Asheville has a special place in my heart. My husband and I just got back from celebrating our 2 year anniversary. Why go there out of all the other options we have? Well, we wanted to recreate our first getaway but better…
Here’s what happened…
We like to be prepared so we normally plan out vacation months ahead and set up an itinerary. With this trip though I set up our itinerary a week prior, we’ve been to Asheville a couple of times so we knew what to expect. This trip was for us to go do nothing but rest and that’s exactly what we did.
Road to Asheville
The day before our anniversary couldn’t have been more perfect. My rain boots that I bought from Aldo arrived just in time for our trip and I got to wear them the day that we left. They’re on sale by the way 50% off, click on the link. We hopped in the car and drove two hours straight. Well, we had a quick stop at Starbucks to get a drink and a small bite to eat. Seems that it’s become tradition, but I’m not complaining.
I had a delicious iced coffee, not sure what exactly the lady put it in it as I gave her permission to be creative. All I remember her saying was pumpkin spice and I was sold. The drink was good.
After our stop we drove straight to Asheville, it was a perfect fall day. We listened to ‘rainy day’ music on Spotify & didn’t stop talking until we arrived to our destination. Most of our conversation was centered around begging my husband for a puppy and trying to convince him that I’m responsible enough to be a dog owner. I don’t think it worked.
Back on the road we blabbed all the way to Asheville. Talking about our marriage and just how much we’ve grown over the two years. Our hopes and dreams for the future, our family and friends. It was a beautiful ride.
Ukiah Japanese Steakhouse
If you follow my blog then you know that I’ve mentioned this restaurant before, that’s because they’re so good. Their food is delicious. We both had the exact same meal we had the last time we were here. For starters we had crispy squid with salt and chichimi pepper. I also had the spicy pork BBQ ramen and the broth gets me every time.
The scenery made me feel like I was in a romance novel. We were seated inside the restaurant. I sat opposite the large glass doors, watching the rain and gloomy weather made me feel happy and calm. All while looking into the eyes of my husband who’s sitting across me, made me feel giddy.
The AirB&B
We stayed in a Scandinavian-inspired cabin, perfect for a private getaway. The surroundings were peaceful and quiet, which we needed. This space was clean, modern, pleasing to the eye, spacious, and had lots of natural light. The location was perfect, quite a short drive to downtown Asheville where we spent a lot of our time.
The cabin had a fully equipped kitchen, which was my favorite part. It had everything that we needed, a dishwasher, a fridge, a big, beautiful island as well as an oven, microwave and aesthetically pleasing plates, cups and silverware. My husband and I were quite impressed.
The living room was full of personal touches, everything was as shown in the pictures. We played board games and cuddles up for a movie during our stay. My apartment is quite cozy, so it was nice to experience a different setting, just very open and welcoming. I loved the big windows and all the natural light.
The bathroom was just big enough, it had everything that we needed. It was my first time staying at an AirB&B that had a washer and a dryer, it was quite convenient.
I’d probably rate our stay a 9/10. It was wonderful.
Tiki, coconuts & tacos
Our first night in Asheville we did the bare minimum. The initial plan was for us to get groceries and prepare a meal together, but we were exhausted so we ordered in instead. We had on the itinerary that my husband would teach me how to make tiki drinks and that was a ton of fun. It was a night filled with laughter, good drinks and great company.
Shoji Spa & Retreat
This was the day of our anniversary, we started off with breakfast at Tupelo Honey. The food was delicious, I had the avocado toast and eggs. I needed a meal to fill me up before we headed to Shoji Spa where would spend most of our day. My plate was quite full, I had smashed avocado, feta cheese, paprika, sriracha honey drizzle, on multi-grain bread, with a side of two sunny-side up eggs, and dressed mixed greens with cucumbers & pickled red onions.
After breakfast we headed to Shoji Retreat Spa that was just a few minutes away from downtown Asheville. Shoji Spa is a Japanese inspired Spa based in the mountainside of Asheville. They have everything that you can think of, Japanese bathing and soaking in outdoor salt tubs, Spa-style showers, first class massage therapy, nature therapy and sounds and locally sourced spa products.
When we arrived, they had us change into a Japanese Yukata which is a cotton robe and sandals. We started off with their medical massage chairs, it was quite the experience. Montel and I felt super relaxed after the massage. We then proceeded to the Savasana room where you are treated to a deep, whole body experience from natural therapies. We rested on tatami mats that deliver heat deep into the body to help relieve stiffness and joint pain all while easing you into a deeper state of relaxation. It was incredible, I fell asleep as soon as we started.
My husband enjoyed the treetop sauna, it was meant for deep detox and rehabilitation. After sweating out the toxins we were directed to the treetop deck where we enjoyed a glass of ice cold water for about 20 minutes. We concluded our experience with an outdoor self scrub experience with an all natural salt scrub. It was private, secluded and hot. I loved that it was in the woods, I felt so refreshed and balanced.
I would do it again.
Italian anyone?
This was such a special night for the both of us. We recreated our very first night in Asheville, we went to Strada Italiano. We reserved a booth which I loved as we were so comfortable and talked the night away. I had a Buttercup cocktail, it had vodka, pineapple, lemon, cinnamon and rosemary. A great light drink. I also had ravioli pasta, my absolute favorite, fattening but so good lol.
After dinner we walked up the street to Old Europe Pastries. When you discover a quaint little bakery that has locals lined up out the door then you know it’s good. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I was really excited to try this bakery. The plan was to get a few things to take back to our Airb&b but we were already so full so we ended up getting one dessert each. I wanted to try their tiramisu so bad but ended getting the vanilla eclair. I have never had an eclair that good in my entire life. The filling was as light as a cloud, not overly sweet, just right.
I would drive back to Asheville just for their dessert.
Our last night in Asheville
Because we’ve been to Asheville so much, we wanted to try a lot of new places. We spent our last dinner at Storm Rum and Bar Bistro, one because my husband enjoys bartending part time so he’s always trying to find the next best drink and two because I enjoy a good painkiller cocktail.
It was such a beautiful night, the weather was perfect, and the food even better.
Breakfast at biscuit head
What we did do on vacation was eat, okay?
We enjoyed our last meal in Asheville at biscuit head and I was thoroughly impressed. If you ever make your way to Asheville, you have to visit this place. My husband had the Filthy Animal, trust me on this one, it’s delicious. It had the buttermilk biscuit, fried chicken, pimento cheese, bacon, scrambled eggs smothered in gravy. INCREDIBLE. I didn’t even want my meal anymore after trying just his gravy.
My food was just as good though, I ordered the pulled pork biscuit with jalapeño, pimento, bacon, poached egg and maple syrup. I gave my husband my poached egg and asked the waiter for the filthy animal gravy to pour on top of my biscuit and when I tell you! I ate it all up.
Asheville is always a good idea
I’ve grown so fond of Asheville. I love the mountains and I love that there’s so much to do and I love that it feels like little Italy. I would love to go back and visit during the winter when it snows.
I just might, we’ll see.
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