A Summer Vacation to the South

Hi everyone, hope all of you are enjoying your summer! Sorry for not posting again, it's just that summer is a super busy time, from vacations, day trips, and all the like. Anyways, I would have posted last week except I was on vacation since last Wednesday and came back yesterday. I had great photo opportunities, and got lots of inspiration for new recipes!

My family and I started our nine-day trip at 4:30 am, Wednesday morning. We got the car all packed and settled in for a 6-hour ride to Charlottesville, Virginia. Before going to our hotel, we drove through Shenandoah National Park. It was our first view of the Appalachian Mountains on our trip but definitely not our last!

When we finally arrived, everyone was so excited to be at our hotel, and to be out of our car. Our first stop was the Jefferson Mansion - Monticello. I don't have any pictures, but it was amazing. I definitely got some inspiration and ideas for my room and future house (I've been dreaming of decorating my own home since I learned how to read HGTV magazine).

Jefferson designed and decorated the entire house, inside and out.  He placed all the beds into a small alcove, and used windows and sky lights to bring in as much light as he could. There were mirrors across from any window to reflect natural light throughout the room, and designed his home to be practical and stunning. My favorite room was the entrance hall, filled with an assortment of native american weapons and arrows mounted on the wall. There was a clock Jefferson designed that could tell the time and the day, one very sophisticated for its time. He also had a room in the shape octagon, which I don't think I'll be able to find when looking for a home in the future.

After we left the mansion, we went for dinner at a restaurant in our hotel. We stayed one night in Virginia, then headed off to Gatlinburg, TN -- a totally different scene! There was one big street full of restaurants and many different shops. Then drive five minutes away and you're right in the middle of the Great Smoky Mountains! We took many trips through the Mountains and saw many deer and black bear while we were there!

We took a 1.3 mile hike to breathtaking waterfall; Laurel Falls. Even though it took about 30 minutes to get there in the humid Tennessee weather, it was definitely worth it!

The Smokies had many rivers, including the one below that we drove along side of to roughly an hour. At the end was an old mill and barn (Ely's Mill - nearly 100 years old) that was converted into a little shop with antiques, homemade yarn, and lots of other little crafts.

We stayed 4 nights in Gatlinburg, then went to Cherokee, NC to the native american reservation. It was one of my favorite places we visited. I love the Native America culture and got a dream catcher while there!  I went to three different shops before finding the perfect one, made with tan leather and an abundance of brown and tan feathers. We only stayed in Cherokee one night there, then left in the morning for our last stop on our vacation: Asheville, NC. It's home to Biltmore Estate, owned by the famous Vanderbilts. There is an Inn that's part of the estate, where we stayed for two nights. The Estate was beautiful, even prettier than the Jefferson.There was no stone unturned in that place, they had the best of everything!

There's a downtown part of Asheville, which was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. They had an abundance of vintage thrift shops with the cutest clothes I've ever seen. Art gallerys, antique stores, and my favorite of them all, L.O.F.T of Asheville, a store full of the funniest, coolest, rarest things ever! I got a sweet smelling little candle and a princess crown ring that are totally rad.

I didn't want to leave, but as they say, all good things must come to an end. The trip was amazing and I learned so much, and got so much inspiration, from baking to decorating, and everything in between.

I should have one or two more posts by the end of next week, including Italian pignoli cookies and caramel pretzel brownies! Keep the requests coming!