One week this summer we missed our traditional Friday night library date in a neighboring town, so we stopped in to return our books on a Saturday instead. I’m so glad we did! Unbeknownst to us, it was their town celebration day and there were a bundle of family-friendly activities going on within walking distance of the library.
Food as landscaping, what a gorgeous and useful idea.
One of the librarians gave us a flyer with the calendar of events for the day and we set off on foot to explore! We passed a darling cafe with a garden bed on the side of their building, then strolled over a gorgeous bridge into the well-maintained park. I’ve shared about that cafe over on Facebook and Instagram, I can’t believe I haven’t told you guys about it here! I need to do that!
Hello, beautiful!
This celebration had archery tag, inflatables, a petting zoo, a power wheel obstacle course, face painting, horseshoe, bingo, and more! Pretty impressive for a town of just 375 people!
Oh, and they had food vendors! My favorite one was serving fresh egg rolls. Gosh, they were good! I hope they’ll be back next year! We also scored FREE dye-free sno-cones for the whole family (regular sno-cones without the chemical-filled syrup, because we don’t need any more chemicals in our lives, and some of us kind of love crunching on ice, no need to run tell our dentist, he knows already).
There were some vendors set up selling goods. Many included your typical “at home” companies like Tupperware, Color Street Nails, etc. Don’t get me wrong, those are nice (I am a consultant with two of those types of companies), but what I really love discovering are men and women putting themselves out there with their own little businesses.
There’s just something special about buying a good that has been crafted by hand, rather than a machine, don’t you think?
I was doubly surprised to find that one of the vendors was a momma friend I spent every other week with in the nursery at our homeschool co-op last year. I had no idea that she had her own little side gig going on!
You guys, it’s a good one!
My friend, Amanda, makes hair bows! Like super durable, super adorable, and super affordable hair bows for sweet little girls! They are comfortable too! She has a couple little girls (and boys) of her own, so she knows all about the importance of function without compromising the fun.
Amanda also makes smaller hair clips, as well as keychains. My girls picked a super trendy floral keychain out for me that says “Love My Tribe”, and then my teen claimed it with “but mom, I’ll be driving on my own soon!” Oh dear, yes she will be. We’re counting down the days now, not the months anymore! Oh well, I suppose it’s hers now, as this tribe loves her too! ♥
My 5 year old wanted the one with unicorns on it. I’m a sucker for all things pink & navy, so I bought it for her, even though we didn’t have a purpose for it at the time. She came home and clipped it on her water bottle, it’s been there ever since. Okay, technically I took it off last night, but I clipped it back on right away this morning without her noticing. Because of germs, I made the decision to machine wash it after we spent all day in the hospital yesterday. I’m sure that level of cleaning was totally unnecessary, but it worked out just fine.
Amanda’s business is called Roaring Lily Bows. The name is a sweet tribute to her daughters. She began making these five years ago to help pass time while her husband, Matt, was serving in Afghanistan. With all that time + experience, she has perfected her craft, and makes a darn good product!
Some of the bows may show you that the creator behind them has a heart for Jesus, others will show you that she also has a great sense of humor. Poop Emojis are a big deal to my little princess. HAHAHA!
When we first ran into her in the park I bought an armload of bows for my youngest daughter and neighbor girls, and I have bought more since as gifts. I think I’ll keep some on hand for my nieces birthdays too.
These bows are truly darling! There are so many different combinations to choose from. You know I’m a bit of a fun hater when it comes to cartoon characters at our house, but she does make those too, and they are awesome! I will say, if she made one with Jack, from This is us, I’d let either of my girls wear it, and I’m sure I would sport it on Tuesday nights too! Haha!
You can find Roaring Lily Bows on Facebook, or if you’re local you might spot Amanda and her tribe like I did, with her very own booth at one of the area craft and vendor fairs.
Amanda has been so gracious to sponsor a giveaway here on the blog for THREE of her Roaring Lily Bow hairbows!
If this giveaway has a good response rate I think I’ll do another one around Christmas or Valentine’s Day as well. The seasonal bows are SO.CUTE!
Go ahead, tell your sisters, your brothers, your girlfriends, your moms, and all the neighbor ladies on your block, that they can enter to win a 3 pack of bows right HERE:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This extroverted middle child of mine LOVES making homemade commercials when she falls in love with something.
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