weekend in review

I've been home in Alabama this weekend visiting my parents. Here was my Friday view landing into Nashville.

All trips are planned around meals, so after fetching me from the airport, my parents and I had some tasty Mexican food at Rosepepper Cantina followed by ice cream across the street at Jeni's. I tried the Saison with Sunflower Seeds and Golden Flax, Sweet Cream Biscuits and Peach Jam, and Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet. So delicious! We even continued our Jeni's love through the weekend by using her base recipe to make some blueberry ice cream on Sunday. 

I went on a couple runs while at home (hopefully to combat all the awesome food we ate). The roads are flat but deathly boring...nothing but cow pastures and corn fields. However, trying to outrun a thunderstorm on Sunday made it a little more exciting!

I had big plans to spend all weekend in the pool, but with so many other things to do, I only got in once. I'm not much of a swimmer but I do love relaxing in the water and paddling around. I could stay in there for hours.

My mom and I walked through Lowe Mill in Huntsville and checked out all the artist studios. It's such a funky little hippy bubble in a very non-hippy town. I hope it keeps getting more popular and adding some much needed variety to the area.

We popped into Pizzelle's Confections for creative little chocolates. 

When in Rome, right? Extra points for eating it in the mall food court.

I had dinner with my parents and sister at The Huntsville Brewery one evening. 

My grandmother is turning 90 this year, so my sister thought it would be a good idea to gift her a portrait of our family. I did a lot of timer setting and running to be in the shot, but I think we got some nice photos.  

Sadly, I had to head back to NYC. On the way to the airport in Nashville, I suggested having lunch at Pinewood Social (after hearing about it from Allie). It was so much fun and I loved the building! I can't wait to bring Kurt back next time we visit.

The building is part of a larger development that revitalized old warehouses/factories along the river in the downtown area.

I had a tasty catfish sandwich and an Alabama beer...at 11am. Don't judge. I'm on vacation.

There is a bowling alley inside...

...and a bocce court outside!

There is lots of outside lounge seating, an Airstream trailer serving tacos, and even a couple little swimming pools! (I seriously thought I was in Brooklyn.) I think it would be fun to come back at night and enjoy the awesome cocktail/beer list.

Until next time Alabama/Tennessee!

holidays in alabama

Kurt and I arrived in Alabama the day after Christmas. This was the first time ever I wasn't at home with my family on the day of and it was kind of weird. I missed our Christmas morning tradition of getting up and having a big waffle breakfast (and maybe some mimosas like last year) then opening presents while listening to Christmas music. I guess these are the sacrifices you make when splitting up the holidays. 

We still fit in lots of animal bonding time though! This is my parents cat, Pumpkin. He looks so much like Aubie but about twice the size. Soooooo fat!

My Dad recently retired from his job of 39 years, so he brought home all the stuff from his office. This picture of my sister and me was probably sitting on his desk for 20 years! Aren't we cute?!

My mother's highlight of our visit was her chance to make us "Bang Bang Shrimp", a knock-off recipe from a restaurant she and my dad like. Great job, Mom!

One day, Kurt and I set out for a drive around North Alabama. Our first stop was the Belle Chevre Creamery in Elkmont. It is the teensiest town but we were able to pick up some tasty goat cheese from the out of place cheese shop. Sometime I'd like to go back and take the creamery tour where you get to meet the goats!

Kurt and I had high hopes for our drive through Muscle Shoals because of its rock n roll past, but it was a terrible place of strip malls, fast food, and Wal-Mart. Avoid it until you record your next album at one of their famous studios. However, nearby Tuscumbia is cute and old and is the birthplace of Helen Keller. We drove by and got a shot of her house.

We finally made it to our destination of Florence, Alabama. We had lunch in the charming downtown before wandering around the campus of the University of North Alabama.

They have real lions on campus! Luckily we were there while their trainers were around so the animals were running around playing.

Of course we had to check out the football stadium.

Florence is also home to the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in Alabama. We swung by the Rosenbaum House and took some photos from the outside.

Check out that cantilever! 

It's not a trip to Alabama without a visit to Mellow Mushroom. We got some pizza and local beer for lunch before heading to a matinee showing of The Hobbit. 

One day while out shopping, my mom, Kurt, and I stopped into the brand new Huntsville Brewery for an afternoon drink. They have tons of beers on tap and lots of local options. They even plan to brew their own in the near future. Huntsville has certainly gotten much cooler since I left! Keep it up!

And pretty soon it was time to head back to NYC. Our flight out of Nashville was delayed which gave us just enough time to swing by Jeni's for some ice cream. It was so good, somebody might have even ordered seconds :)

Thanks for the great trip, Mom and Dad! Always fun but much too short!

eric and jess get hitched!

Well, folks, it's been over a month since Kurt and I traveled to Alabama to see our friends Eric and Jessica tie the knot. I'm obviously way behind and had some major dental work done today, so I'll keep the words limited while I'm doped up on pain medicine. Lots of pictures!

I'm so happy for the lovely couple! Congratulations, E+J!

wedding weekend

 

Kurt and I traveling down South this weekend for a wedding in Alabama. After some flight acrobatics (hello sequester! hello delays!) we made it to Nashville and are visiting with my parents briefly. Next, we'll be on our way to Birmingham for wedding festivities and catching up with old (and new!) friends. Look forward to lots of pictures when we return.

AND I've got some big, exciting news next week! Look forward to an update on Monday or Tuesday! Have a great weekend!

alabama holiday wrap-up

Kurt and I still had a few days left in Alabama after returning from our mini trip to Atlanta. Some would say we were in the South too long. Granted, it wasn't my typical lounge on the couch and do nothing vacation, but we still had a pretty good time. Without further ado, the rest of the trip!

quick swing through bham

After our day trip to Atlanta, we drove through Birmingham on our way back to North Alabama. Kurt's camera is in the shop, so he stole mine and took waaaaay too many pictures of Railroad Park. It is a really awesome park, and he took some very lovely shots, so I had a hard time editing. Feel free to breeze through the photos, but there is a fun bit at the end!