I received gifts and product for review purposes. All thoughts are 100% honest and my own. I spent an afternoon exploring downtown Charles City with the North Iowa Bloggers, and I really loved what it has to offer.

We started our morning off at Aroma's Coffee Bar.  They just moved locations down the street and their new place is very open and inviting.  While we sipped on our complimentary drinks, we listened to Bryan Elsbury, owner of Aroma's, educate us about coffee beans.  You can tell Bryan is passionate about coffee, supporting the countries that grow coffee, and making sure they serve quality coffee, roasted to perfection.  I learned there are different "formulas" for roasting the beans and was excited to hear that Brad roasts coffee beans for my favorite local coffee shop, Coffee Cat in Mason City.  

After learning about coffee we went to paint at the Rustic Corner. Click here to read about my review of that great shop.

From there we dashed off to Otto's Oasis, which I was pretty excited to learn more about.  We own similar, yet different businesses and it was great to pick his brain about the things they have that we don't, but have thought about carrying....like fairy gardens.  

I spent a lot of time chatting with the owner, Jeff Otto, about the good and bad of owning a nursery and landscaping business.  They also have greenhouses and floral shops (one in Charles City and one here in Mason City).  He's a great guy and I feel lucky to have made this connection.  It's really nice to have good connections with nearby businesses in our industry.

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping the stores downtown (thanks Darbe & Co for the sweet gift bags),

watching the homecoming parade and getting pink hair extensions for a Breast Cancer fundraiser.

I had to leave early, so I missed out on supper at the 3C's Bistro, visiting the extension bridge, and soaking in the hot tub, but I guess that's just an excuse to make the short trip back to Charles City soon!

Thank you downtown Charles City for such a great time.  And I'm serious....I will be back!

A Natural Plus received free products for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are solely from naturalplusnursery.com. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. This disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.