Let Me Take You to Nashville

Hello Friends happy Sunday,

I spent most of last week in Nashville. It was a quick trip but I did have time to take in some things I had never done before. I always love that. I got home late Friday night and now I am headed to Bryson City, NC. and Cherokee NC for most of the upcoming week. Another tourism meeting and a lot of sight seeing. I have barely had time to get home, do laundry love on the fur babies, and my hubs too of course, get groceries and pack up again. More on the North Carolina trip later but for now Nashville.

First of all let me say that Nashville is an amazing city. Until you actually go downtown and visit the historic buildings, art centers, and see the building art murals,The Gulch, and the bars, you haven’t seen Nashville. It seems like I see something different every time I am there.

Mark and I come to Nashville three times a year for a check on the kidney but we are usually in too big of a hurry just to get here and back to spend any time doing anything. I think we may have to rethink that next time.

Every year The Governor’s Conference on Tourism is held in a different city in Tennessee. I usually attend and if I am not able to another of my co-workers, Annie, attends for me. This year we were both able to attend and that makes it even better because we split up the educational seminars and get twice as much done. But we also wanted to take advantage of this wonderful city and do some fun things with the little bit of free time that we had.

Nashville is about about 180 miles from my small town. You can usually drive it in a little over three hours. Also it is in the central time zone and you gain an hour going there. Of course you lose it back when you go back home. We started out early Wednesday morning and it was a beautiful day but hotter than H&ll The high temp on Wednesday was about 96 degrees.

We stayed at The Sheraton Grand Nashville. This hotel is across the street from the Capitol Building and is a little pricey. We did get a special rate through the conference but for a few nights stay without a group rate it would be pricey. I have stayed just outside of the city and used Uber and it is also convenient and a lot less costly, even with the Uber cost. The Sheraton has a free shuttle service that is very convenient and will take you within a certain radius of the hotel.

One of the things I wanted to do was eat at the Loveless Cafe. It is a little bit out of Nashville. So you actually drive through Nashville and then continue on about another 25 minutes. It is located just off of exit 192 on Hwy 100. The history behind the Loveless Cafe is very interesting. In 1951 Lon and Annie Loveless opened Loveless Cafe serving homemade southern dishes. They also built a 14-room motel next to the restaurant. I guess you could say their biscuits are what put them on the map. And I can testify that THEY ARE AMAZING!!!!!!! More than a half million visitors a year eat at the cafe. There have also been many famous people who have eaten at the cafe. There are autographed pictures throughout the restaurant. You can even buy the biscuit mix and jams and jellies to take home with you and make your own delicious biscuits.

The small motel now has quaint shops to visit. The Loveless Cafe is open 7 days a week and if you plan to eat there at lunch or dinner time you might want to make a reservation which you can easily do online. Check out more on the Loveless Cafe here.

I hope you are not too hungry when you look at these photos. I had the pulled pork barbecue. We shared a banana pudding for dessert. We went at lunch time and made reservations in case it was super busy. The portions are huge and had we known we probably would have split something since taking a to-go box wasn’t an option.

Another thing I have wanted to do for a long time is visit The Gulch in Nashville. The Gulch is a LEED certified community in the heart of Nashville it is just off of Interstate 40, Interstate 26, and Interstate 65. There are so many trendy restaurants and bars in The Gulch. We stopped at Bar Louie for a drink and appetizers. They were delicious. One thing The Gulch is famous for is all the murals on the buildings. I wanted to see the Angel Wings by Kelsey Montague. After we left Louie’s it was starting to get dark and we were trying to find the wings. We had almost given up and started back when we turned around and there they were!!! Of course we had to get some pics. The mural is actually called, What Lifts You and It is beautiful!!! The mural is 20 feet high. The wings are located at 302 11th Ave S in The Gulch but for much more information about The Gulch please visit http://www.explorethegulch.com.

You know I had to get my picture here. Usually there is a line of people waiting but only about five other people were there before us.

As I said we didn’t have a lot of time outside of the conference but we did have some time to do a few other things. We went to The Johnny Cash Museum. I have always been a huge Johnny Cash fan. The Museum is located at 119 3rd Ave S. visit the website at http://www.johnnycashmuseum.com.

Another thing you must do when you are in Nashville is go Honky Tonkin. This involves putting your boots on and going to your favorite bars on the strip. Nashville is alive with country music. Many musicians have found stardom by playing in the small bars along the strip in Nashville. Anyone you see could be the next big name in country. We were able to take in several bars while we were there and we listened to some fabulous bands. One of my favorites was Tequila Cowboy. This bar features live music, a dance floor and some fabulous food and drink. We saw Josh Keas perform and he was amazing I am sure he will be the next big name in country music. http://www.tequilacowboy.com

The Nashville nightlife is crazy fun!!

Nashville is such a beautiful city and with only a little free time in a couple of days I think we got to see a lot of new things. I do want to return and add to my list so I will keep you posted on that. A few things that were on my list to see and experience were:
The Legendairy Milkshake Bar Just try not to drool when you look at these pictures.
Draper James. This shop, founded by Reese Witherspoon, is true southern charm.
Ryman Auditorium There is so much history here. I have been but would love to go back.
Frist Art Museum. Another place I have been but the exhibits change frequently and there is always something new to see.

So now I am off to North Carolina. I will share that with you very soon. But in the meantime remember to:

Love your day your way

How to Make a Perfectly Decadent Chocolate Cake

Hello Friends, I have to tell you that chocolate cake is one of my favorite things in the world. This post even includes homemade chocolate frosting. We usually call it icing in the south. You know how much I love to bake. I am a cake person and I love almost all cakes. My husband, on the other hand, loves pies. Check out this post I did awhile back on making a great coconut cream pie. But my husband does love chocolate cake probably more than I do so when I make one I know I will not be eating the entire thing myself. So here goes. This is going to be a four layer cake because I like to split the layers so that I have lots of room for the yummy chocolate cake icing. So here goes:

Use your favorite cake mix. Cake mix is so easy and inexpensive. I always keep several in my pantry. You can just do so much with them. My favorite cake is yellow or white cake with chocolate icing. I think it offsets the chocolate a little. Now don’t get me wrong chocolate on chocolate is never a bad thing to me. But I usually prefer yellow or white cake with chocolate icing.

Mix your ingredients according to the directions on your cake mix. I always grease the cake pans with solid Crisco and flour them before baking. This is a great way to make sure that your cakes do not stick.

Pour the batter evenly into two 8 x 2 inch round cake pans. Again bake according to the directions on the cake mix.

Before removing the cake from the cake pan, and you should do this as soon as you take it out of the oven, I use a little trick to flatten the top of the cake. This makes it easier when stacking the layers. I put a paper towel on top of the cake and then put a small saucer on top and flatten it just a little. Then just turn the pan upside down and the cake should pop right out. I put them each on a plate with a paper towel under them so they can cool completely.

After the cakes have cooled completely, and if you want to split the layers, this is the best way to do it. This little handy tool is called a cake cutter or cake leveler. It is almost like magic. You can get one at Walmart or on Amazon. A leveler can be used to split a cake into two thinner cakes or just slice the dome of the cake off to make it smooth. I use the small plate and paper towel for this I think that is easier. But when it comes to splitting a cake this handy dandy tool is just the thing. It is adjustable so that you can evenly split the cake. It cuts through the cake like butter. I promise You might be able to do this with a knife if you are Martha Stewart. And remember you don’t have to split the layers you can keep it to a simple two layer cake and you don’t have to worry about the leveler.

This is such a simple chocolate icing recipe. My mama always made her icing like this and I loved it. I have had no complaints about mine. I always double the recipe: I use two sticks of butter, softened, 12 tablespoons of cocoa ( the powdered cocoa in a can) a one pound bag of powdered sugar and Half & Half. I like to use Half & Half because it makes the icing so smooth and creamy. You can use milk, and if you do, make sure to use at least 2% or whole milk. It usually takes about one cup of Half & Half for the icing. I also flavor with a tablespoon of vanilla flavoring. If you are keeping it to a two layer just use half of these ingredients.

Mix the butter and cocoa together first. Make sure the butter is softened. Also, I sift the cocoa and the powdered sugar to make sure there are no lumps or bumps in the icing. Add the powdered sugar and Half & Half in a little at a time.

Now you have a bowl of yummy chocolate icing. If you doubled the icing recipe you will probably have extra left over. You can store it in the refrigerator for several days.

I always put a little icing on the plate before I put down my first layer.

Turn the cake upside down if you didn’t split the cake this will be the bottom. This makes your cakes stack a lot easier whether you are doing two or four layers.

When you put the icing on the first layer don’t worry about crumbs getting in the icing. You are going to cover up that first layer with more cake and more icing.

Add the second layer. If you split your cakes this will be the bottom of the first layer.

Continue with the layers until you get to the top. Make sure the top of your cake is the outside top of the layer so that it will be fairly smooth.

Put a large scoop of icing on the cake and start spreading it along the top of the cake. Always keep the icing in front of your spatula or knife or whatever you are using to spread it. This will make sure you are not digging into the cake and picking up crumbs. At this point you do not want to see crumbs in your icing.

And the finished product. You can swirl the icing a little and use a pastry bag and an icing tip to pretty up the edges, but you don’t have to it’s going to be yummy anyway.

Now grab a big glass of milk or your drink of choice and enjoy!!!!

Oh and don’t forget to LICK THE BEATERS!!!!! That’s the best part.

Love your day your way!!

The Art of Being Mindful

Do you remember the last meal you ate? Were you watching TV or scrolling through your phone? Were you with a person having a conversation? Do you remember what the food tasted like? Was it good? was the flavor something out of this world or just meh?

O.K. do you remember the last conversation you had with someone? your spouse? your child? your friend? Do you remember how they looked? what their voice sounded like? Did they sound sad, happy? do you even remember what the conversation was about.

Do you pull up to your workplace or your house or wherever you may be going and discover you don’t remember anything about the drive. You’re secretly thinking wow I hope I wasn’t speeding or I hope I didn’t run a stop light. Or worse.

We have all been guilty of not being mindful. In this day and time with technology all around us I think we are getting worse at being mindful of what we are doing. Even the good stuff. Information overload is something we deal with constantly. Sometimes when I am at work taking a work call I find myself closing my eyes so that I can focus on the person I am talking to. If I don’t I find myself looking at my computer screen, or my phone, listening to what is going on in the background around me. I know that when I am doing this I am not totally focusing on what is going on with that phone call. The person that I am talking to deserves my attention.

A few years ago when I was doing some travel shows I noticed this lack of focus had gotten particularly bad. The shows were an opportunity for you to sell your location or attraction to potential clients. You had about five minutes to sit down at a booth with a prospective client and give them your main selling points. The booths were set up in rows and you sat at their booth across the table from the potential buyer. In the meantime there was still the traffic of people walking behind you. It was a bit distracting. But what I noticed the last few times I did a show, was that the buyer instead of being focused on what I had to say, and heck I don’t think it was that boring, was constantly watching what was going on in the isle behind me. Their eyes would wander from mine to the people behind me. You would have thought Jason Momoa was walking by. Maybe something more interesting was going on in that conversation by those other people. I started having less and less confidence in the shows. they were expensive and I didn’t feel I was getting what I needed to get from them.

Multitasking is the evil twin of mindfulness. We are all trying to get more and more done so we’re on our phone while we’re watching TV, watching a ballgame, while trying to listen to the person in front of us talking to us.

Being mindful takes practice. Start with being mindful when you eat. This will not count when you rush through drive through and eat on your way home or on your way to the ball field or to your next stop. Because then you are already multitasking. We all do it. Sometimes we have to do it if we want to eat at all. Life gets in the way and you do what you have to do. I do it all the time. But start slow and practice and see if you don’t get more out of what you are doing.

I don’t have children but I know that I look back on when my nieces and nephews were young and I was spending time with them. I wish I had given them more of my attention and enjoyed everything they had to say and do. I wish I had listened to my mom and dad and grandparents when they told family stories that I thought I had heard a hundred times and couldn’t stand to hear one more time.

Multitasking causes stress. You may think you are getting more done but you are actually not getting anything completely finished because your mind is going in so many different directions.

As I said being mindful takes practice so start slow. The next time you are doing laundry feel the clothes in your hands, feel the fabric, notice the warmth if the clothes just came out of the dryer. When you are eating notice the texture and the flavor of the food. When you are talking to someone, and this is something I learned from a good friend a few years ago, look that person directly in the eye, listen to their voice, hear what they are saying. So many times what someone is truly telling you is in their eyes, the sound and range of their voice or the expression on their face. If you are looking at your phone or something else going on around you, you just might miss something very important.

So yes I think mindfulness is a lost art. We are only here once so pay attention!!!

I took this picture one morning on my way to work. I looked over my shoulder while driving down the road and saw this scene and had to turn around and go back to get it. I was late for work but it was totally worth it to me.

Love your day your way

Happy Friday

Hello friends and Happy Friday!!!! I don’t think I have ever been so happy to see Friday get here. But wasn’t Monday like about five minutes ago? Wow!!! I do not know how this week went by so fast. It has been a long week physically. I have had something to do every night this week after work. Weeks like this stress me out sometimes. Monday night was book club. I didn’t t read the entire book. I checked out the book on audio through Tennessee Reads which is the online library that I often use when the books I need are available. It’s free so that is definitely a plus. If you haven’t checked this out you need to. Each state has an online library and usually it is through your local library. I felt like this way I could at least listen when I didn’t have time to sit and read. The book is Glory Over Everything and it is really good so far. One thing I like about my book club is that we have such a diverse group and many different books are chosen. Some of these are books I would not normally pick for myself but when I get into them I really like them. After planning to go to book club all weekend and trying to finish the book. I didn’t make it. I had to work later than I expected and then had to run home and take care of fur babies because it was my husband’s late day at work. So by the time all of this happened It was just too late to get there.

I have been trying to add some workouts into my daily routine. In doing this instead of the usual forms of exercise I have been trying to do more physical work around the house and yard. Oh man did I make a mistake trying to work in my yard Tuesday evening after I got off work. First of all it was about ninety degrees and the humidity was even worse. I started trimming bushes in my yard and I was only able to work for about an hour and a half before I was soaking wet and had sweat running in my eyes. I am so ready for cool weather. I did get a lot of my shrubs cut in the front of my house and it actually looks like someone lives there now.

Wednesday night I went to “The Village” I have probably mentioned this before. This is where my mother in law is living. It is an assisted living village. Very nice with only about 25 people living there. Each room is like an individual apartment. The meals are served in a small cafeteria. There is always a nurse on duty to give meds and assist if anything goes wrong. There are also people to help bathe the residents and there is even a hair salon for those who cannot go out by themselves. My mother in law has been there for a little over a year. She broke her hip in March of 2018 and because of complications from a really bad infection she can no longer walk on her own. She uses a walker and a wheelchair. She is not able to stay at home by herself. At least once a week I go and pick her up and we go out and get something to eat and take a good long drive. We are usually out for a couple of hours and it gives her some time away from the village.

On Thursday night we had a Spaghetti Dinner and Auction fundraiser for a civic group that I am a member of. This dinner and auction is a ton of work. As it is with just about any organization like this there are only a few dedicated people who seem to get stuck with all the work. So it was really late by the time I got finished with all of this and got home.

But today is Friday!!! Yay!!!! and I really don’t have a lot planned for the weekend and that is a good thing. I wanted to share with you a few things I have been loving the last couple of weeks.

I finally finished the granny square blanket I have been working on for so long. This is actually made up of 20 large granny squares with ten rows in each square. There was no rhyme or reason to the colors. I just had about twelve balls of yarn in a basket and I would pick them out randomly and crochet them. Now that I have finished and I need another big project to work on or maybe two or three. You can see more of the individual squares from this post.

Look at this little cactus flower that bloomed from my cactus family. I have had this cactus for several years and this is the first time it has bloomed. Those two stalks came up overnight and bloomed the next day. But by the next day it had wilted down to nothing. Such beauty for such a short time.

Isn’t she beautiful. I know I may be a tad bit prejudice but Kitty Kitty has totally stolen my heart.

My work place early in the mornings before it gets too hot to be outside.

I am loving this iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts. We don’t have a Dunkin in our small town but my coworker lives in Maryville and there is one there and she brings us an iced coffee a couple of times a week.

So how was your week? and what are you up to this weekend?

Remember to always love your day your way!!!