asheville

Wedding Weekend in Asheville

| cheriarmour

Honestly, middle of the week last week, I thought I wasn’t going to make it to the weekend.

Tuesday evening, I was at work, and attempting a quick dinner.  It was one of those evenings when I couldn’t seem to get a second to myself at work, and I got a call over the walkie for like the 700th time.  I pushed myself back from my desk, maybe a little too hard, and my laptop cord got caught in the wheels of my desk chair.  Before I realized what was happening, the computer crashed to the floor, and I knew it was bad.

I screamed a word that is not considered appropriate to God-fearing people, and the computer worked for about 20 more minutes before it completely crapped out.  I immediately contacted IT, but was pretty computerless for the better part of two days, save for an old laptop I was able to dig out of a drawer at work.

So after that, I cried to my husband that I did think I could make a wedding we were planning to attend with the pile of emails that were sure to await me.

But, before long, and with me making a trip or two back to our corporate headquarters to drop off my laptop and beg our IT specialist for mercy, I had a fix – the fall destroyed the hard drive, and sweet Jim replaced it for me.  Thankfully, Google Chrome saved a lot of the bookmarks I needed for work, and all was not completely lost, and after a few meltdowns, I was comfy to head to the wedding of Kim and Nate on Saturday.

Wedding Weekend!

So, this time on our trip to Asheville, instead of getting a hotel, we did an Air BnB.  Because we left early enough, we had time to get into the place, a cute basement apartment hanging off the side of a mountain, and I had time to go for a short run while Austin took a little nap.  By the time I got back, he showered, and I was in full swing, getting my hair pinned up before I hopped into the shower to make my face look decent.

**Side note** I once read something that Jamie Chung said, something along the lines of the fact that her pre-pretty dress routine is to run, and that always stuck with me.  So before a fancy event, before getting into a dress, I like to go for a run as a little routine for myself!

12038128_10100658246815083_5370832722895189715_nRentallll!  Funny enough, I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be crazy about this one – the inner part of the dress was just tight enough around my getting-bigger butt, and I wasn’t sure if I would look like the dress was riding up.  But I think it turned out perfectly!

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12109245_10100658853913453_2601969357904391935_nAdele, pictured here, also rented the runway.  She and a friend actually picked this dress out for me when I found myself getting overwhelmed by the options.

Not pictured: this rad cape I got since the ceremony was outside and just a little bit chilly.  But it was awesome. and really high fashion.  If you saw me in it, you might even think I was a fancy classy lady!

So the wedding of Kim and Nate was really fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed the break.  The wine was flowing, and I really enjoyed dancing with friends, as well as this cute little girl we met on the dance floor.

The next day, after I woke up really early and took Aleve and vitamins before the storm hit (praise you Lord for that insight), and prepped to push off and hit brunch with some folks from the wedding, as well as an old friend from Elon.

We were missing part of our crew, and the mystery was solved when Adele told us that they got a text at like 3am from some of the boys, telling us they’d just gotten back and they weren’t going to make it back.  Oh well!

After we gobbled up brunch, I sort of rudely invited myself to join Wayne (Elon bud) on his quest to find his sister’s booth at a local flea market.

Can we talk about this flea market for a second?  K.  Tiny plants.  Vintage clothing.  Someone told me I had a nice voice.  Like speaking wise.  Which is hysterical because when I speak I sound like Hilary Banks, but that’s beside the point.  I find some old silverware, which is like ME THING, and got to walk around drinking alcohol next to the French Broad River.

And then…

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WE MET THIS TINY CAT AND THEN WE PUT IT IN A MUG.

I’m not really in the market for any more pets because we’re psychotic and already have like two too many, but don’t let that fool you. I briefly considered stealing this kitten and raising him as my own.

Enough about me…what did you do this weekend?

Adventures in Asheville

| cheriarmour

So, to make this crazy week even crazier, I headed up to Asheville, or more specifically, Marshall NC for a bachelorette gathering at a cabin.  I tried to record everything, at the very least, with my eyes so I could bring it to you.  You’ll feel like you were there gurl!  Werq!  So after a super stressful week, and a loooong rainy drive by my lonesome, I rolled into the Asheville area…and promptly got lost.  So I had to stop somewhere to get directions right?  I stopped at a gun shop, a GUN SHOP, for directions.  And  though I was frightened out of my mind, and stuck out like a sore thumb (I was wearing a bright pink printed dress, and everyone in the gun shop was smoking cigs and wearing camo everything,) they were the nicest people I’ve ever met.  Because of how remote the area was, my cell phone and my GPS wasn’t working, and the folks at the gun shop (?!) looked up the cabin on the computer, and offered to lead me to where it was.  But I found it!  And look how cute it was!

cabin 1
Cedar Creek Cabin. Look it up! It’s rentable!!

We spent the first night hanging out, talking, and sitting in the hot tub (which felt amazing on my hip flexors, which for any of you who run, know can get horrifically tight). I couldn’t pass up a run in Asheville, and I woke up the next morning, totally ready to bust out a few miles and explore the area around me. My first issue though? Asheville is freezing in comparison to Raleigh, and I had to layer on top. No big though, I trained in the dead of winter. So I piled on the clothing, and began my trek up the mountain.

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You guys saw this the other day. But I’m reposting. This stopped me in my tracks as I ran up this windy two-lane.

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I headed up, I headed down, and tried to get some of that fresh mountain air as deeply down into my lungs as I could. I was hoping to absorb some of the calm of the mountain. Fun fact.  Everyone lives in teeny cabins adorned with “No Trespassing  signs.  Can anyone tell me why this is?  But seriously, if you’re in Asheville, definitely run.  It’s stunning.  It’s calming.  It’s just what I needed.

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Wine!!!! We hit up the wine shop, and it had a nifty machine that allowed us to taste a bunch of stuff.

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This is the Bridal Party! (We’re a progressive group, if you’re wondering about a guy being there. Andrew’s been with us since the beginning.)  He’ll probably be in mine, too.

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That’s the bride on the far right.

Asheville was gorgeous.  Not only that, we ate some delicious food, and I’m pretty sure that the food was the best part about the entire city.  We hit the Laughing Seed First, an establishment with incredible veg options.  It’s wonderful to see that vegetarian food can actually be prepared so that it has incredible flavor.  And that’s not super hard to find, however, it’s a common misnomer that vegetarians only eat beans and grass.  Not so.  You can’t go wrong with anything on that menu.  Check them out here.  http://laughingseed.jackofthewood.com/We also hit the Blackbird Restaurant for dinn, and again, I was blown away by how they could shove so much flavor in a cup of soup.  Again, you can’t go wrong.  Hit them here. http://theblackbirdrestaurant.com/  (My only complaint with that last place is the bird decor.  I find birds to be terrifying.)

Finally, I don’t know why life does this to you.  But I’ve been talking myself out of getting a dog until I have more space for years now.  Years.  So we’re walking around downtown Asheville, and this dog on a blue leash just looks out me.  I instinctively crouched to pet him, and began talking to him in the voice I reserve for my pets.  “Hiiiii babe!!”.  He jumped into my arms and gave me in the biggest, sloppiest kiss I’ve ever had.  And I loved it.  So the woman walking him goes, “He’s up for adoption!  I’m just walking him right now!”  So what do I do?  His name is Zach, and I’m pretty sure he wants me to be his mom.  Ugh.  Decisions.

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Okay, so enjoy my pics, and next time you’re in Asheville, take a run, take me with you, and pick up Zach and bring him home to Mama!

I know I’ve been MIA.

| cheriarmour

Shoutout to my adorable girl, Sam Cibelli, for allowing me access to her computer while I’m out here in the mountain.  More on that later.

This week has been dreadful.  But I’m beyond happy that the second suspect in Boston bombings was captured.  That said, I’ll reserve comment until we find out what’s really happened.

I’m in Asheville right now for a bacherlorette party, more specifically, the bustling metropolis of Marshall, NC, and of course, we run where we travel, right?  I’ll save the big post for later, but to say the least, this town is gorgeous.  And after this week, it’s nothing short of a blessing to be able to run without the fear and anxiety surround the fact that there was a psychopath terrorist on the loose.  I felt like, for the first time since Monday, that I could run without a weight on my chest.

So here’s a preview for the big Asheville post….

mountain

I’m a Scorpio, so the sound, the sight, and the smell of water has a magical calming effect on me. But the pictures don’t do it justice. I can’t to share this with you.