Drive Your British Car Night

Mr. Mickey sold his last Rolls Royce three years ago but we still enjoy attending the Drive Your British Car event at our favorite local restaurant, Gourmet & Company. 

This is Ben. He is Mr. Mickey's dear life long friend. Literally, they were born while their parents lived across the street from each other and they have been the best of friends for their whole lives.

This beautiful lady is Heather. She is a very special part of the Gourmet & Company family. We love to see her sweet smile when we walk in.

We always look forward to this fun evening!

There are many beautiful cars on display and the owners are there to talk to along with vendors and lots of friends to visit with. Later we join the members of the British Car Club for dinner. 

I wore white jeans, a white tank top, and a lightweight silver cardigan from Chico's, and a bold silver necklace along with those shoes I found at T.J.Maxx yesterday.

Memorial Day

We drove over the mountain to visit one of our favorite towns today. We enjoy the village of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, very much.

I know from experience that it is normally about ten degrees cooler there, so I wore a Chico's sweater from last year over my Simple Comfort Covered Perfectly top and Chico's cropped pants. The shoes are from BBGenration via Ross. The necklace was a long-ago gift from Mr. Mickey.

On our way out of town, we stopped by the VA to say thank you. My emotions overwhelm me each time I stand on this hallowed ground. The tears are inevitable as I stand there surrounded by white stones and small flags as far as the eye can see.

Since childhood, the view of Grandfather Mountain has been one of my favorites.

At the foot of Grandfather is Tynecastle, a village of shops, a bank, and restaurants. We occasionally catch a glimpse of fabulous summer homes built from stone. The homes have a splendid view of the mountain. 

The village of Blowing Rock also has a few stone buildings.

Mr. Mickey loves to be the hero and buy jewelry for me. That bag holds a couple of new pairs of earrings, including these.

The photo below was snapped on Main Street in front of the park.

I tried on this gorgeous Iradj Moini necklace from Finely House Couture.

Now you know some of the many reasons why we love Blowing Rock so much. 

Along the drive home, we caught a glimpse of many waterfalls. I snapped this photo from the car because of all the rocks and moss with water dripping from it.

At first glance, you would think this boulder had fallen onto the road. However, it has always been here in this curve.

A testament to the strong will to survive is this rhododendron that appears to be growing straight from the rock. 

We also enjoy stopping by the Grill at the Eseeola Lodge at Linville Golf Club for a glass of wine while we take a break from the long drive home.

I love the buttery feel of Covered Perfectly tops. They are great for layering, and the necklines are always flattering. They are also made in the USA! Use the promo code FNF20 to receive a 20% discount when you shop with Covered Perfectly. 

Style Drama from Covered Perfectly

Have you tried the draped front top from Covered Perfectly?

Mr. Mickey and I had our normal dinner date on Friday evening, so I decided to surprise him with a look that is a bit more daring than my usual.

I am wearing my new draped front top from Covered Perfectly with a layered sheer skirt from T.J.Maxx. The midi skirt has an uneven ruffled hem, two things that are totally out of character for me.

The shoes are Chinese Laundry via Ross. The multicolored metals clutch bag is from a long-ago market trip to Atlanta. The long dangle earrings and huge antique ring were gifts from Mr. Mickey.

If I wear black, I wear brighter lip color and more intense eye makeup for the evening. I chose not to wear a necklace with the large dangle earrings because that would have been too much clutter in one place. Typically I wear this skirt with high heels, but the platforms seemed more playful and modern with this draped top.

When you wear one column of color, including unrelated pieces, mix the textures to look more finished. For example, this top is made from sleek, smooth material, and the skirt is made from a sheer crepe layered fabric. Another example would be black jeans with a silky black tank top. When you combine two colors and the same fabric, it is normally too obvious that the colors do not match.

I love the buttery feel of Covered Perfectly tops. They are great for layering, and the necklines are always flattering. They are also made in the USA! Use the promo code FNF20 to receive a 20% discount when you shop with Covered Perfectly. 

The Windsor of Asheville

On Tuesday evening, we attended the grand opening of the fabulous Windsor Boutique Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina.

There was live music from Chris Rhodes and wonderful food from several great restaurants in the area, wine and interesting new people to visit with.

The hotel is beautifully decorated with every comfort of home included in each of fourteen private vacation-ready rooms.

I love the exposed brick walls which many of the rooms have.

The lovely Nina Kis Bradbury is the Property Manager.

Each of the rooms is exquisitely and uniquely decorated.

Full kitchens, a washer and dryer, and luxurious baths are part of each suite.

A rotating exhibit of nineteen local Asheville artists' work is on display throughout the hotel, which can be purchased to add to your collection.

I wore black and silver items from the Travelers Collection from Chico's.

The hotel will soon include an Italian restaurant and shop where you will be able to buy fabulous antiques and accessories like those in the hotel. The designers actually traveled to Paris to buy a lot of the items used on the property.

This beautiful lady told me she was almost sixty years old after telling her about the blog. Amazing! She is Karen W. Nowlin, an Aesthetician, and provider of PCA Skin Care. I would say it is working very well for her!

Laura Cousins is the Creative Art Director for the hotel. It was such a treat to meet her because we immediately found that we were kindred spirits on so many levels. I felt as if we had known each other for years after only a few minutes.

This beautiful and extremely talented lady is Leeann Mayes, the creative interior designer of this amazing property and a manager.

The convenient location in the city's heart makes The Windsor the perfect place to stay on your Asheville vacation. You can easily walk to many great shops, galleries, sidewalk cafés, and restaurants. (People watching in Asheville is a special treat.)

Wear It Wednesday

This white background jacket is lovely in its construction and design but it has always seemed wrong for my shape.

The Travelers tank and pants, as well as the jacket, are old items from Chico's. The shoes, bag, and jewelry are likely from Stein Mart. They are all old, so I don't actually recall where I bought them. Even though I rarely wear this look, I will hang on to it for now since it gives me a dressier daytime look for those events requiring it.

 

Wear It Wednesday is the day I pull out questionable or rarely worn pieces from my closet and try to make them work or else donate them to someone who will make use of them. 

Reducing clutter in my closet makes getting dressed much more pleasant. Too many questionable pieces can result in wearing the same thing all the time and the feeling that you need more choices when you already have too many. 

Don't miss the second blog post coming later today. We had a wonderful evening, and I can't wait to share it with you!

Cool Spring Weather

Thankfully the sun was shining because it was quite cool here yesterday.

In fact, it was downright cold during the night time... so much so that I dreamed it snowed!

We had dinner with friends at Carrabba's Italian Grill, but we ran some errands earlier in the day.

These photos were taken at the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce building. 

Mr. Mickey was on the board of directors of the Chamber when this building was built.

I am wearing pants and a tank from Chico's. The navy jacket is my old favorite. The shoes are Kenneth Cole Reaction via T.J.Maxx. The mixed metals necklace was found in a gallery in Asheville last year.

Ruanas Are Great For Warm Weather

A ruana is a poncho-style outer garment or wrap. I found this sheer blue animal print one on sale at Chico's a couple of years ago.

I like the fact that this one is sheer and can be worn in a variety of ways as a bit of cover when you want to dress in cool sleeveless tops and white ankle pants or Capris. (Ruanas are also great for winter in fabrics such as wool and cashmere.)

As you can see there isn't much construction to a ruana but they are so versatile.

This is my favorite way to wear them in both winter and summer. I think they look so chic!