I became aware of a sunflower farm not too far from our home through posts made by Facebook friends who recently visited this special place. David had taken an afternoon off from work this past week so we gathered up Soapy and drove to the Munsell Sunflower Farm located just south of Fowlerville MI to see the sunflowers for ourselves. It was glorious…fields and fields of bright yellow sunflowers as far as our eyes could see!
Before we left, I cut a few sunflower stems (.50 per stem/honor system to pay in box provided) to take home and display on our dining room table…a beautiful reminder of a breathtaking late summer outing.
Yesterday (Saturday, August 7, 2021) David, Soapy and I traveled to Flushing, MI to enjoy a take-out meal from Homeboy Barbeque. This was our second visit to date. Our first visit was on David’s birthday…May 28, 2021. That day was unseasonably cold and blustery…both of us needing our winter jacket and hooded sweatshirt. Saturday was just the opposite…beautiful with warm temperatures in the mid-80’s and sunny skies.
The roadside sign of Homeboy Barbeque in Flushing, MI
We decided to have a tailgate picnic at Homeboy so we loaded the van with table and chairs, along with tablecloth, plates, napkins and utensils. We had ordered in advance our selections and all was ready when we arrived at 2:30pm.
Our table full of good eats!
We ordered the “Family Special” which included two BBQ Half-Chickens, a full Rack of BBQ Ribs, three large sides…Southern Slaw, Redskin Potato Salad, and their competition winning BBQ Baked Beans, Cornbread and Chocolate Brownies. We ate only a portion of all this food knowing we would be bringing most home to enjoy for more meals. I brought cold packs to preserve the food.
Soapy and I enjoying our tailgate picnic! My picnic plate full of delicious eats…I could not eat it all so it got packed up and brought home.
The food is absolutely delicious! The chicken is the most tender chicken I have ever tasted. The ribs meaty. All the sides very good. David particularly enjoyed the BBQ Baked Beans…definitely a winner!
Soapy teased for his “fair share” of chicken. David giving him pieces with no BBQ sauce on them.
After we finished our tailgate picnic at Homeboy Barbeque, we drove west to St. John’s, MI to the Phillips Cider Mill for fresh Michigan peaches. First week of August is the first week of peach season!
The outside entrance to Phillips Cider Mill just off of I-127 north of St. John’s, MIRacks of freshly picked peaches from their orchardsDavid and I shared a tall refreshing cup of Apple Cider Slushy. Brain -freeze alert…sip slowly!!We brought home a quart package each of the three currently available free-stone peach varieties… Red Star, Lucky 13, and Red Haven.
On our way home from the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC, we decided to take a side trip to Gatlinburg TN. While in Gatlinburg, I looked up to see if there were any tea rooms in the area. The Wild Plum Tea Room showed up in my search and had good reviews. So off we went looking for it. We drove around the mountains outside of Gatlinburg for an hour or more before we finally found the tea room! It was 2:45pm in the afternoon and the tea room closed at 3:00pm. We decided to venture inside just to look around but once inside we were invited to sit and have tea. And so we did!
I shared with you in an earlier post our elegant Afternoon Tea experience at the Biltmore Estate Hotel. The Wild Plum Tea Room was a whole different experience…for you see it was located in a log cabin! The Wild Plum staff was so friendly and the food delicious. Truly a memorable experience from start to finish!
One of the reasons for our trip to the Biltmore Estate in November 2019 was to see the newest traveling exhibit about Downton Abbey. David and I had visited the Downton Abbey Costume Exhibit at the Winterthur Decorative Arts Museum in Delaware many years ago and that exhibit was phenomenal…even though at that time it only covered the first three seasons of the popular PBS production. So we were excited to see this latest exhibit which was to encompass all six seasons plus the Downton Abbey Movie.
Biltmore Estate staged this Downton Abbey Exhibit in two locations on the Estate. In the one location, exact replicas of the downstairs kitchen, formal main dining room, and Mary’s bedroom were staged in their full size. In another location, costumes from the series and movie were on display.
The costume exhibit at the Biltmore was a modest version of the one we saw at the Winterthur Museum and it lacked the pizazz of that exhibit as well. But it is always a thrill to see the show’s beautiful costumes in person, seeing the exquisite details of each garment, and thinking about the characters who wore them.
Here are a few pictures of the Downton Abbey Exhibit at the Biltmore Estate…
Downstairs Kitchen (replica)
Dining Room (replica)
Lady Mary’s Bedroom (replica)
Costumes from the Downton Abbey Movie
Costumes from the early years of Downton Abbey
Day dresses for the Downton Abbey women
Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson’s wedding attire
Wedding gown worn by Lady Edith
Various wedding attire from Downton Abbey
Presentation gown of Lady Rose
Gowns worn by (left to right) Lady Edith, Lady Mary, Lady Sybil
Blue gown with exquisite embroidered lace
Pink gown with diamond beaded design on bodice
White gown with intricate beaded design on lower tier
Last November (2019) David and I traveled to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC to experience the Candlelight Christmas Tour at the mansion…and to see the Downton Abbey Exhibit on display at the Estate.
It was totally awesome to see the largest home in America all decked out for the holidays! In addition to enjoying the festively decorated mansion, we savored gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate in their courtyard huddled close to a patio heater (it had turned cold and rainy), we further explored the mansion with “behind-the-scenes” and “up to the rafters” tours, and had Afternoon Tea at the Biltmore Estate Hotel. I will say it is the most expensive Afternoon Tea we have ever enjoyed of but it was elegant, the tea food tasty and well presented. The dessert plate was the best!
Here is a pictorial recap of our lovely Afternoon Tea at the Biltmore Hotel…
Inside the Biltmore Hotel looking down the stairs to the Dining Room where our Afternoon Tea would be served.
Looking from our table across the Dining Room with our fellow Afternoon Tea guests
Our table by the window
Afternoon Tea Menu
Hot tea served the true English way with loose tea leaves in the pot and tea cup strainer… David’s favorite way to enjoy tea!
Tiered server of assorted scones and condiments
Served plate of tea savories… Grilled Vegetable Wrap, Cucumber Sandwich, Sausage Roll, Butternut Custard Tart, Smoked Salmon Mousse
“Welsh Rabbit” they called “Blushing Bunny” – cheese sauce over toasted bread, garnished with grape tomatoes
The decadent dessert plate – we each were served our own plate of these delicious little beauties!
It is difficult to find the words to encompass all that we experienced at the Biltmore Estate last November (2019) when we traveled there to see it decorated for the Christmas season. It was all so spectacular! The huge House, the expansive grounds, the glittering decorations, the decadent treats, even the changing weather! It was a trip worth doing and hopefully we will do it again.
Biltmore Estate is the largest home in America and sits on 8000 acres of rolling countryside in Asheville NC. George Vanderbilt began construction of his 250-room “French Renaissance Chateau” in 1889. There are over four acres of floor space…with 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, and includes an indoor heated swimming pool and bowling alley. The House was completed in time to celebrate Christmas with family and friends in 1895. This year (2020) marks its 125 anniversary!
Here is a link (copy and paste into a new tab) to explore more about the Biltmore Estate history…
biltmore.com/our-story/estate-history/
With the sun setting over the Biltmore Estate, let’s go inside and take a peak at the breath-taking holiday beauty as it transforms to its evening glow.
Entrance Hall with lighted garland radiating from the central chandelier
The amazing octagonal sunken Winter Garden atrium in the evening with a caroling choir in place
Poinsettia trees adorn the Winter Garden atrium
Dueling harps waiting for their time to make music in the Winter Garden atrium
Beautiful pair of illuminated trees near the Winter Garden atrium
The Banquet Hall
The massive fresh evergreen Christmas Tree in the Banquet Hall
The long table in the Banquet Hall looking very festive
