Get-Away to MadTown!

I must say that the past 2 days have been the best I've had in a very long time!

Spending some quality time with my daughter was the absolute best!!!

We had a great time in Madison!

On the way there, we stopped for lunch in Beaver Dam.  A friend recommended we eat at Benvenuto's ~ and boy, am I glad we found this place!  Thanks for the tip, Suzanne!!!  We almost didn't find it ~ it was quite by accident actually.  I just pulled off on one of the exits for Beaver Dam because I was going to look for a little antique or specialty shop, but we couldn't find any.  So we pulled out the trusty Tom Tom and looked for the restaurant.  Couldn't remember the name Suzanne gave me, but knew I would recognize it if I saw it.  And wouldn't you know that it was right there where we had pulled off!  Just tucked back behind another restaurant so it was hard to see.

They had yummy bread with dipping oil

Taylor had Shrimp Capallini

and I had Spinach Ravioli with BOTH marinara & alfrado sauce

(the alfrado was the BEST!)

Our hotel was right across the street from The Alliant Energy Center where the concert was to be!  How nice was that!!!!  We had GREAT seats!  Right in the middle, row M...PERFECT!

(This is our view of the stage from our seats!  WOW!)

We weren't able to take pictures during the show...bummer!

And Celtic Woman is beyond words ~ what an amazingly talented group of musicians!

Their voices were heavenly, and that violinist ~ WOW!

She danced and jumped and spun around, all while playing the violin with amazing perfection!

Here is a link to a video of them singing "Danny Boy."  I tried to figure out how to actually place the video on my blog, but couldn't.  I'm a bit technically challenged...

Celtic Woman - Danny Boy

I picked this particular song because it struck a soft spot in my heart.  My father-in-law, Dan, is dying of prostate cancer.  It won't be much longer until he is Home with his Father.  It will be a rough next few days as the time is growing short....  This song has been a favorite of his as his sister used to sing it to him when they were young.  Let me tell you, it was touching to hear Celtic Woman sing this song!

Of course, while we were there we did some shopping!  Found a couple antique malls, and a couple really cool shops!  One we just stumbled upon when looking for an art glass shop Taylor found in the phone book!  This shop was AWESOME!  If I had a shop, it would look really similar to this one!

~~ FONTAINE ~~

There's more...but you'll have to come back for White Wednesday to see!

We also found a pottery shop in a quaint little town called Cambridge.  Unfortunately, we arrived at 4PM, and they rolled the streets up at 5PM!  We did manage to run thru a couple neat places.  The next time we are in the area, we will plan on spending more time here!

Rowe Pottery ~ really cool stuff in here!

Got myself one of these!

Again, there is more from this shop, but will have to wait until White Wednesday!

And last but not least, my found treasures!

Once I figure out how to scan a picture to share with you all, I will get that little picture on here.  It's really cute with a little boy & girl on the front porch of a house.

Found a Pottery Barn at the mall, so I picked up the bird mug for my desk at work.  The pottery mug with the heart on it is from Rowe Pottery.  The little birdy on the side of the nest is actually a clip-on!  Cool!

Was VERY excited to find the door plate!

And Taylor collects boxes (roses on top) and squirrels (green glass)!

Going to try my hand at those cool altered bottles inspired by so many of you!

At $1 each, couldn't pass them up!

Sorry for the long post!

Thanks for bearing with me!

And for stopping by!

Have a great day!

                      Warmly,

                             Lori