The Wileys do Memphis

It’ll be a long while before another weekend measures up to this past one. (Counting down to Memorial Day…) The most adorable parents from Ohio made a long road trip to my neck of the woods to visit the most adorable boyfriend in Memphis.

One thing I love most about Memphis is experiencing it like a tourist would. There’s SO much to do, see, eat, and drink. And sometimes, just sometimes, the weather cooperates.

We of course visited the Memphis Farmers Market (OF COURSE!) to pick up meat for our Sunday burger dinner. I got me some blueberry jelly and coffee, too!

Aren’t they precious?

We had a big touristy day planned, so I didn’t buy these flowers.

My parents were there too! They met the Wileys for the first time, and I’m pretty sure they will be best friends for life.

We all grabbed a late breakfast (brunch, if you will) at the Arcade as I thought to myself, “I could do this forever.” (Hang out with all of them, I mean.)

From there, the Wileys and I did a bunch of fun, downtowny things, including Beale, beer on Beale, bars on Beale, and the Peabody! This little duck wasn’t feeling well:

We walked around (including the Mud Island Riverwalk) until dinner at Rendezvous. Guess what I learned: people from Ohio aren’t as crazy about sausage and cheese plates as people in Memphis! They hadn’t really seen that before! More sausage and cheese for me!

And, later that night (and all throughout the weekend), we played a little addictive card game that NO Memphians know about: euchre. I’m gettin’ really good, y’all.

Sunday, we drove around, had a chilly picnic at Shelby Farms, and did the burger thing with my parents. We taught my parents how to play euchre. Wiley/Walker bonding at its finest!

They love Memphis!

On Monday, they went to Graceland while I worked, but we got a Central BBQ lunch, and Wiley enjoyed a sandwich:

It was pretty bittersweet when his parents left the next day. Even more bitter was when I dropped Wiley off at the airport for his month-long business trip to Cali. Ah, just like lonely old times! On the plus side, we have an Ohio trip to look forward to for Memorial Day.

Only one way to cope with the lonely: comfort cupcakes!

My 4 things

This week will be a good week. I want to:

1. Buy a picnic blanket. Wishing I could afford this one, but settling for this one!
(Two weeks ago, the boyfriend, the mom, the dog, and I enjoyed a picnic at Shelby Farms. The first thing mom said when she saw out picnic getup: “You’re using a bath towel as a picnic blanket?!” She was right. Embarrassing!)

2. Run 3 times. I’m working my way through the whole Couch to 5K thing, and I don’t despise running as much as I did 3 weeks ago!

3. Make my apartment spotless. This isn’t exactly specific, but Wiley’s parents are coming in town from Ohio this week (yay!) so I gotta impress.

4. Um, drink some wine! I was to fill the empty wine rack, then work on emptying it again.

Ready, set, go!

Best frienderly advice

I love eating dinner with the bff Megan because our conversations are equal parts gossip and profound thoughts. First, I’m a huge gossiper. I love scoop. I love hearing about people I haven’t seen in years. I love telling stories. Bring on the juice. Honestly? I can’t keep a secret. If you ask me to keep a secret, I will probably tell at least two people who will promise to me that they can keep secrets, and they’re probably lying.

Megan and I can plan to have a quick bite, only to be sitting at Half Shell 3 hours later, quite obviously making the server impatient (don’t worry – we’re good tippers), talking and wondering about all sorts of things – funny, scary, awkward, serious things.

She give the most blunt advice. My tendency to love scoop so much can lead to obsessive actions and feelings. Jealousy, for example. Is there a situation playing out on facebook that irks me to my very core? Stop looking, she says. Are my emotions taking over and the smallest thing ever is interrupting my ability to function? Ignore, and focus. Does someone suck? Cut them out of your life.

So wise.

To Market, to Market, to run a 5k

Whoa! It’s so pretty outside!

Everyone’s buzzing about this weekend, which has HUGE potential. The only thing on my mind right now is the terrifying fact that I signed up for a 5k (The Farmers Market Crop Hop 5k, to be exact), and I still haven’t actually walked that far since… anyway.

I will do pretty much anything that benefits the Market. I’ve decided that coming in last isn’t THAT embarrassing, and there’s beer at the finish line! Beer at 9 am (wait, how long does a 5k take?) will make it all worth it.  

On impending doom

I’m a generally happy person, but there’s an inevitable realization each Sunday evening that the weekend is basically over and nothing but the impending doom of Monday will follow. I think it stems from the high school days after slacking off and napping all weekend and avoiding the time-entensive homework/studying that comes with the private all girls college prep education. I really do put the “pro” in “procrastination,” and even though I’m two years out of grad school, there’s a weekly mild panic attack as soon as the sun goes down (and sometimes way earlier) on Sunday, that the cool and carefree weekend feeling is lost and gone forever. No more day drinking on a patio for 5 days? How will I cope?

I don’t wallow for TOO terribly long, and I’m actually pretty chipper on Monday mornings once I get going. It has become more exhilarating to start productively crossing things off the to-do list, especially more so after finally discovering and utilizing the task tab in gmail… genius!

One thing, though, to lessen the impending doom panic on Sunday is to make a mental list: 4 random things you want to do this week. Not the average chore-type stuff, but a mix of things you really should do (donate the mound of clothes sitting on my kitchen table, run 5 miles), stuff you really want to do (see a movie, eat a steak), or stuff you want to buy (I need an adorable cooler for the upcoming pool season, I also want to treat myself to my favorite face cream.)

Even if you don’t complete your list (but really, at least try), it’s still fun to think about all you could accomplish and all the fun ways to spend your money instead of thinking that you want to literally become a part of your couch and avoid reality for the next 5 days.

Whether the weather is cold…

Spring has sprung, folks, but you could have fooled me. I still have flannel sheets on my bed, and for once, it’s not because I’m too lazy to switch them. It’s slightly (sometimes very) chilly, and I’m seriously yearning for some patio weather. (Read: day drinking)

Speaking of day drinking, I spent a week in Florida with the fam and the boyfriend! It was cold in Destin, too, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying Summer Beer all week. Have you heard of Summer Beer? I’m convinced that my mom is the creator of this delicious bev. It’s actually the only recipe my mom has ever passed down to me.

Thanks, Ma!

Summer Beer =
1 can of frozen pink lemonade
1 can of vodka
4 beers! Something light and summery
1 lime for squeezin’

Find a beach/pool/patio/couch/tub/festival/rooftop and enjoy!

Songs so good you’ll cry (if you’re me)

This song is insanely beautiful.