Biltmore con't....River Bend Farm

The trip continues.

Let's move along now to the part of the 8,000 acre estate that includes more historic buildings, outdoor activities and old-fashioned fun......River Bend Farm, other wise known in our house as - the most fun part.

Let's look at the scenery along the way.....it is approximately 4 miles away from the main house so there's lots to look at.

This was a beautiful little pond with the house in the background, it was a perfect spot to stop & have a picnic lunch (which we did).

The obligatory kid photos - aren't they cute?

They even have a mercantile & a creamery (ice cream shop) at the barn.

That's it from River Bend Farm. Come back tomorrow & we'll head to over to Biltmore Winery - otherwise known in our house as Mommy's favorite part.

Sunday Drive

This past weekend was beautiful here in the Upstate of SC, so I decided that we needed to do a little Sunday drive to get out & see the beautiful fall scenery.

Come along and I'll show you where we ended up.......

(warning: lots of pictures to follow)

Look where we ended up........isn't it beautiful?

The Biltmore House, Asheville NC

Since I couldn't take any pictures inside the house - I'll show you some of the architectual details outside. You'll have to check out the Biltmore's website to see interior shots.

This is the view from where the kids are standing - just beautiful.

Every other copper square lining the top has his initials embossed on them.

The workmanship on this estate is unbelievable. That's all I can show you for now.

Hope you enjoyed an up close look at some of the wonderful detail on Vanderbilt's "summer house".

Stay tuned throughout the week....we've still got to visit River Bend Farm & the Biltmore Winery all located on the estate.

Backyard Visitors

I know these probably look like visitors that you'd see in the springtime but I promise, I just took these photos yesterday.

They're beautiful to see no matter what time of year it is.

This is what they came for.

Can you see the bee & the butterfly on the one limb - so cute.

Hopefully they'll stick around for a while. They make sitting out back a lot more enjoyable.

I've trained him well.

The other night, the hubby and I were watching a little Monday Night Football. The kids were all tucked in bed and we were actually having an uninterupted conversation. (Unusual in our house.)

I was commenting on the uniforms and the field designs of the New Orleans Saints. I said that I thought they had the best looking uniforms in the NFL......it has a fleur de lis on it for crying out loud. It has to be stylin'.

Just in case you're not familiar with them - here they are, in all of their black, white & gold glory.

We debated this uniform subject & I stuck to my guns & stressed my points.....

black, white, gold & fleur de lis

What other team could look better?

And, at that moment, he looks over at me and says......

"All they need are some toile socks."

I would have never guessed that he even realized what toile was.

I was so proud.

He has been paying attention.

(Maybe I could put that in their suggestion box.)

Mountain views

Since a lot of our family and friends haven't been down for a visit, yet, I thought I'd show them some of our lovely mountian views.

The fall colors hadn't started when I took these pictures but they're slowly starting to turn. I'll get some good fall pictures in a couple of weeks (I hope).

This is the little lane that leads to our neighborhood. I love driving it everyday.

More views from the lane.

Isn't this house beautiful?

That's a little look around our neck of the woods.

I can't wait for all of the lovely fall foliage and I'll let you see it as soon as I can.

Great Bathroom Redo

Ok ladies, since I don't have one thing that's of any interest to blog about, I'm sending y'all over to visit a real-life friend of mine.

Her name is Jodie and she & her hubby have been working some magic in their home.

Stop by & take a look at this lovely bathroom redo that they completed not too long ago.
The before's and after's are fun to look at.

Jodie's Bathroom Renovation

While you're there browse around & check out her wonderful photos - there are more on her photography blog.

Be sure to leave her a note saying you stopped by.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Swap Time

My friend Wendi over at Because Wendi Said So hosted a Favorite Things swap last month. It's my first one and I must admit, it was quite fun. I love receiving gifts. What girl doesn't?

My partner was a great girl - Erica from Butterfly Kisses. If you don't already know her, go over & check out her cute blog. She's a busy mom who always keeps her focus on where it needs to be.

Now, let's get to the goodies.

Just look at all of that wonderful stuff.

We have chocolates, a cd, a Nicholas Sparks book, scrapbooking goodies, soaps,

& cute little post its.

Erica put together a great package & I want to send her oodles of "thank you's!"

Can you see anything different in this picture from the one above? (look carefully)

I just had to try it.....it was delicious. Thanks again Erica!!

Thanks for hosting Wendi - it was fun.