Taking in the Town

Yesterday I told you about our visit to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum, so today I wanted to tell you about the next leg of our trip! After we did all the things I told you yesterday, we checked into our Airbnb and got all unpacked and settled.

That evening, we drove back into the downtown area for dinner and some sightseeing. One thing we both noticed about this city that seemed different to us than other cities we've visited was just how crowded all the parking and driving seemed to be. Even in the outlying neighborhoods (like where we stayed) there were so many vehicles! I told Ryan one reason I could never live there is that I can't parallel park, and that's about the main option there. Streets were packed - and narrow, so once you had cars parked on both sides, you had to be careful about the driving! Fortunately the downtown area had a lot of parking garages, so we were able to utilize those!

In my hunt for places to eat, I discovered Guy Fieri has a restaurant in Louisville! (We ate at his burger place on our cruise ship back in 2013 and loved it, so I figured we couldn't go wrong.) I knew Ryan would really love it. For the record, if you're trying to stay on a healthy eating kick, go ahead and skip this restaurant. I really don't think there were any healthy options at all on the menu. I was okay with that, because I wanted to really enjoy whatever sounded good without worrying about calorie counts. This was a treat for me.

The restaurant is located right downtown in a bustling part of the city. Even the parking garage had character!

We found a massive Christmas tree and the Hard Rock Café on our way to dinner, so we did some photo opps.

And then we found it!!

We were shocked that it wasn't packed, because it was Friday night and the weather was really nice. Then we realized it was 6:00 and the city crowd probably shows up later. (And indeed, it started to fill up while we were in there.) So we didn't have to wait at all for a seat, and our food came quickly! They ended up seating us at the table directly behind where Ryan is standing, so we had a great view of the outside and all the people walking around!

Ryan's burger came on a pretzel bun, which is his favorite!!

 So mine was HUGE. (Mac and cheese burger. Yes, and fries.)

I only conquered half of it. Took the rest home.

Absolutely delicious - all of it. We were not disappointed in the least!

After dinner, we walked around the downtown area for a while. The evening was too nice to pass up!

It was a great first night in the city. We went back to our Airbnb and started watching a movie, but alas, we fell asleep. (Ended up sleeping for TWELVE STRAIGHT HOURS. We were a little tired!)

Well, Hello, Louisville!!!

We did indeed pile up a WHOLE BUNCH of stories on our trip, but we got home too late to tell you about all of them for this week. So while we prepare those, enjoy some of our favorite mishaps from anniversary trips of yore. Donut, anyone???

 Listen here

Last May, Ryan and I went to Madison, Indiana, for our birthday trip. Before we went, one of my friends told me she wasn't a big fan of Madison, but she loved going to Louisville. We already had our trip planned (and for the record, we really enjoyed Madison) but she planted the idea in my head to research Louisville as another possible trip destination. Way back in the summer, I started doing just that, and boy am I ever glad now that I spent so much time working so far ahead. I had no idea how crazy busy our fall and winter would get with all the things happening with Ryan's mom! 

Last Friday morning, we headed out for a weekend in Louisville. We have driven through it many times on our way to other places, and in my pre-Ryan days, I stopped there once to visit the zoo. But otherwise, this was a new spot for us, and we had a good balance of fun and rest planned!

I planned for us to stop here in Kokomo for breakfast before leaving town, because there's a little café we had a gift card to, and the only thing better than breakfast out is a free breakfast out, right? Wanna know something funny? Ryan forgot to use the gift card when he paid. Whoopsie! So here's our free breakfast that we paid for our of our own pocket.

The café has really good food, but the space is tight inside, and that morning, it was packed. We had a rather foggy morning, and what appeared to be a college class had come to meet there...not sure if their regular schedule was delayed or not. They were having a great time, but it was kind of hard to hear over them, so we finished up and got on the road for Kentucky.

Louisville is a really ideal destination for us from a time perspective. It's only about three hours away. Far enough to be away, and yet not far enough to take forever to get there. We piled up SO MANY STORIES on this trip, and we're going to save a few of them for the podcast. One of them came from our trip down, so come back NEXT Tuesday to hear the segment called "Bekah Drives Into the City." It's a gem.

Meanwhile, props to Ryan for getting our state sign photo for this trip:

Because, you know:

Our first item of business was to visit the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum, but we feared we might get hungry partway through the tour, so we hunted around on Siri for a place (within walking distance) to eat lunch. Found a little sandwich shop and had a date! 

THEN we went to the factory and museum. I should preface this by saying we aren't huge baseball buffs, but we still thought it would be a fun place to visit. We like learning random facts about how things are made, so we thought this would be good. 

First of all, how cool is THIS bat?

I'll throw this out there because I didn't know this going in, and I wish I would have. You can't take pictures in the factory. I realize for most (normal) people that isn't a big deal, but it is a big deal for me. I research stuff like this pretty heavily before I pay for tours, because for me, the bottom line is if I can't take pictures, I don't really want to participate. It's just part of memory-making me. I don't like paying for something that I can't commemorate in the scrapbook. I didn't find out photography was prohibited until we'd already purchased our tickets and were behind the roped-off area, ready to begin. 

It was still worth going. That is true. But I am incredibly sad that there aren't pictures of the factory portion.

Ryan has worked in a factory before, but I haven't, so factory/assembly lines fascinate me. This is a small factory, so everything we saw was all in one big room. We did get to see a gentleman demonstrate what it's like to craft a baseball bat by hand. That takes so much artistry and skill! Then we saw how the regular assembly line cranks out a whole bat in about thirty seconds! We saw how they stamp the bats, dip them in color treatment, and so much more. It was fascinating for both of us. 

Here are some pictures from the portion of the museum that DID allow photos.

Yes! This is a ballpark made from Legos. 

 They may not allow pictures, but they did have a scrapbook, so it felt appropriate to get a photo with that. (The mini bat featured here and in subsequent photos was a free souvenir we received at the end of the tour.)

 They have an interactive feature that allows you to see what it's like to have a 90 MPH ball pitched your way. Ryan tried it out.

 Ryan in the big leagues.

 In the dugout. (Not the doghouse.)

 Dugout selfie!!

 And then we did get photos with the giant bat:

The day couldn't have been accused of being pretty, by any stretch, but it was warm and not awful, so we walked around for a while, took in the views of the Ohio River, and then stopped in a coffee shop we saw.

Ryan snapped this photo, which is 100% typical Bekah. Mid-text-conversation, drinking coffee, and being as situationally aware as humanly possible in an unfamiliar environment.

So there's the start of our weekend! :) 

You Know it's a Good Airbnb When...

...you want to recreate it and move into it back in your own town. :)

Yes, we continued our Airbnb tour this weekend for our anniversary getaway, and this time, we visited Louisville, Kentucky. We've been through Louisville before, but we've never officially visited the city before. We had an amazing time, but Ryan said he noticed this was the first trip we've taken where I wasn't on the Realtor site looking for a new home before we left. It's true. I didn't love, love, love the city. But you know what I did love, love, love? Our Airbnb.

It was the cutest little place in the entire world, so I wanted to show you! :)

Our space was an apartment above a garage, so it was really nice to have the entire thing to ourselves and we got to park our car in the garage. BONUS! (Though I wouldn't classify the neighborhood as scary, I would classify it as crowded, so we both felt a lot safer having the car in the garage.)

Take a look at the inside!

This was right inside the front door. I know not everyone loves barn doors, but I sure do, and I adored these! The space only has one official bedroom, but the couch is a sleeper sofa, so the doors give some privacy if there are more than two people staying.

Here's a view from the kitchen looking into the living space. Those French doors on the right lead out to the little deck and down the stairs to the parking portion of the garage. The table behind the couch is the kitchen table, which also doubles as an island and an office. I really loved that table. I loved the kitchen, too. Wanna see it?

Isn't it darling? A full kitchen with everything we could need! (We did bring our own coffee pot so we could make more than a cup at a time, but they had a Keurig and everything else, too. Super nice kitchen.

The armoire beside the table made for extra storage, and the door in the back leads into the bathroom. (The whole place was a giant circle. One room led into the next room all the way around.)

The shower was super nice. Walk in shower with great pressure!

The sink in the bathroom and the doors that lead into the bedroom. (The itty bitty hallway between the two housed the water heater and the stackable washer and dryer.)

And finally, the bedroom! That bed was super comfy. The first night we were there, we slept twelve hours.

We got to meet the owners yesterday afternoon. Super nice people. They built this themselves to provide extra space for their kids when they come home to visit. But they said they've gotten so popular as an Airbnb, their kids have to book way in advance to stay with them. LOL!!!

We decided this little space (which we guess to be just over 700 square feet) would be a perfect sized home. Not too big, and not too small.

Another great experience for the win!

The Shafferland (Anniversary) Shuffle

I love today, not just because it's our anniversary, but because it's the same day of the week when we actually got married six years ago. We chose Sunday for two reasons. In no particular order, we picked it because that's when our coordinator was available and because we thought it would be special to get married on the Lord's day. We wanted our ceremony to honor Him, and we hope it was a time of worship and celebration for all who attended!

So happy anniversary, Ryan! I love you! And I loved this day!

And while we remember all our favorite moments of our wedding day...here are some of the highlights of our past week!

* Our church is decorated so beautifully for Christmas! Even though last Sunday was technically a Thanksgiving service, we enjoyed all the Christmas beauty! We had a lovely, restful afternoon, and that night we had breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs and Almond Joy pancakes. Delicious. I also snapped this picture of Ryan doing his Bible study prep. Makes my heart so happy to see him studying!

* One of Ryan's co-workers went home sick with the flu on Monday, so I yanked out the essential oils and ramped them up. I smelled like a tornado of scents and did not even care. NOT GETTING SICK!!!! We were gifted this super cute Christmas tree made out of coffee filters, which is so perfect for our coffee themed kitchen. And also as a hat, per Ryan.

* Ryan and I rarely go out for lunch, because I almost always cook for us. But I'd been craving a hamburger all week, so we got all super wild and crazy and headed to Wendy's for lunch on Tuesday. It. Was. So. Good. I worked at home the rest of the day (with my trusty helper girl who kept my feet warm by sitting o them) and that night I braved the frigidity that has settled over our state. This may be my look until spring, unfortunately.

* I gave myself a pedicure on Wednesday. Winter feet matter too! All our Christmas cards arrived, and I was so excited, because I'm ready to get those mailed out! We took care of Ryan's mom that afternoon and evening, and on our way to take her home, we stopped by my parents' house to visit for a while. Mom gave us a super cute glittery snow globe as an early Christmas gift. (It is the most mesmerizing little thing. I'm watching it right now, as a matter of fact.)

* Thursday (in addition to staring at my glittery snow globe) I did a ton of chores at home, got Ryan's anniversary gift wrapped and ready to go, and then I ran out to do just a couple of last minute errands. I wanted to buy a bottle of sparkling grape juice for us to have on our anniversary, and you know what? I GOT CARDED buying it! It made me laugh. The lady at the grocery store asked for my ID, and I said, "Well I mean I can show it to you, but do you really need it?" She said, "Oh! Habit!"

* Ryan had Friday off work so we could have a fun anniversary weekend together. SO many stories for you about that, but the quick version was that we spent the day in Louisville, touring the Louisville Slugger museum, drinking coffee, walking around looking at the lights, and having an absolute blast together.

* Yesterday did not let us down in terms of stories. (It actually could have laid off just a FEW of the stories we collected.) We slept in super late and had a really fun day together, visiting new-to-us places and even driving through a Christmas light display that was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! It may have rained all day, but we didn't let that stop our fun!

So until we can share all our fun stories with you next week, I leave you with one more anniversary throwback picture!!

The Saturday Six

One.

I have an absolute fascination with miniature houses...Christmas villages...you name it. I stumbled across this blog this week, and this guy not only puts together miniature houses, he designs them. These aren't kits. These are his own handiwork inspired by photos. Amazing. I just scrolled through post after post with jaw dropped!

Two. 

This is fun! I don't know if you're familiar with the show The Great Christmas Light Fight on ABC, but the episode that airs this coming Monday night features a light display in Kokomo! Check it out! It will air at 8 p.m. Eastern and is a two hour show.

Three.

If you have kids, or you teach kids at church...here's a link to printable masks for a Nativity! You can have your kids act out the Christmas story as part of a Sunday School lesson or just at home together as a family. (It appears there are pre-colored and  color-yourself versions.)

Four.

I love a paper chain countdown. I don't know why I love it so much, but I do. Here's an idea for a Christmas paper chain countdown. You wouldn't have to construct yours in as fancy a fashion (if you don't have the tools this blogger has) but I loved how intentional she was about the items she chose for her chain countdown - AND how she made a matching list for her day planner so she could see what was coming up!

Five.

I know Thanksgiving was last week, but this is a really wonderful article about what it means to be thankful vs. grateful. Timely words for any day of the year, I think.

Six.

And finally...if you're in need of some Christmas home tours, this post has a beautiful one...and a link for a whole list of them! Settle in and enjoy Christmas décor without getting out in the cold to travel from home to home!