artsy walk

this afternoon was the river arts walk at the fabulous galleries that surround the french broad river here in asheville. i love this area because it used to be (and still is in some areas) full of industry, but in the past few years has become a haven for affordable art studios and amazing local artists. the studio where my dance company rehearses is on the top floor of one of these buildings. the wedge gallery is one of the primary giant buildings in the area full of talented artists.

i love that it is right by the railroad tracks, but you still have a gorgeous view of the mountains.
it was packed. full of people and full of dogs. we brought the beast along for our adventure!
this is our neighbor's studio. he does amazing pottery with designs from his fabulous collection of lace. after seeing his work, everyone who gets married in the future is getting some of his talented pottery!
here's the hubby and beast walking around the area enjoying the views and talented artists.
one awesome thing about the wedge is that a brewery recently opened on the bottom floor. many of my ashvillian friends claim it to be the best local beer in the area (asheville did tie this year with portland for beer city usa). here i am enjoying the ipa.
here's the hubby with his pilsner (claiming it tasted like the one's we had on the honeymoon in germany!)
too many people to find a table, so we found a home on some steps!
then we went to another local favorite (obama ate lunch here when he visited asheville during the campaign - see here): 12 bones. it has famous bbq. we both had a small christmas jam ale (made by asheville brewing for the season and warren haynes annual concert every year here in asheville that he calls the christmas jam). it was good and had an evergreen flavor that reminded my of the holidays!
the hubby had pulled pork, mac and cheese, collards and cornbread.
i had pulled chicken, green beans, sweet potatoes and cornbread (i ate half of the chicken and brought the other half home for the beast's dinner)
they have crazy good made in house sauces. they are (from left to right) jalepeno, vinegar, mustard and sweet sauce. all were yummy. hubby loves the jalepeno. i love the sweet sauce.
here i am after a fun day! did i mention it is in the 70's here?!?!? it is beautiful! hope everyone enjoyed their saturday! it's so rare that we take an afternoon to just be and enjoy! both the hubby and i loved taking time out for each other and to be part of the community and experience this fun afternoon of sharing.