Hey there Monday

Good morning friends. Hope you had a fun summery weekend. Here's how ours looked...

It looked full. It looked like a lot of miles on the car. It looked like bluegrass and bourbon. It looked like young love and old friends. It looked joyful. It looked like taking the long way home. 

It looked like summer. 

We were up bright and early Wednesday morning to make our way west and then north to Cincinnati via Kentucky. Friends we've known for more than two decades had a daughter getting married and we were headed there to celebrate her big day on Friday evening. 

Daughter2 and the bride have been friends since second grade and we parents have been friends that long too. Daughter2 was in the wedding so she and her hubs were there too which was fun.

But first! Kentucky. Friends we met while living in the UK who now live in Texas have a lake house about an hour from Cincy, so that was our first stop. We arrived mid-afternoon and hung out on their porch, had a wonderful dinner together, played cards, and caught up on all the things. 

We discovered we were all doing The Bible Recap this year so we listened together on Thursday morning which was special. Then we made our way in the general direction of Cincy in two cars so they could head home after our excursion and we could go on to the hotel. 

We had lunch in the General Store in a little town called Glencoe. There's not a lot in this area, but they served the owner's grandmother's chicken salad recipe and the guys had pizza which they said was really good too. From there we went just a few miles down the road to  Sparta for a tour of a small family owned distillery (The Neeley Family Distillery)

When in bourbon country...

The tour was interesting. We've been on the Bourbon Trail a couple of times before and have done a lot of the big distilleries, but this one was definitely different. You start with a video giving you the story behind the family and it's a little bit like the Hatfields and McCoys. They started as moonshiners but are making bourbon the legal way now. 

After the tour we said our goodbyes and hubs and I went on to Ohio to check in to the hotel. The groom's family hosted a welcome party at a fun brewery and everyone was invited to attend. They had a taco bar and the groom's parents made a sweet and funny speech in honor of the soon-to-be marrieds. A fun night for all. 

Coincidentally the wedding reception was in a venue just a few blocks from where Daughter1 and her hubs lived the year they were in Cincy, so we had to do a drive by of their old house. We sent a picture and she was happy to see the rope swing was still swinging. 

We went to breakfast at a place called Wild Eggs before driving in to the city to a section known as Over- the-Rhine. We walked through Findley Market, browsing the stalls, then headed back to our side of town so I could get my hair done. I always book an appointment to have my hair washed and dried when we travel to out of town weddings. 

It was a hot day and I needed the professionals to help battle the humidity and smooth it all out. 

The newlyweds were married in the bride's church and I love a church wedding. We rode a shuttle with the rest of the guests out to the church and the ceremony was lovely. If you were a June bride you were given a white rose as you entered the church and I thought that was a really sweet gesture. 

When we came out of the church they had a coffee bar set up for guests to enjoy while waiting on photos and the shuttle ride back to the reception venue. 

You could have regular coffee, cold brew, or an iced honey latte which is what I opted for. Yummy! 

The hydrangeas were beautiful here...

The reception was in a park (Ault Park for any locals reading) and it was a beautiful spacious venue. Everything was lovely. 

There were stations, seafood-beef-and mac and cheese, then assorted desserts rather than a wedding cake. Hubs and I wanted to plant ourselves beside the crab claws but we resisted. I didn't try the mac and cheese, but the seafood and beef were both really good. 

My favorite thing about a wedding reception is the father-daughter dance, and this one did not disappoint. I feel like the months and days leading up to the wedding are more about the mom, but the day of is where the dad's emotions really hit hard. 

My forever wedding date...

We were up and on the road with a cup of coffee to-go from the hotel lobby, because we knew the ride home was going to be a long one. There were big storms across the south on Wednesday night and sadly there was a rock slide on I-40 right around the Tennessee-NC border, aka our route home. It was already still a mess from Helene, but they've been working hard to get all lanes up, open,  and repaired, and now another setback. The road is closed again for another two weeks, which meant we had to take the long(er) way around to get home. 

We didn't run into any other snafus, just a much longer drive mile wise. We stopped for Mexican food close to home, then pulled in to the driveway to be greeted by Little Miss and her momma who were dropping off the little brown dog. They'd kept him at their house while we were away and while he was a good boy, nothing makes him happier than seeing his favorite person, the hubs. 

Sunday we declared a day of rest. Hubs back has been a problem for a couple of days and my ankle continues to be a problem (seeing the ortho on Thursday to hopefully figure it out) plus we were absolutely pooped. June has been chock-a-block full of all kinds of everything and we needed a day. Maybe more than a day, but we're starting with a day. 

We sat on the lower patio, I blogged, read, and relaxed, and hubs periodically asked how I was enjoying my vacation lol. We don't have any road trips on tap for July, although one may pop up, but mostly we plan to stick close to home, take the boat out, swim, and refill our tanks so to speak. 

And that was the weekend. How was yours? What did you get up to? 

 

I'm linking today with Holly and Sarah for their regular Hello Monday blog hop. Drop over and add your own weekend recap and see what others are saying too. Hope your summer is off to a great start! Or winter if you're reading from Down Under...I know there are a few here : )

Days Gone By

It was sixty degrees here yesterday so hubs and I (and the little brown dog of course) took advantage of the warm weather and hiked out to a nearby waterfall. We hadn't been on this particular path since Hurricane Helene hit, but she definitely left her mark. 

The rangers and crew have done a good job clearing the trail of most of the enormous fallen trees and they've made work arounds where needed.  

I do some of my best thinking while on a walk in the woods. I don't know if it's the quiet or the beauty or the freedom from distraction but I feel God especially near when I'm out in nature.  

As we walked yesterday I found myself thinking about this next new year getting ready to roll in...what I'm hoping for...what I need to do-untangle-notice-cherish. 

What will this new year bring? 

No clue, right? I mean we all hope for lots of goodness, but know most years are a mixture of both sorrow and joy. Every year is filled with the comfort of familiar, yet the unexpected will be woven in there too. 

There will likely be some muck along the way.

So much beauty too. 

There will be things to work out and things to enjoy. 

Time to play. 

And time to pray. 

A walk in the woods reminds me I don't have to think too deeply about the year I'm leaving behind. That it's okay to just let it quietly roll away and instead turn my gaze forward. 

To let my heart fill with gratitude for the way God goes before me into each new year. Each new day in fact. 

To rest in His unfailing love, knowing He'll show me the path I should walk. 

Creation reminds me to keep looking up. 

'The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him." Psalm 28:7

In the words of my grandson, 'Happy new you!'

Monday Morning Quarterbacking

Good Monday morning. We had a nice low key weekend here, and I hope yours was the same. I'm linking with Holly and Sarah today for their regular Monday morning weekend blog hop. Here's how ours looked-

Thursday evening we had friends here for dinner. I made the crispy baked Boursin appetizer which is always a hit, and if you haven't tried it I recommend. It's easy and delicious and I make my own hot honey. Here's the recipe I use-

Crispy Baked Boursin With Hot Honey 

I'm a slacker in the picture taking department, but my excuse is my phone is an older model with a so-so camera and my Canon needs a major repair which may not be worth doing. Also, I'm usually just enjoying the moment and don't remember to snap a pic, so there's that too. 

Our guests brought the cutest hostess gift. Hey look! A picture-

I'm going to bake some pumpkin bread in this as soon as hubs works his way through all the Reeses.  Which will be any minute now. 

Friday was an absolutely gorgeous day. Really the past couple of weeks have been perfect weather wise and we've spent a lot of time outdoors. We did our civic duty and voted on Friday morning.

Hubs says he looks annoyed in this picture and that's because he was lol. We have not mastered the selfie, but still we try. Normally we vote on Election Day, but not taking any chances we can't get there for whatever reason this year, so we voted early. There was a long line but it moved quickly. 

It was too pretty not to do something fun and fallish, so hubs and I drove into the nearby mountains to one of our absolute favorite towns for lunch-Highlands. 

We've been curious to see how the road going over looks since Helene wreaked havoc and cleanup and recovery are still ongoing. The news cycle and our attention span for it is short, but know there are many people and many businesses struggling and grieving still. 

The scenery on the road up was a bit messier than usual, as there were a lot of trees down in the woods. There were also quite a few leaners and many that hit the road during the storm, but have now been cut and moved to the side to allow traffic to pass.  

\

Still the color was pretty and we didn't run into any issues. 

I live in SC, but very near the NC border and we absolutely love the little town of Highlands (NC). It was bustling on Friday which was good to see. We lucked into a parking spot just off Main and walked to Wild Thyme Gourmet for lunch. 

There are so many wonderful places to eat in this town you really can't go wrong. Hubs ordered their special, a grilled Mahi sandwich and I had their crab cake sandwich which was superb. We're crab cake snobs (blame it on nine years spent living in Annapolis), and I can say these are the real deal. Hubs ordered a cup of their chicken chili soup too, and it was delicious. 

After lunch we wandered through town, browsed the shops, and soaked up the sunshine. Look at that sky! 

This town is so cute. If you've never been and love a mountain town, Highlands is a good one. It's walkable, filled with great shops and restaurants, beautiful views, lots of fabulous nearby hiking and plenty of Airbnbs. Or you can splurge on The Old Edwards Inn and Spa which is an institution here. 

We stopped in Kilwins as we were getting ready to leave.  I wanted an iced coffee for the ride home, but their coffee machine died just as they were making mine so no coffee. 

As a result I had a nap in the car on the way home. We stopped at our usual overlook to snap a picture and it was gorgeous as always. This is the lake just above ours and she's a beauty too-

We came home and regrouped before heading to a local Mexican place where our friends were playing. They play a lot of what I guess you'd call 70's soft rock, a little bit of country, that sort of thing which I like. Music and margaritas make for a fun Friday night, and we saw a lot of our neighbors there (one of the musicians lives in our neighborhood) so that was fun too. 

Saturday I had to make a return which involved boxing up the item myself and taking it to UPS and also paying for it. I dislike when companies make returns a bother. This was a grill cover we'd ordered that was supposed to be domed to fit The Green Egg, but was flat so didn't fit. 

We had to log in, email a request for a return which was met with a 'we'll get back to you soon' reply, then a couple days later another email saying 'yes you can return it and we'll email you a shipping label 'soon', then a couple more days go by and we finally get the label. 

Amazon has us spoiled. 

I needed a few groceries so made a stop there before heading home. At this point it was after noon and 82 degrees felt more like summer than fall. I changed in to shorts, packed a light lunch in the cooler, then hubs and I motored out for a boat ride. The lake is always pretty, but I especially love a boat ride this time of year when the leaves are turning and the water is mostly quiet. 

We found ourselves in a couple of coves we've never been in before and that's always fun. We like leaf peeping and also house peeping. We love to see what people are building and also what sort of landscaping projects are happening. 

We came home and spent the rest of the day watching college football. Our team (the Vols) and our hometown team (Clemson) were both off on Saturday so we could relax. I'd made twice baked potatoes for our company and we had a couple left over so hubs chopped and fried them and scrambled us eggs for dinner. It was so good. 

Sunday we were lazy. There's really no better word for it. We synched our calendars through December and we have a lot going on. A lot. We've learned when there's a down day to embrace it, refill our sleep tank, and just generally recharge. 

So we did. It was gray and cool (for SC) and we watched football, played a game of chess, and I made a big pot of chili for dinner. I've been craving chili but when it's 82 degrees chili doesn't feel right. It was 57 on Sunday and we'll take it. 

I don't really use a recipe. I sort of follow Robert McIlhenny's recipe from my Tabasco cookbook, but I make a few changes. His calls for cubed beef and I usually just use ground beef which is fine. While I'll eat chili any way you want to make it we like beans in ours so I add both kidney and black beans, along with a can of diced tomatoes. 

I always make my cornbread in my cast iron skillet, and this recipe is foolproof-Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread

So were you lazy, productive,  or a little bit of both this weekend?