A Weekend Away

We celebrated eight wonderful happy years of dating by staying at The Martha for the weekend.

Mr. Mickey promptly picked me up on Friday afternoon for the drive up to Abingdon, Virginia. My travel attire was a simple red comfort top from Covered Perfectly under a cropped red on red Ruby Rd. Jeweled sweater from Dillard's last year. The jeans are from Chico's last fall, and DVF shoes were from Nordstrom last year.   

Later in the evening, after we dressed for dinner, we took a few photos in the beautiful hotel's foyer.

I wore a black lace front Travelers sweater jacket over a black tank top and black crepe evening slacks, all from Chico's. I found the T-strap black leather and suede high heels at T.J.Maxx last year. The Kenneth Cole Reaction bag is also from T.J.Maxx. 

Each table in the restaurant had some sort of what-not (as my grandmother used to call them). This one was on our table, so I teased Mr. Mickey that he had won The People's Choice Award. Here he is giving his acceptance speech. Thankfully there were very few people dining at this late hour, so we didn't disturb anyone with our shenanigans.

During our stay at the hotel, we met two amazing sixty-year-old women whom we visited on several occasions during the weekend.  That's Audrey above. She is the President of a building supply company and has also served as the only female President of their national trade organization. Mr. Mickey and I were both captivated by her bubbly personality and boundless energy. We had breakfast with Audrey and her handsome husband, Allen, on Saturday. They both were so delightful and interesting! We hope to spend many more happy hours in their company.

Below is Katie. She was a music teacher before she retired. Here she is singing "When I Fall In Love" to us at our table. She should be on the Voice of America's Got Talent. She has a lovely voice and a wonderful outgoing personality to go along with it. 

You already know Mr. Mickey loves to share an occasional bread pudding after dinner. This one is banana bread, and it was so good. 

During the day on Saturday, we spent some time shopping and reading in the library and attempting to play a game of checkers. I was too sleepy to be much of a challenge, so we ended up reading until we both started to fall asleep in front of the fire. We ended the afternoon by having a couple's massage in the Spa.  

I wore a metallic cardigan sweater over my shoulders. The long necklace includes matte beads in silver and gold and can easily be converted to a shorter necklace. The black knit top has a high-low hem, and I wore it with khaki zipper ankle pants. All items are from Chico's. The block heel sandals were found at T.J.Maxx last week.

After we dressed for dinner at Rain Restaurant in downtown Abingdon, we snapped a few more pictures in the lobby. 

On Saturday night, I wore a cobalt blue silk jacket from Dillard's with the same tank, pants, and shoes I wore the night before. Traveling light means packing things that can be worn in different combinations. This is one of the great jackets I bought at Dillard's awesome sale a couple of weeks ago.

There is a park on the hotel's grounds, so I couldn't resist sitting in the warm sunshine while the valet attendant was going for our car. 

Spring Is In The Air

We had dinner with friends this spring-like Sunday evening.

It was wonderful to wear only a lightweight navy linen jacket from Appleseed's with a white tank top and khaki zip ankle pants from Chico's. The sunglasses are by Kenneth Cole Reaction from T.J. Maxx. I found the Anne Klein Sport sandals at T.J.Maxx. The bag is by Coach from their outlet in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

The Wonderful Years

Eight years ago, on this day, Mr. Mickey and I went on our first date. That date changed my life forever in all the most positive ways.

On our anniversary evening, we shared a wonderful dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Wellington's, at The Carnegie Hotel.

I wore a black Simple Comfort tunic from Covered Perfectly with brocade pants and a long color block collarless jacket from Chico's for this special evening. (Both Chico's items are on their clearance racks now.) The shoes were from Nordstrom last fall.

Mr. Mickey bought these gorgeous earrings for me a few years ago in a boutique in North Carolina. They are by Michal Golan. A few days ago, Michal contacted me via the blog, much to my delight. She has been one of my favorite designers for many years. This week I received this fabulous necklace to go with my treasured earrings. I am so grateful to Michal for this generous gift.

Imagine my surprise when the hostess showed us to our usual private booth, and there were eight perfect roses (for eight perfect years) and a card already there waiting for us!

We celebrated with a bottle of 2004 Château Peyredon Lagravette Listrac-Médoc. The wine steward put it in a decanter.

Of course, no special dinner for us is complete without a lovely dessert. We shared this chocolate one since chocolate and red wine go so well together.

Shopping in Asheville

The sun came out, and the weather was beautiful on Saturday. That means it was a perfect day to go shopping!

With temperatures in the fifties, a blazer and a scarf were all we needed for outerwear.

We stopped at the North Carolina rest stop on the way to Asheville to enjoy the sunshine and the majestic view of the mountains. 

Carmel's in the Grove Arcade is one of our favorite places to stop for an early afternoon treat of their yummy spicy pimento cheese.

A yearly ritual for us includes going to the annual clearance sales at Dillard's in the Asheville Mall. We stopped by the men's store where I tried on this fun men's hat. I didn't buy it, but it sure was cute!

This is a happy woman! There was a three-day sale which included 40% off their already reduced prices. I bought three pairs of shoes, a white blouse, and four jackets. The total was less than $220!

One of the things I love to do in any city is to drive through the older neighborhoods to look at the houses. Biltmore Forest is a village outside of Asheville built on land from part of the original Biltmore estate. 

We watched this house being built a few years ago, and it remains one of our favorites.

Looking up from one of the golf course's well-manicured holes, you can just see the top portion of this fabulous home.

This is another newer home. My guess is that wing to the left houses an indoor swimming pool.

Have you ever seen a more artistic mailbox?

Before dinner, we stopped to visit the Blue Spiral Gallery to see my friend Coralie Tweed's collection of beautiful paintings.

We had a wonderful dinner at our favorite vegetarian restaurant in town, The Laughing Seed Cafe. This is carrot cake done the vegetarian way. It was awesome!

Today I wore a fuchsia V-neck long sleeve tee, which I found on sale at T.J.Maxx earlier in the week. The darker fuchsia scarf is from Target. The blue blazer is old. The Platinum straight leg jeans are from Chico's. The boots are old from Stein Mart. The bag is by Michael Kors via T.J.Maxx. My moisturizer and almost all of the makeup I am wearing is from Merle Norman Cosmetics. Lip gloss is Plush Plum Colour Riche Balm L’Oréal Paris.

Open That Special Bottle Night

Along with countless other wine enthusiasts from across the country, we attended an Open That Special Bottle Night.

The tradition for this evening is that you serve dinner and invite friends to enjoy a special bottle (or two) of wine that you have been saving.

Thankfully our event was held at the Blackthorn Club, so there was no cooking required on my part! Our executive chef, James Allen, did an amazing job pairing the special bottles of wine with dishes to enhance all the wine and food flavors.

Our place settings at wine tastings can become a bit busy.

The social aspect of this event was great fun. Normally we discuss the wine and where it was grown, and why it tastes the way it does. Tonight we shared how we acquired our special bottle and why it was special. Everyone at the table then gets to taste the wine. The gentleman sitting in front of me is a retired engineer and an amateur scientist. We discussed quantum physics and string theory. Sometimes if you want a woman's attention, you have to talk nerdy to her.

One of the bottles Mr. Mickey brought was the toast of the evening. It was a French white Bordeaux from 1986. The label was captivating for me even before we opened it. The perfectly aged wine opened up to reveal notes of pear, honey, and caramel. Everyone who tasted it knew it was a special bottle that they may never have the chance to enjoy again.

I wore my Chico's sapphire boiled wool jacket with a simple black long sleeve tee and black knit Tahari pants on this cold evening. To give the outfit some light, I wore two long silver-colored necklaces, which both have crystal stones in their design. I added another boiled wool overcoat to go out the door. I was happy to stand in front of the fire for these photos. You can tell I am not a fan of cold weather.

Spring Fashions at Belk

Michael Kors has arrived at my local Belk store! It is so new that they were still setting up the department today.

Skinny jeans are still an item for spring. I've paired these white ones with a black knit tank of my own and this fabulous buttery black jacket with ruched three-quarter sleeves. The necklace is by Erica Lyons, and my own nude heels are by BCBGeneration.

There were many crisply tailored shirts, sweaters, jackets, and the ubiquitous khaki pants in the Lauren section.

The three-quarter sleeves of this pink and white stripe shirt have no buttons, just an open cuff. Perfect for an easy casual look without having to turn them up each time they slip down. I am wearing it with khaki ankle pants and my own Kenneth Cole Reaction sandals.

Every woman in my family goes to Belk when she needs a dress. They are known as the south's dress address.

This wrap detail dress is by Ralph Lauren.

I found so many great dresses I had a difficult time narrowing them down to three!

This royal blue knit dress with three quarter length sleeves was available in several colors.

For the bride or groom's mother, there were many special occasion dresses for women of every age. This blue-gray sleeveless dress came with a matching bolero jacket.

Belk also has a large selection of beautiful clutch bags that look really smart with dresses.

It was great fun chatting with all of you who showed up for the photoshoot today. I hope you found as many great items as I did!