it would be rude to leave the story incomplete...

I'm apologize for leaving you hanging.  I absolutely must finish telling you about our trip.

Where was I?  We were at Bongo Java weren't we?  We had been drinking coffee and reading...

Well, as soon as we left that wonderful place we stopped at a sweet little vintage shop for a bit.  They had lots of nice things, although I didn't purchase any of them.  

Then we loaded up the Kia and headed to Gigi's cupcakes, and I was... underwhelmed.  I hate to say it.  I was so looking forward to going.  And as you know, I love the place.  But for some reason this time I just wasn't in the mood.  I think it had to do with a few factors.  We had shared a piece of cheesecake at Bongo Java only a few hours earlier, maybe I just wasn't hungry.  I just couldn't resist though, I love the cupcakes so very much!  Oh well, this one time experience won't sway my love for the cup-shaped confections.  

Better luck next time.

There is so much excitement when opening that box with the pink sticker on it.  I liken it to a birthday present.  

Look at that monster thing.  It's a something so much more than a cupcake.  I promise Gigi's Cupcakes, I'll come back again.   Every great love affair has its "off" days.

After the purchase of the cupcakes, we drove to Bookman/Bookwoman to peruse.  I found a great old book about the New Martyrs of Russia.  It includes the lives of saints like the members of the Russian royal family and St. Tihkon to name a few.  What an incredible find!

Then, we went to a sweet little Shop next to Bookman called Pangaea.  I bought the cutest little sewing kit that was shaped like a Russian nesting doll, and it's pink and green!  So adorable! 

We were only shopping in the Hillsborough Village are to kill some time before our movie at the Belcourt Theater.  We saw a French film called L'Enfant Sauvage by Francois Truffaut.  It's from 1970 and it's a true story of a child who lived in the woods for most of his life and then was found and civilized.  Wow, I think that was the worst movie synopsis ever!  It was nice.  I don't think Brandon liked it too much.  

The Belcourt was neat.  I wish we had a nonprofit art house theater here in Memphis...

Then we went to Jackson's for dinner.  Oh baby we went to Jackson's!  I just love that place.I am eternally grateful to my cousin, Liz, for introducing us to our friend Jackson.  We had beer cheese as an appetizer.  It was very nice.  Then for dinner I feasted on a lovely piece of salmon with a shallot apple cider glaze.  It was wonderfully executed, nothing too extravagant, but perfect.  It was served with parmesan mashed potatoes.  I hate to be the salt person, but sadly they needed salt.  For all you salt-phobes out there, sometimes food needs a smidge of salt to bring out the true flavor.  In the case of these potatoes, the salt did the trick.  They were comforting and a bit elegant. 

  Brandon ordered the mussels and fries.  It sounded like such a simple dish.  Mussels and french fries.  But oh boy, it was something more.  It was positively seductive.  The fries were nice, and the mussels were pretty tasty.  But the broth, oh the broth.  It was so rich and wonderful.  Full of garlic and perfectly seasoned with the flavor of the mussels ever so delicately flirting with all of the other flavors.  It was warm and made me want to curl up in my seaside cottage on the coast in Maine during the winter.  There were pieces of grilled bread placed in the center to soak up the elixir, and I am not ashamed to say that I sampled my fair share!  I nearly cried.  No, I am not kidding.

After that experience we had to head home.  There was no experience that could top our meal, so we were left with no choice but to motor on home.  It was a long drive.  The trip home from Nashville always is late at night, but we had lovely music to accompany us.  

Yesterday was a very busy day.  We did several things, none too worthy of space on the blog. 

Today, ugh, it's Monday.  

Now I am at Cafe Eclectic, I came to study but needed to do something fun for a bit.  I have knots forming in my shoulders and need to relax before I can start reading more about how to moderate focus groups.  (Stupid public relations major!)  I had a mini-feast of Cafe Eclectic's delicious mac-n-cheese.  It's good, but I kind of think that maybe Martha's is better.  I also had a sweet little lemon tart for dessert.

Now I will study.