The Brookses go to Nashville

Jake and I celebrated our two year anniversary a few weeks ago! So many of our friends have sung Nashville's praises, so we decided to take a little trip down to Tennessee for our anniversary. We loved it! It was a music lover's dream. So much history to see at the Ryman, tons of record shops (Jack White's Third Man Records!), and live music everywhere you go. Seriously though, we walked around at 3:00 on a Tuesday and heard many places with bands playing. 

The highlight of our trip actually happened on our anniversary. We went to Prince's Hot Chicken for lunch. It was an...interesting place. However, their chicken was really amazing. While waiting for our food, we met Brian. He is a music producer and told us all of these places in Nashville we should check out. He even invited us to see him play in a band that night at The 5 Spot. It is a great hole-in-the-wall place that was featured in the show Nashville!

The band was great and we chatted with Brian after his set about our upcoming days in Nashville  and what we were going to do. It was so fun getting to know someone from the area and trying something a little out of our comfort zone. Sometimes those circumstances make for the best memories I think.

It was a wonderful start to a great vacation!

First anniversary: Louisville Restaurants

Well here's the thing...

The bulk of our Louisville trip completely revolved around food. Seriously. There are some wonderful, creative restaurants and coffee shops in Louisville, and we visited quite a few. 

Here's Jake and Kik's list of restaurants to visit in Louisville. Enjoy some instagram pictures from our trip as you read.

Harvest prides itself in only buying produce and meat from a 100-mile radius around Louisville. They even have portraits of their local farmers decorating their walls. We liked the squash hummus.

 Please and Thank You is a coffee shop whose slogan is "Coffee, Treats, Records." They even had records playing as we drank our coffee. This was our kind of place. Can you open one in Morristown, please and thank you? :)

 Oh, Hillbilly Tea. We loved you the most (we went back twice). Hillbilly Tea is a "tea cafe" serving southern comfort food. The decor was full of mason jars, wooden crates, old benches, and pieces of wood used as serving trays. I want to be friends with everyone who works here.

 

Last but not least, The Mayan Cafe serves authentic Mayan-inspired dishes. I had a black bean, egg, mole combo that reminded me of my trip to Guatemala a few year ago. Our favorite (and their specialty) were the lima beans. Weird, I know, but trust me. They are good.

Well now I'm hungry. Ready to head back!

First anniversary: Our hotel

Jake and I stayed at The Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville while on our little trip. As we checked in, they asked if we were there for any special reason. We told them that we were there on our first anniversary, and they said they would see if they could give us an upgrade. We thought, "Sweet! Maybe we'll get a better view!" 

Well, we got that, and then some! We walked into our room and ran into our "exercise room," followed by a kitchen, dining room, computer room, two bedrooms, and an enormous balcony overlooking the Ohio River. Holy crap, they gave us an apartment! I was excited to stay in a fancy-schmancy hotel, but this was just ridiculous. Needless to say, we did not want to leave!

We don't even know what this room was for!

First anniversary vacation

Last week, Jake and I took a little mini vacation to Louisville, KY to celebrate our first anniversary. On the way to Louisville, we stopped in Starlight, IN to visit Huber's Orchard. Jake grew up in the area, so he has been to Huber's many times (he even had his prom there!), but it was my first time. We took a tractor ride to pick out pumpkins, we picked apples straight from the tree, bought cider, and really enjoyed a nice fall day together. Great start to our trip and anniversary!

First Anniversary

Last Monday was the husband and my first anniversary. I can't believe it's already been a year! So many memories have been made and I am really looking forward to many many more years like this one. I am one blessed girl to have this guy in my life. Happy anniversary, husband!

And for old time's sake, here's what we were up to a year ago on October 15th. 

Jake and Kik's Wedding (First Draft) from Justin Ridge on Vimeo.

Six Months

It's hard to believe, but Jake and I celebrated our six month anniversary last week. We didn't really do anything on the day (we were with ten teenagers on a weekend mission trip), but we did look back on the past six months and realized how very fast it's gone. I absolutely love being married to him. I am looking forward to celebrating many many more milestones like this one.

In honor of the occasion, here are a few (ok, more than a few) of my favorite shots from our wedding. What an awesome day to look back on. Jenn from LuvBug Photo did a wonderful job.  Plus, our wedding is ALL OVER her portfolio, so take a look. :)