Oh Happy Day

Today was a feel good day.

It's been quite a while since I've had one of those. (on a week day at least)

I took off work so Shaun and I could go house hunting. The thing is, we still don't know where we want to end up. Him working in Springfield and me working in Pasadena has taken enough of a toll on our 4 year relationship so it's time to figure out a place we can live together finally. We decided to check out Woodbridge today since it would be 15 minutes away from where he works in Springfield and where his sister and her fiance are. Also, there's a Savers thrift shop there that I had never been to before, so I figured it would be a great way for me to sneak in some thrifting!

It was definitely the perfect day to be out and about, beautiful, sunny, except 100 degrees. Yikes!
We began by stopping by Historic Occoquan. I personally love this little place on the water. Wonderful antique stores, cute little coffee shops and bakeries.

We didn't do much since we were both starving and wanted to get somthing quick and informal.  Although we drove through the street again and I noticed this funny little shop with the mermaids in the window.

On the way out however, I did insist we stop at this adorable little bakery called Moms Apple Pie.

It's the first thing you see on the right when you pull onto the road heading towards the water.  I figured I definitely could not miss going in here, the giant gingerbread men, pies and strawberries were calling to me!

They had an old screen door and a big porch with church pews to sit and eat gelato. They also had this cool old stove sitting on the porch for some reason. If it weren't rusted through it would be an amazing little find.

they also had fresh farm-grown produce and old-style sodas and candy as well as a plethora of jam and jellies.

They had quite a delicious assortment of pies

I took home a raspberry crumble pie and Shaun chose the traditional apple pie. I also took home a giant heart raspberry linzer cookie and a chocolate macaroon.

They had this adorable vintage Coca Cola cooler being used as a table for the buckets of flowers they had on sale.

After we left Moms with our goodies, we headed off to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  I always forget how much I adore Cracker Barrel with it's old country store theme and rocking chairs lined up in a row on the porch until I'm back there.

It really does feel like you are in an old country restaurant, even the servers seem like sweet southern bells.

When we left Cracker Barrel I decided that since we were checking out Woodbridge anyways, we might as well stop at Savers (a chain thrift store) since it's the first one to open up nearby. I wanted to know what every blogger/instagrammer kept raving about where they got all their vintage treasures.

Since I'm an avid vintage Pyrex collector, I needed to see for myself what sort of deal I could get that would maybe be a bit better than an antique store. The only time I've come across good vintage Pyrex for cheap was when my favorite little thrift store had just opened a 2nd location and they were unloading all their treasures.  I took home a box that day!

Savers was not as fantastic as I imagined. Their housewares section was surprisingly small, the only 2 Pyrex pieces they had were 2 coffee cups with saucers and their prices rivaled/went over antique store prices.  I decided to check back in the curtain section for any good fabric to use for crafts and alas the prices were still that of an antique store with the quality and quantity of a thrift store.

I sadly put my cart back and we continued on our house-hunting trip.

We drove around Woodbridge for a while searching through some brand spankin new communities but Shaun and I both agreed that there was a very impersonal feel to these places. No trees, houses backed up to another houses backyard and the landscaping left much to the imagination.

After driving through the 3rd neighborhood, I decided not to trust Realtor.com and to leave it up to Google maps to help us discover a good place.  I noticed there was a golf course with what seemed like a community backing up to it right down the street. (Shauns dream is to live in a home backed up to a golf course so he can tee up whenever he likes)

Upon arriving in the neighborhood it appeared the community was just like the past few we had encountered. New development, impersonal and cold.

I told him to drive a little bit further back towards the golf course and see if there were some older houses farther off the road.

We ended up driving through the entire housing development and the road kept going even when the houses stopped.  As we drove through the roads began to wind back into the forest with raggedy signs for "Tim's River Shore"  every now and then.  Looking at google maps I realized that if we drove only a couple more miles we'd hit water. Hoping there were houses there, we pushed farther through the woods.

After a bit we came to a railroad crossing and the lights started flashing and the bars went down. A train zoomed past us. The road had trailed off and turned into a gravel path at this point.  I urged Shaun to press on just a little bit further.

There was a small archway of trees and on the otherside you could see the water.

We pulled into a little cove with a little sandy beach and I snapped an instagram picture.

I could've stayed here on this beach forever, just watching the boats and listening to the waves lap at the shore. Of course Shaun didn't bring his flip flops and keep hinting towards the "no trespassing" sign so I got back in the car.

As we were leaving, we could see all the cars parked across the railroad tracks against the woods. Interested in what they were all doing there we drove along the dirt and gravel shoudler of the train tracks and arrive at Tim's River Shore.

On this hot 90+ degree day the outside smelled a bit like trash and seafood from the nearby dumpsters, but the view and the tiki bar were beckoning me so I could not give up.

Upon walking in, the charm almost smacks you in the face (if charm would do that).  Red and white, nautical themed walls with lots of memorabilia and pictures of grinning, old bay covered customers.

Not to mention the tables that have been sealed with layers upon layers of customers at the tiki bar, on their boats, on the pier, in their bikinis, and a couple huskier men laughing and dancing. Generally overjoyed.

 These awesome floor paintings greeted you as you entered, led you to the bathroom and bid you farewell on the way out.

We got a seat inside since the temperature outside was just a bit too much to properly enjoy ones self. Although the views from out table were definitely not anything to complain about.

We ended up getting a half dozen crabs and some beer and enjoyed every single minute of it. From watching the regulars stroll in and take their favorite seats, chat with their waitresses and order "the usual"

Just sitting here, enjoying the delicious Maryland crabs, drowning in Old Bay and dipped in vinegar (the only way to eat them IMO!) was the perfect way to end a perfect day.