Gatlinburg, TN.

Between cuddling Ella Bella and chasing Reesey Roo, my week in Tennessee was full of lovely little moments full of squishy newborn goodness and funny one-year-old antics. Kara & I had a sister*date and saw Sugarland and Sarah Bareilles which was fabulous! Loved every day of last week. 

Kara spent part of last week in Gatlinburg at a PA conference {have I mentioned how badass she is? ya, she removes screwdrivers from people's hands and ish...} and Grams and I decided to take little Reesey Bird up for the day while Kara learned about chest pain and head trauma. In a feeble attempt to describe Gatlinburg, a variety of words come to mind: tacky vs. homey, Southern town vs. redneck Vegas,  nature vs. neon lights. 

There are tourists attractions, galore. From Dollywood to Hillbilly Golf to the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum to the Rootin Tootin Shootin Gallery. But tucked among all the arcades, haunted mansions and wedding chapels, there's this little bit of small town goodness that permeates the cobblestone streets. Everything is handmade and homegrown and its one-of-a-kind-ness warmed my heart, kind of. I spent all morning wandering in and out of shops full of eclectic assortments from fudge to flannel... trying to decide if this place was cute & quaint or downright gaudy & disturbing. I think I'm leaning towards the latter...

We started our very early morning at the Pancake Pantry where there is always an hour line to get in... unless you get there at 7:45 like us and then you get seated right away! The blueberry pancakes were delicious, smothered in butter and blueberry syrup.

It was the most beautiful day full of the spirit of Fall. The leaves were changing. The air was crisp. The town was dressed to the nines in its best Autumn attire: straw-stuffed scarecrows and festive ghords of every size, shape and colour. The sun shone bright. By noon, we were combating the heat with an ice cream cone freshly churned at Kilwins. I heart fall.

We also stopped in the aquarium to ogle over the penguins and spy on all the sharks. 

We stopped at an outlet mall for a little bit of shopping before heading back to Knoxville for a Girl's Night Out! You can imagine my heart's discontent leaving for the airport at 7:40 the very next morning. I could spend every day of the rest of my life going on adventures with these five ladies!! =)