(That’s the sound a horse makes 🙂 )
On our way to Charlottesville, we spend a night with Karen’s friends Mary + Greg, who have a gorgeous farm house just outside of Danville. They board horses too, so we got to spend some time petting them (no riding though, as we didn’t have permission, time or the bravery on my part (I had a bad experience on a horse when I was young and am still scared of riding them) )
Matt wasn’t scared though and was going to get on one bareback before all the women in the house said absolutely not!
Zoom in to check out the personality on the vehicle 🙂
More wildlife 
Mary has a huge vegetable garden! We had so much fun inspecting the growth
Nature’s perfect snack – tomato + basil
The dinner loot!
Cocktail hour nibbles (x2)
I had a splash of white while I prepped a tomato, cucumber, basil, feta salad for dinner
Seasoned with lemon, olive oil and S+P
Mary fried up some green tomatoes!
Mmmmm my favorite!
I am obsessed with their beautiful dining room + table!
I am also in love with these little dishes
I had a virgin seltzer cocktail with bitters and lime while we cooked
For dinner, Karen brought her French beef casserole
The garden veggies, grilled
Great Harvest sourdough, broiled to a crisp
My plate – a taste of everything and a small glass of pinot. I had seconds on the tomato + cuc salad.
Thank you to Mary and Greg for having us over!
A while after dinner I had two of Karen’s date squares
While we sat around the pool. It was SO COLD for July!
Happy 4th Of July!
Matt and I woke up at 6:20 to get in some fresh air and exercise before breakfast. We ran about 4 miles up the long driveway road and onto the main road, where we saw beautiful rolling hills, horses and fields of green.
After our run I made the most delicious bowl of oatmeal!!
- Half a cup oats
- 2/3 a cup water
- 1/4 cup whole milk (all we had – but probably part of the deliciousness!)
- Tbsp raisins
- Pinch salt
- Plash almond extract
- 2 tbsp Bare Naked Granola (travel pack I brought)
- Some coconut (found in the cabinets!)
- 1 tsp brown sugar (the bananaless oats needed some sweetness)
- Spoonful old fashioned Jiff. (yes, this PB is better than no PB)
And a half mug of coffee
Love my red, white and blue country!
*****
We just had a wonderful blog lunch, a sightseeing ride, gelato and are now at the hotel – wireless finally!
Happy 4th!
Jenn (www. j3nn.net ) says
Wow, I love the pics, especially the horses and the garden! We want to live on a farm SO badly!
The food looks fantastic, too. How fun. Enjoy the holiday weekend!
Happy 4th of July, everyone!!
Jenn
Deva says
Dinner looks positively scrumptious! I have envy of your time with the horses 🙂
Biz says
What a great meal! I’ve never tried fried green tomatoes – they look amazing!
Happy 4th to you and your family!
Shannon (The Daily Balance) says
Beautiful area! Love the farm produce- can it get any fresher?! 😉
Amanda (My Summerizations) says
i hope to someday be able to keep a small vegetable garden. i know i would need a lot of help though–i couldn’t even grow flowers when i was younger!
all the food looks great! vegetables are always tasty when grilled.
Angie says
Beautiful photos…love the shots of the horses and the American flag…beautiful!
Dinner looks fabulous!! And love the garden snack. Have a wonderful weekend!
Danielle C. says
Yum, look at all of those fresh tomatoes, I really do think there is anything better. 🙂
LOVES KERF!! says
French beef casserole looks delish!! Recipe please? Or just what’s in it.
Courtney (The Hungry Yogini) says
LOVE that Mark West pinot….McMannis is fabulous too!
Looks like you are having a FABULOUS time!!!!!!!!
emmy says
Happy 4th of July!
Meghan@traveleatlove says
Yum that dinner looks awesome!
Christie @ Quit Your Diet says
Looks like you had a great evening in the farm. All the eats and pictures are gorgeous!
Can’t wait to here what you think of C-ville!
Amy says
I.love.your.blog.so.much! Have a lovely weekend!
Connie says
What is in the French Beef casserole?
Lynn (The Actors Diet) says
I’ve always wanted to try fried green tomatoes!
Kath says
French beef is is penne, ground beef, onions, tomato sauce, cream cheese, sour cream, oregano, cheddar cheese on top. Combine as you might imagine and baked until bubbly.
K
LOVES KERF!! says
THANKS KATH. xo Now…what makes it “French”? 😀
Joelle (Chasing Pavements) says
What a fabulous trip! I would love to have a garden to pick my dinner every night, not to mention some horses.. happy 4th!
Lisa says
How pretty! I’m glad you’re enjoying the countryside.
Kathy says
Those veggies look SO fresh and delicious! Happy 4th of July!
Also, this may be a late thank you, but Kath- your blog was the first blog I’ve ever read and through yours, I found many other inspiring blogs too. The blog world has truly changed my life. You changed my outlook towards food, nutrition, fitness, health, and LIFE! I have just started my own blog, which I may not get to fully really start until my summer internship ends, but I’ve been wanting to do it for a while and am so excited to start writing more in it. Thank you Kath!
Kristen says
Loving the clouds behind the horses…southern skies :-).
Your blog has the uncanny ability to make me hungry at any time! Safe travels.
Krissy (Single Serving) says
Great pictures! That dog is adorable and all the veggies look so delicious!
Emily says
Oh my gosh! I am so insanely jealous of that vegetable garden! What a beautiful home! This post reminds me of that Tim McGraw song “I wanna live where the green grass grows, watch my corn pop up in rows…” *love my singing* 🙂
Kath says
Thanks Kathy!!
Kath