Beautiful Fall!

At last my favorite season has arrived! Fall brings gorgeous views to our city, plenty of leaf lookers, perfect crisp mornings, and.... the celebration of our anniversary (9/28/08)! Every year we go apple picking at Sky Top Orchard, a tradition which involves gorging on all things apple: apple cider slushies, apple fritters, and apples with hot caramel. We typically bring home an unnecessary quantity of apples which I then try to incorporate into recipes before they spoil. Crazy, I know.



This fall I have also picked up a new hobby- knitting! I start my first class tonight, and I'm super excited! It is really amazing to be able to turn a ball of yarn into something you can wear. Although time consuming, it is definitely rewarding. I am fortunate to be able to have a lot of free time to do it!

Unexpected Visitors

A little history here: I have the greatest set of friends from college. Really. They are a group of people who would no doubt drop everything to help each other if the need arose. Some of us are closer than others, it really just depends on how you got into the group. Some were roommates, some friends from high school, and some were total strangers in the beginning. I would say that Anthony and I were at opposite ends of the group, meaning that we have mutual friends. He was one of the roommates of a friend of mine, and that is how we met. Over the years, we hung out in the same crowd and were therefore friends by association. We were committed to the same circle of friends, which made us friends, even if we didn't know that much about each other. That was ok. I know it might sound a little strange, and maybe a little cultish, but that is how our circle worked. Since college, we had been seeing each other at weddings and reunions, but to be honest I was pleasantly surprised when I found out I was invited to his wedding. So to make a long story short-er, it suffices to say that Anthony and I don't know each other very well at all. In fact, I don't think we had ever spent time hanging out without the rest of the crowd in the 8 years that we've known each other. 

So when I got a call from him Thursday saying he wanted to visit, I was surprised! He had been given some time off of work unexpectedly and decided to come to visit Asheville (finally!). You see, he and his lovely wife Stacey have been living about 5 hours from us in Fayetteville, but for whatever reason we could never get together. The funny part is, I was just having a nice conversation with Stacey via Facebook the night before. I was thinking about how nice it would be to see them before they move to Germany (Anthony's new post with the Army). For some reason I was completely overwhelmed with this feeling that I had to see them before they left! Due to last minute Army "stuff," they were not able to attend our wedding last September, so it had been over a year since we saw them last. The universe works in mysterious ways! Just goes to show you: Ask and you shall receive! I truly believe this was no coincidence but absolutely a product of the connection Stacey and I had during our conversation. WOW it is truly mind-blowing how you can create these things in your life!

Of course I was so happy to host them here in Asheville, and we had an awesome time filled with all this city has to offer- hiking, alcohol, and food! We toured The Biltmore Estate, ate downtown, boozed a little, hiked the 10 mile Kitsuma trail, played some Cranium, and ate some more. I feel that we are no longer on opposite ends of the group. It was awesome to have the opportunity to really get to know them on another level. I hardly even knew Stacey since she did not go to college with us, but I definitely consider her a part of our group and certainly a close friend. Anthony and Stacey are seriously amazing people, and I am so grateful that I had the chance to cement our friendship before they leave for overseas!

We are definitely coming to see you guys in Germany!