Biltmore House and Inn with Mom and Dad!

The last time (see here) we visited Biltmore I stood in this spot

down in Antler Village, threw in some coins and made a wish...

And, Look at that... My wish came true!

We're here in Asheville at Biltmore House...

With Mom and Dad!

We toured the house...

Then mom and I crushed the gift shops...

Which means we'll have to find a way to distract our guys

between the hours of five and seven when our purchases

will be delivered to our rooms at the Inn at Biltmore!

Maybe we'll take an evening tour of the house to view the sunset

And chill some more on George Vanderbilt's terrace!

After our tour of Biltmore House and lunch at Cedric's Tavern

we headed back to the Inn for naps before our dinner...

My gift to mom and dad for mom's 70th birthday is

this trip, and this beautiful King room with balcony!

Because the Vanderbilt's and I want them to enjoy themselves to the fullest!

I cannot wait for them to wake up tomorrow

morning to another beautiful mountain view!

This is mom and dad's bathroom

And, tub!

Not quite like George Vanderbilt's tub at

the main house, but it will certainly do!

I love how spacious the rooms are!

Army dad and I are right next door...

In our King Premier room!

Equally as plush...

Minus the terrace balcony but Plus the jetted tub!

I brought along Lush bathbombs... A few for me, a couple for mom!

I like huge bathrooms... A lot!

We're off to dinner now then back to Biltmore house to watch the sunset!

I wish to thank Jennie Phillips, Guest Historian and current Employee of the Month at the Inn on Biltmore Estate for her special attention during check in. Jennie went out of her way to ensure we had the very best accommodations, and because of her effort I know we'll be making the Inn on Biltmore Estate our go-to destination for our future visits to Asheville. Sorry, Grove Park!

The best kind of Company to have!

Mom and Dad finally arrived!

They were happy to see William again... And, to meet his sweet girl, Julie too!

Yesterday we took them to Raleigh where Mom and I picked up right where we

left off the last time we were together and we shopped until the stores locked

their doors. As you can see... I bought every pair of shoes I liked and mom came

in a close second, buying every pair she believes will still cram into her luggage...

We hit Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Lacoste, (where we both found the cutest

sweaters!) and Sephora where I turned mom onto all things Lavanila. We had an

early dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, then we popped in on SpaBoy at Aveda

too. Mom and dad looooved meeting him! We still have our (shopping) trip

to Asheville, Highlands and Cashiers coming up this week so mom's

a bit worried about running out of space in her bags. But I told her not

to worry... Because what doesn't fit, always ships. So problem solved!

One of the shops I couldn't wait to share with mom is The Elegant Relic

in Mebane. We stopped by on our way to Raleigh, and I picked up this great

pad of placemats, and mom's taking this beautiful candle back home with her!

You know what a sucker I am for placemats, and these are extra-fun!

So yesterday it was all about the shopping... And, we killed it! But today it's

all about the calm. We went to Mass this morning and stopped for burgers at

Five Guys on the way home. Now dad's napping in the study and mom is camped

out in the solarium in front of what she's been calling our nature television ever

since they arrived. She just loves all the birds, squirrels, chipmunks and the...

 Butterflies!

And me... Well, the only thing better than everything we

have is having my parents here to enjoy it with us!

Sleepy Poet Antique Mall in Charlotte

We spent Friday afternoon at the Metrolina antique show in Charlotte where I

bumped into the nicest vendor who invited us to take a look at some of her

other things at a booth she rents at the Sleepy Poet Antique Mall nearby!

We've been to the Sleepy Poet several times and we always find something

interesting. I'm so glad the vendor chatted me up because not only did she offer
me a coupon, she also told me to check out this piece after I'd shared with her I
was looking for something different to hang over the French doors in the living

room. This angel is different. Fits into my new room perfectly, and I love it! 

I'm always on the look-out for pieces of coral and seashells so when I found these

clam shells and little shell under this cute glass cloche, I snapped them right up!

Honestly, shopping at Sleepy Poet was so much more fun than going to the

Metrolina. First of all, there's a whole lot more to see at Sleepy Poet,

and second of all, their staff is super-friendly and helpful. And, best

of all, prices are reasonable, and they never charge admission!

I also brought home this back issue of Architectural Digest...

For obvious reasons!

Peace...

For 30 American families there is no peace tonight...

But that is what I wish them as I stare out my kitchen window

watching this beautiful creature have dinner in perfect peace

With gratitude for their sacrifice, and my deepest sympathy to

all who love and appreciate them. We will never forget any of you!

End of the Lamp Dance!

I feel a little like decorator-Goldilocks!

This one was too short...

This one's shade was too small...

 But this one is just right!

 It's this one from Pottery Barn, and I love it! I love

it so much I have canceled delivery on option #4!

The shade is the perfect scale for the room and the

diffuser means I'm not staring up at a bare light bulb!

The living room re-do is finally complete... Now

all I need is for my dear house guests to arrive!

So where are they? Well, while they flew into Atlanta last night so we're finally sharing a time-zone, mom and dad are in Florida visiting with my brother James and his family. 

My turn is coming though! They'll be heading our way next week. And, get this!! In a letter we received from the Ranger last night, he writes that if all goes well, his graduation date will be August 22nd. Do you realize what this means? It means that since mom and dad aren't scheduled to fly home from Atlanta until the 23rd, we could drive down to Ft. Benning together and they'd be there to see the Ranger get his Tab. 

I am so overwhelmed by this possibility I can barely think about it... What this would mean to the Captain and my mom, and to me, to have them there to share the moment with our son... Without tears rolling down my face. 

Honestly, I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to next week. My parents are coming for a long visit, I will have my mother and father here on my mom's 70th birthday and now, it just might be possible for them to see our Ranger graduate from Ranger School. It's almost too many bonuses to wrap my mind around. 

My planets have all aligned plenty of times before, but this... This is truly more than I deserve!

Summer birding and a few Other things!

Just before the storm rolled in this afternoon, the wind brought down a large

limb... Summer storms are just part of the adventure of not living in California!

And, downed limbs and trees are just part of the adventure of living on heavily wooded

property. And, we like it like this... Minus the trees that cause damage, of course!

After the limb came crashing down and before the heavy rain fell...

We took a little walk...

Sitting next to the pot we heard baby birds. We looked up for their nest but

we didn't see one anywhere. Then we looked down, and over. And closely... 

And there... There in the pot, we found them!

Such a perfect little spot for them. See how the hosta leaf acts

like an umbrella to shade and conceal the opening of their nest?

Nature is incredible!

And, so darn cute!

And apparently, hungry too!

We're going to move on now so that their mom can come down and do her job!

Before I go I have to share with you a fantastic shop we discovered in

Mebane last weekend... It's The Elegant Relic, and I love it! I picked up

a few beautiful candles and this vintage French hanging basket. Tonight it

is hanging on the kitchen door filled with faux sunflowers I picked up at

another sweet shop we discovered yesterday in Gibsonville. But...

It may find its way onto another door. Maybe the front door. Maybe the

living room. Who knows? I'll need time to play with it. And, eventually, it'll

tell me where it needs to be. Oh, by the way... About the living room... The

decorating is finally done! Several of you e-mailed with questions about the

cocktail table. It's by Lane. And, I used to have one similar to it in California!

It took me forever to find and ironically, was shipped to me from High Point, North

Carolina before I ever knew where High Point in North Carolina was! Then we decided

to move to North Carolina and listed our home with a crook Realtor that dedicated more

time talking me out of our furniture than he did marketing/selling our house! And, on

top of his very long list of things he and his wife said they simply couldn't live without

was my brand new cocktail table. He bugged the crap out of me until I finally agreed to

sell it. But... I asked for double what I paid for it, and I told him that he and his wife

couldn't have it until AFTER he sold the house. Had I known it would be so difficult to

replace, I would have never sold it. Or at the very least, I would have asked for triple!

It took me four long years but I finally found an even better curio cocktail table

option. Really... This is a great table! I love the display drawer under the beveled

glass top. And, while the bottom drawer on my former cocktail table was a phony...

This one opens to provide plenty of much needed storage space!

As I've said... It's perfect!

And no one is ever talking me out of it!

There's no number I'll consider...

Unless I'm able to replace it first!