weekend – Married to the Weatherman

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us . . . “

Jared and I made plans to escape for a quick overnight to Knoxville this past weekend and we were delighted to find a charming city so close to home. The only other time we had been to Knoxville was over 7 years ago when we briefly stayed the night on our move to Texas. This time was different, of course. We headed out on our journey (a quick 2.5 hour drive) on a rainy afternoon, immediately after I got out of work in hopes of seeing a glimpse of the fall foliage and taking a quick pause on city living. I had been craving a nice hot cup of Starbucks coffee to go with my RX bar on our drive, but forgot to tell Jared I wanted that until we had passed the last Starbucks on our route. A little heads up if you are traveling from Nashville to Knoxville the last Starbucks to enjoy on your drive is in Cookeville. It’s okay though, Jared found a Dunkin’ Donuts express and we stopped there instead.

Jared made reservations at Emilia located in the historic market square in Knoxville. We arrived after dark in the misty rain and walked hand-in-hand along the brick sidewalks. We were met with warm lights that decorated the entrances of all of the shops and restaurants of the market square which made for a romantic stroll to dinner.

The food at Emilia was fresh and comforting on a rainy night. We started with the warm homemade focaccia that arrived thickly sliced with a perfectly crunchy exterior and a soft middle. It was accompanied with a small dipping bowl of whipped ricotta and olive oil topped with sea salt and pepper. For dinner, I had the pan roasted salmon and Jared had beef short rib ‘francobolli’ which was a ravioli filled with braised beef, cheese and root vegetables. The whole meal was divine.

Jared had been up since 2am that morning to do his early morning show so we decided to head back to our hotel for the night. We had been hoping to drive out to Gatlinburg the next morning for a hike, but since it had rained over 2″ there in 2 days, Jared made the judgement call to stay in Knoxville the next day. We will definitely make plans to for a trip to Gatlinburg in the near future.

Jared had been looking for places to go bowling just in case the weather prevented us from hiking (good thing he knows a couple things about planning for the weather). I think it had been about 3 years since we had been bowling together and we love to bowl. Fun fact: It was actually the activity Jared picked for our third date.

He found a place called Maple Hall— which turned out to be a captivating 11-lane boutique bowling alley located at the center of downtown Knoxville. It is quaintly tucked away in the basement of the old J.C Penney building. The environment is completely cozy with plush soft-leather couches and oversized pillows located at each bowling lane. The interior exposed brick walls in the bowling alley add to the feel of being in a historic building. We had a blast. Jared won both games, but don’t get me started on that. I ordered a chardonnay and I quickly forgot about the loss(es). After our bowling time expired, we ended up heading over to a lounge area in the back of the venue that had several comfy couches and coffee tables to order lunch and watch the other bowlers.

We had so much fun that we are going to plan another trip very soon!

Emily

I typically give Jared a hard time about the weather especially during long bouts of never-ending rainy or overcast days. This weekend, I decided to give him a break mainly because we were celebrating our anniversary, but mostly because everywhere we went he got a hard time from someone else. To give you an idea… Nashville experienced record-breaking heat Friday through Sunday with the temperatures hitting the mid-90’s. It’s the first full week of October and most everyone is ready for it to feel like fall.

Jared loves when people come up to him to either give him a hard time or to thank him for the weather above. I swear he likes the idea of people thinking he has some sort of decision-making when it comes to forecasting. So for 3 years of marriage we had 3 days of 90-degree heat, but I swear it’s all on Jared and I have nothing to do with it.

We both took Friday off from work and spent the entire weekend here in Nashville. I had been asking Jared to join me at Barry’s Bootcamp for over a year and he finally came through and signed up for a class with me. We started our weekend celebration with an invigorating workout. I loved it (as usual) and Jared survived.

The Gulch was already humming with tourists when our class finished so we decided to grab a smoothie at the Juice Bar and stroll around the area while watching people love on our city.

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For lunch we went over to True Foods to have a light bite. We didn’t want to eat anything too heavy because Jared had made special dinner reservations for us that evening at Bourbon Steak, located at the top of the new JW Marriott in downtown Nashville. We both had been wanting to try the much anticipated Michael Mina steakhouse since we heard of the plans for its opening.

At True Foods, we sat on the outdoor patio under an umbrella that shielded us from the abnormally hot October sun. I ordered the Korean Noodle Salad, Jared got the Mediterranean Chicken Pita and we shared the cold brew coffee topped with shaved coconut. It was delicious and the patio seating made for a fun experience watching people trying to snag a parking spot across the street at Trader Joe’s — that place is popular on the weekends!

Korean Noodle Salad and Mediterranean Chicken Pita

As I mentioned in my initial post, we love to eat and explore new restaurants, however we rarely eat out twice in one day. We try to save money and maintain a healthy lifestyle by cooking at home as often as possible. However, this weekend was truly the exception to the rule and we enjoyed every bit and bite of it!

Now to Jared’s favorite part: Bourbon Steak. He had made these reservations about a month ago and could hardly wait to tell me about his plans to bring me there for our Anniversary. Something you may not know about Jared is when he get’s excited about something he can barely keep it to himself. So I had known about these reservations for a good three weeks and was equally excited. When we arrived at the JW, we were shown to the “express” elevator that took guests from the lobby directly up to the restaurant’s 34th floor. As soon as you walk off the elevator and to the hostess stand you get a peek of the expansive views of downtown Nashville that you are about to experience in the dining area. It was so much fun to see the city lit up in all different areas of downtown. Jared and I agreed that the vibe felt very mid-town Manhattan with a noticeable nod to Music City. The food was equally phenomenal and many of their dishes came with a table-side show of their own — check out the Lobster Pot Pie video.

Burbon Steak — Jared and I at the top of Bourbon Steak – JW Nashville

We finished up our weekend with a lot of needed rest and relaxation — as well as some good news… Jared has informed me that there is going to be a cool down towards the end of the week. YAY!

This Week’s Forecast: happy wife, happy life and fall temperatures. Don’t forget to catch Jared on WKRN-News 2 tomorrow morning.

Cheers!

Emily

Tag: weekend

Trip to Knoxville

Fall, where are you?