Happy Tuesday, friends! I wanted to spend today talking about the epic bloggers trip I went on last weekend. I have a lot of pictures, so I'll try to be sparing with the words; I'll jump right in!
Marilyn, Tanya, Joanne, Amy, and Maria and I met in Louisville last weekend on Friday afternoon. Mar and I left that morning and stopped to pick up Tanya along the way; our first stop was lunch at Cava!
It felt great to be reunited! We got back on the road shortly after this, and were excited to make it to Amy and Joanne at the Air BNB. Maria was the last to arrive, thanks to traffic on her drive, but the last four of us arrived within in an hour of each other.
The Air BNB that Marilyn picked for us was so charming and quaint! I loved the decor and special touches of things like the books in the fireplace. Amy and Joanne had quite the spread of food and wine waiting on us when we arrived. We sat around talking and reacquainting ourselves with each other for a long time; one thing we did that I loved was talking about the books we're currently reading and some of our favorite things, most of which were makeup related. We decided to have a late dinner eventually, but left Joanne at the house for an early bedtime; poor thing had been up since like three a.m. that morning and was exhausted.
We had dinner here, and then went back to the house for bedtime. I showered immediately and went to bed; I was up most of that night, but was ready to have some more fun on Saturday!
This was our adorable house for the weekend.
Outfit check and breakfast chatting while we waited on the others!
We shopped at this cool place called Work the Metal that was a conglomeration of things for sale. As you can clearly see, we had zero fun. We all left with souvenirs, but how fun are our Derby hats! We ran into a group of women from Texas who recognized Tanya; one of them was the wife of her dentist. How funny is that?! They were fascinated that we were bloggers. 🤣
We walked around this really cute and trendy area of Louisville; we all enjoyed seeing some of Amy's favorite spots around her town! We had cookies for lunch this day and stopped at two different spots to sample their offerings of the best cookies in the city.
I had to refuel with coffee at the first spot! My lack of sleep was catching up to me; shortly afterward we went back to the house. I laid down and took a nap for about a half hour to rest up for our fun plans that night!
Amy arranged reservations for us at Barn 8; this was an old horse barn turned farm to table restaurant on Hermitage Farm. It was gorgeous!
This wasn't the restaurant, but an actual working barn. It's funny that on this trip, we never saw the first horse! Marilyn and I talked about that this weekend; it was ironic, actually.
This was a beautiful place!
Cheers! We sat at the bar for cocktails while we waited; the man in the picture is the owner, and we got to meet him! He had on a jacket that looked like it was made from leaves. After dinner we did a nighttime art walk that was situated in the woods behind the barn, and thankfully we weren't murdered. It was a tiny bit creepy!
We went back to Amy's house and then made our way back to the house for bedtime. It was a fun day! One thing I loved about this day was seeing Amy's home and meeting her husband Tom, and famous pup, Eddie Otis. He was such a good boy, but all of us women made him a little nervous. It was a bit before he warmed up to us!
While I was on my way there Friday, I texted my ex about getting the number of John, an old friend that used to live in Memphis when I first got married. He lived here for several years before moving back to his home of Louisville; I'd lost his contact information over time, so the ex gave me his number and I reached out to him about meeting up while I was in town. He (and his lovely wife Stacy) came to pick me up early Sunday morning for breakfast. It was so good seeing them! John is one of those rare, lifelong friends who I'll always pick right back up with, no matter the time that passes or the distance we are apart. My family adopted him as their own when he lived here, so he was around for lots of birthdays and holidays; he remembers all of my sisters and their kids to this day! I think I've convinced him and Stacy to come to Memphis this summer; I'd love to show her around to all the places we used to hang out!
They dropped me back off at the house, then we all left together to meet Amy for their brunch. We went to a fun place called Biscuit Belly, and I ordered the most delicious brown sugar Frappuccino.
I *might* have taken home mine and Amy's glasses as souvenirs for Mar and me.
Such a fun morning! I loved sitting outside.
We shopped at a consignment store where I bought a new wallet and some earrings, then we went to a little boutique called A Darling State of Mind. I bought new readers while I was there, and I splurged and bought myself the most beautiful dress! It was very inexpensive considering the quality of it, and I will wear it next weekend on Mother's Day. I can't wait to show you!
We grabbed a quick lunch at this yummy restaurant, and Amy, Mar, and I enjoyed $5 margaritas. They were delicious, and the sun felt amazing! Joanne got a lot of sun on this day and looked so healthy and tan when she left to go back home Monday morning.
We split ways after this; Amy returned to her house, and we went to the river in downtown Louisville.
I'll confess that I got a little sad at this point. My ex and I had been to this exact spot two years prior to this; we had such a great time and we sat on one of the benches for a while with his arm around me. I have a picture of him kissing my cheek in this location, and I kind of got quiet when I reminisced about that trip. I miss being married and having a constant companion. This is why I'm dating! I want to find someone to hang out with on a regular basis, and see what happens as a result. I'm too young to be alone, and truthfully, when I think about my lot in life sometimes I get really pissed off. Sorry for cursing at you, but I do this sometimes now. I'll say it again: this is why I'm dating! I am too young to be alone, and I'm only 48 years old and was not the one who wanted a divorce.
Moving on...
For the rest of our time, we went back to the house and talked/snacked. I started to pack up and straighten up things in my little corner of the loft that Maria and I shared, and then we just sat around for the rest of the night. We finished up some food in the house, and I went to bed pretty early. Marilyn and I decided to leave a little early the next morning so that we could tour Churchill Downs, and I talked about that day on Friday's blog post.
Here's a link if you want to read that.
The car on the right is mine, and the other one belongs to Maria. To say that our weekend was merely fun is the understatement of the year! This will go down as one of the best trips I've ever been on; I can't wait to see them again next year. Thank you for reading my long recap! I'll see you back here tomorrow for Currently. Love to all!
Jenn ❤️🩷
