Princeton + Ripon, WI Getaway

My husband and I visited Princeton and Ripon, WI for a getaway this past weekend and had such a good time. If you are into antique and boutique houseware shopping with some small town charm, I highly suggest you visit the area. For those of you that live far away and can’t visit, you may still get inspired by some of the pictures. I know I got inspired!

Princeton, WI Flea Market

Our first stop and pretty much the main reason we went to Princeton was because of their flea market. My girlfriend had mentioned really liking Princeton and brought up the flea market. She never actually went to the flea market and it’s probably a good thing or I may have never planned the trip! Apparently it used to be really good years ago, but it’s had less vendors these past few years. Maybe it will get better again in the next few years. Needless to say, we left with butternut squash and a vase that I could have lived without. The highlight of the market was petting the sweet goat named Pepsi. I would have taken her home with me.

After the market, we stopped at the two antique malls right on Fulton street – MNM Antique Mall and Woolbrights River City Antique Mall. It’s worth walking into both if you visit; you never know if you’ll find something. I bought a cool framed deer picture and spent a good amount of time in Woolbrights.

Horseradish Kitchen + Market – Princeton, WI

The next stop for us was lunch. The Horseradish Kitchen + Market was the other reason that brought me to Princeton. I have been following this place on Instagram and knew it had a menu of delicious items I would enjoy eating. Not to mention, the décor and ambiance is amazing. The owner Matt has an eye for design and it shows in all of his ventures. He co-owns Horseradish, the Airbnb right above the restaurant, and has a Princeton 7 room hotel in the works. My husband and I spoke with him for a bit and could have talked much longer.

Back to the food. It was all SO good. Matt uses local produce from the nearby farms. It doesn’t get better than that. I did some restaurant research before we went and decided we would be the happiest eating at Horseradish both days. I made breakfast and dinner at our Airbnb and we had lunches downstairs. Best decision. I’m still dreaming of our food. I had the roasted vegetable salad, the beet sandwich, and some curry soup on special. I also enjoyed some good coffee and a glass of wine. My husband loved his cocktails too. Two of my best meals out in awhile.

Princeton Garage – Antique Store

After long lunches came shopping. You can’t have too long of a lunch though or you’ll never be able to visit all the shops in Princeton and Ripon. Most of them have shorter hours, so if you visit, make sure you check the hours everywhere first.

The Princeton Garage is right next to the Horseradish and it’s an oldie but goodie. You may have to squeeze in-between areas and are thankful for a mask to wear, but you might just find something. I didn’t find anything, but I enjoyed looking at all of it. Do you see that fruit cookie jar in the picture that I’m sure many of you think is ugly? I almost bought it for our 1958 cottage kitchen, but I wasn’t sure if it would go so I passed on it.

Rethinking Decor – Princeton, WI

Princeton’s downtown is one small street. We got an Americano and some gifts at Twister. My husband got some bakery treats at Renards European Bakeshop. Across from Twister was a cute shop called Rethinking Decor. It’s a very tiny shop that you could easily miss, so I took a quick outside picture of it. The sweet owner has fun vintage finds packed in the tiny space with reasonable prices.

Dover St. Collected Home – Princeton, WI

Matt, the owner at Horseradish sent us here. He said we could end up spending two hours in the beautiful shop looking around and talking with his friends – the owners. Well, he was right. It was the best curated section of vintage home goods. I purchased an antique deer vase for our cottage (I have a thing for cute vintage deer) and some bar glasses for a gift. Well, unless I can’t give them up, but I am going to try.

The best part of the shop though were the owners. We talked with them for so long. The husband, Gary is an amazing photographer – Hannabarger Photo, and his wife, Leslee was thee sweetest. I could have chatted with her forever. She is so warm and kind. The type of person that leaves a big impact on you. We will for sure be visiting them again and even hope to have dinner together.

Back Porch Gatherings – Ripon, WI

Since Ripon is an easy drive from Princeton, we headed there as well. There are a lot more shops in the downtown and they are all pretty much right after the other. I knew about Back Porch Gatherings prior, so I was excited to finally peak inside. It’s a cool store with lots of plants, pots, vintage and home décor items.

Patina Vie – Ripon, WI

Patina Vie is right next door to Back Porch Gatherings and is another beautiful shop to go into. After this, just walk up and down both sides of the street to hit all of the shops. I really liked Hart Mercantile across from Patina Vie. Many of the shops were starting to display Christmas, so it would definitely be a fun street to check out in November.

Boerson Farm Organic Produce – Princeton, WI

We stopped at a farm during our driving adventures to grab some delicious organic produce.

The 505 West at Horseradish – Airbnb – Princeton, WI

And this is where we slept and spent our evenings. It was the perfect place to come back to and relax. We watched a movie, played checkers, listened to records, looked at some coffee table books and just enjoyed ourselves. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

We already can’t wait to go back! We want to stay at the new Parlor Hotel (opens next summer) next year and visit with the people we fell in love with. If you end up being able to go yourself, I hope you love it all the same.

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Learn a little about me here. xx, Riane