Asheville

Long weekends are a favorite of mine. This past one went so, so well. We rested, we painted, we danced, we explored.

Thursday night was my first go at a Marine Corps Birthday Ball and we had such a good time. Here you’ll find just about the only picture we took from my phone, but I promise you we put on our finest and danced to a song or two.

Friday morning was crisp and beautiful. We slept in a bit and enjoyed breakfast together. Even though we now live together (hooray!!), breakfast together and slow mornings are usually just a weekend thing. Ben is up and off to work most days before I wake up. I can assure you this is not due to my inability to wake up early, I’m actually quite the morning person, but rather because he goes to work before most humans. I’ll take any extra mornings in the week together. Later on we walked around town, grabbed a cup of coffee, and hit up a lunch spot down town.

We even did a few home projects in the afternoon! More to come once everything is hung up. I’m the kind of person to want everything done immediately when we move. I’m talking boxes unpacked, pictures up, closets filled, everything cleaned on the same day. Some may call it impatient, I call it determined. I’m learning to be patient with our progress to make this place a home. Also, it is now noted that it is far easier to decorate a studio as opposed to a home with more than one multipurpose, all encompassing room. 

We hit the road (very) early on Saturday for one of my favorite mountain towns! Asheville is not too far from Clemson so I have had my fair share of weekend trips here. Ben, on the other hand, had never been. Thanks to Katie Boysen, we had the best brunch complete with a breakfast bowl and a Huevos Rancheros Chimichanga. Divine I tell ya. 

We spent the afternoon walking in and out of coffee shops, bookstores, and little boutiques. It always feels good to travel together. There is something to be said about wandering throughout new places, people watching, and only truly worrying about whether to turn left or right at the next street corner or where to eat next.  

We lucked out with the coziest place to stay that shared my love of plants.

We hit up a few of the breweries including Wicked Weed and had the luxury of outdoor space heaters.

Not pictured are burgers for dinner and Ben and I watching the Clemson game on our phones whilst shedding a tear. 

The next morning Ben convinced me to go on a run, that I easily turned into a jog. During said jog my eyes watered the entire time due to the 30 degree weather, and my legs forgot what running on hills looked like. But alas, we completed the run and I was glad I joined him. Per another one of Katie’s recommendations we cozied up in High Five coffee for the best cup of joe and a bagel. There was sea salt involved in the coffee, so there’s that.

Our initial plan was to go hiking, but due to timing, and a blocked road we decided to enjoy the views while driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway to enjoy the views. Shout out to some of the leaves still hanging on! They sure did make the most beautiful backdrop. Ben laughed at me when I told him I felt like the mountains were giving me a hug, but I meant it. After growing up in Roanoke, you learn to love and appreciate the site of those beauties all around you. Especially now, more than ever, that we are living in the land of the flat ground.  My approach to staying warm, after neglecting to believe it would actually drop to 30 degrees, was put on every layer I packed.

I wish these colors stayed year round. 

We even caught a glimpse of mega moon on our drive home!

We are becoming masters of the 5 hour road trip weekends (seriously, we are on like week three of this and there is no end in sight). I’m noticing a pattern in our drives: hour one we talk about anything from goals, ideas, and new destinations on our travel bucket list, hour two we jam, hour three we switch drivers and start listening to podcasts, hour four we talk about how the drive is dragging and I continue to become obsessed with whatever unsolved mystery the podcast is on, and hour five we pick back up with the tunes. Our little system seems to be working so far.

It was the perfect dose of exploring, relaxing, and cuddling up with this guy. So thankful these Blue Ridge Mountains are only a drive away and I get to spend weekends with my favorite guy.