Christmas Present=Rejuvenation

Several months ago, my friend Blayne told me about a scrapbooking retreat she does every year at this place. She just happened to have an opening and asked if I was interested. Hmm....two days to scrapbook when I wanted, sleep when I wanted, read when I wanted? A private room? Awesome food? Was I interested????? Um, yes.

I convinced Darryl that this could be my (very generous) Christmas present, so I signed up. I'm so glad I did. This past weekend was just what I needed.

I drove up late Friday afternoon to this inn, which was practically in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, you take this winding road, which turns into a dirt road at some point, and then, out of nowhere, appears this inn.

When I arrived, I settled into my room, and then went to the conference room, which was our scrapbooking area. My project for the weekend was Amelia's "First Year" book, and I got a lot done over the two days, thanks to this kit and some baby girl supplies I had already bought.

Anyway, after everyone had arrived Friday, we went to dinner. This might be a place to transition into food talk. If you love food like I do, check out what I ate all weekend:

Friday night: salad, Macadamia Chicken with mashed potatoes and crisp green beans, and chocolate cheesecake for dessert.

Saturday morning/breakfast: Egg and cheese strata, out-of-this-world grits obviously made with cream, fried ham, fruit, biscuits with homemade grape/blueberry jam.

Saturday lunch: baked potato bar with all the fixings, homemade chili, and chocolate chocolate chip cookies for dessert. (Those cookies were probably the best cookies I've ever eaten.)

Saturday night: salad, beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes and green beans, and brownie sundae for dessert

Sunday morning: blueberry pancakes and apple cinnamon pancakes served straight from the griddle, bacon, and fruit.

Sunday lunch: salad, chicken pot pie, herb-ish buttered bread, and chocolate cake and chocolate fudge pie for dessert.

Good Lord. I ate it all. That might explain why I feel puffy this morning.

So basically, this weekend consisted of eating, scrapbooking, eating, scrapbooking, eating, scrapbooking...you get the idea. Oh, we slept in there somewhere.

It was awesome, and it far exceeded my expectations. I knew only Blayne when I went, but I met some other great ladies and had a wonderful time.

This inn was definitely the definition of "quaint." Is it a place I would go to for just a vacation? No. But it is definitely THE place to go if you just want to get away from everything.

Here is my room (excuse the unmade bed):

"Quaint" means you might see signs like this hanging over the toilet:

This was the view from my room.


Pretty nice, huh?

I came back Sunday afternoon, and while I had a good time, I was ready to see Darryl and Amelia. And I swear, when I walked through the door, Amelia started stomping her feet in excitement to see me, and then she gave me a HUGE hug when I picked her up. I think that was hands down the best welcome I've ever received!

I have to give a big thank you to Darryl. Obviously, my being away meant he was on 48-hour Amelia duty, and Amelia is quite the active little girl. Thanks, Babe! I truly enjoyed myself!