Blacksburg in the news

This is a little outdated, but I am still impressed. Blacksburg making it big in Businessweek!

"Virginia Town is Best Place in the U.S. to Raise Kids...With good schools, an affordable lifestyle, and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the backyard, Blacksburg, Va., is No. 1"

Hey friends--how about everyone who reads this moves to Blacksburg and enjoys living in one of the best Virginia small towns!

Family in Blacksburg

Bryce and I were so excited to welcome the whole clan into our home (my Dad, Kim-his girlfriend, Amy, Aaron, Emily, Tim, Abby, and baby Aaron) for a Christmas time with my family.

It was cozy (and a pretty tight) in our little ranch, but well worth it. Everyone showed up on Emily's birthday, Thursday, and we headed to Sharkey's for wings. Loooove wings. #6 is perfect. After, we celebrated with strawberry cake sent from West Virginia (thanks, Connie!) and gifts.



On Friday, we woke up and opened gifts around 8am when we were all up with our coffee. Abby was so excited that Papa got her a bike!



Dad got us girls a really special gift: Pandora bracelets with Mom's birthstone on a charm. We loved them!


That afternoon, we went on campus and walked around. Kim had never seen the VT campus. Plus, we couldn't stay inside with it being sunny and 60 degrees out! It felt like September!

Abby got to try out her new bike around campus.





Also, I realized that I hardly ever have photos of my sweet baby brother on the blog...maybe because he needs to visit us more?? This one is for you, baby brother.


We also stopped by Bryce's lab because he was stuck there doing work almost all day. My smart scientist.


On Friday night, Dad treated us to a gourmet dinner including appetizers and wine. Stuffed mushrooms, hummus, BLT dip with endive, pomegranate and persimmon salad with hazelnuts, sauteed garlic green beans, and beef wellington.




After, we played Things and laughed a lot. Then stuffed our stomachs more with pie (Connie's a doll...didn't want me to have to make all those sweet by myself so she sent tons home with me! Blessed with a great mother-in-law).

We all headed our separate ways on Saturday, us included. We headed to Kami and Matt's wedding in Charlottesville for a New Year celebration. The holiday fun didn't stop yet :-)

Day of Fun

Last Saturday, we had a serious day of fun with the Langs. Jeff, Kate, and I picked Bryce up from the Roanoke airport (he was at a conference for a few days). I've been wanting to pick apples this season, so we drove directly to the Peaks of Otter winery and orchards. It's not too far from Roanoke.


Virginia grown! They had delicious butters like apple, sweet potato, and peach. Tons of wines also. The tasting area was crowded.





After Jeff searched for the perfect green (not yellow) apple tree and Bryce lugged around my 1,000 apples that I made him carry, we got back in the car and headed towards the actual Peaks of Otter to hike Sharp Top.

We did this hike before, but it was so hot and humid, that the view at the top wasn't that great. This time, we were blessed with perfect Fall weather AND blessed to hang out with great friends. It's good to have friends that make you laugh and forget that you have a huge Ph.D. prelim exam in 6 days (Bryce).









Then we got back in the car and drove to Lynchburg to...go to the J.Crew distribution center! Kate and I were pretty excited and the boys kept making fun of our excitement. FYI the prices are extremely reasonable compared to normal prices. We found some great deals (and it was funny because the boys found even more than we did).

We ended the super fun day at APPLEbees in honor of picking apples and in hopes of watching the VT vs. Wake Forest game. Just kidding, there was a really long wait everywhere else. Bummer #1 because we really wanted BW3 wings. Oh, and the game wasn't televised (except on the internet which was showing at BW3s). Bummer #2. So we ate a bunch of greasy American food and listened to the end of the game on the radio driving home. Still, an awesome DAY OF FUN!

*Update: I made cinnamon apple sauce with 17 apples and barely made a dent in that huge bag of apples. It didn't look like that much to me... I guess I'll make more apple sauce and maybe apple butter. I'll have to freeze it... Apparently my eyes were much bigger than my freezer can handle.

More pictures.

Trails at Mountain Lake

We went for a couple short hikes near Blacksburg last Saturday. It was great weather and nice to do short hikes (for a change!). I actually have a running list of hikes in the area that I want us to do before Bryce finishes up at VT which will probably be late Spring/early Summer next year. On the list were Bald Knob and Bear Cliffs, both up at Mountain Lake.

My favorite of the two was Bald Knob. It was a really pretty overlook.



Then we headed to Bear Cliffs. It was a little longer with more rocks.




After hiking, we drove through Newport and decided to stop by Mikie's 7th for lunch. It seemed like a random hole-in-the-wall restaurant, but we heard about it from our friends who liked it, plus it was local and on our way home. I got the Black and Blue burger and Bryce got the Beef Po'boy with fries. We really liked the food and will be going back!

Floyd Jamboree

We went to Floyd for the Friday Night Jamboree a couple weekends ago. Floyd is an awesome little town just 25ish minutes from Blacksburg.



We didn't pay $5 to stay inside the store and enjoy the jamboree, but we did walk around and enjoy the random groups of people playing bluegrass/country outside. This group was really good. The guy with the fiddle had just driven up from Raleigh and never met these other guys-and they sounded so good!! It was like they just picked it up no problem. Really fun.


There was a little market with homemade things like tie dye, pottery, rain sticks, and carved wood.



I think we'll be back there soon. Bryce's dad loves bluegrass. I can't wait. I want to get Bryce to dance with me at the jamboree.

Three Ridges hike

A couple weekends ago, we went on a hike with Kyle and Cayce, Bryce's BFF who got married to beautiful Cayce in April. It was so fun!

The weather was horrible as we drove north on I-81 and on Blue Ridge Parkway to the hike. The skies were dark with strong winds and intermittent heavy rain. Once we actually got there, it cleared.


The hike was hard! It was 14+ miles with more uphill than we were hoping for. It went along the AT with some good overlooks. The first night, we camped on the top of a ridge. The boys struggled to get a fire going. Frustrated, they kept telling us, "This is the longest, most difficult time I've ever had trying to get a fire going!!!" It was actually chilly and with our smores supplies ready, we were really craving for a fire (or maybe just a melted marshmellow and chocolate on a crunchy graham cracker).

They finally got it going.


On Saturday, we hiked downhill then uphill then downhill to an awesome campsite on a creek with perfect swimming holes. Since we were all dripping sweat, we grabbed our camp soap and got in the water. Seriously, it was the coldest water I've ever swam in. When I jumped in, it felt like I was punched in the chest and I couldn't catch my breath for a second! All worth it though, since we smelled pretty bad. It actually felt great being clean after. I wish I took pictures of it!


We hiked out on Sunday morning and drove a little out of the way to Waynesboro to enjoy a huge Cracker Barrel breakfast. This has actually become a little tradition for Bryce and I after hard hikes or running races. You just can't beat those buttermilk pancakes and biscuits with apple butter. I want some right now.


We headed home after with a blister, sore muscles, and desperately needing a shower. I actually found a tick on Bryce's back. Kyle found a tick on his leg. Have you heard that country song, "I want to check you for ticks"? Bryce was singing that when we got home. My husband is so romantic.

New River cookout

What's not to love about summer? Cookouts by the river. Evening walks while it's still light out. Golfing. Beach. Eating outside at restaurants. Tank tops. Iced sweet tea. Garden. Grilling. Smoothies. Laying out. Vacations. Watermelon (the best fruit ever).




Oh, and Sonic slushies. The real fruit lemon berry slush is soo good. Has anyone tried the frozen strawberry lemonade from McDonald's yet?



Ok, I don't love the mosquitos in summer. But I love Skintastic OFF!. So much that I keep an extra in the car.

Black Dog Salvage

I don't know why, but I really like furniture. I also like to browse antique shops and look at unique old stuff. Well, I heard of this place in Roanoke from my friend, Katherine, and was dying to go. While hanging out with Kate one day, we decided to go on an outing to the big metropolis of Roanoke, VA. We were doing some wedding returns to Macy's at the mall and I explained to her that we had to check this place out. She was more skeptical than I was, but when we pulled up, we were pretty excited to check it out.





They had so many treasures! Old doors, statues, windows, stained glass, refurbished antiques, recycled furniture, shutters, rugs, patio stuff. It was pretty big, too. I wanted to buy quite a few things, but I held off. If you live near by, you should check it out.




I really loved these lamps...



One of our favorite rooms was one set up like an outdoor patio. They built a hanging bed with salvaged wood and banisters. It was so peaceful and comfortable.



The next time I go to Greensboro, I hope to check out Architectural Salvage of Greensboro.