Bethany's Tales: I'm Getting Married!

I hope everyone is ready for another installment of "Bethany's Tales," as this is the most recent of my adventures.  As of 4:15 pm on November 17....G & I ARE ENGAGED!  I figured this was the best place to give everyone the lowdown on how he did it.  So enjoy The Surprise Engagement of November 2012.

On Veteran's Day, G and I spent our day off shopping at Opry Mills and visiting with his parents who were in Nashville for a conference.  Later that week he said we were going to eat with them when they headed home to East Tennessee on Saturday.  I had planned on going to a craft show during the day and promised him I would be back to my apartment in time to eat.

Saturday rolled around and for some reason, I felt like I should curl my hair...good decision.  I had invited my friend Katy to join me at the craft fair but said I had to be back by 4 to go to Edward's. Once at the craft fair, my friends and I saw just about everyone we've ever known so we had to fly through the vendors.  We saw my parents and my brother, but I thought nothing of it since my brother's girlfriend had a booth selling children's clothes.

G had been acting like a time nazi all day, which is typically not his style.  For those who know me, you know I'm not tied to my watch...and when I get with Katy you can just expect us to be late.  I'd told her how G was being a crazy person about picking me up a 4 to eat so we both knew when we had to be at my apartment before he had a conniption.  So at the stroke of 3:50 we tore ourselves away.

When we arrive at my apartment, G steps out of his truck in a corduroy sport coat and my favorite shirt of his.  My first thought was "Oh darn I'm underdressed" and my next thought was "Am I getting proposed to?  Nah, that would be awkward if he proposed in the middle of the restaurant."  So we ride down the road to Edward's Steakhouse, all the while G's face is blood red and he looks like he might pass out.  I could not figure out why he was so worked up about getting there at 4.  It also never occurred to me that Edward's doesn't open until 4:30!

*Backstory:  The first time I met G was at Edward's.  I had been working a concert for work that had been rained out and I sought refuge in the piano bar area of Edward's where I knew a few people.  I was introduced to G there and it's one of our most frequented spots.*

G took me in the back door of Edward's and there was no one there.  I thought "See!  We beat them here, he's been all worked up for no reason!" UNTIL I saw a sheet of paper sitting on the table.  I immediately became enamored by this paper and I started trying to read it across the table.  He slid it over to me and said "It looks like they have a special menu tonight."  He had made a fake menu with all of these promises for me on it (listed as Free).  After reading it for what he said felt like forever, he got up and started to attempt his speech.  I say attempt because he was so nervous that he barely made any real words come out...it was adorable.  Poor thing was so nervous he grabbed my right hand!  I said "wrong hand, other one" through about a million tears.  He finally made it to one knee and said "Think you'd like to marry me?" I said yes, we kissed and then he hollered out "She said Yes by the way!" and the staff of Eds came busting out of their employee area with champagne.  He walked me over to the stairs leading down to the dining room area where all of our family and friends (as many who were not at the Tennessee-Vandy game, of course) were down there!  It was the most perfect proposal!  I had never told him how I had always thought that would be a great proposal- one-on-one and then having everyone at another surprise location.  He just did it all on his own!

The best part was my parents knew, his parents knew, Katy knew the whole time.  EVERYONE knew but me!  AND they kept it a secret.  I'm so proud of them all!  I didn't care what he did, just as long as I was surprised.  He sure did that!  I really had no real clue!

So on this Thanksgiving Day, I am so very thankful for my G, my family, my friends and my God.  Thank you to all of the wonderful people who made this the most surreal and special night of my life!  Love you all!

Check out the pics!

Sooo surprised!

My sneaky BFF knew the whole time!

Soooo excited!

The most beautiful ring in the world!

Tunica: You've Got to Know When to Hold Em...

This past weekend G and I accompanied some friends of ours to Tunica, Mississippi to test our luck at the casino and see Ron White perform.  This is where we spent a great deal of our time:

Isn't it pretty?  We arrived well after dark and when I awoke from my car nap, this is what I saw in the middle of a field.  

I'll just go ahead and let you know that the extent of my gambling experience involves dollar scratch-off tickets...and I don't know that I've ever really won at those.  I also really hate wasting money so I was interested to see how this experience was going to go.  I loved it!  I did what everyone tells you to do when you go to a casino, "Only take a set amount of cash and when it's gone, it's gone."  I didn't even play with all that I brought.  Responsibility at its finest!  

I really liked the slot machines!  I won about $20 twice on the penny slots...but then I lost it again on the penny slots.  G stayed saddled up to the blackjack table for the majority of his casino time.  He didn't do too badly either!

They had delicious food too.  We had breakfast/brunch/lunch at the Paula Deen Buffet....SO good.  They had an Eggs Benedict (that was new for me as well) on a fried green tomato.  Delish!  We also had the best steaks I've ever had in my entire life for supper.

My apologies for the blurry pictures/red-eye.  I forgot my camera.

We were also lucky enough to see Ron White perform.  You would recognize him from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour as "the man with the cigar and scotch on stage."  He was great! Fun Fact:  We saw him at the steakhouse before the show...he was wearing a satchel.  I found that odd.

Mini-Bethany-Tale:
After the show we went back into the casino to play a few more games.  While the boys were holding strong at the blackjack table, we ladies decided we'd cruise the casino and see if ole Ron was gambling too.  We did not find Ron but we did find a man in a suit who tried to teach us how to play craps.  I still do not know what he was talking about but he let us roll the dice for him a few times.  When it was my turn to roll I scooped up the dice with both hands which is obviously against the rules of craps as the entire table yelled "NOOOOO!"  They must have sensed my scratch-off only experience and let me try again.  I let go of the dice and proceeded to bounce one of them off of a dealer's belly and back onto the table.  I did not win this man a dime.  He looked at the two of us and said "Okay, well you girls can go away now."  We kindly understood.

A big thanks to our great friends for inviting us to tag-along!

Playing Catch Up

Hello there, remember me?  I am SO sorry!  I have had a crazy, crazy month but I am back, and ready to blog!

Where should I start?  Let's just go with last week!  Last week, I was basically a world traveler...okay more like a Southeastern traveler.  I enjoyed a fabulous week off from work with my family and G!  We loaded up the car and headed down to the Redneck Riviera of Panama City Beach, Florida.  I'm tell you all a little secret....go on a beach vacation after Labor Day.  Rooms are cheaper, you don't have overcrowding on the beach, it isn't 12,000 degrees outside and my favorite part....little to no wait at restaurants!  Of course there's the pesky hurricane season but life is all about taking risks every now and then right?

I had a new experience on vacation...celebrating my birthday at the beach!  That's right folks, I turned the big 2-5 last Tuesday.  September 11 is a tough birthday to have but my cousin posted a sweet message on my Facebook saying that "at least one good thing happened on this day in history!"  So that's nice to give people something to smile about...I'm one year older :)  My family treated me to a nice seafood supper and a visit to the outdoor mall where I found many pretty things!

Enjoying some birthday oysters at Shuck'ems

After several relaxing days, G and I loaded up my car and headed from the Florida panhandle to East Tennessee to visit his parents.  They live about 3-4 hours away and he doesn't get to see them as often as he would like.  I know he was happy to give his mama a big hug!

After much preparation and anticipation, we jumped in the car and drove to Knoxville to enjoy a little football time in Tennessee.  I'm going to preface this by stating that I really, really, really dislike the Florida Gators.  I always have, always will.  Couple that with riding high on the past two Tennessee wins and I was ready to rock and roll all over some Swampies.  Rather than discuss the disgust and disappointment I am still feeling today...two days after the game has ended, I will discuss the following:

1.  My gameday blazer/G's gameday britches
We just happened upon this perfect UT blazer while in Florida.  We did have to undress a total of two manikans and track down many salesladies to get it but it's all mine!  G's pants were a different story, we made a pit stop to Alumni Hall in Knoxville because he was determined to find some checkerboard pants.

Check us out!

2.  How excited I was to spend time with my long lost sorority sisters!
With a sold out ball game on our hands so many people made the journey to Rocky Top, or already lived there!  I was thrilled to see my sisters who live in Knoxville as well as precious Megan who is living in Denver these days.  Thanks so much to Rebekah and Jacob for keeping us up for the night (and for the donuts!) and to Cara and the entire Holden family for the tailgate fun!

3.  That I am thankful for Will Moore and currently owe him a favor of some form or fashion.
Our original tickets fell through and we quickly had to rustle up some others.  This was in the midst of the announcement that College Gameday would be broadcasting, live from Knoxville....and of course it was the Florida game...so tickets on Craigslist or any other site jumped to $150 for top level seats.  No thanks.  Enter Will.  You might remember Will from my Tale of the Stoneware Jug.  If not, see here. Will is my college pal, former neighbor and devoted Volunteer fan who just happened to catch wind that those scallywags from Florida returned a good bit of their ticket allotment which resulted in our ticket purchase.  Thanks my friend.

4. Bid Day
Today I was lucky enough to help with Chi Omega's Bid Day celebration at Austin Peay.  It has been seven years since I ran to my sisters in the APSU quad wagging my big purse behind me, and it has been four years since I welcomed the pledge class of 2008 with big hugs and smiles.  I am thankful for the opportunity to give back as an alumnae officer and loved seeing the joy on the faces of Baby Hooties learning chants for their very first rally.  As a side note, Pledge Class 2012 may possibly be the most coordinated pledge class I've seen in a while.  It was especially sweet to see my Little Sister's biological little sister enjoying her very first Bid Day as a Chi Omega.  Here's a picture of the Fabulous Family tree...missing a few branches who were there in spirit!

Bombasha Brazilian Steakhouse

Happy Sunday!  This weekend has really flown by.  G and I got to head to Nashville for a meal at one of our favorite restaurants.  And thanks to Groupon we got a deal to do so!

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Man, I really wish I could just have an all-you-can-eat smorgasboard of meat brought right to my table."  I'm sure any man reading this answered with an emphatic yes.  Well friends, look no further than Bombasha Brazilian Steakhouse in Nashville!

Photo via Bombasha's Facebook page

Our friends introduced us to this delight on New Year's Eve this past year and we've been back a couple of times since.  It. Is. So. Good.  Basically, here is the rundown of the Bombasha experience:

Once seated by the hostess, you'll notice a card at each place.  The card is green on one side and red on the other.  This tells the gauchos (the meat guys) that you are ready and rearing for the meat course.  You'll also be offered the salad bar.  G chose to forego the salad bar experience and dove straight into the meat election by flipping his card to green.  I made myself a small plate of greens, sun-dried tomatoes and cheese then flipped my card to green as well.

This is where things get serious....seriously delicious.  Ladies and gentleman this is not for the vegetarian in your circle of friends.  Bombasha boasts 11 cuts of meat.  There is beef, pork, chicken and sometimes lamb.  I'm a big fan of the House Special and the Parmesan Pork.  This weekend's selection also offered a Parmesan Beef that was so tender it was like butter in your mouth.  Wonderful, meat butter.  

Not only is the food delicious at Bombasha, but so is the overall experience.  Once you've flipped your card to the green side the servers, called gauchos, begin coming past your table holding what I thought to be swords skewered with meat (see above photo).  They ask if you would like whichever cut of meat they have and you have the option to try it or pass.  They cut the meat right at your table, so it is fresh!

Bombasha is located in Hillsboro Village on Belcourt Avenue.  If you have ever eaten at Cabana you've probably tried to walk in the door to Bombasha (I sat beside the window and watched many a person stutter-step to get to the right one.  Oh, and I've done it before too.).  It's a little on the pricey side but totally worth it for the amount of food you get and the servers are really attentive.  

Oh and PS - if you go to Bombasha, try the little rolls.  They have a different texture so they aren't for everyone....but I ate the entire basket myself.  Sorry I'm not sorry.

Where's your favorite place to eat in the Nashville area?

It's (Not Quite) Fall, Y'all!

Hello friends!  I tried to fight it, I really did.  But I am kind of getting ready for fall.  This is always such a tough time for me, a lover of summer, but it comes each and every year.  I get tired of the blazing hot sun and start getting ready to pull on my boots and scarves.  However it is quite tough to part with going on the boat, sundresses and not having to bundle up to fight the elements (I HATE the wintery chill!).

This awkward Summer-Fall transition does bring a lot of my very favorite things.  G's birthday.  My birthday.  The start of Football season.  Plus, with all of these Fall-inspired pins on Pinterest, I can't help but get a little excited!  That being said, we're going to look past the allergies and go on to my second favorite season's greatest attributes...Fall!

Boots
My parents met while working at a boot company.  My grandparents and my aunt & uncle met while working at the same boot company.  I am genetically engineered to love this footwear.  Cowboy, riding, rain...I love all varieties of boots!  Just look at these beauties.  Wouldn't they be great with some leggings or skinny jeans tucked in?

Seasonal Beverages/Scents

Pumpkin Spice, gingerbread, hazelnut, cider- it just warms my soul.  I caught myself in the candle section of Walmart the other day sniffing a Pumpkin Spice Candle.  I had to get a grip and keep moving.  However, when the weather cools down I believe I am going to give this a try.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte via Pinterest

Hayrides and Pumpkins
You have to admit, in theory, the idea of a hayride is a little bizarre.  "There's nothing like gathering your closest friends/family and dragging them behind a truck/tractor seated upon livestock feed!"  But seriously, I do love getting snuggled under a blanket and taking a spin on a trailer of hay.  Our church has one every year and I have such wonderful memories of those.

I also love pumpkin picking, carving and pumpkin decor!

Soups
Now if the truth be told I can usually eat soup at any time of year.  In fact, I had soup last night for supper and I had been sweating earlier in the day.  But there's just something about soup and fall that just go together!  I can't wait to find some delicious goodies on Pinterest to try this season.

Football
Just 24 days until it's football time in Tennessee!!  I love the pageantry of college football.  The marching bands, the cheering, the tradition and of course...the tailgate food!  Saturdays down South are no joking matter.  Menus are planned well in advance, tailgating spots are decorated, some people go as far as hooking generators up to televisions to be as up-to-date on football coverage as possible.  

If you've never been to an NFL game, I'd highly recommend it!  You may be right on the field or hundreds of feet above but you're guaranteed a good time.  At least at Titans' games.  I think Titans fans are some of the most welcoming and friendly fans in the NFL....oh wait and the loudest :)

So what are you most excited about this fall? 

Swirlz Night!

I'm back y'all!  My apologies for the blog hiatus but I'm back from Gulf Shores and very relaxed!  PS - the backpack beach chair was amazing!  My friend Jessica had one just like mine and we called them our "Turtle Chairs" as we felt like we had a shell while wearing them.  SO convenient.  Also, if you're ever down on the Alabama Gulf Coast and have the opportunity to hear a band called The Foxy Iguanas...do it!!  They were my favorite!  We even got them to play a little "Rocky Top" for some Tennessee girls (btw if you're reading this Iguanas, I'm still REALLY sorry for mistaking your ashtray bucket for your tip jar.  That could have ended badly)!

The weekend before last, while on blogging hiatus, G and I went to Swirlz with two of our good friends.  Swirlz is a painting studio where you are given a set painting and then an instructor gives you step-by-step directions on how to recreate it.  It was such a good time!


We signed up for "Starry Night," very similar to the Van Gogh edition. As you can tell from this picture G and I got a little carried away with our moons.  G also took his own artistic liberties with his painting and eradicated his entire town of houses.  He also accidentally turned his church into the Weasley's home from Harry Potter.  What can I say?  The man is an artist... or something like that!

Our friends had been to a previous Swirlz class to celebrate a birthday.  Jen said she figured her husband would have to go if it was her birthday...and he loved it!  I'm pretty sure that was the only reason G was talked into the situation....and he loved it too.  So guys, don't think it's girly or silly...just go and have fun!  Plus they do "manly" paintings like 12-point bucks or Apache helicopters.


The calendar is posted online (here) so you are able to see which painting you'll be working on that night.  As previously mentioned, they do different styles of paintings and will hold private events for groups as well as paintings specifically for kids.  The website is also where you reserve your seat(s) for the class.  Depending on what painting you sign up for, prices typically run from $35-$45 per person.  That provides your paint, smock and canvas.  You're allowed to bring in the beverages of your choice as well.  Water, cokes, wine, beer, Gatorade....whatever!  However, beware that you may or may not accidentally try and drink your brush water and/or put your dirty brush into your bev.  


Also, if you are a little pokey (like me) they try and accommodate you, but try and keep up.  Until G went rogue I had to keep asking what the instructor said because I was super focused on the proper blending of my stars.  Now, don't go all speed demon either...that's how G ended up with a brown moon....


So, if you're feeling some artistic energy you'd like to get out or are in need of a fun/unique date night or girls' night, head on over to Swirlz!


PS - I left with more paint on myself than on the canvas (no seriously, it was in my hair and I even found some the next day I had missed!  Can't take me anywhere.) so maybe bear that in mind when selecting your outfit!