To Knoxville We Will Go

I took a nice mini-vacation to Knoxville, TN last weekend. Not only was it refreshing to get away for a few days, I also spent some much needed quality time with two dear friends.

Laura and I have been planning for a while to visit Natalie and finally settled on a weekend. Neither of us realized at the time that it was mother's day weekend, but both of our sweet moms were completely understanding of our need to visit our old college roommate in her new city (I'll be celebrating with my mom Saturday and promise to make up for my absence on the actual day).

Natalie moved to Knoxville last fall and works at the Marriot downtown. I know she has been itching to share her new life with her friends, so I'm really thankful we were able to visit.

We got to Natalie's late Friday night and immediately felt like we were back in Auburn living together again. It's funny how no matter how much time passes between visits, it seems like we can pick up right where we left off. I guess that's what's special about having best friends.

We decided to make the most of our short visit and crammed in as much action as possible. Saturday morning we ate crepes at a cute little french restaurant in downtown Knoxville. We then walked around the farmers market in Market Square. The flowers were beautiful, the vegetables looked delicious, and the people-watching was out of this world. Needless to say it was wonderful.

We also visited the clothing stores and gift shops around market square. I may or may not have bought an owl shaped contact lense case on a whim. It's kitchy and fun and I NEEDED IT!

We drove to Pigeon Forge for lunch at the Pottery House Cafe and Grille where we enjoyed great food and much more fantastic people watching complete with a redneck bride and groom. I kid you not.

We spent our afternoon in Gatlinburg where we bought delicious Mountain Taffy and saw one of the werewolves from Twilight accompanied by his twin sister.

{disclaimer: not actually werewolf from twilight and i doubt that's really his sister...

but you get my drift}

On the way back to Natalie's we stopped by the Tanger Outlets and Laura RACKED UP in J Crew. Fancy pants had some graduation money to blow and blew it well she did.

We rested (and watched dance moms) for a bit before heading back to downtown Knoxville for dinner at the Downtown Brewery. We followed dinner with gelato from Coolato Gelato. I could eat a whole-lato this gelato.



We finished the night off college style packed onto the couch like sardines for a chick flick. True to form I fell asleep half way through, only to wake up super charged.

After church at Cedar Springs and Sunday lunch at Jason's Deli, it was time for our sad farewell.

I loved everything about this trip. The city is adorable with a great hometown feel and just enough character to set it apart from the rest. Of course spending quality time with two special ladies was just icing on the cake. 

Bullet Points, Lists, and Pictures

So much has happened since I last posted. I decided it was more fun to enjoy life and the people around me, so the blog hit the back burner. But never fear, I have stored away my ramblings and am ready to share. I figure the most efficient way to approach this is with bullet points, lists, and pictures.

Ready. Set. Go.

• Internship

I am loving every minute of my dietetic internship. I spent the end of February and most of March with the Alabama Department of Public Health in the Nutrition and Physical Activity Division. To say it was not what I expected would be a vast understatment. I thought I would be stuck in an office all day doing desk work and research. While I did my fair share of these tasks, I also went to the news station for a live broadcast, taught elementary school kids about wheat and grains, worked in the garden at Hampstead Farms, and met tons of wonderful people.

After leaving the state office, I started my food service management rotation. This was the part of the internship I was dreading the most. I knew from the start that I wasn't interested in a career in food service. Hospital, school, none of it. But we are required to complete 5 weeks in management, so I was determined to make the most of it. I'm happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised!

I did the hospital food service rotation at Baptist South in Montgomery and the school food service at Daniel Pratt Elementary in Prattville. The workers in both kitchens welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like I was instantly part of their work family.

{going away treat from my bakery friends at baptist south}

Monday morning I will be back at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika to begin the second part of the clinical rotations. 

• Quality Time with Friends

Living in Georgia really made me miss my friends, but it also made me cherish the times I have with them. I am determined to soak up every possible moment with these lovely ladies.

1. Lauren

Between wedding festivites, church activities, spend the night parties, baseball games, dinner dates, and the Hunger Games, I think it's safe to say this chick and I have picked up right where we left off. I guess some things never change.

2. Laura

I'm so thankful for my friendship with this gal. Her words of encouragement are daily reminders of God's love. In the past few months we celebrated St. Patty's day Auburn style, watched movies in Montgomery with the Morrison clan, and went to the Ben Rector/Needtobreathe concert in Auburn. (don't worry... the concert gets it's own bullet point.) Next week we are making a trip up to Knoxville, TN to visit our Piggy (aka Natalie). Can't wait to have Taleeda Court circa 2008-2009 reunited! This smarty pants is also graduating tomorrow from Auburn AGAIN as a CPA!! Bonus points for bring Mallory all the way from New York.

3. Suzanne

So glad this girl met me for dinner in Montgomery on a random Tuesday night. Sad our weekend excursion to Eastchase fell through, but a raincheck is in the near future.

• Easter

I love everything about Easter. Celebrating the ressurection of our Lord and Savior, the candy, spending time with family and friends, the candy, eating good food, going for walks in the country... did I mention THE CANDY??? I don't want to ever get too old for an Easter Basket.

{me and the brother}

We have a special Easter tradition. Each Easter the "kids" from my church take a group picture in the parking lot. Believe it or not, we have been doing this for 24 years! We have all grown up, most married with kids of their own, but we still come together every year for the Forest Park Kids Picture.

{flashback to Easter 1991}

{Easter 2012}

{me, ellen, and jenna - Easter 1989}

{me, ellen, and jenna - Easter 2012}

I hope this tradition never ends. For year 25 we are turning the cameras around for a parent picture. I smell a new tradition brewing...

• Ben Rector and Needtobreathe

{brittany, laura, and me}

As promised the concert is getting its own bullet. I found Laura at the front of a never ending line at the Auburn Arena. Being the champ she is, she got in line at 4:45 for a 7:00 concert. Luckily, her dedication scored us these:

granting us floor access and front row action.

We were close enough to see sweat... literally.

{bo rinehard - needtobreathe}

We sang along with Ben Rector...

...jammed with Young the Giant...

...fell in love with Seth Bolt...

{bassist for needtobreathe}

...and hoped Needtobreathe would keep playing for all eternity.

It's safe to say a good time was had by all.

• Weddings & Showers

Wedding season is in full force. Since February I have been to 3 weddings, 6 showers, and 1 bachelorette party.

For the first time in my life I helped to host a wedding shower. The bride was my sweet friend Ashley. We have been friends since 5th grade, were inseperable in high school, and were freshman year college roommates at Auburn.

I was honored when she asked me to be a bridesmaid in her April wedding. We spent the weekend in beautiful Rosemary Beach, FL. The ceremony was in a chapel in Santa Rosa and the reception was on the St. Augustine Green. In rained the whole day, but Ashley was the most beautiful bride.

I know she and Andrew will have the most wonderful life together.

I could not be happier for my sweet friend and her new husband.

I was equally as honored when my dear friend Jenna asked me to be a bridesmaid in her August wedding. When I say I have known this girl forever, I mean I think we were friends before we even knew what friends were. Most of my childhood memories include Jenna and I am so thankful that we have remained thick as thieves over the years.

While I have missed most of her showers due to other weddings and will miss her bachelorette party due to my internship, I was able to attend her Montgomery shower this morning. We had a great time visiting with old friends and celebrating the upcoming wedding of our sweet Jenna.



• Brother

I can't believe my baby brother will be graduating high school one month from today. I am so proud of the man he is growing up to be, but need him to cool it on the getting old thing. I'm just not ready for this going off to college mess. Am I even old enough for college yet???

I feel so blessed to be back in Montgomery for his senior year activities.

I was able to go to most of his baseball games this season...

...and obviously utilized the opportunity for socializing.

{erin, lauren, me, mary parrish}

I was able to hear him lead worship at the FCA banquet. Kid has a gift.

He was also nominated for the Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Award. This is an award for high school seniors in Montgomery who show christian leadership in athletics. He was honored to be nominated and we were very proud.

{the morrison family at the hitchcock award banquet}

• Dance Your Shoes Off/Rise Up 2012

Our church, Heritage Baptist in Montgomery, did a flash mob in April. Over 300 people including church members and others from the community did a choreoraphed dance and literally danced our shoes off. The new shoes were donated to various organizations in Montgomery as well as international charities.  (the original idea was from second baptist church in houston.)

{the morrison family}

{trailer full of donated shoes}



Young and old, big and small, short and tall, gathered together to share God's love in one of the most creative ways I've seen in a while.

Here's a link to the video of the event. Get ready to want to dance your shoes off, too. http://vimeo.com/41436498

Well, that ended up being way wordier than I anticipated. But this girl had alot to say. Hope you had a wonderful Cinco de Mayo. We celebrated by making these grilled chicken and pineapple quesadillas from Pioneer Woman. Not really mexican, but they were delicious!

Until next time...