New Derbyshire Blog

We have relocated the Derbyshire blog to the community website. Please click here to read our new posts. Thank you for your interest!

Local Area - Winter Announcements

It's been a little while since I've added to the blog, but we've been busy here at Derbyshire through the winter. We had three closings during a time when families are normally just regrouping from the holidays and planning for the new year. Over the past few months we've welcomed the new property owners, worked on planning our 5K race in May (www.DerbyDash5K.com), and given enough tours of the community to keep things hopping at the office.

Over the next few posts, I want to share a little more about where Derbyshire is located. One really great thing about this community is that you have the ability to enjoy a more rural, less-rushed life and still be near enough to all of those things that you would expect from a larger city. The proximity to gas, groceries, hospitals, shopping, and airports is closer than you would probably expect when you first drive through the rolling hills, horse farms, and beautiful wooded spaces that this area is so well known for.

However, in this first post, I wanted to share two really wonderful announcements that came out this winter. Both are of interest to the equestrian and the non-equestrian, although the first announcement will be a bit more exciting for the horsey folks.

We had heard some rumors regarding the purchase of White Oak Plantation. It turns out the rumors were true, and we will be welcoming a new "world class equestrian venue" just a few miles from the Derbyshire entrance. You can read more about the announcement here in the Tryon Daily Bulletin article that came out in January. Not only will this be a tremendous boost for the local equestrian competitors, businesses, and organizations in an already incredibly equine-focused community, but it will also provide an increase in the local economy in general in the form of additional revenue, sales taxes, hotel taxes, etc. as it brings more people into the area.

The second announcement, which is on a much smaller scale that the first, is the one that is probably having the most immediate impact on me and all of the other big-chain coffee shop fans. We officially welcome our first Starbucks last month. Derbyshire is less than ten minutes from the Ingles Market where the new Starbucks in located. I've already visited more times than I care to admit. I think this is a really great example of how this area offers the best of both worlds. You can enjoy a rural drive where the only thing that might slow traffic down is a carefully driven horse trailer and still be just a few minutes from picking up your grande mocha frappuccino (not to mention a bunch of great organic, unprocessed, healthy grocery finds at Ingles).

Next week I'll go into more detail about the local area and how close all of those important shopping/health/travel places are so that you can get your bearings, but right now I'm going to head out and pick up a latte. Have a great weekend!

FENCE Holiday Barn Tour at the Derbyshire Stable

This past weekend, Derbyshire happily hosted a few hundred visitors during the FENCE Holiday Barn Tour. As one of three stops on the tour, the Derbyshire Stable was decked out in holiday decorations and provided guests with spiced apple cider and cookies as a nice little treat on a cool, post-Thanksgiving Saturday!

One of our property owners, who is boarding his horses in the Derbyshire Stable, was gracious enough to pitch in and brought down some wonderful holiday decorations from his home. The fox sconces are my favorite!

We also used the Holiday Barn Tour as an opportunity to announce the date of our Third Annual Derby Dash 5K and Fun Walk! It will held on Saturday, May 18th. It's never too early to start planning for the next Derbyshire event!

Now that we are all decorated (much earlier than usual) for the holidays, 

we're now able to enjoy the season even more!

Upcoming Event - FENCE Holiday Barn Tour

Derbyshire is very excited to be participating in the Foothills Equestrian Nature Center (FENCE) Holiday Barn Tour this year on November 24th. The event will begin at FENCE with exhibitions including jumping, dressage, and the Green Creek Hounds. Attendees will then continue on a self-guided tour of three barns in the area, including the Derbyshire Stable.

In preparation for the Holiday Barn Tour, we have decorated our stable both inside and out. We'll be welcoming attendees with refreshments and holiday music. If you are in the area, this is definitely a great way to spend the post-holiday weekend!

Derbyshire Community Event - Dinner Be Dammed

I've been taking just a short break from blogging over the past week or so, but it's only because things have been very busy here at Derbyshire! This past weekend, we hosted our Second Annual Dinner Be Dammed. It's our community where we bring together all of the Derbyshire neighbors so that they can enjoy a good dinner by the lake and have another opportunity to spend time with each other.

The idea for Dinner Be Dammed came from the fact that we were upgrading our earthen dam, which forms our private 33 acre lake, last year when we hosted our first dinner. Even while we were under construction we wanted to celebrate all of the new neighbors we had welcomed!

We’ve had so many great things happen this year: seeing families make Derbyshire their new home, welcoming new property owners, and hosting our second Derby Dash 5K and Fun Walk. We want to continue the tradition of celebrating the year’s achievements (and the name really is the most interesting one we could come up with!).

Everyone seemed to have a great time, and the rain held off (at least until after dessert). We can't wait to see how much this group grows next year. We're going to need a larger tent!

Landrum, SC - Ken's Meats & Seafood and Dutch Country Foods

This week, the blog started with a link to the Southern Living article that included Landrum, SC. This quaint town is located just down the road from the entrance to Derbyshire. 

Over the past few days I've shown some of my favorite places in the small main street area (which is technically Rutherford St. in Landrum). Today, I'm going to show two grocery shops that provide access to great locally-sourced items and some unique items that shoppers wouldn't have easy access to without these locations.

Ken's Meats & Seafood was my first stop. Situated in the same block as the hardware shop, an art gallery, and Lucy's Boutique, it's easy to get to while out shopping around Landrum. In addition to carrying fresh meats, they stock basic groceries (cheeses, potatoes, onions, etc.) that make putting a meal together simple, without having to venture into a traditional grocery store. 

They also function as a bakery featuring cakes, pies, precious little petit fours, and some peach cannolis. Many of their breads are baked in house, with others coming from a nearby bakery in Greenville, SC. 

Next to the breads and also in one of their cold cases, you'll find items that would be great in a gift basket. Many of these prepackage foods items are ones that I've had to travel to a larger store to find, and now I know where I can find them locally. It's a great thing to keep in mind when you need a fast hostess gift!

Once you've had a chance to stock up on all of the fresh meats and baked goods at Ken's, you can head down one block to Dutch Country Foods. All of the items found inside of this shop have been sourced from the Amish Country (Ohio and Pennsylvania). I specify inside of the shop only because the first thing you see outside are wonderful peaches from Strawberry Hill (which was also mentioned in the article from Southern Living). Not that the farm is very far away, but it's wonderful to be able to run down to Landrum for peaches instead of having to travel a bit farther to Strawberry Hill. 

They carry great little candies, which you can see in the picture above, and a huge aisle lined with every type of spice, candy, and baking ingredient imaginable. I'm sure they don't carry everything, but it certainly looks like they do!

I ended up picking up some unique root beer that I hadn't seen before and some crispy green beans that were really very good, and yes, that is an incredibly random assortment of purchases.

After I had checked out, a lady was raving about the ladyfinger popcorn that they carry. Apparently it's smaller, hulless and more tender when popped. Guess I know what I'll be grabbing on my next trip! For those who desire to shop in locally owned stores, Ken's Meats and Seafood and Dutch Country Foods are wonderful resources.

Landrum, SC - Lucy's Boutique

While continuing the virtual tour through Landrum, SC, which is just down the road from Derbyshire, I wanted to show you one of the newer shops downtown. Lucy's Boutique is a great clothing and accessories store for women. The store first caught my attention because they always have really cute dresses in the front windows.

Once I had a chance to go inside, I realized that not only do they have great clothes, they also have really reasonable prices. 

Lucy's Boutique is definitely a great option for the women living in this area who need to go and grab a quick outfit. They have everything from jeans and tops, to dresses and sandals. You can certainly find a complete outfit there, right down to a belt and jewelry.

They also offer on-site monogramming, so it's a perfect place to stop in for gifts too! That orange tote on the left there is an item I will definitely be stopping back by to grab. It'll make a quick and easy gift for my friend who is a Clemson fan (which is something they also cater to)!

So, for a great local store for women, Lucy's Boutique is a definite go-to!