Sugar High

Today, I – frugal, sensible, chocoholic Mary Davis – spent $10 on two cookies. But first, I spent $3 on lunch from a McDonald’s inside a gas station (weird), where they had an old school arcade cabinet that actually took quarters! Naturally, I stopped for a game of Ms. Pac Man.

Traffic was better today; quieter highways and not so much roundy round. That said, I still did a little exploring and wound up at Hobby Lobby, since crafters never take a vacation.

After my impromptu stop, it was a race against the clock to hit three bakeries in an hour, before the third one closed. Thankfully, none of the shops were busy and the cashiers weren’t especially chatty (except the last one, who was exceptionally nice!) and I made it with minutes to spare.

First up was this cute little place:

Seriously adorable! I missed a photo of the corner with two cushy powder blue chairs and a little table. I adore the wall of bluebirds, though!

Happily, my next stop was right across the street. On their website, Gideon’s Bakeshop says that the shop was born when the founder bought what they thought was an old family cookbook at a yard sale. Turned out it was the journal of a young man named Gideon, with his plans to start a bakery to bring his family out of poverty in the late 1800’s. They’ve combined his recipes with modern techniques and ingredients, and really made something special.

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A short drive away was Buttermilk Bakery, and I made it with ten minutes left before closing. That said, there were still people ordering after me, and the cashier was ridiculously pleasant, so I doubt they were too concerned. The interior was sparse, not much to look at, but the baking all looked delish.

Once I’d stocked up on sugar for the next few days, it was off to Big Tree Park, where The Senator, a 3,500 year old tree once stood. “Once stood,” you say? Well, in 2012 a woman and her friend were having a smoke and accidentally started a fire which burned it down. A tree older than Jesus. Poof.

Much like the tree disappeared, so did my access route. Construction blocking the entrance road prevented me from getting to the park – but you know what, if that’s the only setback I had today, it’s a sight better than yesterday’s adventure.

Besides, I saw a thrift shop a few miles back.

After an unsuccessful thrift trip, it was time to go look at expensive folk art in historic downtown Sanford!

I was primarily interested in the exterior of the studio/gallery/store: a Memory Wall created by Mr. Imagination, using items contributed by the folks of Sanford. The variety of memories and “stuff” in this wall is incredible. I wish I’d taken more time to really look at it all!

The art inside the store was impressive, with multiple studios for artists in residence. Y’all know me and my love for retro, colourful stuff, and after seeing all of the artists’ work, could probably guess that the work of Mark Seppala was my fave. The fact that it was mostly Beatles and Disney would probably tip you off too.

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Downtown Sanford was exactly what I needed this evening. I wandered the neighbourhood briefly before it got too dark, and it was so calm and peaceful, a nice contrast to yesterday.

I popped into a very full antique store and chatted with the woman there, who offered me a sample of her toe jam. Wait, what? Oh, that’s just a funny name for one of the yummy products they carry. Fun.

Weirdest things I found here: a framed McNuggets ad, and this odd religious album, which I did not buy:

I also passed another antique store, which was closed, but it had a fabulous name.

With that, it was time to book a hotel, and revel in my treasure. Firstly, I did not eat all of this in one sitting – much of it is safely stowed for the coming days! We’ll see how that goes. I did, however, have to sample for research purposes. As Olivia Newton John would say, “let’s get critical, critical…”

S’more Cupcake and Lemon Cupcake from Blue Bird Bakery:
S’more cupcake is good, but the frosting is too sweet.
Lemon cupcake is delish, but has too much frosting, though it is a nice tangy lemon buttercream.

Chocolate Chip cookie and Pistachio Toffee Dark Chocolate cookie from Gideon’s Bakeshop:
Okay, there’s a reason these have won awards ranging from Best Cookie in Florida to Best Cookie in the World. These cookies are highly deeeeelicious.

Blueberry Muffin from Buttermilk Bakery:
Saving this for breakfast!

Side note: My room has a kitchenette, and I was incredibly tempted to bake something, until I realized there is no oven, and looked at the above photo again.

I suppose it can wait!