From the Land of Ma'am: Girls Weekend!

Greetings and Happy Monday, everyone!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  I certainly did.  One of my best friends from college visited me over the weekend, and we had the best time!  Here are some pictures of things we did/saw while she was here!

On Friday we did a day trip to Asheville, which is only 2 hours away.  I hadn't been to the Biltmore yet, so we decided to hit that up!  It is this beautiful estate that was built by the Vanderbilts in the late 1800s.  If you are ever in the Charlotte area, I highly recommend driving up to Asheville to check it out.  The admission price is steep, but worth it IMO as there is so much to see!  We did as much as we could, but I was limited on how much I could walk (more on that tomorrow) so I need to go back again to see more of the gardens and the grounds. 

Heidi and I in front of the Biltmore

The grounds were gorgeous, but unfortunately we did not get to check them out on foot

And the views were STUNNING.  I can see why the Vanderbilts selected this area to build this estate

After touring the Biltmore, we headed into Asheville.  We stopped at the Grove Park Inn, which is a gorgeous hotel with a great patio area, for a cocktail before heading into downtown Asheville. It was early evening by this point, so we got to listen to the drummers that congregate in a park on Friday nights while we waited for our table at one of my favorite restaurants in Asheville, Tupelo Honey.  This place has awesome southern food and a GREAT gluten free menu.

Heidi enjoyed the biscuit and honey that is served with every meal (well, except mine because of course biscuits are not GF).

We got back around 11 pm on Friday night so we took it easy on Saturday morning.  I made brunch for us and we headed out for manicures and a day of shopping.  I had better luck than Heidi and ended up buying 3 dresses!  I usually shop alone, so it was really nice to have Heidi along to give me input on what I should or shouldn't buy.

It rained all day on Saturday so we decided to stay in that night.  I made dinner, gave her a short driving tour of uptown Charlotte, and then we watched the first SATC movie and had popcorn and other snacks.

On Sunday, we went to mass and then went to brunch at my favorite local crepe place, Crispy Crepe.  The rain had finally cleared out so we were able to eat outdoors!

The warm beverages at this place are to die for!  I had a maple syrup latte and Heidi had a hot cider drink

After brunch I dropped Heidi off at the airport.  I was sad to see her go, but I am planning to visit her in Austin in February around our birthdays, which are just days apart.  So at least I know I will see her in about 6 months!

The timing of her trip was really impeccable.  I really needed a weekend of girl time.  I had a tough morning on Friday due to a doctor appointment that I will tell you about tomorrow, so it was nice to get a big hug from Heidi.  And lastly, while I know I will not call Charlotte home long term, it was good to be forced to look for the fun and good things Charlotte has to offer to show Heidi, and it did make me view the city in a different light at times (with the exception of the road system!  Still hating on that).

I'm just so thankful Heidi came to visit.  Having her here was like having a bright ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds that have been hanging over me for several months, both literally and figuratively.

When is the last time you had a girls weekend?  If you could plan a girls weekend in any city, where would you go?  I think a girls weekend in Charleston, Savannah, or Nashville would be really fun.