Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Sights of Asheville and Type A Con, The Final Chapter

On the last day of the Type A Conference, my roomie Good Girl Gone Redneck and I headed out to see some more sights around Asheville.
 In particular, we wanted to check out the old Woolworth's, which not only still had a soda fountain, but was also stuffed full of local artisan goods.

I fell in love with these little birds.  
I didn't end up buying any souvenirs, but if I had, I would've bought one of these 
adorable little fellows:





Native American crafts -

I don't knit or weave or crochet, but I thought these colors were beautiful:

And so much lovely jewelry: 

Old folksy friends:

Andrea and I fell in love with the bottle tree.
We both read the book On Folly Beach, which talks a lot about bottle trees.
So we were thrilled to find one in person!

And I had to take a picture of this guy, simply because he looks just like the Mad Banana that showed up in Muffin Tin Monday a couple of weeks ago.

Chicken wall art - totally loved these too!

After that, Andrea and I went looking for dinner.  The front desk of our hotel had recommended Doc Chey's, and we were totally craving noodles.

I ate this entire bowl-
in like 30 seconds.
Andrea had taken about 2 bites by the time I finished.
I guess I was hungry.  Plus, it was that good.

When we got back to the hotel, it was time for the closing party which was put on by Ubisoft.
They had a Smurf theme.
Being a child of the 80s, I could dig that.
They also had a Wii dance off.
 I don't dance.  
Because I have absolutely no coordination.  It's scary.
But I had fun watching.
And drinking my Smurftini.

And eating Smurf cupcakes and wearing Smurf flashing bling.
Because who doesn't love wearing a blue strobe light (or two!) on her hand?
 It was a very fun evening.

Here's a picture of all the swag.  In case you can't tell, it basically takes up the width of the king size bed:
When you go to a blog conference, there are brands there giving out fun samples to take home.  I had a genuine interest in quite a few products, and the representatives were very informative. 
Not pictured are a couple of Nintendo DS games (I'll be giving one away as a dog adoption fundraiser that This Old House Too is putting on in the near future), a large Papa Smurf, and a $25 iTunes gift card.
I'm glad I didn't fly, because I would've had a time trying to get all this into a suitcase!

27 comments:

Chris said...

Wow, what a lot of goodies you managed to get. Did you smuggle a hotel bath robe out too?!

Loved those chicken wall ceramics.

Anonymous said...

I am sooooo jealous.

But glad you had fun!! The Smurf party looks like such a blast!

Unknown said...

Your walk about looks like fun! I love that you scored more cookies and an extra truck. JDaniel loves his truck and I love the cookies.

jp@A Green Ridge said...

WOW! You came away with so much...both tangible and intangible!...:)JP

TexWisGirl said...

a smurf theme. that's different.

loved the artwork and crafty things you shared. laughed at the mad banana bottle man! :)

Michelle said...

I also loved the chicken art. Looks like you got some great freebie stuff.

trump said...

I really miss Woolworth's. Does anyone remember going to the Woolworth luncheonette and popping balloons to maybe get a meal at a better price, or even free. Maybe someone will buy the rights to use the name, as we have seen old names be resurrected like Indian motorcycles as one example. Richard from Amish Stories.

Jill said...

Looks like you hit the mother load of goodies. I love those birds too. I don't think I could have resisted. Looks like such a great time!

Texan said...

What a load of loot girly! A $25 Itunes card! You go girl. Thats got running stamped all over it!

Anonymous said...

Native American crafts are a favorite. Looks like a good time was had by all!..was this a "local" bloggers conference?
I do love Ashville,would love to go back sometime.
~Jo
LazyonLoblolly

Anonymous said...

Good Morning Lisa, I remember eating at the Woolworth's lunch counter when I was little! Love all the interesting and unique crafts you have shared. The food looks delicious too. Thanks for sharing this experience with us. Wishing you and your family a fabulous 4th!

Valerie Boersma said...

Fun Lisa! I want to go next time!!!

And loot-I want lots and lots of loot too:)

Doris Sturm said...

Sounds like you had a great time - so much to see and do - great photos!

Glad you enjoyed your Smurfini and noodles ;-) I love them too, never had a Smurftini, though! Sounds delish!

Glad you had fun. Enjoy your week!
Doris and Gizzy :-)

Unknown said...

Wow, you have so much stuff! Great post! Hugs!

missing moments said...

Fun coming along with you ... ahh .. an old Woolworth store ... brings back memories!

Mere said...

I just finished reading On Folly Beach...that bottle tree doesn't look like the ones described in the book, or maybe I just picture them differently.

Sounds like you had a lot of fun in Ashville! What a great opportunity for you to go to that conference. :)

Irish Italian Blessings said...

Oh those little birds were so cute and I LOVE the smurf theme! I'm an 80's baby and love smurf memories :) Glad you had so much fuN!

Ginny Hartzler said...

This looks like the most fun day EVER!!! I would have gone nuts in the Woolworth's!! But why is no one at the soda fountain, I see there are clerks behind the counter. I adore noodles and you and I would have had a race to eat them! Just loving all your pictures, you know what we want to see!!

Liz Mays said...

I can't believe how many cookies you got! And you got a Smurf? That's so cool!

Nancy said...

They totally picked a cool theme for the final get-together. Who doesn't love the Smurfs? :) Love all the crap, I mean cool stuff, you got to take home. Pierce must be beside himself! :)

Andrea said...

Love this post. I'm loving everyone's takes on the whole experience, but your pictures are totally rockin'! Seriously great shots. How did I miss those lil creatures, anyway? :)

Sonya @ Under the Desert Sky said...

What a great time! Look at all that loot!

Sonya @ Under the Desert Sky said...

Oops - I also meant to add that I love the pig statue!

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

You have taken really neat pics of your visit. I like the birds best of all :)

Chatty Crone said...

Looks like you had a great and wild time.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

I haven't heard of Smurfs in YEARS!... what a great time, love the old Woolworths!...

Thanks for the mention :-)

Sally said...

LOVE the old Woolworth's; brings back some great memories.

Glad you had such an awesome time, Lisa!! :)