Great day

Today, was a great day. A day filled with absolutely nothing  planned, a day that most would say would have bored them to death, but today I needed... to be alone, to walk the streets of downtown memphis, to take time to read the signs about parks and bridges and even war.
To sit in a coffee shop and read a few pages of "leaves of grass", to stare at the few people that happened by the window. Oh just to observe... the things that happens outside of my small office in east Memphis.  To hear nothing about why someone's life has been devastated. To be at peace with myself and the way the world works. It was a great day.

Natchez Pilgrimage March 28-30, 2011

My Mother and I left out early Monday morning with a group of ladies from First Baptist Okolona seeking beauty, laughs and knowledge about our wonderful state of Mississippi. Arriving at The Natchez Eola Hotel (which by the way does not stand for East of Louisiana) around 3:30 Monday afternoon, ready to explore and of course find the best fudge in town. First thing, after getting our luggage dropped off, Mom & I had to get our picture taken on our balcony that overlooks the beautiful downtown Natchez and the bridge.

After a couple hours of strolling by the river, fudge finding and antique shopping we had our first tour of Magnolia Hall. We were served dinner similar to the way they dined before the Civil War; a flute playing the most relaxing sounds, large dining rooms, a truly southern meal of gravy covered chicken, beans and grits and of course ending with the best bread pudding I've ever had . After dinner we made our way to the Historic Natchez Pageant, which took us back 300 years to the beginning of Natchez, Mississippi.  We had seen all the pictures of the Natchez Queens at the Magnolia Hall but really had no idea how much this town treasures it’s southern heritage.  

After a long day of fun, we sat on the balcony, enjoying the peaceful sounds of a small town and a beautiful view.

The next morning we woke up early to enjoy breakfast downstairs at the Eola. Then we were off to our first destination.



The Longwood Plantation

This was simply my favorite home that we saw on the tour. I'm not sure if it was because of the story behind this home or if it was just the beauty and uniqueness of it.

This is an octagonal style home that is six stories tall, and around 30,000 square feet. Five of the six floors were left unfinished due to the beginning of the Civil War.

Fortunately, the exterior was complete at the beginning of the war. The family lived in the basement which was originally designed to be a gentleman's quarters.

 This was taken on the first floor looking up at all the floors above. Gosh, we can only imagine how beautiful this home would have been if it could have been finished. But it will forever be in the state it's in.

This is Mother, Irene and I standing in the front of what could have been the Longwood play area for the children.

 Stanton Hall

For some strange reason I neglected to take a picture of this home from the front. This is the side view that leads to the back court yard and The Carriage House Restaurant, which is where we had lunch. I have to say that while the inside was beautiful it was a little busy for me. I love the outside courtyard best.

The Burn
 

 This home is actually occupied by its current owners, The Greens and 

currently operates as a Bed & Breakfast. The Burn is a Scottish name for "creek" which is one of the reasons this home got its name from the original owner. 

It was built in 1836. A few years after it was built the family was given a twenty-four hour notice to vacate the property, like many others during that time, so they buried many of their household treasures in the back yard. Some of the items are on display now and in near perfect condition.

This is the front gallery from the drive-way. Both the front and back are filled with azaleas, roses and of course the real live oak trees.            

 

Our final home was one of the strangest homes I had ever seen.

Richmond

This home has three different architectural styles. It was built in 1784, with the "front" of the home being a Creole design; large front porch sitting high off the ground, stairs that almost cover the entire porch and  the ground level that is covered in brick walk-ways and has at least a couple of entrances. 

The second style is the one pictured here, would be the Greek style. This is located on the side of the house and was added by the homes second owner.    The drive-way does not come by this entrance. It just opens up to a bare space. Although, located in that bare space was a Michelia plant. I did not know anything about these plants, but the ladies would pick the flowers buds right before they bloom and pop it and place the bud in their bosom. This was their perfume and it smells sweet, like bananas. 

The third style looks like a downtown building that was added. It is strange.





The Bare Spot

This trip was one of the best and I hope to go back to Natchez soon to see more of their Plantation Homes.

On my run this morning

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Day 2 Vacation

We started out on our first day in the accual mountains on the road. We had gotten a late start, probably because of me and our first stop was at a little shop/store that served...



you guessed it, apple cider and fresh homemade pies. Dad got an apple fried pie and it was very tasty.

They had a lot of cute decor and a small shopping center but the cutest thing was this little cart outside the shop.

I could soooo see my spring flowers growing out of one of these but of course it would have to be a bit smaller.



Then we drove to Cades Cove, had a little picnic that consisted of turkey sandwiches, some kind of round stuff called liverworst??? that my brother bought that tasted wonderful on a saltine cracker with hot sause, potato chips, white chocolate chip cookies and I think that wraps up the menu.

Then it was picture time. This is Mark and I right before he threatens to push me into the stream behind us... It was seriously cold but neither of us got pushed in :)







This is my couison Melissa and I.










and this was just too funny!

I really like the way most of these shots turned out. Even though they are a little crazy. I think they are lovely. I love taking pictures of the water. It was so calming. I think I will just post a link to the whole album

Vacation to the Mountains day 1

Our trip began on November 23, 2oo9. I left Memphis around...dark. The sun had yet to rise and I simply love leaving to go anywhere before the sun shows it's beautiful face. I drove to Corinth, Mississippi

to meet my parents and brother and it just so happens that my bff lives in Corinth so it was a double bonus for me.

I got to see the lovely little town that he speaks so highly of and the roof that has been so many times romanticized... perhaps not so much the roof but the view from that roof. I have to admit that I was truly jealous of B's new place. He has a way of always living in the greatest spots!!!

Corinth has some really beautiful homes... Did I mention that I'm a Realtor???
It was a loooonnnnnngggg drive that felt as though it would never end, and to be honest we did not arrive until after dark but they say it's not always the destination that make life special but the journey getting there and that I say is true. I do have to mention a quaint little spot in the middle of nowhere... I was just craving a hamburger and this little place provided. If you are ever driving on hwy 72 in Tennessee, stop in, it's small and locally owned!!! Did I mention the hamburgers were great??? We sort of drove through Waynesboro... Hometown of Mark Collie.. Honestly I did not know exactly who he was but he is a country music artist and actor. "even the man in the moon is crying". I remember that song but I looked him up and this song is pretty good too for a country song ;)

Along the long road we seriously ran into a cattle drive... I think what really happened was that the cows pictured below...

they escaped. While doing so they had like traffic blocked for miles, I was in TN not Texas.

Next beautiful home... Savanna, TN, please excuse the pole. We were trying to make up for the time that the cows wasted.

Next stop...well not really a stop but the next quaint town was Columbia. I so wish we would have stopped in for a while... They have something called Mule day, yes Mule day!!! Antibellum homes gorore and below a quick shot of the courthouse. I love downtown area ecspecially in towns this size, which is about 33,000.

This is me in a opps shot

Here is the first sign that we were getting closer... the mini mountains. I'm not sure where this was taken.

And we smile

My broker told me to make note: List the 10 people that you actually enjoy being around. You know the people that you actually feel their radiance when you stand next to them and also list the 10 people that bring you down. Ummm the people that are negative and usually do not have much good to say and if they do, it’s usually followed by something negative.
After making your list he advised that I spend as much time with the first ten and drop the second ten. Although that is easier said than done but sometimes it is best to steer clear of the ones that bring you down.

This is a hard tough time we are living in and here lately it seems that at
least two out of three people have a glum attitude. Everyone is inclined to get down on their luck every now and again but what do you do when your friends and loved ones start heading down that jam packed road? Of course in a perfect world, we would want to help them get out of their funk and try to point out the “good” things in life. And yes, even in an economy like this there are still good things that are happening.

First, here in Memphis, TN it is just turning cool and the colors are showing out. The trees are turning the most beautiful shades of orange and yellow. It’s getting chili outside at night and people are starting to use their fireplaces which smell unbelievable when walking by. The full moon is tonight, November 19, 2009. Look up at it, see its beauty, it is shining just for us!!! Breathe deep because this world is still wonderful.
If you happen to be one of the ones that down on your luck, there are simple things that can snap you back into happiness.

• Pray; yet so easy but sometimes forgotten about. It’s good to have that heart to heart with the big guy. He does bless us everyday whether we see it directly or not. Romans 14:19 says “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Sometimes just making that effort can be a challenge but it says to focus on peace and mutual edification. We must pursue and share peace if we are going to have peace.


• Exercise; this is tough for me sometimes especially now that it’s colder and I’m a runner and I like to run outside. I also like yoga, which I used to do everyday but have slacked off a lot throughout the years. So now I do about 20 minutes worth of yoga before I hit the road running. This is a huge benefit because I feel better while I’m running and my speed has increases just a tad since I’ve started. Plus, runners are supposed to stretch anyways...


• Watch “As Good as it Gets” with Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXHxg6Ug9GM


• Adopt a fur baby http://www.guardianangelpetrescue.com/
  

The link above is a great pet rescue team and for anyone who does not click the link. They are having “Wine for a Paw, An Emergency Fundraiser” on December 4th from 5-7:30 p.m. at St. Sebastian Hall, St. Anne Catholic Church which is located at 706 S. Highland Street. This event will consist of tasting wines for your Holiday giving and entertaining, also a silent Auction.

Adapt a Fur Baby!!!

~Life is sweet only if you make it that way~

This morning I went out for a run and when I returned I was sitting on my front porch which I often do after running. So here are some of the activities that are going on outside my house.

This is a little blurry but these two squires are the cutest. They chased each other around this tree for at least 10 minutes.

A bloom on the alzalea bush thing. I love alzalea and they grow so good around my house. I have like six of them. This alzaleahas been here for years and I just planted a few baby ones.

These guys started showing up about two weeks ago. I like the little red that pops out. Christmas is coming!!!

Great Places to Live

The University of Memphis area... In a small area of town south of the University there sits a little neighborhood called

Normal Station.

I love this area. The neighborhood is an old one but it has young spirit. Most of the homes in this area did not start going up until after World War II.

The name Normal Station is like most of the other "stations" in Memphis, it has everything to do with trains. Notice all the Stations as you ride down Southern Ave.

There are a lot of small attractions to living in this neighborhood;

First and of course my favorite... Pete & Sams.

I love this restaurant!!! It's old and charming and the food is great... I always get the same thing because no other Italian restaurant comes close. Like I said it's old and has not really been updated and remodeled but the ambiance... I like the way the people make you feel when you walk in the door!!! It's like they know you, that's a great feeling for a small town girl in a big city...

Then there is Audubon Park which is a wonderful place for an afternoon stroll or picnic. It also offers tennis courts, golf course and playground.

There is even a private cemetery that few know about. Guess where it is?????

There are a lot of University of Memphis students that live in this area but it is also a great place to start a family...

Campus School K-6, gets all the props here. This school received a five star rating

St. Anne K-8 comes in second with four stars

Harding Academy 4-6 is also in this area but I did not find the ratings for them

Click here for more neighborhood information