Mountain Getaway

I love Fall and everything that comes along with it. Changing leaves? More like eye candy. Pumpkin spice everything? Never met a pumpkin-spiced food I haven't loved. Cooler temperatures and shorter days? Sounds like an excuse to binge watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix. Seriously, I absolutely adore Fall. A few weekends ago we were fortunate enough to head to the mountains and take in some of the gorgeous views of North Carolina with some fantastic friends.

We kept it low-key on Friday evening but ramped up the fun Saturday and Sunday with hiking, the outlet mall, and multiple trips to the grocery store (there were 12 people total-we couldn't help but forget a few things here and there!). The kiddos had a great time running around our incredible hideaway "cabin" (it slept all of us comfortably which blows my idea of a cabin right out of the water!) and through the woods on our hikes. There were lots of laughs and good food to be had and I'm pretty sure we all left with our hearts a little fuller as well. All in all it was a fabulous weekend and we can't wait to do it again soon!!

You mean your husband doesn't do push-ups while baby wearing??

Baby girl taking in the views.

So many beautiful leaves!

She was NOT a fan of the horses!

January Hikes

Two Januarys ago we were walking through a rough time healing from losing Emerson. On a randomly warm Saturday we decided to get out of the house and hike Crowder's Mountain. It was a really good day. Fast forward two years and we decided to take advantage of another random January warm up. 

My parents came to stay with Amelia Grace since we knew trying to take a baby on a two-hour hike was asking for trouble. We kept joking that it was "Daisy's day" since she was the center of attention again. No sharing the back seat or worrying about sitting on a baby for her!

We took the same path we did last time, which lead us up the mountain on a moderate path before we hit a gravelly trail. Then it was the beast set of stairs. Two years ago I was two weeks from having a baby and about 15 pounds heavier than I was this time around. My big goal was to be able to climb all the stairs without having to rest and I am happy to say I did it! My goal for next time is to be able to go two at a time. We'll see how that goes. . . ;-)

 The view from the top. . .

Once we reached the top we quickly refueled with some water and apple slices (sticking to that Whole30!) before heading back down through the rocky terrain. Daisy was absolutely fearless as she leapt over piles of rocks and treacherous roots. It was fun to just let her roam a bit too.

My stud of a husband and the original princess.

All-in-all it took about 2 hours to do the whole loop. We weren't racing to see how fast we could do it, but you better believe we will be next time!

Asheville Adventures Part 2

Missed the first part? Find it here!

After we left Sky Top Orchard we started down the road to Asheville. There was a nasty wreck on the interstate so David took us down the scenic route and it was beautiful! I love me some North Carolina in the Fall.

Our first stop needed to include food and it being Asheville we knew it had to include some yummy beer too. This lead us to Wicked Weed Brewery where we chowed down on homemade chips and a turkey cranberry panini while we sipped some delicious beers. A pumpkin for this girl and a sour pumpkin for the hubs.

A must-try next time you are in Asheville.


Hanging out enjoying the beautiful day!


These signs were every where-love it!

Afterwards we headed down the road a bit to Hi-Wire Brewery. David tried a brown ale while I tried a flight of their most popular brews. 

A fun new brewery in an old gym.

Amelia Grace was having a blast chatting with her owl.

Daddy and baby girl checking out the options.

 Daisy had a hard time with all the activity. Her ADD kicked into high gear!

It was getting to be supper time so we made our way to my sister and her new husband's house. They lucked out and found a precious duplex with incredible views of the mountains surrounding them. Mandy made us a delicious supper and we all sat around and caught up before we devoured the apple pie we picked up from Sky Top. The boys headed outside for a fire while Mandy and I curled up inside and kept gabbing before heading to bed.

View from the front.

View from the back

The next morning we went back downtown to wander around a bit before we headed back home. It was a great trip even if it was brief and Amelia Grace was such a trooper despite being completely thrown off her schedule. I can't wait to head back again soon!

Two very tired girls after a whirlwind trip!

Asheville Adventures Part 1

Have I mentioned how much I love North Carolina in the Fall?? There are so many wonderful things you can do here that really show you some of God's wonders, and we got to experience some of them! 

We kicked started our weekend a little early on Friday by heading to Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock, NC about 45 minutes outside of Asheville. This was our second year venturing here after such a great experience last year. We were extra excited to bring Amelia Grace and Daisy this time around. We thought that by going on a Friday earlier in the season we wouldn't have to fight a big crowd, but we couldn't have been more wrong! Last year we parked in the front parking lot, walked right up, picked our apples, got our doughnuts, and headed home. That was definitely not the case this time!

As any parent knows, nothing is the same when you add a baby to the mix! We parked at the back of the orchard and started the march in. We weren't two minutes from the car when I felt something wet on my hand. You guessed it, little miss had exploded poop all over her precious Halloween outfit. Good thing I got a picture before we left the house;-) 

David and Daisy continued the march in to explore the situation while Amelia Grace and I went back to the car to clean up.  Once we were all set we met back up and decided to wander around. We didn't realize how much they had to offer! Daisy was a big fan of the farm animals while Amelia Grace decided that a nap was a bit more fun. 

We attempted to pick apples, but so many were already gone so we cheated a bit and bought some that had already been picked. We decided the hour-long wait for doughnuts was a bit much so we ended up with a delicious apple pie instead. A worthy trade if you ask me!

After we'd had enough of the orchards we decided it was time to head in the direction of Asheville. Part two coming later this week!

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

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!