A Taste of Alabama

Click HERE for The Tassel House Giveaway!  Closes tomorrow night...June 16 at midnight!

I've been wanting to share these with you for some time now.  A few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 7th anniversary.  We've been together for ten years!  I can't believe how much time has passed and what we have together...we are so very blessed and it's certainly easy to forget sometimes. 

We decided to skip an anniversary trip this year since we had just gone to Disney.  Matt is so sweet to surprise me and purposes to carve out time for just the two of us...it's a gift he has. :) 

When he had to be in Birmingham for business, he worked it out for me to tag along. 

We even stopped at a little winery on the way up....

I didn't even know we had those in Alabama.  We kept joking that they probably got the grapes from the grocery store and hung them....it just felt so bizarre.  It was lovely and enjoying each other's company was plenty to get us excited for our couple days away.

We were staying at Ross Bridge Resort and Spa in Birmingham. 

We had stayed there before and let me tell you...it's beautiful.  It looks a bit like a castle peeking through the mountains as you round the corner.  For you locals,  you should take a mini-vacation....you won't feel like you are in Alabama....

In the five or six years since we'd stayed at Ross Bridge, the community around it has grown incredibly.  It is similar to a beach community....lots of homes, town homes, a gym, restaurants and shopping all within walking (or golf cart-driving) distance.  Matt and I really enjoyed stalking the neighborhood with our camera.

The homes were beautiful and there were really some unique ones....

I loved that they were all unique and cohesive at the same time.  It was refreshing to see a different style on each lot.  I'm not such a cookie-cutter type of gal.

I love all the architectural details.....wooden shutters, copper overhangs, barn-style doors...

And while we were stalking, I found my dream home.  I have such an ecclectic style....it's always been easy for me to imagine the inside of my dream home but not the outside. 

While I love the farmhouse style on the inside, it's not totally my favorite on the outside.  I love a mix of cottage--and I mean more of a Maine cottage style, sometimes Mediterranean, french influences, and rustic farmhouse with all its mixture of stone and wood.  But I love the idea of it being lighter in color.  We live in a pale grey stucco home right now, and I love to look at it....so maybe some mixture of stucco and stone in a pale grey. 

 See the problem??  I can identify what I love but cant sketch it out. 

Now I don't have to. :)  Other than minor changes, I'll take one of these please....

You've heard me say it before, but houses that look like they were pulled from the side of a cliff are magical to me.  I adore the turret

that serves as an outdoor dining area...how lovely! 

And that entry??  Oh my goodness.

Can't you just see me walking barefoot in a summer dress to get the mail?  Because I definitely wouldn't be in gym shorts covered in paint.  :)

In all seriousness, I couldn't quit staring and driving by the house.  I probably should have asked if I could photograph the inside.  But that might have gotten me kicked out of the hotel.  I don't know, but I know I do love that home!

It was a lovely couple of days for Matt and me...and I'm glad I got to show some of our beautiful surroundings!

Where have you guys been lately that made you feel you were somewhere else entirely? 

:)