Five on Friday!

Happy Friday!

{one} On Monday morning I set the alarm, had my computer charging overnight, and woke up to tackle the Lilly Pulitzer Endless Summer Sale. You might be asking, "Why did you even bother to wake up early?!" and that is exactly what I'm asking myself too since I could barely see anything on the site until 1:00 pm! I, like other Lilly lovers, wish the Pink Palace would find some other way to put on the ESS that wouldn't crash the website each year but in the end, I am just thankful to have the opportunity to buy new Lilly at such awesome prices! This is what I ended up getting:

Murfee Scarf in You Gotta Regatta

Boardwalk Bikini Top in Bright Navy Swim Party Polkadot The picture is of a different top but the same print! The boardwalk top has a cute ruffle that I love! I didn't get bottoms to match because the site was being so crazy so I'm just going to mix-n-match with a solid bottom.   {two} About a week ago we had our family dinner at work to celebrate the end of summer! I pulled off a Pinterest-inspired cupcake that the kids LOVED. There was almost a fight for the last one. (#1 teacher right here...)

  {three}  Yesterday was my last full day of summer with Steven before he heads back up to school! Bittersweet for sure as he only has one more semester and is excited to be graduating and moving on to grad school. I'm just ready to have him back in Virginia! I'll take a 3 hour drive over a 6 hour drive any day :)

We went out to Beliveau Estate, which is a local winery/bed & breakfast, for a wine tasting and lunch! We were the only ones there, which isn't so weird on a Thursday afternoon, but it was nice to have the space to ourselves! We did a tasting of six wines and then chose Discovery to have with lunch.

  {four} I hope that my fellow teacher/future teacher bloggers are going to be participating in Teacher Talk with Nicole and Jamie!
Although I'm not in my own classroom quite yet, I'm excited to read and connect with other teachers - or future teachers like me. I'm going to tweak the posts a little bit to fit me, so if you're a future teacher don't be afraid to join in! :) Monday's post is "about you - where, what and why you teach"!   {five}  I finally caved and bought a chalkboard yesterday at TJMaxx! I had a gift card that was burning a hole in my pocket and have been wanting a chalkboard for some time.  I was tempted to make my own, but I found one for a good price and couldn't pass it up! I think I'm going to put it in my room. Now I'm looking for inspiration for what to write on it!

This is cute!     Have a great weekend!

Weekend Recap: Winery Trip

Happy Monday!

My Dad and stepmom came to Blacksburg this weekend to go to some wineries and invited me along. On Friday night, after they arrived, we went to Bull and Bones - one of my favorite restaurants in Blacksburg. Note: If you follow me on instagram (which I hope you do!), some of these are repeats...but not all of them!
Here is my OOTD from Saturday with my new Lilly skirt I got in Charlotte!

 

 I love the fit of the Callie skirt! Definitely a favorite.

The navy top is a fitted tee from Old Navy.

I'll be honest, I don't consider myself a real wine lover quite yet. If I'm at dinner, I'd rather get a beer or a cocktail than a glass of wine. I think I just need to try more so I know what I like! I guess I just get tired of drinking it halfway through. This trip definitely helped me learn what I like and don't like!
We started our trip at West Wind Farm which is in Max Meadows at the Fort Chiswell exit off of I-81.

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This winery was up a gravel driveway off of the main road -- far enough that you don't hear cars driving by but close enough that you don't feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. They're dog friendly which was good since we had one of the labs with us, Darla.
We did a small tasting and then got a glass to sit outside with. My favorite wine here was the Galena Creek Peach. I decided to get a glass of the "wine-rita" instead of just wine for a change! Or as Dad was calling it, my "adult slurpee"...whatever you call it, it was good!

The views were really pretty here. They also had "Cafe Saturday" going on inside complete with live music and a lunch menu. The funniest part was driving up and seeing a big motorcycle gang there...thankfully they were down at the gazebo so we didn't have to listen to their hollerin'!
Our next stop was Mt. Vale Vineyards in Galax.

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What a gorgeous location! By far the best views were found here, in Galax. This was a bit more off of the beaten path but so worth the drive. The staff was so incredibly friendly (and they were pet friendly, too!) and we met so many nice people wine tasting!

A storm came rolling through and it was so fun to watch it creep across the valley. We literally watched it raining right in front of us...then about two minutes later, we were running inside to avoid getting drenched!

I think the rain wiped out Darla the wine dog...

At this winery, my favorite was Misty Morning. I really like the sweet wines! I'm not a fan of the dry ones like my Dad is. They had a sweet cranberry wine that was good, but almost too sweet! It would be good around the holidays, I bet!

Our final stop on Saturday was closer to home, in Christiansburg at Attimo Winery. This winery is fairly new (open about 15 months) and it was my first time making the trip out there.

More storm clouds were in the vicinity so we stayed inside to taste and have a glass, which was a little annoying since there was a huge obnoxious group (who had obviously been there a little too long...) being SO loud! I could hardly hear what the server was telling us about the wines. Note: if you are just going to get drunk and be loud, for heaven's sake wait til night time and go to a bar! When I think of wineries, I think of peacefulness. Thoughts?I was also annoyed because one of them complimented my Dad's UVA hat and then told me (the Tech girl) "Well, we can't all be perfect..." I'm thinking, Yeah, look who's talking! He then wished me luck on his way out the door...Ugh.
We still had a wonderful time, though! I especially felt at home when I saw this little guy on the mantle...

My favorite wine at Attimo was the Sudden Downpour which was a sweet apple wine. It was served in a glass with the rim dipped in caramel! Now, this may sound nice, and it was for a bit, but it ended up melting down the glass and making my hands and the glass VERY sticky! Not very pleasant. I think it's a nice touch, but I would have preferred no caramel!

We stayed at Attimo until closing time.  Thankfully we had a few minutes of peace and quiet after the big group left! If you are ever in the area, this one is very easy to get to!
Out of the three wineries, Mt. Vale was probably my favorite! It had the best atmosphere and views. However, I would go to any of them again in a heartbeat! I especially want to go with Mom and take Sadie to one :)
Are you a wine fan? What kind of wine do you like? Do you like to attend wine events, festivals, wineries? Any I should suggest to Dad? Saturday night we went to another one of my favorites, Boudreaux's! We were so sad to hear they were out of their signature appetizer, Gator Bites. As depressing as that was, we still had a delicious meal!

My Sunday was consumed with moving stuff out of my townhouse. Thanks to my family and Steven's brothers, I have everything out! Yay! Now I just wish August would hurry up so I can move it into the new place and take a big sigh of relief!Mom and I also had a pizza & movie night. Sometimes, the end of a tiring day calls for that! We watched Safe House. Honestly, we got it because of Denzel & Ryan Reynolds. However, we decided it's a guy movie. Lots of action, shooting, confusing stories and little dialogue. Definitely not the worst movie I've ever seen though...I repeat...Ryan Reynolds was in it. love.

Lastly, I have two countdowns to share :)2 weeks: til we get our new kitten!98 days: til James comes home :)
Have a wonderful Monday!