We spent most of our time antique shopping, eating cheese, drinking wine, thrifting, crafting, eating more cheese, drinking more wine, and -- oh yeah -- dodging trees that Hurricane Irene dropped on my aunt & uncle's roof. Check out my pictures from the weekend:
(I will go ahead and apologize for picture quality in advance. We seemed to have a lot of trouble with camera batteries...most of these are iPhone pictures.)
We started out at G Street Fabrics where we found this amazing chalkboard oilcloth fabric. We bought a few yards to cut in thirds long ways and use as table runners at parties. How great will it be to label the food on the actual runner?
Next, we headed to JoAnn's (to get crafting necessities-- part of every good girl's weekend!) and to Goodwill where I found a horse & rider painting (for just $16!) to add to the yet-to-be-started gallery wall in our den.We refueled with a stop at Cheesetique -- a gourmet cheese boutique / wine & cheese bar. We all had our favorite cheeses and specialty items, but I have mention the Fig & Brie Crostini. Creamy brie, Prosciutto, fresh figs, and a drizzle of honey? AMAZING. Atlanta needs one of these. Stat.
After that-- CRAFT TIME! We made wine bottle gift bags out of old sweater sleeves. The idea came from a Grey Likes Weddings Pinterest pin. We ended up making 12 bags in about 30 minutes!
To wrap up Thursday, Uncle Peter took us on an evening monument "driving" tour. He said driving. We walked. (Honestly, it was refreshing and beautiful to walk around at night.) The best part was getting to see the brand new MLK memorial up close without all of the crowds -- very powerful. We also saw the FDR Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial...
And the WWII memorial. I had not seen this in my previous trips -- and I am glad I first witnessed it at night. It's mesmerizingly beautiful.
Friday, we were up bright and early to head to Leesburg, Virginia for antiquing and wine tasting. The first stop was Lucketts, a store I have been DYING to visit since first hearing about it on Pure Style Home. Love. That's the only word to describe it. I only wish (kind of) that we had driven so that I could haul furniture home. Aunt Lynne bought the picture frame below for just $3! We hope to replicate this photobooth scene at a certain someone's wedding at some point in the future ;) 
Before I ever set foot in the store, I fell in love with this sideboard piece. I fell in love with it even more when I saw the price tag. $289! Velvet in the drawers! Are you kidding? Ryan is lucky we didn't drive, or this would have made it's way back to Atlanta to go...somewhere.
Next, we headed to a wine tasting and lunch at Bluemont Vineyard where we had...wine and cheese!
After lunch, we walked through downtown Leesburg and visited Cottage at Leesburg, Four Shabby Chicks, Bees Keeper Cottage, among others. I bought antique maps of Georgia and Tennessee (the hubby's home state) to add to the developing gallery wall in the den.That night, we packed up a picnic and headed to the Air Force Memorial Concert at the base of the Memorial itself.
Saturday was full of rain as Hurricane Irene descended upon DC. We stayed local and visited the largest, most organized thrift store I have EVER been to in my life. Aunt Lynne and mom bought random items to spray paint black and use for decorative accessories for Halloween as seen on Domestic in the City. Sound weird? I thought so. But check out this 50 cent toy house...perfect for inexpensive DIY Halloween party decor!
Next, we visited Celebrity Delly in Falls Church for lunch and hit up a few more shops. We ended the afternoon celebrating Lauren's friend's birthday at a bead party at Potomac Beads in Old Town Alexandria.
...followed by drinks at a Speakeasy above Eamonn's where we sipped classy cocktails. Of course, we did have to knock on the unmarked door under a pirate flag when the blue light was on to get in...
Then, it was off to bed. Only to be awoken at 12am to a transformer blowing. Thanks, Irene. And then again at 1:30am to THIS:
That's right. Two 100 foot oak trees fell on the house. (Yes, we are all okay. Thank goodness.) Surprisingly, there was very little damage to the house. Probably because Lauren and I held up the tree for Aunt Lynne and Uncle Peter:
With no power throughout the city on our final day, we were left to capture photos of the weekend's loot.
What are we going to do with all of that stuff? Let me show you:
Aunt Lynne used her antique child's potty chair to hold a flower pot on her front porch.
Mom hung the clipped wall piece (adorned with photos and cards) above her library table and used the antique vise to display books.
...and then we flew home to Atlanta-- where there was electricity and hot showers for all. I can't wait for 2012 Girl's Weekend!
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