Eno River fall foliage

Is there still fall foliage where you are? John and I took a lovely walk along the Eno River last weekend and enjoyed the pretty reds, oranges, and yellows.











Triangle-area locals, Eno River State Park in Durham is one of our favorite places to hike. (It's also one of our favorite places to swim!) We like to park at the Fews Ford access for both swimming and hiking :) If you go, make sure you check out the suspension bridge!

Haw River rock hop

We had such a lovely weekend! The weather was perfect, and we spent a lot of time out on our balcony while I primed and sanded our side chairs. Here's what they look like now -- just waiting for the perfect paint color!



Luckily, I had a helper:



We also did what I'm calling a "rock hop" on the Haw River. Basically, we hopped from rock to rock for about an hour and a half (and tried not to fall in). It was actually a really good workout -- lots of balancing and leaping! And the weather was so beautiful!









For those of you in the Raleigh area that want to visit (there are trails, too -- you don't have to walk ON the river), the best place to park is off of Route 64 West. Follow 64 past Jordan Lake. After you cross a bridge over the Haw River, take the first left across the road, then another immediate left, and you'll find parking for canoe access.

How was your weekend? :)

Back Porch Music at the American Tobacco Campus

Before summer's over I wanted to make sure and post this little note for Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill locals. If you've never been to the Back Porch Music concerts at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, you must go! The music is great (so far we've heard bluegrass, blues, old time, and a crazy brass + banjo mash-up), the concerts are FREE, and the American Tobacco Campus is such a neat space. The concerts are generally VERY well attended, so I would recommend arriving at 5:30 or earlier if you want to spread out your blanket on the grass (the music begins at 6pm). We like to order a pizza from nearby Mellow Mushroom, but you're welcome to bring your own food or purchase from one of the other food stalls (including Locopops!). A few iPhone snaps from the last two years...







The remaining concerts this summer are on September 2, September 9, September 16, and September 30. Check out the full schedule and more details here!

Flea market find: faux bamboo table

This Saturday my friend Megan and I introduced our friend Nancy to the wonders of our local flea market. We had a great time, and came away with some great finds! My favorite was this guy:



A faux bamboo bedside table from Thomasville! At just $50, I consider this a HUGELY lucky find. (Especially since I just checked out the Thomasville site, and their least expensive end table/side table/bedside table is $350!) It's in great shape construction-wise, and will be positively beautiful once it's cleaned up and painted. I'm still contemplating a color scheme for our guest bedroom, so I'm not sure which shade to go with just yet, but rest assured, as soon as I figure it out, that baby will be colorful and glossy. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few pieces of bamboo inspiration...











These last two are particularly for John. We were discussing what colors we might paint the table, and I suggested red... to which he said, "NO one has red furniture!" :)





I also took home an adorable salt and pepper shaker pair for $3. I was just telling Nancy about how I was inspired to start collecting fruit and vegetable salt and pepper shakers after reading about them in the June issue of Martha Stewart Living, too! They also had an onion pair, but I resisted.

Now tell me: what color would you paint my table?

Image credits, top to bottom: personal image; Plum Cushion via Little Green Notebook; unknown, F.E. Castleberry for Matchbook Mag; unknown, Cottage Living Magazine via Honey & Fitz; Patrick Cline for Lonny; via DecorPad; personal image

Market Imports in Raleigh

My apologies for two local-based posts in a row, but I wanted to share another neat place we visited this weekend! Market Imports is located at the State Farmer's Market in Raleigh, and it's full of treasures. Mostly too-expensive-for-Emily's-budget treasures, but fun to browse, regardless. Here are some of the items that caught my eye...

I think this metal cabinet would be perfect in a craft room! ($395)



There were so many jars! They kind of looked like these ones from Pottery Barn, and at $26-$44 a pop depending on size, not too bad of a price. I'm sad I didn't leave with one.







I liked the number tags on these little galvanized pails. ($9.50 each)



This would be the perfect stool for beside a bed or sofa. ($95)



The Coast Guard daughter in me loved this life preserver ring. I don't have a great feel for what these typically go for, but I thought the price of $45 was pretty reasonable.



This bottle dryer, on the other hand, definitely seemed overpriced at $255, but I liked it anyway.



This guy would be cute next to a sofa, as well, or on a patio. ($265)



This teal lantern was missing a pane of glass and so was marked 40% off from its original price of $59. I was dissuaded from bringing it home, but one of you Carolina gals should go snatch it up!!



Favorite find of the day? These copper lanterns, $89 each.



Do you have a favorite antique shop near you?

Outdoor summer movies

Do y'all have somewhere near you that shows outdoor summer movies? We do, and I love them! The Koka Booth Ampitheatre in Cary, NC is such a beautiful space. The grounds are very well kept up, and it's right by a lake, so there's a cool breeze on even the hottest nights (a huge relief in the Carolina heat!). They show recently released movies on most Thursdays in the summer for just $3 a ticket! John and I went to see The Social Network on Thursday.







One of my favorite parts? They let you bring in food and coolers, but they also have a neat row of independent vendors selling treats if you don't feel like packing it in. We brought cobb salad from home, effectively checking off two items on my summer to do list in one go.





Locals, check out the rest of the summer's movie schedule here!

Easter weekend!

Did you all have a nice weekend? We did! We worked at our church's community garden, picked ten pounds of strawberries at a local family farm (we've already eaten half, including homemade strawberry mint lemonade last night!), Skype chatted with my family, took a bike ride, and went to a wonderful Easter Sunday service. Some pictures:









Isn't the cross neat? Everyone was invited to bring a flower to stick on it, and by the end of the third service, it was beautiful!

We also checked off goal no. 1 on my 101 in 1001 list, paying for the car behind me in the drive-through line! If any of you are considering doing this, I would highly recommend it! I might be a huge dork, but it's kind of a rush :) And every cashier I've ever encountered is either excited about it, or, at the least, unfazed, so don't worry about that.

What did y'all do this weekend?

Vintage Village

I had my first vintage shop/flea market/garage sale outing of the spring earlier this week! I was pretty successful, too.









The larger wire basket was a steal at $12, and the embroidered cocktail napkins were too cute to pass up! They're the prettiest pale blue in person.

Triangle-area friends, you should definitely plan a trip to the Vintage Village (including Suzanna's) in Raleigh -- it's on Durant Road. Here's a photo my friend Nancy took earlier this month, so you can get a feel for the place:



Too cool! Nancy introduced me to the wonders of the Village as well as took me on my first trip there, so thank you, Nancy! I had the best time :)

Out to Dinner: The Grove Park Inn

I thought y'all might like to hear a bit about October's dining adventure! As you may recall, my sister and my brother-in-law gifted J and I a $50 gift certificate to eat at the restaurant of our choice for twelve months. In September, we went to Vin Rouge in Durham, and last weekend, we ate at the Blue Ridge Dining Room at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville.



We love Asheville and have been there a few times, but have never been to the famous Grove Park Inn. We made a reservation ahead of time and were seated at a fabulous table looking out over the Blue Ridge Mountains just as the sun was setting. Gorgeous!


Photo by J

This photo looks just like where we were sitting:



On Fridays and Saturdays there is no a la carte menu; all guests choose from the prime rib buffet. The amount of food was staggering, and delicious! J had five courses, and I had four (no seafood for me!). My favorites were the garlic mashed potatoes and the chocolate peanut butter bars and chocolate cheesecake for dessert. Here I am in a blurry iPhone pic with the five bean soup we split (got to be conservative at the beginning of the meal, you know):


iPhone pic

The service was wonderful, as well: our server was attentive but did not hover, and everyone from the hostess to the chef that came to our table was warm and relaxed but professional, never stuffy. There was even a strolling violinist!

After dinner, we wandered the grounds a bit, and though it was dark at that point, the stone structures were still beautiful. I'm jealous of you Ashevillians (Ashevillains?) that have the option of getting a hot apple cider and cozying up in front of the GPI's massive stone fireplace any evening you'd like!





We also visited Tupelo Honey and Mayfel's while we were in Asheville, and I'd recommend both highly. The buttermilk biscuits with blackberry jam they serve as a starter at Tupelo are TO DIE FOR.


iPhone pic

And just so you know we did things other than eat, here are a few photos from atop Chimney Rock, where we hiked up and down 960 steps (yes, we counted). The weather was perfect!


Personal pic


Personal pic

Any fun weekend plans, friends? J and I are going to be competing in a "diamond dash" in Raleigh tomorrow. For those of you not familiar with this concept, a jewelry store has hidden a $15,000 diamond ring somewhere in the city, and teams solve clues to find it! It's pretty much the ultimate scavenger hunt, and we're really, really excited. Wish us luck! :)

Unless otherwise noted, photos are from the Grove Park Inn site.