What I love about fall

I will be the first to tell you I am not even in the slightest bit ready for fall to get here. I like being able to wear shorts everywhere, not have to worry about bringing a jacket, and being able to enjoy being outdoors. When the time comes for fall to be here, I will welcome it with open arms as it's my second favorite season of the year because of all the great fun and things it has to offer.

I love all of the small-town festivals that happen in the fall. I cannot wait to visit all the adorable vendors and meeting all sorts of people. Fall festivals  and my beloved, Apple Festival in the mountains are always at the top of my list of things I love about fall.

Pumpkin patches & Corn mazes are typically my first pick of things to do on a cool weekend. I adore traipsing through the fields looking for just the perfect little pumpkin or two. I also love a good corn maze. Billy and I always try to race and see who can get out first. It's one of those things I love done to help make me feel like a kid again.

Even before baseball season has ended, I've already planned a weekend for us that consists of hiking and joy riding to enjoy the most beautiful views and colors that the leaves give us. I am just in awe sometimes of the beautiful things God paints. This is exactly what it looks like on the road to the cabin in late October and early November. I could drive for hours just taking all of the stunning colors in.
I also love all of the bon fires and parties that happen in the fall. One of the first things I associate with the new cooler weather, is bon fires. I hate the smell of the smoke that I can't get rid of for days, but I just can't get enough of laughing  and enjoying music around a fire pit with some of my favorite people. Oh, and who couldn't mention all the football parties. We have some pretty die hard football fans here in the South. High school and college football kick off soon, and  there will be pleanty of excuses to pile around a tv together!

Fall baseball season is, hands down, my favorite baseball season. It's probably the easiest of the seasons to deal with. Everything, though important, is very laid back and go-with-the flow compared to all the other seasons they put me through. Most of the tournaments are right in the neighborhood and they're weekends only, which means there is a lot more quality time to be spent with Billiam and baby Casey than summer and spring.

And who doesn't love fall fashion?! Boots, scarves, sweaters, Oh my! I love how layering looks! I love always being able to wear my cowboy and riding boots. I am a sucker for a good cable knit sweater or a comfy mountain hardware jacket. I totally plan on pulling together this look for myself in the coming months.

Back to business

I hate seeing weekends leave. At least this one, being 3 days, was able to stick around a smidge longer than the rest. {Bless you, weekend} Now it's time for another rousing rendition of, "Let's recap Megan's weekend" {Queue the weekend recap theme song that sounds identical to the Family Feud theme music}

Thursday my boss told me to take Friday off as a mental health day. I may have tried to hug him. He may have looked at me like I was crazy. This all hypothetical ..maybe

 I ran home as quickly as I could and packed to try to make it to the cabin before dinner time. Little did I know prior to my arrival, we were going to eat with some of Billy's old family friends--their neighbors of 30 something years from when they lived in Florida. It was great getting to meet and hear stories of Billy's childhood. I love hearing stories of baby Billiam. We ate at one of my Blue Ridge favorites, the Toccoa Riverside Restaurant. It is literally a mile from the cabin, and it is overflowing with guests everytime we pass by. It's a wonderful little restaurant right along the Toccoa River with a beautiful patio area right over the water. It burned  to the ground about a year and a half ago, and thank goodness they rebuilt, because I don't know where we'd be without this gem!

via

Friday we had more friends from Miami back to visit while on their way headed back south for the winter from their annual summer road trip. Joy and Tick are such blessings to have around every summer. We had planned on going tubing that day, but of course, it rained again. So our plans changed to a quick trip into town for lots of sugary snacks at Merciers and the chocolate store downtown. After the rain subsided, we got lots of meat to throw on the grill.
Have I mentioned before that Billy is an awesome grill master?! Because he is phenomenal! He even grilled peaches that were out of this world! I had never heard of grilling peaches before, but they were fab with a little cinnamon, rum, and brown sugar!

After dinner we went for a moonlit walk to enjoy the crickets, lightning bugs, and the almost full moon we had. It was so nice to finally take in some of the slower, simple things in life for a change. It was such a breath of fresh air.

Saturday we made plans to head up to the North Georgia Mountain Fair as we do every year. Except, when we got there, we found out we had missed all of the shows for the day :( Instead of letting the trip go to waste, we kept on the highway for an extra 30 mins and found ourselves in Helen for the afternoon.

When I was a kid, we'd go to Helen at least once a summer to go tubing. As I got older, we stopped going. After revisiting for the first time in years, I found out why we stopped going. This place is like Disney meets Myrtle Manor meets gross. I lost count of how many people I sincerely believed were on Meth. We pretty much got out of there as fast as we could. I was too afraid to even partake in the funnel cake for fear it was laced with heroine.. then again, I feel like that might be too classy of a drug.

Sunday we vowed "Good lord willin, and the creek don't rise" that we were going to the fair. By george, we finally made one of our plans work before getting ruined by rain. We got to catch the racing pigs, eat some mouth watering fried green tomatoes and BBQ, and take in a few of the fun vendors. One of my favorite moments was while wandering through the exhibit hall, I found  a very old wood burning stove that once belonged to my great grand parents. I had no idea it was even there! It stopped me in my tracks. What a fun find!

Billy's brother made it a point to photo bomb as many pictures as he could that day. We finally played along.

Today, sadly, it was back to the Monday grind. However, let's keep Mondays as positive as can be. Let's announce the winner of the Escape Monthly Box that I talked about here! Congratulations to Carlee for winning the first box! It should be arriving to you soon in the mail!

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If you are lucky enough to be in the mountains, you are lucky enough

Today I played hokey..

It's been well deserved after this crazy week I've had. Right now I have my feet propped up at the bar in the cabin enjoying a glass of my favorite wine while Billy is cooking dinner on the deck! We have had more friends in town this weekend making more memories with us. My heart is so full right now. I am a lucky, lucky girl. 

Here's to the good times and the hope that summer never has to end.

Vacation Weekend Recap

After the wedding was over, I got up early Sunday morning and Denise and I got on the road to head back. I dropped her off in Atlanta at her apartment at SCAD and then I headed north.. very north. A short concert into my steering wheel later, I pulled up to the cabin where I was firmly planting myself for the next week.

I always like to spend the week of the 4th at the cabin. Independence day is my FAVORITE holiday, and there are so many celebrations going on in Blue Ridge and the surrounding area. Much to my displeasure, it rained every.single.day. while I was up there. We got very little outdoor time that didn't result in us coming back inside drenched. Equally not cool, Billy had to work every single day but the 4th.. the rain screwed his schedule up to boot, so his days were extra long and I would see him just briefly before bed. Then he was gone again in the morning before I even woke up.

But it was a week spent better there in the rain than at home and at work, so here are a few highlights that I have to share from the week.

1. We went to the orchard every other day to get more fresh peaches. We were eating them like candy. I  love fresh fruits and veggies from Merciers. We also found ourselves enjoying brain teaser ipad games.
2. Our friends from Miami were up to visit for the week. It is an absolute joy to have them around.
3. I got in a lot of quality front porch sittin' and reading.
4. The one day we actually saw a smidge of sunlight, we went to the lake. The views are hard to beat!
5. We put together a bookshelf that Billy's grandpa got for his birthday to go up in the loft. This is Billy's brother practicing his moves to see if he could make it as a hammer model in the future.
6. We went to watch the fireworks in the neighboring Tennessee town. We stopped by KFC for our traditional 4th of July dinner to take to picnic out with. It rained the entire time, but luckily we were under a pavilion and brought cards to entertain ourselves to the show started. I absolutely love fireworks. I think we should have them for every holiday.
7. Did I mention it rained a lot here in Georgia last week?
8. We went to the 4th of July parade here in town. This was the crazy marching band that came to perform. I was a little let down when the poster for the parade said a Budweiser Clydesdale would be in the parade, and all we got was a plastic statue of one. Rip-to the-off!
9. We went to dinner one night at the oh, so good Rib Country after we went to see Despicable me.


Unfortunately, because of the weather, I have very few exciting pictures to share. I thought I'd share them anyway because I was at least sort of hoping some of you cared.

The story behind Treetops Cabin

This story actually begins back in the early 70's. Billy's grandmother was a librarian at a school and his grandpa was a professor at a community college in Miami, Florida. Billy's grandmother, Bonnie, worked with a lady who's mother lived in the North Georgia Mountains. This lady always insisted that they bring the kids up over the summer. Billy's grandpa had some obligations with work, so Bonnie found it to be the perfect time to take her friend up on the offer so she piled the 3 kids into the car and made the long (even longer then) drive to Blue Ridge.

They found their way to a cozy little valley right in the middle of the Cohutta wilderness. They stayed at a very old family cabin, that I believe has been around since the mid 1800's. They fell in love. They loved the people, the mountains, the area, the foods, the streams and waterfalls. I think right then and there, they decided they were going to take a piece of that place with them everywhere, because they never wanted to leave.

The creek that runs through the valley that the house sits on.

The next school year rolled back around, and as I believe the story goes, both of Billy's grandparents got raises. They had narrowed down what they wanted to do with their new income to two things, and decided to let their 3 children decide. Their choices were to hire a housekeeper that would come in and help do laundry and keep the house in order, or they would buy a small cabin up in the mountains where they could spend every summer from there on out (of course with the stipulation that the kids would have to step it up in the chores department as they were getting to that age). Unanimously they chose the cabin.

They were able to purchase a cabin just down the creek from where they had spent their first visit to the mountains. It started out as a very, very small cabin on the side of the mountain that looked like it was perched up in the trees. That was when Billy's grandmother, gave it a name, treetops, and it has stuck ever since. This cabin was so small that the kitchen and bathroom were the same room. From there on out, every summer on the last day of school, their car would already be loaded and they would drive up to Georgia to spend the entire summer. Day after day they would enjoy life and take in every second of their time there--hiking, biking, tubing the river, and having adventures. hey would stay here until the week before they headed back to school.

The view from the Swiss family Robinson-esk porch. You can see that during the summer it stays very shaded. 

Eventually, they had to add on to the original structure. Presently, this cabin has 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, living room, and a real kitchen that only serves only as a place to cook and eat, and a precious screened in porch. That was the place that Billy spent every day of his summers, Christmas breaks, and hurricane seasons as a child. As Billy got older, and started getting more involved in baseball, summers began to get shorter as they didn't get started until after summer ball ended. As much as he loved baseball, I think he loved his cabin more. If you ask him about memories from his childhood, he will tell you that his best memories were from the cabin.. almost as if he actually lived there year round.

You can see the expanded original cabin in the background

As the family got bigger, and those 3 kids at the beginning of this story had children of their own, it was time to expand again. This time, they decided to just start over, and build a brand new cabin right next door. Billy's grandpa was on the verge of retirement, and his retirement plan consisted of him propping his feet up at the cabin and never returning to South Florida, so he figured he'd build himself a newer, modern place to enjoy once he did.

Construction began sometime in the early 2000's and now we have the big cabin adjacent to treetops. 4 bedrooms, 3 bath, and a large multipurpose garage/gym/game room type thing downstairs. The two cabins were adjoined with a huge porch and awning that is perfect for early morning reading and mid afternoon cards games.

The view from upstairs loft which is home to a bedroom, office space, and bathroom

After Billy graduated high school, his mom decided to move to Georgia full time, and his grandfather saw that as a good reason to go ahead and retire from teaching. Thank goodness they did, otherwise Billy and I probably would have never met. Now time spent here isn't limited to the months of May-August. However, his aunt (until next week) still lives in South Miami and still makes the drive up every summer wither her little ones to share the same nostalgia she experienced with them. I've only been around for 3 summers, and this place already holds a special place in my heart.

I, myself, can't wait to make more memories with a family of my own here. We are so incredibly blessed to have a place to share together and to enjoy God's incredible creation. Every free weekend we get is spent there, we love when friends come to visit us and help to add to the stories these logs tell. Though I'll be busy the next two weekends, I cannot wait to get up there the next chance I get. I can hear her calling me now.