Girls Weekend

Neely, Mom and I had the best time in Asheville last weekend.  We got there on Thursday and started our fun off with lunch at the Red Stag Grill at the Grand Bohemian Hotel.

A nice downpour kept us there a little longer than planned, but luckily we didn't have anywhere we needed to be or any little people we needed to entertain.  As soon as it was over, we went out for mani/pedis.

Friday was our day at Biltmore.  Neely had never been (What?!), so we had to go experience all that is Biltmore.  After our tour through the house, we had lunch at the Stable Cafe near the entrance to the house.  We didn't know that a storm was heading our way again, until we were leaving.  We were lucky to make it back to the front door of the house before it starting pouring.  So we took this opportunity to sit on the back terrace of the house and watch the storm for a while.  Then we toured most of the house again - this time without the crowds.  I highly recommend touring it twice in one day (and touring during a storm that scares everyone away).  The second time through we noticed so many details like doors, knobs and hinges that were amazingly detailed.  We had a whole new appreciation for the place afterwards.  We, of course, went to the winery to try out their wine and came home with a couple of bottles.

We had no plan at all on Saturday, so we ate breakfast downtown and shopped around Biltmore Village a little.  We had afternoon tea at Chelsea's and ended the day at The Grove Park Inn.  We listened to a great band, Underhill Rose, in the Great Hall, and Neely and I may or may not have been the only ones dancing the night away.  What can I say?  We love a good dance party.  Even if we're the only ones at the party.

It was a great weekend with my favorite ladies!  I can't wait until next year in Savannah!

(Full disclosure:  We did not stay at any of the hotels where Neely checked us in on Facebook, but we sure had a good laugh about it.)

So Long, Shelby

This weekend was our farewell tour of Mom and Smith's house.  We spent lots of time on the lake, and we got to eat at my favorite restaurants.  This won't be my last trip down to Shelby before they move.  (I'll be picking up and dropping off Mom this coming weekend for a blow-out girls' weekend in Asheville with Neely!  And I'm hoping to go back one weekend in July to help them pack up.)  This was Jason and Sims' last trip though.

We ate at my favorite hole in the wall restaurant, Cotton's, and at the restaurant where Jason and I had our pre-wedding brunch, Ni Fen.  We walked around downtown, which I haven't really seen in years.  (We usually go to Mom and Smith's and stay there.)  It was a great farewell tour.

The weather was perfect, and we loved cruising around the lake on the boat.  The water was still a bit chilly for me because I'm a wimp.  But I enjoyed getting my feet wet. 

Sims pretending to drive while the boat was docked

Sims helping Papa Smith drive

Mom, Sims and "Murph"

A pretty nice way to spend Father's Day, I think.  Luckily, Jason and Smith thought so, too.

I, also, couldn't help but take some pictures around their yard.

I definitely need to get a tripod.  So if there are any gift fairies out there, you can keep that in mind...

Not to be a downer, but I'm going to miss this view.

Except for my short trips to Shelby in the next month, so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good bye, Shelby.  I'll see you in 2 years at my 20 year high school reunion.  (Eek!  Can that really be true?)

Jeep vs. Mercedes

The Friday before Sims' birthday party, Jason was driving home as usual, except he was driving the Jeep.  The "silver car," as Sim's calls it, was having issues, so it was sitting in the driveway until we could get it to the shop.  On a road that Jason drives on every day, a Mercedes pulled out in front of him, and he couldn't stop.  Luckily all the people involved were fine.  Unfortunately, the cars were not.

The Jeep is not new or anywhere near new.  It's the oldest of our cars, and our newest will be 10 years old this year.  We were mostly concerned that it would be totaled.  (The damage is worse than it looks in the picture.)  We had just booked a week in Ocracoke in July, and we kinda need a 4 wheel drive vehicle to really enjoy the beach.  But we were fortunate that Jason could drive the car home, and it's being repaired as I write this. 

The poor family in the Mercedes couldn't even drive their car.  The driver-side door wouldn't even close.  The Jeep was definitely the winner here, if you can call that winning.

When Jason brought the Jeep home, Sims went out to see it and said, "The Jeep is sad."  But it will happy by Wednesday of next week, when we get to pick it up.  Here's to hoping that they can match the paint on all the replacement panels!  Of course, this gives Jason an excellent excuse to start looking for a new Jeep Wrangler.  Any excuse is a good one for him.  I will admit that it would be nice to have one that has 4 doors and more storage area.  But many of the new ones have power windows and GPS!  That's a little too fancy for a Wrangler to me!  It might be nice to have CD player though.  We have a bare bones version.  You see, riding in our current Jeep is as close to camping as I want to get.  (At least it has A/C.)  But we love it.

Goodbye Shelby, Hello Raleigh!

It's official.  Mom and Smith have accepted an offer on their house in Shelby and are moving to Raleigh.  We are so excited for them to live up here.  We'll get to see them much more often.  I'm excited about being able to so easily grab lunch together or meet for dinner.  Plus, having a shopping partner for fabric stores will be great!  (Back story: While growing up, Mom used to "drag" us to fabric stores often enough that it became a running joke in our family.  Of course, now I love to look at fabric, but I currently have no one with whom to shop. :(  Not for long though!)

I do have to admit that I am sad for them to leave my childhood home and to leave the lake.  But let's be honest.  We don't get to Shelby very often anymore, and we're lucky to get there one time in the summer to really enjoy the lake.  So I would rather have them living near me!

Of course, now I will need to find a new source of my favorite summertime sound: boats.  Anyone who grew up by water will tell you, there is nothing that says summertime fun like the sound of boats going by.  It makes me so happy and relaxed.  So I guess I need to re-start my search for an incredibly cheap summer home on the water in eastern North Carolina (as if that even exists!)

Mom and Smith haven't found a place in Raleigh yet, but we know that the perfect house is out there.  Hopefully, it will come on the market soon and at the right price!