Taco Mamacita

Yesterday Mike and I went for a date day after we returned from seeing my family out of town. We had originally wanted to go see Bridesmaids on Friday but we knew that we didn't want to fight the Sold Out lines so we opted to wait until Sunday. We also decided to branch out and try a new restaurant here in Nashville. We've only been here 6 weeks but that's enough time for us to find our routine and get a little stuck. Instead, we've decided to venture to places we haven't been to give all you honeybees a look at life in Nashville! (And I know some of you live here in Nashville... let a girl know! Let's grab coffee or chit chat or something! Seriously. I'm awkward and shy so this is rare! ha)

Anyway, we decided on Taco Mamacita in Edgehill Village, just half a block down from where I get tattooed. We've seen it tons but never dipped in for a bite but we're glad we did because it was delicious! Mike and I both had the Enchiladas Suizas, his with tomatillo sauce and mine with salsa. He also opted for green chile rice and I went a totally unexpected route for myself, sweet potato fries. Pretty sure it was some of the best food I've eaten so kudos to Taco Mamacita! 

The whole interior of TM is really neat. Reclaimed wooden doors holding various light fixtures from the ceiling, old cow bells that would make Christopher Walken jealous, and an industrious open space that makes us feel right at home. (Since moving into this loft, I've become obsessed with exposed brick and rafters/pipes! Love!) It's definitely worth a visit if you live in Nashville or are visiting! 

Marshalls dress, Forever 21 cardigan, Thrifted belt, Thrifted flats, Michael Kors Gansevoort bag gifted from Mike, hive+honey lace fascinator, Shane Co. green sapphire necklace gifted from parents

We walked back to the car and set sail for the 100 Oaks area so we could go see our movie at the Regal 27. It's such a neat movie theater. Kind of over the top on the outside as you drive by. The entire thing is outlined in neon. You definitely can't miss it! We were really excited to see Bridesmaids because I love love love Kristin Wiig and Maya Rudolph. But I have to admit, Melissa McCarthy was totally the cherry on top of that movie masterpiece! If you haven't seen it, it comes highly recommended from the both of us. When does Judd Apatow ever do wrong?!

Have you seen Bridesmaids yet? or have you ever been to Taco Mamacita?

*First photo via Katelin Taylor // Last two photos via Envyr on Flickr (gorgeous Nashville photos!)

Spirit of Nashville

Today is the one year anniversary of the floods. Thinking about it still makes me cry, but what a wonderful year it's been since! I know I'm not only speaking for myself when I say that it's molded me in a stronger person and it's put a lot of things into perspective. Spirit of Nashville released a new limited edition print to commemorate the anniversary and I was quick to snatch it up. I also purchased one of the two original prints from last year. They're a nice, big 18" x 24" so I can't wait to go pick them up and frame them for our new home. I love my city and the artwork is truly stunning. I think they symbolize the most beautiful part of Nashville.

As I said, they're limited-edition so if you're interested in purchasing your own, visit Spirit of Nashville and order! $30 of the $35 price goes to flood relief so it's supporting a good cause! Even if you're not interested in the flood prints, Spirit of Nashville has oh so many other things! Mugs, tees, postcards galore! From the Bluebird Cafe to the Opry. If you know a Nashville fan, I urge you to check it out!

Movin' On Up!

If you follow me on Twitter or Tumblr, then chances are likely that you know we have decided to not move to Wilmington, North Carolina. ::breathe:: Okay, it's not because we don't love it, and it's not because it's anything shy of the perfect little town, but on our most recent trip earlier this month we realized just how many independent boutiques already exist. Two of them were identical to the shop I hope to open, and there were several others I didn't get to go into. So while the demographic was awesome, it's just not a good business plan to go into a flooded market and try to survive. Upon our initial heartbreak, we thought about other places that my shop might flourish. Then I realized how much I missed living in Franklin. I was tired of seeing the same faces and same places always, but I've officially been living outside of Franklin for 11 months (whoa!). I miss it. I do. Immediately we started researching houses and rental properties to move back. Downtown Franklin has the perfect area for a boutique, and there isn't anything quite like it existing already. The only problem: rent is insanely expensive! Also, Franklinites tend to be rather snoody and conservative. (Read: very snooty!) Still, they have money to burn. Of course I'm not thinking of a brick and mortar for several years, but I felt inspired by the area so we've opted to stay put a little while longer. Maybe for good, maybe for a year or so. Who knows!

We wanted to live in downtown Franklin, the Belmont area of Nashville, or East Nashville, but everything that came up was a bust. We walked around homes, called and emailed tons of people, and nothing worked out. But apparently my relentless internet scouring paid off! I found a factory-converted-loft in downtown Nashville up for rent! The timing was perfect. The price was perfect. And it was just neat! I immediately emailed the lady, set up an appointment for the next day (yesterday) and Mike fell in love with it right away. We drove up to Nashville yesterday for the day. We viewed a home in East Nash and it was just... awful. Then we headed over to the loft. We were early so we ran into a gal that would be our neighbor so she talked to us, showed us around, took us down to the loft available and the gal that was living there invited us in, told us everything there was to know about it and we were SOLD. We loved it. Other people showed up to see the place and that's when we knew we had to make a decision fast. Mike practically met the landlord at her car when she pulled up! We definitely weighed the pros and cons, and while it was a whole month earlier than we had anticipated moving, we put in our application because it was too good to pass up.

We spent the rest of the evening at Merissa and JT's house, and then we stopped by Bryan's work in Franklin on the way home. We woke up this morning to good news: The loft is ours! We go sign the lease tomorrow (my birthday!) and then move in this weekend! We're very excited and glad to have found something that appeals to us, in our price range, in a new part of town. I'll definitely share more photos as we decorate and such, but the next week will probably be just as hectic as this past one, even though I didn't even do anything! Please hold tight!

Here are a few listing photos of the space! The curtains on the lofted bed are my favorite! The porch you see is a community porch (there are 8 lofts in the building) and everyone is very much an artist. There are painters, guitar restorers, woodworkers, etc! It's like the coolest artist community ever and Mike and I are so excited to move in! The gal above us has her Masters in Sustainability and she rips old wood from barns and builds tables and mosaic countertops... all that jazz! As for the loft, we'll be decorating in a much different manner, but the best part: it is SO twinkle-light friendly! My dreams are coming true! I can't wait to go get the keys tomorrow! Hooray! Happy birthday me! :P

(the photos are awful listing quality, i apologize!)

Thanks to everyone who kept their fingers crossed for us! xo

Nashville Flood 2010

Today we went back to Franklin with the Jeep and trailer so that we could potentially salvage some of our belongings. Mike's dad accompanied us. The water in the house, at it's height, was up to my shoulders. Luckily it had receded to about my stomach by the time we arrived. It went down another 6-8 inches in these pictures right before we left. I was able to get some clothes from my closet, a few books and movies. We also got the dishes.

However, everything we had just bought 1 day or 2 prior to the flood, was gone. Including all of our new bedding. We lost all 4 beds in the house, most likely our brand new couch, my Wacom tablet, some Apple stuff, and this and that. I think what hurt me the most was the dresser and mirror in our bedroom that my mother had bought me for moving out of the house. It had collapsed in our bedroom and was fully submerged. Our bedroom was the worst of everyones. Barely anything could be taken from it.

Elle's dad brought his boat from Murfreesboro and we were able to hand things out the window and he brought them to the Jeep. (Yes, the water was still that high.)

Our shed tipped over and our bikes were all inside. It hurts a lot to know we lost those, too. Mike and I worked on that sweet yellow bike for a while. It's just hard to see your life reduced down to a small pile of things.

Granted, I KNOW they're only materialistic things. I know they can be replaced. And believe me, we're counting our lucky stars that we're alive and well, and we have a cozy roof over our head and fresh meals being prepared by my wonderful parents. But it's so so so hard, still.

I bawled like a baby on the front porch before even going in. And tonight after we had returned to Hohenwald, I was crying in the yard as we were unloading things while someone campaigning came up. He said we should just be grateful that we're okay... and we are. SO grateful. But hearing that fifteen hundred times a day from people who haven't experienced it doesn't settle our spirits. I'm in no way trying to be selfish... it's just that we have lost EVERYTHING. Like so many people in our town and Nashville. and it's just unfathomable to think about where to start.

However, I remain 100% confident that we WILL get through this. We are ready to start a fresh, new life. We are ready to make this merely a memory. We're trying to not dwell on disaster.

There are more photos at my FLICKR. Click HERE to see the set. We're going to try to go back tomorrow if the water has gone down and I'll have more photos then, too.

Please continue to pray for our neighbors. It's such a scary thing to experience.

All of your emails have been what has gotten me through the days. You're all so so so incredibly sweet and I'm so humbled by all of this. You guys are keeping me strong.

I've been asked about penpals and things of that nature... my PO Box is fully intact... I think.. But I won't be able to check it for days/weeks at a time. I will be permanently residing at my parents' house until NYC so if you'd like to be penpals or anything, just send them to:

Kaelah Bee

649 Thomas Avenue

Hohenwald, TN 38462

USA

Thank you all again. So much. This hasn't been easy but you're making it so much more bearable.

xoxo

And Friday I'm in Love...

Let's start this post with some not-so-appropriate advertising... This window covering place legitimately thought this was a good idea. We saw it at my bank and we couldn't help but laugh. WTF?!?! THAT IS A DECAL OF A LITTLE KID IN THE BACK OF A VAN! So wrong on so many levels. But hilarious.

Last night we stayed up pretty late watching season 1 of How I Met Your Mother (We are TV-on-DVD freaks). We woke up at 9am and got ready to head out and meet Toby (Mike's son) and Toby's mom, Sarah, at Centennial Park. She brought along two other friends and we sat and played with Toby for a while. Mike saw him walk for the first time and he even exclaimed "Dada!" and walked to him. It was the most precious thing. It really makes me think when I see Mike with Toby... You can see the love just pour out from him for that child. It breaks my heart when he has to leave him but I'm excited that we'll be picking him up Sunday to go to a little get-together with Mike's extended family. I'm excited to have the little guy around more soon. :)

After leaving the park a bit after 12, we headed over to the Frist Museum to meet Kayce and Merissa. We all strolled through a few of the exhibits, took notes, and headed out after to get some food. After many many failed attempts at parking in West End and then Hillsboro Village, we FINALLY ventured to 12th south and ate at 12th South Taproom. I had some huge stuffed Veggie Quesadilla with squash, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms... veggies galore! I barely ate half of it. Mike had a Veggie Sandwich. Kayce and Merissa went their way and we went ours. We came home and packed up some stuff and then I shipped 8 packages at the post office. If you bought anything from me in the past 2 days, it's shipped! We grabbed Ivey Cake cupcakes and came home. He's been playing a video game and I've been relaxing. I'm about to leave for work. bluh!

The U-Ram Choe exhibit at the Frist was incredible! Oh my stars, it blew me away! So serene but mechanical and robotic. Truly awesome. You should all go check it out! Here's the Frist page for it.

Anyway, I'll leave you with some words...

Wake up. Get out of bed and stop hiding under the duvet, no matter how warm it is. You will get nothing accomplished. Put some clothes on. Wear the red tights with the mustard yellow shoes. Arrange the 3 day old curls in your hair. Do something nice for yourself today. Get pretty for absolutely no reason other than to prove to yourself that you’re not worthless and sloven. Go to your favorite record store and listen to the old man’s playlist that usually consists of Howlin’ Wolf and strange 60s Middle Eastern music. Buy yourself your favorite garlic and tomato burrito, and make sure you get extra guacamole. Drive past Emily Dickinson’s house and imagine the lack of life she had. Spend the extra money on your favorite art magazine and plan a trip to Sweden in your head. Sing your favorite songs in your car. Make a pit stop to the reservoir. Collect the last leaves from autumn. Watch the sun sink into the horizon.

Don’t stare at your phone and wait for it to vibrate. Don’t mope. Don’t think about the only men in your life that have belittled you this week. Don’t sit. Don’t wait. Don’t look at the time that you’ve always set to three hours behind. Don’t delay your life even though someone has attempted to delay yours.