth traveling 13 hours to get to?  I'm not sure there is....but my friends and I always take a pre-holiday trip somewhere and this year it was decided that Nell Hills would be our first stop.  Actually we'll be visiting the stores in Atchison and Kansas City and I can't wait to see what Mary Carol has on display for us. 

After we've exhausted ourselves at Nell Hills we will head to St Charles, MO. for more shopping.  This beautiful little town is just the perfect place to spend a day shopping and enjoying the charm of the town.  Lunch or dinner will be at the Louis and Clark Restaurant and we'll be sure to spend some time at Flower Pedaler, one of my favorite shops in the little business district.  I never leave the store without some treasure to bring back home.  Last year when we were there my friend bought this very large wooden chicken that was pulling a wooden cart.  That was a challenge to get into the back of the SUV.

Oh and along the way there will certainly be some stops at local antique shops and maybe a thrift store or two and we'll certainly be punching into the GPS any Home Goods we might find along the way.  Having this time together before the craziness of the holidays begins is better than anything your doctor can prescribe.  Take a minute....maybe you can't work in a weekend with the girls but hopefully you can find a few quiet minutes somewhere in the next few weeks to "feed" yourself with the happiness of family and friends and look past the craziness we make of this time of year.