Girls Weekend in Tennessee
In my family we have a tradition for the ladies. Every October my mom, Aunt Erica, and I drive the 4 hours up to Tennessee to spend the weekend with my Grandma Joyal. We go antiquing, have lunch, and make Christmas ornaments. This year my younger brother's girlfriend, Jocelyn, came with us. It was her first time, and we had so much fun.
We spent Friday night in the car, crammed in there to make the trip after picking me up after work. I couldn't get off early so we didn't get to Grandma Joyal and my Uncle's house until midnight. It's always good to see family and the hugs went around for all of us. The bags came in for our rooms and we sat down with a bottle of wine. Whenever we come to visit, we have to bring our own wine and snacks. It is a dry county, and the closest store is about 30 minutes away from the house. We must come prepared. After the day at work and the drive, we were all exhausted and went to bed for the night.
The next morning I was the first up. I am an early riser now matter how late I am awake. I knew I was going to be first so I grabbed my book, made a cup of coffee, and curled up in one of the chairs to have a quiet morning. Shadow, my uncle's new dog, is a massive black german shepherd who is looks like a wolf. He is a sweetheart who hasn't had the best life, but is spoiled rotten. Shadow slept near me while I read and put caffeine into my system.
Slowly the others started to get up and we made our way into town. The first stop was our favorite antique store. We have gotten so many items there before, railway lanterns and bottles. There are stools, hutches, and chests. Records, books, and handmade candles. It's always been a good stop. We went to a second antique store. This one was a little different, okay a lot different. There was stuff piled so high to the ceiling, it was a maze of walkways and mirrors. There was so much more to look at and pick through as long as you could get past the old musty smell. We found old buckets and containers that Mom could use in her garden as well as a few other places.
After lunch, the girls returned and gathered the supplies to make the ornaments. The rule is, everyone must bring the supplies and instructions to make an ornament or decoration. I have learned over the past three years that I am not artistically inclined. I tried to make snowmen, and they turned into a lady of the night and her kid. I tried to make a Santa cam, and couldn't even draw the line straight for his belt.
This year, I picked an easy one. You stuff green pom poms into the clear ornament with a felt red heart for the Grinch. I can't mess that up and it turned out really cute! Grandma choose to make wreathes out of canning jars lids, Aunt Erica had us attempt to make cupcake ornaments but the paint wouldn't dry. It didn't puff like it was supposed to. Mom was adventurous and brought three, an easy, medium, and hard. first was melting crayon shavings in the bulb to make it different colors and look like stained glass. Second was using nail polish and water for the bulb to look marbled. Third, was painting trees on a large frosted bulb. Mine didn't turn out great, but it wasn't horrible.
The other thing we love to do is play games. Heads Up is one of our favorites. We ended up laughing so hard throughout the game that the dogs were getting riled up. At one point, Jocelyn and I were trying to act out hailing a cab but couldn't get through it because of the laughs, grandma's guesses, and the tears coming down our faces.
Girls weekend is something we always look forward to. We don't get to see Grandma Joyal and my uncle very much. It's one of the times that we get to just be silly, creative, and be together. Family is what should always come first. No matter the distance or arguments, you love each other. Being able to spend time together is what makes it memorable.
We spent Friday night in the car, crammed in there to make the trip after picking me up after work. I couldn't get off early so we didn't get to Grandma Joyal and my Uncle's house until midnight. It's always good to see family and the hugs went around for all of us. The bags came in for our rooms and we sat down with a bottle of wine. Whenever we come to visit, we have to bring our own wine and snacks. It is a dry county, and the closest store is about 30 minutes away from the house. We must come prepared. After the day at work and the drive, we were all exhausted and went to bed for the night.
The next morning I was the first up. I am an early riser now matter how late I am awake. I knew I was going to be first so I grabbed my book, made a cup of coffee, and curled up in one of the chairs to have a quiet morning. Shadow, my uncle's new dog, is a massive black german shepherd who is looks like a wolf. He is a sweetheart who hasn't had the best life, but is spoiled rotten. Shadow slept near me while I read and put caffeine into my system.
Slowly the others started to get up and we made our way into town. The first stop was our favorite antique store. We have gotten so many items there before, railway lanterns and bottles. There are stools, hutches, and chests. Records, books, and handmade candles. It's always been a good stop. We went to a second antique store. This one was a little different, okay a lot different. There was stuff piled so high to the ceiling, it was a maze of walkways and mirrors. There was so much more to look at and pick through as long as you could get past the old musty smell. We found old buckets and containers that Mom could use in her garden as well as a few other places.
After lunch, the girls returned and gathered the supplies to make the ornaments. The rule is, everyone must bring the supplies and instructions to make an ornament or decoration. I have learned over the past three years that I am not artistically inclined. I tried to make snowmen, and they turned into a lady of the night and her kid. I tried to make a Santa cam, and couldn't even draw the line straight for his belt.
This year, I picked an easy one. You stuff green pom poms into the clear ornament with a felt red heart for the Grinch. I can't mess that up and it turned out really cute! Grandma choose to make wreathes out of canning jars lids, Aunt Erica had us attempt to make cupcake ornaments but the paint wouldn't dry. It didn't puff like it was supposed to. Mom was adventurous and brought three, an easy, medium, and hard. first was melting crayon shavings in the bulb to make it different colors and look like stained glass. Second was using nail polish and water for the bulb to look marbled. Third, was painting trees on a large frosted bulb. Mine didn't turn out great, but it wasn't horrible.
The other thing we love to do is play games. Heads Up is one of our favorites. We ended up laughing so hard throughout the game that the dogs were getting riled up. At one point, Jocelyn and I were trying to act out hailing a cab but couldn't get through it because of the laughs, grandma's guesses, and the tears coming down our faces.
Girls weekend is something we always look forward to. We don't get to see Grandma Joyal and my uncle very much. It's one of the times that we get to just be silly, creative, and be together. Family is what should always come first. No matter the distance or arguments, you love each other. Being able to spend time together is what makes it memorable.
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