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!

Saturday Afternoon

Readers often ask me what I wear on a casual day when I am just staying home or running out for errands.

On this windy, rainy day, I wore red slim leg pants with an animal print sheer tunic from Chico's and a nude foundation tank from Carlisle. Even though the tank is technically a foundation item, it is so pretty it can be seen peeking out from beneath a sheer blouse. The Kenneth Cole Reaction sandals in gold are from T.J.Maxx.

The old Post Office and Custom House in Bristol, Tennessee, is one of my favorite local buildings. It was constructed in the Beaux-Arts style of architecture and opened in 1901. It is now a private office belonging to friends Joe and Cindy Gregory, who began restoring it to its full glory in 1999.