Home Cookin' & Home Lookin'

This morning I visited Grace Community church. I really enjoyed it, although the pastor was gone on vacation (that seems to be my constant luck when I visit a church), so I'll visit again once he returns. I will say that their church building is absolutely beautiful with the stack-stone pillars and exposed beam ceilings....very craftsman style and very warm & inviting. Don't worry, I won't choose a church based on the structure, I just couldn't help but admire it. :)

After church I met one of my previous co-workers (who is much more a friend than a co-worker) for lunch at Barbara's. I have to admit that as much as I love being from the midwest (don't even get me started on how amazing the meat is), southern cookin' is mmm, mmm good! Barbara's is a no-frills restaurant (pretty much just an old house), but the food makes up for the lack of frills for sure. I don't know that anyone could make a better yeast roll...or sweet tea...

Moving on before I get hungry...

After lunch we started our Tour of Historic Homes (and I forgot my camera....darn it!). I love touring homes. Maybe I'm just nosy, but I love seeing the interiors of other people's houses - checking out the floor plans, decorating ideas, small details, big details...you name it. This tour was extra fun because all of the homes are historic, but some should have maybe veered from the "original" decor and updated it just even a tiny bit. We saw some seriously awful wallpaper. I'm sorry, I don't care if it's an exact reproduction. They didn't have very many options to choose from back then. Take advantage of that now. Just sayin'. But for every house that was true to its original form, there were several that had kept the history (original hardwoods, doors, trimwork, etc.) and had added modern touches (modern kitchen that kept the vintage feel, updated bathrooms, modern wall colors/coverings). We saw some gorgeous homes. One house even had a canon ball that had gone through the kitchen wall during the Battle of Franklin. Pretty cool!

When we'd finished the tour, I headed home to change and quickly made my way over to the sand volleyball courts. We played for almost 4 hours and even though it was so incredibly fun, it was huuuumid! There was absolutely no breeze to be found whatsoever, and between the humidity and the sand and the sweat...well, let's just say you probably wouldn't have wanted to smell us after all that :). We had some fantastic games and some laughable ones. It was a ton of fun and if my knees were not completely raw and oozing (TMI...sorry), I'd wish we were still out there playing. Ah well, probably best I head to bed and get ready for my first full week at the new job. I'll let you know how it goes!