Back from the Blue Ridge Mountains :)

Hello, everyone! I hope you’ve experienced a wonderful production-oriented week. I’m back from the mountains (sigh), but ready as ever to chop away at the work set before me! But, before we dive into all the excitement that lays ahead (blender giveaway announcement!)… I’ll share a few highlights from the trip J

Shortly into the 4-hr drive up, we made a stop at Whole Foods for juicing supplies. Yes, our wonderful Breville juicer had to come with us, folks.

I love all the bright and bold colors of fresh veggies!

One of my favorite aisles J

We picked out a delicious little treat for the road. Grain-sweetened chocolate covered almonds.  Yum!

And, we got these cookies for the kids… healthy ginger snaps! There are healthy options to nearly everything out there, and if we can’t find them- well it’s up to us to discover, create or find an alternative!

This was lunch on the road on the way there. I can’t remember when I stopped eating fast-food. I don’t think it was ever a deliberate action on my part, just that I don’t really care for it, and the more I learn about what ingredients they use the more logical sense it makes to not eat the stuff. I don’t look down on those who eat fast-food, but I do try and make responsible choices with the knowledge I’ve been given. J 

I’m always amazed at how little time it takes to prepare a healthy option! I’m sure you could whip up this little sandwich I had in the time or less that you’d sit in the drive-up waiting for a burger. To make this, all you need are 2 slices of whole grain bread spread with mayo, a handful of spinach leaves and a few slices of cucumber and tomato.  

We got to the mountain house mid-afternoon last Tuesday giving us plenty of time to relax and settle in before evening. The first night, we enjoyed this delicious Caesar salad with spaghetti for supper!

This gourmet anti-pasta side of olives & mozeralla cheese was so good.

Relishing cool evenings outdoors… a nice change from the typical 65-70 degree evenings experienced at home.

Rustic furniture is so warm & inviting, wouldn’t you just love to sit on this log bench for a spell?

It rained which presented the perfect opportunity to curl up with a pile of good books, tea & chocolate.

Thursday morning, 2 of my sisters & I went scouting for a natural rock supplier. These two girls are the bomb. Inconspicuous as can be but definitely investigating the territory. Excited about this project!

We also went to a couple health food stores. The mountains are great for “earthy” types of foods J

Cute name :)

I didn’t buy any of this, but I love it when companies support the locals.

I'm a sunset watcher- or at least I want to be. This is me with my youngest brother, Joey (he's 7). He makes my life so rich!

Friday, we went to the Mast General Store. Visiting this place is like stepping back in time and brings back great memories as a kid! Here my Dad and I are sitting together on the back porch enjoying some live music.

We bought some raw honey with comb. Yum!

I also believe in "living a little" :p I had one sip of this bottled coke (I think glass bottles are the best!) and a few bites of this freshly bake homemade apple pie. So good!



We also watched quite a few movies/documentaries on WWII in honor of the 68th anniversary of D-Day which was this past Wednesday. These types of movies are hard for me because they represent real sacrifice but it was good to be reminded of freedom's price.

This strawberry kiwi energy drink was a great refresher! I don’t normally drink these types of things, but since it was vacation I figured, why not try something new?

Shock! Be sure to read your labels, people. Surprise, surprise high fructose corn syrup alert :P This one still had sugar in it, but I’ll take that any day over the HFCS. 

This was a great lunch one afternoon!

I went running, of course!

These two little kiddos came with me on their scooters. So fun! 

Mellow Mushroom pizza!

I made a nutritious green smoothie this morning for breakfast. I hadn't had one in several days and after last night's pizza (and ice cream!) my body was craving one!

Okay, so this post ended up being way longer than I expected and I’m going to sign off now :P There were a million other things that happened too- so many blessings experienced I couldn’t begin to share them all! Life is precious- don’t waste it!   

The best part of this trip? Cherishing and cultivating relationships and really stopping to take the time to connect with the people who matter the most to me, my family.

Okay, so early next week I will announce a winner for the Marathon Bullet Blender! We have a grand total of 20 contestants thus far… Hold onto your seats, you just might be the winner!