Cades Cove

I haven't been feeling very good the past couple of days, but the hubs and I had a day off together this past week, and I was tired of resting at the house. Nathan took me out for a nice drive through Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains. I was able to rest yet still get out of the house. It was perfect!

Even though it was a "dreary" day, the mountains were still just as majestic as always. I was able to capture a few awesome pictures:

Hope you all enjoy the pictures :) I can't wait to head back up to Cades Cove - especially when the leaves have all changed!! 

GREEK FEST

GREEK FEST 2015 

Yesterday after work, I went with a friend to Greek Fest! It was my first time going to this amazing annual event. I was very excited to check it out, not only for the food, but for the Greek dancing, music, shopping, and tour of the Church as well!! We fortunately lucked out with the weather! It was supposed to rain, but thankfully it turned out to be a gorgeous day!

The dancing and music was very entertaining!

And of course, there was an insane amount of food to choose from!

I'm so glad I went with a friend, because we were able to split a TON of food! I would not have been able to try so many different types of food all by myself. 

First we split a plate of the dolmades and saganaki:

Dolmades - stuffed grape leaves with seasoned spiced rice.

Saganaki - Greek kasseri cheese flamed with brandy served on crust bread with a squeeze of lemon.

Next we tried the gyro sandwich:

Gyro Sandwich - seasoned blend of beef and lamb slices on pita bread, topped with tomatoes, onions, and tzatsiki sauce.

We also tried the pastichio, spanakopita, and baklava sundaes:

Pastichio - alternate layers of ziti noodles, grated cheese, mix of sauteed beef with spices, tomato sauce, and topped with a rich cream sauce.

Spanakopita - thin layers of filo dough filled with a mixture of feta cheese, eggs, and spinach, then baked until golden brown.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of the Pastichio or the Spanakopita, but trust me when I say they were SO delicious!!

Baklava Sundaes - vanilla ice-cream topped with whipped cream, shredded baklava, syrup, and a cherry on top.               :)

I couldn't resist trying a glass of Greek wine! ;)

I am certainly looking forward to going back to Greek Fest next year! :)

Check out their website for more info. on Greek Fest:

https://greekfesttn.wordpress.com/

Happy Fall Ya'll

Today is the FIRST DAY OF FALL!!!

I celebrated in some simple, small ways! 

The front of the house is decorated simple right now, but I love my fake flowers! I bought the flowers at Dollar Tree! They look and feel exactly the same as the ones I see at craft stores, but they are way cheaper! I mixed some reds and yellows to make it stand out against our blue house. :)

I painted my nails "Sable Collar" by Essie. This color is even more beautiful in person. Depending on the light it can look purple, or dark brown. It's really a great color for Fall. 

I broke out my gold/yellow sweater :) It was too warm to break out any of my scarves. Soon though!

Now, for the best part of today - Pumpkin Spice Muffins! I absolutely am a huge fan of the recipe from: http://www.skinnymom.com/skinny-pumpkin-spice-muffins/

Here are the ingredients that I used to make my pumpkin muffins: 

You can't beat a recipe that has only 4 ingredients! I combined the spice cake mix with the pumpkin and unsweetened applesauce, then poured the mixture into the muffin tin and sprinkled the walnuts on top! 

Super easy!!

The muffins baked in the oven for 18 minutes, I let them cool down, then took a couple with me out on the porch with some coffee :)

TA DA!

How are you celebrating the first day of Fall?!

Hiking the Point Trail

Today Nathan and I finally had a day off together! Since it is rare nowadays to have the same day off, we took full advantage of it and went hiking together.

After picking up enough water and snacks, we ventured over toward the Obed Wild & Scenic River. We have been over to Lilly Bluff overlook a couple of times, but haven't had the chance (until today) to go hike some of the trails nearby.

We went on the Point Trail!

Walking through the trail, there were so many pretty little flowers and TONS of mushrooms!

As we got closer toward the end of the trail, there were a few different bluffs/cliffs that you could hang out on - it was a gorgeous view from the top!

Finding the natural bridge was really awesome!

We made it to the end of Point Trail! 

At the end of the trail, we stopped and took out our waters and snacks. We chilled out for a little bit, taking in the view. For my fuel, I went with some Sunny Cranberry trail mix! It was delicious, and the perfect snack for hiking! Nathan stuck with gatorade and some beef jerky. 

The Point Trail is only 1.9 miles - 2 hours round trip - except we took our time enjoying the hike so it was 3 hours total for us :) It was a short and easy hike, but absolutely tons to see! 

Nathan and I had such an amazing time hiking together. It's the perfect getaway for us, plus it's a good workout and huge stress reliever. You can't go wrong with hiking! :)

Definitely check out the website below on the Obed area:

http://www.nps.gov/obed/planyourvisit/hiking.htm

Uneventful Update

I feel like even though I have been busy, I haven't been able to do anything too super interesting. I'm ready for a little adventure! Who's with me?! :)
In the meantime, I thought I would post my little uneventful updates!
We have had a few days of nice chilly weather, but the temperature is heating back up. That's ok, I don't want it to get too cold too fast anyway.

We've been having gorgeous sunsets in Knoxville this past week:

I've mostly been busy throwing myself into work. Whether it's at either one of my jobs, or at home, I have been productive.

At job #2 - I finally tried out the HydroMassage. Wow! If you have not tried this yet, you are missing out! You can adjust the pressure, the speed, and the areas of your body that you want it to focus on. It is amazing!

I've started purchasing and making smoothies for lunch - yummy! This smoothie I made included: strawberry, banana, whey protein, and a fat burner boost.

My furbaby, Riley, has been having his Mommy withdrawal. We cuddle every chance we get <3

Isn't he the cutest? I cannot believe he will be 5 years old next month! 

:)

Brrrr!!!

The chilly Fall weather has arrived in Knoxville! I actually had to turn on the heat in my car, as well as the butt warmer! I don't know how I ever lived without a butt warmer before! This gorgeous cool weather makes me yearn for hiking even more! This is perfect outdoor weather, especially before it gets TOO cold!

The leaves are slowly starting to change!

I love finding acorns with their "caps" still on! I'm collecting them, so if you know any good places to find them, let me know :) 

Fall sunsets are always gorgeous:

And of course, football, I cannot forget about football! Tennessee played Oklahoma this past weekend. I wore my bright orange scarf in support. 

Sadly, it was not enough to help us win. I'm still upset over our loss, but still gotta love the Vols! On the 19th we play against Western Carolina. Keeping my fingers crossed for that one!

:)

DAR!

Wow! So many wonderful opportunities have arrived at my front door recently!  :)

I am proud to announce that I am officially a member of the Daughter's of the American Revolution (DAR)! The DAR is a wonderful organization that was founded 125 years ago. The DAR works hard to promote historical preservation, education, and American Patriotism. My Great Grandmother and my Grandmother were both members of the DAR, and I am truly honored to continue the tradition! :) I find it fascinating that I can trace my ancestors back to the American Revolution!

My membership was announced today at our Chapter's meeting! We met this morning at the Blount Mansion Visitor's Center here in Knoxville. Our group was taken on a tour of the Mansion. The Blount Mansion is the City of Knoxville's only National Historic Landmark. The construction on the Mansion began in 1792. The Blount Mansion was built for William Blount who was appointed by George Washington to be Governor of the territory South of the River Ohio.

The Visitor Center:

The Blount Mansion:

Officially a member!:

The two amazing women below are the reasons why I joined the DAR. This is one of my favorite pictures of my Grandmother Ardis and my Great Grandmother Ora (holding the lion cub):

:)

Check out the links below for the DAR & The Blount Mansion:

http://www.dar.org/

http://www.blountmansion.org/about/about.html

I Work(ed) Out!!

Today was my first time working out at National Fitness Signature Club! I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked, but I can go back anytime I want :) After work and running errands, I ran home to change into some work out clothes and headed on over to the gym. 

All ready to go scan in with my key fob!

I checked out the ladies only section first. The view was great and added a calming presence to the room. This was my view while I was on one of the bike machines: 

After checking out the ladies only section, I ventured upstairs to the movie theater! I've been really excited about this feature at the club. I walked in to a dim light room with a huge screen display - exactly like a real movie theater! Instead of stadium seats, they have a huge selection of cardio equipment! The movie showing today was Sherlock Holmes! I went with the glider machine first because I thought it would be a good work out to keep me fit for hiking! I had the resistance set to 20 and spent about 17 minutes on there. Mind you, I haven't worked out in forever, so I didn't want to over do it! After the glider, I went with the traditional treadmill. I set the incline at 4 and walked a nice slow pace to calm my body from the glider machine work out. The movie certainly kept my attention, and before I knew it, I had already been in there 45 minutes! The movie is such a wonderful distraction. 

After working out and before heading out the door, I added some E-Cred (a/k/a e-credit) to my account. E-Cred is awesome because you can put as much money as you want onto your account, so when you want to buy a drink, smoothie, snack, or some apparel, you don't have to dig out your credit card or cash. It's great not having to worry about losing my wallet or having the hassle of digging it out of my bag from my locker. I picked up a couple of Quest Bars - everyone raves about them! I decided to go with the chocolate chip cookie dough and the cookies and cream. I haven't tried them yet! I'm waiting for the moment that I'm craving something sweet. I'll let you know what I think once I've tried them out!

Nom, nom, nom! ;p

So there you have my first (quick) experience working out at the gym! :)

Maybe I'll convince one of you to come check it out! 

*Exciting News*

I have some exciting (for me at least) news to share!

I have officially started working at National Fitness Center! This is a second part-time job for me, but I couldn't be more thrilled! The gym is AMAZING! The National Fitness Signature Club has four pools, a movie theater (yes, you read that right), a rock climbing wall, great equipment, a smoothie bar, many classes to choose from, and much more! If you live in Knoxville and you are looking to join a gym, seriously, come check it out!!

Today was my first day at the job! I really enjoy being social and meeting new people, so this job is perfect for me! I'm thrilled to be working in such an upbeat, inspiring, positive environment!

I cannot wait to try out the different classes, like spin class, zumba, yoga, water aerobics, and more! Besides the classes, I look forward to the pools, hydro-massage, racquet ball, walking on the treadmill in the "movie theater", climbing wall, trying out smoothies, etc. :) I will certainly keep you posted with all the activities that I try out!


You can check out the National Fitness website below for more info!

http://nfc1.com/

A Little Dose of Gratitude

Too often, I let myself get upset over the rude, mean spirited people I encounter. I let myself become irritated by their behavior and in return, I sometimes let my behavior become just as unacceptable. Lately, I've been making sure that I focus more on all of the kind people that cross my path.

Today I encountered some really sweet people and in return my attitude met theirs. So, to the cop that was guarding the Bank of America who smiled as I walked up and opened the door for me, THANK YOU! To the woman who quickly and politely helped me at Bank of America, THANK YOU! To the two friendly women who talked with me about the weather outside at the fitting room at Walmart, THANK YOU! THANK YOU to the cashier who rang me out at Walmart and made me laugh! And THANK YOU to the sweet man who was deaf but captured my attention just to wave hello to me as I was leaving the store!!

When I look back and think of all these people who made a positive impact on me and my day, I cannot help but to be extremely grateful. I hope that I made just as much of an impact on them and their day!

:) 

Labor Day Weekend Recap

This past Labor Day weekend was spent at Fall Creek Falls State Park! Nathan and I met up with his rents for the weekend for a stargazing event. While the night time was spent stargazing, we spent a lot of time hiking during the day! We all had an amazing trip at the park.

Here are some of the highlights from our trip:

A curious doe stopped by while we were setting up the astronomy equipment -

Whenever we go hiking, I try to keep an eye out for arrowheads. Previously, I have not had any luck. This trip, however, Nathan's Dad found one and then I found one! TWO arrowheads!! 

Hiking down & back up the Cable Trail:

These pictures do not do any justice to how steep this trail actually is!

Lost Creek Falls:

Lost Creek Falls was about an hour drive outside of Fall Creek Falls State Park. 

Spelunking for the first time at Lost Creek Falls & Lost Creek Cave:

Lost Creek Cave:

The "Fairy Pond" at the top of Lost Creek Falls:

At night, Nathan was imaging different objects such as the Little Dumbbell & The Eagle Nebula. I decided to try to capture the Milky Way with my Canon 60d. 

:) This is how my image turned out:

After such a fabulous weekend, it was difficult to leave and head back home. I look forward to our next trip back up to Fall Creek Falls! :)