Adventures in Blue Ridge

As I mentioned, April 9th was our 2 year anniversary. Last year, we went on a cruise that we planned together. This year, Mike wouldn't tell me where we were going...I still didn't really even know once we got there. His list of what I needed to pack was a little bizarre so needless to say, I was slightly concerned...

We ended up in Blue Ridge, GA, which is about 2 hours north of us. We turned into a lodge-style hotel, which turned out to be AH-mazing! It's called Serenity in the Mountains and it really was great. I would totally go back and stay there again. It's like the love child of a spa and a lodge. The suites were huge, clean, and beautiful. Check this out...

The bathroom was practically the size of the entire first floor of my house.

We could throw a party for 10 people in that shower. 

This is where I spent Friday and Saturday night. Ahhh....

The bed was SO comfortable! It was king sized, which we decided that we need since we both like to sprawl out, and our 20 pound dog somehow takes up the entire bed. 

They had a thing for bears. Pictures of bears on the walls, lamps with bears in the suite...

So by now, you're probably thinking we spent the entire weekend hanging out with our bear lamps, right? Nope! We had adventures, people. 

On Saturday morning, we drove up to Tennessee and went white water rafting! It was my first time going and it was actually a lot of fun. We did a 5 mile ride down the Ocoee River.

That's not us, but that's exactly where we were. We drove around and watched the other people battle the splashing when we were done.

One of the Olympic competition sites from 1996.

For those of you who watch Cupcake Wars on Food Network, this was the winning team from last year! We got the winning S'mores cupcake and it did not disappoint. 

This is "downtown." You're looking at the tallest buildings there! 

I made a new friend.

After our anniversary dinner (don't we look so tired from all that rafting?)

On Sunday, we got up and went horseback riding! I hadn't been in so long. I grew up going to the stables with my aunt, who was an avid horseback rider, and in high school, I worked as an assistant horseback riding instructor at summer camp.

I know what you're thinking - that helmet is really flattering on me. 

We rode through the Chattahoochee National Forrest for about 3-4 hours. It was really nice and fortunately, our horses behaved themselves. Before we left, we also stopped at Mercier Orchards. They have an awesome store with tons of products - fresh peach and apple cider, pies, sauces, and every type of jam, preserve and butter you can think of. And all of it's made on-site! Of course, we stocked up. I'm dying to go back in the Fall so we can go apple picking!

This little lady hopped out of the woods to say "hi!"

It was a really nice weekend and I'm definitely itching to go back - especially when it's hot out because I can only imagine how good that water will feel in the summer! Mike also treated us to a couples massage at the spa on-site, on Saturday afternoon. I must say, it was one of the BEST massages and very well needed. 

Thank you, babe - you did well! :)

Happy birthday to me!

This past Saturday was my 33rd birthday. 33...I have no idea how I got to that age. Time has flown WAY too fast! October is a crazy month for us because Mike's birthday is 10/2, mine is 10/13, my dad is 10/14, my mom is 10/16 and my sister is 10/18. I've always been on the fence deciding if I ever want to try and have kids in October. Part of me doesn't think I have the energy to add another date to the October calendar and the other part of me says screw it, just get all the birthdays done at once.
Since the weather has been nothing short of gorgeous here lately, Mike decided to surprise me with a little day trip to Helen, GA. It's north of Atlanta, about an hour and a half drive. Supposedly, Helen is supposed to be one of the best places to see the changing of the leaves in the Fall here in Georgia, and it definitely did not disappoint! A few people we ran into there said to come back in a few weeks when the leaves are mostly all red and orange and it's even prettier. We may head up there early to mid November and check it out again.
In addition to walking around Unicoi State Park, we hung out at Helen's famous Oktoberfest. Helen is a quaint, little German town. I seriously felt like I was in Epcot - all the buildings look like something out of Germany, but almost in an over-the-top way. Every year, they host an Oktoberfest that goes on for a few weeks - lots of crowds, beers and food. It was a fun time - I'd definitely go back. And no, I felt no shame in talking my way into free birthday beer when the bartenders would ask for my I.D. And yes, it worked :)

As Summer Ends...

In my previous post, by "last week" I really meant "a month and a half later." ;) I joined my family on our annual trip to Sanibel Island, FL at the end of July. We've been going since I was really little. Unfortunately, once I hit college, I wasn't able to make it a regular thing. Between summer classes and jobs, I was sometimes able to squeeze in a few days at the most (they go for a week) and there were a few years when I had to skip it entirely (and then I start to question why I never stuck with my original plan to become a theater teacher. Summer vacation in my 30s? Yes, please!). Anyway, it's a pretty relaxed week - there's not much to do on the island and we've been going there for so long that the most exciting thing to explore is a new shop that might have opened up since the previous summer. It's mostly just beach time, bike riding and making sure to enjoy fudge from their general store (yep, that's what it's called). They also have a little village that gives a glimpse into what life was like on the island from the late 1800s to the 1940s, with actual structures and items from back in the day.

Before I get to the pics, I will explain the hiatus. We are now Atlanta residents!! Long story short, my husband was offered a project up here months ago and, like everything else in the construction world, things get delayed for one reason or another. Well, I am happy to say that we are finally here and so far, so good! I'm still on the job hunt, but there is a lot of opportunity up here, so I'm confident that I will find something. My next venture is to hit up Piedmont Park and the Botanical Gardens and take some pics there. I absolutely LOVE both of those places and you bet that I'll be going nuts in about a month once the leaves start to change (we actually get all 4 seasons up here! Yay!!). In the meantime, enjoy these pics as summer comes to an end.

This is why I don't swim in lakes in Florida...

Out in Captiva (the neighboring part of the island), there is this super old cemetery from the 1800s. There are a few new gravestones from recent deaths, but the majority of them are really, really old. Some of them, you can't even read the tombstone anymore. 

This cracked me up. I have a KitchenAid mixer that I am obsessed with since I love to bake. It's come a long way since this!