Just a few more days...

These little gems have been staring at me for weeks. I bought them at Goodwill this summer and have been looking forward to spinning them on our record player ever since. However, I have a strict no-Christmas-music-before-Thanksgiving rule. You have to give each holiday its own time, right? I'll make sure to enjoy this next week of family and turkey, then Elvis, Dean, and I will be singing the Christmas tunes at the Brooks household. Can't wait!

South Bend Visit

This past weekend, Jake and I ventured up north to South Bend to visit our good friend James. I've been friends with James for over eight years, but have never made the trip up to his neck of the woods. It was past due! Jake and I really liked South Bend. Lots of neat restaurants, pubs, and shops. Of course we had to get in a visit to Notre Dame as well. I loved seeing James in his element and letting him be our guide for a weekend. Thanks for letting us crash at your place, Jamesus! We'll be back soon!

 

"Thursday" Music Post

I'm hoping this is being written so early in the morning, most of you will think this was written/posted on Thursday.  I mean... it WAS posted on Thursday.  This IS a Thursday music post after all...

This time I want to talk about a band I heard about only a few days ago.  I listen to the Relevant Magazine podcast every week, and every now and then they'll interview a band.  The most recent podcast featured the band Purity Ring.  They're on the electronica side of the spectrum, but their lead singer, Megan James, really makes it stand out among the rest as something truly unique.  It just "feels" good to listen to.  You could sit here and listen to me talk about them, or I could just have you listen to them.  Enjoy!

Bits and Pieces

 Record shopping with Mom and Dad/ Grandpa's 91st birthday

Baking bread/ Making Christmas wreaths

Last of the fall leaves/ Kels and Dav's engagement photos

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!