After check-in, we unpacked our groceries and drove into Helen to shop and eat dinner. Our first stop was at Betty's for fire starters and a lighter, and then we ate at Paul's Steakhouse on the other end of town. Dinner was a splurge and worth every penny. The rest of the evening was spent watching Fixer Upper reruns by the fire and debating why we don't have cable TV at home.
On Saturday morning my parents drove down for the day to take us out to lunch and to do a little holiday shopping. We tried a new restaurant called Big Daddy's that had a sports bar atmosphere with large portions and craft beer. Afterwards, we walked through a few shops to find the perfect ornament for our collection. While we were out I noticed a white and red quilt in the window and mentioned how much I liked it. Little did I know my Dad was going to sneak back and buy it for me as part of my Christmas gifts. I told him it was too much, but I really do love it. It's the perfect addition to our holiday decor and a treasure I can pass down to my children one day.
On Sunday we ate a buffet lunch at the Unicoi State Park Lodge before driving over to Dahlonega, GA. Although it was raining off and on, Santa was in town for photos and there were a lot of people walking around. We walked through a dozen shops before heading back to Helen to browse through the Nacoochee Village. By the time night fell we were back in the condo for a Christmas Cake Wars marathon.
After sleeping in on Monday we drove to Blue Ridge, GA for the day. We visited back in October for Connor's birthday, but vowed to come back when we had more time to look around. This town is so quaint and filled with some really nice shops and restaurants. We ate craft pizza at Masseria Kitchen & Bar before walking down the main drag picking out souvenirs as we went. My favorite boutiques were Blue Ridge Cotton Company, Canoe, Urbane + Jewel, and River Gypsy Trading Co. We mainly window-shopped, but I did find a few antiques to bring home.