This past week, I mentioned that I had been home a lot. As much as I enjoyed it, I was bored by the end of the week. Thankfully, one of my best friends in the world (Meredith, the one who got married in August) and her husband came up to visit Taylor and I. This was the first time we had seen them since the wedding... it had been far too long!
They got in late Friday night.
In the morning, Mere and I had coffee while our husbands slept. We laughed and talked in whispers as we discussed life, jobs, and what we have been learning as Christians and women.
After the guys woke up, we all got ready and headed to Asheville with no plan other than to be in Asheville.
When we got into downtown, traffic was backed up because there had been a parade before we got there. After 20 minutes, when we finally found parking, we walked around and went into some of the shops. The first one we went into was awesome! Its a good thing I don't go to Asheville very often, because I could blow a lot of money in there! It was called Garage 34.
Most of their products were locally made and they had quite a few different projects that contributed money to those in need, almost like a local version of Tom's. I was particularly inspired by some of their crochet items made by locals. They were absolutely adorable. Even Taylor said he thought I should practice items that were similar.
He also really liked the candles they had that were molded into cut beer cans and bottles.
They also had a vintage wedding section with tons of vintage wedding dresses and handmade wedding decor. It was awesome, but my mom's wedding shop is better ;)
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| Garage 34's collection of wedding accessories and decor. They had such a cute selection. |
We spent an hour or two walking around downtown through a bunch of other stores, but nothing compared to Garage 34. It was by-far the group's favorite.
We did go into Urban Outfitters and goofed around.
Taylor and I wanted to show Mere and Brett the wonderfulness that is Battery Park Book Exchange, so we headed over there. On the way, we got side-tracked by an art gallery. It was nestled up some stairs in a loft apartment that had been converted into a gallery. The girl who worked there said that all of the photographs were taken by one man. They were beautiful. Most of them were depicting the life, work, and beauty of South America. There were a few heart-breaking ones that dealt with suffering and poverty.
The girl also mentioned that the photographer was in Honduras working with the coffee bean farms and helping make people aware of a bacteria that had ruined their crops a while back. Now the coffee is safe again and he wants to make people aware so that the beans will once again be lucrative for the farmers.
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| The art gallery loft and the view from the gallery's window |
We took Meredith and Brett to Battery Park Books for a little bit. Brett seemed impressed :)
Next, we took them to The French Broad Chocolate Lounge. It was actually the last day they would be in that particular location (they are moving a few blocks over to a bigger building), so they were sold-out of several things. I enjoyed it, but it would have been better if they had had my chocolate creme' brulee ;)
Next, we headed over to Biltmore Grand Movie Theater and saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One. I actually liked it better than the first two. I know she is a good actress, but Jennifer Lawrence drives me crazy in those movies. I guess it is just her version of the dramatic screams and hyperventilation of Katniss.....its a little too much for me... but on the bright side, Liam Hemsworth is a beautiful display of God's beauty ;) sorry Taylor!
After the movie we got a quick bite to eat and headed home. We spent the rest of the evening watching Jim Gaffigan on Netflix. I love that man! Below is one of my favorite routines.
The weekend was over way too quickly. Mere and Brett had to leave the next morning, but I am so glad they made it. We love them both and are glad for time with them.
Have an amazing day, everyone!
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