Okay, so several years back,
our girls' trips in the fall took on the name
Treat Yo' Self.
And I'm sure you are DYING to know why!
Right? Come on, humor me!
Several of the girls love the show Parks and Rec.
And there's a clip from the show that explains our weekend name to a T.
Watch it here.
(And prepare to die laughing!!)
Okay, so none of us has become a cashmere velvet candy cane,
and we skip on the mimosa part,
but we do eat junk food, stay up late, sleep in, and even do a bit of shopping.
It's fantastic!! And the words 'treat yo' self' are said at every turn ...
This year, Mandy booked a fun farmhouse/loft in Hendersonville NC.
Besides being situated on a bazillion beautiful acres of pasture,
it also was the perfect setup for our crew.
Yes, even with only 1 bathroom, we survived!
(and there were 10 of us, people ... TEN!)
And, what made it even more perfect was the fact that the owners of the place
lived right next to it (literally) and were believers to boot!
The wife (sadly, I can not remember her name!) was a horse vet
and SO, SO interesting! We literally could have talked to her for hours!
In addition to being a vet, she homeschools her 3 kiddos and also is helping
her oldest in his quest to be best-of-the-best in bicycle racing.
Like travel-all-over-the-USA-and-world best.
Here's the downstairs/kitchen area of the Little Red Barn.
And here's the upstairs - the loft area with 2 sets of bunks
and a plethera of other beds is behind the camera ... so fun!
The sweet horses that would come right up ...
This is my shot at infamy ... the horse behind me is a grandchild to the one and only Secretariat!
Gorgeous!
This shows the inside a bit better ...
(mad props to Chrissy Rowden for making this collage!)
On Friday, most of the group went to Biltmore in Ashville.
I just wasn't 'feeing' it, so I stayed back with Pamela and Heather and just vegged.
Then we met up for lunch in Asheville.
We look all sweet here, but I'm pretty sure blood sugar levels were at an all time low!
Gorgeous trees ... leaves everywhere.
Then we walked around and shopped ...
such a neat little place right across from
the Biltmore!
J. Crew was having a HUGE sale!
We were like piranhas to meat!
Afterward we went to Grove Park Inn just to admire.
Gorgeous and definitely want to go back with Bowdie ...
has a spa, so you know its our kind of place!
Look at that view!
All us girls ... basking in the resort life ... for a few minutes, at least!
We found a fun gift shop/ice cream parlor on the premises ...
this was Melanie's first time on our girls' trip -
pretty sure she's got the 'treat yo self' thing down pat ... :)
We then headed to downtown Asheville.
I'm trying to think of words to describe it ...
eclectic? free-spirited?? artsy??!
Interesting place to visit, but not sure I'd choose to live there.
It had a very liberal feel for this conservative white woman!
There were these living statues all around ...
put money in their basket and they would sing and play instruments.
It was crazy ... and amazing!
They had this big area that was a drum circle.
Literally, anyone, at anytime, could join in with their percussion instrument.
It should've been a chaotic mess, but they actually sounded good.
Just a bunch of strangers keeping a beat!
Pretty sure someone could do an extensive psychological study on it.
Seriously.
We ended up eating dinner at a local bar because there was no wait ...
bonus: Braves game was on!
Saturday we rested around the Red Barn.
So good for these tuckered out wives and moms.
We enjoyed an after dark fire ... and some great conversation.
Dinner was made by the family that owned the Red Barn ...
such a treat!
left to right: Chrissy, Kim, Mandy, Melanie, Pamela, Meredith, Heather, Me, Amy, & Alisa
What a great weekend.
Love these girls ...
left feeling encouraged and rested.
'Til next fall!!
