There Goes Connie

Mother/Daughter Birthday Weekend in Georgia (Guest Post from Julie Pearson Rodgers – Part 1)

01/04/2016 By: CCPearsoncomment

(Today on conniewasthere.com we have a guest post from my daughter Julie about a wonderful weekend she recently spent with her oldest daughter Allie).

I recently had the occasion to spend a delightful November weekend with my daughter in the Atlanta area for her ﬁfteenth birthday. Allow me to share some of the highlights from our trip in case you ﬁnd yourself with a similar opportunity in the future. Allie lives in Duluth,GA, so I picked her up after school, and we spent a few hours in the quaint downtown area around Main Street on the bright, fall Friday afternoon. There is a large, meticulously manicured city green with a fountain and attractive sidewalks and park benches, leading to the newly constructed city hall that features a magniﬁcent clock tower and three ﬂoors. The city park has a constant calendar of events year round for young families. The city maintenance department does a fantastic job of keeping the grounds neat and attractive, especially with all the continuous activity. It doesn’t have the historic charm that you ﬁnd in older city squares, but there is a fresh, modernistic air of a city moving forward.

colorful fall leaves in Duluth, GA

A block over from the park is Main Street, which features a sort of “think tank” area for new business, unique decor, fashion and art shops, a few locally owned restaurants, a bakery, and a coffee shop. Allie and I enjoyed browsing through some of the shops, especially “Peace, Love, and Decorating”, and stopping for some cake and coffee at Espresso Theory. Several of the local business owners raved over a pie shop called Crave Pie, but we didn’t have room for pie after the chocolate cake. 🙂
Next we traveled to the town of Marietta, about a thirty minute drive away, for our bed and breakfast destination. We had a room reserved at the Stanley House Inn for the weekend. The Stanley House is a Queen Ann mansion built around 1895 and preserved by a lovely couple with a flair for genuine hospitality. We arrived at the Stanley House just a little before dark, and there was a note on the backdoor from the owner letting us know she had walked to the city square for dinner, but to let ourselves in and make ourselves comfortable. We walked in through the huge, creaky old doors and into a large, beautifully decorated dining space with large ﬁreplaces, shiny hardwoods, elegant ﬂowers, and soft music playing. Upstairs there were four large bedrooms. When we opened the door to ours, we found chocolates and cupcakes waiting on the bedside table to help us begin the birthday celebration.

Our room at the B and B

We decided to walk a few blocks over to the city square for dinner. A friend had recommended the Taqueria Tsunami, a sort of Mexican/Asian mix of fresh food. She told me it had been featured in food magazines and that when she lived there, she saw Alton Brown frequenting it as one of his acclaimed favorite diners. We were early enough (around 5:30 p.m.) to be seated right away, but I noticed by the time we left an hour later, there were lots of people waiting to get in. It’s not a very big place, so try to go early if possible. They don’t take reservations. The food really is so delicious! We began with the Avocado Cilantro Egg Rolls, which were a perfect blend of spicy and sweet. For my meal, I had the Thai Chicken Taco, and it was really yummy. Allie had the Chipotle Lime Chicken. She liked it, but I think mine was better. I really wanted to experience the Mexican/Asian mix. They really go well together! After dinner we walked a little downtown, but Marietta has more of the old charm than Duluth, so many of the shops were already closed for the evening. We looked in the windows and decided to come back in the morning to step inside. We went back to the Stanley House and had a deliciously uninterrupted night of sleep. 🙂 The rooms all have the sound machines by the beds, so we listened to waterfalls as we drifted off to sleep. The Stanley House owner called me while we were having dinner to make sure we arrived safely and to ask what time I would like to have breakfast, so we slept in and enjoyed our breakfast of Bananas Foster hotcakes and bacon at 9 a.m. The hotcakes were perfect, and the Bananas Foster sauce was so rich and sweet and creamy, that neither of us could completely ﬁnish our meal!

(Come back to the blog on Wednesday for Part 2 of this fun mother/daughter weekend review. I’m beginning to think it would work for a grandmother/granddaughter event, or a Girls Weeekend Getaway, don’t you?)

Photos by Julie Rodgers.

The Christmas Trees of NYC (Guest Post from Weston and Tina Shelton)

12/30/2015 By: CCPearsoncomment

(One of the joys of my life has been teaching music to hundreds of young people in Hartselle and Morgan County. Through the wonder of Facebook, I am able to keep up with many of them even years later and watch as they blossom and become all God made them to be. Today’s post very likely could be given the MOST BEAUTIFUL award so far on my blog. Weston and Tina Shelton, both former students from Hartselle, recently made a Christmas trip to New York City. They graciously agreed to share both their writing and photography talents with all of you. I’m sure you will agree, after reading this and clicking on all of the photos, many more places are now added to our Bucket Lists. Thank you so much, Weston and Tina).

Photos by Weston Shelton. Be sure to click on each one.

ThereGoesConnie.com has been such a positive and uplifting social media presence, and we are honored to have been asked to write a guest post about our recent Christmas vacation to The Big Apple.
As a child, I always dreamed of Christmastime in the city. Since we are in the process of building a home and without the usual hustle and bustle of decorating and entertaining, this seemed like the perfect year to sneak away during the holidays! Now that we know New York City is such an easy trip from north Alabama, I foresee many future visits.
We arrived at the centrally located Hotel Edison on Friday evening to this lovely lobby Christmas tree.

Hotel Edison lobby

Hotel Edison is an art deco style, 1930’s boutique hotel in the heart of Times Square. If you are looking for a clean, safe and reasonably priced hotel in mid-town Manhattan, this is the place for you. If you are looking to spend significant time in the confines of the hotel and need a spacious, luxurious room, look elsewhere. After checking-in and dropping off our bags, we immediately walked the half block to Times Square where we found this high tech Christmas tree, just above which you will see the New Year’s Eve crystal ball.

The following morning we went directly to the TKTS booth in Times Square, where we purchased tickets for the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular at a great price! Beware, the TKTS line looks intimidating, but moves very quickly. From there we made our way to Radio City Music Hall where we saw our next legendary tree.

Radio City Music Hall

However, the Swarovski Christmas Tree completely caught me off guard. Said to be worth over $1 Million dollars, this tree took my breath away.

The Christmas Spectacular is truly spectacular and so much more than the Rockettes’ signature kickline. From uniforms and numbers originally choreographed in 1933, to specifically engineered snow drones that float through the room, and finally the most beautiful live nativity we have ever witnessed, the show has something for everyone and exceeds the spectacular expectation.
We then made our way through Rockefeller Center to the Top of the Rock, which was my favorite view of the city (Weston preferred the Empire State Building).

Weston and Tina at the Top of the Rock.

Upon returning to the ground, we found St. Patrick’s Cathedral and this beautiful Christmas tree and yet another beautiful nativity.

Christmas tree at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral nativity scene

You will notice that the baby Jesus is absent. We understand that He makes His arrival in a moving service on Christmas Eve.

Leaving the cathedral, we found The Palace hotel located on the following block along with these two Christmas trees and a sweet gingerbread palace.

Our next stop was The Plaza Hotel, where we found this well-known tree in the lobby. Here, your child can fulfill all of her Eloise dreams or have a picture taken with a Santa who is fortunate enough to get to spend his time on a white and gold gilded chaise lounge. The lower level of the Plaza features a food court that is out of this world. Crepes, chocolates, baked goods and even lobster rolls!

Plaza Hotel Christmas tree

After dark, we started making our way up 5th Avenue, taking in all of the elaborately decorated store windows and toward the larger than life light show display on the Saks Fifth Avenue building. I believe the light show has in excess of 200k lights!

We ended our evening , near where we started, at the iconic Rockefeller Christmas Tree and ice skating rink. As the tree started to twinkle, I declared this as the most fun day of my life. Weston questioned me on the huge statement, but over a week later, I still stand by my declaration.

Rockefeller Center

During the next two days, we visited the Brooklyn Bridge, 9/11 memorial pools, St. Paul’s chapel (founded in 1766 and the location of George Washington’s post inauguration prayer in 1789), floated by the Statue of Liberty, went to the top of the Empire State Building and shopped and snacked our way through Chelsea, Greenwich Village and Soho! The Christmas season has come to a close, but as you start planning your 2016 vacations definitely consider moving New York City up on your list. We’d love to help you plan your trip or hear about your past trips to the Big Apple!

Lobby of the Empire State Building

A flower shop in Chelsea

Pond Spring at Christmas Time

12/28/2015 By: CCPearson4 Comments

On December 19th, 2015, the Friends of Joe Wheeler, at least three area garden clubs, Site Director Kara Long, and other avid students of Wheeler family history, pulled out all the stops for a festive and well-attended celebration in the home and on the grounds of Pond Spring in Hillsboro, AL. You may remember that I have written about Pond Spring here, here, and here, so Steve and I couldn’t wait to go back to see this place decked out for the holidays. The more we go, the more we learn and continue our fascination with Fightin’ Joe Wheeler and his illustrious family.

The front of Pond Spring decorated with garlands.

Live greenery and fresh fruit.

This time I was given permission to make pictures inside Pond Spring, so I wanted to share some of them with you. Remember that one of the things that makes Pond Spring extra-special is the fact that 99.9% of the furnishings, clothing, decor items, books, portraits, and artifacts are original to the Wheeler family. Because of the dedicated efforts of General Joe’s daughter Annie, EVERYTHING POSSIBLE was kept.

Christmas tree in one of the family parlors.

An upstairs bedroom.

The weather was perfect for this celebration. Only one thing put a slight damper on the festivities. The event began at 10:00 a.m. and was to end at 3:00 p.m. At 11:15, just as things were getting cranked up and eager visitors approached the property, a train came through and STOPPED on the tracks, blocking the road leading to Pond Spring. Ms. Long and many others started making phone calls, but it was still an entire HOUR before that train moved out of the way. Arghhhhh! I found myself chuckling over the thought that Miss Annie Wheeler — tiny but audacious woman that she was — would have gone straight to the front of that train, yelling and shaking her fist at the conductor until she got results. When the train tracks were originally laid on her property, a thick line of trees were going to be cut down. Miss Annie got on the phone to the Governor, and those trees remain today. Feisty. Very feisty. And influential for sure.

Sweet child dressed for the celebration.

Refreshments provided by the Friends of Joe Wheeler.

I asked one of the docents about the current owners of all those thousands of acres. He told me that Miss Annie had been uneasy about the nephews who stood to inherit the property, so she designated a bank nearby to hold the land in a trust and only a year ago did those nephews (or their heirs) finally get to divide the property. Bear in mind that she died in 1955, so those folks had been waiting for 60 years!!

Complimentary carriage rides for guests.

Make your plans to visit Pond Spring in 2016 and start your own discovery of this excellent source of pride for every Alabamian.

The Best Parade I Ever Saw

12/23/2015 By: CCPearsoncomment

It was Christmas Eve of 2003. We were 3000 miles away from every family member. We just wanted to somehow survive the next couple of days as well as we could. Then, unexpectedly, the landlady of our apartment, who lived one floor above us, invited us to view Cuenca’s Christmas Eve parade with her from the balcony of her friend’s apartment who lived directly above the main parade route. We thought, “Sure. That will be a fun diversion for a few hours. It’ll be a good way to soak up some more glimpses of the culture.” But, oh us of little faith. This parade was far more than we could have ever imagined, and it lasted for SIX HOURS! Yes, 6. And we were the lucky recipients of the best seats in the house! Really.

(Click each image to get a closer look. You’ll love the faces).

Beautifully-costumed tambourine players

Decorated horses and donkeys

Jesus and His disciples

A huge chunk of the city was completely blocked to vehicles. It looked as if everyone in the southern highlands of the Andes had come to town for the big event. As we were to realize shortly, there were almost as many people IN the parade as there were WATCHING the parade. It started at 9 a.m. and began to wind down by 3 p.m.

Cuenca - Christmas parade float with fancy people

Elaborately-costumed children hung on precariously

There were floats, marching/dancing groups, children dressed in costumes riding donkeys and horses, and lots of pick-up trucks decorated with candies, fruits, flowers, bottles of alcohol and lots of roasted meats to be consumed by the families that night.

Roasted meats and goodies

I remember being surprised by all of the floats and displays with Biblical themes. And, I don’t remember a single snowman, reindeer, or Elf on the Shelf. 🙂 But I DO remember nativity characters ON STILTS!!

The nativity characters on stilts, no less

Through the years, we’ve seen our share of parades. Hartselle High Homecoming and Hartselle City Christmas parades for sure. We even went to NYC for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but I believe that particular Christmas Eve in Cuenca tops them all. I’m so glad I got to witness it in person.

Children in the town center as the parade began to wind down

A Festival and Fettucine

12/21/2015 By: CCPearsoncomment

In the days leading up to Christmas this year, my Silver Fox and I have taken advantage of some delightful holiday events in the middle of our own shopping, decorating, baking, and gift-wrapping sessions. First, we went to see the amazing decorations at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville before watching the Iron Bowl with our son and his family. Even the outcome of the game couldn’t squelch our good moods. The next weekend we went to our Sunday School class party hosted by neighbors across the street. We were all in high spirits with laughter, good food, and an auction to raise money for the mission offering. Two days later we attended the BELLS OF CHRISTMAS Holiday Home Tour and oohed and ahhed over 4 gorgeous homes in Athens.

I participated in rehearsals and performances of An Athens Christmas at our church and loved seeing so many people who came to enjoy our efforts and hard work. We still have the Joe Wheeler Home Christmas Tour on the calendar along with Christmas Eve services at church. Then, at noon on Christmas Day the Pearson 20 will arrive, and everything will culminate with hugs and this happy Momma counting ALL the noses. 🙂 Can’t you just hear “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” in the background and smell the cinnamon of the cookies in the oven as I type?

But, I must tell you about our adventure last Saturday, thus leading to the title of this post. We attended Dickens of a Christmas in downtown Franklin, TN. Oh my! That town knows how to put on a festival. So many of the townspeople decked out in Dickens-era costumes. (Be sure to click on each picture to get a closer look at the details).

lovely ladies

even the policemen get in the spirit

Thousands of visitors were there right along with us, enjoying the vendors, musicians, and the festively-decorated shops. Traffic was completely blocked off from the roundabout in the center of town and for at least 3 blocks in all 4 directions from there.

view down Main St.

Gray’s, a shop on Main St. decorated for the occasion

a Dickens couple poses with me

This year marked the 31st time the event has been held. Obviously, it has grown in quality and in quantity from its beginnings. These two days every December are completely filled with entertainment, food, arts and crafts, carriage rides and Town Sings. I wholeheartedly recommend that you go ahead and mark your new 2016 calendar to attend next year.

street vendor selling candy

almost irresistible cookies

merry fiddlers

Steve and I resisted all of the great-smelling foods for sale on Main Street because we had lunch reservations at Maggiano’s Little Italy in nearby Nashville.

Maggiano’s Little Italy exterior

We normally avoid chains in favor of one-of-a-kind places, but we made an exception in this case. Maggiano’s has grown to numerous locations since its first restaurant opened in Chicago and welcomed the one and only Frank Sinatra at its Grand Opening. But, there are VERY FEW in the southeast. I haven’t found any in Alabama or Mississippi, and I’m pretty sure there’s only this one in Tennessee. Besides, my friend Marie told me this was her favorite Italian restaurant, so I had to check it out. Mercy, it was good!!

I strongly suggest making reservations. Maggiano’s is popular! The day we were there, not only were the holiday shoppers and party-goers out en masse, but also it was Graduation Day at nearby Vanderbilt, so lots of happy families celebrated. The place literally hopped. In spite of that, our service was prompt and attentive.

Imagine red-checked tablecloths with white overlays, lots of brick, mirrors, and windows. Very much a vintage look. Jazzy holiday music was playing. Ahhhhh.

Our waiter brought a complimentary appetizer of zucchini fritte to our table since we were first-time guests. Nice touch. He explained that everything on the menu was made “in house.” We started with salads. I chose a spinach salad with bleu cheese, colored peppers, applewood bacon, pine nuts, red onions, and an incredible vinaigrette dressing. It was amazing — so fresh and crisp.

spinach salad

For entrees, we chose Lighter Take Fettucine Alfredo with grilled chicken and asparagus, and Lighter Take Baked Ziti with Italian chicken sausage, mozzarella cheese, and Pomodoro sauce. Both were exceptional.

fettucine alfredo with chicken and asparagus

baked ziti

They “just happened” to have a seasonal dessert offering of 5 mini canolis with chocolate chip ricotta filling and the ends dipped in dark chocolate and finely chopped nuts. No. We did NOT decide to skip dessert. 🙂 We shared and loved every bite. (Don’t tell my trainer. He’ll never let me off that elliptical next week).

canolis filled with chocolate chips and ricotta

So, I’ll just tell you straight out that I am most assuredly in the Christmas spirit this year, and I hope you are, too. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”

Where Did We Go? Part 2 – The Big Reveal

12/16/2015 By: CCPearsoncomment

Did you leave your guess in the comment section of Monday’s post? If not, stop now and go back to do that. Let’s play fair. 🙂

The following pictures will get progressively more obvious until you’ll practically be yelling the destination at your computer. 🙂

Hint #3 — Santa picture packages here range from $35 to $70. Way over the top. The good news is that Santa looks very real.

Hint #4 –There are some great shows in this location during the holidays. In my past experience, I can say that they are VERY professionally presented. Again, the downside is that you have to be willing to watch your credit cards quiver.

Hint #5 — The restrooms are immaculate, and you can get plenty of exercise walking through and going up and down the steps.

Hint #6 — The horticulture on display is spectacular.

Yes! You guessed it. Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Spend the night or an afternoon. They make a big deal out of the Christmas season. Enjoy the music, the shops, and the surroundings. And, try not to stress out over the traffic. Happy Holidays!

P.S. There are several nice restaurants inside the Opryland Hotel complex, but I saw an intriguing one across the street from the main entrance called Caney Fork River Valley Grille. Check out their website here. The menu sounds delicious and is probably a good bit less painful to your wallet. 🙂

Where Did We Go? Part 1

12/14/2015 By: CCPearsoncomment

Take a look at the pictures made very recently. Click on each one to make them larger. Read closely for hints. Leave your guess in the comment section. The Big Reveal will come on Wednesday.

Hint #1 — It’s very popular around this neck of the woods.

Hint #2 — It costs $24.00 PLUS TAX to park and go inside.

Consistency is the Key

12/11/2015 By: CCPearsoncomment

Our youngest daughter Julie’s favorite work-out slogan is: “Consistency is the key!” She should know. She’s been working out consistently since she was in the 8^th grade, and now she’s the 37-year-old mother of 7 children who is still in great physical condition.

A consistently healthy diet and exercise program will lead to a good Body Mass Index.

A consistent prayer life will lead to knowing God’s will.

Consistently taking prescribed medicines will lead to healing.

Consistent communication with family and friends will lead to strong relationships.

One morning in Ecuador I benefited noticeably from my husband’s daily habit of reading Proverbs. On the 10^th of the month, he reads Proverbs chapter 10, and so on. This works very well because there are 31 chapters in Proverbs, enough for one every day during the month. My new friend and neighbor Claudia was asking how often and by what methods I studied the Bible. I showed her my notebooks, Bible translations and commentaries and then remembered Steve’s habit. Sure enough, there it was on January 23^rd and his book mark was in Proverbs 23. The example I showed Claudia was clear and consistent.

In what areas do I need to develop more consistency? What about you? What comes to your mind?

“O love the Lord, all you His godly ones! The Lord preserves the faithful . . . “ Psalm 31.23

Eating Our Way Down Broad Street (Rome, GA)

12/09/2015 By: CCPearsoncomment

Our fun Black Friday on Broad Street began and ended in the Honeymoon Bakery with this rationale: Fortification for the project ahead and then a reward for a job well-done. Spoken like a true grandmother/travel writer with grandchildren for company, right?

There were dozens of choices in this yummy place, but we opted to try mini-cupcakes, a canoli, and several varieties of cookies during our two visits. All received 2-thumbs-up ratings from our little group.

decorating cookies at Honeymoon Bakery

After several hours, we were practically “faint with hunger” (a true hyperbole right there), so we started looking for kid-friendly options that were NOT chains. If you prefer tried and true places (a.k.a. chain restaurants), then you’ll find Jefferson’s and Mellow Mushroom within a few steps of each. Other highly-recommended options were La Scala Mediterranean Bistro, Harvest Moon Cafe, Partridge Restaurant, Curlee’s Fish House, and Crawdaddy’s.

Considering our budget AND the preferences of a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old, we chose Schroeder’s New Deli and were not disappointed.

Schroeder’s is very family-friendly with good prices. It has concrete floors, TVs for watching sports, a lively atmosphere, and classic rock playing. For example, we all sang along (softly) with “Gimme, Gimme Some Lovin.” Our group sampled the roast beef wrap, the tuna melt, a pizza slice a la Shazam, a personal pan cheese pizza, and a veggie pita with a basket of okra to share. Smiles all around.

veggie pita

pizza slice a la Shazam

tuna melt

roast beef wrap

Stay tuned for another blog in a few weeks about a delightful Bed & Breakfast in Rome, plus some of the historical significance of this lovely city. It is SO MUCH MORE than just a place Sherman did NOT burn down on his way to Atlanta.

Historic Broad Street in Rome, GA – Through the Eyes of Grandchildren

12/07/2015 By: CCPearson1 Comment

If there’s anything better than exploring a new shopping area, it has to be exploring that area with a couple of grandkids and their pretty Momma. This year instead of hitting the malls or Big Box retail establishments on Black Friday, we found the attractive and unique stores located primarily in the 200 block of Broad Street in downtown Rome, GA — the current home of our daughter Laura, her husband, and their children Nathan and Megan. With a similar plan to what I implemented with the grands who live in Franklin, TN in this post from July 1, 2015, Nathan and Megan were asked to visit 10 stores with me by going in, taking a good look around, and then choosing one or more of their favorite items in that place.

We started with a sweet treat for fortification and a lunch was promised to happy campers, but the eating places will be covered later. 🙂

Store #1 — Whistle Britches. This one is fairly new to downtown and has a jazzy, trendy vibe.

Whistle Britches fun for Megan

Whistle Britches – Nathan is very consistent with his orange and blue choices

Store #2 — Paula’s Boutique on Broad. Paula had a huge sale event going on, so people were lined up by the dozens when the doors opened.

Paula’s Boutique, my Silver Fox with Nathan

Paula’s Boutique with Megan

Store #3 — Elysium, Inc. What unique merchandise! According to one of the owners, everything sold in Elysium is handmade. Very special items.

Store #4 — Dogwood Books and Antiques. They advertise having more than 20,000 new, used and rare books. I could have spent hours there. Who knew there were so many authors from the state of Georgia? Here is a list of popular Georgia-born authors.

Dogwood Books, display of Georgia authors

Dogwood Books, another display of Georgia authors

Dogwood Books, mural

Dogwood Books, Megan’s choice

Dogwood Books, Nathan’s choice

Stores #5 and #6 — Riverside Gourmet and Bussey’s Flowers, Gifts, and Decor. These two are side by side and share display space.

Nathan headed straight to the candy display. He’s got quite a sweet tooth.

Bussey’s Flowers, Gifts and Decor

Riverside Gourmet

Store #7 — Pineapple Place. It is located about a block off of Broad St. on 3rd Avenue but definitely worth the slight detour. Their Christmas decorations were my favorites in the area.

Store #8 — Ginger’s Dollings and Cattywags. What a fun name for a store! Lots of toys, games, and, of course, dolls. It is on the opposite side of the street from stores 1-6.

Ginger’s Dollings and Carrywags

Store #9 — Campus Station Athletic Apparel. We decided to let Nathan and Granddaddy peruse all of the “guy stuff” in this one while the ladies went to the girlie store next door.

Campus Station Athletic Apparel

Store #10 — Abral’s Classy and Sassy. In addition to a wide selection of formal/party dresses, this store has fun accessories and a great place perfect for little girls to experiment with make-up and nail polish. Megan had a ball there.

Abral’s – Megan dreaming of the future

Abral’s Classy and Sassy

Stay tuned for some food pictures and suggestions in my next blog. Hmm. Hmm. Good.

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