Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Round Top & Their Amazing Antiques Shows

I talk so many people's ears off about Round Top and if you love to shop, especially for home interiors, then this is definitely a place you want to check out. It has certainly made a name for itself the last ten years as an interior designers paradise bringing in designers from all over the country. Year round they have shops open, but there are three major Antique shows; one in the winter, spring, and fall, that bring in a plethora of vendors selling items from furniture, art, vintage pieces, jewelry, clothing, rugs, and so much more. 

I have gone multiple times during and not during the Antique shows since it is not a far drive from Houston. The last three years I have made a yearly trip up and would like to continue these yearly trips to discover new vendors and shops. 

Below are typical maps during the Antique shows with the layout of vendors; they do vary each year, but for the most part the same vendors return to the same places each year. 

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Saturday, May 13, 2023

Fredericksburg, Texas Trip 2023: The New Napa Valley

Amos and I decided to take a semi impromptu weekend getaway to Fredericksburg, Texas. I say semi because even though it was relatively last minute trip we did book stuff in advantage that made it easier during our trip to experience more in a short period. Another planning tool that Amos and I started (and I highly recommended) is we made a sharable list in the Notes app on our iphones where we listed wineries we wanted to visits, restaurants we wanted to try, and other areas to visit and we added a check mark on places we had confirmed reservations. Our list got pretty long (at least for the wineries) and we couldn't fit it all in our three day weekend, but we saw our top priorities, know what we want to revisit, and all the places we still need to see. 

Amos and I have been to Fredericksburg a few times now, but it has been years and boy has it changed. We stayed again at one of the cabins at the back of Messina Hof and love it. The first time we stayed there you felt like you were in the middle of no where with nothing around you, now you are surrounded by new and upcoming wineries. On the subject of the number of wineries in Fredericksburg it is crazy now. Texas Monthly recently came out with an article saying its the new Napa Valley and we heard from other wineries that Fredericksburg is the second most visited wine destination in the country behind Napa. The main road that takes you into town now is just littered with wineries with new beautiful buildings, sprawling vineyards, and unique attractions that almost give you the feeling you aren't in Texas. We had so much fun and know that we want to make this a yearly trip and can't wait to try some new wineries and go back to some of our favorites.

Girls Trip to North Carolina 2022


Some of my closest girl friends (over 20 years) and I have kept the girl trips alive and thriving the last few years. I posted about our trip to Salem/Boston here, and how much we love the fall season. So true to form we planned another trip in the fall last year again and what better place to go than North Carolina. It was peak season to see all the ombre of fall colors and we were spoiled with great weather, good food, and beautiful scenery. 

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Home Updates...It's Been A While

Hi all, it's been a while since I gave a house update and a lot has gone on. The exterior got an upgrade last year, it was such a good before and after you can see here.  This year we replaced the old front door with a new one, but kept the bungalow style. We also removed two trees on either side of the house, but kept the two large pecan trees in the back. The deck in the back has been torn down; it was so rotted at places we feared that one of us or our son would soon get injured. We need to level the house and once that step is complete we can built a new back deck. The plan is to extend the deck to the side of the house that is fenced in and maybe put french doors on the side. We love to entertain so this would really increase our exterior footprint and hosting space. An outdoor kitchen and pergola would be nice as well. Hopefully the last big exterior project for awhile would be a front fence as well so our dog Winston can enjoy the front as well. 


Thursday, March 10, 2022

Exploring Marfa Texas

Amos and I finally got to stay and explore Marfa, Texas. Marfa has been on my radar for quite some time, but I could never find the time or justify the long drive out there. I got assigned some work in Odessa, Texas, which is about 2.5 hours away from Marfa. I thought I would take that opportunity and knock out two birds with one stone, which is what Amos and I ended up doing in the beginning of February. We also used this excuse as a Valentine's weekend getaway. 

We flew into Odessa on a Thursday, spent the day there for work, then drove out in the afternoon and arrived in Marfa around 5 pm. We checked into our digs and drove straight out to the Prada Marfa store art installation. It is about an hour outside of Marfa in Valentine, TX. Over the next few days we ate and saw a lot and headed out early on Sunday to catch our flight out of Odessa. Below is where we stayed, where we ate and drank, and what we saw during our time. Most places are closed Monday-Wednesday so if you are going to visit I would go during the times we did Thursday-Sunday. Another fun activity that Amos and I did just happened to fall on the weekend we went; the small town Valentine had a Valentine's Day get-together for everyone, where we saw all the locals gather for live music, food, and company of friends all under the night sky. It was magical and such a unique experience I will never forget. I hope you enjoy the recommendations and pictures. As always you can follow my instagram for daily updates on travels, home, or cool finds #ashleyryantravels 

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Mexico City Trip 2021

I love to take time off the last week of the year to give myself a break and a fresh start to the new year. I am crazy busy with work at the beginning of the year so it is nice to have that small break before it all starts back up.  We have taken trips during this time on several occasions and always have a blast so when we saw a deal we couldn't pass it up to Mexico City my husband and I booked it right away. Other than purchasing the hotel and plane tickets I can take no other credit for the excursions or restaurant reservations, my husband planned all of it and did an amazing job. I will do a small breakdown of our travel itinerary; we arrived on a Monday and left on a Saturday so had six days (really five when you exclude travel times) to explore the city. We did a lot of tourist things, but I am glad we did them and would recommend these tours and excursions especially if it is your first time visiting. #ashleyryantravels

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Girls Trip to Salem/Boston 2021

One of my closest friends, someone I have known since early childhood, and I have a common love for the fall season; something we don't really have in Texas. So it came as no surprise when she called me up a few months ago to discuss a potential trip to Massachusetts in peak season, October. I said yes immediately and we quickly started to plan our five day weekend getaway. This was my third time visiting Boston and second time to see Salem; however, each time were in off seasons in January where it was very cold and not everything was open. 

We decided to stay in Marblehead at The Hotel Marblehead really close to Salem and under an hour drive from Boston. We both did some reading and prep-work before hand on what to expect during one of the busiest times in Boston/Salem. Items included car rentals, limited parking, expected delays getting in and out of Salem during peak times, and reservations. We saw a lot and got to do to almost everything on our to-do lists. I'll share some of the attractions we saw during our trip and some tips on planning and potential issues to avoid. 

Thursday, September 23, 2021

Maine Trip 2021 - Exploring Maine

We spent several days exploring surrounding areas and doing very "Maine" things. We went to East Quoddy Lighthouse, which sits at the furthest eastern point in the United Stated. We went to a local bay area to get some fresh lobsters for dinner. Visited a cute town called Lubec, which is right below the Canadian border, and yes we happened to find another brewery haha. Hopefully next year we can cross the bridge over to Canada, I have never been. Our trip was so good and I can't wait to go back. See my other two post here and here.

Friday, September 10, 2021

Maine Trip 2021 - Acadia National Park & Portland Maine

There were two and half days we carved out to explore Acadia National Park and Portland. They were long days, but very fun. We woke up extremely early to head out to Acadia National Park (~2 hours from my parents house). I read that parking can be hard to find so it was suggested to get there before 8 am or after 5 pm. Another tip was to buy your entrance passes and print them out before arriving at the park; both you have to display on your dash board. I am glad we left when we did because parking was filling up fast, but we found a spot and went straight to hiking Jordan's Pond Trail, ~3.2 miles long. The hike was pretty moderate there were some narrow pathways and rocky areas, but we did the hike in about 1.5 hours, but if you go when it fills up or hiking with kids it will probably take twice as long. We went to the visit center and gift shop, then drove up to Cadillac Mountain and hiked around the top. It is the first place to view the sunrise in the United Stated during a certain period of the year. We spent half the day in Acadia and then went to Bar Harbor and had a late lunch at a brewery and walked the town a bit. 

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Maine Trip 2021

Amos and I finally found some time to take a break from all the hustle and bustle of work and city life and headed to my parents vacation house in Maine, our first time. They purchased the house back in 2019, it needed a lot of love and care, and they have worked so hard to transform it and make it a beautiful escape for all of their loved ones. They are in a remote location which makes it ideal if you are looking to escape to the great outdoors and hear and see all of mother nature. The property is approximately 2 acres with beach front access. They are pretty lucky because it is rare to find sandy coastline in Maine and my parents happen to have quite a bit of sand along their portion of coastline. We went down to the beach frequently with the dogs to explore and run around looking for crabs, shells, and keeping an eye out for the seals. There are seals and you hear them early in the morning, they are loud, and howl like wolves, so cool. We ate, drank, relaxed, hung around the fire ring, Harrison played in the dirt for hours upon hours, and it was amazing being around family. Amos and I did take a few days to explore Portland and Acadia National Park, I will save those for future post, but below are some pictures of our time at my parents and how beautiful and relaxing it all was.  I can't wait to go back and I hope I can spend half the summers there and explore more and make amazing memories with my family.

My parents backyard looking out on the water, the fire pit my dad made

Friday, June 4, 2021

The Doctor Seuss Experience

A few weekends ago we took my son, Harrison, to see the Dr. Seuss Experience that is currently being exhibited in Houston. I introduced Dr. Seuss books to my son at a young age, but due to the length of the books they only just started to capture his attention. I bought a set from Amazon when he was born, this one here. Dr. Seuss holds a special place in my heart since his books are where I really learned how to read and my love for books began. I read "Green Eggs and Ham" almost every night when I was little. Harrison's favorites include; "Horton Hears a Who," "Green Eggs and Ham," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and "The Cat in the Hat." 

The exhibit I believe really brought a lot of the classic Dr. Seuss books to life. Among those were; Horton Hears a Who, The Cat and the Hat, The Lorax, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Oh the Places You Will Go, and a few others. It is very hands on and interactive so my four year old went to town and had a blast so much so that he did not want to leave. If you live in Houston or the surrounding areas you have to check it out if you have little ones.