Nashville Wife

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Our Early Marriage

Our 1st Anniversary

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Those who have have been reading Nashville Wife since its birth last spring may remember that Mr. Handsome and I married in mid June. We just celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary, and I have to say that it was my favorite “holiday” ever.Mr. Handsome had to work that day, so we decided to do a romantic dinner at home. I made one of our favorite dishes…homemade Chipotle burritos (click here for the recipe). We drank sparkling grape juice and later enjoyed ice cream left over from our wedding (still delicious).

We only have one set of dishes, but we have a few fancy glasses that we inherited from my grandparents. To make the table look extra fancy, I bleached a white bed sheet instead of splurging for a tablecloth. LOL.

Mr. Handsome gave me a card, a bouquet of pink tulips, and a beautiful painting of one of our engagement photos. I wrote him a love note and bought him a new fishing tackle box.

As a tradition that we hope to continue through the years, we recited our wedding vows, which are displayed over our bed. We also looked through our Shutterfly engagement and wedding albums. Do you have any anniversary traditions?

My Birthday Weekend

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My husband treated me to a two-day birthday celebration this weekend! On Friday night, we ate dinner at Olive Garden, one of my favorite restaurants. Mr. Handsome isn’t a fan of pasta, so that was a sacrifice for him.

On Saturday, we toured The Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson’s plantation home. That’s something I have always wanted to do, but the tickets are a bit pricey ($20 per adult), so we saved that outing for a special occasion. I posted a photo to my Facebook page and will share more pictures soon.

On Saturday evening, we met a group of Mr. Handsome’s parents’ friends, who were driving through our area, for a last-minute dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Then on Sunday after church, my husband grilled the fish he caught last weekend. We spent the rest of the day hiking.

I wasn’t expecting a present, but Mr. Handsome surprised me with a card, a bouquet of roses, one of his paintings (pictured above), and two donuts. It was by far the best birthday I have ever had. šŸ™‚

Valentine’s Trip to Chattanooga

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As a combined Christmas and Valentine’s gift, my husband surprised me with a trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee.We headed down on Saturday morning and spent the rest of the weekend touring the area. Upon arriving, we drove to the top of Lookout Mountain. Instead of paying $20 each for admission to Rock City, we found our own scenic overlook and snapped a photo.

We were told that we absolutely had to visit Ruby Falls, so we did pay for that attraction. It was definitely the highlight of our trip. The tour began with an elevator ride 260 feet into the heart of Lookout Mountain.

After we exited the elevator into the cavern, our guide took us on a
1/2-mile walk to a 145-foot waterfall, located 1,120 feet underground. It was spectacular!

Have you been to Ruby Falls? If not, I highly recommend it.

Date Nights

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One of our fancier date nights last year

Several readers have asked what our date nights look like. Since we don’t yet have children, we treat every night as a date night.

Unless we have Bible study or another commitment, we usually spend our evenings relaxing together. After enjoying a home-cooked dinner, we either practice music, play board games, read, or watch a TV show on Netflix.

On special nights, we might make hand-mixed milkshakes, which are one of Mr. Handsome’s favorite desserts, or a batch of healthy microwave popcorn (click here for the recipe).

Every weekend, we make a point of taking one evening to dress up and go out to eat. My husband’s all-time favorite restaurant is Famous Dave’s. I don’t have a single favorite restaurant, but some of my top choices include Famous Dave’s, Olive Garden, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chick-fil-A, Texas Roadhouse, and a Nashville BBQ joint called Jack’s.

Do you have a favorite restaurant? Or maybe some date night ideas to share?

Husband Happy Meals

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It’s been almost four months since we started our Magnificent Meal Monday tradition, and we’re still going strong. (Click here to read my post from September 28th.)

Mr. Handsome took it upon himself to post a list of his favorite meals to the fridge (which he calls “Husband Happy Meals”) so I won’t have to put too much thought into choosing something to cook every Monday evening.

I figured I might as well share that list with you all, for all the wives in need of some “husband happy meals.” I have included the links to the recipes that are on my blog, but be sure to let me know what other recipes you would like to see in the future. What are your family’s favorite meals?

Husband Happy MealsĀ 
(Guaranteed to Make a Happy Husband)
Cheeseburgers
Bacon and eggs
Homemade Pizza (Recipe)
Hot Chicken Wings*
Homemade Chipotle Burritos (Recipe)
Steak*
Beef Brisket*
Honey BBQ Chicken Wings*
Chili (Recipe)
Meat Loaf*
Lasagna*
Stromboli*
Shepherd’s PieĀ 
Ā 
*Indicates main dish made with a side of veggies

Date Night at the Opryland Hotel

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Since the Christmas season began, I have been dropping hints to Mr. Handsome about my strong desire to spend an evening walking around the impressive Gaylord Opryland Hotel, so that’s what we did on Saturday night.

Built in 1977, the Gaylord Opryland Hotel boasts nearly 3,000 guest rooms and is the largest non-gaming hotel in the continental United States. We have never spent the night, but we have been several times to walk around the three beautiful atriums, which cover nine acres and contain approximately 50,000 plants.

It ended up taking us an hour to exit the interstate, which we later found out was due to a showing of The Grinch at the Grand Ole Opry. Then we went to a frozen yogurt shop inside the hotel and ended up paying $20 for two servings. Thankfully, the spectacular Christmas lights were well worth it!