Fun In The Winter Sun

When the sun finally breaks through the clouds, a day in Asheville is essential.

Even with the wind gusts, it was a warm and beautiful day with full sun and a crystal clear blue sky.

Earlier in the day, we had lunch at one of our favorite places, Carmel's at the Grove Arcade. These adorable young people sat at the table next to us. We struck up a conversation and had a lovely visit with these three friends.

I am wearing an Adrianna Papell sweater with a faux leather sleeve trim from Saks off 5th. The necklace was a gift from Mr. Mickey. The turtleneck top and leggings are from Chico's. The boots are from the Saks collection. The bag is Calvin Klein via T.J.Maxx. The sunglasses are Kenneth Cole Reaction via T.J.Maxx.

Let's talk about leggings for a moment. They should come with a warning tag! I could actually see the label (at the waistline!) through the leggings on one unfortunately chosen outfit. Underwear was in full view a few other times. The bottom should be completely covered when you wear leggings because they are NOT pants.

Wear It Wednesday, Get Dressed

On a recent weekend getaway, we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel as we normally do when we go to Knoxville.

On Sunday morning, we dressed to go down to the hotel restaurant to have tea and enjoy the breakfast buffet, which includes many fresh fruits.

The dark rinse jeggings are from Chico's. I wore them with a black long sleeve tee from Kohl's. The vintage St. John Country jacket was given to me by my dear friend Mitzi. The calf hair d'Orsay animal print shoes are by Sam Edelman via Nordstrom.

Another Adventure

Have you ever had to totally change your plans after you arrived at your destination?

We planned to go shopping in Abingdon, Virginia, for part of the day and then make early dinner reservations at a great restaurant we recently visited. Since this is not a busy time of year for them, I thought we would just call earlier in the day for the first seating. We found that the restaurant and many others in town were either closed for the whole month or operating with a minimal lounge menu.

This is the always inviting porch at the Martha, where the desk manager told us about a great new café around the corner.

So off we go on a new adventure.

Earlier, we stopped briefly at their small T.J.Maxx. I have been looking for a luggage or camel color bag to replace my Liz Claiborne bag. After being carried for several years, it was time to retire it because the zipper finally broke. I was thrilled when I found this Michael Kors one that I have been coveting for more than a year! None of the other stores I have visited still had one in stock, so I was thrilled to find this one at a much lower price than the ones I had been looking at online.

Instead of complaining about my lack of planning, the wonderful Mr. Mickey smiled and suggested we try the new place. It turned out to be great! We will revisit 128 Pecan.

The Virginia Creeper Trail starts a couple of blocks from downtown Abingdon.

An old railroad track was converted to a bike path that extends to the top of Whitetop Mountain. We have actually ridden our bikes from the top of the mountain into Damascus but not all the way back to Abingdon. Perhaps on another day, we will try that.

No Saturday adventure is ever complete until we have shared an afternoon dessert. On this day, we stopped at Anthony's Desserts for a coconut cream pie tart. 

Mickey found the old book on French Country style is one of the shops we visited. He knows how French my heart is.

We saw a large house on the hill off in the distance, so of course, I suggested we get a closer look. The road that passed by the house continued upon the ridge, so we drove to the end of it, where we saw this awe-inspiring panoramic view of mountains and rolling pastures on three sides.

Today's outfit includes a long sleeve white tee, a blue Ponte jacket, and black So Slimming jeans, all from Chico's. The short boots are Madden Girl from Belk a couple of years ago.