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Nashville

11/21/2014

The Weekenders strike again!!

As two kids that have been working our butts off lately, when we got an opportunity for some fun time we decided to seize the weekend and head out of town! When talking about what we should do with our weekend, we considered all our options and decided that Nashville would be our final destination. I have always wanted to go there, and now that I've visited I can't wait to go back again! While there was so much that we packed in to an entire weekend, I feel like there is so much more that we need to see and do. There just isn't time, money, or energy. We learned the energy part the hard way-- we were exhausted when we got home and realized we REALLY aren't in our younger-twenties anymore. I already have a list in my head of places we need to see, stay at, and listen to.

Here are some highlights of the trip:

--Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium--
Okay, this is something I have always been confused about. "I've heard about the Grand Ole Opry but what is the Ryman Auditorium??" So, I think I have it figured out now! The Grand Ole Opry is the concert event that is held in the Ryman Auditorium. The day we visited Chris Daughtry was performing that evening, but I think he was just having concert in the Ryman Auditorium, but he wasn't performing at the Grand Ole Opry as that is something you need to be a member of. Make sense? I think that's how it goes...
Anyway, it was AWESOME there! As someone who grew up listening to country music and still loves it today, I was giddy the whole time. We went on a tour where we were able to go into the dressing rooms and see backstage. It's just crazy to think about the history in this one building and to know that no matter what is going on in the the world this is a place where you can always have a good time. Happiness...the whole building had a feeling of happiness.

--The Listening Room Cafe--
If you ever get a chance to go to Nashville, I recommend finding a place that hosts a writer's night. That is what we went to at The Listening Room Cafe, and it was everything I imagined and more. It was a nice, chill, relaxing evening listening to original music that was never heard before. After spending the day roaming around rowdy downtown listening to some very talented artists covering country hits, this was a nice change of pace. We heard three artists sing songs that they wrote, and wow, were they talented. As a HUGE fan of the show Nashville, I was thrilled when one of the male singers on stage said that he wrote the song that Juliette Barnes sang on the previous week's episode of Nashville. Then, we were blown away by the talent of Payton Taylor. Not only was her voice beautiful, but I loved the songs she wrote. While watching her I was just in a bit of awe and then afterwards I was in ever more awe. I thought, just judging by the way she presented herself, her maturity and her talent that she was in her mid to late twenties but come to find out later she is much younger than I thought-- 17. Wow! Talk about a bright future for this girl, and I'm so excited that we got an exclusive peek at her talents.

--Downtown Nashville--
I see why Nashville is called "Nashvegas." It's an all-day, every-day party! Everyday starting at 11:00 a.m. there is live music. It was just so fun to hop in and out of all the bars downtown. Some that we went to there Broadway Pub, Honky Tonk Central, Tootsies, and a whole bunch more. During the day on Saturday we spotted a bridge and my first thought was "photo op!!" so I drug my love to the bridge so we could take some cool pictures of downtown. While we were there we witnessed something I have never seen in real life before-- a marriage proposal. It was SO sweet and I think we were happier than the newly engaged couple. We talked with them for a few seconds and took a few pictures of them in their happy moment. It was so cool to be there and talk to them-- it feels like they're our buddies now that we are genuinely happy and excited for. I just love seeing love!

In addition to all the highlights from our trip I think I can safely say that Nashville is one of the happiest places I've been to. Maybe it was just my perception and the fact that we were just happy to be there, but people were so kind and friendly. I've never had so many doors held open for me in one weekend.

If y'all are looking for a fun escape out of town, I highly recommend visiting Nashville! So many fun memories were made there, and it now holds a piece of my heart.

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Make Yourself At Home

11/4/2014

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This post is LONG overdue, but it just feels like things have been quite busy around here during this past month. October was a month full of very wonderful things! I made a quick, surprise trip home to celebrate the upcoming marriage of a good friend of mine. Then, three days after returning to Kentucky our house was filled with lots of love, family, laughs,wine, and yummy food. My Mom, Dad, Sister and Nephew endured the long drive to Kentucky so we could all spend some time together, and so they could see some new sites.

While they were visiting I wanted to make sure we packed a whole lot of Kentucky into one weekend! While our visitors were here there was one thing that we needed to do and that was celebrate some birthdays! Since Fall is pretty much like Christmas in the Fogarty Family-- between September 20 and October 16th we have five birthdays-- celebrate, we did! My Dad's birthday fell on the weekend that they were visiting, and then a couple weeks prior were my Mom's birthday and my sister's birthday.

The explainable highlights of the weekend include going to the Keeneland Horse Track and betting on some ponies (my dad on $50!), visiting a beautiful winery, touring the town, going to Pop's BBQ (I am going to find a way to get them on the Food Network- so amazing!), and watching a Fall Ball baseball game. The reason why I say "explainable highlights" is because those are the highlights that are in pictures and that are easy to tell people about... but man, oh man, there were so many more highlights than just those.

The highlights that are my favorite are the ones that can't be seen in photographs, but rather pictures in my mind... they're those funny "you had to be there moments." While you are cracking up telling the story to others they all just stare at you with an amused look on their faces not really finding the same humor in it as you. Those were my favorite- like spending practically an hour picking up leaves right outside the Visitor Information center when we had a whole park to admire, to petting the not-so-happy donkeys, to being called rude (in accent that is best repeated by my mom) for parking NEXT (not in) to someone's driveway, to my dad pondering why hospitals are always named after Saints rather than just some regular ol' guy's name like Hubert. Trust me... you had to be there.

While there are times that I miss home more than I ever imagined I would, I am also so grateful for this experience. I am almost certain that if we lived five miles down the road from my family the memories of our weekend together wouldn't have happened. Our time spent together would be quick rather than seizing the opportunity to spend quality time with each other. The hustle and bustle of life can drag a person in all different directions, but having family visit from far away made me want to put all of the over-rated things in life on hold and soak up every second and every memory.

As weird as is sounds, after my weekend at home followed by my family visiting I now feel more at home here in Kentucky than I ever have since moving. I think it was the fact that people I love were able to see where we now live, and that being away in Minnesota made me think and wonder about the things I was missing in Kentucky. I have to say that the month of October has given me feelings of positivity, contentment and finally feeling like this new place is now my new HOME.

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Nashville

Make Yourself At Home

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