Vibrant Fall Colors

Saturday offered the perfect weather for a long drive to enjoy the fall colors. We stopped at a local favorite, the Tin Trout, to enjoy a light lunch before continuing our journey. We will visit again with bigger appetites. The chef is Kirsten Mitchell, featured in many publications and one of North Carolina’s most coveted chefs.

I wore layers to remove as necessary as the day warmed up. Similar if not, the same items are in these links. JacketSweaterScarfJeansShoesBag. The perfect lip color to wear with this jacket is Plum (True Berry) here. (Shopping links may allow me to earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.)

We ordered a couple of appetizers to share, including the cornbread skillet, smoked trout, blue cheese, and pimento cheese dips. Everything was delicious!

We traveled along the Blue Ridge Parkway to enjoy these spectacular views along with thousands of other folks.

In the few seconds between cars, I’ve tried to capture a photo of this building in Tynecastle for years. Success at last!

Recent outfits are summarized here. This site shares my retired lifestyle, local travel, and style inspiration using classic basics and unique accessories. So, I no longer accept products to advertise nor participate in any collaborations.

43 Comments
  1. Perfect, casual outfit for a lunch & afternoon Autumn outing! Hard to see yr sweater. Is it camel or another color?

  2. Buon pomeriggio Susan, anche qui in Italia, il viola è il colore del momento, a Bologna tutte le Signore eleganti indossano qualcosa di viola. Naturalmente ti sta molto bene. Buona settimana.

  3. Lovely Autumn pictures! So glad you were able to capture the Tynecastle picture; I love the rock work.
    Y’all (my Southern talk) had plenty of traffic to contend with! Wish I were there:)
    Have a great day!

  4. We have enjoyed a beautiful fall in Colorado this year. No early snow. The past two years we did have an early snow and the no beautiful colors. So, this year we’ve enjoyed every single day. Thank you for sharing. The Tynecastle is beautiful. I’ve added it to our list of things to see when we travel your direction (hopefully next year).

  5. OMG- was the parkway really that crowded?! Looks kind of miserable, although if you’re going slowly, you get to enjoy the view more, I guess.
    I think everyone is happy to have some crispness to the air and to be getting out the warmer clothes. You look great!

  6. I’d like to give you a suggestion that my friend and I have discovered. Now that we are both retired we take our road trips during the week. #1-less traffic, #2-fewer people in restaurants, & sometimes even gas prices are less.

  7. Susan, I love following your blog. I just ordered the sweater. How do you store it? I usually fold and stack my sweaters but then end up messing up the stack looking for a specific one! Can it be hung on a padded hanger? Thank you so much!

    1. I hang the lightweight sweaters inside out on a felted hanger. Inside out means the shoulder bumps are going down and will relax with your body heat in a few minutes. This way, I don’t have to steam every sweater before I wear it.

  8. Really liking the haircut and style!
    Have you considered the straighter legs with the booties? I’m wanting to give it a shot – not sure what kind of jeans, and insist on warmth.

    Looks like you’re truly having a great time.
    Beautiful tree foliage this time of year in Pacific Northwest.

  9. Beautiful pictures! I have always wanted to drive the Blueridge parkway. I had no idea that traffic is that bad. The colors are fabulous!

  10. Beautiful fall colors….I live close to the blue ridge parkway in Asheville, NC….are you close! Love the color of your jacket!

  11. Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures. I live in California and we don’t get the beautiful color changing.

    Sandy N.

  12. Susan, you always look gorgeous and well put-together, and your blogs are so inspiring! Thank you for sharing your style tips.

  13. As usual, you are stunningly exquisite. Also, the scenery pulls me back to the region from whence I came. It all is so nostalgic. Thank you for this post. Have a lovely week.

  14. Susan, one of my favorite restaurants has fried pimento cheese balls as an appetizer. It is served with fig jam or ranch dressing. This sounds unusual but is delicious. I love hearing about the places you two go and the food you order.

  15. Thank you for these splendid photos. We just returned home to Houston after a week in North Carolina. After three days in Asheville, we drove to Johnson City for lunch at Label (the most delicious sweet potato fries ever!) and then to Beech Mountain. On Sunday we drove to Blowing Rock, waited 2 hours to be seated for lunch and then went to The Blowing Rock. Now I understand why so many people were in the town–they must have gotten off the Blue Ridge Parkway to eat. I’m so glad we didn’t get on it. We did enjoy lots of beautiful color and renewed our love for this part of the country. You are fortunate to be able to soak up this beauty whenever you decide to take a road trip.

  16. What a beautiful drive! The castle looks so interesting, can you tell us the history on this? Your outfit looks great. Thanks for sharing.

    1. I believe it is now a Real Estate office, but I couldn’t find much information about the history of the building. Many Scottish-inspired buildings are in the same area. Read more about where it all started here.

  17. I love reading all of your posts and whenever possible I try to let them guide me when I make purchases. Thank you so much for sharing your life with us 🙂

  18. Great post! We were in Blowing Rock for a few days the end of September. It was beautiful and still pretty warm. We’ve been there in October and the leaves are amazing.

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I share tips and inspiration for using what you already have in contemporary ways. Defining words include effortless, classic, refined, discreet, and elegant. My style is chic, minimal, and timeless with a bit of edge.