Birthday trip to the Sharon Springs Harvest Fest

Sorry for no post yesterday but getting back in the middle of the night from an extended weekend put sleep as my top priority.   When we stopped through Sharon Springs, NY on our trip last fall, I swooned at the thought of coming back someday during Harvest Festival when Brent and Josh of Beekman 1802 (also winners of the 21st season of Amazing Race) offer tours of their beautiful farm.  About 2 months ago, the Mr saw in a promo email that was happening and asked if I wanted to go as a belated birthday trip.  Uh...yes!  We went to nearby Saratoga Springs first back in 1999 with the in-laws since they lived close by and then stopped through town for lunch last year on our way to Vermont.  I said I would love to have a day or two to explore the town in the future so this seemed like a good excuse to merge the two ideas!

We stayed in a lovely condo in Saratoga Springs and on arrival day we got to wander the main drag of Broadway a bit as well as Congress Park and Hathorn Spring.  Of course we also had to see the horses at the track the next morning getting their exercise in.

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Now it was time to go make our trek to Sharon Springs!  Just over an hour later we were parking at the school and getting ready to be shuttled over to the festival.  We were dropped off close to the Etsy Makers Village and got to roam the artisans early in the day before the crowds came in.  It was amazing to see all of the talent that poured into the village.  As if that wasn't enough, the town has some great local stores to visit any time you like and it was all decorated to get you ready for autumn!

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Of course, the store many people are there to see is the famous Beekman 1802 Mercantile store.  If you're not familiar with the Fabulous Beekman Boys, you can read their story and get super inspired.  Their products and the products they carry are seriously some the of best out there.

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Our favorite is their honey.  The cinnamon honey is like...ridiculous.  It's one of those things that if someone tried to take it from me, they'd leave minus a limb.  We've used their bug spray and lip balm too and liked them as well.  (Worked on Savannah bugs!  That should say something.  They have big ol' demon skeeters there!)  The Mortgage Lifter pasta sauce was also a hit and I totally recommend you make the Mortgage Lifter Hybrid Lasagna recipe I posted with it.  It's at Target and it's kind of like your way to give back to the farmers so it's a moral imperative.  HA!

The second floor was full of gorgeous new, vintage and upcycled furniture.  You know you're in for something fun when something this beautiful is lighting your way:

In addition to the treasures for the home, the town treasures Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell were also on the second floor greeting neighbors old and new!

They were seriously the sweetest guys and took a few minutes to chat with everyone who came up to see them.  What these guys have done not just for the town of Sharon Springs but for bringing awareness to the importance of supporting small farmers and giving back to the farming community is nothing short of awe inspiring.  It's a way of life that was being swallowed by big business but using their story as a platform has begun to make a mark.

I do have a suggestion for their next line of products...sunscreen.

I guarantee unprepared doofs like myself who forgot theirs in the car would've paid any price to protect their skin!  (Plus we need more sunscreen options with less toxic ingredients and I know they could pull it off!)

Now I told you at the beginning that we were there for a farm tour but I took so many dang pics that there was no way to fit it all in so you'll have to come back tomorrow to see that as well as a surprise!

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