We had a lovely stay at Annelise's Bluebird inspired place. She was very accommodating about us arriving a bit early, since we drove in we didn't have an exact eta. It is a large house and the downstairs (where we stayed) is private and has its own balcony/deck and separate entrance. There is a fridge, coffeemaker, microwave, toaster and a counter-top cooking unit which was perfect for boiling tea for water & frying our vegan bacon for a bagel breakfast. Annelise thoughtfully provided organic coffee and filters so even without a chance to shop first coffee is available first thing in the morning.

The location is beautiful and the attention to detail inside and out is wonderful. There are lovely and whimsical bluebird decorations, and the renovated bathroom is beautiful with an amazing large sunflower style shower-head. The bedroom was very comfortable and there is a separate ac unit in it, which we were able to set/control so it was comfortably cool (as was the rest of the place.) I loved that the bedroom bookshelves were filled with interesting books and enjoyed looking through some on a rainy evening. I also loved the incense she provided, which looked like a nice Italian brand with a cinnamon & clove scent.

Annelise was in the process of adding a lot of native plants to her garden, and I'm sure it will look even more gorgeous as those grow and attract more birds. There was a chickadee nest on her front porch and we saw the mom fly in to feed her babies.

It was our 15th wedding anniversary & one of the big treats we enjoyed was a couples massage including foot reflexology at the Blazing Lotus Healing House spa. Highly recommended! It was also nice to discover some new (to us) restaurants near Annelise's such as Taco Billy which had the most delicious vegan tacos I have ever had! Our usual restaurants include my favorite, Plant as well as The Laughing Seed and Rosetta's. The River Arts District was also very close by. It only took 5 minutes to get anywhere in Asheville by car. We also discovered a fairly new movie theater in the downtown area called the Grail Moviehouse and it was great not having to drive far to see a movie. It is an artsy place with very comfortable seats and great concession choices as well as an art vending machine in the lobby.