Confessions of a Suburbanite DINK

Sometimes I fantasize about apartment dwelling…
...the energy of the city right at your front door, being cool by association, public transportation, no lawn to manicure, owning swanky West Elm furniture, coffee shops and bars within walking distance, nightlife…shopping…it all seems so glamorous!

But there’s no point in trying to be something I’m not, right? No, this girl is not, and never will be, a city dweller. While I have a true appreciation for the city and it’s people, there’s no denying that the suburbs are where I was born to be.

Every Sunday I drive my mid-sized, American-made sedan to the grocery store, and I fill my big trunk with over $150 worth of non-organic groceries. One of our more favorite weekend pleasures is to grill a big, fatty steak and enjoy a night out on the patio. Our property backs up to a wooded area, and as you may know, we get frequent visits from wildlife. It’s virtually private if you consider the fact that one of our neighbors is always out of town and the others are hermits. I could probably walk outside in the nude if I was ever inclined to do so.

Sean and I lived in the city for three years. And while Nashville isn’t all that big, it still counts. I think I heard gun shots at least once, and I probably saw prostitutes and drug deals happening on a daily basis (although, I wouldn’t have known it…) Hearing trains, sirens, and loud barking dogs throughout the night became part of our life. But now that we’re in the suburbs, I remember how much I love the quiet. Not just the quiet, but the total silence. The first few nights we spent at the new house were so quiet that it made us laugh out loud!

The city not only comes with special sounds, it also comes with special neighbors...like the trashy people that used to live 2 doors down from us. I can't even begin to explain how absolutely disgusting their property was. Every time I looked out my window, I started singing the theme to Sanford and Son. I dreamed of codes and rules and an HOA...and now I have one! Maybe one day they'll even make me the HOA president.

I mean, Franklin isn't perfect. We do actually have 1 homeless person and a few sketchy neighborhoods. But as long as you turn your head, they don't exist.

Summer Part II (all of July)

Tennessee in July is usually a hot, humid and an overall uncomfortable experience. So when we entered this July with refreshinginly cool air, I was a little freaked out but also VERY thrilled with the breathability! Thanks to the frequent rains, our grass is green and the plants are healthy. Our tomato plant, which was one of my b-day present from Sean, finally decided to spout 3 baby tomatoes! The basil is going crazy, too. Maybe this time next year we'll be looking at squash and peppers, too.

July was full of back-to-back activities, and the entire month flew by like a flash of lightning. We were busy with work, home projects and a little bit of travel. Sean and I took off to Alabama for the 4th of July to visit my mom's cousins. Sean was suffering from a painful sunburn at the time, so we did some night swimming in Cousin Brenda's pool to avoid the sun. Even though a few bats were swooping down over my head, I had a nice and relaxing evening with the extended family. We ate our weight in BBQ ribs and reminisced about old times.

The next couple of weeks were dedicated to one thing only: FLOORS. It was time to give our bottom level a facelift, so we decided to install laminate...ourselves! (Actually, we decided to install hardwood, but our pocketbook decided that we wanted laminate instead.) Besides painting a few rooms, we'd never tackled an actualy DIY project. I'm really pleased with the final product, and I can't believe we did it! I only had one minor incident with the mitre saw, but I got to keep my left thumb, so it's all good.

The new floors were finished just in time to welcome our out-of-town visitors Jordan and Marc. They came down from North Carolina for for a weekend visit. Jordan and I have been friends since 7th grade, and even though she moved away the very next year, we've continued to stay in touch.

We showed our guests around Downtown Franklin, had a big country breakfast at Dotson's and toured the historic Carter House (site of the Civil War's Battle of Franklin).

Marc and Jordan in the Franklin square

(click on the pic to enlarge!)

Enjoying my favorite pizza from Mafioza's

One week later, Sean and I were on our way to Chicago to visit his sister Emily. She had a fun few days planned for us in the Second City. Although, if you ask me, Chicago is way better than NYC...

We spent the weekend tasting local food from Ann Sather (traditional Swedish food) and Tango Sur (Brazilian steaks and killer chimichurri), visiting the Lincoln Park street fair, catching jazz tunes at Green Mill, cheering for the Cubs, and getting dolled up for DJ Corey's White Party event.

As someone who loves good breakfast food, Ann Sather was definitely a highlight of my trip. The 3 of us each got an order of the cinnamon rolls as one of our 2 side items...and they were a big as our faces! I also enjoyed listenting to the scat singer at Green Mill. This 1920's hot spot for gangsters (namely Al Capone) is still cranking out honest-to-God jazz. There was a 3-piece organ trio playing "Girl from Impanema," and this hefty white girl was belting out tunes from all the jazz elders. Sitting there in the haunting red glow of the neon sign and hearing her scat was enough to give me chills.

The White Party was our main event, and it was quite the spectacle! A few hundred people (all wearing white, of course) turned out at Navy Pier to board a chartered cruise boat. Before we left the dock, the DJ played "I'm on a Boat!" from the famous SNL skit, and the crowd went crazy. From there, it was a night full of drinkin' and dancin', and we even got a fireworks show. Watching the sun set over the Chicgao skyline was so picturesque. And if that wasn't enough, there was an after party at the Enclave which is a high-end night club frequented by famous people such as Paris Hilton and The Black Eyed Peas. It was the most posh place I've ever set foot in, and thank goodness we all had on white. It was like a "safety uniform", so no one knew the truth about this unfashionable girl from Tennessee.

Go, Cubs, Go!

Chi-town

Emily and me at the beach...of Lake Michigan...where the water was 68 degrees...

Stacey and Sean at The White Party


Siblings!

Summer Part I

Since we moved to Franklin in March, our Spring was dedicated to home projects. You know, unpacking, buying stuff, setting up, painting, letting my sister move in...

We watched the trees bloom and the grass grow, and once the back yard was recharged with life again it was time to throw a party! In early June we invited everyone over to eat, drink, and be merry in our new backyard. (Of course, we allowed them into the house, too.)

Sean perfects the art of Ladderball

Proud Grandpa Matt showing off one of his many grand-girls Emma Kate.
Look at those cheeks!

Carrie and her daughter Kaylee sharing a good story (and it must have stunk)


My tallented mother-in-law Bonnie Denton of Belles Fleurs Designs (http://www.bellesfleursdesigns.com/)
gave us the MOST BEAUTIFUL arrangement as a centerpiece for our buffet.
I asked her to make something "summery and fun," and boy did she ever!
The flowers were a hit, and so were the mini BBQ Burritos.



My roomie/sister with her BFF Lauren

Later in June we headed North to visit Sean's family in New Jersey. We spent a weekend celebrating Keirsten's graduation from college as well as Father's Day with Tom and Pop Pop. It's always such a treat to go visit that side of the family, and I was sorry the trip ended so quickly. The Carrolls are a fun bunch! Aunt Judi hosted a fab party where we ate delicious food and played L-C-R (left-right-center). Of course Uncle Greg won the loot because he's the luckiest man in the world.

Here we are with Keirsten at her Graduation Celebration...

...and Sean with his dad at Citizen's Bank Park after we watched the Phillies LOSE.

Happy Father's Day, Tom!

Before we hit the stadium, Sean, Dad, Ann and me went to Chickie & Pete's for some pre-game crabs. Sorry no pictures, but our hands were too messy to pick up the camera. The crabs were swimming in a delicious Maryland-style broth of butter, garlic, and Old Bay. C&P's is a hot-spot for Phillies fans since it's within walking distance of the stadium. And knowing that their crabs will dirty your paws, C&P's made sure to add a large sink in the center of the restaurant. I found this very helpful! It was a lot of hard work to break apart all those little crab legs, but it was well worth the fight.

Speaking of a fight, the Pillies put up a good one against the Orioles but ended up losing. Here I am with Ann and Dad before we realized the game was going to be a bust.

Go Phillies!

June flew by too quickly, and so did July. Here it is August 1st and I have only been to the pool TWICE!

Flash Back: My Birthday in May

My birthday fell on the Friday before Memorial Day this year, so Sean and I took an extended weekend trip down to Atlanta to visit with Luca and Adrienne. It was one of the best (and longest) birthday celebrations I've had in a long time.

It started early on Thursday night, the 21st, where we met up with Jolene and Zack at Bunganut Pig here at home. Nothing like having your best bud come into town for your birthday! (Actually, she was here to see her siblings graduate, but I got to steal some of her time). We hung out with Jo and Zack all night and had a great time together. I made some homemade strawberry shortcake to celebrate the unofficial start of summer. I'm not one of those people who waits for summer to come in June. No, down here we all say that summer starts on Memorial Day weekend, and so it did!

Birthday Cheers!

There's nothing like homemade whipped cream...

with a dash of vanilla flavorin'

Friday the 22nd - my actual b-day - we woke up early and headed to One Stop for breakfast. If you're ever in town, you have to go to One Stop, not just for the good home-cooked food, but also for the experience...and the fried pies. I think it's one of the few places left on earth where they actually say, (as they did when we were there) "Oh, we don't take credit cards but you can just bring us back some cash later, hon." You'll find the "old" Franklin here in this dated cafe - preachers, lawyers, sheriffs - just making slow conversation over some eggs and coffee.

Dad met us at the One Stop that morning so we could borrow his truck (or luxury SUV, if you want to get all technical) for the weekend. We thought the extra room might come in handy for our trip to IKEA...and it most definitely did!

The One Stop

The mini-road trip got off to a misguided start when Sean took the wrong interstate! We made it almost to Alabama before I realized we were heading South rather than due East. But once we got on the right path, it was smooth sailing from there on out. Luca and Adrienne were great hosts and showed us all of the swanky hot spots in the city. First up: some really cool bar where i had the most delicious beer I've ever tried. Sadly, I have the most pitiful short term memory and I can't even begin to name the bar or the beer. But trust me, it was great! From there we headed to (again, forgot the name) a really cute & affordable taco bar for dinner. And as if my birthday wasn't already great, I received some exciting news from work which made my day 1000 times better. I felt like I had won the lottery, which is how everyone should feel on their birthday! The big to-do of Day 1 in Atlanta was the Braves game. We arrived there via train, via Atlanta Underground, via shuttle. I loved pretending to be such a city dweller for the night! (Except for the Underground part...that was gross! but I'm glad I at least got to see it once.)

Sean and me at our first baseball game of the summer

"Poor wittle Bwaves can't make a wittle home wun"

The Braves game would've been a complete bust (score 0:0 in the 7th inning), but I made friends with this hilarious chubby kid behind us, and he had us cracking up. My favorite line was him screaming to our seat neighbors, "HEY LOSERS! WE'RE GOING TO DO THE WAVE!" Dear Braves, when you're outshined by a fat 10 year old trying to do the wave, you may need to reconsider your franchise.

That night after we bailed on the game, Adrienne served a delicious strawberry birthday cake made with grand marnier, which just so happens to be one of my favorite flavors in the whole world! (besides Dr. Pepper) Thank you Adrienne!

The next day was spent strolling through cute neighborhoods and doing a little shopping. Luca couldn't stop raving about this authenic Italian pizzaria called Fritti because, well...he's Italian. So that's where we chose to eat lunch, and Luca does not disappoint, folks. Not only does Fritti's pizza taste OHMYGODAMAZING, but they also spell everything correctly on their real Italian menu. Also, nothing is served with Alfredo sauce because neither Alfredo nor his dumb sauce exist in Italy. If I remember hard enough, I can still taste that amazing pizza in my mouth. I'm not kidding...if I ever get pregnant and start craving pizza, I would totally make Sean drive 4 hours so we could eat at Fritti. On second thought, maybe we would just make Luca and Adrienne meet us half way in Chattanooga.

Anyway, during our day of neighborhood hopping, we stopped in East Atlanta to visit a music shop. This is where I spotted my dead cat's twin. It was a little freaky.

This is what my dead cat Delta would look like...

if Amanda hadn't run over her in the driveway!

Saturday night, as if we hadn't had our fill of delicious food, Sean and I went to a tapas restaurant called Pura Vida for dinner. It started raining cats and dogs about the time we went to leave, so went stayed put and grabbed a seat at the bar. The bartender recommended one of their signature drinks, a pisco sour, and we were instantly hooked.

Sunday, our last day, was spent at IKEA where we racked up on tons of furniture and decorations for the new house. Five hours of wandering through that place made my knees hurt and I was hungry and cranky...very similar to being at an amusement park, except without that dizzy, barfy feeling.

Luca and Adrienne, thanks again for a great weekend vacation! I only wish we had something similar to offer you when you come up here. Instead, we're just a bunch of bad-driving suburban yuppies who enjoy songs like "Boom Boom Pow." Sorry.

pomp and circumstance...and lots of wine for me!

I won't post the sappy letter I wrote her, cause she'd prbably be mad at me...but I am proud of my sister. I know she's bound for great things. She's fearless, brilliant, driven, tallented, etc. I can't say enough good things about her (...except for that she has a messy room). Congratulations on graduating, Amanda!!!

Last month we celebrated her accomplishment by having a party. Despite the pouring down rain, all of our best friends and family arrived to join us for some food, music and all-around good fun. Big thanks to Wanda Rockstar for coordinating the whole thing, Fred & Linda for their awesomely huge party tent, and Sean, Dad and others for putting the tent up in the rain.

Sisters

The Band (actually, just Dad, Woody & Wanda pickin')

Stace and Sean having a good time


Stacey and Dad

Sean and my brother Trey

Sue, Janice, Amanda and Mom

My cousin Emily and Aunt Lee - precious!

Nonnie and Mimi - the grandmothers together again

Birds of a feather...

And here's the video related to the previous post (*you may need to squint):

Interracial Bird Couple

Being from the South, I guess it won't surprise any of you that my older relatives tend to be...well, how shall we say it?...racist. No need to sugar coat it. They would deny it to your face, probably...but they are racist nonetheless. I think over the years, the great strides our society has made to overcome racism has sadly only taught those older family members to keep it to themselves. They know it's not socially acceptable to use certain words or share certain opinions out in the open. It's not a topic we ever discuss in depth, but every now and again they'll make an inappropriate comment. Don't think I'm being all high and mighty - I've been guilty of it, too. I think EVERYONE (except for Jesus, maybe) has room for improvement when it comes to acceptance of ANY kind, myself included.

I remember a long time ago...probably 15 years ago...one of my grandmothers telling me that she didn't approve of interracial couples. She said to me, "Black birds only go with black birds, red birds only go with red birds, and white people should only go with white people because that's the way God intended." But even at a young age I just couldn't buy her logic. I don't know why, but that ignorat anaolgy has always stuck with me, and I still hate it to this day.

If I would've been more mature...if I would've had the words or the guts to argue with her, I would've said simply this: Grandma, do we have to do everything birds do? Did God intend for us to act like birds? Birds lay eggs, and we bear children. We raise children, we love them and nuture them. We teach them to be professionals, doctors, musicians, artists, lovers & haters, fighters & peackeeprs. Birds eat seeds and worms, but we feed our children not only with food but through their hearts and minds. We as humans are so much more developed than birds. So, why then, is it so impossible for you to accept that humans can love other humans regardless of their color?

What is color anyway?

Oh, it makes me so angry to remember that stuipd bird analogy.

Anyway, I started thinking about the birds and racism recently because I believe I witnessed something truly amazing. We have a bird feeder out back that's frequented by an array of birds. My favorite is the cardinal because he's so vibrant and beautiful. Every now and then, if we're lucky, we can spot a blue jay, but he never sits still long enough to eat at the feeder. Sunday while I was cleaning I spotted some birds at the feeder and stopped to watch them. I noticed that Mr. Cardinal was feeding another bird. Yes, feeding it right there on our patio. You might assume that it was his chick, but no...this bird appears to be almost full-size. It can fly, and I definitely don't think it's a baby bird. This bird is also NOT a cardinal. It's gray and kind of stuipd looking for a bird. And no, it's not the female cardinal. I know what she looks like, and this ain't her. This cardinal is feeding and presumably taking care of another bird from a difference "race." Sean, Amanda and I have now seen the 2 mismatched birds every day this week. We started referring to them as the interracial bird couple because it's so bizarre to watch! Sean was able to capture the weird feeding ritual on video, which I plan on posting ASAP.

SO, AH-HA GRANDMA. TAKE YOUR STUIPD BIRD LOGIC AND SHOVE IT. BIRDS CAN LOVE OTHER BIRDS OF A DIFFERENT COLOR!!!!!