Last month I had the opportunity to go to the Country Living Fair in Atlanta. If you have never been you really should go one year. The Fair is always held near Atlanta the last weekend in October. It is held at Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain Georgia. The Fair is actually held in several different states throughout the year. I also attended the Fair in Nashville during the spring a few years ago. I seem to like the Atlanta show the best.
I like the way the Fair is described. “The pages of Country Living magazine come to life.” I just love that. If you’ve ever been a reader of Country Living Magazine, and even if you’ve not, you will love this Fair. Not only are there vendors set up throughout the wooded area of the park but there are hands on workshops and TV personalities from Food Network and HGTV. The vendors display antiques, crafts, jewelry, clothes and just about anything else you can imagine. And there is some of the best food you will ever eat. Oh and lots of sweet tea.
The show is held Friday through Sunday. I think you can purchase a ticket on Friday morning to get a sneak peek into the booths. I heard that the crowd on Friday can be pretty spectacular. We usually go on Saturday and sometimes we go back on Sunday. Saturday is a pretty busy day but if you wait until Sunday there are a lot of deals to be made.
When I say we I mean my sister Sandy, my nephew Chris and his wife Amy. We have been to the fair in Atlanta several times. We usually drive down on Saturday morning, its about a three and a half hour drive for us, attend the show for a few hours and spend the night in Atlanta. We go out and eat and maybe do some shopping and go to a movie. We either go back to the fair on Sunday or do some more shopping on the way home. All in all it is such a fun time.
The hotel rooms near Atlanta and beyond go crazy this time of the year. The prices go through the roof. We have stayed at several different places and none of them are anything to brag about. We never know until the last minute if we are actually going to get to go so making a room reservation months in advance just to get a nicer room is not an option. We are usually just there for a quick overnight and most of our time is spent at the show. I won’t bother linking you to the hotels because I wouldn’t recommend you stay where we did. HA!! However if you get a chance to explore Stone Mountain Park while you are there don’t miss it. There is so much to offer. It is a fantastic fun place.
This year I had read that Nancy Fuller from Farmhouse Rules was going to be at the show and doing a cooking demonstration. She also had her latest cook book and was signing copies of it. I love Nancy. She says that when she was growing up her mother always called recipes, rules. I love it. That is where the name Farmhouse Rules comes from. You can find her show on Food Network most weekend days. We got to the pavilion where she was doing her demonstration in plenty of time to get a good seat. A lot of people were there but not so many that you couldn’t get a good view of what was going on. Nancy made a great dish, Harvest Hardy Healthy Fall Salad. Sort of a coleslaw, salad type of dish and she passed plates of it around so that everyone could have a taste. It was delish. I am making some for Thanksgiving.
This is Nancy Fuller from Farmhouse Rules. I love her!!!
Doesn’t it look yummy? It had such a fresh taste.
Here is the recipe. Please excuse this terrible picture I had someone in front of me hold it for me while I took the picture. HA HA!!
Some beautiful quilts
This nice lady showed me how to weave on a loom and even let me try my hand at it.
There are some wonderful artists, and antique dealers and different vendors at the show. I do find some of the things a little pricey for me. But the people who set up the booths have to pay a lot to be there. To be honest I like to go and get ideas for things to make. We have a wonderful time, spending time together. If you get a chance check it out next year. There is a list of dates and fair sites on the Country Living website.
Until next time, always remember:
Love your day your way!!!
Southern Patches 