We Were Walking In Memphis

Yours Truly is happy to report that Memphis survived the weekend visit of the Shertown Girls of 84!! What a great time we had too. It started out with breakfast and mimosa's at the Casa Del West - Memphis Style on Friday morning. After getting everyone unpacked and settled in, we decided to journey downtown so the Girls could see the new Casa Del West - Downtown! It was a drizzly, dreary and COLD day but we bundled up and headed out!

We stopped in at my favorite restaurant, S.O.B. (South of Beale) for some lunch and libations!  We ordered several appetizers and they were all SO GOOD!!!  We had cajun potatoes with house made dip; hummus with roasted tomatoes, pickled peppers, artichoke hearts and olives; fried avocados with olive tapenade and balsamic cream sauce; gumbo with crawfish, andouille, and jasmine rice; potato pancakes; SOB Bar Pie with house made mozzarella, basil, and roasted tomatoes. Our drink selection included a Sticki Palmer with Stoli honey vodka, iced tea, and lemonade; a French Kiss with champagne, St. Germain, Stirrings pomegranate, and club soda; a salted karmel martini and a dirty martini champagne.  We left full and happy for sure!

We headed back to the house and spent the evening there.  My Mtown Girls, Teressa & Clare, came over so they could meet the Shertown Girls and we had a BLAST!!!!  Lots of much needed laughter indeed!!!  Saturday dawned bright and sunny and Tonya, Angie and I headed to the nail spa for a much needed pedicure.  Karen and Laura met us afterwards for a little shopping and then we had lunch at Newk's. 

Saturday evening was reserved for Beale Street!!  We started at B.B. King's and listened to a very talented young man named  Will Tucker.  From there, we pretty much made the circuit!  My personal favorite was Wet Willies's, which is where I made my Memphis debut as the tambourine player for Patty Harper & Faultline, the awesome band playing there! 

Sunday morning came way to soon and the girls loaded up and headed back to Shertown bright and early.  My heart was so happy to see them arrive and so sad to see those taillights on Big Red turn the corner!  But, I know I'll see them soon as I have a trip home scheduled for December 5.  Until next time, hug and love those you are with because you never know when you might see them again!  As always - be nice to others!  TaTa for now!  Love, Yours Truly

Shertown Girls of 84 ...Heading to M-Town!!

Yours Truly has been having a slow few weeks compared to recent history!  But, I am MOST excited to report that I'm going to have visitors this weekend!  Yes, The Shertown Girls of 84 are loading up and heading to Memphis this Thursday after they all get off work!!  Does this make Yours Truly happy?  You Bet Your Sweet Bippy it does! We have not made a lot of "set in stone plans" because that's just the way we roll, but 3 of us are planning to have our tootsies pampered Friday at the Elite Nail Spa.  This is YT's favorite spa and it's just ever so nice!  I hope the girls enjoy it as much as I do!

We do plan on some major SITTING OUTSIDE ON THE PATIO time and I'm most happy to report that West FINALLY got the Bistro table out of storage!!! We are monitoring the weather because there is a possibility of rain on both Friday and Saturday....but we won't let THAT put a damper on our fun!  We are planning to head downtown and take in Beale Street and find some yummy food along the way.  I wanted to be able to show them the new Casa Del West - Downtown but we'll only be able to see the exterior.  But, don't worry because I WILL be posting pictures as soon as we are moved in and start making it our own!

It feels like it's been so much longer than 3 1/2 months since I've seen my girls...but I know once they roll in....the laughter and catching up will commence!  I'll be sure and update you on all of our shenanigans next week.  Until then, I'm just counting the days and minutes until I get to see the Girls of 84! Until then, stay happy, tell the ones you love how much you love them and be nice to others!!  Love - Yours Truly

 

Got A Condo Made of Ston-a....In Memphis!!

At long last, Yours Truly is ESTACTIC to report that she and West have found a new place to call their home!!  We'll be living in a condo in downtown Memphis....yes, where all the lights are bright!!!  We get to move in November 3rd and we are both so very excited!!

This good news also brought on a round of furniture shopping here in Bluff City yesterday.  After several stores, and as many sales people following us while claiming they'd leave us alone and let us browse, we found something that spoke to us both!  Now, West and I are pretty in tune to what the other likes and we are pretty easy shoppers, both in the furniture and the house-hunting field.  We looked at 2 condo's and immediately fell in love with the first.  The End.  We looked at furniture....casting our eyes upon a particular grouping and ....well, that was it!

Now, backing up a little before this shop-a-fest, we did squeeze in a little fun for the weekend by attending the 40th annual Pink Palace Crafts Fair.  According to their website, "The Pink Palace Museum is one of the largest facilities of its kind in the Southeast. You can walk through a replica of the first self-service grocery store in the country, Clarence Saunders' Piggly Wiggly. Explore the cultural and natural history of the Mid-South through exciting exhibits, dioramas, and audio-visuals. Trace Memphis' development from the time of Spanish explorers through the Civil War and the yellow fever epidemics. Learn from the award-winning medical exhibit how health care grew to be Memphis' largest industry."  The craft fair was quite an event, many vendors with high quality arts for sale. YT found a lovely piece of pottery to add to her collection and cannot wait to get her collection unboxed in her and West's new home!

I'm sorry to say I'm just jumping all over the page today but it was indeed a busy day. On Friday night, prior to learning that we had been granted the lease for the condo, YT was catching up on some Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy and lo and behold...he was spotlighting a funky little place....in Memphis....called SOB (South of Beale).....which happens to be ON MY NEW STREET....S. Main Street! I was so excited to hear about this little place. So, when the call came in bright and early Saturday from the lovely realtor Medley that had been helping us, well....you KNOW I was gonna drag West there for a bite to eat!!

The menu was wonderful!.A few of their specialties include their Jack and Coke Bread Pudding and popcorn that they serve while you wait...it's seasoned with brown sugar and their house Cajun spice and it's ADDICTING!! It's made in one of the old fashioned air popcorn makers, GENIUS!  YT had a wonderful breakfast burrito that was served with Gouda Grits (yes, yum!) and West had a hash dish and I must report that the man that prior to his return to Memphis wouldn't touch a grit, now orders them whenever possible!  So, he had the Gouda Grits too!  Did I mention that the libations during this brunch were $3??  $3 Mimosa's, $3 Bloody Mary's.  I decided then and there ....this is going to be my new neighborhood hang!!  Did I mention the patio seating outside?  Yep....might have to wait until Spring to enjoy that but you know I'mmaBeThere!!

So, after a day full of excitement - we made our way home for the evening and just honestly vegged the rest of the day!  Yours Truly did make a big pot of potato soup with one of the starter mixes we  bought at the craft fair...but that was the extent of the evening.

So, full of anticipation about our upcoming move, I leave you with the thoughts I always do.....be nice to each other, enjoy each day to the fullest and tell the ones you love how much you love them!!!!  Until next time, Love - Yours Truly.

Zydeco Hits Memphis!

Friday night found West and Yours Truly on the lawn of the beautiful Overton Park at the Levitt Shell.  Why, you ask?  Well, it was to enjoy the music of Lil Malcom and The Houserockers, don't ya know?  That's right.  Yours Truly experienced her first lawn concert in Memphis.  And what a glorious night to be outside it was! 

We started the evening with a cocktail and appetizer at a nice little restaurant in Midtown, Boscos Squared.  West had oven roasted shrimp while YT sampled some freshly made hummus - a combination of traditional hummus along with black bean hummus.  Both....were fabulous! 

Next, we made our way to the park.  We were meeting a friend of West's, Chip, whom he has known since college.  We made our way into the park, selected where we would set up base camp and settled in to wait for the show to begin.  The Shell is quite lovely and better yet, the shows they produce are free to the public! They do have a mission, which I was able to locate for you:

"We will build community through music and education, finding common ground for a diverse audience.  The Shell's rich musical heritage, prime location, thoughtfully renovated facility, and multi-cultural musical programming make it the ideal setting to bring the Memphis community together."  Now, if that's not a great mission, I don't know what is!

As we settled in, West was kind enough to purchase a cold beverage for YT as we thought you could not bring your own beverage of choice into the park.  Seems they have recently changed this rule, but I was able to experience another first...a nice cool refreshing sip of locally brewed beer, Ghost  River.  Yours Truly is most definitely not what I call a "foo foo beer" drinker but this was a nice pale golden ale and it was indeed very good!  As you can see...they are award winning brewers! 

Our friend Chip made it to our base camp and he was fully prepared with a nice cooler of Bud Light.  Now, that's a smart man!  And while we had grapes, cheese and crackers, he shared his Bud Light with us too! 

After a nice introduction, the band finally took the state!  And what wonderful music they did play!!  This was a band of all family members and they just plain out brought it!! By the end of the evening, they even had WEST on his feet for a little dance with Yours Truly!!

So it was another splendid evening in Memphis.   Until next time, turn up some good music, be nice to people, and tell the ones you love that ya love 'em!!!  Love, Yours Truly

Birthday Extravaganza!

Yours Truly had the MOST amazing day yesterday as I set about celebrating the day I was born!!  Yep...it was indeed my birthday.  I'd like to first and foremost thank The Madre and The Padre for that!!!  Now, on to the festivities!

The day started out on the right foot when I arrived at my desk at work and was greeted with a beautiful miniature birthday cake and a sweet card from my friend Teressa.  She has made me so thankful each day to be a part of this FedEx Freight team!  She is a sweet lady and a kindred soul!

The next part of the morning was a greeting from my sweet friend Clare who showed up with a cute birthday balloon and funny card!  I do love me a good birthday card!  I could tell that this day was just going to be getting better and better!  Clare's mind was already on where did I want to go to lunch....yep - it was looking good alright!

I received a few more cards and started getting lots of greetings via FB, text, email and phone calls!!!  I am already slipping into Princess mode, if you didn't notice before! 
We decided that Mexican food sounded bueno for lunch.  There was a group of 5 of us and we headed out to the Las Delicias Mexican Bar and Grill for some really good food!  We started out with queso and guacamole and chips.  Yours Truly had chicken taco's and rice.  It was so fresh and, well, delicias!!!  We headed back to the office and tried to stay awake the remainder of the afternoon.

West had called early and wanted to take me for birthday dinner....anywhere I wanted.  Now, the possibilities were endless it seemed but I finally decided to try a new restaurant we had seen, www.circamemphis.com.  I invited Clare to meet me right after work, since she was sweet enough to buy my lunch, and have a glass of vino on the patio while I waited for West to make our 7:00 pm dinner reservation.  The weather yesterday was absolutely glorious and the patio was an excellent idea, even if I do say so myself!  We shared a very nice cheese tray and a few glasses of vino and West showed up a little bit early!  The 3 of us sat outside and had a really nice visit and at 7:00 Clare headed home (although we invited her to stay) and we proceeded to go inside. 

This was a super nice restaurant....very classy, very swanky!  We were shown to our table and began to peruse the menu.  Let me tell you about the menu.  Being that it was evening, in a classy & swanky restaurant, you know that the lights were fairly dim.  Well, we opened up the menus and much to our delight...they were LIGHTED!!!  Yes, lighted I tell you.  Back lighting, similar to an Ipad or Kindle...so you could actually READ the menu offerings without fear of setting fire while trying to get the candle close enough to read!  It was GENIUS....honestly! 

After we calmed down enough from the excitement of the lighted menu, we made our selections.  West had a lobster & shrimp bisque for appetizer and I had bread since Clare and I had that divine cheese tray earlier.  For dinner, YT ordered one of her favorites, lamb!  It was served with a sweet potato and shitake mushroom flan.  Yes, folks...sweet potato FLAN.  It was also served with asparagus and carrots, just a beautiful plate to behold.

West surprised me and selected the black group and shrimp entree.  He typically will not eat fish unless he's caught it himself and "looked it in the eye" to see if it's healthy.  Yeah, I know.  Anyway, there he was...ordering that grouper like he'd been out to see that morning and caught it himself!!  Not only that....it was served with grits!!  Again, this is the man that claims he doesn't like grits because he isn't sure what a grit is.  Corn...it's corn....we know that and he knows that but I believe he just is trying to be difficult but that's ok...still love him!

So, we discussed out dessert options early in the ordering game with our delightful waitress Kate and she needed to know if we wanted souffle because is prepared so it's served hot and fresh as soon as your meal is finished.  Now, keep in mind at the beginning of this scrumptious feast, she asked if we were celebrating anything special and West said why yes, it's my wife's birthday.  So....Miss Kate filed that away and as we were enjoying our meal, the chef himself, John Bragg, came out of the kitchen and stopped by our table.  He inquired if ours was the birthday table, we chatted a moment and he moved on.  We had just finished eating when out came the most delightful birthday souffle I have ever laid eyes upon!  It was hot, fresh and just delicious!!  It was served with a side dish of melted, thick, rich chocolate and we were instructed to crack open the souffle and pour the chocolate inside.  It also was served with some wonderful vanilla ice cream.  Just absolutely the best dessert I have had in a long time!  Thanks to Chef John and the entire crew at Circa...it was a glorious way to end a truly spectacular birthday for Yours Truly in Memphis!

We made our way home, fat, sassy, full, happy and tired!  There were several birthday cards awaiting my arrival and to my delight several included gifts!  Let's just say...there will be more shopping in the near future!

So, the first birthday separated from my Shertown friends & family ended up being just a lovely day!!  I thank all of my M-Town girls that are becoming so dear to me and I send thanks and love to my Shertown girls who sent me such a sweet card and posted such nice notes on FB.  Thanks to my family for loving me as well.  Yours Truly is touched by the outpouring of love!  As I leave you...remember...live each day to the fullest...be nice to people and if you can't be with the ones you love, love the ones you're with!!!

Stepping Out In Tunica

Happy Sunday to you all!  Yours Truly and West have decided to skip
our usual Quest for Brunch this morning as we had quite an evening last night at Harrah's in Tunica, Mississippi.  And, BTW....I love typing Mississippi.  Yes, I do say the little saying each time I do it too...you know the one we learned in school...M-I-CROOKED LETTER-CROOKED LETTER-I-CROOKED LETTER-CROOKED LETTER-I-HUMP BACK-HUMP BACK-I (in case you had forgotten!) I did whip up a nice little omelet for myself and that was just dandy by me!

Anyway, the purpose of this little journey down SH 61 was to see Mr. Ron White at said Harrah's as an early birthday celebration for Yours Truly!  We were meeting some friends, Bobby & Leah, and I must say I was very excited as I had never been to the Harrah's in Tunica before!  And, Ron is so stinkin' hilarious I knew some good belly laughs were in store!

Now, I had to prepare for this evening so my newly found friend, Clare, met me at a cute little boutique here and helped me select a few outfits ....well, they weren't all for the evening but perhaps some pre-birthday shopping.  The shopping goddess was on my side and I found some delightful treasures!  After shopping, I went over to Clare's apartment and lounged at the pool with her, and several of her friends that I have been introduced to.  It was a very relaxing afternoon indeed.  And the weather.....Lordy but it was GLORIOUS!!!!

I headed back to the Casa Del West - Memphis Style and managed to sneak in a little nap before getting ready for the festivities.  I figured it was going to be a later night than usual.  I woke up, got dolled up and West was getting pretty dolled up too!  We jumped in the car...80's music on the radio, sun roof open and headed to Tunica!  Now, Tunica is right smack dab in the middle of what used to be just about all cotton fields.  It's a nice little drive out of Memphis and we arrived in no time.

We got there a little early so we could give Harrah's a little of our money.  Not too much....remember that shopping spree!  But, we played some slot machines, won a little, gave it back and at the end of the evening, we were about even but it was fun!  Now, did I mention we were having dinner before the show?  No?  Oh well...let me mention that we were having dinner at the Paula Deen Buffet!  My oh My....it was simply the BIGGEST buffet I had ever laid eyes on.

The line to get into Ms Deen's was pretty darn long but fortunately there was a beverage cart set up so you could imbibe in a little pre-dinner libation while waiting.  And, that line moved pretty fast to be so long.  We made the most of the time and laughed and visited with Bobby and Leah.

I cannot even begin to tell you what all was offered once we got through the line and paid and were shown to our table.  But I can tell you...it was crab legs night!!  YT can just flat out put away some crab legs!!  But, let me tell you what all I can remember about the buffet offerings:  Prime rib, baked chicken, roast beef, shrimp, crab legs, lasagna, spaghetti, chicken and rice casserole, fried catfish, mac & cheese, creamed corn, corn on the cob, green beans, sweet potatoes, new potatoes, Lima beans, grits, and on and on!!  I haven't even mentioned the dessert counter....cupcakes, cakes, pies, cobblers, and of course....Nana Puddin'!!!

By the time we had our fill, it was time to head to the event center.  This was a really nice place!  There was an opening comedian that was really good but we waited patiently and pretty soon he took the stage...Ron White!  He is a little foul mouthed....but the things he thinks of.....just too darn funny and so real!!!  We laughed so hard....I think we burned off 1/2 the calories at least from the buffet.  I'm quite sure of it!!  The show wrapped up around 11:00 and we spent a little bit longer back in the casino before heading to Valet and picking up the zoom zoom!

I must say it was just such a fun evening and I thank my beloved for treating Yours Truly to such a fun time!  I am glad that we had new friends to share it with too - thanks to Bobby and Leah!  Now, as we ease into Sunday, with a few chores under our belt, we plan on some major R & R this afternoon!  Wishing everyone a peaceful, happy Sunday and remember...stay happy, be nice to each other and always make the most of every day!  Until next time, Love Yours Truly.

Artwork in Bluff City

Once again, Yours Truly has fallen behind on her blog.  Last weekend turned out to be very nice indeed.  Friday night started out a little disappointing.  I had learned of a wine tasting at a nice steak house and had made reservations for YT and West to attend.  Alas....I totally misinterpreted the email and missed the wine tasting so we left in pursuit of dinner! 

We drove around for almost an hour....yes, I was getting a little bit more than perturbed AND hungry...and finally after several dirty looks shot in the general vicinity of my driver...we ended up at Cafe 1912.  We had been there for brunch but not dinner.  Were we in for a nice meal!! 

We started with a loaf of fabulous freshly baked bread, and we ordered a cheese and crostini appetizer.  Three types of cheese arrived, which included a blue cheese, a sheep's cheese and a delightful cinnamon goat cheese.  Next we decided on dinner.  I had a wonderfully grilled strip steak, potato gratin and salad.  Mr. West had braised short ribs with mushroom risotto.  It was a very nice meal indeed.  Dessert was the best though.  I ordered the vanilla creme brulee and West had lemon ice box pie!!!  We went home very content! 

Saturday we got up and attend the Cooper-Young art festival.  This is an area of town chock full of cool artist type folks.  There was everything from paintings to pottery to jewelry.  Of course...food and beverages were aplenty!  I was very excited that I met one of the local artists from here in Memphis, George Hunt.  I've been admiring his artwork for years.  It's beautiful....bold, vibrant, amazing!  He has created the Memphis in May posters for I don't know how many years.  ( http://www.longriver.net/hunt.html )

West bought his beloved some very pretty jewelry pieces as her birthday is right around the corner!  I even refrained from my usual fair grub suspect....the corn dog!!  We walked and took it all in and then decided to have a bite of lunch at a nice little deli, Bogie's. 

After lunch, we headed back home, changed clothes and then headed out to Olive Branch, Mississippi for our nephew Parker's 2nd birthday.  This was a fun family event held at my sister-in-law  Ronda's parent's home.  Lots of little ones running and playing and my brother-in-law Chris had smoked ribs and grilled hot dogs....and there were all the fixin's as well!  Potato salad, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese but the best thing I thought was the dish of baked beans that my mother-in-law made!  Just let me say....bacon, french fried onions and a mystery ingredient that turned out to be....CRUSHED PINEAPPLE!!!  They were just so good!!! 

We were pretty tired by the time we got home...so we just vegged the rest of the night.  Hard to believe, huh?  Saturday night and us...home?   But that's what we did!  Well, that's all for now.  But you know what to do .....keep smiling, stay happy and be nice to other people!!!