WEEKEND IN PICTURES

Our weekend was hot hot hot!  But we didn't let the weather keep us from our beloved outdoors.  We did a little yard work.......

See the dogwood tree to the right of the garden gate?

Now you see it......

 Now you don't.
  We really hate to lose a tree - but Mr. Dogwood there had outgrown his space and whenever I looked out of my kitchen window all I could see was that tree.  Now, all I can see is that other tree. 

 We also took a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  (By now you probably know how we feel about the glorious BRP - we really can't get enough.)

 This is MY LAKE.  I call it LAKE YANCEY , but others insist on calling it Lake Abbot. Oh well, as long as they are respectful of my lake I guess I'll let them stay.

Lake Abbot Yancey may just be my favorite place in the world.

 How many tomato sandwiches have you eaten this summer?  That many?  Me too!  God I love summer.

  I leave you with the most gorgeous front door in the whole wide world.  Courtesy of decor hero Miles Redd. Mr. Redd, you have infected me with a raging case of honey, let's paint the front door......again.   Sorry dear, but here we go again.

Hope you all had a BEAUTIFUL weekend.
YANCEY

{THE PEAKS OF OTTER LODGE} ON THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY

 We're back from our mini-break on The Blue Ridge Parkway.  We stayed at the Peaks of Otter Lodge which is in fact the most magical place on earth - I don't care what Micky mouse says.

This was the view from our balcony.  Can you say Heaven?

Mountain Laurel.

 This is the view from the restaurant in the main building of the lodge.  The rooms don't have a t.v. or radio and the lodge is too remote for cell phones.  Can you imagine a restaurant full of people speaking in the hushed tones of a pre-cell phone civilization?  In other words we were all using our inside voices.  Bliss.

The Lodge is located on Lake Abbot.

Did you realize dandelions were THIS adorable?

 The lake has a one mile path that winds around it. We walked this path several times a day.

This path leads to an old farm that dates back to the late 1800's.

Braxton snapped this pic of me on one of our  many hikes.

 This is a view of one of the Peaks.

Lake Abbot.

I call this "Braxton contemplating life on rock".

A little Black and White magic.

 I was having difficulty getting my camera to take a soft picture - so Braxton suggested I blow on the lens in order to fog it up.  This is what happened.....

If anyone knows that I'm absolutely ruining my Carl Zeiss lens by doing this - please tell me.

I don't know why.

We had a perfect view of this bridge from our room.

 This picture is BEFORE I blew on the lens.......

 And this picture is AFTER. 

I call this the Monet shot.

 One thing we learned about ourselves is that we both become very relaxed when out in nature.  This first day we were there I felt so relaxed I thought I might slip into a coma.  Caffeine to the rescue.  Lots of caffeine.  I was then able to complete the one mile hike around the lake in two and a half hours rather than my usual three.  Did I mention we were relaxed?

 BTW:  The food was fantastic.  Absolutely the best fried chicken. Ever.  Get this - they dredge their french toast in crushed corn flakes before they cook it!  To die.
Must go finish the vacation laundry.
Have a BEAUTIFUL day.
YANCEY

Williamsburg Virginia + Braxtonandyancey = The damn happy!

We returned last night from a fantastic and much needed mini-break in Williamsburg, which is a five hour drive from us and worth every bloody gallon of gas it took to get there.

Braxton and I have a long history in W'burg, we lived there when we were first married and have had many wonderful reasons to return since, most recently for our daughters graduation from the College of William and Mary.

Useless facts:  My grandfather, father, husband (Braxton), and our daughter ALL graduated from W&M.  My grandparents names were in fact William and Mary and I have a brother and sister named.....God this is embarrassing....William and Mary.  Coincidence?  I really hope so, otherwise my family are nuttier than previously thought.      On to the pictures.                                    

I include this picture of me to prove that it was 82 degrees on Fri.  82 degrees!!!  God I love spring.

The one tavern we have yet to have a meal, Christiana Campbells.  Ooooo an excuse to go back.

One of the things we love most....beautiful gardens.

One of the reasons I had watery/itchy eyes the whole time we were there.

The other reason.

Braxton showing the ONLY mod thing in all of w'burg....the Union jack.

My favorite store, Lilly Pulitzer.  So colorful, so springy, so does not fit me!  Why won't to make petites Lilly?

W&M students playing croquet in the sunken gardens.  I'm pretty sure this was a sorority/fraternity thing, I don't remember ever seeing it before.

The boys all hung their jackets on the fence.

This is the Williamsburg Inn.  Did I mention the least expensive room is over $400.00!  Guess where we DIDN'T stay?

This is our favorite corner seat in the bar at the Inn.  It's a Williams family tradition to have a mint julep and the famous chocolate cake with peppermint ice cream every time we visit.  The Inn mint julep is hands down my favorite cocktail, ever.

The lobby of the Inn.  Love the use of bold red and blue, especially after seeing all the off colors of the colonial area.

Special picture for our daughter and all the hens.

I hope you've enjoyed the pics, but I must now go and do all the vacation laundry.
Is it spring where you are?
Have a beautiful day.
Yancey

High Point Market - We're Baaaack!

So, we got home last night with plenty of dirty laundry, lots of pictures and ideas, and one nasty bugger of a cold. Both of us. Braxton is upstairs in bed as I write this - think I'll join him after I get the laundry started, clean out the cat box, and do the dishes. What - me bitter??!!

Anyway, on to a few of the pics.
This happy little Buddha made me smile every time I passed him.
These georgeous colors are what I call the damn happy.

I have a real thing for colored glass - and would love to see these as lamp bases.

Here they are in blue.

These curtains had dress maker details that I really admire.

That's all for now - promise I'll be back tomorrow -. feeling better with lots more pictures. For now - it's off to bed with me.