A weekend in Asheville

A couple weekends ago David and I had the opportunity to visit Asheville North Carolina. We had been invited to a dear friends wedding near there and decided it would be fun to go a day early and explore Asheville. I had been there several years before and fell in love with it's southern charm, and so I couldn't wait to go back again this time with my husband.

We got to Asheville around noon, just in time for lunch!! As always I spent a long time looking up the best places to eat and reading reviews as I tried to make my mind up on where to eat. (I have a serious fear of missing out) haha!

I finally settled on the White Duck Taco Shop as it seems to be a local favorite. We went to the one in the Arts District that sits by the river.

Sure enough the line was very long and wrapped halfway around the place as I had read in the reviews. It's such a fun little eclectic place with bright colors and turquoise painted tables.

The food was yummy and lived up to our expectations! We tried three different flavors of tacos;

grilled fish, steak, and jerk chicken. Plus a basket of chips with their homemade salsa trio. It was the perfect place to start off our day and I highly recommend going if ever you're near the area.

The Arts District is the old industrial part of town and over the last few years artist have been moving in and reclaiming these old buildings and using them as their studios. There's not too many right now, but I'm quite sure in a few years it will be super full and bustling down there.

We checked out some art studios but our favorite was the Antique store we found while there. It was huge and they had so many old treasures in there. Yet somehow all we walked out with was a vintage book and an old knife.

The Biltmoore Village is probably the prettiest part of town. Lining the old cobblestone sidewalks are quaint cottages that are now turned into restaurants and unique shops.

We found another Antique store on this side of town that was absolutely beautiful! They had furniture in there from the late 1700's. It was definitely the place where the old money shops, we felt quite out of our league while walking around in there, haha. I'm not sure what it is about antiques but I love being surrounded by beautiful pieces that have been around for hundreds of years and I always imagine what it would be like if I could listen to them tell stories about everything they've seen in their lifetime.

I would say Asheville is on the top of my list for favorite places. It's decent size but still small enough to feel like a warm southern town.

I just can't get over the charm and beauty here!

It was a perfect early fall day for a stroll.

Here's a fun fact! Last time I was in Asheville was four years ago, and it just so happened that it was over the time that David and I first started talking. So I basically just walked around the whole time I was here smiling at my phone like a total dork! ;). Now I have a bit of "love story nostalgia" connected to this place, and it kinda has a little special place in my heart.

The Corner Kitchen restaurant is a very nice and classy place to eat, we didn't get a chance to eat there this time, but I have before and it's quite delicious!

This shop was a lovely stationary and ink store. They had a wide selection of fountain pens, beautifully colored inks, and handmade journals. David and I both love journaling and writing so we couldn't resist getting a few goodies!

After exploring Biltmore Village we were in the mood for a little pick me up, and also wanted to try out that new fountain pen we got!

We found the best coffee shop called Trade and Lore. It's tucked away on a little one way alleyway street that is cobblestone and lined with gingko trees. Probably no one cares or even knows what type of trees those are, but they happen to be my favorite, especially in fall because they turn the most delicious buttercup yellow color. So look them up ;)

I'm more of an atmosphere connesueir rather than a coffee snob, and this place was absolutely perfect. Sitting outside it felt to me like I would imagine it might be like somewhere in the European on a little city street.

The inside was just as cute and cozy.

I was impressed with their drinks, we tried their draft iced coffee and a lavender, honey, & chamomile latte. They make all their own syrups and use locally sourced dairy.

Here's a view of the street. It doesn't quite do it justice in the picture, but I could seriously just stay on that street for hours and be happy.

If you know anything about Asheville then you've certainly heard about the Tupelo Honey Cafe. It's a local favorite and a famous restaurant that serves upscale southern food and has even been written up by several food magazines and won awards. To begin with they serve delicious fluffy biscuits with blueberry jam and tupelo honey. It has a warm, friendly, and fun atmosphere.

I ordered the shrimp and grits, that's one of my favorite dishes and having it here once before I knew it was too good to pass up. Perhaps it was just an off night for them, but sadly it didn't seem near as good as it had been several years ago. It's still a nice restaurant and though overpriced I would recommend it if your heart is set on going, but I think I'll be skipping it next time to try a new place.

One of the most iconic things about downtown Asheville are all the characters and street musicians.

This tin girl stands there dead still like a statue until someone gives her money and then she will start beating on her drum.

I still can't quite figure out how this guy can hold this pose for minutes straight.

Perhaps the violinist was my favorite, I think it's the most beautiful sounding instrument, especially as you walk around a lovely downtown on a nice evening.

Here's a few shots from around downtown.

We've learned that after a busy day in a city we almost always need to back it up with some relaxing time in nature, so we decided instead of staying the night at a hotel in town we would rent a room on air b&b for the night at a bed and breakfast about 20 miles outside of town on a farm.

And I'm ever so glad we made that decision! As soon as we pulled up we were greeted by several dogs and a little herd of sheep.

The house was built before the civil war and has been in the family for seven generations. Although it's not what it used to be back in its prime, it's still a working farm. Our host was the sweetest lady who loved telling us about the history of the place.

The room was actually way cozier in person than the picture portrays. Ah it was so nice sleeping in an old farmhouse! The floors creaked, the door squeaked and even had the original hardware and door knobs.

We woke up to a delicious homemade southern breakfast of biscuits & gravy (made with farmed sausage), farm fresh eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. It was just what we needed, waking up to a peaceful morning and taking it easy. Our souls felt refreshed and ready for the couple hour drive to the wedding we had been invited to.

The beautiful bride and groom!!

Joas and David are childhood friends, and he was one of the groomsmen in our wedding. So it was amazing to get to celebrate him this time.

The last several weddings I’ve been to I was the photographer. While I love capturing people’s special day, it was so fun to attend a wedding with my handsome date of a husband and just sit back and celebrate the beautiful day with everyone.

All in all we had a wonderful weekend get away in Asheville.

Sadly there weren’t many fall colors yet since the south was still a little warm, but keep a lookout for my next post as I’ll be sharing lots of beautiful fall foliage pictures from our honeymoon a couple years ago in Maine!!!