a day in Franklin

I had a big girl interview (!) in Franklin on Tuesday, and since neither Caleb nor I had spent much time there before, he took the day off and we made a day out of it.
We LOVE this place.  And if the Lord decides that this is where we need to be... well, I don't think either of us will complain.

We spent most of our time downtown.  I wanted so badly to go to this theatre (they were playing White Christmas!), but sadly we didn't have time.  We're gonna make a special trip back up just to go to the threatre soon!

We ate at an Irish pub (of course) called McCrary's.  It was pretty delicious, and not all that expensive.  I got bangers and mash (because it was the most Irish sounding thing on the menu) and Caleb got Corn Beef and Cabbage.  Sounds gross, but it was actually pretty good.

Probably my favorite part of the trip was the discovery of the cutest store ever.  It's called Philanthropy, and not only does it look like a better Anthropologie, it gives back to charity with every purchase.  At leat 10% of every in-store purchase is given to charity, and 100% of every purchase made on their website goes back.  It was a really cool place and I plan on shopping there often!

If you have any last-minute Christmas shopping to do, look around their website!  They have some gorgeous stuff and you'll be helping someone out with your purchase :)

All in all, we love Franklin.  If you're in the Nashville area, go look around!

ghost tour

Last weekend, Caleb and I went on a ghost tour of the historic district of Huntsville. We had been before, but the tour is divided into different districts, so we got to have a different tour than we had before.

We don't really believe in ghosts, but being creeped out is always fun.  Caleb is a big history buff, so he appreciates the actual stories that go along with the "hauntings."  I just appreciate feeling like I'm on Ghost Hunters.

The guide was dressed up as a scary undertaker, adding another layer of creep to the proceedings.

The tour started at 6, so it was still daylight outside, making things more funny than scary.  Once it got dark, though, things got much creepier.  I'm fairly certain I saw a ghostly shape in the window of an abandoned house... but, as Caleb informed me, it was probably just a reflection in the glass.

If there's a ghost tour close to you, I highly recommend you take it! It's tons of creepy fun and you'll learn a lot about your city :)

up in the mountains

Monday and Tuesday were my fall break, so we went on a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee with our church.  We stayed in a cabin with an incredible view, hiked (I'm still sore, it was pretty intense), and drank lots of coffee on the porch. It was a great couple days of worship and fellowship.

This was our view. It was amazing.  The mornings were the best; there would be a ton of fog in the valley (The "smokey" mountains, get it?) and the sun would rise over the mountains and burn it all off. It was beautiful.

The best part about the trip was definitely the fellowship and the worship.  Being surrounded by so much natural beauty is quite the reminder of how great God is and how blessed we are.

This was Chimney Tops.  The hike was 2 miles in and two out, and at least a mile and a half of it was steep uphill.  I'm still sore, and there were a few times I wanted to give up, but I'm so glad I didn't.  You felt like you were sitting on top of the world; the summit was this huge rock face on top of the mountain that looked over the valley.  It was incredible

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mini vacation in the Smokies

Our wedding is in 2 weeks, guys!

I'm so excited but also kind of stressed out - when you're planning a wedding, you can only do so much up front. Things like the decorations and the legal side of things can only be taken care of in the few days before, and waiting on them can be crazy-making.

We have a friend who works at Dollywood in the Smokey Mountains, and she gets free tickets every month. Because she is a saint, she gave Caleb and I a couple so that we could get away and relax for a day!

If you've never been to the Smokies, you're missing out. The scenery is gorgeous and there are lots of fun, tourist-trappy things to do.  Some people don't like that, but I think its fun :)

Just a taste of the views:

Beautiful, right?

Dollywood is an amusement park that Dolly Parton (one of my favorite people) founded, and its super cute and rustic, just like the rest of the Smokies.  Caleb is a huge bluegrass aficionado, so it was right up his alley.

This is what the whole park is like.  I really love it.

We had a great time rising roller coasters (both of us LOVE them) and checking out all the cool things that the craftsmen were selling. There was a glass blower, a blacksmith, and a gemstone shop with really reasonably priced rough gemstones.  I love the look of rough amethyst to make jewelry, so I bought some here.  Look for a post on how I wire wrap them to make necklaces later this week :)

I look super swampy in all of these pictures, but hey, it was like 90 degrees. No judging.

We rode a train around the park and up into the mountains, which was really cool, except that it was a legit steam-powered engine and I got soot in my bra. That was fun.

After about 4 and a half hours in the park, we were pretty beat and pretty hungry. Since amusement park food is so expensive, we decided to call it a day and eat in one of the restaurants in Pigeon Forge.

The one we picked was called J.T. Hannah's and it was delicious.

It was also really cute on the inside, and the drinks were served in huge mason jars.  Also, the BBQ sauce was FANTASTIC.

It was a really nice break from work and all the crazy of the past few weeks, and I loved being able to get away with Caleb for a while :)