A LUNCH WITH BLOGGER FRIENDS

It's hard to believe that our trip is almost to an end!  Today The Husband went on an all day fly fishing excursion and I have been puttering around our suite, drinking coffee and eating Oreo cookies.  I think later I may go read by the pool.  It's a little cool here for swimming but I think I'll just lounge.  

Every day has been interesting and fun.  Yesterday we visited Maggie Valley and we saw the most incredible sights while driving through the mountains and valleys.  We stopped in Cherokee and browsed through all of the shops with handmade items.  We also visited the Cherokee Indian Museum

These pictures are from Monday when we went shopping in a little town called Waynesville.  So many cute, cute things.  I wish I had room in my suitcase!

I took this picture for all of you ladies that like blue and white!

Wednesday I had lunch with fellow bloggers, Penny, from The Comforts Of Home and Penny from Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen.  They are both from Asheville and I was so lucky to have met them last year.  Mary from A Breath Of Fresh Air drove in from Raleigh with her husband Bob.  The Husband joined us as well.

We ate a The Corner Kitchen and the food was excellent...

...the company even better!  There was a lot of picture taking...

...some gift giving...

...and laughs all around!  How I love these ladies!  They made this trip so worthwhile!

After lunch the clouds opened and we had a tremendous amount of rain.  Thankfully it cleared up by evening and we went downtown for dinner at The Lobster Trap.  We ate there last year and I was so looking forward to it!  And I had the Lobster Newburg again!

I'm not sure what we will be doing tomorrow, each day gets better and better!  We fly home on Saturday.  So far my adult children have been good.  Emily is a little lost lamb with her fiance away on business in Indianapolis and me here.  Abigail texts me constantly to tell me Emily is moping around and not cleaning up after herself (she includes graphic pictures of a filled kitchen sink!!).  So as you can see, I am really enjoying my time away!!  See you in a few days! :-)

BLONDIE IN ASHEVILLE

We are on our 2nd day in Asheville, North Carolina...well, ending it anyway by going out to dinner.  It has been a whirlwind of activity since the plane touched down Saturday afternoon.  We dropped our bags off at the hotel and went and had dinner at Luella's. 

It's this sort of place.  The Husband LOVES barbecue and he had an assortment of chicken, turkey and pork.  I had the andoullie sausage with fried okra.  I love Southern cooking!  Rumor has it that President Obama ate here everyday when he was in town but according to the waitress, it was his secret service people. Very popular place!

The greenery around our hotel is just beautiful, especially since there is so little blooming in Chicago right now.  I snatched a bloom off this hydrangea and have it in a glass on my night stand!

Off we went to downtown Asheville on Sunday morning.  There were a lot of local artisans selling their art all along the streets and sidewalks.  The husband was really interested in these terrariums but they were close to impossible to ship home.

Aren't they awesome?!

Remember the 70's?

We ate outdoors at this restaurant.  The food was outstanding.

We had Italian meats on flatbread and...

and we shared a salad.  It was all so good and everything tastes fresher when you are outdoors, don't you think?

It's so lively downtown, lots of street musicians...

and stores with their wares spilling out into the street to entice you to come inside.

I thought these would look good in my garden, but I learned last year that you can't bring anything sharp on the plane.

Pretty flowers everywhere!

Another blogger that recently visited Asheville, Sue, from I Need Mom told me about this place, so of course we checked it out. 

Two chalkboards filled with so many combinations, it was hard to choose, but I settled on a paper cone filled with the best chips you have ever had with herbs and spices and little chunks of goat cheese.  It was called the Parisian.  Oh!  They were SO good!

The we stopped at Kilwin's for fudge...

...which we had with coffee!

Oh, heaven!

It seems all we did was walk and eat!  Soon it was dinner time and after a short  stop at the hotel, we ate at this Mediterranean restaurant nearby.  Along with an onion and leek bisque...

I had seared scallops and dolmas, rice rolled up in grape leaves.  

So that ended our first full day.  I probably gained about 10 pounds but we did do a lot of walking and my calf muscles hurt!  The Husband was sweet enough to give me a foot massage last night...with lotion!  He's definitely a keeper.  Today was another full day but it would be picture overload so I will post again soon.  I just wanted to touch base and I will be back in a few days.  :-)

A LAKE POST

These pictures were taken at the lake yesterday.  We escaped Sunday morning and took the dogs with us.  Layla loves to perch on the settee and watch the fish jump,  turtles swim by or the daily visit from the swans.  She likes to be outdoors but I think she's rather be in when I'm in, and unfortunately, I was in most of the time. 

By late Sunday afternoon, I started to feel like I was coming down with the flu, sweating, then chills, dizziness, sick to my stomach.  I sat on my rocking chair (from where these pictures were taken ), with a wool blanket around me.  Meanwhile, The Husband worked and worked and worked some more.  On his hands and knees, he pulled weeds from between the cobblestones of the patio, swept it all up and power washed it as well as the table and chairs.  I went to bed early and thankfully when I woke up yesterday morning I felt much better.  I had some coffee and then cleaned the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.  I got dressed and made an attempt to put on makeup but I was starting to feel the fatigue again.  I sat on my rocker and read and The Husband toiled some more.

I was so happy to cut some rosemary to bring inside.  I started to feel better and went outside and cleaned the cushions to the patio chairs.  Girls, Oxy Clean works like a charm.  Of course, The Husband had a go at them with his power washer (his favorite toy) and they look like new.  I took a little nap and when I woke up I felt a little more energized so I went in to town and picked up some provisions for dinner:

Two nice rib eye steaks, fresh broccoli and baby red potatoes.  I had a good appetite and had a good size amount of butter on everything :)

I cleaned the kitchen and The Husband put all of his tools and toys away and we got on the road to come home.  I was really looking forward to sleeping in my "own" bed, I still wasn't feeling 100% better.  It must have been a touch of the flu.  Abby had it on Sunday, too.  The lake is home to me, but when you are sick, you really want to be HOME.  I slept like a baby and was up early.  I feel wonderful!

Now Milo on the other hand, has a hard time adjusting.  He never stops when he's up at the lake and wants to be by The Husband's side at all times.  He hasn't moved a muscle all day!  He is in his favorite spot where he likes to sit as a guard dog, but it looks like he collapsed!

I feel our trip fast approaching.  I did five loads of laundry already today and I have 2 more to go.  I have a dental appointment tomorrow and a hair appointment Thursday.  I need to decide what to pack, do some grocery shopping for the girls and have all the loose ends tied up.  I'm bringing my laptop with so I will post from the road!  I hope all of you are having a wonderful week! :-)

MOTHER'S DAY TABLESCAPE AND A GARDEN PARTY

Hi everyone!   I am back from the lake just in time to join Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen for Let's Dish.  I am also Joining Tracie for Cottage Garden Party.  Visit her blog, Fishtail Cottage to see all the beautiful blooms sprouting up!

I sort of knew what dishes I wanted to use for this tablescape, a Mother's Day theme suggested by Kathleen.  I've had these dishes by Wedgwood for a very long time.  I found them at an antique shop for $25.00 (service for 4).  Other than deciding on the dishes, I wasn't really sure what else I would use for this table.  While at the lakehouse this past weekend, I was rummaging through a cabinet where I keep my linens and came across this old tablecloth that I picked up somewhere!  I couldn't believe my eyes because the embroidery was the same shade of blue as the dishes I had planned to use!  So I brought it home and put this together this morning.

A little shabby table chandelier and some tea light holders complete the simple look.  White napkins, old silver and every day wine glasses were added.

I love the ruffly rims on these plates. 

So this pretty table setting is dedicated to my sweet mother, who passed away 11 years ago.  This picture was taken of her on Lake Michigan when she was just a teen.  She really was a beauty.  Thanks for being such a great Mom...I miss you everyday. 

Now, for Tracie's party.  Off we went to the lake on Saturday morning.  Actually it was more like afternoon and we didn't get much done other then giving the boxwood a good trimming.  Thankfully our lawn service started a few weeks ago so nothing looked too overgrown.  On Sunday, The Husband went out for some mulch and came home with 2 hibiscus plants and a rose tree.  He must have felt bad because Mrs. Hibiscus II did not make it over the winter.  In fact, she was the only thing I lost.  My ferns need a lot of water and sunshine but otherwise my jade plant and the palm trees survived thanks to my sweet neighbor, Susie, who came in and watered them. 

This is one hibiscus, I never had one in yellow...

...and this one looks just like the one that died so I'll call her Mrs. Hibiscus III.  You can see the rose tree in the background.

While I tended to the inside of the house, The Husband cleaned out all the flower beds and put in dark brown shredded bark.  I like this stuff because it doesn't look fussy.  This is his rock garden.  Note the two trellises on each side*

We can't remember what he planted between the stones but it's very pretty and does well.  We have also forgotten the names of the other plants we have in the bed, but when they bloom maybe it will jog our memories!

*This is one of the trellises I mentioned.  I found them last year at our floral shop in town.  It was too late in the season to plant anything but this year I am going to start sweet peas climbing.  Can't wait!

This is my flower bed which The Husband so kindly cleaned up.  These are daisies that haven't bloomed yet, you might remember them from last summer.  They are SO healthy!  And on the vintage trellis is my climbing rose that I worried all winter about.  It's doing lovely and has a ton of buds on it.

So while The Husband labored outside, I cleaned and scoured inside.  After a few hours the house smelled like Murphy's Oil Soap and Windex!  All I have left to do is one bathroom and the guest house...Yay!

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I am back to housecleaning here and tons of laundry.  Yesterday after getting back from the lake, I just vegged out all day.  I'm making up for it today!  Have a good week! :-)