Badass + Bookish Retreat Revealed
The first Badass+Bookish Retreat was a smashing success! For starters, the retreat took place at Indigo House, a lovely bed and breakfast in Afton, Virginia, about three hours from DC. Indigo House is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with easy access to the Rockfish Gap Appalachian Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway, Wintergreen Resort, and Shenandoah National Park. And to say it is surrounded by breweries, wineries, and distilleries is an understatement! We visited three in just our three days there!
Our host, Stephanie and her husband, Kyle, have created such a lovely space! The inside is warm and inviting, the outside is beautiful (mountains! fire pit!) and did I mention it’s dog-friendly? We had two dogs with us for the retreat! Plus, Stephanie is an amazing cook - the food we had every morning was delicious! And the evening happy hours were a great time to unwind, reflect on the day, and make plans for the evening.
What made the retreat “bookish”? We discussed All You Need to Do is Call, talked about some upcoming releases (which included the upcoming release by one of our retreat guests, Jo Piazza), shared recommendations of what we’re currently reading, watching or listening to, and…
we even did some book swapping!
We also did some book shopping! The retreat was co-hosted by Bluebird & Co, a lovely book, clothing, and gift shop in Crozet, Virginia. Bluebird is owned by two amazing badass women, Flannery Buchannan and Chelsea Powers. What they are doing with their store and in their community is just so inspiring! You’ll definitely want to add a stop at their shop to your travel list!
Of course the signature event of the weekend was the Elle Cosimano book launch at Veritas Winery and - you guessed it - our host was a badass woman winemaker!
The winery’s space is gorgeous - and it was full of badass women ready for the big event!
The discussion between Jo Piazza and Elle did not disappoint! There is just something so cool about authors interviewing authors!
I’m already dreaming up plans for the next retreat! Stay tuned!