Back in the swing – Being Present

Getting back into the groove after a good vacation can be rough. Really rough. When we got back, all I wanted to do was relax and slowly slide back into our normal schedule. I can’t say this was the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever had but it was alot of fun. We crammed tons of sightseeing into a short period of time and I honestly wish we could have taken a few more days. Now I’m back and still trying to get back on track – slowly but surely.

I had our trip all planned out. I was going to be a social media monster during my vacation – tweeting and updating my Facebook status multiple times a days. I was updating instagram, Tumblr, and picplz on the fly.  How do you do all of that updating and enjoy your vacation at the same time? You don’t.  On the third day it hit me that I wasn’t “present” at my own vacation not just physically present but mentally and emotionally present. Worrying about the next tweet or status update was distracting me from enjoying the road trip we had planned for so long. The remedy? Put the cell phone away and focus on my husband and what was around me. It was a great trip.

The first stop was Asheville. It’s only four hours from Nashville and it was a really easy drive. Unfortunately we didn’t get to spend as much time there as I would have liked. If you ever go to Asheville, check out Salsa’s and Mayfel’s downtown. We had two amazing meals there. Try the Pimento Cheese Bake at Mayfel’s. Delicious.

Touring the Biltmore was the absolute highlight of our Asheville stop. It reminded me alot of Downton Abbey – right down to the servants dining room. Beautiful. Unfortnately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside of the mansion but I got some good shots of the outside.

My next favorite spot was Chocolate Fetish. It’s a chocolate shop downtown and they make the coolest chocolate high heels. Forgive the poor picture quality. The droid X isn’t exactly an iPhone. Their coconut truffles melt in your mouth.

I’ll be sharing more of our pictures over the next few weeks – Williamsburg and Washington D.C. were a blast. I’ll try to post a new recipe by the end of the week.