Road Trip: Day 3

Another day down! We left Nashville around 9am this morning and drove about 3 hours to Memphis. Right before leaving before our trip we decided to add Graceland to our itinerary. We got there around noon and thanks to a nice (clueless?) ticket checker we bout Student/AAA discounted tickets. We even opted for the "Platinum Tour."

The trip started with a 30 minute audio tour of the mansion and grounds. It kind of small and creepy to see everything preserved for so many years but also kitschy and fantastic. As one of my colleagues pointed out, one of the most impressive things is to see the his impact and fame...without the internet! 

After Graceland we headed in Memphis proper to find some barbeque. I had a few recommendations to go to Rendezvous but unfortunately it's closed on Sunday. Fortunately, another colleague suggested Neely's (of Food Network fame). The restaurant was small, unassuming and delicious!

Originally we planned to drive to Little Rock for the night but yesterday decided to try to make it further. We ended up about an hour outside of Little Rock in Clarksville, AR. According to the girl at the desk of the hotel, they "have a cinema and a bowling alley, that's pretty much it."  We're still not sure why Clarksville needs a Hampton Inn!

Tomorrow we're headed to Elk City, OK. Right now we don't have any stops planned along the way. But hopefully we'll see something interesting?

  

 

Road Trip: Days 1 & 2

It's been a busy few days! Jenny and I left Arlington Friday evening and made pretty good time to her family's house in NC. Unfortunately, even making good time meant driving until 12:00. We had a pretty leisurely morning, complete with homemade breakfast and got on the road around 10.

Today the plan was to drive to Nashville. We didn't plan much and are trying to be flexible. In spirit of that new found flexibility we made a snap decision to stop at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. Unfortunately we weren't ready to cough up the $45 entrance fee for an hour of walking around. We did stumble upon a very cute lunch spot and got back on the road.

The drive to Nashville was pleasant. We got in around 5pm. Checked into our hotel, which is about 20 minutes from downtown Nashville, and headed back to the city. After the recommendation of my friend Jenna who went to school at Vandy, we headed to Monell's for dinner. We had a great, family style dinner complete with: broccoli slaw, coleslaw, biscuits and gravy, green beans, beans, corn pudding, fried catfish, hush puppies, meatloaf, fried chicken and banana pudding. I may have missed a few dishes?

After dinner we made a quick trip to Broadway to do some people watching and walked around. We headed back to the hotel fairly early though as we have another long day of driving ahead of us tomorrow! We should be heading to Memphis and potentially stopping at Graceland.

I-40, Our home for the next 6 days or so

 At least the drive up to the Biltmore gates was petty...

 Homemade hummus on homemade herb focaccia with portabello mushrooms, tomato, cucumber and sprouts

I've been a bad blogger...Part II

I'm sorry I've been neglectful! In my defense, I've been busy! I don't think my September calendar accurately reflects how busy I felt. I was back and forth to New Jersey a few times. I had one last trip to the beach, enjoyed a great party at my parent's house, spent 10 days in row away from home (more than that total across the month), 8 days in row out of the office, got caught up in a riot in NYC, went to a lovely engagement party, had my parents visit, etc. October is only looking busier! I'm flying out to California twice and Jenny and I start our road trip TODAY!!

More on the road trip later today. I'll be updating throughout the week for sure.

Really?

30 minutes in the Marriott restaurant and 3 examples of rude behavior. Do manners get put on pause when travels? One gentleman spent 5 minutes yelling into his ear piece and spewing profanities at his staff within 10 feet of children. Those same children who were allowed to race and chase each other through the restaurant with no comment from their parents. Not to mention the gentleman taking conference calls at his table...on speaker phone.
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Looking forward to the Road Trip

Really hoping I get to see more older gentleman driving motorcycles, shirtless, wearing crocs...

 Don't forget to pass along your Road Trip suggestions! Really need help filling in the Road Trip 2011 page!

Crafts...travel..same thing...

I've been looking for outdoor future for a few years now. When I first moved to the DC area I had a townhouse with a backyard. My roommate provided some furniture but when she moved out the backyard looked especially bare. I hunted and hunted for a little patio set I could put outside until I decided to move. It just so happened I moved into an apartment with a balcony. And the search started again. Finally I found something (I was willing to pay for).

 

Ikea Bollo Folding Table and Chairs

They're pretty basic but fit my patio, can be stored easily and the price can't be beat at $70. But I got it in my head that the chair needed a cushion.  Unfortunately the seat is smaller than your standard outdoor chair and I couldn't find a cushion I liked that would fit, or at least not one I was willing to pay for. The chair was only $20. Certainly wasn't going to spend close to that or more on a cushion!

Fortunately Jenny and I stumbled into Jo-Ann Fabrics when they happened to be having a 40% off sale on their outdoor fabrics. After some encouragement (/peer pressure) from Jenny I decided to give making my own cushions a shot. I purchased a yard of fabric, thread and stuffing for $22 or $11 a cushion which was a pretty good deal as compared to the prices I had been seeing.

Trying to decide the size and cut the fabric was possibly the most difficult!

 Making it up as we went along first we stitched the straps and then turned the pillow inside out and stitched 2 sides closed, we used the seam as the third said and flipped the fabric right side out before stuffing and stitching the last side closed.

Finished Product! It's probably not the best cushion ever made but given it was done by hand by someone who doesn't sew...I'll take it!

Now I just have to decide if anyone is allowed to sit on it.

If my grandmother had a bed and breakfast...

This is what it would look like:

When I go to meet with my Canadian client I stay in a local inn.  The nearest chain hotel is 10 miles away (apparently a bigger deal in the winter) and a Best Western anyway.  The hospital staff suggested The Clarkson Inn instead.  It's sort of a nice change from yet another Hampton Inn which looks the same as last night's Hampton Inn. Except it does sort of remind me of another bed I've slept in...I swear my grandmother had that bed!