C & I visited Jackson’s Orchard and Riverview at Hobson Grove in Bowling Green, KY recently and it is a beautiful place. Click here for Riverview’s history.
Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
Almost Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Fun, Kentucky, Travel, tagged Blueberry, Bowling Green, Jackson's Orchard, Kentucky, Peaches, Riverview at Hobson Grove on July 2, 2014|
Thoughtful Thursday-Travel Edition
Posted in My Thoughts, Travel, tagged My Thoughts, Nashville, Table 3, Thoughtful Thursday, Travel on March 20, 2014| 2 Comments »
Nashville, Tennessee is one of our favorite places to visit for a day or weekend trip. C & I were having a little cabin fever a couple of weeks ago so we took off for parts south one Saturday. The original reason for our trip was to go to the Apple Store at the Mall at Green Hills and I tacked on a few other destinations in the same mall. You got to make your trips count, don’t you know?
We also visited the Green Hills branch of the Nashville Public Library because we such huge NERDS! There is a very good reason we did that, but that’s for another post. The library was very pretty inside and out. They have a pretty fountain at the entrance and a walking path with a statue.
I have to admit we found the statue a little creepy. It is a little freaky to sit there and have the “old man” staring at you. Anywho, since we were out to have a little fun, I decided to search for a new restaurant to try in the area and kept coming back to Table 3 which is a French bistro right next to the mall. What a success!
The ambience was great and the food was even better. One of the specials that day was pork chili and I really hesitated because I thought my mind was made up to try the French dip. I decided to forgo the chili and go with my first instinct. Of course, C had the cheeseburger and "pommes frites”. (C’s statement to me: I just want fries with my burger. My statement to him: Pommes frites is fancy French for fries. You’ll be just fine.)
I went with the baby green salad with my sandwich and I was so glad I did. It was all so tasty. Enough with all the words. Here are the pics:
I think C’s look says it all: Can we just eat already?
After this, we hit the mall and there were so many stores that I wanted to check out. There are some stores that just don’t exist in Kentucky. Restoration Hardware was my first stop and the look is amazing, but the prices are ridiculous!!! One bathroom cabinet (that wasn’t even solid wood) was $2100.00! Um, no thank you and I promise not to break anything while I am here. It was neat to see the set-up, but, in my opinion, their wares are way overpriced
C & I finally made it to the Apple Store and it was a madhouse. The service was prompt and friendly and C’s errand didn’t take long at all. After the mall experience, I braved the traffic and made it to Anthropologie. This was another store that I had heard so much about and wanted badly to be impressed. They do have some neat things and I can see how food bloggers would go crazy over their selection, but, again, the prices were just a little too high to justify my purchasing things there. They also some kind of weird air freshener or candle burning which didn’t set well with C or my allergies.
We had a great time and I told C that we just experienced how the “other half” live since this is a swanky and well-off area of Nashville. I mean, I got behind a Maserati in traffic, for Pete’s sake! I think I’ll keep my Chevy.
Almost Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Fun, Nature, Photography, Travel, tagged Autumn, Harrodsburg, Highway 68, Kentucky, Kentucky River, Nature, Nicholasville, Photography on October 30, 2013| 2 Comments »
Thoughtful Thursday-Just for Fun Edition
Posted in Family, Fun, My Thoughts, Photography, Travel, tagged Contests, Culinary, Kentucky State Fair, Louisville, Photography on September 5, 2013|
C & I took in the Kentucky State Fair on its last day Sunday before last and had a lot of fun. The last day is really not the best time to go to see the animals and exhibits, but we had tickets to see comedian Jeff Dunham so that is when we went. The show was great, but I did miss seeing the animals.
Most of the exhibits were still on display so we walked around for a couple of hours looking at those. I will warn you…this is going to be a photo heavy post. The balloon art was the first thing we saw upon entering and it had a UK/UofL basketball theme. When we left that night, they were popping all of the balloons.
We headed to the culinary section first and I found all of my entries in the cases. There was also some gorgeous decorated cakes as well.
We both loved the Angry Birds cupcakes. The modeling work was spot-on!
There are always beautiful award winning quilts and woodworking on display as well.
Finally…the photography. This was the winner in the category that I entered which was color nature photography.
Here I am with my entry of a wild Tom turkey in front of an old house in a field.
C found a new toy, but he didn’t get to bring it home.
The midway was still in full swing as we were leaving the Jeff Dunham show so I pulled over to get a few shots of the lit rides. The lights were so pretty!
C & I had a fun time at the Kentucky State Fair and will hopefully be back next year!
Thoughtful Thursday
Posted in Fun, Gardening, My Thoughts, Photography, Travel, tagged Gardening, Kentucky, Louisville, Travel, Yew Dell Botanical Gardens on August 22, 2013| 2 Comments »
A few weeks ago, C & I had the opportunity to visit the Yew Dell Botanical Garden in Crestwood, Kentucky and had a wonderful time. They have a neat history and I invite you to visit their site for the history and a list of the many events they hold there. I won’t take up much room on my post for that because I have many photos to share with you, and, yes, that is a warning!! Caution: extreme amount of photos ahead!
Crestwood is a suburb community of Louisville, KY and the trip from downtown to the garden takes about 30 minutes depending on the amount of traffic. We turned in and spotted their unique entry gate and sign:
We parked and began looking for the entrance so we could purchase tickets and it is located in this barn. Looks are deceiving in this instance because there is a nice air-conditioned gift shop in there.
There was a sculpture exhibition going on at the garden and most of the artwork was for sale, but it was a little pricey for our checkbook.
Yeah, you are reading that correctly. We made sure not to break anything! Here comes the photo deluge. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…
Doesn’t everyone have a castle in their backyard? I loved this!
Beautiful views from the lookout above:
This space was an edible garden.
The tree lined allees were gorgeous.
You eyes aren’t deceiving you. That IS a giant ball made of tires.
We really enjoyed our trip to Yew Dell and highly recommend it for any garden lovers out there.
Almost Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Fun, Photography, Travel, tagged Architecture, Louisville, Photography, Wordless Wednesday on July 3, 2013|
Thoughtful Thursday- Flower Power Take 2
Posted in Fun, Gardening, Kentucky Proud, My Thoughts, Travel, tagged Buy Local, Kentucky, Kentucky Proud, Springhouse Gardens, Thoughtful Thursday on May 30, 2013| 3 Comments »
One day, while watching a Lexington, Kentucky news broadcast, I saw a commercial that really caught my eye. It was for Springhouse Gardens which, come to find out, was a nursery in Nicholasville, a nearby town to Lexington.
I mentioned seeing this ad to my aunt and Nanny so we decided to take a little road trip to visit and it was well worth it! Nicholasville is about 2 hours from where we live so we started out early one morning just a couple of weeks ago. It is so worth it to take the scenic route up Highway 68 through Lebanon, Perryville and Harrodsburg. The view up the Kentucky River when you cross is breathtaking! I wish there was a place to stop for photos at that location, but there really isn’t. The huge limestone walls and forests along the banks of the flowing river is absolutely beautiful!
We arrived at the nursery after passing some manicured horse farms and we weren’t disappointed. Since they are located in a more upscale area, the prices reflected that a bit, but they weren’t too bad. I bought an “American Hero “ hosta and Nanny purchased something I had never seen before…a non-vining Clematis which will make a shrub instead.
If you are looking for some specimen trees or shrubs to add to your landscape, then I highly recommend going to Springhouse Gardens. They had things I had never seen before, including a weeping redwood that was out of this world. I didn’t even know you could grow redwoods in Kentucky.
Would you like to see a few photographs from that day? I thought so…I’ll be quiet now and just let you bask in the beauty of Springhouse Gardens. Oh, one last thing…the owners were there that day and they are just delightful. Let them know if you are from out of town and they will have you sign a guestbook.
Yes, we are in horse country.
Beautiful Japanese Maple trees:
I loved the tree they trimmed to look like a flower:
Thoughtful Thursday-Eat Local Edition
Posted in Fun, Kentucky Proud, Photography, Travel, tagged Bluebird Cafe, Eat Local, Kentucky, Kentucky Proud, Lancaster Kentucky, Marksbury Farm, Stanford Kentucky on May 2, 2013| 1 Comment »
Back in March, when C & I went to the Kentucky Green Living Fair, I planned a couple of extra stops while we were in the area. We don’t go that direction very often so I wanted to make the most of my trip.
Our first after-the-fair stop was for lunch at The Bluebird Café in Stanford, Kentucky. I had heard of this restaurant many times when it was mentioned by other Kentucky Food Bloggers that lived in the area so I definitely had to check it out. The food and ambience were just as good as advertised! If we are back in Stanford again, The Bluebird Café will be a definite stop.
C had the Bluebird burger made with locally produced ground beef from Marksbury Farm (more to come on that in a minute) with French fries.
I had the NYC roast beef panini with French fries and it was so good!
Stanford is a beautiful little town that takes advantage of its history and heritage.
Next, we traveled to Lancaster, Kentucky to visit Marksbury Farm which according to their website:
“is a small scale, locally owned, Butchers Shop, Farm Market,
and Processing Facility.
We partner with local farmers who share our
commitment to sustainable, humane,
and natural production methods.
We use traditional and modern methods to
deliver an array of high quality, healthy,
and fresh products.”
It is located in an old farmhouse with a beautiful little courtyard and other old outbuildings left over from days gone by. Make sure and watch your step when you enter. The porch roof is a little low! The owner said he had to choose between the step railing and the roof so the railing won.
While there, I purchased a pound of ground beef, a package of pork chops and a package of sausage patties. The beef is delicious and I can’t wait to try the other products as well. C & I had a great day of enjoying Kentucky people and products that day. Can’t wait for another day just like it!
Almost Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Entertainment, Fun, Gardening, Green/Sustainable Living, Photography, Travel, tagged Barn At Red Gate, Kentucky Green Living Fair, Photography, Somerset on April 10, 2013| 1 Comment »
Thoughtful Thursday-Kentucky Green Living Fair Post 1
Posted in Fun, Green/Sustainable Living, My Thoughts, Travel, tagged Barn At Red Gate, Kentucky, Kentucky Green Living Fair, Somerset, Sustainable Kentucky on April 4, 2013| 2 Comments »
Yes, you read that right…this is the first post of several about the first annual Kentucky Green Living Fair that C & I attended last Saturday at the Barn At Redgate in Somerset, Kentucky. Thanks to Jamie at Sustainable Kentucky along with the other sponsors: ClearChannel Media, eat., Good Foods Market & Café, JD Country Milk, Somerset Farmers Market, Story Magazine, Rough Draft Farmstead, Sweetgrass Granola, and Tim Farmer’s Country Kitchen, this was a remarkable first time event that brought together people interested in sustainable and clean living. We loved it and had a great time!
Today, I would like to thank those wonderful sponsors above along with others that gave items for the Kentucky Food Bloggers’ gift bags. I will list them all below with several photos of the goodies. It was great just to get free tickets by being a member so I was overwhelmed with the contents of the bag. I also got my first media pass…
Who knew that being a blogger meant that you were media? I sure didn’t, but it felt pretty good to wear that little badge. I am not normally an extroverted person, so it took me a little while to warm up and strike up conversations with the different vendors, but I am so glad I did since all of them were full of personality and information. I also got to hand out a few blog business cards for the first time. I just might make a go of this yet!
Without further ado, here are some photos and links of the gifts that were given to us bloggers:
Watermelon mint tea from Rooibee Red Teas:
A pound of ground beef from Pike Valley Farm Foods:
I plan on using that beautiful ground beef tonight for hamburgers. Yum!
Salmon filet from Caught Wild Salmon:
Boston Brown Bread from Halcomb’s Knob Farm:
A cute re-usable shopping bag:
A beautiful hardback book named “the pantry” by Catherine Pond (loved talking to her):
Another wonderful hardback book: “A Feast For The Eyes” by David Domine:
Two magazines: eat. and Story:
Cherry Almond granola from Sweetgrass:
Moisturizer and soap from Rock Bottom Stables & Soap:
Honey from Solar Place Farm:
Organic sheep soap from Windsor Wool Farms and native grass/wildflower seed from Sustainable Kentucky:
I also got a free baked item from Clementine’s Bake Shop. Thanks to all of these wonderful vendors and if I left someone off, I apologize, but I have listed as many as I can remember.
We had to give back a little so C & I purchased a few t-shirts along with some delicious cheddar cheese from Heavenly Homestead. You can’t have too many tees, can you?
Please come on back next week for the next installment of the Kentucky Green Living Fair redux. I have so many post ideas swirling in my head that it may take a while to get organized. Can’t wait ‘til next year…March 29, 2014!
Picture Perfect Cooking 