Asheville, NC

Last week, we decided that we wanted to go somewhere autumn-y. It's absolutely our favorite season, and there are plenty of places within driving distance that would make for fairly economical vacations. So we decided on a long weekend to Asheville, NC. We have both been wanting to go to the Biltmore Estate for a while, and Western NC is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places to go during the fall.

Our first visit (and the main reason why we went) was to the Biltmore Estate. Words cannot describe how incredible this place was. The house (which is the largest private residence in the U.S.) has over 250 rooms. And, as luck would have it, they already had most of their Christmas decorations up! So we got to see the home essentially during two times of the year: during fall and during Christmas. To all those who have been before, I want to tell you that I am absolutely in love with two places: the banquet hall and Edith Vanderbilt's bedroom. That crazy "dining room" was over seven stories tall and had the flags of all the original 13 colonies. And Mrs. Vanderbilt's room was breathtaking--everything was decorated in bright rich gold fabrics and velvet. Can you imagine waking up to that every day? We also learned a lot about Mr. Vanderbilt--he really seems like he was a great guy. He was a devout Christian who gave much of his fortune away to build churches and homes for others. He would pick up poor people from bad parts of town (often times black people, who at the time had not received their rights) and bring them to his home to work. He took great care of his employees, always making sure they had great food and ample time off. He also brought their families in at Christmas time and gave their children gifts. What a great guy. I told JC that I would have married him if I had been around then. ;-) If you have never been to the Biltmore Estate, I would consider this a necessary trip at some point. You will love it! Just make sure you splurge and get the audio tour ($10 extra) as it gives you tons of information you wouldn't otherwise know. It was definitely worth it.

This was the view from a balcony. Apparently the land wasn't nearly as tree-spotted when George Vanderbilt had the estate built. The man in charge of landscaping recommended that they plant tons of trees, wanting it to look like it does now (he even though of this a hundred years in advance). I think they said it was close to one million trees that they planted. That sounds like a lot, but when the estate stretches over 8,000 acres, I guess it's possible.


Out on one of the balconies. They wouldn't let us take any pictures inside, which was a real shame.


JC and I in front of the Biltmore Estate.


Doesn't it make you want to watch Cinderella? Or some other princess movie...


These leaves had covered the sidewalks on Wall St.




A close up of the gorgeous ginkgo trees that lined the streets.


Some pretty trees hanging over the a side street.


Up on Blue Ridge Parkway.

Isn't it beautiful?! It was raining and misty, but it was still incredible.

The doggies sleeping in the back seat on the way back.


Ah! Don't you just love fall? I do! It really is the best time of year. I told JC that it's so amazing to think about how gracious God was to give us four distinct seasons, each with different weather and different ways to enjoy it. Hope you are enjoying your fall season!

Alabama - Tennessee Rivalry

I have spoken before about my love for the South; one thing I love the most is just how important football is. I. Love. Football. Alabama football of course (since I did graduate from there), but nearly any football. Our Saturdays are devoted to trying new game day foods, walking the dogs in the cooler weather, and watching nearly every football game that finds its way onto TV. And today is the Alabama/Tennessee game.

If you, by some chance, don't care about football or know nothing about the SEC or Alabama, this is one of the biggest games of the year--every year. There is just this incredible sense of pride (on both sides) in the histories of the programs and the tradition of the game. Alabama has 12 national championships and Tennessee has 6. I wish I could make someone understand how enthused (and crazy) fans get in the South during football season. But unless you actually experience it, you can't understand. Here is a sampling of what you might see on a fall Saturday in the South (specifically in Tuscaloosa).

Big Al, our mascot, is always doing something crazy. Dancing...


... or crowd surfing.


We can claim the greatest coach that ever lived: Paul "Bear" Bryant. Under him, UA won 13 SEC championships and 6 national championships.


Now, we have another incredible coach, who has pushed our team from a pathetic 6-7 record in 2006 to a 12-1 record in 2008; we currently have 19 straight regular season wins.


Enthusiastic student section.


Bryant-Denny Stadium.


And then of course there are the crazy fans. But they also make the game day experience more fun.


We all love the Bear, but come on...

And one of my favorite Alabama football moments: "The Catch." At least that's what I will always call it. No other explanation needed.

Watch it here.

What a stinking incredible catch. It still amazes me just to watch it.


Football really is one of the greatest things on earth. It nearly brings me to tears that football season is over half-way finished. ("Hey! There's no crying in football!".... or something like that.) I hope that whatever team you cheer for, you are having a great time during this season! Unless you are a Tennessee or LSU fan... then I hope it's miserable. :-)

DIY Fall Wreath

I love autumn, and I love wreaths. But I hate autumn wreath prices. Hobby Lobby's wreaths are $30 and up (and that's half off, usually). I can't justify spending that much money, but I wanted one--badly. So I decided to make one myself. I bought this wreath at Hobby Lobby for $2.50 (half off the original $5).



I also bought a leafy garland for $5 (half off $10) and some berry sprigs ($1 a piece). The garland was 20 feet long, plenty to wrap around the wreath several times. I then broke apart the berry stems and stuck them haphazardly in the wreath.


I decided to hang the wreath with a strip of burlap; I saw this idea here and loved it. Just cut a piece about 3-4 inches wide, drape it over the top of your door, and put tacks in it to hold it there (I had to put about 6 I think). I think it looks very "autumn-y".


In total, this project cost me about $9 and took approximately 10 minutes. Not too bad!

Fall Has Really Begun

Of course we all know that fall technically began about a month ago. But to me, it's not really fall until the weather gets cooler, you buy a few pumpkins, drink a little hot cider, and start your first fire. Well, tonight is the night for our first fire. Further, it's a real wood-burning fireplace--none of that fake gas stuff. I'm not saying the gas fireplaces don't have their merits, but there's nothing better than actually smelling the wood burning. Mmmm....

Anywho, here is a picture of our living room on this "first" fall night.



Yaye! And I'm off work tomorrow, so staying up late to watch football and have an extra cup of cider is completely acceptable. Oh, happy day.

Goodwill and Estate Sale Finds

Since I had a long weekend (thank you, Christopher Columbus!), I decided to pay a visit to the Goodwill to see what kind of goodies I could find. One thing I know about going to Goodwill is that it is hit or miss. Sometimes I go in there and find tons of inexpensive treasures; at other times, I spend 45 minutes to an hour and come out empty-handed. I was hoping today would be one of the former times. Well, I didn't find "tons" of things, but I did find a few. Like this precious little teapot. Its color doesn't exactly fit in with the warm tones I have in my kitchen, but I figure a paint job can fix that, especially when it was only $2.



I also happened upon this little vase, which is nothing super-special, but it was only 88 cents, and I needed something to put my candy corn in.



I tied some raffia around it and filled it up to add a little more fall color to our kitchen. I thought it would be purely decoration, since I don't like candy corn and my DH said he didn't like it. But approximately an inch or two of candy corn has disappeared since this afternoon, and since our dogs can't reach the counter, I know it to be JC's doing. We'll see how long it is before I have to buy some more.

I also love Christmas, so I was quite pleased to find this little red sled. I am sure I would have paid at least $8-$10 for it at Kirkland's or Hobby Lobby, but this little gem was only $2.40! How exciting! I may end up giving it a paint job also, because I'm not sure about the holly leaves on it, but we'll see. Updates to follow if so.



One last find from this weekend came from an estate sale. I love estate sales because they usually contain lots of older items, which I always fall in love with (but usually can't afford). These regular old apothecary jars, however, were pretty cheap--under $10 for the set--so I snatched them up and filled them with a few autumn-looking things around the house. I know lemons are more summery than autumn-y, but that was all I had around the house. Perhaps I'll change it out later.

Fall is Here!

After doing my daily blog-browsing, I decided it was time to not only be excited about Christmas decor, but all seasonal decor. Since it's October, it seemed like a good time to start. I drove myself to Hobby Lobby, where I indulged myself in the 50% off fall/autumn section. However, I know they will soon change that to 80-90% off, a little further into the season, so I kept my purchases to a minimum. When that time comes, I will definitely be one of the first in line to buy more.

Anyway, here's our mantle. You may notice that some of the tags are still on--I took pictures as soon as I put everything up. They won't stay for long!



This is probably my favorite piece:


Now I know that my outdoor decorations are not exactly up to par. But that's about all I have time for this year.


Next year I hope to have some more time, and maybe have something more like this, from Debra at Common Ground, or like this, from Aunt Ruthie. They are both so talented! Of course for Halloween the pumpkins above (as well as some others, possibly) will be carved with nothing other than fabulous script A's (for all you Alabama fans out there), but that will come later.