Olde Mistick Village — knot so loud

Olde Mistick Village hosts their annual Cabin Fever Festival and Charity Chowder Cook-off this month. I have attended this event religiously ever since 2012! It’s always a fun event which I previously blogged about on here. I realized is that I never went in details about the Olde Mistick Village. What is it exactly? It is an outdoor shopping center with over 50+ unique shops. The village also has the vibe of the colonial 18th century New England. It’s always enjoyable to take a stroll around this beautiful village which is opened year-round. The village also consists of a luxury movie cinema theater, restaurants and services.

If you’re coming into Mystic, CT from I-95, Olde Mistick Village will be your first stop right off the highway. It’s an ideal stop for stretching out those legs from the car ride and to check out everything they have to offer. Each shop has something to offer for everyone. I love the variety of shops making it unique. I will mention my favorite shops (organized by the route starting at the first shop to the last one) and where to DINE below:

Alice in the Village is inspired by the movie ‘Alice in the Wonderland’ with a tearoom and shop. It’s so fun to walk in here and feel like you’re in the movie! There are bakery cases with treats to take on the go with drinks as well. If you have time, sit in their tearoom and order British Afternoon Tea. The treats will come on those three-tier stands! In their shop, they sell Disney items and teas.

*The fun whimsy interior of Alice in the Village.*

Toy Soldier was the first store to open in Olde Mistick Village. It is the classic family owned old fashioned toy store. Walking in here, you will immediately feel welcomed while having nostalgia of your childhood. It’s a good shop to get your kids a toy or buy a gift for the kid in your life! If you aren’t sure what to get, they are willing to help you and are very knowledgeable.

*Get a selfie with the bear at Toy Soldier!*

Garden Specialties is the perfect shop for the garden lovers. There are items for your outdoor gardening spaces, as well home decor items. I feel like I always see unique products here every time I stop in. I also love the Willow Tree collection which they sell it in their store.

The Boardwalk makes me feel like I’m at the Jersey Shore. For those who may not know, I’m actually a Jersey girl, born in central New Jersey. It’s always fun to visit this shop. The shop has all of your Mystic souvenirs as well beach decor for the home. There are also clothing, hats, glasses, signs and many more.

Becca Rose carries goat milk soap, skincare, makeup, face care, candles, books and many more. Many of their products focus around wellness. When you walk into the shop, it always smells so good. The friendly customer service is always top notch and very knowledgeable. I’ve brought the goat milk soaps and the essential oil patches. I love them! Their patches are great for headaches, anxiety, sleep comfort, muscle relaxing, focus, stress relief and more. Each of the soap is also classified by the remedies it works best for, making it easy for the customers to choose!

Irish Eyes is my favorite Irish store in Connecticut. I’ve had MANY purchases from this store, as you know I am a proud IRISH girl! They carry clothing (those comfy sweaters!), home goods, accessories, jewelry, hats, BELLEEK products, teas and many more! I love that they have my favorite chocolate from Butler’s in Dublin, Ireland. It’s difficult to find them in the United States. The owner is very friendly too, willing to help any customers. She was willing to place a special order when I was in search of a replacement Claddagh ring. The jewelry section has so many beautiful items that I wish I could buy them all!

Deviant Donuts serves up their delicious gourmet donuts every weekend. Those donuts are out of the world amazing! The donuts are fresh made in their shop. Each weekend they have a special theme dedicated to the donuts. Just look at their Instagram, it is mouth watering! The donuts do sell out FAST every weekend! Be sure to watch their IG for the weekly specials and set those alarms!

*Vault/Deviant Donuts did Patriots themed donuts when they were in the 2019 Superbowl!*

R.A. Georgetti & Co. is a fun store! I feel like it’s a maze full of treasures. This shop has a large collection of everything from jewelry, glassware, home decor items, accessories, figurines and many more that I am missing. They are able to have so many products to sell without making the shop feel cluttered, which amazes me! There’s definitely something for anyone in this shop. I love checking out the Jim Shore collections when I go in there. The folks working there are always welcoming and friendly.

Franklin’s General Store is known for their amazing FUDGE. I didn’t even like fudge, I took a bite of their free samples that they give out daily and I was SOLD! I’ve been back everytime since buying fudge for friends, family and myself. They do seasonal flavors monthly - usually February is cherry vanilla which is my favorite! Be sure to sample their fudge or if you’re not a fudge person, they have delicious roasted nuts too. The general store sells gifts for anyone - books, puzzles, home ware goods, candles, nostalgia candy, t-shirts and canned goods. I’ve been a long time customer of this store, it’s one of my favorites.

*Out here, you can smell the roasting nuts. Fresh fudge is in there too!*

Pop on the Block is the store for the popcorn fanatics! They have a variety of flavored popcorn. There’s even flavors that you will be shocked by! Peanut butter and jelly popcorn! Coffee popcorn! Dill pickles popcorn! Pizza popcorn! Maryland crab and cheddar popcorn! The list goes on and on and on! I loved their chocolate peppermint popcorn they had around the holidays. The popcorns are so good, and locally made. I love that the popcorn is sourced from USA farms. There are variety packs, gift baskets and even popcorn pizzas to buy as gifts! I like that i’m able to sample popcorn before making a purchase. I’ve always had helpful service from staff in the shop.

*The delicious dark chocolate peppermint popcorn!*

Kitch is centrally located in middle of the village with their infamous duck pond. Many visitors have flocked to the pond to see the ducks. This setting was used in a Hallmark Christmas movie (A Very Nutty Christmas with Melissa Joan Hart). Kitch is a kitchen ware store selling cookware, knives, gadgets and utensils for the kitchen. I love shopping their cookie cutters selection - they have many to choose from! They host cooking classes in the store too. I had plans to go out for Valentine’s Day dinner one year but bad weather at dinner time cancelled the reservation. The dinner plans turned into a brunch cooking class. That was one of the best Valentine’s day date! It was so much fun, we learned how to cook some delicious foods. Be sure to check their website for their upcoming cooking classes. It’s worth while to go!

Kelley’s Pace, the place to go for running shoes. I popped in there one year when Brooks (the brand) did a special run of limited edition Boston Marathon sneakers. I was obsessed with the lobster sneakers! This was when I found out the meaning behind Kelley’s Pace - founded by John Kelley who was 1957 Boston Marathon winner. There is a statue of John Kelley in downtown Mystic, across the street from Mystic Pizza. Kelley’s impressed me with their excellent customer service. They were very friendly and willing to help you find the right shoes (even if it’s not for running). If you want to join a running group, they have one that runs on Thursday nights. I love how Kelley’s Place is involved in the community. Their Hare Hop 5K is coming up on March 7th at 9AM - sign up is on their website.

*Need some running shoes? This is the place to go!*

Sticky Situations has the BEST honey selection! I love the many flavored honeys that I’ve purchased over the years from here. My favorite is the elderberry honey - I put it on my salmon. Another favorite is the dark chocolate honey as well the peppermint honey. What to eat with the honey? No worries, each of the honey has a sign with recommendations. It’s super helpful! On top of that, the folks working there are also willing to help too. I’ve engaged in several conversations which gave me plenty of ideas on how to combine their honey with my favorite foods. You can sample ALL OF THE HONEYS! It’s super helpful to be able to taste and buy your favorites! They also sell olive oil, vinegar, syrup and pasta sauces.

*Showing off my favorite honey, elderberry along with Coffee Bean Honey Butter (it was first time to try it and the verdict is… thumbs up!)*

Bleu Squid located behind Sticky Situations is known for their cupcakes and grilled cheese. It’s 1:00 PM in the afternoon and you’re craving breakfast. Where to go? Bleu Squid serves breakfast (as well regular lunch food) all day long. Pancakes, eggs, gourmet sandwiches, house made soups and grilled cheese sandwiches. My heart is breaking now that I recently discovered my dairy allergy. I’m telling you, the grilled cheese sandwiches are delicious. My favorite was the chicken cheddar which is grilled cheese with chicken, sauteed apples and cheddar. Sounds simple but it is good! Save some room in your tummies for their award winning cupcakes.

*Bleu Squid - home of the grilled cheese and delicious cupcakes.*

Sofia’s Mystical Christmas is the place to go for ornaments! Stocked with a variety of ornaments for your nurse, EMT, teacher, Irish, newlyweds, firefighter and ANYONE. The ornaments are organized so it’s easy to maneuver through the shop to pick what you need. Need a Mystic ornament? They’ve got it. I love shopping in here yearly to pick out gifts for others or even to find new ornament for my tree! The store is willing to personalize ornaments too.

*Posted on Kitch building - most of OMV shops allows dogs!*

There’s so many more shops that were not mentioned. I can’t just list them all! That’s why I said there is something for absolutely everyone! It’s always fun to visit Olde Mistick Village year-round. I love to take walks there with my pup, enjoying all that it has to offer. It is so dog friendly there! Most shops will allow well behaved dogs to come inside. Few years ago the Olde Mistick Village security guard even brought his dog, sporting a security vest and sunglasses, to a past chowder cook off festival. I definitely suggest you guys see the village at night time with their beautiful lights. Every building is dressed with lights. It can get busy at the clam chowder cook off festival so you will want to plan to come back again to really see what Olde Mistick Village is all about. Off to stretch my tummy for all of those delicious chowders…

*The security pup that was at the clam chowder cook off back in 2014!*

*The Meeting House next to the duck pond. On Valentine’s Day, many couples renewed vows or got married here!*

*The luxury movie theater in OMV. People love the luxury chairs in there… only if the movies were captioned I would be there!*

*B had to get a photo with the gnome! It is in front of Bestemors, a Scandinavian gift shop located near the duck pond.*