Greenbrier

Bob and I met some friends in Richmond, and after a quick tour of town, and a stay overnight, we headed out bright and early for our real destination ~ The Greenbrier.

I was pretty excited when I saw these gates.

Oh my.

It truly is a grand hotel.

I really knew nothing about it, I wasn't even sure what state it was in ~ {West Virginia} ~ but I had heard that it was one of those old grand hotels, and I really do love those for some reason.

{who wouldn't?!}

The view from the door looking through the arches.  We might have missed the peak of leaf color by a few days, but it was still just stunning.

The Greenbrier is located in White Sulphur Springs, WV, and the hotel had several locations where the springs once bubbled up and people came from far and near to "take the waters".  This is one of the spring houses.  Now the spring water is piped into the spa.

This row of cottage had been transformed into artists' shops.  Robin and I each bought a glass Christmas ornament at the glass blowers shop.

                                                                                 

This is the north entrance ~ you head out this way to the golf courses and outdoor pool and walking trails.  Robin and I enjoyed the rocking chairs on the porch just soaking in the view.

Inside, the hotel decor was done by Dorothy Draper and it is just stunning.  I love color, and it was so fun to see room after room of vibrant colors.  

This was Robin and Jim's room.

We had a sitting room in between our bedrooms and it was WILD!

This was our room and I loved it.

And these double doors were the doors to our suite, I am standing in the sitting room taking the picture.

We ate dinner one night at the golf course, at Sam Snead's.  Love the decor!

This was part of the main dining room ~ chandeliers everywhere.

The ballroom.

A cozy bar ~ and right off this room was the writing room, and after reading the history of Dorothy Draper, I see that the writing room is one of her most photographed rooms.  And I didn't get a picture!!  I guess I need to do some homework BEFORE I go, so I know to get the good shots!

And, lastly, on the morning of our departure, Robin and I took a carriage ride around the grounds.  

On our way back to our hotel, look who we ran into!  They had the best time playing golf there.

And that is it for the Greenbrier.  It was a wonderful, special time with good friends.

An Afternoon and Evening In Richmond

Bob and I just returned from a little fall getaway with some good friends.  We flew into Richmond, Virginia and began our vacation there.  Bob and I had never been to Richmond so we were excited to explore a little bit.

Jim found our lunch spot on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  I confess that I have never seen the show, but we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at this popular college hangout.  {Although we felt very old!}

Next up was the Confederate White House and Museum.  We took the tour of the house and just wandered about the museum.  

We did a drive by of the capitol ~ it was closing time.  But what a pretty capitol!  It was stunning against the blue sky.

I apologize for the blurry picture, taken from the street!  And I'm sorry you have to look at the giant dumpster sitting in front of the restaurant.  This place was recommended to us by my neighbor and it was  delicious!  It was in a charming area of brick streets, and lots of restaurants.  We loved it.

That ended our very brief visit to Richmond.  We were up bright and early to go to West Virginia to stay at the Greenbrier!

I know we didn't see very much, but we saw enough to know that we would like to come back some day ~ perhaps a trip to Williamsburg?  

A Little Fall Decorating

I did most of my decorating for fall outside, and just a tiny little bit inside.  I am sharing today, mostly for my memory.  I love to look back each year to see what I did.  

I thought I would try something new this year with the fun color scheme of purple, orange, and lime.  This is where I started...and finished.  I filled 2 canisters with candy, and then didn't know what to put in the large one.  On a trip to HL I saw these Christmas ornaments and thought they would be perfect.

Then, I opened my fall bins and saw that I had nothing else in these colors and didn't really feel like buying anything.  So, these cute little canisters have been the centerpiece on my table, then moved to the island because I really don't know what to do with them when all I really have is fall stuff, or a few Halloween things in orange and black.  They don't really match anything!!

But, they are cute!

A little scarecrow on the front door.

I love her little bell that rings when you open the door.

My entry table is simple.  I just changed out my red books and put some brown ones out, and got this free printable from the blog Dear Lillie.

Love it.

The guest bath got some fall picks {to hide the cord} and some soap and a candle.  It doesn't get much easier that that.

And just for fun, a little pumpkin shampoo and soap in the shower!

My front door decor is hanging in there.  I have had this for years, and did a little spruce up last year.

The sofa table gets several black frames filled with pictures of my favorite trick or treaters.

I made this fun centerpiece for our Halloween lunch next week.  I am trying to do some of the cute things I pinned on Pinterest.

And, lastly I put out my rooster plates and cream and brown pumpkins for the kitchen hutch.  My kitchen has a lot of red in it and it is hard to add the colors of fall.  I think my next project will be to make the color scheme in my kitchen a little more neutral ~ 

A perfect little project for the winter!

Joining Liz for her Autumn Arrives Party

and Marty for her Fall Cloche Party

Gasp!! A Craft {sort of}

I am constantly amazed at the talent and creativity in blogland!  There are women with power tools out there and everything in between and I am impressed!

Well, I would not be one of them.

But I have figured out how to join Pinterest and have started to save some of the things that I might actually be able to do.

Case in point...

Cute Crayons

I bought this ice cube tray at HL and had to break some perfectly good crayons to put in here.  {Gone are the days when I had buckets of broken crayons:-) }

Pretty easy ~ I thought I would use red, yellow and green to make the leaf crayons.  I know, sooo creative!!

Just bake at around 250 for about 10 minutes, or until the crayons are liquified.  After they are cool, pop them out.

So easy.

I popped them in a bag and tied with a green ribbon to mimic the stem.  Do you see it?

  I know, my girls didn't either.

Paired with a coloring book, it makes a cute little activity for busy people.

Makes me wish I had stocked up on those 15 cent crayons!!