An ideal Farm Chicks weekend agenda, if I do say so

For the third year in a row, a dear friend of mine will be visiting Spokane from Portland to attend next weekend’s Farm Chicks Antique Show . It has become an event we both look forward to, not just because of the fantastic treasure hunting but because we get to catch up with each other face to face (rather than on Face book).

I usually have big plans to make it a down-home, country-lovin’ kind of weekend, with home-baked breakfasts using recipes straight from the Farm Chicks’ cookbook and welcome gifts I’ve made following craft instructions from the book or from the show’s many talented vendors. Last year I sewed her a scone cozy , for example.

As the Farm Chicks weekend approaches, half my plans usually get tossed because I run out of time, though.

But what is it they say? Shoot for the moon because even if you miss it you’ll land among the stars?

So, if I were shooting for the moon—and if money and time were limitless—this is what I would do for my friend next weekend. (Because I know she loves me no matter what, she’d be happy with a pot of local coffee in the morning and fresh sheets on the guest bed.)

Friday arrival:
Greet her with a basket of welcome-to-Spokane gifts, including a Garbage-Eating-Goat T-shirt from Boo Radley’s, the latest issue of Country Living magazine and a bottle of Townshend T3 .

I’d add a copy of the Farm Chicks: In the Kitchen cookbook , but she already owns it. (Note to self for FC2011: give a copy of the Christmas book Serena Thompson has coming out in September.)

The basket would also contain a vintage recipe box that holds copies of the recipes we’ll be enjoying over the weekend.

Her bed would be adorned with girly throw pillows from The Vintage Barn in Rathdrum, Idaho (a Farm Chicks vendor and host of its own antique show on July 10).

Friday night:
I’d post a menu board in the kitchen, letting her know what the meal plan is for the weekend.

On the dining table, there would be fresh-cut wildflowers in vintage tin cans.

For dinner, we’d make roasted chicken and biscuits, and for dessert, Farm Chicks farmhouse apple pie (I’ve made it a few times—oh me, oh my—yum!).

Saturday:
In the morning, I’d present my friend with a pillowcase tote bag that she can use to carry the smaller treasures she finds at the show.

We’d eat Farm Chicks crunchy granola (recipe in the cookbook) with whole milk from a local farm served in a small white pitcher, and then we’d swing by Atticus coffee shop for our java fix.

We’d then shop ‘til we dropped at the fairgrounds, taking advantage of the shipping service that’s being offered for the first time this year since my friend is flying in instead of driving.

In the evening, we’d stop by Agave Latin Bistro for a cilantro-jalapeno margarita and then eat dinner at Sante Restaurant & Charcuterie.

Sunday:
For breakfast, we’d start at Chaps , where we’d eat baked oatmeal and let the vintage surroundings there—designed by Chaps owner and Farm Chicks vendor (not to mention nurse) Celeste Shaw—inspire our second day of shopping.

For lunch, we’d eat at Madeleine ‘s. Before she boards her airplane in the early evening, I’d present my friend with an apron sewn from vintage sheets and an old tin lunch box packed with healthy homemade snacks for the flight. Also inside would be some sort of treasure I’d  purchased at the sale for my friend’s daughter, who turns five in a few weeks.

The Farm Chicks sale is nine days away (June 5, 10-6; June 6, 10-4). Looks like I have some (fun, creative, fulfilling, delicious) work to do between now and then.

How do you plan to spend Farm Chicks weekend?