Nothing like Nashville

Nobody can make me laugh as hard as Justin. As you know, we moved into an apartment for the month of October. CFA has a long term lease on an apartment here, so they wanted us to stay here instead of a hotel. It has been wonderful too. But, as many of you know I am extremely cheap. While living in an apartment there are supplies that we need to pay for that we will have to throw away at the end of the month. With that said, I went to the Dollar Tree to purchase almost everything that we will be using here for the month, including trash bags. I am not sure how many of you have ever purchased trash bags from the Dollar Tree, but there is a reason that you get an entire roll of trash bags for only one dollar. They are so thin! So, Justin and I were headed out the door for our nightly run around the complex and he decided he would take the trash out on the way. When he goes to pull the trash bag out of the trash can it rips and busts all over the kitchen floor. I hear it, but I silently watch him from the living room just to see what he is going to do. He bends down and starts to pick it up, then he slowly tilts his head up and looks at me. He tries to look mad, while holding in a smile, and acting like he has no idea how this could have happened. I start laughing so hard that I am silently shaking and crying. Then he goes, "Woman, get over here and hold this trash bag so I can sweep this up!" (He is just teasing when he says that. Don't worry he is not going Ray Rice on me.) I, still laughing, go over to hold the bag and all he can say is, "So many eggs!" The dumpster for the complex is all the ay on the other side, and we had made it about 20 yards away, when the bag rips again. He then had to finagle the bags around and quickly walk to the dumpster before it all fell out again while trying not to let anything drip on him. Wish you could have been there to watch. It was seriously hilarious! I am always thankful for the laughter he brings me in the silliest of situations.

On Friday after work, I was walking around the mall trying to see what kind of good sales were going on, when I got a text from Misty, a lady from our home church. She was wondering if we were going to be in town that night. I told her that we were and she surprised us by telling us that her and her husband, Jon, were in a town just a few minutes away for a family wedding. We met up with them at Red Robin for milkshakes and got to catch up on everything. There is truly nothing better than having wonderful friends come visit when you have been away from home for so long!

  

Saturday, after work, we headed to Nashville. We stayed at a cute Bed Breakfast ran by a sweet couple. It was only 1 mile from downtown Nashville. We ate dinner at the Whiskey Kitchen. Seriously, the most delicious macaroni and cheese ever. Then we scooted down to The Wild Horse Saloon for two-stepping and line dancing. They had a live band called Brother Trouble that was very good. One of the lead singers even reminded us of our brother-in-law Mike. We couldn't quit starring. We were almost positive that he had to be Mike's long lost brother. After Wild Horse, we turned in for the night. 

The East Nashville Victorian Suite. (You can find them on Airbnb.)

The quilt on the bed was hand stitched by the man's great-great
grandmother. It was absolutely beautiful!

 

We started our Sunday morning with breakfast at the Frothy Monkey. It is Taylor Swift's favorite coffee shop in Nashville, and Justin was hoping that we might spot her there since she had a concert in town. We didn't see Taylor, but we had a delicious breakfast. The Frothy Frog has a great atmosphere and is also eco-friendly with their recycled paper products.  

 

 

We then tried to see the Garth Brooks exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, his exhibit was not on display at the time we were there. We spent about 5 minutes in the museum and got a couple of pictures as we rushed around looking for anything Garth. We did find one tiny microscopic glimpse of him in the Trisha Yearwood exhibit. Though, that of course was not nearly satisfying to Justin's obsession.

 

 

 

 

Because How could I not.. it's a cheer uniform!

Our final stop of the trip was at The Hermitage. The home of former President Andrew Jackson. The home was beautiful both on the inside and out. We were not allowed to take pictures on the inside. Being the rebel that I am, I was going to try to sneak some anyways, but they have tour guides that walk with you through your visit. The tour guides were fabulous! They were well versed in the information about the home and the family. They even dressed in time period clothing.

 

 

 

Justin and I had a wonderful trip. There is just nothing like Nashville. 

 

 

 

A Little Peice of Home

Justin always teases me and says, "It doesn't matter where we go, you always see someone you know!" I am starting to think that it is true. I was Googling "Things to do in Jackson, TN " Up pops a list of the 10 most exciting things to do in Jackson. One of the activities is called Jackson Escape Rooms. I was like, that sounds interesting, so I clicked on the link only to find out that the brains behind this thing is none other than, my friend from high school, JD! What are the odds that in a graduating class of 50 we would both end up in the tiny little town of Jackson, TN. I decided that I had to figure out how to get into contact with him. On our way back from running an errand, we passed by the building where the Jackson Escape Rooms is located. So I yelled to Justin "Stop the car!" He pulls over and lets me out. I run up to the side door of the building where I see a guy building a set and motion for him to open the door. He came over and opened the door. (You should know that I am looking pretty sketchy, I had been home all day cleaning and cooking, I had green bean juice running down the leg of my grey yoga pants, crazy hair in a pony tail and no make up. Needless to say this guy was brave for opening the door.) I go on to tell him that I am friends with JD and I haven't seen him in years. And asked him if JD was there. He continues to stare at me blankly and then goes... "Who is JD?" Once I said Jared he was like "OH! Jared!" Apparently, that is what they call him now that we are grown ups. LOL I just can't believe what a small world it is that we live in.

Justin took great initiative this week to get sales up at his CFA location. He drug the cow suit down, took it to the dry cleaners, and got it ready for a day of cow games. The Cow Games were a huge success at his store. It brought in extra business and involved the local community.

The week went on and we got two very special visitors all the way from Kentucky! It was so exciting to have our friend Mallory and her husband Chuck come and visit for the weekend. We both went to college with Mallory in Missouri. (Mallory is the one I wrote about in my first blog who got Justin his job at Chick-fil-A six years ago!) We enjoyed spending time together and exploring around Jackson. On Friday we went to the Escape Rooms. They were amazing and so much fun. They said that we were the only group to successfully escape the "Attic" that day.

We visited the Casey Jones Village in town where we learned all about the train conductor who risked his life to save the lives of his passengers.

This is an old funeral car. It carried the caskets.

We also visited the old fashioned store and ice-cream shop.

Later, we headed to a drive-thru safari. Justin was the driver, and let's just say he took full advantage of the child window lock function. Instead of locking the windows in the up position, he locked them in the down position. He thought it was hilarious to watch Mallory and I freak out when giant Buffalo or crazy scary looking emus would try to peck us the in the backseat. When the giant camels were coming through the sun roof and passenger windows Justin got a great kick out of watching me dive over the backseat and Mallory try to lay down on the bench of the SUV to avoid being drooled on.

 

Mallory was happy again after she got her animal feed back. A giant buffalo stole it from her,
so I jumped out of the car and took it back. :) Buffalo don't scare me.

We all saved some of our animal feed for the giraffes, but they only eat carrots. LOL

 

It was wonderful to see so many old friends this week. It was like having a little piece of home all the way in Tennessee.

Jackson Walk

Well, I think it's official. We are professional movers. We have figured out a system and created some amazing teamwork. In only 1 hour and 15 minutes we went from the apartment, drove to the hotel, packed ALL of our things, drove back to the apartment and unloaded and unpacked everything!

We are very excited to be living in this new apartment community. It is extremely cute. It is centered around a gym and health center. It has a health foods market, dog park, outdoor theater, walking trail, restaurants and a dry cleaner all on-site.

 

 

This week Justin had me a little more involved in the store. While he focused on all of the business side of things he had me focus on training. I love when I get to using my teaching skills in my work. I also made some super cheesy teacher-like gifts to pass out to all of the employees.

This weekend we headed down to Memphis for a little day trip. We went to Graceland and saw all of the sites. We learned more about his life and accomplishments and "his death." (I love conspiracy theories!)




His home, Graceland.

A few of his many awards.

His airplane, Lisa Marie, with its 24 Karat gold sinks and seatbelts.

His cars minus the pink Cadillac. It was on tour.

 

After touring Graceland, we headed over to the Peabody Hotel. We watched the little ducks waddle down their red carpet and into the elevator. They were so adorable!