Chalk Travels: Recapping our 1st Anniversary Trip

Happy Friday Eve! I have sat down to write this post at least 3 times yet something distracts me and I have yet to hit publish. Today is the day though, I am excited to share the most relaxing and beautiful Anniversary weekend that was spent in Asheville, North Carolina. For those of you that are from North Carolina, you realize how breathtaking the views can be in September and this weekend was no exception. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the mornings and evenings were a crisp 50 or so degrees and the leaves were beginning to change to their fall colors. Oh my, it was gorgeous!

We treated ourselves and stayed at the Grand Bohemian Hotel, which is designed to look and feel like a European hunting lodge with the Blue Ridge Mountains as your backdrop. The entire staff was incredible from the moment that we pulled up to when we were walking out the door on Sunday, they truly made the experience complete. Let's just say, this happy Bride didn't have a {single} care in the world during our time there.

 

On Saturday, we spent the day at the Biltmore Estate! The Biltmore is the family home of the Vanderbilts that is a marvel of elegance and charm. George Vanderbilt wanted the home to be a French Renaissance chateau with 250 rooms for his family and friends to enjoy. We took a tour of the home which is filled with the family's vintage clothing, accessories, art, furniture and so much more.

We strolled acres upon acres of gardens where I found myself snapping pictures every few seconds. I am confident that their team of landscapers and horticultural experts must stay {very} busy because the beauty of the grounds and gardens is breathtaking. Lunch and a wine tasting were next on our list so we drove to Antler Hill Village to sip, eat and relax. I still find myself craving the Pimento Cheese, Green Tomato, Bacon with Pesto Aioli sandwich from Cedric's Tavern. It sounds divine, right?!  

Saturday night, I slipped back into my Rehearsal Dinner dress and dusted off my Wedding Day shoes for dinner at the Red Stag Grill because it was time to celebrate 365 days of marriage to my handsome husband! Every day I am thankful that "I have found the one whom my soul loves." TC - Thank you for making me a better woman, wife, sister, daughter and friend. I am so proud to be your wife!

Following dinner, it was time to open presents! The suspense was killing me because as you know from this post we were going to exchange traditional gifts. TC is always thoughtful and creative in his gift giving so I knew that he was going to do something that I would never expect {which he did}. He created a list of Chalk Adventures that included about 10 trips and events that we've talked about doing over the years. From the list, he asked me to guess which event or trip was the one that he had already planned for us. Have no fear, my very first guess was correct...he purchased tickets and we are going to Nashville, TN for the CMA Music Festival in June! We are huge country music fans so I was in complete shock. I am already counting down the days until we are listening to all of our favorite artists from sun up to sun down!

It was hard to top that but I was still really excited to share the gifts that I had gotten us. Months before our anniversary, I had narrowed down my paper options to three for a gift that was going to be for both of us. After a lot of thought, I decided to go with the Custom Painted Wedding Invitation Keepsake and it turned out beautiful! I will have it framed and hung on the wall soon.

TC is not only a huge country music fan, he is also a huge fan of NASCAR. He has grown up going to races with his family and he now has me attending 1 or 2 every year. Who would have thought?! :) So it only seemed fitting that I gave him a ticket for the Richard Petty Driving Experience in Charlotte. He will be in the driver's seat of a NASCAR race car for 8 laps!    

What a special weekend to celebrate an even more special year for us. Our journey has just begun and I can't wait to see what is in store for us!