HOME TOWN-LAUREL MISSISSIPPI VISIT

Yesterday my daughter-in-law and I had the pleasure of visiting Laurel, the small Mississippi town that is featured in the HGTV show, Home Town. It has only a population of 18,000 people but it is jam packed full of fun things. First of all, it has an amazing history...check this out! City in a Bubble. I was really amazed with the story of this small Mississippi town.

We live about 2 1/2 hours north and by the time we arrived, we were starving! First stop? Miss Pearl's Diner This is a new place, only open for a couple of months but boy is it good! Ben and Erin found a house for Miss Pearl and renovated it...it was a great redo! Back to the food....YUMMY! The fried chicken was awesome and the sides were even better!

A view of Miss Pearl's from our booth!

The diner had been a jewelry store that had set vacant for a long time and so was a welcome addition to the downtown area! Miss Pearl was not there while we were but we did get to meet her son(sorry I forgot to take a photo.) and he told us about his Mama and her new house. After eating, we drove by her house and it sure was pretty!

We then went to the Laurel Mercantile which is a store owned by Ben and Erin and relatives and friends. We did get meet Mallorie who is one of Erin's best friends and who is featured on the show when she helps Erin shop and decorate the renovated houses.

Mallorie

Everyone in the shop was so friendly and helpful. I bought some yummy lemon soap and a wonder Sweet Olive  candle! The best part was that my daughter-in-law bought me a print of a painting that Erin had done for my Mother's Day gift!!!! I fell in love with it the first time I saw it in the on-line store!!

Blue Vases Print

We then went outside and took pictures(which was a good thing since I kept forgetting to get my camera out!!

The side of the Laurel Mercantile

We then headed for the Historic District and all of the beautiful homes located there.(Be sure to read the link to the City in a Bubble so you will understand how all of this gorgeous architecture came to be!)

First off we visited the amazing Lauren Rogers Museum....it was unbelievable especially since it is located in such a small Mississippi town!

Lauren Rogers Museum

It was filled with wonderful painting but my favorite part was the collection of baskets! They were amazing!

First gallery

Some of the baskets...see the teeny, tiny baskets

After the museum, we just drove through the neighborhood and looked at all of the wonderful houses! We did see quite a few that Ben and Erin could do a remodel of!!

Rogers-Green House

Ben and Erin's cute little craftman's bungalow

Wisteria Bed and Breakfast 

It was getting close to the time for us to leave, so we headed back to the downtown area and dropped in to Lee's Coffee and Tea to get a snack. On the way, we saw a few more sites that I actually remembered to take pictures of!!!

Confederate Memorial

Laurel City Hall

We had a wonderful day and can not wait to return! Next time I will remember to keep my camera out and ready! If you ever have the chance to visit beautiful Laurel, Mississippi be sure to take the time and go! It is such a beautiful place!