Anniversary in Asheville (Part 3)

After our stellar experience at Early Girl Eatery the day before we decided to hit up Tupelo Honey Cafe before we hit the road and headed for home. We decided to get there early and arrived at 8:30am for their 9am opening. Needless to say we were the first ones in line:-)

We dined on a delectable breakfast of an omelet stuffed with goat cheese, asparagus, and spinach as well as goat cheese grits (for me) and a crab scramble with asparagus, bacon, and toast (for David). And all that was after the most incredible biscuit I've ever had with blueberry preserves. We were stuffed! 

After that we hit the road for Skytop Orchard for some apple picking. It was a short drive and pretty much on our way home so we couldn't say no. 

I may or may not have gotten a smidge carried away with the picking. . . we ended up with $31 in apples for two people. Who wants some pie??

We then said goodbye to the mountains and hurried home to pick up our sweet girl. 

It was an amazing trip and I left rested and relaxed with a very full heart. Can't wait for our next visit!

Anniversary in Asheville (Part 2)

Saturday morning gave us a rare treat in our house-sleeping in until 8:15am! We're both such early risers during the week that the weekend usually follows the same pattern. We tossed and turned for a bit before rolling out of bed and heading back downtown for breakfast.

We got a few suggestions on this as well, but settled on Early Girl Eatery-we were not disappointed! We got there about 8:50am since we they opened at 9am. There was already a line when we arrived, but we made it just in time because after they seated us the wait jumped to 45 minutes! 

After a scrumptious breakfast we headed down the road to do some hiking. Neither of us brought gear for an intense workout, but we knew we wanted to take in some of the beauty that surrounded us. What made it even better was the park we ended up at had an exhibit by a famous Lego builder with Legos! How nifty!

We wandered/hiked for about an hour and a half before heading back to the hotel to freshen up to head back downtown. We were still stuffed from lunch so we hit up Hannah Flannigan's for beer and nachos. We highly suggest their Irish Nachos!

Then we were off to shop and see Asheville. I love this eclectic city and all the neat things it has to offer. Poor David was a trooper despite not loving all the shops. Maybe it was the sweet potato chips we picked up from the Gourmet Chip Company that made it bearable;-) 

After a few hours of that we attempted to go to 12 Bones to take part in the awesome BBQ everyone reccomended. Too bad they were only open for lunch. We ended up at Asheville Brewing Company for pizza and beer. No complaints from us!

Whether it's because we were exhausted or old we headed back to the hotel soon thereafter to watch football and hang out.

Anniversary in Asheville

Yes, our anniversary is in June. 

No, we didn't really do anything special for it. 

Yes, I just wanted an excuse to head to the mountains:-)

I wasn't home from Seattle for more than 48 hours and we were off again! This time was a bit more local-the beautiful Asheville, NC. 

For whatever reason I've been wanting to come back since we celebrated our first anniversary here in June 2011. It was such a wonderful, heart fulfilling trip I just knew we needed to come back. What better weekend than one that had a Holiday tacked onto it?!

We hit the road Friday afternoon and arrived a little over 2 hours later in search of food. Thanks to all the stellar people who responded to my facebook and blog post about visiting we knew of a few places we wanted to try. We found parking and headed to Lexington Avenue Brewery for a few beers and a stellar supper. 

Afterwards we wandered around a bit and ended up at the Bier Garden where David had one of his favorites on draft! I also got to have a Pumpkin Cider. Trust me, it was as good as it sounds. 

We were tired from the long work day and drive so we headed to our hotel to turn in for an early night. 

Come back tomorrow for the next installment!

30 Before 30-New Pictures!

One of the items on my 30 Before 30 List was to have pictures taken of us now that we are married. The last time we had formal pictures taken was our engagement and wedding pictures three years ago! When I found a Groupon offering an hour long shoot I jumped at it. After many attempts to schedule (thank you North Carolina monsoon season) we finally met up with Jennifer Hogan of Hogan Imaging in downtown Charlotte and got some fantastic shots. 

Here are a few favorites:

Clearly Daisy was the star of the show. She did so well with the crazy heat and listening to the photographer! I wish we had gotten a picture of her afterwards, completely pooped laying on the cold hardwoods conked out. I guess modeling isn't in her immediate future. . .

2012 Rewind

Happy New Year's Eve one and all! I've decided that people fall into two distinct categories: they either loved the previous year and are hopeful for the new year, or they are totally over the previous year and are hopeful for better times in the new year. Regardless of which camp people fall into, no one ever wishes to stop time. People are always hopeful for the new year, and I am no different.

Here is a glimpse at some of what we've been up to . . .

I set some goals and created a 30 Before 30 List. 

I completed my first 5k.

My sweet husband guest posted and kick-started his blogging career again.

We ventured to Charleston, SC for a few days.

We witnessed my brother graduating from NCSU and his commissioning ceremony into the USMC.

We celebrated our 2nd Anniversary.

I had surgery on my foot to remove a cyst.

We spent a week at the beach with family.

My kidneys relapse, and we tackled the minimal change disease again.

We announced our little family would be growing in the coming year!

And much, much more. Thank you for joining us on this journey!

Tile Coasters

Many moons ago I saw a fabulous idea on Pinterest that I wanted to replicate. So I hurried out to A.C. Moore and bought all the supplies only to have them sit in my "craft" room for six months. I guess I just kind of forgot about them there for a bit. With all this extra time on my hands thanks to summer vacay I knew it was time to crack these puppies out and give it a go! Here are step-by-step instructions on how to create tile coasters with some of your favorite pictures:

Step 1: Purchase tiles

These cost me about 40 cents each at the local Lowes.

Step 2: Select pictures and cut them to the size of the tile

I used pictures from our wedding, but you could use anything you wanted. This process also works with scrapbooking paper. Just about any paper works other than something printed by an inkjet printer (it gets smudgy). 

Step 3: Apply a light coat of Modge Podge to the back of the picture and adhere it to the tile. Let the tile dry for about 20 minutes. Then, apply a light layer of Modge Podge on top of the picture. Let dry for about 20 minutes. Repeat 5-6 times.

While these were drying, I cut out the felt for the next step. 

Step 4: When your tiles are dry, turn them over and adhere felt to back.

I used a hot glue gun, but rubber cement or super glue would probably do the job too!

Step 5: Display and tell everyone how hard you worked;-)

You can use your coasters the next day but don’t put anything HOT on them for a month – that’s how long it takes the mod podge to fully set in and do its job.

Friday's Letters [06.22]

Happy Friday y'all! It's time to link up with Adventures of Newlyweds for a FAB edition of Friday's Letters:-)

Dear beach, Oh, how I adore you! You have been a wonderful friend to me this week and I am excited to be visiting you again this weekend. Thank you for being so kind and aiding in my relaxation in such a fabulous way. You rock.

Dear almond coconut milk, Wowzers, you sure are yummy. You extreme cheapness at the Teeter last week was a total fluke, but has created an addiction. You are the perfect addition to my coffee or oatmeal, and I have no doubt you would be delish in a milkshake! Rest assured, you are a new regular on my grocery list.

Dear Scott & Tiffany, We are so lucky we were able to witness your joining as man and wife last weekend. You make a beautiful couple and we wish you the best of luck as you embark on your new life!

Dear Davido, Speaking of weddings, can you believe it will be two years on Tuesday that we have been married?? Time sure does fly when you're having fun;-) I am so excited to celebrate this milestone this weekend at the beach!

Dear "Sweetie Tea" ice cream, You were better than I expected! Your flavor was not over powering at all and the crumbled up tea cakes were the perfect touch. And the fact that I found out you were local made you a bajillion times better! Here is to many more summer nights of your deliciousness.

Dear self, You post too much about food. Maybe you should have a talk with yourself about healthy choices. Maybe.