Florida Road Trip 2014: A Stop in Savannah!

Did you guys miss me? I didn't mean to be gone from the blog for two weeks! But I'm back and I have a ton to share with you! We just got back yesterday from an amazing 10 day vacation down to Florida and back! We went with our best friends, Crystal and Marc. I'm so happy I have some friends I can spend that much time with happily. They are like my family.

Here we are on our way down! We started our vacation in St. Augustine, Florida, by way of Savannah, Georgia. It's about 9 and a half hours from Nashville. Savannah is a fun place to stop to break up the drive.

 We also had to make a quick stop at Cashew in Chattanooga for vegan donuts (and a brownie). They are so good! I wish there was a place to get vegan donuts in Nashville.

We entertained ourselves on the long drive with Mad Libs. Hilarious almost every time! There was also a LOT of singing. From Crystal and I at least.

 Our first stop once we got to Savannah was a place called The coffee fox for soy chai lattes and vegan brownies. Yum!

 Then we went to a store called Paris Market. I was trying out a new site this vacation, Atlas Obscura. IT recommended this as an oddities shop. Which is wasn't really, but it was still really cool!

Look at how beautiful! It was a mix of a cafe, vintage shop, and specialty store. They had so much neat stuff! Like that big white deer!

There were lots of inspiring displays. I loved how they used the skulls and vintage photos in the bell jars. I might have to steal that idea for my house.

 

Across the street was this perfect photo op.

 On our way to our next destination we saw this little buddy driving along! 

 Our next stop was to check out Graveface Records and Curiosities. Can you see a theme developing?

 I was tempted by lots of things in this stop (I was thisclose to bringing home a vintage taxidermy armadillo) but I was trying to hold out on the souvenir front.

 Travis' favorite part was probably the free arcade games! Crystal bought a funny rolly eyeball here. 

 Savannah is a beautiful city. Lots of huge trees dripping with spanish moss and old houses lining every street. This was one of our favorites.

Before getting back on the road we stopped by Carlitos for mexican food. I had read they had an entire separate menu for vegetarians/vegans. Woo! I've mentioned it before, but Happy Cow is an invaluable resource for traveling herbivores.

 Travis and I both got spicy tofu tacos, and they were good! So spicy they made my nose run! 

After lunch we continued on to St. Augustine. It was the perfect little stop! The only thing we didn't get to do was tour one of the historic cemeteries. Next time!

Two Days in Atlanta!

We used Air BnB again when staying in Atlanta. I love that site! We stayed at this listing and it was amazing! It was in Midtown but in a residential area with old houses. The host was super nice too. I kinda hated that we were only staying one night!

 Have you ever stayed somewhere using Air BnB? Basically people can rent out their spaces, sometimes a room, sometimes a full house. We rented an apartment in Detroit last year the same way and loved it. You can stay in some cool places for a fraction of what it would cost to stay in the same area in a hotel. We're using it for our beach vacation this summer too!

 Loved that lamp!

We got to Atlanta on Sunday and after the puppet museum we went to dinner and then out to a drag show at Burkharts. I was worried there won't be any going on Sunday night (the drag scene in Nashville is pretty dead Sunday nights) but the show was really funny and we had a great time. I didn't take any photos though. 

We went down to the five points area because I remembered liking the store Junkman's Daughter a long time ago. They charge to park down their now which is kinda lame. This pizza place is cute though! They didn't have vegan pizza though. Dang. 

 I want that neon pizza sign for my front window!

 Junkman's Daughter wasn't as great as I remembered. But the paintings on the building were awesome.

On the drive down it felt like we saw those little sticker families were on every car. Travis and I kept pointing them out and laughing, and then we saw these cutes ones! Best ones I've seen!

 We went to a place called Soul Vegetarian for dinner and it was SO GOOD! It was cafeteria style and it was hard to decide what to get since everything was vegan. Travis got lasagna AND macaroni and cheese! It turned out to be a great choice because both were delicious! Look at that gooey cheese!

 Those sweet potatoes are the best I've ever had. Mmm I want some more right now!

 On Monday we had planned to go to some antique and vintage stores. But somehow every year I forget it is Memorial Day and everything was closed! I was especially bummed about this place! Doesn't it look amazing??

 I would take that sign with the ice cream cone for the front of my house. 

 I LOVE that huge wonder bread sign!

 This one looked awesome too. Oh well, next time.

 Look at this place! Can you read the window writing? It is a store that sells "Needlepoint Dog Accessories and Stuff." I wish I was still open! Phyllis and Priscilla need some new accessories.

 Since everything was closed we ended up going to see X-Men: Days of Future Past or whatever. It was pretty good! That young Magneto, Yowza! After the movie we headed back home, with a stop in Chattanooga for our favorite sandwich in the world! That's right, we went to Sluggo's to get the vegan club. Oh man it is always so GOOD!

 Those pinto beans!

 We also went by Cashew in Chattanooga because I can't resist those donuts! Travis got an oreo brownie, which you can see on the left. Ah!

 Some place in Nashville needs to start stocking vegan donuts. Or maybe I should try to make some. The lemon is my favorite!

IWe had a great little trip to Atlanta, and it made me really ready for our longer vacation. Just six weeks away!

The Center for Puppetry Arts!

Hey guys! I have been burning the candle at both ends lately and I'm so tired! But I've been having such a good time! Travis and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary recently and went on a short trip to Atlanta. While we were there we checked out the Center for Puppetry Arts. I have wanted to check it out for a few years and it did not disappoint! 

 When you first walk in you are in a room FULL of puppets hanging from every surface. They are little motion sensors and some of the puppets start moving when you walk buy. So creepy and fun!

 Apparently they are building a huge Jim Henson wing in the future because they have lots of his puppets. But for now they have a Kermit and a beautiful Miss Piggy!

 Beauty idol!

 One thing about the museum is there are lots of little doors to open. And when you do a light comes on and shows you a puppet, usually a creepy one! There were lots of ghosts and devils and skeletons! Aren't they neat? These were from an exhibit about Punch and Judy shows.

 My favorites were probably the shadow puppets. They are so beautiful! Those big guys were HUGE! 

 This little tiger was my favorite. So cute. 

 Little devil down at floor level. Haha. 

 This guy reminded me of Priscilla. There were so many things I wanted for my own!

 I'll take this cutie too .

 Here is Fish Face from Labyrinth! I LOVED that movie as a kid. There are some other Muppets behind him from Muppets in Space. That handsome pig one, you know.

 Ugh they had this skeksis from The Dark Crystal. It was HUGE and so creepy. I do NOT like that movie. Too scary for me.

 They had a little case for Madame. You had to pull little headphones down to hear it because it wasn't appropriate for little kids. Travis and I were laughing out loud! Then I looked at a million Madame videos online when we got home. I like this one where she talks to Bea Arthur about Rock Hudson.

 This lion king puppet is another one I'll take off their hands.Look at his little crown!

 CUTE!

 Some  Jimmy Rowland beauties on the way out. 

 The collection was so fun to look through and we sat and watched part of a video series called "Jim Henson Presents the World of Puppetry". It was really interesting, I'm going to try and find a way to watch the whole thing. I highly recommend the center for Puppetry Arts if you find yourself in Atlanta! They do puppet shows too! We just weren't there at the right time.