Asheville: Shopping // Winter Lights

Dress: The Somerset Maxi Dress: Velvet Edition by Anthropologie

Tights: Snag

Shoes: Fluevog, Enneagram: Inovative 

Necklace & Earrings: Heidi Daus via Ebay

Bracelet: Vintage

Stats: 5'7" 38-32-42

This velvet maxi was a stunner in purple & orange...these Somerset dresses are just so easy to wear...I was the first person to get it, so I bought it. 

We ducked into an alley, which turned into a courtyard between a few restaurants...we liked the rusty metal.

My shoes are dusty from walking all over Asheville on this day...but shoes are meant to be worn. 

Fluvie...

I'm never sure which orientation to wear these earrings...is that half circle of amber rhinestones supposed to be facing away (here) or toward my face?

David outside our Airbnb...ready for the day! He became a tie wearer on vacation...we've been picking up vintage ones here & there & fun ones at thrift stores...I like it! My bracelets that we got at Marquee the day before. And off to the heart of The River Arts District to look at art. 

House of Kismet...we wandered in here by chance...it was nestled among art galleries. Vintage treasures! And not just for women, 1/2 the store was devoted to men...I was so happy...David always gets left out. As usual with vintage clothing, most of it was too tiny, but I loved seeing all the colors & patterns. I got the 2 bracelets below, amber & purple. 

Cute, but too big, coats...

David got this dapper vintage Italian striped jacket.

There was so much to look at...I swept through the store 3 times to make sure I didn't miss anything.

I used to wear hats in high school...but I just don't have the hair for it now. Sidewalk art on our walk to get coffee before heading downtown. First stop, Hip Replacements...I had 4 or 5 clothing stores on my list of places I wanted to check out & this was one of them. I was impressed they carried up to size 20...I mean, that wouldn't have fit me at my fattest, but it's still good to see. 

Some familiar brands...Effie's Heart, Karina, & Unique Vintage.

Green leopard coat?! They were out of mediums, but I think the small fit alright. The back of the store had vintage finds & again...there was an entire men's section.

Trying on Effie's Heart...I also got a Karina dress.

A short walk to Honeypot (which was on my list, but it's sister store, House of Kismet, wasn't...the salespeople there had really talked up this store saying how much better it was...but HofK was definitely our favorite of the two). Again, 1/2 the store was dedicated to men...such a lovely surprise. 

David got that orange hat. I had the salesgirl undress this mannequin because according to their measurements, this would fit me...but the 32" waist turned out to be 28". 

Walking by...these paisley pants made me gasp...could they be Traffic People?! Yes! What an amazing find this store turned out to be. They reminded me very much of Lela Boutique in Milwaukee. Incredibly friendly & helpful. I was so tired of trying things on, we just bought stuff...they told me I could return it if anything didn't work out. 

I can't remember the name of this nearby store, but they had a monumental collection of Irregular Choice shoes...of which I don't own even one pair of, but always admire. Dinner! We went to Mellow Mushroom on the recommendation of one of the salespeople at Minx. 

We each chose a different margarita from their menu (I had a campfire peach). Our pizza choices were Maui Wowie (pesto based with mozzarella, ham, pineapple, jerk chicken, banana peppers, & applewood smoked bacon) & Holy Shiitake (roasted shiitake, button, & portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, mozzarella & MontAmore cheese on an olive oil & garlic base. Finished with fresh chives, shaved Parmesan, a garlic aioli swirl & black truffle oil.). Everything was good, but they are no Sal's. 

Later that night…we drove to The North Carolina Arboretum for Winter Lights. It was their 10th year of this light exhibit which is their biggest fund raiser of the year & was super well attended, which is especially impressive considering this runs from mid-November until NYE. 

We didn’t have incredibly high expectations, but I still enjoyed myself…I like pretty lights. Mushrooms!

And jellyfish. They had these fabulously fantastic plastic chairs that can survive any weather & made cute seating around the fire pits (which weren’t lit because of a no-burn ban at the time… I’m guessing it was too dry?).

Lots of photo ops. And live musicians…I particularly enjoyed this electric violinist. 

You could also get hot cocoa, beer, & s'mores. I'm glad we went, but it's not the sort of thing I need to go to a second time. 

Back at our Airbnb...unpacking the loot. Trying on things from Minx just in case there was something that didn't fit...pardon my drain bulges. 

David is amassing quite the collection of ties...we are going to share the scarf...& I got this 80s belt that looks suspiciously like one I had in high school. I was so pleased there was so much in the shops for David...he bought some really funky things. 

My haul from Minx & Hip Replacements...what a fun day!