Although I LOVE living in Nashville, it does have some drawbacks when it comes to my family. I haven't seen them since Christmas, which isn't too long, however since both brothers live close to my parents, I always feel like I'm the odd one out and I'm missing all this family time.
Since I recently moved, my parents were wanting to come down and check out my new place and help me decorate and purchase new furniture! Due to both my travels with races, and my dad's travels with work, the ONLY weekend my parents come could down to visit was this past weekend.
I actually did beat my parents to Nashville, and as I was pulling up to my house I was greeted by some guy who proceeded to tell me that my house flooded earlier that morning- wait WHAT?!?! Apparently one of the toilets was backed up, spewing black sewage everywhere, and they had to rip up a lot of the flooring and baseboards- AWESOME. At least everything is being covered since it was obviously a problem resulting from the previous owner.
I proceeded inside, ignoring the gentlemen ripping everything up and quickly cleaned my room, and got ready for the afternoon / evening. Once parents arrived, I gave them the grand tour of my new home, and much to my liking, they agreed it was great (minus the flood) One of my 2 big missions for the weekend was to get a dresser, and a new bed- off to the stores we went, followed by dinner and drinks @ Saffire in 'the factory' located in Franklin not too far from my place.
For whatever reason I didn't take a photo, but I had:
CHIMICHURRI SKIRT STEAK
Herb & Garlic-Rubbed Grilled Skirt Steak. Served with Roasted Corn Salsa, Smoked Poblano Peppers, Onions and Cherry Tomatoes. ~ delicious
Dinner with mom & dad
After a great meal, we attempted to walk around inside The Factory, but apparently all the shops close at 5pm (locally owned), so on our way out we saw this little gem....
Mom and Dad
Ignore the fact you can see right up my dress
We do some more window shopping, yet pretty much put everything off for Sunday- call it a night and head to bed.
Up EARLY next morning, to breakfast @ Pucketts- I absolutely LOVE breakfast buffets- especially if the bacon is crispy, it was perfect :-)
My mom and I both LOVE to find deals, i.e. where I inherit my great affinity for thrift stores. After seeing how I transformed a night stand I bought from Good Will for $9.99, she was itching to find a dresser we could restore w/ paint & knobs.
From drab....
To fab!
My dad was a trooper and drove us all around Nashville hitting up thrift stores for our quest- sadly we had no luck in the dresser department, however I did snag a mirror and I came across this lovely beauty....
For all those who haven't caught on, I have a slight Elvis fascination
Eventually we did give up on our thrift store quest and conceded and went to one of my least favorite stores in the entire world- Wal Mart. Am I the only one that despises this store so much?!?!? Surprisingly enough, I did find a desk, 2 shelving units, full length mirror, and a small dresser (major score) We dropped my dad off at my place so he could put together all the furniture, and mom and I went on a quest to get me a new Queen bed!
One of my roommates suggested a mattress store that was having a HUGE sale, so we checked it out and fell in love. I found one that was PERFECT- mattress was firm, but it had foam pillow top so it was still soft. Our salesman randomly enough happened to be from my hometown, Huber Heights Ohio, graduated from same HS, so he cut us a deal. The set was $1200, I told him I really wasn't looking to spend over $1000 so if he had anything that was in that price range I would probably buy. He did one better- he gave me the set, free delivery, and 2 bamboo memory foam pillows all for $899!! I get it delivered on Thursday, super excited.
What also excites me is hopefully by thursday my kitchen walk through will be cleared up to make room for the delivery guys---- due to the flooding its currently in this state:
and to get to my room you have to enter through this:
Although I did love playing in forts as a kid, having to unzip and rezip everytime I walk through is not my idea of fun anymore.
By the time we returned from our bed and other room supplies extravaganza, dad had put together ALL my furniture- literally saving me HOURS of time for when they left (thanks dad!) Since we had bought him steak n shake to eat so he could still work, mom and I were hungry and I took her to one of my favorite bars- Mojo Brewhouse South- 70 beers on tap- yes please! (and then quite a bit more by the bottle) Since it was Sunday, technically you can break your lenten promise, so I did get some ranch to dip my fries in, it was glorious.
Since my parents got a hotel room right across from where I work, it made sense to stay with them sunday night so I could have breakfast with them and then pop over to work- thats exactly what I did. I felt bad because the entire weekend was literally spent racing around buying new stuff for my room, so I didn't get to show them much of Nashville (more reason for them to visit again- next time hopefully with my brothers since they have yet to visit- I know you're reading this Eric, hint hint)
Mom and I before heading to work and they take off
All in all, it was a VERY productive weekend- got to finish my 10th state for half marys, spent some quality time with my folks, and now I have added the following to my room:
- breadspread, sheets, pillows
- queen mattress, box spring, pillows, and bed frame
- 1 dresser
- 1 desk
- 2 shelving units
- 2 mirrors (one hanging and one full length)
- 4 wicker storage containers
- bathroom & kitchen towels
- lots of other random stuff!
Starting to feel a lot more cozy in my new place :)
