Adventures in Asheville

John and I spent the 2nd week of his spring break exploring the wonderful city of Asheville, NC.  And to make it even better, two of our BEST couple friends from Memphis joined us for our 4 day adventure in the mountains!  We arrived Monday afternoon, and got all settled into our adorable little cabin. 

We rented it through Asheville Cottages - and I would highly recommend them. 

We hung out for awhile, caught up, and then headed out for a delicious dinner at the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company.

The next day's forecast was a bit gloomy, so we spent our morning/afternoon checking out the gorgeous Biltmore mansion and gardens.  It was breathtaking and so incredible to hear the history of this house and the Vanderbilt family.  (It is the largest home in America!)

Next up was relaxing and lounging back at the cabins, and as always a few fun games!

We stayed in for the evening and all cooked an amazing meal!  Grilled chicken, salad, sweet potato fries, baked beans....

And S'MORES!  

So yummy!!

Wednesday, we headed out for one of Asheville's famous breakfast hot spots....Tupelo Honey Cafe. 

With all this blogging about food....it seems like that's all we did!!

Check out Jenny and Courtney's MASSIVE sweet potato pancakes!!

Everyone LOVED their meals and this restaurant -- I would definitely recommend it!!

After breakfast, we burned off some calories by exploring downtown Asheville, and walking around all kinds of cute shops.  We also drove around some of the neighboring villages which were so cute and quaint!

The girls back at the cabin, all ready to go out for our last dinner!

Love you girls and miss you sooooo much already!!

Dinner at the amazing Nona Mia.  It is Italian food at it's best ---- sooooooooo good.

Group pic!!

We had the best time!!

On the way home, John and I stopped at Chimney Rock State Park, and hiked all through it, and even found a beautiful waterfall....will post pics from that next!!

Hope you enjoyed the pics --- my mouth sure is watering after reminiscing about all of these amazing meals! :)

XOXO

5 Things

Five Wonderful Things that I'm loving right now.....

1. Hubby's amazingly fruity and delicious smoothies he has been whipping up lately.  

So yummy!!  :)

2. Essie's Fiji Nailpolish -- perfect for spring and summer!

3. Pretzel M&M's....I'm addicted.

4. Fedoras - Mine is a spring/summer staple, especially for days when my hair is looking a little rough.

And of course, perfect for the beach :)

5. Mac Skinfinish - in Soft and Gentle 

This stuff is amazing -- glowy, and golden with a hint of shimmer!  Perfect for this warmer weather, worn over normal powder or bronzer....right above your cheekbones :)

XOXO 

What things are you loving right now??

Charleston Part 2

Finallllllly, I have uploaded my pictures from the second half of our wonderful trip to Charleston!

So I'll just start from where I left off.....

(click HERE for Part 1)

Tuesday night (our 2nd night), we decided to spook it up a little bit, by taking a haunted ghost and graveyard tour around downtown Charleston.  Leah joined us, as we wandered around several old cemeteries, buildings, and churches, while listening to many creepy ghost stories that have been around for years.  Some were really scary!  It was the perfect evening for it....dark, chilly, and the moon was full.  I would definitely recommend it to someone who had a free night there -- if anything it was just great to see a different side of the cheery, southern town of Charleston :) 

Scared pic!  Actually, this is kind of scary w/ that creepster behind us!  ;)

Wednesday, we had a very lazy morning, and headed downtown to Toast for a delicious brunch.  I had the Eggs Benedict, and John had the Cowboy Omelet.  Very tasty and fun!

It turned out to be a very pleasant day, so we had a lovely stroll through some neighborhoods around the water, and explored Battery Park.  

We even spotted a group of dolphins swimming by, AND Jason Castro (from American Idol!) on the Waterfront pier :)

More beautiful homes by Waterfront Park 

Next stop was the USS Yorktown (the Navy Aircraft Carrier that is docked in the Charleston Marina.)

My dad is a pilot, and spent many years in the Navy flying on and off of aircraft carriers, so this was really exciting for me and John to see.  So proud of my Dad!

We took a self-guided tour throughout the ship, and even got to explore the submarine that was docked there as well.  It it so unbelievable to imagine life on these vessels....not knowing where you were going, who might be trying to find you, and the reality that you might not ever be going home.  

All above pics are from inside the submarine.  

(Next up, inside the aircraft carrier)

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After the USS Yorktown, we headed BACK to Poe's Tavern  for our last dinner!  I know, I know, you already saw that we ate here for lunch.  I'm telling you, it was THAT good.  We were craving those burgers and fish tacos again, and we thought.....we might as well go somewhere that we KNOW we will love! 

(I wish I could say that I am cool enough to just throw a "peace sign" up in my photos, but that is really just me saying this was our "2nd time" at Poe's!) 

Thursday morning, our last day, we headed off to the highly recommended hot spot, Hominy Grill, for the most amazing breakfast ever!  John and I are literally still talking about it, and I cannot wait to go back the next time we visit.  You MUST go here if you are ever in Charleston for breakfast.  

The BEST blackberry jam ever...

That's it!! For those of you still reading, thanks for checking out Part 2 of Charleston!!

XOXO