I’m quite cozy over here. It’s gray and rainy and I’m spending the afternoon hanging out at home with hot tea, a gingerbread candle and Sigur Ros radio on Pandora.

I decided to go to Asheville yesterday. It wasn’t what I needed to do from a productivity standpoint but it’s absolutely what I needed on a personal level. My day included a long drive listening to the Firestarter Sessions, delicious vegetarian food, walking around downtown soaking up the energy of the city and a restorative two-hour yoga practice.

I wanted to try a new restaurant so I settled on plant after some quick research on my phone. The online reviews were excellent and the restaurant is convenient to the downtown area. They specialize in “sophisticated scratch-made” vegetarian and vegan cuisine and use high-quality ingredients, carefully selected ingredients that come from the earth. Of course, local and organic whenever possible (oh how I love the Asheville food scene). I was surprised to find the restaurant very busy at lunch. There was a wait for tables but I was seated immediately at the counter since I was solo.

I ordered a house-made Ginger Aid with lemon, soda, agave and fresh ginger. It was so refreshing. I love anything with fresh ginger.

I started with a bowl of the soup of day which was a pinto bean soup. It was broth based, spiced well and hearty.

There were so many interesting entrees and sandwiches to choose from. I wanted to try so many things on the menu but went with the Thai Tempeh Roll in the end. It featured field greens, carrots, onion avocado and a peanut lime sauce with grilled tempeh. It was supposed to be served on grilled whole wheat lavash but they were out so they subbed a brown rice tortilla instead. It was great this way but I can only imagine the lavash would make it even better. On the side was sauteed collards and garlic.

After lunch I walked around downtown where I met this amazing (and giant) Newfoundland.

Did some shopping on Lexington Avenue. I love Minx and Virtue.

Almost purchased this fabulous shirt.

Wished I had a little one to buy this for. 😉

And of course paid a visit to French Broad Chocolate Lounge where I picked up a box of chocolate truffles, two salted peanut butter cookies (one for me and one for a friend) and a slice of heaven, a.k.a. their carrot cake.

More on my two-hour liquid flow workshop with Simon Park at Asheville Yoga Center in the next post.

I know I post about Asheville a lot but it is one of my favorite places to escape to and it’s an easy drive from Charlotte. I have kind of become an unofficial travel agent/visitor’s guide for Asheville. I get a lot of e-mails about the city, what to do, where to eat, where to stay, hiking, etc. It really is a fantastic place to visit and I encourage everyone to check it out if you have the chance. The energy of the city is incredible and it makes me so happy. There is so much to do from outdoor activities to breweries to live music to their unmatched food scene. Get yourself there!

What is your favorite weekend escape?