anniversary weekend

September 15th was our 27th wedding anniversary! (Yep, I got married when I was 14, ha ha.)
We decided to spend the weekend in lovely Galena, IL - a historic town on the Illinois/Iowa border, filled with B&Bs, quaint shops, and great restaurants.
www.galenadowntown.com 


Monkey did  not want us to leave! He kept hiding under our suitcase.

We stayed at the Greenbriar Inn. Lovely place, isn't it?

The one problem was, there was a Glade plug-in air freshener in our room, which was very strong. I am highly sensitive to scents, especially when they're artificial. I moved the air freshener out into the hallway and opened our window, but it didn't help much. I was congested the entire time.

Oh well...the next day, Saturday was sunny with a cool breeze, so it was a perfect day to spend walking up and down Main Street, going into a lot of the shops, stopping for a bite to eat, doing the wine tasting at the Galena Winery, and ending the day in the local coffee shop with some iced green tea.

Here's a sampling from some of the shops...

Check out this gorgeous sofa at http://www.vignettesgalena.com/index.php. I have no idea how much it cost, but I was swooning over the color, the curved back, and the brass studs around the bottom. And did I mention comfy? Me and the hubby did not want to get up once we sat down. I believe the cushions were down-filled.

I also spied with my little eyes, these lovely suede ottomans. They'd be perfect for my living room. But not at $238 each. I've been looking online for something similar, but no luck thus far.

There's a reason the store is called "Vignettes". Check out their pretty fall display...

This purple vignette certainly was unique...

As we were strolling down Main Street checking out the shops, this sidewalk display caught my eye. Definitely appeals to my inner hippie.

On the total opposite end of the spectrum, there's http://www.peace-of-the-past.com/; an antique shop and vintage book store. Have a peek...

Hubby got comfy with an old book...

And then there was the food. WOW. Look at this salad I had for lunch at http://www.oneelevenmain.com/

Beautiful AND delicious.

This shop - http://www.letustemptyouwithchocolat.com/ - is a must-stop. They have the best chocolates I have ever tasted. They're expensive - an average of $3 each - but worth every penny.

The Spicy Aztec chocolate is my fave...it's a dark chocolate Belgian truffle with a hint of heat.

 Put it this way - a few years ago when I first tried this chocolate, I was moaning just like Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally" when they were in the diner. I'm sure you remember that scene!

Man, my eyes are puffy in this picture. Terrible allergies this time of year. Or maybe it was that stupid air freshener. :-o

Buh-bye Galena...until next time!