waysideviolet - cozy, lovely things

There’s nothing quite so nice as the feeling of walking in to your own home after long travels. We drove over 1,800 miles in the past ten days, saw pretty things, had lovely times and spent happy hours with family and friends. It’s only too bad that holidays can’t last forever, but tucked up cozy at home with a sleepy puppy and pretty candles, I’m going through trip photos and smiling at all the good times. Here are just a few!

Charleston, WV
A few nights before Christmas we met up with my old and wonderful friends Lauren and Andrew at a brand new place in Charleston called Pies & Pints. The food, atmosphere and conversation were great!

Another evening we stopped by their house to play scrabble and stayed up way too late.

Columbus, OH
On Tuesday, we left West Virginia and headed north to see an old college pal, Danny. Danny works on a farm in Texas these days but he’s from Columbus and, with some help from a friend, showed us some of its gems like the North Market. The North Market is a converted factory building that has all sorts of wonderful little shops. There are cheese sellers, bakeries, shops selling vegetables or spices or candy or dishes. It’s neat!

Then we went to Jeni’s Ice Cream. I almost can’t describe how amazing Jeni’s is. The ice cream is suburb and the flavors, oh my the flavors are amazing! I couldn’t decide on just one so I chose a trio of Cocoa Zin, Riesling Poached Pear and Pistachio & Honey. Pistachio & Honey was my favorite, which is kind of hard to say because every flavor I tasted was simply perfection!

One of Joel’s scoops was Star Anise with Candied Fennel and it was SO good! I could snack on candied fennel for ever I think.

The next morning, after a Cup O Joe, we were back in the car and driving to home.

The Open Road
A tired puppy

Snacks from the North Market: cheeses and baguette,

a crazy mystery cookie,  (It seemed like all of us tasted something different and there was plenty to taste: pumpkin seeds, spices, raisins, chocolate chips and even sesame seeds!)

and Buckeyes, which are an Ohio thing and always make me think of my Aunt Maureen and how she always makes her amazing version of them at Christmas time.

Heading Home
It’s been a lovely two weeks and felt so wonderful to be with family and friends in homey West Virginia. I miss it already!

I hope you have had safe and happy holidays where every they have taken you!

Tags: friends, roadtrip, travel, visits