For Christmas, my sister got me the book Travels With Charley by one my favorite authors, John Steinbeck. It's about his travels around the U.S., the people he meets, and the situations he finds himself in. I have to say, I'm finding a lot of similarities between me and him - his knack for getting lost, the way he handles certain social situations, and the fact that he is able to come up with the perfect response to someone hours after the fact. While I now have the luxury of gps to rely on, he would have missed many of his encounters if he hadn't taken some of his unintended detours. However, I think I'll keep relying on the gps for now...

I'm still in the middle of reading it, but it is giving me the road-trip bug. So, to hold me off until I can make a bigger trip, I grabbed a pal and headed right up the road to Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum, which is one of those quirky places that is featured in a lot of road-side attraction books. It is practically in my backyard, so it was a shame that I had never been there.

While there are several giant elephant statues, the museum itself is a collection of elephant memorabilia that the owner has collected on his travels throughout his life. 

There is also a store with tons of cool stuff I had never seen anywhere else... like these adorable packs of gum:

Any Pez you could ever want:

Cute:

They have every nostalgic candy you could want, as well as homemade goodies. And, since I'm making an effort to try new things, I got some chocolate honeycomb, which is sort of a hard-toffee coated in chocolate. Pretty good!

I also picked up some fudge in cookie dough and maple flavors (came with a cute little knife!):

And I can't say no to anything labeled "salted caramel":

Definitely a fun little trip! I'd love to hear about any off-beat attractions in your town!

Yesterday I took a little road trip to Lancaster, PA. I had worked out a couple of trades with artists in the area, so I was able to get those taken care of while I was there. I don't normally do trades unless it's something that I was wanting anyway, so I'm really excited about what I got!

The first trade was for a mug from Phil Kreider. He's an awesome potter with a studio in Lancaster. I wish he had a website so you could see more of his work! You can see more information about his studio here. If you're interested in seeing more, just let me know and I can get you more info. His wife Lauren makes really cool buttons out of clay, which you can find in her Etsy shop: BeCeramicButtons.Etsy.com. I was in need of a nice big mug for my coffee, and this one is perfect:

My next trade was for a giclée print from Julia Swartz. I had been eyeing her work for quite a while, so I am excited to finally own something! This one just kind of jumped out at me - a girl looking out the window into the world... I imagine her thinking of all of the possibilities out there:

If you are ever in the Lancaster area, her studio is right above the Prince Street Cafe. Not only is she super talented, she also has an amazing story of overcoming cancer, which you can read about here.

They both wanted the same pair of earrings for the trade, which was the sterling silver Berry Earrings:

As a side note, no trip to Lancaster is complete without some Shoo-fly Pie. Here is one of the stands at the Green Dragon, which is a HUGE farmer's market/flea market in nearby Ephrata.

I LOVE this Petal Power design by Inner Pieces Gallery! Not only is it a beautiful work of art, it also serves as a boost of inspiration. While I like that the word can be customized, I personally like "grow" because it is a reminder to keep striving to better yourself, learn new things, and make the most of each day.

My friend and I decided it was time for a road trip. It is such a beautiful day, so the only option we could see was to head to the beach. Thrasher's Fries, Fisher's Popcorn, and the Dough Roller were calling our names, so to Ocean City we go. The only part I don't like is crossing the bridge...

Two of my friends are celebrating birthdays this month, one of which will be the big 3-0, so I think that calls for something festive, like this bright, colorful skirt. Our birthday gatherings are pretty low key - out to dinner to the restaurant of the birthday girl's choice and one of us makes her favorite dessert. Although, for my 30th we ended up on a 3 week road trip out west, so who knows what will happen!

As you get back into business-mode after your long weekend, it may be a good time to give some thought to where your business is heading and the impact it is having on the world. I've had the pleasure of getting to know Lori Webb, founder of "Indspark!", through the mastermind group I am a part of. She is currently working on a book that profiles entrepreneurs and the passion behind their work - "Entrepreneurial Profiles: Around the World and Down the Street".  I read the first chapter, which you can download on the website, and it was really interesting to read the reasons people started their businesses and the message they are wanting to send with the work they do. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book!

In addition to the book, Lori also has a coaching and consulting business - Thoroughbranding. She will help you create a cohesive and fully-developed brand or re-evaluate your current branding and work with you to improve it. Her energy is contagious, and she goes the extra mile to help get things in gear. If you're ready to be challenged and take things to the next level, she's your girl!