Philomena and Ruth is the name of a newly opened shop close to St Louis.  They specialise in hand made and local products, everything from clothes – new and vintage – to soap, accessories and jewelry.   It is in the lovely town of Waterloo in Illinois and about a 30-40 minute drive from St Louis.  I have never been to south Illinois before and I enjoyed seeing the countryside on the way and checking out the old barns and pretty towns we passed. We stopped on route at the fastest drive through McDonalds ever!  Filet o fish ordered and eaten within 10 minutes. We were hungry and on a mini road trip!  This time warp speed set the theme for the rest of the afternoon because we were on a misson, a mission to plant. Elizabeth the gorgeous owner of Philomena and Ruth, needed us to fill and plant the enormous planters she has installed outside the shop on the sidewalk. You can see the empty planters in the above photo.  They were crying …