Greetings, friends! I hope you are enjoying 2020 so far! 🎉
And that all your holiday celebrations were full of merriment, love, and good cheer. 🎄
I’ll share a bit of our holiday festivities with you. This year, we opted to go on a family trip in lieu of exchanging presents. We really haven’t gone a family trip like this ever…Mr. Bingley and I travel with my brother occasionally, but this is the first time we traveled with my parents too. 🥰
We went back to the NC mountains (an area Mr. Bingley, my brother, and I are all familiar with) and spent some days enjoying exploring Asheville and the highlight of our trip was touring the Biltmore Estate! ⛲️
For those who might not be familiar with it, the Biltmore is the largest privately-owned residential home in the United States. It was built for George Vanderbilt in the late 18880’s. And if you recognize the name, it is because the Vanderbilt family is famous for amassing great wealth in the 1880s with a shipping and railroad empire. For more information, go here!
We got to tour many of the rooms in the Biltmore (4 stories!) and all the rooms were decorated for Christmas which was lovely! 🎄
My favorite room, you will not be surprised to hear, was the library! George Vanderbilt collected 22,000 books and housed them in this gorgeous 2 story library!!!
There is so much to do outside the Biltmore property, with the gardens, farms, and village!
Visiting the Biltmore is extra special this season because you can tour not ONE but TWO Downton Abbey exhibits, filled with props, sets and costumes! 👗
My mom and I were in heaven!
This room is my favorite, I love the servants. ⬆️
A room of wedding dresses!!! 👰🏻
I could show you so many other pictures, but this post already has a ton! Suffice to say the Downton Abbey exhibits were incredible and definitely so worth checking out!
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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 ~
~ FEATURED AUTHORS VISITING THIS MONTH ~
Anniina Sjöblom – January 6th
Jayne Bamber – January 10th
KaraLynne Mackrory – January 13th
Lona Manning – January 17th
Heather Moll – January 20th
Thank you for sharing your amazing photos!
My pleasure! Thank you so much for checking them out!
I’ve always wanted to visit Biltmore–thanks for sharing the pictures.
I have a new copy of Little Women I’m hoping to read soon.
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It is definitely worth the visit, you can spend more than a full day exploring!
Yay! Happy reading! Have you seen the new movie yet?
Yes, I loved the movie.
Wow!! There are some fabulous pics here and thank you for sharing them. I LOVE old houses. Especially the ones laid out as if they are still in use. I’ve visited a few here in Ireland but the one here is sumptuous! Good luck with the reading for the year.
Me too! It is fascinating to learn about how life was back then. I’m glad that the Biltmore is so well preserved. This was a definitely the biggest house I’ve ever been in…might need to go to Europe and find some castles to top this experience!
I have always wanted to see the Biltmore. Thank you for sharing those pictures!
Looks like another extraordinary book month—awesome you!
So happy you enjoyed this little preview of it! Definitely try and see if yourself if you can!
Yes! I’m going to be ambitious this month!
Swoon!
I know!!
The tour of the Biltmore Mansion is so awesome. I would love to go! Your pictures made me feel like I was there. I see your going with a little fluff and “A Taste of Peanut Butter” this month. Thanks for thinking of me. You will need to check out my pinterest page for this book so you can see pictures of all the yummy desserts and who I chose for the cast members. Here you go . https://www.pinterest.com/jenred88/
I hope you get to go one day, Jennifer! I just finished your book this morning and loved the Pinterest board!! Such a great visual of what take places in the story!
Thanks for sharing so many lovely photos of the family and the Biltmore Mansion! This is a place I would love to visit one day!
Happy to share them with you! Glad you enjoyed them and I hope you get to visit the Biltmore yourself one day!
Thanks so much, Meredith, for sharing your Biltmore photos – was supposed to be there over Christmas but plans changed – will be there in March in time to see the DA exhibit – can’t wait! Happy New Year to you and Mr. Bingley!
Oh good! I’m so glad you are going! Enjoy!!! You will love the DA exhibit and probably see more loveliness in the gardens than we did!
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Looks like you had an incredible trip. Library photo was gorgeous! Clothing displays stunning. Thank you for sharing.
Isn’t it? I would literally sit in that room every day!!
OMG! When I started seeing your Biltmore pics I thought: It has the magic of Harry Potter and the elegance of Downton Abbey” and then you speaked about the Downton Abbey exhibits!!!!WOW! I understand now the meaning of “Winter Wonderland ” LOL, it’s a wonderful place! Thanks for sharing your pics 😉
And how good you travelled with your family, it’s more entertaining and delightful to experience this kind of trip sharing it with your loved ones 🙂
Your January Agenda looks very interesting, I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts about “Little Women”. I always have liked the novel, however there are some sad aspects and others that don’t end fitting (at least it’s my opinion) and when I went to the cinema some days ago with my family, I saw some tears on my niece and nephew’s faces…you can imagine why…and I promised them to write an alternative ending, a really happy ending… I kept my promise and tomorrow I’m going to give them the new end!. Maybe it has some mistakes (I only had one day left to write it) but I’m sure they will have fun! 😉
Have a sweet and soft January ( in spite of the cold weather)
What a great description! It was in part inspired by French chataeaux style homes in Europe. But yes the time period of the house is very close to the Edwardian period.
Thanks for checking out our pictures! It was a lot of fun to travel together and we are planning to do it again next year!
Aww! how sweet that you saw the movie with your niece and nephew! And what a fantastic experience to share a new ending with them…that is a special moment and memory you just created with them! Good for you!!!
Wow, such a wonderful trip. Thank you sfor sharing esp the pcitures. I ill put it in my wish list to do.
Yes! I hope you get the chance to go and see it for yourself!
I have toured Biltmore but not since the new exhibits and not at Christmas. Man, what I have missed. How wonderful you were able to do a Family Christmas trip. I love that idea. How creative you guys are. You certainly have a busy new year planned. I wish you and your Mr. Bingley all the best for the new year. Blessings, guys.
Hopefully you can visit again someday!
Yes, starting off ambitiously!
Wishing you and yours a happy start to 2020!
Quite a busy month ahead for you, after you brought so much of interest and enjoyment to us all in December! I’m glad you got to enjoy a family holiday; togetherness is so important.
Yes it is! We will see how it all pans out. 😉 February looks busy too!!
Thanks, it was special for us all.
Such a lovely holiday trip. Enjoyed seeing your pics of the Biltmore and the Downton Abbey exhibit. Wanna go at some point.
Nice review stack and guest list for the month.
Have a great January, Meredith!
Hope you come this way soon, Sophia!!
Hope you have a wonderful January as well!
For a long time, I have dreamed of visiting the Biltmore House And Gardens. Thank you for the photos. How special to have visited at Christmas time.
I am glad you enjoyed the previews, but I so hope you get to see it for yourself soon!!
Overwhelmingly beautiful photos. I did see the Downton Abbey exhibit when it was at the DuPont Winterthur museum in Delaware. (I have always wanted to visit Biltmore.) Happy you had such a lovely trip over the holidays.
Thank you, Sheila! It was such a beautiful place…and they decorated it just gorgeously!
I’m so glad this DA exhibit is touring!! What a fantastic treat!
What a beautiful album of photos you gave us. Touring great homes like this is something I have long wished to do, and have not done enough of. It was a great idea to do for Christmas. Nothing like doing this kind of thing with a group of people you love.
I’m so excited about January’s agenda. It’s a little late, but let January proceed! Woo hoo.
Thank you, Michelle! It really worked out well…and the decorations were so lovely!
So happy to hear you are excited for January’s plans! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful 2020 so far!
Oh my goodness, what amazing photos! Thanks for taking us with you, Meredith!
Have a great start of 2020 and thanks for adding The Journey Home to Pemberley to your TBR pile! Looking forward to your posts, as always, and to many happy hours at Austenesque Reviews <3
It isn’t Pemberley, but I think Mr. Darcy would approve…George Vanderbilt paid the thousand of workers NY rate wages even though he could have paid them a lot less in the mountains of NC. Also he made a special point to have electricity (even though it was in its early stages) and was quick to adopt advance farming methods. 🙂
I just started it this morning and am already in love!
Wow, what amazing photos and that library is simply to die for! Many thanks for sharing them with us. The Downton exhibition is something I’d love to see. We spent New Year in Southampton and on our journey south from Yorkshire, we pass very close to Highclere Castle, which was “Downton Abbey” in the TV series. Sadly, it wasn’t open to the public when we were passing by.
When it comes to looking forward to this year, I’m just glad to see the back of 2019. Too many not-very-happy things happened to us. We do have our son’s wedding on 1st May to look forward too, though.
Looks like a briliant lineup this month and I’m sure you’re going to love Joana’s, Jessie’s and Anniina’s books.
Happy New Year to you all!
Thanks so much for checking out these photos!
How nice that you were so close to Highclere! I am with you, I’d love to visit it!! Would you believe The Biltmore is open 365 days a year? We actually did the DA exhibit part on Christmas Day!
I can understand you feeling that way, Anji! I hope 2020 brings you lots to joy and happy moments! And how exciting that you have a wedding to look forward to!!
Happy New Year – what gorgeous photos! I saw the Downton exhibit when it was here in Boston. it was so glorious and brought back so many memories. I vowed I would see the movie as soon at it came out and, of course, I haven’t. So, I have a list of “to read” and “to see”.
Glad you had such a lovely holiday.