You wouldn’t believe the number of photographs we take each month that do not make it into our magazine. With our cameras in tow, we are constantly scouting houses, checking out new design businesses and visiting towns across the state.

On the road in Conway for our <September issue>, we came across a few gems. Located inside Jenifer’s Antiques, the Cross Creek Sandwich Shop stood out to us especially, serving sandwiches, soups and sweet treats like strawberry cake, peanut butter pie, chocolate chip pie and Butterfinger cake. Owner Chris Jennings shared several dishes with us, and we highly recommend stopping by (1003 Oak St., 501-764-1811, open weekdays).

We also managed to capture some great pics of just-as-charming stores in the area…too pretty to get filed away. (Click here for a step-by-step itinerary for a fabulous girls’ weekend in Conway.)

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That Bookstore at Mountebanq Place (1107 Oak St., 501-327-8900) is in a fully-restored historic building and specializes in children’s literature and Arkansas-related books. I read Eloise as a little girl and stood flipping through these copies (top right) for 20 minutes–at least.

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It’s true that hand-written correspondence is a dying art-form, and Something Blue Paperie (1014 Oak. St., 501-327-4258) reminded us to always find time for the old pen-and-paper mode of communicating.

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Some of us with At Home consider entertaining, cooking or baking (or all of the above) as favorite past times, which explains The Kitchen Store’s (704 Locust St., 501-327-2182) allure. This beautiful rainbow of weaved baskets doesn’t begin to describe what you’ll find here.