A hike in the Smoky Mountains

No trip with Trinity is complete without some sort of stop in a national or state park. I'm not the most outdoorsy person, but I am adjusting. We took a hike on a rainy afternoon up to see a beautiful waterfall. It was chilly and rainy. I grew whiny and fussy. It was wonderful.

Here is evidence that a hike was indeed completed. I had about 3 coats on, and was still cold.

He also insisted that if we didn't take a photo by the state park sign, we wouldn't know in 20 years where we were. As if I would forget that cold hike! I refused to be in this photo. I took it across the road, screaming at him:)

He was much too close to the edge, in my opinion. I would like to say we weren't both singing, "Don't push us, cuz we're close to the eeeeeeeeddddddge..." but I would be lying.

The Butterfly Gap

Sweet T and I had quite an adventure this week over my spring break. Katie and Chip bought us a gift certificate to go to The Butterfly Gap retreat in Maryville, TN. This lovely place was featured in the June issue of Southern Living magazine, and I started whining to my family then how much I wanted to go. My dear sister and her sometimes annoying husband indulged us by getting us a trip there for Christmas! It was marvelous!

Here I am in the office, checking in. The place is very remote, so we went right in and had to use a walky talky to contact the owners. They came down in a jiffy to check us in, but not before...

I discovered a rack full of hand knit scarves! Naturally I had to put one on and wrap myself up mummy-style!

We posed in front of the lovely pond.

Our little house had a fireplace and homemade cookies waiting for us.

The day we arrived was a bit mucky and rainy. Fortunately, my man has a fair collection of outdoorsy gear, so he outfitted me in this slicker with a hood. We rolled up our fancy pants jeans that are way too long so they wouldn't get muddy, grabbed some Blue Moons and set off for a rainy little hike.

I am the Green Hornet!

Here is the beautiful reception area. This is available for weddings and other gatherings. I actually looked into this place for our wedding, but was worried it was too far away.

They also have a little wedding chapel.

Blue Moon walking

Blue Moon walking, lady style.

The sun came out and we were able to sit on the dock. My camera with its self timer was precariously perched on a thin railing. I will do anything to capture the perfect shot! We had a marvelous time. Thank you to the Kenworthys!

A Visit to Chicago

Last weekend I visited my friend Kate in Chicago. As usual, a visit to her place is always a treat! She thinks of everything, and its like staying in a hotel.

This was our first visit since my engagement. Kate loves a good celebration, so I was thrilled when I was greeted with two of my favorites; pink champagne and a cupcake from Sweet Mandy B's!

Lunch at Kate's place

We met her friend Melanie for a fabulous dinner at Fred's.

We had cocktails at Tavern on Rush.

We enjoyed some interesting people watching.

I reenacted my 3rd grade picture, always a hit when I am at bars. I usually follow this look up with my donkey kick story, but that is another post altogether.

3rd grade Betsy. Classic.

Target: Fail!

Today was a beautiful spring day. It was sunny and about 64 degrees outside. I have been feeling sassy and springy. My psyche has also been bombarded with those glorious Target ads that scream, "Its spring! Liberty of London! All things floral! Cheep, cheep, says the chick!" Now, prior to those ads I had never heard of Liberty of London. However, always eager to jump on whatever bandwagon rolls my way, I deemed it to be cool. I must have one of those floral frocks, I thought as I rolled into Target, post-Qdoba burrito noshing. Now I must explain first why this shopping endeavor was so exciting. Now maybe, just maybe, someone, who shall remain nameless, also known as everyone, might have once referred to me as a bit snooty. Several years ago I would not have shopped at Target for clothes. In recent years I have gotten a lot more realistic, dejerkified myself a bit, and now I like cheap stuff. This lifestyle shift has been greatly applauded by my future husband and Dave Ramsay.

As I approached the clothing section I was thrilled to see that sassy dress that had so festively adorned the lanky model in the commercial. I too would soon be flitting around like a bumblebee amidst large, computer animated blossoms. I envisioned myself wearing it riding around town on a pink Vespa, sans helmet. Oh, no. It looked like this:

A $25 floral potato sack accentuating nothing. But my hips.

Even better was this peacock feathered tiered number. Please disregard my shoes. I don't like bare feet on dressing room floors.

This dress was a real prize. By this time I was growing frustrated, and had put my Juicy pants on again. This dress was incredibly short. I giggled as I thought of Derek Zoolander. "What is this, a dress for ants?"

I did purchase a tank top for $6.30. I love a good tank top. It is not different from any other tank top, except that it had an enormous price tag on it. My family finds my fear/loathing of tags incredibly entertaining. Quips like, "Why don't you get therapy, Bets about tags?" are common. I am posting evidence that although I have not sought therapy, I have made progress. There is a giant tag on my shoulder here, sitting there just like a spider. I didn't die. This occurred on March 24, 2010.

The Ultimate Wedding Guest

Last night I attended the birthday party of my friend Gabe. I have mentioned him on my blog before, as he was instrumental in saving me from a nearly fatal exposure to the elements when my furnace died in October. His installment of a highly efficient furnace has saved me bookoo bucks over these past frigid months. Anyway, he turned 36 yesterday, and his wife hosted a small, swinging soiree at their lovely home. I had to attend. I used some of the savings from my furnace to buy him a $2.33 card from Hallmark. It was the least I could do.

Gabe is witty and funny. He is like one of the most important guests at my upcoming wedding. His presence is important to me. Like as important as my dad being there:) Why? Gabe likes to party, party. He dances like no one I have ever seen in my life. He does the Tootsie Roll. He can rock the centipede. He is the beacon of light that guides shy, uncertain people to the dance floor. If you can't dance, Gabe will make you feel like you can. I am counting on him to bring the funk, and he won't disappoint. He sent me an email yesterday, with the subject line, "For your eyes only." Silly, Gabe...for my eyes, and those of my 4 or 5 readers!

Subject: For your eyes only!!!

Hi Bets. I know you are coming over for the party but just wanted to let you know something very important. I have been working on some new moves ever since I found out about the wedding. Knowing our chemistry in the dance arts department, be ready for stuff you have never seen before by homo sapiens. It will blow your mind. Thanks for happy bday too! Can't wait to bring back Breaking Two, Electric Bugaloo!

I can't wait! The photo below is of my friend Mel, who was also at the party. She's really pretty.

Registering

Sweet T and I were in full wedding mode this weekend. We started our wedding registry at many different stores. I found the whole process to be overwhelming. He is 33, and I am 30, and we have both owned homes for about 4 years. We have stuff already. We have like 2 sets of stuff already. We had a discussion about this, and we came to a reasonable conclusion. Our stuff is crappy. Lots of my things are cast offs from either my mother or sister. That stuff is actually nice, but doesn't really seem like mine. The stuff I have bought myself over the years isn't nice. So, we are embracing this once in a lifetime chance for people to buy us nice loot. My husband-to-be got a little trigger happy.

A pepper mill? I've never heard of such a thing! My pepper comes from a little tin like thing that I puncture to open. My salt comes from a navy blue Morton's salt canister, with the girl with the umbrella on the front. Williams-Sonoma has lots of things that are fun! We just got started there, with a few baking items. Some things we refrained from registering for:

* knives that cost about $1200

* sprinkles, cupcake mixes and jelly beans

Sweet T actually didn't have to keep me from registering for food. The lady who was helping us said, "we actually discourage registering for perishable items." Really, lady? I shouldn't register for seasonal cookies? What would I do without a knowledgeable guide like you? I'm not a total idiot. Or maybe I am. I'll just hope someone reads this and buys me lots of cupcake mixes.

We did register for the iconic wedding gift: the KitchenAid chrome mixer! I envision myself whipping up cupcakes, brownies and cakes, then licking those little mixer thingies! It will be wonderful!

Sweet T loves some juice. At Crate and Barrel we played with this juicer, but didn't register for it. I can't see us squeezing oranges. As my niece Caroline would say, "Its sticky, I don't like it."

So we are registered at Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Macy's, and Pottery Barn. We are official. These are not even near complete, but we have started. Let the gift giving begin!

Nashville Fun

We had a very busy weekend. Mom, Dad and I went to Nashville to shop for a wedding dress. Katie and Caroline drove to meet us and we got to stay in Cousin Kris' beautiful condo. Dad's job was to watch Caroline as my sister, mother and I switched into full Say Yes to the Dress mode. Our time at The Bride Room was fabulous. We found several that we loved, but after much contemplation, we decided on a lovely gown. The only photos I could post were of my beloved flower girl, Miss Caroline.

She loved the dress and twirled herself silly.

Here she is twirling. I am in the background doing my best Jack Nicholson in The Shining impression. I'm also wearing my fabulous dress!!!!