On our fifth visit to Asheville, John finally agreed to go hunting for vintage goodness with me. WAHOO! We compromised on one hour, and the clock started the minute we stepped foot into the Antique Tobacco Barn :) I had read about the Tobacco Barn on Trip Advisor, and from the reviews, I was prepared for an expansive space (77,000 square feet!), disheveled displays, and not bottom-of-the-barrel prices.

All of these things turned out to be largely true. The space WAS very large, and the displays were pretty jumbled. Usually this means great prices (like at a flea market), but unfortunately, the prices weren’t good enough to make me bite on this particular day, though there were several pieces that caught my eye. Granted, I’m pretty stingy, so some of you might very well have happily snagged some deals! Here are a few of the things that caught my eye:

The outside of the space (not really a barn) and some neat vintage-looking crown hooks – would be sweet for a little girl’s room!

A ginger gar vase has been on my running “flea market wish list” for awhile, but this one seemed a little steep at $28. I thought the giant metal stars would make neat Christmas decor!

Also on my flea market list: a natural container/basket to hold our Christmas tree. The one on the left was not quite the right size, and was a bit too much at $65. More on this search next week – I might have a lead. The colorful, oversize (about 12 inches tall) metal letters were awesome, but they were also $35 each.

I loved both of these wooden storage pieces! I thought they’d be perfect for a craft room, where there is no end to the little bits and pieces that need to be filed away. The one on the right was $295, and the one on the left was $175.

A pineapple lamp is also on my wish list, and the Tobacco Barn had quite the collection. A pair was $200, which seemed expensive to me, but maybe in retrospect isn’t so bad? I also loved the bittersweet wreaths, but we just don’t have a place to store one in our apartment in the off season – they’re a little wild and crazy.

One thing that frustrated me about the Tobacco Barn is that I would assume some of these prices were negotiable, but very few stalls seemed to have proprietors in the vicinity (unlike at a flea market), so I wasn’t sure how to go about bargaining. Boo!

Once we had left the Tobacco Barn empty-handed, we drove down the road just a minute or so to visit Oddfellows Antiques and its sister storefronts, all lined up on a loading dock just off the road (you can’t miss them). The Tobacco Barn reviewers had recommended this group as having more reasonable prices and better merchandising (an interesting combination). I found the merchandising to be true, but I’m not so sure about the prices. We moved pretty quickly through these shops, and the only thing that really caught my eye was the lovely 4×6 wool rug above right, priced at $235. The tag said it was hand-knotted in Afghanistan. I don’t think the price was too bad, but since we’re likely going to be making a major change in our living quarters in the next few months, I don’t want to buy any major pieces before we know what the new space looks like.

For those of you that have been to Asheville, any antiquing recommendations to pass along? Fellow flea market connoisseurs: what do you think of these prices?

P.S. Vintage shopping in Virginia

John and I have a tradition (three years strong!) of heading out to the North Carolina mountains one weekend every fall. We usually stay in the Asheville area, though last year we tried Boone with dubious results (totally not Boone’s fault, though!). Besides the gorgeous leaves and beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, one of our favorite reasons for venturing west is the food. Asheville has a plethora of delicious eating options, and I wanted to highlight the four we sampled on this trip!

First up was the White Duck Taco Shop, which we heard about through our friends Meredith and Michael. White Duck offers up some of the most delicious (if not the most delicious) queso dip I’ve ever sampled, and their salsa isn’t too shabby, either. Of course, the tacos themselves are the stars, and they don’t disappoint. Get ready for creative and unexpected combinations like lamb gyro, buffalo chicken, BBQ carnitas, thai peanut chicken, lump crab, and mole duck. John and I tried six tacos between us, and a surprisingly small amount of food went uneaten. Happily, there’s Cheerwine on the menu with which to wash everything down!

Saturday night we had dinner at Chai Pani, which bills itself as serving “Indian street food.” Since neither John nor I have visited India, I can’t vouch for the authenticity of Chai Pani’s street food claim, but I can attest that everything we tried was delicious! We split samosas, then I ordered the Sloppy Jai (a twist on the Sloppy Joe!), and John ordered the Thali, or daily special, which was Butter Chicken when we visited. I wish we had been able to sample more of the menu, because it all looked so interesting! Think shrimp and grits Indian style, tamarind short ribs, and raspberry lassi cheesecake.

Samosas from Chai Pani’s Facebook page

We saved just enough room for a post-dinner treat from the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. The line snaked out the door and up the sidewalk when we visited around 10pm, and though we waited for about thirty minutes, I’d say it was worth it. They even had an acoustic jazz trio playing inside, so that helped the wait go by more quickly! I ended up ordering the theros olive oil chocolate cake with strawberry sauce, which was good, but in retrospect, I wish I had ordered one of their signature hot chocolates (which come in flavors like lavender and honey, cayenne and cinnamon, and masala chai!). John ordered a tea and the mint chocolate chunk brownie, and found both to be satisfying.

Our last stop of the weekend was at an old favorite of ours, Early Girl Eatery. John uncovered this gem while researching our first Asheville trip years ago (I think he spotted it in the NY Times travel section), and we’ve returned every visit since. Odds are good that John will order the BBQ pork sandwich with ginger coleslaw and the cucumber and onion salad, and I will order the cheeseburger with basil mayo and fries. (I know what you’re thinking — cheeseburger?! — but this one is AMAZING!) Everything is extraordinarily local and seasonal, and you really can taste the difference.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that no visit to Asheville is complete without a visit to Early Girl… at least not for us! Two tips for your next trip: 1) Stick around even if they give you a long wait time at the hostess station. We were quoted 30-35 minutes, but ended up being seated in 4 due to no shows! 2) If there’s any sort of cobbler on the menu, order it.

I’ll be back with more soon on our hikes (waterfalls!) and antiquing adventures!

Photo by Inspiring the Everyday

Happy fall, friends! We spent the first official full day of the new season doing a decidedly un-fall-like activity: swimming in the Eno River. While I savored one of our perhaps last outings with a summer feel, I’m looking forward to squeezing as many cozy activities into the next two months as possible!* Here are a few on our to do list:

-– go on a trip to the mountains
-– make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (SO good. Even if you don’t like pumpkin.)
-– catch the goat showmanship competition at the NC State Fair (yes, watching the goats and their child handlers is our very favorite activity at the Fair)
— also at the Fair: volunteer in our church’s ham biscuit booth (nope, it doesn’t get much more Southern than that!)
— buy some baby boos for the house
— make a fall crafty project
— cheer at another high school football game (we’ve already been to one!)
-– join in the sweet potato harvest at our church
— send out some secret surprises to friends
-– drink hot apple cider (my favorite)

What’s on your fall to do list?

*Why two months? I pretty much consider fall over by the time December rolls around, even though it officially lasts for most of the month!

Happy first day of summer, friends! This new season is really announcing itself, isn’t it? I don’t know about y’all, but it’s forecasted to be in the mid-90s here today! Yeesh!

I make a summer to do list almost every year, but I feel like it’s even more important this year, as wedding craziness (inevitably?) descends. Hopefully these to dos will be a reminder to pick my head up every once in a while, have simple fun with John, and savor the warmest months of the year!

Jen Huang via Snippet & Ink

Special for 2012:
— Take a calligraphy class (whee!)
— Host a picnic
— Bake something with fresh berries or fruit
— Try a gourmet popsicle
— Order from a local food truck
— Have a staycation at our apartment complex :)
— Read three new novels
— Take some sort of dancing lesson with John

Must dos every year:
— Take a walk on River Road in Mystic
— Swim in the Eno
— Watch an outdoor movie at the NC Museum of Art or Koka Booth
— Spend a day at the beach
— Go to a Backporch Music concert at the American Tobacco Campus
— Camp
— Take walks before or after dinner as often as possible
— Watch fireworks

Printing this out and sticking it on my fridge! What’s on your summer to do list?

P.S. Spring 2012 and summer 2011