First Stop Asheville With (H)ellen

(H)Ellen and I are cousins and after our road trip I completely get it that Ellen is my mother's niece. Ellen shares many of the traits that my mother was infamous for: mostly laughing, making everyone else laugh, and talking to every single person she meets. Of course she gets some of this from her own mother too, so it is impossible to tell for sure which side of the gene pool is the source for all this stuff. Short of taking DNA samples the proof that they are kin is apparent by some (in) common physical characteristics that Ellen would probably prefer I not post on this blog. Consequently, I have become convinced that I was adopted; I share none of the above and although I am a good foil, I can canvass a store in record breaking speed, an ability that is totally recessive in the Walsh make- up.  Don't get me wrong, money is not being spent hand over fist. There are deals to be made and items to be re-purposed  My mother always said if you can't hang it up, nail it down. Ellen's motto, " I can make it into a terrarium or put it in a terrarium or hang it from a tree" imparts a like mindedness in their philosophies.




Our first stop before even leaving town. Vintage!


Three wheeling. Inside, wire baskets almost got the better of me.
And so it begins, 400 miles to Asheville, NC. A Loft Hotel and more stores and restaurants than we had time for, although a running joke was that for Ellen and I it was always time to eat!

The Grove Arcade, Asheville

No dime dropping here.


It did not take too long, I bought the metal sculpture preying mantis here. Crazy! We both loved our dinner at Table http://tableasheville.com/ and picking up a few treats at Spa Theology http://www.spatheology.com/ apres-dinner (non edible).
Elle convinced me to walk off some calories and we peeked through the windows at the Asheville Art Museum and got a glimpse of a fashion show.  http://www.ashevilleart.org/event/special-event-project-handmade-2012-contemporary-garments-with-hand-crafted-details/  Yikes, contemporary garments with hand crafted details, I wish we knew about it in advance! Friday morning we had every intention of giving Asheville the once over and heading onto the Blue Ridge Pkwy to begin our journey down to Atlanta. Not to be; we could not extricate ourselves from Asheville. Ellen suggested we take the scenic route on our return trip instead; for now just enjoy lunch at Boca http://bocaasheville.com/ and shop a little more. We loved Mountain Made http://www.mtnmade.com/ , chased down a polka dot coat at Minx http://www.minxasheville.com/, unsuccessfully bid on a rolling wire basket at  Shady Grove Flowers http://www.shadygroveflowers.com/ and reason enough to return to Asheville our last stop, Chocolate Gems http://www.chocgems.com/


Enjoying the beautiful weather we ate out on the patio at boca. Ellen claims she always brings the good weather with her, she left out the part about sometimes she outruns the bad. But Sandy was coming and I would soon know Ellen's modus operandi.


Shady Grove Flowers on N. Lexington

Chocolate Gems

Need I say more....







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