Hey y’all! I’m refreshed and recharged and amped up after a gorgeous day off of work! About a month ago I requested off for a random Wednesday so man-go-round and I could go on a random weekday date. What did we do?

Well, we started out at a tiny farmer’s market in town that I’ve been meaning to go to, but usually… I am at work. I picked up some cute zucchini and pickling cukes:

Which would be “rave” number one for today: buying local poduce from local farmers, at Wal-mart style prices. Holla. I just tried the veggies out and they are sooo crisp and delicious!

Next up, we took a little road trip to Hopkins, where I’ve never really been and is in the midst of their annual Raspberry Festival. We started out walking around Shady Oak Beach laughing at teenagers on the diving board, gazing at lily pads, and taking cheesy self-timer pictures.

We were starting to get a bit oversunned, so we headed to Mainstreet Hopkins, where I was informed by tour guide man-go-round that muscle cars used to cruise in the ’60s. I imagined myself in a blue Chevelle or GTO with the wind in my hair. Then I was jerked back to reality when we parked to do a bit of antiquing/ thrifting/ boutiquing.

Which brings me to rave number 2! (or three, if you count discovering new lakes or beaches)… discovering new crafters/ antique finds!

This first shop we stopped at, Designs by RED, had both antique finds and crafts by contemporary designers. I bought this adorable button magnet. Sure, I could make this by myself (and would quite enjoy it!) but if I can spend under a dollar and buy something supper pretty to support another crafter? I will usually do that. And this is how collections are born! Here it is:

We then stopped by some more antique malls, dreaming of things to put in future homes or just trying to get out without breaking things (ahem, man-go-roune!)

Finally, we were getting pretty tired but we had a few stops left: Rave #s 4 and 5. What do I like to do more than almost anything when exploring a new town? Yep, sampling local supermarkets (Driskill’s), and visiting branches of libraries I’ve never been to! Since technically we were still in Hennepin County, I was able to check out lots of fantastic materials from the Hopkins library branch, including season 2 of Nurse Jackie which I’ve yet to see. Bonus!

The day off of work continues… we hit Goodwill, hit some heavy traffic, and intend to watch Tangled this evening. But I’m already calling it in a win for the day from hitting so many favorite activities!

What do you all do on your days off? Do you like to browse craft markets and antique stores? Do you look for anything in new places the way I do with libraries? Have you ever been to Hopkins?

Tomorrow I have a fun guest post so I’ll link you all on over when its up!

Meri