Welcome to North Carolina Party

Last weekend was my daughter's wedding.  We welcomed family and friends to Western North Carolina with a good old southern party at the French Broad Crossing lodge.  French Broad Crossing Lodge is part of our community amenities and is about a 45 minute drive from Asheville. The roads are crooked and skinny, but once you arrive and see the view- all your stress goes away.  Shuttles transported the guests from their hotels to the lodge.

It was the view from the lodge that was the star attraction. The French Broad River makes a dramatic bend around the mountain and continues to flow north at the base of the lodge.   It is one of the few rivers in the United States that flows north.

We placed cocktail tables around the terraces to take in the views.

Our landscaping crew helped me carry in a large Japanese maple to use on  the table as a dramatic centerpiece. 

The  next day it was planted in our yard to commemorate Julia and Tony's wedding day. 

Wine crates provided a way to vary the heights on the dishes on the table.

Back Porch Orchestra from Greensboro played country hits to a crowd of 115 people.  The food was southern fare- fried chicken, pulled pork, local charcuterie and cheese, deviled eggs, hummingbird cakes and peach cobbler.  

Pimento cheese spread and chicken liver mousse were served in mason jars.

 Pickled Beets and Pickled Peaches were introduced to many non- southerners. 

Candied bacon skewers!

 My new son-in-law tasted his first fried green tomato this week.  He wasn't too impressed.

I will just have to work on him!!  Hen Dough out of Hendersonville made the food for this party and it was outstanding- especially their fried green tomatoes.

Alexa Pulitzer out of New Orleans designed the logo for the party cups, napkins, and invitation.

Peach ice tea for the non- drinkers.  Others enjoyed local Asheville beers.

Then it was back on the busses to head back to Asheville and sleep tight for the wedding tomorrow!

The big day is finally here-

The Week Before the Wedding- Finishing Touches

My daughter's wedding is this Saturday!   I cannot believe it is really here.  My husband and I have hung countless pictures, moved furniture and organized countless drawers during the past 10 weeks trying to get our new home ready for the wedding. This past week was a crazy one with lots of deliveries and last minute projects.  I cannot believe that we got this much done.

Trying to get all the last minute details complete is stressful.   Jay just picked up the newly cut piece of leathered granite for the console in the foyer on Friday.

We upholstered this little bench in a chartreuse this week!

Rearranged and relocated all of the lamps in the house!

Placed pillows around, but still need some more!

                        Built a fern stand out of old lamp parts for the gathering room table.

Polished silver and filled pots.

Cleaned windows!

Met with the chef and chose serving platters for Sunday's farewell party.

Placed flowers in containers-

This foxglove broke off in a storm this week. 

 Received the 2 additional chairs that I ordered for the screen porch on Thursday-

The cocktail table was fabricated from a cypress stump that was pulled from the Apalachicola River. It was delivered back to us on Thursday!

Opened boxes in garage and found old urns for back porch. 

Painted and distressed the finishing frame around the antique mirror tiles in the powder room.

Installed it this past week.

Recovered this little stool for Jay's bath.

 Received this little French chair back from upholstery shop.

Made 4 new pillows for the lower level sitting room.

Received and installed a new modern piece of art on Wednesday!

Layered a new cowhide on top of the olive one below.  Received my old gilded sofa back from the upholstery shop-now in gray pane velvet-

Found 2 long runners for downstairs hall.

Made the beds for guests this weekend.

Put flowers in Julia's bath for this week.

 Julie and her fiancé arrive here in a couple of hours. 

There is nothing like a wedding to motivate you to get your house in order.   Landscaping is finishing up today and I have  a few more tweaks to make.  But the major things are complete.  I need a nap!

North Carolina Mountain Landscapes

My computer crashed and I lost all my files just 3 weeks before my daughter's wedding.  So now I have everything recovered and am finally able to sit down and update my blog. 

Last Sunday, we spent a couple of hours at the Western North Carolina Farmer's Market looking at plants and shrubs.  The possibilities are endless- its like being a kid in a candy store!  We are now at the point with our landscaping to be adding the fun elements- annuals, perennials, and flowering shrubs.

All of the hardscape has been completed- the walkways, parking deck and the paths down to the back area of the house.

 The parking deck is paved with Dublin cobblestone and is edged in a wide stone wall with a thick stone cap.  Boulders have been placed strategically around the yard.

 Stone paths lead from the driveway to the front door.

  The stone wall that surrounds the parking pad, also forms the wall for the courtyard in the front of the house.  We have planted it with drift roses and Irish moss.

The sides and back of the house have mulched paths edged with tree limbs from the property.

All of the drainage pipes have been covered with mounds of rock to slow the hill erosion into the river below.  No mow grass is also planted to curb erosion. 

Box woods, laurel and rhododendron  will stay green year round.

 Annabell hydrangea's, and other perennials have been delivered and are ready to plant.

 Our back yard space is really our decks.   We have placed large zinc troughs from Restoration Hardware on the decks to grow roses.   Trying to grow them in the front is futile- too many deer looking for the salad bar!  

 A zinc dining table from Restoration Hardware is surrounded by outdoor wicker chairs. 

The David  Austin roses are flourishing on the deck. 

It is like being in a treehouse with all the surrounding greenery. 

The sound of the French Broad River is a relaxing backdrop for dining.

Pots of rosemary, mammoth leaf basil, tarragon and nasturtiums are easy to reach from the kitchen.

Outdoor wicker lounge chairs are in front of the kitchen window- the perfect location for supervising the grill operations!

Creating our landscaping has been a fun project and one that will be ongoing.  As we learn

what grows and what doesn't grow here in the mountains, changes will be made.  But I have to tell you, I love growing in containers on the decks.  Pulling weeds becomes a minimal task!