After leaving Portsmouth we headed up to Barrington, New Hampshire to check out a country store I spotted online a few months ago. Friends, pastries, thrift stores and country stores were the main focus on our trip this year and let me tell you Bob… we hit the jackpot in Barrington.
Calef’s Country Store in Barrington, New Hampshire was hands down our favorite country store of the trip. There was a little bit of everything {for both locals and tourists}.
We picked up sliced ham, cheese and pickles from the deli counter for a picnic lunch. And it was fantastic.
Seriously. When was the last time you saw pickled limes of giant dill pickles being sold out of a barrel at your local market? Umm… never. 😉 I asked the guy behind the counter what people did with the pickled limes and he said some people freeze them and put them in margaritas {gag} and the really adventurous ones EAT THEM {double gag!}.
We sampled the ginger snaps and they were delicious. Nice and crisp, just the way they should be.
After Calef’s, we headed north towards the Sunapee area so I could take a look around at the Dorr Mill Store. It’s a {rug} hooker’s paradise if you ask me. Last year when we stopped by the store I ended up going home with 30+ yards of wool.
This year I did much better and only came home with 17 yards of wool in my luggage. 😉
And a lot of inspiration too. 🙂 🙂 🙂
And last but not least… I found Aldi. OH MY GOODNESS!!!! People are always telling me that Aldi has some seriously awesome prices… and they do! I’ll do a proper post on the store on Monday {with loads of pictures}. If I lived in the area I’d shop there on a regular basis that’s for sure. 😉
Have a great night everyone, I’ll check back in tomorrow.
~Mavis
Lauren says
Mavis!
I live here! That’s my Aldis!!! They’re great eh? They’re new, but I must say market basket tries to compete and their variety is better – produce quality too. And I drove by that duck sign, on the way back from a unh tree pruning class this morning!! Woo!
There’s some excellent antique and consignments up 101, and some thrift stores closer to Portsmouth are great places to score – from lots of big houses.
Parkers maple barn is another great NH place to stop for breakfast and a little shopping that you might enjoy too – it is maple tapping season here.
Sorry it’s so cold (snow!?!) but it’ll be better soon. 🙂
Happy new englanding!!
Mavis Butterfield says
I’ll have to try out Market Basket Next time… I keep seeing them all over the place. We found Crawley House Antiques and it was amazing. I don’t mind the cold as long as there is sunshine or snow. 🙂 New Hampshire rules!
Laura Z says
Never seen pickled limes at a country store. Here in NC we have pickled eggs, pickled bright red sausages, and pickled pigs feet. Barf, double barf, triple barf!! I’d take pickled limes any day…..
I like my Aldi, especially over the winter when the farmer’s market is closed and I have to buy conventional produce from the grocery store. Last week I got a bunch of asparagus for 1.29, broccoli for 1.39, and a 3 lb bag of cara cara oranges for 2.29. Really good prices! They are putting in a Lidl next door –which I have only ever read about on European frugality blogs so I am intrigued…..
Trip looks fun! Thanks for sharing with your readers!
Deborah says
I live in North Central Illinois and we have had Aldi here forever. We find that each store will have some different products. I have 3 locations I frequent, depending on what direction I’m traveling.
You might find it interesting to look up the history of the Aldi store on Wikipedia.
They are also connected to Trader Joe’s.
Laura T. says
Hi there Deborah! You’re from my neck of the woods!
I live southwest of Chicago & Aldi is my first stop when I grocery shop! I’m always amazed that I can load up my cart & the total bill is so low. They just started accepting charge cards now too, before it was only cash or debit.
That store looks really cool! I need to visit the east coast. I’ve been to New York several times, that’s it.
Looks like you’re having a fun trip! Good for you!!!
Carrie says
I am taking a trip to Northwest Ohio this summer with my two boys to visit family. One of the first things I did was Google to see if they had an Aldi. It will be one of the highlights of the trip….because other than family there is not much going on where we are getting.
Jenny says
Our Aldi’s has a hitching post out front for horse and buggy parking and a designated pooper scooper. It is a funny little thing that makes me smile when I go there.
Laura T. says
Jenny, where is your Aldi? Is that because it’s in an Amish area? I’ve never heard of that! What a hoot! :0)
Jenny says
I live is rural Wisconsin, and yes it is the Amish. There are actually more Amish here than in Pennsylvania because land is so much less than on the east coast.
TX Deborah says
There are 2 Aldi stores that have opened in my area, (East Texas). One is 20-plus miles away and the other is 30-plus miles away. I haven’t been there yet, but my daughter has. They had a dozen eggs for 15-cents, limit 6.
Carolina says
So glad you found Calef’s. It is an AMAZING place. If I ever send you a picture of the inside of my pantry, you would see a “bumper sticker” that says “Got Calef’s Cheese?” I hope that you come back some summer, so that you can go just a little bit up the road from Calef’s and check out the great peaches at Union Lake Peach Orchard and/or the blueberries at BerryBogg Farm (mid July to late August). Also I know you would LOVE to see Strawbery Banke in the summer, when the actors are all there—churning butter or riding on 1940s bikes, depending on the era. Another cool visit is the light house in York Maine. It is on a little island in the harbor, complete with a house and the lighthouse keepers get their supplies over by pulleys over the water. It is called Nubble Light House.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thank you for all the suggestions Carolina! We will be back. 🙂
Sandra says
I thought that was a jar of pickled LIPS! I’m relieved to know I was wrong.
A. says
Surely, I can’t be the only one who remembers poor Amy March getting paddled for daring to bring pickled limes to school in “Little Women?” Apparently they were quite the fad amongst trendy mid-19th Century young ladies.
I absolutely would have bought one, if only to try it and see if Amy’s risk was truly worth it!