The Biltmore Estate and Charleston, SC

Last week my mom and I returned from our third mother-daughter vacation. I planned the trip and she had no idea where we were going.

Our first stop was the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. 

The house and surrounding gardens are extraordinary. The estate was our favorite attraction of the week. Each night of the trip we watched an episode of Downton Abbey. The show is fantastic and made estate living come to life. I am pretty sure I could handle being an heiress. 

The attention to detail inside and out of the house impressed us. (We were not able to take photos inside, but I purchased a few postcards to commemorate the experience.) Every stone carving around each window and pillar was uniquely sculpted.  

After touring the house we explored the grounds. The gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York's Central Park. We enjoyed the fresh air and catching a glimpse of spring. 

I loved these giant canopied vines almost as much as that view. I can only imagine how beautiful this terrace will look when the wisteria is blooming.

My dream house will have a glass conservatory where I can drink my morning coffee and read a book. (It doesn't have to be quite this big!) I look forward to returning to the Biltmore someday when the gardens are in full bloom. 

Our next leg of the journey brought us to Charleston, South Carolina. This is the first place I have visited in the United States that has such old history and character that I was reminded of my trips to Europe. Every nook and cranny is filled with another charming architectural element or garden. The addition of palmettos and the warm ocean breeze made me appreciate this city even more.

Michael Trouche toured us around Charleston and taught us about Charlestonian’s history and culture. One of the stops on our tour was St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, which was built in the 1750’s. The cemetery of the church contains the remains of two signers of the U.S. Constitution.

On Friday we visited Drayton Hall, a plantation house built in 1742.

Unlike many historic homes, Drayton has been preserved “as is.” The fact that the main room has only been painted four times over the course of 270 years intrigued me. Surely they would get sick of the same color over the course of sixty seven years?!?! 

After touring the home, we listened to a talk about the slave trade, life at Drayton as a slave, and emancipation. The discussion was very informative and I found that I need to brush up on my U.S. history.   

After leaving Charleston, we drove to Atlanta to see my good friend Katie. Mom and I had a nice time visiting with Katie, her parents, and boyfriend. They took us downtown and we ate some tasty jambalaya. Unfortunately this lousy iPhone photo is the only picture I snapped to document our visit. 

Up until this point, the vacation fun and weather had exceeded our expectations. Mom says I saved the best for last… On the last night of our trip we stayed in the Wigwam Village in Cave City, Kentucky. It is a piece of roadside Americana that I felt we could not pass up. The wigwams were built in 1937 and are in need of an update. Mom could not stop laughing for a good hour after we arrived. Unfortunately the heat was not working in our small tepee. Yes, I could have complained and asked to switch “rooms,” but I was feeling non-confrontational. In retrospect, with the right mindset and working heat, staying in an old wigwam can be an interesting part of a vacation. On Monday morning we crossed back into Indiana and were greeted by snow! Overall it was a fantastic trip and I hope we can go on more adventures in the future. 

Road Trip with Mom

I was initially going to write a post about a small sewing project I was working on tonight, then my sewing machine and I got into a fight.  After several attempts, I ran out of patience and could not figure out was going wrong. After abandoning my sewing project, I figured I would tell you about my upcoming adventure.

In 2010 I took my mom on a surprise trip as her birthday/mother’s day gift. I planned everything and told her what to pack. Her only requirements were to show up and have fun. We found that this travel arrangement suited us. I like to plan and she likes to have fun. While coordinating our trips I do not have to consult with her and she is a good sport by going along with all of my planned shenanigans.

The first year I found cheap flights to LA through TravelZoo. We did all of the touristy things in Hollywood. This was right around the time when the Conan vs. Leno dual was going down. I had tickets to The Tonight Show with Conan and The Jay Leno Show. Unfortunately Conan resigned and we ended up seeing the Leno show. We ate our first In-N-Out Burgers and dined on the famous Pink’s hot dogs. After a long drawn out quarrel with the GPS, we enjoyed a day of fun at Disneyland. (Side note: I am not a big football fan, but it was Super Bowl Sunday and the Colts were playing…and I was living in Indianapolis at the time.) 

Last year we narrowly escaped the crazy Snowcalypse in Chicago. We were on one of last flights to leave O’Hare. The first leg of our journey took us to Miami. We enjoyed soaking up the sun while everyone at home was buried under a few feet of snow. Our favorite part of the trip was the Miami Culinary Tour. Our guide took us into locally owned restaurants and we snacked on food we didn’t even know existed… i.e. ceviche and other Cuban originals. Next we took a short cruise to the Bahamas. We enjoyed our “coco loco time” and exploring Atlantis. 

Next Monday Mom and I will embark on our third annual mother-daughter expedition. After quitting my job, our itinerary has a few more budget restrictions. This means we are going on a road trip! Obviously I cannot tell you where we are going; it would spoil all of the fun. I will fill you in when we return. You can follow me on Instagram to see some photos from our voyage. (My username is mrsmoon.) 

Wine Tasting in the 'Nappa Valley of the Midwest'

Last weekend Josh and I went wine tasting with four of our good friends in Lake Michigan Shore Wine Country. This part of Michigan is great for growing grapes and has more than a dozen small wineries. I am by no means a wine expert, but I do enjoy drinking wine and learning more about it.

Round Barn Winery was the first stop of the day. The building itself was really impressive. Here we purchased their Gewurztraminer. Round Barn also sells beer and spirits.

{Round Barn Winery. Baroda, MI}

Our second stop was at Tabor Hill. Here I was able to get up close and personal with some grapes. We purchased their Classic Demi Sec.

{Tabor Hill Winery. Buchanan, MI}

We borrowed this lovely 90's Astro van so we could all ride in one vehicle. We affectionately referred to it as the 'Short Bus Party Wagon' and the 'Vino Van.' Given a choice, I would pick the Vino Van over a limo any day.

Free Run Cellars was the third winery of the day. We purchased their Grappa, which should be great for 'family meetings' on Thanksgiving. (note: Stef is not three sheets to the wind, I encouraged her special pose)

Domaine Berrien was our fourth stop. At this winery, there is a viewing room so you can see some of the equipment used in the wine making process. They also had a sign that said unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy.

{Domaine Berrien. Berrien Springs, MI }

Lemon Creek  was the fifth winery on our voyage. This was my favorite winery and we had the best drinking coach at this location. We purchased their peach spumante. There were two dogs that lived here and wanted to be our best friends while we were picnicking. We named the one on the left 'Wolf.'

Stef packed us a delicious spread of jams, cheese, crackers and other fancy goodies. We saw some other wine tasters who knew how to travel in style.

The last stop of the day was at Founders Wine Cellar. You can tell that the quality of my photos decreased as the day progressed. Here we used my wine tasting craft. I made numbered paddles to rate the wine. Overall the trip was a lot of fun. Hopefully this becomes an annual tradition.

Vacation Chotchkie

(Sister Bay, Wisconsin)



I am usually the cruise ship director on family vacations. I plan where we are going, orchestrate activities and I come up with a theme. This year we went to Galena, IL and Door County Wisconsin. We went with a circus theme. (I chose not to post photos of Dad as the bearded lady and Mom as a muscle man in case they ever decide to run for president) Overall, it was a relaxing, low key vacation with plenty of orange styrofoam circus peanuts.

From Top Left: 1. My sister and I went on a 12 mi bike ride through the hills of Galena to a winery 2. Lovely outhouse on Cana Island 3.Beach in Ephraim 4. Anderson Dock Marina, Ephraim 5. & 6. Fish Boil at the Old Post Office Restaurant in Ephraim 7. Sister Bay 8. Mom & Dad at sunset in Sister Bay 9. Cana Island

(Cana Island)

(Baileys Harbor)

(Spike Horn Bay)

The point of this post was not to trick you into looking at my family vacation photos, it was to share with you my hand crafted vacation memento. I have never been into embroidered light house sweatshirts or tourist trap fridge magnets, so I came up with my own special way to remember our trips. While there, I collect sand from the beach and a few little shells. I purchased the clear glass ornaments from Hobby Lobby, which they sell year round at my store.

I let the sand dry on a plate for a few days so that condensation did not build up inside the glass. Then I carefully removed the metal cap and made a simple funnel out of paper.

After pouring the sand into the glass, I used hot glue to secure the cap. I also used hot glue to to attach some jute string to the top.

Overall, I am much more pleased with this ornament than a set of Door County salt and pepper shakers. The plan is to eventually have a small Christmas tree covered with all of these vacation memories. So far I have Bermuda, South Beach, Hawaii, and Door County covered.

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