New Years in Asheville

Is anyone else having a hard time writing 2013?  It just seems like such a foreign number! And we're already one week in?!  Obviously this year is deciding to keep up the same crazy pace as last year.

I know y'all are very interested to know how the Sassers rang in the New Year. If you're thinking champagne and black tie at the St. Regis, you would be mistaken.  I was actually wearing my black Uggs, and that was the fanciest thing on me. No big parties, just big skies up in North Carolina.

Our friend Kellee first brought up the idea of Asheville way back in the summer, and fortunately the boys agreed it was a good idea.  I had not been to Asheville since a brief project stint in 2006, but not a lot has changed.  It's a nice little town with a hippie vibe (but still some Southern flair).  The four of us had a great time exploring/eating our way through the city, and got some great house ideas after visiting the Biltmore.    Kellee was quite the trooper and kept up/put up with us, despite her little 7 month baby bump and not being able to partake in any of the yummy craft beers that Asheville has to offer.

I'll let the pictures highlight the stories from our trip.

After arriving late afternoon, we spent the first night at a little dive called The Admiral.  HIGHLY recommend to anyone who travels here, as the food was absolutely delicious.  Maybe the best mussels I have had (and, folks, I eat a lot of PEIs...)

After the Admiral, we braved the snowfall and headed across the street to another dive bar, that had a great beer list and lots of pool tables.  We had some brews, played some pool, and even caught the tail end of the Texas game.

The next day, we strolled around Asheville and enjoyed some of the shops.  Very interesting finds, and I'm glad our car was already full or I would have loaded up with stuff for the casa...

The boys were less about the shops and more about the BBQ.  Fortunately, we found a great place called Luella's.   We started off with some yummy, fancy schmancy Bloody Marys: my "Dirty Mary" with pimento cheese stuffed olives and James' "BLT Mary"with, yes, bacon.  Long live the South!

The meat was also good, but this place had - hands down - the BEST fried okra I have ever tasted in my entire life.  You're talking to a gal who routinely orders a side plate for her meal, so this is saying a lot.

Our only real "planned"activity for the trip was a nighttime tour of the Biltmore, all decorated for Christmas.  Kellee and I scored tickets months ago.  The entire house was absolutely stunning, and it's amazing to think that Vanderbilt constructed it 1) when he did (so very advanced for the time) and 2) by paying cash.  Super impressive.  I'm willing to move in at any time.  I mean, any house that is smaller than a 43/35 now seem a bit squished, right?

A nighttime tour meant we arrived around dusk, and had to hurry to capture as many pictures as we could before the sun set.  Unfortunately, no pictures could be taken once inside. (Well, or fortunately, because this blog post would have been twice as long...)

After the tour, we had some fun on the grounds while I played the game "how high can my ISO go" and tried to capture some night shots.

Kellee let me take some maternity photos for her, and I think we can all agree that these shots need to be blown up and above their mantel, right?

While in Asheville, we also spent some time closely looking at other large-scale impressive houses, although these were made out of gingerbread instead of limestone.  The Grove Park Inn hosts the annual Gingerbread House Competition each year, and these go waaaaaaay beyond anything I have ever seen.

2012 Winner!

2012 Runners Up (yes, these didn't even win the grand prize!!)

The overall grounds of Grovepark Inn were also lovely, and we had a nice time walking around and snapping pictures.  And not eating lunch.

And, of course, because it was New Years, we were with a (former) Mantovani, and we had down time, we also played some games and dominoes.  I introduced everyone to Chicken Foot, andJames won despite being the most disinterested person at the table.

I think our actual NYE was maybe the calmest night of the whole week!  A very late night seafood dinner, and a then a very weird bar with a blues/jazz/classic rock band.  However, the weird bar did offer up champagne at midnight, which is how we brought in the new year:  bubbly, kiss, and a great time with great friends.