I Adore This

                                

Poor little one...ballet is hard. Happy Tuesday!

Grandma's Back

            If you are a regular around here and can remember back to the Fall when I got my grandma on at the Nashville Flea Market, prepare for a repeat.  But this time instead of just admiring all of the antique furniture and trash-turned-treasure that litters the fairground for one weekend each month, I actually made a purchase!  And I'm kind of excited about it.  Okay, okay, I know it doesn't really make sense for me to be buying furniture when I am loading up all of my worldly possessions into a moving van at the end of the month and heading for who knows where (okay, I kind of know where :-), but I couldn't help myself.  I had been eyeing this desk made out of an old door for over a month and when I stumbled upon it again on Saturday I just couldn't walk by without making an offer.  And I even negotiated with the (literally) toothless man who made the desk by hand and only dropped one hundred and fifteen bones on this bad boy.  Pretty good deal if you ask me.

It's currently positioned awkwardly in our living room because I have no where else to put it but I like to walk by and admire it and imagine it in my grown-up home!

Flying Saucer

            It's been kind of a slow week as far as blog material goes but I don't like to blog just for the sake of blogging (though the Pioneer Woman claims that one of the cardinal rules of blogging is to not leave your readers with radio silence for an extended period of time), so you'll have to forgive the lack of work week posts.  But despite the more relaxed week some friends and I did take advantage of Thursday being the new Friday and the fact that some big March Madness games were going on by heading to The Flying Saucer for some beer and basketball on Thursday night.

             The games were utterly disappointing (yes, I went to Wake Forest but I've got a little Blue Devil in me too so that game was a bummer) but that doesn't mean that we didn't thoroughly enjoy ourselves, the beer, and the free popcorn - a perk I didn't know about and I kind of have a thing for the popcorn and beer combo!  The Flying Saucer is famous for their hundreds of beers and the UFO club which keeps track of the number of different beers that patrons drink and crowns them with their own plate on the wall or ceiling to commemorate their 200th beer.  Excessive, yes, but still kinda fun.

Have a great weekend!

A Weekend in the Sunshine

            Springtime has officially arrived in Nashville and we are in full lizard mode soaking up every ounce of sunshine that we can get.

            It has been the kind of weekend for driving with the windows down and country music blaring.  The kind of weekend for popsicle dates with the puppy and skipping Thursday class for a happy hour date with a friend (shhhh...don't tell on me).  The porch is officially the new living room and is where we can be found with early morning cups of coffee or afternoon glasses of wine in hand.

            Speaking of wine...which I realize I have been talking about a lot lately (I'm not a wino, I promise), after our wild night at Paradise Park we continued our perfect, sunshine-y weekend with a picnic at Arrington Vineyards.  Okay, so it's no Napa but it's a close second.

Artsy picture credit goes to Marie

            And that's about all I've got for today...see you soon!

Should Be a National Holiday

            The fourth anniversary of Paradise Park that is.  I've mentioned the famed trailer park bar on the blog before but for those of you who are first time readers, Paradise Park is one of the trashier venues in Nashville but maybe one of the most fun at the same time.  They serve pitchers of Natty Light - so college - and the floor is covered in stanky, beer-soaked astro turf.  But on this monumental anniversary, the bar really out-did itself.  The Jager-ettes made an appearance (let your imagination run wild - picture Coyote Ugly complete with leather chaps) and lucky patrons participated in the Spam Carving and Beer Bottle Stacking competitions.

            Other favorites of the night included the 85-year-old clogger who appeared on stage mid-song, the random TV complete with under the sea screen saver spotted in the corner of the bar, and the multiple gentlemen who thought it was appropriate to remove their shirts periodically throughout the night (I'll spare you the pictures of that).  Things got weird.

            It was a much-needed late night for this grandma...and was so worth it.  Hope you're weekend has had so much fun packed in that you need a weekend to recover from the weekend too!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Drove by Dan McGuinness on my way home from the gym this morning and the party was already bumping...complete with green beer and all!

 Flashback to my weekend in Ireland during junior year abroad...I don't actually really like Guinness and think it kind of tastes like burnt coffee but I had to take advantage of the photo op.

Hope your day is filled with luck and lots of kisses because you're Irish...or kisses just because :-)

Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair

            If you're going to San Francisco Napa!  My favorite part of my San Francisco vacay was definitely our sunny Saturday spent in wine country.  Our first stop of the day was at Cakebread Cellars.  I had heard rave reviews of the vineyard and fully expected to be greeted with a large piece of cake upon my arrival...but no such luck.  Instead, a large glass of Pinot did the trick just fine.

            After finishing up at Cakebread (after a tasting and a fabulous tour of the grounds), we headed for lunch at Oakville Grocery.  It is a little fresh grocer along the side of the road where sandwiches are made to order and can be enjoyed with a glass (or bottle) of your favorite Napa wine out on the patio.  The food was delish and we all needed a little food in our bellies at that point so it was the perfect pit stop.

            Next on the tour was the Paraduxx Winery where we tasted their two whites and a bazillion reds. My favorite was the 2008 Cabernet which was made during the worst growing season in recent Napa history.  Yep, I'm a proud wine recessionista.

            Last, but certainly not least, we stopped by Domaine Carneros for a sparkling wine tour.  Our guide, Kathleen, was absolutely ridiculous and utterly inappropriate which suited us just fine.

Spotted: Black sheep

Take me back!

And In Other News

            Though daylight savings has brought with it some dark early morning wake-up calls, these little babies are bringing some sunshine into my room life!

            Also, in case you were wondering, the little man is recovering well after surgery and not heeding any of the vet's advice to avoid stairs and over-excitement.   Okay, you caught me...this is just another excuse to post an adorable, wanna-squeeze-ya photo of the snuggle pup.  Guilty.

Have a great day!  Oh, and as promised, Napa pictures this afternoon :-)

Left My Heart In San Francisco

            When I hopped a plane to San Francisco last week, I knew that I was going to have a great time.  But, I didn't have any idea how much I needed a little vacation and how good some West Coast sunshine would be for my soul.  The weekend and the time I got to spend with Hannah were wonderful and I can't wait to go back!  Hannah is one of my "life friends" (see the side bar for an old school baby pic) which means that despite being separated by months and miles, when we finally get back together it is just like it has always been.  We have history.  I love her family like mine and I know she feels the same.  And though we have exchanged our Disney cups for wine glasses, we really haven't changed at all.  Which is why I wasn't at all surprised when this is what greeted me when I walked into Hannah's room...

(Yes, she is Kathi Hustedt's daughter)

            Check out the rest of the highlights below but forgive me for the lack of words.  I feel like I'm still a little jet lagged or maybe this daylight savings thing is throwing me off but either way, a blog with a lot of pictures far outweighs one that is chock full of words so you're welcome...and just FYI, San Francisco is gonna get two posts because there was just too much goodness to pack into one.  Napa and San Fran eats coming tomorrow so stay tuned!

The Full House street!!

Alcatraz on a cold, rainy day...creepy.

Sleep tight!