On Saturday, Berek and I met up with Carrie, Baxter, Ben and Erica at the Ren Faire in Irwindale! I am so happy we got together because it was a lot of fun!

The weather was absolutely perfect! It was overcast, cool and sometimes it was a bit drizzly, but it was a perfect day to be at the Ren Faire! Usually when we go, it's hotter than Hades! :) So this was a nice change!

We first wandered around a bit and took a gander at some of the wares. Carrie wanted a garland, but didn't want to pay too much for one so she decided to have her hair braided with flowers and ribbons. So while she waited to have that done we wandered ahead a bit and Berek and I found this great little nook called New Forest and they had all sorts of goodies. We bought from them this hot mustard, oregano garlic vinegar and apricot jam. Their pumpkin butter was to die for though! ;)

Then as we wandered further in we noted all the different food places. They had a greek place and an italian place which was different from when we went 2 years ago. We found the kiosk that had the freebies. (At the front gate they were giving coupons to everyone to get some free stuff at Ananda Trader. :) So we found the kiosk and we got some Frankinsense and Myrrh with a charcoal burquette. The Frankinsense and Myrrh are real saps that have crystallized and when burned on the burquette give off a beautiful fragrance. (I wound up with everyone's freebies because no one else had a metal or stone container to burn the burquette in since the burquette reaches upwards of 250 degrees. HOT!) I didn't have a metal container for them either, but I opted to buy one. They had a cast iron cauldron that I decided would be perfect for that as well as other things that I want to do when it comes to my Craft.

We went back and got Carrie and then we all decided it was high time we ate. Berek had beans and rice with a hot and spicy banger on top. I had bangers and mash which was a chicken and garlic banger with a traditional one. Mmm, that was goooooooood! Carrie and Baxter couldn't resist the turkey legs and corn on the cob. :) They did look scrumptuous! Meanwhile a couple of ladies sat with us at our lunch table and started chatting with us. It was there that they found out that Carrie was a Faire Virgin. So they called over a gentle sir and he recited to her some poetry, to which she was thoroughly embarassed by. :) I got some of it on video! :D

After that, we headed out again and decided to sit and see the Merry Wives of Windsor which was a very funny show about sex, men and ale! :) I enjoyed it. After awhile Ben and Erica decided to leave because it was a bit too cold for her. So we said our good-byes and kept wandering.

We looked at everything from knick-knacks to clothing, to paintings and puppets! Everything was wonderful to look at including the costumes. I saw a guy who was definately a 'huzzah' to look at...at least from behind. His face was mediocre, but his body...let's just leave it at that shall we? :)

There were racks galore too. I know the gentlemen were enjoying the jiggly racks that were in surplus.

Eventually, we settled down and ate some more. This time we had french crepes. Berek and I got a banana and chocolate crepe as well as a strawberries and chocolate crepe. It took forever to get them because they weren't very well organized, but the wait was well worth it. Berek and I agreed that the strawberry and chocolate was the better of the two. :)

After our snack we started wandering around again and started noting places where we were likely to buy something. We wandered by one of the clothing places and that was where I found a short cloak that I liked. Now it was time to pick a color. It was between the green and the black. I ended up choosing the green because it worked better with my skin tone and we realized that although it wouldn't be universal like the black one, I could build my costume up around it. Yay! I bought a cloak! By this time though it was after 4 and we had wound our way back to the front entrance and Carrie and Baxter decided to head off. So Berek and I decided to make one last round and pick up the stuff that we had already purchased, but also to pick up stuff that we had been eyeing.

So we picked up our foodstuffs from New Forest and then we wandered through all the interesting shops. I found the most awesome puppets! They sit on your shoulder or you hold them in your hand and they have a little wire that you twist or pull to make the head move. They look so real! They were between $50 and $150, but definately worth it! They had gargoyles, dragons, cats and other creatures and I want one so badly. Those would be so cool when I start working with children. :) Next time I definately need to pick one up!

I wanted to buy Berek a cloak too. So we went through all the clothing shops again and finally found one made of fleece. The price was right and the style was perfect for him! He tried a gray one, a green one and a black on and settled on the black one. :) I'm so happy that he has a cloak now to build upon for an outfit for anything. That's the great thing about our purchases, it could be for Ren Faire, Comicon, or Halloween! :)

I picked up my cauldron and then I found a jewelry place nearby. They had a Tree of Life necklace. I have been looking for the right one for a long while now. This one was nice, but I didn't want it with a tiger's eye jewel. Instead I asked if they had them with any other stones. They had several other stones, but I chose amethyst. If they didn't have that one I would've chose the blue lace agate. They also had matching earrings to a piece I had purchased 2 years ago and I got that as well. :)

We were heading out when I heard the call, "Last chance for puppets!" and I saw that the gentleman had a really cute hedgehog. I saw it and put it on and it was absolutely adorable. I couldn't bring myself to buy it though, until the woman showed me that you could ball it up into itself like a popple! That sold me on it! Then I found a red dragon finger puppet and a field mouse finger puppet that I had to have! I almost died though because I asked if they took cards and she said, "No." Berek swooped in and saved the day though, for he did have enough cash to cover it! :) THANKS TO BEREK, I HAVE THE CUTEST PUPPETS EVER! :D (These are going to be great once I start working with children.)

At that point, we headed out and stopped off at Wienerschnitzel for dinner. It was nice to sit down and talk about our day together. It was a really awesome night and we were both exhausted by the time we got home. We fed the boys, I took a shower and then we crashed. :) It was a good end to a fabulous day!

(We're definately planning on going again!)