Last Wednesday and Thursday

I'm sure everyone and their brother has posted something about the ginormous snow storm Nashville received last Wednesday (February 9th).  Well, I got caught in it too.  About 3 o'clock I'm sitting in a meeting room with no windows listening to a woman speak about our next round of employee evaluations.  I'm pretty sure that when I went into that meeting there was no snow anywhere in sight - not on the ground, not falling and I don't even think it was cloudy.  But, of course, everyone had been talking about it ALL DAY LONG.  Me, I'm oblivous.  Just going about my business.  At 4 o'clock when my meeting was over, I happened to glance outside and HOLY MOLY.  Snow was everywhere!  I got back to my desk, checked my email and there's one from Michael telling me to head home right then and there.  So I pack up my things (grab my laptop just in case we get a snow day the next day) and jump in the car. 

Most of you know that my office is located in B.F.E. = almost Mt Juliet, way past the airport, in an area of town called Donelson/Hermitage.  What?  You've never heard of it?  Well, neither had I until my work decided to relocate 20 miles outside of Nashville several years ago.  If you haven't heard me complain about it yet, I'm sure you will.  It's the bain of my existence right now.  But, I digress.

Even though it's been several years, I still have not gotten used to the commute.  Yes, it's against traffic - blah, blah, blah.  It's still way far out and it takes me on average 30 minutes to get to work everyday then 30 minutes to get home in the evening.  Yep, that's an hour each day of my life I'll never get back. 

So last Wednesday, I'm in the car and I'm surprised that traffic is actually moving.  Until I get to the Briley Parkway underpass (which is still far away from my house) and this is what I see:

Bumper to bumper cars.  Yep, that's right.  The snow had fallen so fast, and everyone in Nashville decided to hit the roads at the same time.  Nashville had created the biggest, most monstrous traffic jam EVER.  I don't want to rehash the fact that it took me two hours to get home that night, was low on gas, had to use the restroom in a major way, and like everyone else in their cars was sliding all over the place.  Don't want to rehash it at all.  Just want to remember that should weathermen ever forecast this type of downfall again, I'm going to be working from home.  Period. 

And that's what I did.  The next morning I lounged in bed with a snuggled up Winston, tv on and laptop running.  This was my view:

Much better than the night before.  And even Eleanor Roosevelt got to come over: 

  

And play:

Or, are they making out?  I'm not so sure.  Regardless, Winston later told me that it was "the best day ever."  Just kidding, I made that part up - but I'm sure if he could talk he would have said that.

You know the funny thing is about all this is that on Saturday we had 60 degree weather.  And this week, it's been 70 degrees.  I'm thinking someone up there knew Nashville was in need of some warmer weather and sunshine in a bad way after last week's madness.

New Restaurant :: Tavern

Last Friday, we headed to a new restaurant, Tavern, with the Neals.  Tavern replaced Lime on Broadway.  Being a Friday night and a brand new restaurant, we waited over an hour and a half for dinner; it was completely packed!  While I thought it was pretty good up-scale bar food, I would never recommend someone wait that long to eat there.  One would expect that after a while the new buzz will die down but it's owned by the same guy/team as Virago and Whiskey Kitchen and those two restaurants are always busy. 

While we were waiting, we tried interesting cocktails and shared the nachos - all were delish.  For dinner, I had the Parmesan and Kale salad which I loved.  The last time I had a kale salad was in Aspen - and have never been able to find something similar in Nashville.  All in all, I would suggest you try Tavern - just get there early or go for lunch...

Here's a picture of Michael and I at dinner:

 

Serena & Lily

Have you heard of Serena & Lily? No, I'm not talking about the Van der Woodson mother/daughter duo on Gossip Girl...  We got a catalog in the mail last night for a line called Serena & Lily.  I had never heard of it before.  The catalog has a lot of nursery and little kid decor in it so I'm thinking they started out in that field.  But, it seems they're branching out into the adult world - and I love it!!

Their furniture is beautiful and the fabrics are wonderful - so light and serene - and they also sell paint! 

Check out this headboard:

And this tufted chair:



And this bench (which I think needs to go in my bedroom now):

  

This bed just looks so inviting:

And this nursery for a baby boy is too adorable:

  

Am I the only one who was in the dark about this company?

What a difference drapes make

This post is a long time coming!  I had some drapes made for the den area back in November.

Before:

After:



In order to look more symmetrical, I hung both sets at the same height, which also makes the ceiling look taller (I think).  Just need a new set of side tables next to the couch and a matching table lamp (like the one to the left of the couch in the pictures) then this room is done!

Snow Day!

My office is closed today!  Woo hoo!  Even though I still have to work, it is so much nicer to work on the couch with Winston snuggled next to me.  Although, he is extremely bothered that all the kids in the neighborhood are using the Craighead hill to go sledding on...

 and keeps jumping off the couch to bark at them through the front door.

New Dishwasher!

I think it's a little sad that I am this excited about our new dishwaser.  But, after at least a month of the old dishwasher just not cleaning, it was time to say buh-bye.  After spending an hour in the A1 Appliance store and multiple hours researching all the different types of dishwashers online, we decided to branch out of our GE Profile streak and buy a Kitchenaid.  It was purchased last Thursday with a quick phone call then installed on Monday during my lunch break.  Here's the end result - tada!

And even though it's a different brand than our fridge, microwave and oven, I think it blends nicely in terms of look & feel with the other appliances.

2010 Wrap Up & Happy New Year!!!

First, happy new year to everyone!  Welcome to 2011!  I wrote my first check of the new year today and of course I mistakenly wrote 2010... it's almost like tradition every year.  I'll probably continue writing 2010 at least until mid March. 

New Year's Eve is actually my least favorite holiday of the year.  It's always so blown out of proportion therefore Michael and I have written all the parties off for the past several years and just gone out for a nice dinner.  This year we went to Fish & Co (one of our newish favorite restaurants).  They were serving a pri fixed menu with wine pairings.  Dinner was delicious, wine was delicious, and the company was great!  And I got to use my new camera that Michael gave me for Christmas!

For Christmas, we headed to upstate New York, where my parents moved this past January.  They have a great condo about two blocks from downtown and the town reminds me of downtown Franklin.  Very cute, some great restaurants, fun to just poke around.  Here's a pick of my sister, Meredith, and me outside Santa's house...

Michael and I had a date night on Thursday night when we were up there and went to dinner @  a restaurant called Max London's.  Then we headed for a nightcap at the Wine Bar before heading home.

Christmas Eve the fam went to dinner @ Gideon Putnam's, a old hotel in Saratoga Springs. 

Meredith with the Nutcracker in the lobby

Dad, Rebecca, Mom, Meredith, me and Michael after dinner

Our Christmas was very low key, but this year we did something new.  We incorporated an old Saratoga Springs tradition into our Christmas day - the Peppermint Pig.

In early Decembers long since past, while the quaint Victorian Village of Saratoga Springs slept quietly through a chilled and moonlit eve, legend suggests that a bit of holiday magic was in the making. 

The first dusting of winter's snow gathered in darkened downtown doorways and twirled by night's wind seemed to dance and whirl like sugarplum fairies.  Behind the oaken doors of gingerbread-sized candy shops that dotted Saratoga, timeless old candy makers, bathed in amber glow of crackling hearth and bubbling candy pots, labored on into the night creating... and continuing a holiday tradition known to all as the Peppermint Pig. 

The Peppermint Pig as aptly it was named, was cast of hard candy similar in fashion to candy cane and festive pink in colour.  And while the pig is honored in Victorian holiday tradition as a symbol of good health, happiness and prosperity, these special Peppermint Pigs unique to Saratoga Springs, New York, came to represent much more.  They proudly stood for an old-fashioned Yuletide itself - a wonderful time when red-cheeked children laughed and rode old wooden sleds over fresh snow, when church bells pealed and fond recollections where shared by family and friends.  After the holiday dinner, the Pig was passed amongst those gathered, each in turn giving the pouch a firm tap and sharing a tale of the past year's good fortune.  The delicious broken peppermint and warm memories were enjoyed by all in hopes of prosperity for the coming year.

And so we all tapped the Peppermint Pig...

Until it looked like this...

Then, we each ate a bite as we toasted to a wonderful 2010, but an even better 2011!  Happy New Year!