And then a Louisville morning

We slept in too late Saturday morning because we forgot to set our phones ahead an hour. Good thing the place I was excited about serves breakfast all day! There aren't a lot of places with vegan breakfast options, other than oatmeal, so I was so happy to go to Earth Friend's Cafe! I got a panini with vegan cream cheese, pecans, and strawberries. It was out of this world good!

 They also serve San Pellegrino which I LOVE! We never keep it at home because I would drink 10 a day, but it is a fun treat when we're out. The blood orange is my favorite!

 Travis got the EFC Breakfast Burrito with seitan and avacado and I forget what else. He was scarfing it too fast for me to get a good photo, but he said it was great. We'll definitely will be back next time we're in town. The breakfast was so good, I bet the sandwiches and wraps are good too!

We also found out that our favorite store has a second location! And it happened to be the weekend of Lebowskifest! I wish we had known before, I would have planned to be in town at a time where we could have gone to some of the events!

 We did get to see the Lebowski art show, as if I couldn't love this store any more! I would love to have  that big painting in the middle. Isn't it amazing?

 Or that wood burn portrait!

 Travis lobbied hard for this Log Jammin' painting, but we are saving for our trip, so I said no. 

I did come home with a shirt though. I probably have 12 shirts from their shop. They are all designed by local artists and screen printed in house and are amazing! I really wish there was a Nashville version of this shop.

 And then, last but definitely not least! The whole reason we were in Kentucky! Travis' brother and his wife had a baby last week! Our first nephew! I have been so excited since they told us they were pregnant last December. How cool is it that I'm going to see this little dude grow up? We hung out with them for a few hours, I held him and tried not to freak out (I've only held two other babies in my LIFE) and we made Travis kiss him. We also took him to his first restaurant! He was very impressed by Mellow Mushroom, you can be sure.

 Welcome to the world Ellis! We can't wait to come see you again! 

We left in the early afternoon, listened to more Game of Thrones in the car, and got the pugs from our friend who was watching them for us. It was a whirlwind trip to be sure, but a great one.

A few photos

 I showed you the perfect vintage photo of my mom with Santa as a baby on Christmas. While she was looking for that one, I got to see some more photos of her! I just had to share a few. These are actually ones I would have probably picked up if I'd seen them for sale somewhere.
Here she is as a brownie scout, complete with popsicle stick frame! Do you see the mirror surrounded by branches on the ground? I vaguely remembered a brownie ceremony where you had to turn around and look in the mirror so I looked it up. It is the ceremony to induct a new brownie scout! You have to say this:

"Twist me and turn me, 

and show me the elf, 

I looked in the water 

and saw MYSELF!"

How cute is that? I still have my brownie sash. My mom sent my patches to my grandmother in Florida so she could sew them on for me, since my mom didn't know how to sew.

 Look at her fancy little hair do! That kills me. And that art behind her. My mom fondly remembers this as her Buffy dress. It was a line of dresses like the ones Buffy wore on Family Affair. My mom says it made her feel very fancy and grown up.

 Here is my mom with a roadside chief! She couldn't remember where this was, but I'll just pretend it was Cherokee, North Carolina. I need to find the picture of me around 12 with one of the chiefs.

And another Santa picture. How cute was she? And how weird and fake is that Santa's beard?

The rest of Christmas

We actually didn't stay home all day on Christmas. We went to my parents house around noon, and then to my grandparents house around 3. A lot of both our families live really close to us, so holidays are always busy. 

 This is my favorite ornament on my grandparent's tree and I have to take a picture of it every year! My grandaddy was a Methodist preacher at one time, and that picture of him was his official portrait. Apparently one year a lady in the church cut that picture house, added the felt, and then glued it to a fly swatter and sold it in the church craft fair! I love that so much!! I should make those as gifts next year.

 This is Meg, our family dog. She is 12 years old! It is hard that every time I go home she seems so much older. My family is known for long lived dogs though. Our first dog Haley lived to 14 (she was a lab/german shepard mix) even though she broke her pelvis at 3 and limped the rest of her life. I love Meg, when I moved out I tried to take her with me, but my whole family is obsessed with her!

 And here is my brother's dog Amber. She is so smart and sweet. We opened presents there and we got a food processor and some cook books! Exactly what I wanted!

 At my grandparents house we did a dirty santa gift swap. Travis got this sweet hug light. My cousin Zack got the present Travis picked. It got stolen later though. A tortilla bowl maker is pretty hot property in a game of dirty Santa!

 My grandmother got this One Direction puzzle! She was thrilled as you can see. 

 Someone got this pack of fake mustaches and we couldn't resist taking a group picture with all the ladies. How cute is my grandmother, holding her mustache one so it doesn't fly away!

 I'll leave you with this amazing old polaroid of my mother meeting Santa! I LOVE it! I wish the polaroid wasn't so damaged, I would love to blow it up and hang it up each year at Christmas! I probably will anyway.

Down Home

Last week I was honored when my friend Brett asked if he could make a portrait of Travis and I for his new photo series. Of course I jumped at the chance! I'm definitely a Brett fan. He is super talented and driven and is already working towards his dream. And look at this! 

 I couldn't be more thrilled with how this turned out!

You can check out a sweet post he wrote about us on his tumblr here.  Thanks again Brett, you are amazing!

The Pharmacy!

Yesterday it was my mom's birthday and when I asked what she wanted to do, she said that she wanted me to take her on a food adventure! Which is weird because I got my picky eating habits from my parents. The first things that came to mind were things like Ethiopian or Indian or the local vegan place but I figured she probably didn't mean THAT adventurous. Then I remembered that I have been wanting to check out the Pharmacy in east Nashville. 

We sat outside on the porch and it was awesome. I liked the picnic tables in the beer garden, and the strings of lights. I DIDN'T like the flies, but the manager said they were working on it. This place will be even better once it cools off a little. We got there around 6 and it wasn't bad though. We also seemed to get there just before the rush too. We didn't have to wait at all, but by the time we left there was a 45 minute wait for a table.

I got a creamsicle cream soda and it was so good!

I got a black bean burger and it was so so good! The buns come from a local bakery. Travis got the falafel burger. I loved that they had two vegetarian options. And the tater tots were awesome! 

Since it was a birthday celebration we went all out and got dessert too. The ice cream for the milkshakes comes from the Pied Piper Creamy, which is local. They make an oatmeal raisin cookie ice cream that is amazing! I can't believe we haven't been there yet this summer. 

I got a coke float, since they were out of root beer. (what!?) It came with Mexican coke, which is so much better! I think it's the cane sugar, haha.

Here is my mom and me! Happy birthday lady!

A wedding on Lake Mary

The main reason for out trip to Florida actually wasn't to visit the Wizarding World if you can believe it! We went down for my cousin's wedding. She got married at this really beautiful event center. 
The ceremony was great. I don't know if they wrote the vows, or where they got them, but there was a part about accepting the person you are, and supporting you in becoming who you will be. Just lovely.
Paparazzi! My mom was fixing her dress.

For some reason I didn't take a picture of the beautiful lake they were taking pictures in front of. It was a great place for us all to wait to get our pictures taken. I love this candid one below. From the left you see my brother, my grandma, her sister in law, my uncle, my mom, and my grandpa.

The reception was really fun too! They had a good DJ and amazing food. I always love a mashed potato bar. Here we are dancing to "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis. At our wedding Travis requested that the band play it, then ran off to tell some other friends it was on? So I danced with my friend Thomas instead. Haha!

My cousin Ashley is the one in pink, she really went for the bouquet! Sadly she didn't get it.
Right before it was time to go they passed out cookie and milk shots! So fun!
And just for fun, here is a picture of my dad and his parents on his wedding day. Look at that suit!

My Grandparent's House

My grandparent's live in Sanford, which is just a little outside of Orlando. We stayed in their guest room for most of our trip. My grandparent's moved into their house in the 1970's. My grandma was out visiting a friend and saw the house, which a man had built himself! His wife hated living so far out of town so they were selling it. My favorite part has always been the kitchen. Look at how amazing it is!!

Those yellow cabinets are so nice. All custom work. I would LOVE to have this kitchen! But I would want turquoise instead of yellow.

Oh man I just love it. The wall paper is in perfect condition still! I would be stoked to a found this kitchen when we were house hunting! It is SO BRIGHT though. All those ceiling tiles are fluorescent lights! Grandma turned them all on early in the morning to show me how INTENSE it is, haha.

Here is a picture from the early 80's I think of my grandpa and my cousin (Brett I think?). Other than new curtains it looks just the same!

They have a great backyard. And an orange tree! I remember picking oranges and washing them in their big utility sink one year. And sometimes black bears will lay on that sidewalk and eat birdseed! I wish I would have scanned some of their pictures of the bears. They even come up to the big glass windows! So scary and awesome!

This is a wall paper in the dining room. Killer.

I had a hard time getting a picture of their amazing sunken living room. I love the double front doors and the divider and that afgan! It was the first time Travis had been there and I loved showing him all that stuff that I have seen since I was a little kid. I had to take some pictures to document it because who knows when we'll get to get down there again! Sadly whenever my grandparent's sell the house it will just get town down. Their lot has been rezoned for commercial instead of residential. 

And just you WAIT until I show you all the stuff my grandma sent me home with. A pretty exciting pile of vintage!!
Of course, I have to show you a few vintage family photos now:

Here is my grandma Louise, my grandpa Harold, and all four of their kids. My dad is the littlest. I LOVE this photo so much! My grandpa had all four kids when he graduated college. I couldn't imagine being married and going to school, much less having four kids! 

That is my grandma leaning on that amazing car. Love her bathing suit. I wonder what color the car was, I need to ask her!
And here she is again. Love the hair, the peter pan color, the big buttons! Such a pretty lady.