Hi friends! I hope August is treating you well so far! As per usual, the months feel like they are flying by! And I don’t want them too!
July went especially fast for us! I think with the 4th of July and a couple of small trips we took (and working busily in between) we were so active that the month was over before we knew it!
Where did we go in July you ask?
Our first trip was a weekend in Asheville, NC. Mr. Bingley had a wedding to play for and we decided to make a weekend out of it. Mr. Bingley played at this gorgeous venue!
We did have some rain, but that made for some cool “misty mountain” moments.
But after a killer breakfast (we ate breakfast at practically every meal in Asheville, have many recs!) we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway before heading home.
On our second trip, we went for a very short visit to Bucaramanga, Colombia to spend a couple days with Mr. Bingley’s parents.
Since Mr. Bingley still had to take calls and work while we were there, we didn’t get to do our usual “deportes extremos” (extreme sports). But we did enjoy the usual great food, tropical climate, and way of life there.
My shirt says it all – Avocado-holic!
What travels have you taken this summer? Any fun trips you have coming up?
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Want to know what Austenesque fun I’m getting into this month?
…here is what’s on this month’s
Austenesque Agenda:
~ TO REVIEW ~
~ TO READ AND REVIEW ~
As you might remember, I have this tradition of reading and reviewing a Georgette Heyer book around our birthdays (yep! Ms. Heyer and I share the same birthday – August 16th!!) This year I asked for help picking out which book I would read on Instagram and Facebook and Black Sheep was the most recommended out of all the books I own (and haven’t read!)
Many have expressed an interest in reading (or rereading) Black Sheep with me this month, so if you’d like to join in, please feel free to! I’m planning on having a discussion post on August 15th and sharing my review on August 16th!
~ FEATURED AUTHORS VISITING THIS MONTH ~
Elizabeth Adams – August 6th
Ann Galvia – August 10th
Carolyn Miller – August 20th
Lory Lilian – August 24th
Some great things to look forward to in August!!
What are you looking forward to this month?
Hi Meredith, love reading about your trips with Mr. Bingley you certainly do get around. I am going to Croatia in 3 weeks time and I can’t wait. Looking forward to your interviews with Elizabeth Adams and Lory Lilian. Have a lovely weekend. I am going to a wedding tonight.
Thank you, Michelle! I so appreciate it! 🙂 We try to! Or at least we try to find the opportunities to. 😉
I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip! And at the wedding tonight! How fun!! 🙂
Love your August agenda and OMG those pictures!!! Camping in the rain, mmm, not much fun, but those stunning mountain photos must have been worth it twenty times over. Thanks for sharing them with us and have lots more fun in August too!
LOL! Yes…we stayed in our tent that morning until we were too hungry! Yes, I’m so glad we did get that sunshine!! I was worried it would be cloudy and rainy all weekend! Next time I hope to see a sunrise or sunset!
Wishing you a very happy August, my friend!
Great pictures, Meredith! Quick question: I hear ago much about Georgette Hyer, yet I have never read any of her books. Do you have a suggestion for where to start?
Thanks, Regina! 🙂 They really don’t do justice to how amazing the views actually looked!
Definitely! There are many that I have give 5 stars too! You can see the reviews here: https://austenesquereviews.com/reviews/authors/georgette-heyer
But if you like an endearing heroine and rakish hero, I’d recommend Venetia. Or if you are a daring and impetuous heroine and an unassuming and unlikely hero that go on a mad-cap adventure, I’d recommend Cotillion. And if a shockingly unconventional heroine who is like Mary Poppins mixed with Lucy Ricardo, sounds like your cup of tea I’d recommend The Grand Sophy!
But honestly, there is no wrong place to start. They all have been fun and entertaining reads!
Hope that helps!!!
Sounds like you had some fun travelling! I love your trips and stories.
August will be a quiet month for me after houseguests (our BFF couple), going to the Jane Austen Festival in Port Alberni, BC, and an out-of province visit to my mom and sister for a week in July.
I’m more keen on your guests than your books! They’re all interesting-looking to me, and three are good friends! Have a great August!
Thanks, Suzan!
Sounds like you had a busy and fun July! Which would make the quiet in August a nice welcome, maybe? 🙂
So glad you are looking forward to the guests, I am too!
North Carolina looks so beautiful! Thanks for sharing your pictures. Looks like some fun reading in store, too! We’re off on a road trip to Glacier National Park soon, and then my sons start school again. A busy month. Hope yours goes well and Happy Birthday Month! 🙂
It is a beautiful state! I’m excited to see more of it! This was the farthest west we’ve been. Before that I hadn’t seen the NC mountains yet!
Glacier National Park looks like a lot of fun!! I hope you enjoy a wonderful time!
You have THE BEST trips and vacations! I love seeing the pictures of the mountains, They are to die for! Mr. Bingley’s jobs certainly provide great opportunity’s to travel, as does his family’s home in Columbia, which is such a lovely place. I am very jealous as I don’t have any plans to travel until September, and then only to the beach. Still, I can’t wait to relax and read while there, as I try not to obsess about my current story while on vacation. Hugs.
It is all thanks to my husband, he makes our dreams come true! Aren’t the mountains lovely! I actually was upset when I first saw my pictures but I didn’t think they did the mountains justice! The actually do look more amazing in person!
Hey that sounds like an awesome trip! Good for you!! And maybe the change of scenery will be helpful for your writing! Hope so, my friend!
Oops! my mind lagged behind my fingers! I meant opportunities. My betas will frown on that! heh heh
I enjoy seeing your trips, and I’m a fellow avocado-holic! Looking forward to the reviews and interviews. And I may join you in Black Sheep. I discovered Georgette Heyer last winter and have been devouring her books since then, love her sassy heroines! My first Heyer was Talisman Ring.
Yay! I love me some avocados! They are so big in Colombia, I was in heaven!!
Ooh I haven’t read that one yet, my first was Devil’s Cub! So glad you discovered her works and are enjoying them!
Fab photos Meredith. Even the wet, misty mountains! I love how you and Mr Bingley truly enjoy your lives.
I’m looking forward to your reading this month. I’m tempted to read Black Sheep for the umpteenth time. And of course I have read Lory and Elizabeth’s books. I am going to be reading Brenda’s book soon.
Enjoy yourself. 🙂
Thanks, Glynis! Yes the clouds were pretty cool looking! It was an experience driving through the clouds! 😉 We love our adventures together, big or small!
Even if you don’t reread Black Sheep, you are welcome to participate in the discussion! 😉 Hope you enjoy a wonderful month!!
Beautiful photos as usual. I love y’all trips and it all sounds so exciting. Travel while you are young my dear… that is what we were told and it is true. You won’t want to or won’t be able to when you are older. i have no regrets and we had so much fun… because we were able to endure it and enjoy it. Looks like you have a nice reading line-up for this month. A special hello to your Mr. Bingley.
We hope to keep traveling for a long time, Jeanne! To one day be able to go on month-long trips and see more of the world. 🙂 But we have some ground work before that can happen!
So happy to hear you had fun travel and enjoyable memories! Mr. Bingley sends his regards!
We’ll be in Tennessee and Alabama later this mnnth when we take the middle kid back to college. No other trips planned.
Fun! I’ve only been to Tennessee once and have never been to Alabama. Hope you have an enjoyable time!
My parents live in Tennessee on the property which has been in my family for generations. I’ve been going there most of my life.
Before my son went to school in Alabama, we had only driven through it to visit family in Louisiana.
Thanks for sharing about your trips and the picks. Gorgeous mountain scenery.
Nice reading for the next month. Fun to share a birthday with the talented Ms. Heyer. 🙂
Have a great August, Meredith!
I appreciate you checking them out, Sophia! 😉 If I remember correctly you are usually traveling around this time, right? Hope you are doing well!!
Even though you don’t think your pictures did the scenery justice, they are still pretty impressive to us. Gorgeous. But when you look at them in the future it will jog all sorts of happy memories. You were there, you smelled the air full of the uniqueness of the season, felt the sun (or rain.) I love your photo reports each month. Love seeing your faces.
What a line up for the month. Looking forward to it all, a hand full of beloved fave authors and some new ones I haven’t read yet. And yay, Black Sheep!
I love the photos of your trips, even if you don’t think they have done the real places justice. Looking forward to your upcoming posts this month. I might join you for your Black Sheep read, I’ve read it many times and I can’t wait for you to get to enjoy it too!
Looks lovely. That is some incredible building as well as scenery. Love your travels. We went on a cruise in Alaska. Such incredible mountains, glaciers and icebergs. We are going back to Ketchikan in a couple weeks. Before then an incredible convention to look forward to. Almost back to school time. time is zooming by. I love Heyer books also.
Ooh, what lovely pictures! Such beautiful landscapes! As always, I look forward to your reviews and Black Sheep?? Woohoo! One of my absolute favourite by Heyer!