Weekend Getaway

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We went away for the weekend and stayed in a fabulous bed and breakfast in Middleburg, VA - the Middleburg Country Inn. It was an absolutely gorgeous place - surrounded by gardens and a fabulous view! The innkeepers, Jo Ann and Kevin, were very friendly and welcoming. We had an absolutely fabulous weekend!











The room was fabulous! Furnished with numerous antiques and homey touches, we were quite comfortable and felt wrapped in luxury. And the view was fabulous!!!













The bed was absolutely fascinating. I've never had a bed this high...you literally had steps to get into it! I just had to remember to carefully "climb down the sides" in the morning, rather than doing a leisurely "roll out of bed"! (Thank goodness I didn't fall out of bed!!!)















We had one of the rooms on the top floor, so we were blessed with dormer windows and a wide windowsill. This is the type of windowsill that I've always dreamed of for a window seat. I always imagined myself just curling up in a spot like this on a cushion with a good book. Sigh.





We spent the weekend leisurely eating and shopping. It was great to just "get away for it all". The weather was absolutely beautiful! Low humidity, mid 80's - definitely not the norm for July in the Washington DC area. It was the perfect weather for walking round town and just enjoying the outdoors. The scenery was quite lovely. Middleburg is a small historic town out in the country. There are even some barns within the town...and many beautiful plants and flowers.












As we wandered around, I found some unusual plants. I need to look them up to see exactly what they were. First off, there was a tree that dropped gnarly looking pods. I still have no idea what kind of tree this was. Perhaps someone can enlighten me???


We also spotted this bush adorned with both flowers and long pods. Again, I have no idea what type of plant this was. I just thought it was interesting. The overall shape is a bush (left). The flowers and seed pods are shown below.















My favorite restaurant is the "Back Street Cafe". We ate there both nights for dinner. As always, the food was fabulous and the portions HUGE! We brought home enough from our dinners for two more meals! My personal favorites include their home made dressings - the parmesan and herb dressing and the sweet and sour celery dressing as well as their crab crustini appetizer. FABULOUS!!!!

We tried out "Dank's" at noon on Saturday for their sandwiches. We got the special which was a cup of soup and half a sandwich. I had the Italian sub and some fabulous gazpacho soup. DH had the Italian sub as well, but he had the Chicken Noodle soup. Both soups and the sandwich were delicious! An absolute delight!

Shopping was a lot of fun...I love all the unique shops that call Middleburg their home. There's something exciting and different about shops that are NOT chains...and NOT in a mall. It brings back memories of the bustling "downtown" of my childhood. Unfortunately, most small towns no longer have a vibrant downtown...everyone instead heads out to the mall.

A few my favorite Middleburg shops include:

• The "Wine Cellar" (on Madison St.) - great selection of wines and very friendly
• The "Fun Shop" (on Washington St.) - a never ending shop with everything - giftware, clothing, toys, kitchenware, housewares (including some yard goods and craft supplies), candy, children's clothing, and the typical items you'd find in a drug store.
  
• "Wylie Wags" (on Washington St.) - fabulous shop with unique items for your pets!
  
• "Nobel Nielsen Shoes" (on Washington St.) - accessories and shoes.
  
• "Three Crowns" (on Washington St.) - another variety store - clothing, kitchen ware, giftware, baby gifts/toys, purses, jewelry
• "Second Chapter Books" (on Federal St.)

At Nobel Nielsen, we were greeted by the most adorable and friendly mother and son cocker spaniels. They were absolutely adorable!!!





Of course, I also brought my spinning wheel. I always manage to work in a bit of spinning! In fact, I spun some of the targhee I had hand dyed all three days! I definitely kept up with "Tour de Fleece" even though I'd ventured out of town.

DH knows that whenever we go away, so does the wheel...there's always ample opportunities to work in some spinning. I don't think I've even been anywhere where I didn't at least get some spinning done!