Tag Archives: husband and wife

Memphis: Rockin’ on Beale Street

One of the top things we were looking forward to for this trip was dinner at BB King’s and a night down on Beale Street. We arrived just in time to check in and get a little fancied up. (We didn’t take the first picture, and I’m majorly disappointed. Matt always says, “Take a picture with your mind,” when I’m fussing over wanting pictures. Can someone help me explain to him that’s just not the same thing?!) I digress.

We ate at BB King’s in Las Vegas and had a great time, so it was a definite on the agenda for our Memphis getaway. We’d been talking about their sausage and cheese platter since we started planning this trip! (Seriously, you must try it!)

Dinner was delicious as we expected, and the live band was awesome. It was one of those bands that had everybody dancing in their seats without even noticing it. Matt & I both love a live band. We could have stayed here the whole night but decided to go walk around a bit instead.

After scoping out the sights on Beale Street, we picked a cool, old horse and buggy to give us a tour and take us back to our hotel. We enjoyed cuddling up and seeing downtown the old fashioned way. You can see some of the details from the carriage ride here. Nothing beats getting cozy under a nice warm blanket and riding around in a horse-drawn carriage with your love.

Downtown Carriage RideDo you have a carriage ride story that sticks out in your mind? Tell me about it! This was our first one together, so I’m sure I’ll always remember it.

Update: Read more about Memphis here, here, here, and here

A Match Made in Memphis

Ok, so this match wasn’t really made in Memphis, but that’s a cute title right?! This trip was especially exciting because it was our first non-work related trip together. I’m going to post about some detailed experiences later, but here’s a little overview.

Our original plan was to go somewhere in East Tennessee, but we decided to go somewhere not so far from home so we’d have less travel time and more play time.

This is my favorite pic of Downtown. I just love how the rainy streets look!
This is my favorite pic of Downtown. I just love how the rainy streets look!

Here’s what we did:
BB King’s on Beale Street
Carriage ride/Tour of Downtown Memphis
Lunch at Aldo’s Pizza Pies
Mary Poppins at the Orpheum Theatre – our first ever broadway show!
Bryant’s Breakfast
Shopping!!
Dinner at Texas de Bazil
Central BBQ

As you can see, we skipped some of the typical things like Graceland, etc. For this trip, we wanted a simple & easy getaway. Matt’s been pretty busy with school and work, so relaxation was the goal.

Some of my favorite things about Memphis are obviously the food and live music, but I absolutely love the brick sidewalks and trolleys of downtown. In my opinion, brick and trolleys make the perfect downtown setting. What more do you need?? We were told that the trolleys are actually the original ones. I don’t know how true that is, but they looked old!

IMG_1090

It's a tad blurry...silly trolley wanted to go when I started taking a pic!
It’s a tad blurry…silly trolley wanted to go when I started taking a pic!

Downtown is so cozy and well maintained. I could walk around for hours with no actual purpose.

Speaking of walking around, we started in this cool park next to our hotel. (Memphis is FULL of various parks and river walks…another cool feature). We cruised through here on our carriage ride where the driver told us that this park had been in place since before the Civil War, 1819 to be exact. Wow! He said the stone work was original, which was even more impressive. This staircase was simply stunning…especially to think it had been there since the 1800s!

Old Stone Staircase

I had to take a picture of these cannons because our driver said these were “what they liked to call replica cannons,” as if the word replica only applied to those cannons and couldn’t be used in other contexts. We got quite a kick out of this. Seriously, I think it’ll be a running joke from now on. Feel free to join in!

Replica CannonsWe ended up walking several miles through different parks, along the river, and through some gorgeous neighborhoods. The parks and green areas are full of various commissioned art, benches, etc. It was nice to see all of the small touches placed here and there.

Pardon the crazy hair...it was rather windy!Overall, we had a great time exploring the area. I can’t wait to post more details, but for now I have laundry to catch up on…that dreaded, unavoidable post-trip task.

Have you ever been to Memphis? What were your favorite parts? We might go back again sometime, so please share!

Update: Read more about Memphis – Beale Street, Mary Poppins, shopping & eating. 

Why did I get married??

Let me start by saying that I don’t want to be one of those people who over-post about how wonderful their spouse, baby, etc. are. So, if you’re one those people who might want to gag at my bragging (like I probably would), you might want to turn away now.

However, as I’m unwinding in my comfy bed, eating a brownie my husband just baked and brought to me, I realized there might be some solidity to my thoughts. I realized that someone might could benefit from hearing about my day. What started as a simple Facebook update, has turned in to a story about waiting for the “right” person.

A lot of pressure is put on girls, starting at a very young age, to find Prince Charming & get married. I went to college, worked a good job, and started my own business all before I was 23, but none of that amounted to anything because I wasn’t married yet. (Please be cautious with your comments so as to not to make a young girl feel slighted because she hasn’t tied the knot yet.) I came close to marrying the wrong person a couple of different times. Now, I thank my lucky stars that something inside of me stopped me each time.

How do you know who is “right” for you? Here’s how I know. Today, I had a particularly crummy afternoon. I got so bogged down by things going on around me, and I really let it get me down and discouraged. My new husband knew I wasn’t having the best day. I came home to dinner cooked and ready with the table set, awaiting my arrival. This in itself was a treat, because I probably would have broken down in the kitchen if I couldn’t find the right spatula. Then, he spent our entire dinner listening to me rant and rave about every tiny, minuscule thing that bothered me today. Next, we went for a walk around the neighborhood (my request), while I ranted some more. He listened, which was the most important thing I needed, but also provided such beneficial suggestions/comments. (He always says the best things.) How do I know I picked the right mate? Because my husband reassures me and builds me up when I’m down. Now, I’m chillin’ in my cozy bed, enjoying a brownie and milk that he cooked, recuperating from my trying day. (Reason number 7,462 I married him – he cooks!)

Moral of the story: it is so very important to pick someone who is a good balance for you. Life isn’t a fairy tale made up of exotic vacations and leisure activities. Life is days like today, where you come home exhausted, beaten down, and ready to give up on everything. That’s what the real world is. So, you need to pick someone who makes those days worthwhile. When picking someone you’re supposed to spend forever with, you need to pick someone who picks you up when your down. Someone who balances out your negatives. Someone who listens and helps you make tough decisions. Someone who fixes dinner and/or brownies when you just don’t have the strength. It’s like a seesaw…when you’re down, they bring you back up. When they’re down, you bring them back up. The roller coaster ride of life doesn’t end until you close your eyes for the last time. You have to pick someone based upon how you are as a couple during those times.

That being said, if you’re not dating someone who does this very thing for you. Get rid of them! Starting over isn’t nearly as scary if you think about eventually finding someone who can be the partner you really need.

I’m not writing this just to brag on my husband (although he deserves it). I’m writing this in hopes that someone may read it and realize they could do better. I’ve struggled many times over the years, not getting what I needed from a relationship. (And guilting myself for needing “too much.”) But that’s not the case. Girls, if you don’t have a guy that can turn a bad day around within seconds, then you don’t have the right guy. Just keep waiting. Do not settle for anything less than a man who takes your bad days away.

This post turned out to be quite a bit longer than I hoped, but I felt burdened to share my thoughts. This life is tough. Every day brings a new struggle. The purpose of marriage and relationships is to find someone who makes things more bearable. I am so very blessed to found such a good man. I thank God for him every single day. If you’re not quite there yet, don’t worry! Your time is coming. And one day you will sit back and be thankful for not settling for anything less than wonderful.

Post Marriage Plans

I’m going on a month and a half now of being married to the most wonderful man on the planet. I didn’t really expect much to change after getting married, but surprisingly things have. I’ve found myself becoming much more Suzy Homemaker-ish! Many of you don’t know this yet, but my new husband is going back to school. While taking care of his dad after the plane crash in the spring, he decided the he might really like that medical stuff. So now we, (I say we because it’s going to take the both of us!), are off to try out a nursing degree.

So what does this mean for our new little family? Two things. 1. We will be taking an income reduction because my sweet husband won’t be able to work as much. 2. Our costs are going to rise as he will be commuting 40 miles/day to school and we have to pay for his schooling this time around. (Too bad TOPS doesn’t give you a chance for a second degree!)

Long story short, I’ve been consumed with things that I can do to cut costs around the house without changing our lifestyle too much. I’ve seriously spent hours and hours on Pinterest looking at cool ideas. It’s like my new mission to make things more efficient around here!

So here’s what I have so far:
1. Canceling cable. I’ve seriously watched it maybe 3 times the last 6 months. What a waste! Plus, we have Netflix and Hulu+ to keep us entertained. (I just gotta figure out how to get Salt & Pepper’s big tv debut off the DVR first.)

2. Making my own laundry detergent. My BFF did this over the summer and she loved it. I found a pretty simple recipe for liquid detergent and it claims to cost just $6 for over 500 loads. Sign me up!!

3. Making my own cleaning supplies. I’ll be honest. I always thought this was so lame. However, it is proven that the chemicals in cleaner you buy are bad for you. Did you know that those companies have NO regulations on what they can put in their cleaners? Crazy! Plus, some of the cleaner recipes I’ve found, swear that they clean better than traditional cleaners. I’m certainly willing to try anything that means less scrubbing!

4. Now here’s the real shocker. I’m about to try freezer cooking. It’s gonna be tough for anyone who really knows me to not fall over dead after seeing this but, I’m just so intrigued by it! Basically, you make one big shopping trip a month, prepare a month worth of meals at once, and freeze them! The big plus with this idea is that we’re approaching the hubby and I’s busy seasons at work. Plus, he has schoolwork now, too. Having time/energy to cook an elaborate meal just isn’t going to happen. So I’m going to give this little notion a try. In addition to saving time & energy, you also save money by making just one trip to the store (less impulse buys) and by buying things in bulk.

All of these things are very unlike me. I can’t decide if I’m just intrigued by the simple living styles, or if this marriage thing has gone to my head. I’ve always been a pretty thrifty gal, but sure as heck never considered making my own soap! Either way, I’m gonna tackle a few of these ideas soon & I’ll let the 3 of you who read this first-ever-blog-post of mine know how it goes.

(In addition to these, I have a million other DIY projects up my sleeve, so I’m going to use this blog to keep track of my progress. Follow along if you’d like!)

Pamela P.