Biltmore Estate - Part 1 (The House & The Gardens)

Last Friday, as part of our road trip to Asheville, we visited the Biltmore Estate. This place was beautiful!!! I would love to just stay there forever! I was bummed though because you could not take pictures of the inside of the house, so I only have pictures of the outside and the gardens to share.

Biltmore Estate - America's Largest Home:

America's Largest Backyard:

Italian Garden:

Main Garden:

I'll share more pictures of the conservatory and the pond tomorrow, so be sure to check back!

Road Trip to Asheville, NC

I thought I would skip Tips Tuesday this week and share some pics from my road trip to Asheville, NC. I am going to do this in a couple of posts since I have a ton of pictures.

We arrived in Asheville on Thursday around 6 pm. It took us 10 hours to get there because we got stuck in traffic from a bad accident in KY, which put us back about 2 hours, plus we stopped for lunch. The total trip should have taken us about 7.5 hours.

So after checking into the hotel, we decided to head into downtown Asheville to see what we could see.

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There was this cute bookstore called the Battery Park Book Exchange. They claim to have about 60,000 books, and they continue to purchase from their customers so it is expanding all the time. They also have a wine bar, so you can stop in, browse their wide collection of books and try out some different wines. It was a really cool place with a very trendy vibe.

I ended up purchasing 2 books:

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We then walked around to see what else we could see. We were bummed because most of the stores closed around 6 pm. There were a lot of cute/trendy stores.

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We then stopped into  Ed Boudreaux's Bayou Bar-B-Que for some pulled pork sandwiches. They have a BBQ bar where you can try out different types of BBQ's. It was pretty tasty!

Asheville is a really cute little town. They had some live music in the square, and they had some cute stautes all over the city such as this one:

It seemed like a great city to visit and I would love to visit again and spend a little more time there.

Tomorrow I will share my Biltmore Estate pictures, so be sure to check back!

Blog Changes and Sweet Valley Teaser

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a great time in Asheville, NC on Thurs and Fri, and loved the Biltmore Estate!! I’ll post pictures later in the week once I have had a chance to go through them, so check back in a few days.

I am making a few changes to my blog, so if things look a little different over the next week that is why. I am trying to freshen things up a little, and figure out where I want this blog to go. Still trying to figure out this whole HTML design thing, so hopefully things don't start looking crazy, but if they do, I'm probably just messing with things.

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So did anyone read the Sweet Valley Twins or the Sweet Valley High books back when you were younger? Well, the girls are coming back, 10 years later, in the series Sweet Valley Confidential. The new series comes out in March 2011, but you can sign up to receive the first chapter now on the Sweet Valley Confidential website.

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I downloaded the 1st chapter, and thought I would share all that I know. Elizabeth is now 27 years old, single and living in NYC. She is writing for Show Survey, which is a ratings guide for Off-Broadway shows. She is apparently fighting with Jessica, who you assume is still living on the West Coast, and won’t return any of her calls. She is all alone in NYC, brokenhearted (Was it Todd?), ticked at her sister (Did she cheat with Todd?), and her only best friend is Bruce Patman (What?? The arrogant guy from high school??).

The first chapter is only about Elizabeth, so who knows if it will switch off between the two girls, or if it will only focus on her (assuming it won’t). This first chapter was definitely a teaser chapter, and gives only a tiny bit info, so I guess we will have to wait until March to see what happens.

Pink Saturday - 8/7/10 (Pink Workout Gear)

Happy Pink Saturday everyone! I am still on my birthday roadtrip, but thought I would schedule a post sharing some fun pink workout gear in follow up to my Work Out Motivation Tips post from the other day. Pink workout gear can get anyone motivated to work out!

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And be sure to check out Beverly's blog for more Pink Saturday participants.

Birthday Road Trip

It's my birthday...We gon' party like it's my birthday!

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The bf and I are headed to

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Where we are going to visit

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Not sure what else we are going to get into, but I'm very excited, and I'll be sure to recap next week.

Tips Tuesday - Workout Motivation

For this week’s Tips Tuesday, I thought I would discuss some things that help to motivate me to work out. Of course I am not a doctor, nor a personal trainer, but just wanted to share what helps me.

You are not a professional athlete/supermodel
First of all, it’s important to remember that we are not supporting our families by working out. Nor is this a life or death situation. So do what you can, don’t put too much pressure on yourself, and learn to enjoy it (I will admit, I am still learning how to enjoy it…ha!). Luckily for us our paycheck doesn’t rely on how fast or how many miles we can run, or if we can fit into a size 0 swimsuit (and thank the Lord for that!!).

Set realistic goals
As I mentioned above, this is not our profession, so set realistic goals, and you may even want to set milestones or mini-goals to reach your goals.

For example, my big overall goal was to tone my legs. I decided to start running because I felt that would help me tone my legs. I then set a goal to run a 5K. It’s good to set goals because they help keep you motivated knowing there is an end you are trying to reach.

I’ll be honest, I hate to run, and have never been very good at it, so my first mini-goal was to run 1 mile. I started out running/walking that first mile. Running 2-3 mins, then walking 1 min, until I reached that first mile. I then continued to walk until I reached a total of 3 miles.

I then made it to running a half a mile, walking a couple of mins, and then running another half a mile. Finally I made it to running 1 mile straight.

I then kept adding to my 1 mile. At first it was running 1 mile, walking a few mins, and then running another half mile. Then I got to the point of running 2 miles straight.

Right now I am working on that last mile. I can run 2 miles straight, then I walk a few mins, run another half mile, walk a few mins, and then run that last half mile to get me to 3 miles. I know a 5K is slightly over 3 miles, but I like I said, set those mini-goals.

Remember to start slow also, especially if you haven’t worked out in a while. You may not even be able to run. Walking on the treadmill, or riding a bike, may be the best you can do, and that is ok. If you try too much at once, you will hurt yourself, and that defeats the whole purpose of working out.

It’s ok to rest
If you need a breather, it’s ok to take a min or 2 to catch your breath, get a sip of water. Just make sure that you don’t stop completely. They actually say if you slow down for a few mins, and then start back up again that it actually helps you burn more calories because you trick your body into thinking it’s slowing down, and then you get going again.

Find your motivation
I find I enjoy running inside the gym more than running outside because of 1. air conditioning and 2. because each treadmill has a little mini-tv attached. I tend to schedule my gym time around some of my favorite shows. Also, I love to bring my favorite magazines to the gym to read. I try and get my running over first, and then I can read a little while I am walking it out. I save my favorite magazines so I can only read them at the gym (makes me then want to go!).

New clothes/shoes are very important
Cute new gym clothes make you not only feel comfortable, but they can also be a great motivation to get you to the gym. Also, new shoes are very important to keep you supported. I found that I was having knee problems because my shoes were old. You should replace them at least once a year (some may suggest every 6 months, but then again, we are not athletes, just replace them when they start feeling worn).

Every Little Bit Helps
I try to get to the gym at least 2 times a week (once on the weekend, and once during the week). Sometimes I might even make it 3 times. I don’t beat myself up if I can’t get there though. I figure even if I only get there 1 time that week, it’s better than not going at all.

Mix it up
Sometimes I take classes at the gym. It keeps things interesting so I don’t get burned out. Also, I have a few DVD’s at home that I like to try when I can’t, or don’t feel like, making it to the gym. It no excuse if you have the tools at home.

I hope you enjoyed my tips, and if anyone has any other tips to share, feel free to leave them in the comments below.

New Season of Bravo & Mingle Monday

First off, this week I am joing Life of Meg's Mingle Monday, so head on over there and check out the other participants.

Second, there are a few new shows starting this week on Bravo, and I am very excited about them.

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The Rachel Zoe Project

The Rachel Zoe Project starts on Tuesday (8/3) at 10 pm. I think this is possibly the 3rd season and I have really enjoyed the first 2 seasons. I would say this is probably one of my favorite shows on Bravo and I am glad they are bringing it back.

It's so much fun to see what all goes into getting celebrities ready for award shows and appearances, throw in some fabulous fashion, a crisis or 2, and of course Rachel's fun Zoe-isms ("I die" and "that's bananas").

Of course Rachel is my favorite, but I also love Brad (one of Rachel’s assistants). I think he is so funny and quirky. I also think Roger (Rachel’s husband) is a great fit for Rachel. He keeps her grounded in her crazy life. It’s funny to see them shopping together because Rachel will try and buy the whole store, and Roger is like, do you really need another vintage dress/top/jewelry/shoes/etc. Sometimes she even hides stuff from him. I am sure she has enough clothes he can’t keep track of everything.

I am curious because the previews show that Taylor (Rachel’s other assistant) is no longer with the company. Last season she threatened to quit a couple of times, so I am curious if she quit this time, or was fired. I guess we will find out. My favorite episodes so far are when they went to Paris for fashion week.

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The Real Housewives of Washington DC

The Real Housewives of Washington DC starts this Thurs (8/5) at 9 pm, right before the season finale of Bethenny Getting Married. I am excited to see this show, but am not sure if I will like these ladies. They seem a little stuck up and snooty, but we will see.

I thought it was interesting that the White House crashers are on the show. My boyfriend is boycotting this show because of that, and feels that they were only doing it to get a reality show, which I thought was the case also, but it looks liked they crashed the White House as part of the show. Hmmm…and how did Bravo pull that off, we will see. I keep telling him this is just entertainment, and to get over it.

Does anyone else have boyfriends/husbands/significant others who complain about the shows you watch??

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Flipping Out

My other very favorite Bravo show comes on next Tues (8/10) at 9 pm and that is Flipping Out. I think this is season 4 of this show. Jeff Lewis is crazy funny. He can be a jerk, but he knows it, accepts it, and doesn’t apologize for it.

My two favorite characters are Zoila, his housekeeper, and Jenny his assistant. The fact that these two women can put up with him and his crazy OCD’ness, is amazing. And I love how they tell him how it is.

There are too many episodes that I loved, but I think a few of my favorites were when he installs cameras to spy on his employees, when he has Jenny’s alter ego “Deb” call on his contractors to get things done, and when he has to go over to a potential client’s house for a “pajama party” dinner. Oh and who can forget the painting of Zoila. We all know he loves her like family.

I highly recommend you check these shows out, and let me know what you think.