Small Town Charm: Coffee and Antique Shopping in Huntsville
It’s been a minute since I posted a Small Town Charm post. Yesterday, I took a day trip to my old college stomping ground in Huntsville, TX. It’s been a few year years since I made that journey and remembered just how pretty it was during the Fall and Spring. It’s about a 45 minute drive from College Station and an hour and a half from Houston. The perfect getaway for antique shopping, coffee and lunch. The sky was a clear blue which made the drive even more enjoyable! I spent a few hours picking up a few gifts in the antique stores and then grabbed a really delicious Sipsy’s latte at a local coffee shop. Did you know that Huntsville has a ton of history in its downtown and surrounding areas? Yep, in the mid-1800’s it was a spot where General Sam Houston stayed! In fact, the corner I’m standing on below was a location he spent time in! History is so much fun when you start imaging all of the places and situations people have been in before in the exact same spots.
Huntsville is a small historic town with tons of places to shop, eat and explore outdoors. You can head over to Hunstville State Park with over 200 acres of greenery, cabins and trails. You can also hop over to the Blue Lagoon which is quarry north of the city with scuba diving. I spent the afternoon inside the city popping in and out of the local businesses in search of new treasures. There are tons of antique shops in the area and once you park you can pretty much go from place to place without a hassle of reparking. Check out A Nitsch in Time or the Bluebonnet Antique Square mall. I found the sweetest lamp and embroidered napkins for my dining room table. There’s tons of pieces ranging from clothing to furniture.
A few blocks away from the downtown square there is a local coffee shop called Sipsy’s. I picked up a Sipsy’s iced latte which was the recommendation from my barista. It had mocha, toffee and I swapped the usual milk for oat milk. I was surprised at how many non-dairy options they had! You can sit inside in comfy couches or outdoors underneath huge trees. I definitely recommend grabbing a pick me up here before heading onto the rest of your day.
You’ll find I’m a big fan of walking. On a daily basis I get about 15,000 steps so I make sure I wear a shoe that can handle that kind of movement. I wore my favorite pair of loafers (on sale right now!) in a beautiful mustard leather. After you break these babies in you can literally wear them all day! They tend to look even better the more you wear them and although a little bit of an investment piece, they are well worth it! I’ve rounded up a few other favorite walking shoes below for you to shop. Look for shoes with extra padding and made out of natural materials like leather or suede instead of synthetics that tend to rub blisters. Also, patent leather is usually not comfortable for all day walking so steer clear.
Another perfect travel item is a great pair of jeans. My current favorite pair is also from Madewell. I love the fit and they get more comfortable as you wear them throughout the day. I find their vintage straight leg cut is really flattering for my petite body. I paired them with a mustard yellow top (a color on repeat these days) and tiny crossbody from Coach. I like to be handsfree when shopping and a crossbody usually does the trick. Finally, a vintage belt with a resin buckle pulled the whole look together. For the weekend I like being comfortable but not frumpy. Believe it or not, you can pull a look like this together pretty easily. Just make sure if you wear relaxed jeans to pair them with a fitted top!
To keep my hair out of my face I used a small feather shaped gold bobby pin. Hair accessories are a fun alternative to jewelry. I love how dainty this one is and it kept me from constantly touching my face to move my long hair out of the way. I wore this face mask from Bauble Bar when I was inside, but masks are not required on the street and it wasn’t crowded. I wear a mask as often as possible when need and these I picked up last month were really comfortable and found it easy to breathe. Look for masks made of cotton instead of synthetic fabrics and bring cleansing cloths to prevent acne.
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Last weekend I made a trip to East Texas to check out the last of the beautiful Fall foliage that we have here in Texas before the gray of Winter sets in. I stopped at the sweetest little city in Sulphur Springs where I found the prettiest building which is their courthouse. It immediately made me feel like I was standing in front of a castle! Small town Texas is known for it’s beautiful architecture like this. So much European influence from Germany, France and Spain! Sulphur sits between East Texas and Dallas. If you get a chance to stop through there, I highly recommend it! So much boutique shopping and places to eat. There’s a beautiful park in the center of the town square you can stroll!