The Good, The Bad and the Pretty

     
     I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I had a very nice day and our weather was perfect. I'll start this with "the pretty". Some people don't believe that husbands should buy wives Mother's Day gifts, and every year I tell my husband not to...but, he ignores me. This year, one of my gifts from him made me so happy!
    
     There was a time that getting something for the house would not have been my idea of a gift...but do you see that photo above of my new doormat...I couldn't be happier. When I made the wreaths for the front of the house for this year, I had in mind what kind of doormat I wanted to put outside with them. I couldn't find one anywhere. We have looked in countless stores, on our trip, online and I finally bought a mat that I really didn't like just to get something out there. I guess my husband was listening because if I had designed my own, it would have looked just like the one he found! Woo Hoo!

     You may remember that I decided to use oranges and yellows on the front porch this year. That was an entirely new look for me.

     I decided to add in one deep purple plant in each pot just for a little contrast. Of course it is the purple that is taking off like crazy.

     The soft orange in my hanging basket is so pretty.

I really hope I can keep it alive all summer!

The sweetheart rose bush was a Mother's Day gift from my dad.

     The lantern is a recent purchase from Z Gallerie. It was on the sale table for $15 because the glass was broken out of it. It was also white wood. A can of spray paint and you would never know it isn't metal. I didn't want to spend much on the front porch this year because the front step that you can't see in the pictures was just replaced for $500. It isn't decorative, but the old step separated from the porch (it evidently wasn't installed properly when the house was built) and it was gradually sinking. Nothing like spending a lot of money on a slab of concrete! 

    The "good" is that it is almost time for an exciting event for our family. My beautiful niece is getting married in just over 3 weeks. It is the first wedding we've had on my side of the family and it is going to be wonderful. She is getting married at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, outside on a Saturday evening. My main focus has been figuring out how to wear a cocktail dress without high heels. I won't last in heels more than 30 minutes. So, I've been collecting jeweled sandals and sparkly flats to take with me. My dad is driving home, my daughter is flying in and hopefully, everything will just fall into place. 

.

    The bad...our older beagle is in her last days. In fact, we just can't figure out how she is still here. We are in the third week of what we thought would take just a few days. She woke up a little over 2 weeks ago and her front legs were barely working. One paw is turned under and she walks as if she is drunk. She is only eating a few bites and taking a sip or two of water daily. She is so thin. She isn't in any pain and at this point we have opted to try to keep her comfortable at home and let her pass away on her own in the place she is happy. We evaluate that decision every day. If she shows any sign of pain, we will have her put down, but she is so afraid of the vet and she seems to still enjoy being held and sitting in the grass with that beagle nose taking in all the spring smells. She will be 16 in June and has had a long, happy life. Even the wild, baby beagle seems to sense what is happening as she is no longer jumping on her "big sister". She is however, jumping on everything else in the house and chewing on things and biting at us when we try to keep her controlled. So, she will be starting obedience classes in July!

Hope you all have a great day!

A Bittersweet Mother's Day

     It is Mother's Day, a day when we honor our mothers for all they have done for us. It is also May 13th. On May 13th, two years ago, my mom died. On May 13th, 46 years ago, her mother, my grandmother, died. So, May 13th is an strange day for me. At the beginning of the year as I put things on my calendar, I noticed that this anniversary date was falling on Mother's Day this year and I had a moment...but, now that it is here, it really doesn't matter much to me. I know for some people, holidays and anniversary dates are really hard and I expected that to be the case for me after I lost my mom. What I have realized, is that I miss her so much every day, that these anniversary dates and holidays can't make me miss her more than I already do. So, I choose not to spend the day feeling sad. I choose to count my blessings for the fact that I had a wonderful mother and that I am lucky enough to be a mother. Happy Mother's Day Mom, I wish you were here!

Horses, Artisans and Baseball Bats

This is the last post about our trip, I promise. However, some of the best places are on this post...so, read on!

     Do you see it? My beautiful handcrafted dough bowl...love it! When we decided to visit Berea, KY on our way home from Asheville, I knew that the one thing I was going to look for was a dough bowl and I found it! I read about Berea in Southern Living magazine and I couldn't wait to visit. It is the home of Berea College, which has an interesting program where the students tuition is waived as long as they agree to work a certain number of hours per week for the college. It is a very small town, known for its community of artists and we were very impressed with the quality of the crafts. The first shop we went into was The Honeysuckle Vine Gallery and there she was...my gorgeous bowl, handmade and rustic...exactly what I wanted. I flipped her over expecting to see the $150-$175 price that I had seen online for bowls not nearly as pretty and it said $45! She was mine! Don't you love that piece of walnut that is striped through her?

      

     I was perfectly content to just "window shop" the rest of the shops. I had my bowl and I didn't need another thing, until we walked into the next shop. Nora Swanson Arts creates metal jewelry using no colorant dyes or paints and the patinas were beautiful. I was leaning towards a bracelet that was plain with an almost turquoise patina, until I saw this beauty. What you don't know is that my wedding band has a seashell on it, so could this be more perfect?

I also found a beautiful, simple stone necklace at

the Lindsay Gallery. Then, I stopped shopping!

     Of course after shopping, comes eating! There aren't a lot of restaurants in Berea, but we were very happy with our recommendation of the Main Street Cafe. I had a salad with goat cheese that had been lightly breaded and fried green tomatoes and my husband had a delicious wrap sandwich with homemade chips.

     We aren't "bed and breakfast" people, but the college owns the beautiful Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant. It is right in the heart of all of the little shops. We enjoyed our day in Berea. What we did find is that it is a place to go "on the way" to somewhere else. We had planned on staying 2 nights and we easily did the entire town in less than a day so we changed our reservation to one night.

     Our next stop was Lexington, KY. So, they really do wear those big hats! We actually walked into a Stein Mart and saw the hats, hats and more hats!

     We knew that while in Lexington we wanted to visit Keeneland Racetrack. We had never been to a racetrack and Keeneland is beautiful property for Thoroughbred racing. Some of the biggest names race there as a stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby. We had read that in April you can go in and walk the beautiful grounds or go early in the morning and see them exercise horses. 

     We knew something was up once we drove back onto the grounds. We started seeing lots of cars. It seemed like too many to just be there to explore the grounds. Once we reached the parking area and I saw the women in the huge hats, high heels and flowered dresses...I knew we were in over our heads. Men in seersucker suits and pastel ties were everywhere! There were a few people dressed like us (capris and jeans) but not many. We almost bolted, but we opted to stay and I'm glad we did. It was race day and there were 20,000 people there!

We had a chance to walk through the horse barns.

     We had lunch in the track kitchen with owners, groomers and jockeys. It was so much fun. The food was just like grandma makes and so bad for you. It was cafeteria style and you only had a couple things to pick from...all for $5! Some man next to us took pity on our lost look and explained to us what we should do to see the races.

     We paid our $5 general admission fees and in we went. We watched a race and then we had someone else show us how to bet on a horse. We each bet (and lost) $5, but it was so exciting! Believe me, this is a culture all its own. People were drinking mint juleps, so dressed up and I fully expected the Kennedys to show up! If you notice, people were not so dressed up in the general admission area where we were standing!

     After a couple of races, we were on our way to Louisville, KY. Louisville is home of the Louisville Slugger factory and that was on my husband's wish list. We visited the museum (where he got to swing Mickey Mantle's bat) and took the tour where we watched them making bats for Derek Jeter. We had small bats made for the little grands with their names on them. It wasn't really my kind of place, but it was interesting and air-conditioned!

     Of course we couldn't leave Louisville without a stop to see Churchill Downs. It was a bit of a disappointment after seeing Keeneland. Churchill Downs is right in town in a neighborhood that has seen better days. It wasn't nearly as pretty as the beautiful horse country with rolling fields and white fences in Lexington. I'm sure it is quite exciting on race day...but, I'd go back to Keeneland instead!

     This was a different kind of trip for us with lots of short drives and overnight stops. We had such a good time and can't wait to go back to Asheville and Lexington again.

The Road Trip Continues...Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN

     It was over twenty years ago the last time we drove through Gatlinburg, TN and we didn't stop. It was 4th of July, and the traffic was bumper to bumper and we didn't want to take the time. We always said that we were going to go back some day and that day finally arrived during our recent road trip. You can see why they call them the Smokey Mountains from the above picture.

     I don't even know how I would describe Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge (they are 7 miles apart). As we pulled into Gatlinburg, there was so much stuff! I felt a little bit like a 10-year-old, excited from all the junk and slightly horrified that they had built layers of buildings in every space that I could see! It was hard to take pictures because there were so many cars, power lines and people. You could take a ride up the mountain (see above), but of course we didn't!

     Ripley's seems to own many things in both towns. We saw Ripley's golf, Ripley's farm, Ripley's aquarium...you get the picture. We did not do this either!

I think you can imagine just how much money

one could spend if they happened to take kids along!

     We did go watch them make a little Moonshine in the Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine Distillery and tasting room! Who knew they still made moonshine? 

     It actually came in the 100 proof regular moonshine and a variety of flavors! I did sample the "lemonade" moonshine. It tasted like fire burning all the way down my throat.

     We loved our hotel. I have to say that we travel quite often and this was probably the best moderately priced hotel that we have ever stayed in. We most often stay at Marriott properties, but I read about this Clarion hotel on TripAdvisor and decided to take a chance. We were not at all sorry. Manager Scott Ellis really has a grasp on customer service. The staff is friendly. The lobby always had something to drink available and often cookies as well. I forgot to take a picture of the room with the complimentary massage chairs, but I used them often enough that I actually bruised my back. What a brilliant idea to offer these to guests.

     The complimentary "light breakfast" had eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit and all the normal breakfast foods. They also had a chef preparing omelets and pancakes to order and a cappucino machine. 

     Another idea I had never seen before, tablets with video games posted outside the breakfast room. They are in clear sight of the tables and yet parents could actually eat their meals while the kids played games. 

     The rooms were spacious and very clean. It is certainly the only place I would stay if I was in that area again. We had a wonderful conversation with Scott during our last breakfast there. He talked to us about his CEO Steve Joyce and his desire to work with each hotel to create a very unique and special experience for the guests. It is certainly working at this location. Good little boys and girls might even go home with a darling stuffed black bear!

     Our favorite meal during these couple of days was at The Old Mill shopping area. It is an area with several shops and a few places to eat. We opted to eat in the Old Mill Restaurant for lunch. They had several specials listed for only $9.99. I decided to try what they listed as Catfish served with slaw and hushpuppies. My husband had the Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes. Well, the food started coming and didn't stop!

     I didn't even get a picture of the corn chowder that they brought us with our sweet tea to start the meal. As you can see, with my 2 huge pieces of fish I not only got the hushpuppies and slaw, she also brought mashed potatoes and green beans. We had two baskets on the table as well, one with corn fritters and maple butter and the other with homemade biscuits. My meal would have fed our entire family of four! I did not eat it all!

     My husband also had more than enough to eat and both of us found our food to taste very much like something our grandmothers would have made.

     I wanted to share a few pictures of another hotel that gets high marks in Pigeon Forge. I found it very interesting and the public areas were very well maintained. It is too "busy" for my taste, but if you are really into Christmas-you might like it. It is called The Inn at Christmas Place. It also has an entire Christmas shopping village across the street from the inn.

The decorations were well done and believe me,

they are everywhere. All the pictures

on the walls were of Santa and so on.

     Overall, we had fun the two days we spent in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. It was certainly a tourist trap and something kids would love. Two days was the perfect amount of time for us and unlike Asheville, I'm not dying to go back anytime soon but I'm glad that we went. There actually are some lovely art galleries, a great outlet mall and a few upscale restaurants in the area. You simply have to be able to find them among all the t-shirt and fudge shops and all the miniature golf and Titanic exhibits!

    Next stop...Lexington, Berea and Louisville, KY!