September is one of my favorite months of the year. Summer turns to Autumn, we get closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas, and…it’s my BIRTHDAY month! XD A slightly selfish reason, but oh well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #dealwithit
Birthday aside though, I got up to a few things this month. Most were fun, but some were adult-y stuff, so let’s crack on, shall we?
The month started off with me being on vacation! w00t w00t! I didn’t travel anywhere, but had a stay-cation instead, and sometimes those are the best to have, when you truly need to wind down and just relax. That Monday was Labor Day, so my family got together for lunch, and we just visited with each other. It was a pretty chill day!
On Tuesday, I stayed at home and took care of some housework I wanted to get done, and one of those things was painting my bathroom! It was pretty ambitious for me to do in just one day, but the thing is that I had wanted it done for a while now, so I just buckled down and got it done.
It turned out pretty well, considering it was just me. The previous color was a dingy, off-white cream color; I wanted to brighten it up a bit, since it is a smaller room, so I went with a color called “Olympus White”, which is a white base, but with bluish-gray tones. I am very happy with how the color turned out. You can check that out here to see my Snapchat video of the progress that day.
The next day, Wednesday, I decided to go up to the mountains and play tourist for a bit. I started off my day by having lunch at one of my favorite places, The Wild Plum Tea Room, located in Gatlinburg. While they have some constant staples, like their Chicken Salad, Salmon Burger, and Plum Muffins, their menu does change daily, based on what ingredients are in season and available. They also offer vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options.
For this day I opted to go with their Wild Plum Medley, which contains their homemade chicken salad, and the soup and salad of the day; for that day, it was a Sherried Tomato Bisque and a Potato Ranch Salad.
– The chicken salad contains apples, celery, and almonds, with mayonnaise and heavy cream giving it the cream base, but the kicker for me that makes it a bit more special is the hint of nutmeg that is also added, giving a little spice to offset the sweetness.
– The sherried tomato bisque starts with the aromatics (sweet onion, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, tarragon, and rosemary); once those are sautéed, the chicken stock, tomatoes, and heavy cream are added. After simmering for a while, the basil pesto is added, along with sherry, and then once being served, it is garnished with some freshly shredded Pecorino cheese. This soup is so warm and velvety, and is perfect for the autumn months.
– The potato ranch salad was so flavorful, but surprisingly only uses a few ingredients; potatoes, ranch dressing, garlic powder, celery, red pepper and green onions. The salad was cool and creamy, a nice contrast to the soup; the ranch dressing was also a nice change from the mustard-based potato salads we usually have.
To top off that totally awesome lunch, I had the Amaretto Bread Pudding for dessert, and let me tell you, this dessert is divine!! The bread is soaked in light cream, while the eggs, sugar, and almond extract are mixed together, then added to the soaked bread. Almonds and raisins are added last, then it’s into the oven for baking. Once ready to serve, the dish is topped with whipped cream and amaretto sauce. It’s just so, so good!
This is just one of my favorite places to visit, and I’ll have to try to make another visit up there, before they close for the season in mid-December.
After lunch, it was such a nice and clear day, that I decided to drive up to Clingman’s Dome! Halfway up to the Dome, I took a break at the Newfound Gap overlook for a photo opportunity, and I’m so glad I did.
After my stop at the Newfound Gap, I continued on to the Dome. At 6,643 feet, Clingman’s Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and it lies on the Tennessee and North Carolina state line. The last few times I’ve been, it was foggy or really overcast which can limit the views; this day however, was a perfectly clear summer day, so I decided to make the hike up to the observation tower. It’s only a half-mile hike up to the tower, however it is a steep hike; lots of pauses and breaks were taken on the way up! Lots of breaks resulted in many photo opportunities!
That last pic above just shows how steep this half-mile hike is; you can see the parking lot to the trail just beyond the tree line, to the left of the first mountain range in the foreground. However, once I got to the top, the views were totally worth it!
And of course, it goes without saying, that the walk back down was SO MUCH EASIER than the hike up! XD
Before I left the park for the day, I chose a random pull-off on the side of the road, and found a creek! The sounds of running water in creeks and rivers is one of my favorite things. It’s just so relaxing and soothing.
I have a couple of videos of the creek, glorious sounds and all, here and here. 🙂
On Thursday, it was adult-y stuff day, where I got my license renewed, took Fred and Lucy to the vet (where Fred vocalized his displeasure! XD), had a quick clothes shop, and did some grocery shopping.
Then it was Friday, the BIG day! My BIRTHDAY!!! For that day, I treated myself to a spa day; a day of pampering and relaxation was just what I needed. Before I left, Jack and Maggie, our neighborhood cats showed up for some morning noms and kitty scritches!! They are just TOO cute!!
Once at the spa, I started off with an herbal bath, that was actually caramel brûlée scented, and totally got the autumnal vibes going. There was also a strawberry rhubarb candle burning, and it smelt amazing as well.
After that, it was on to my facial, then a full body massage, followed by lunch, and finally a spa manicure.
After the spa, I decided some retail therapy would be nice, and hit up my local Books-A-Million and Sephora! Books and make-up, just a couple of my favorite things! ^.^
Then I picked up some P.F. Chang’s for my birthday dinner, and headed on home.
That weekend, I also managed to finally get my planner done, with a little “help” from Lucy. XD
The next week it was back to work! Since I wasn’t at the office for my birthday, I came back to a decorated desk. My co-workers are awesome! ❤
Trying to get caught up on work after being out of the office is always crazy. Luckily, that Wednesday, I got my Birchbox, for a mid-week pick me up! 😀
During the latter half of that week, my dad came in town, so I spent some time with him when possible. The Saturday he was in, I was already scheduled for my annual MRI, but luckily it was early on Saturday morning, so I was able to get that done and over with before noon.
The rest of the month, in the words of Rihanna, it was “work, work, work, work, work, work”.
The last weekend of September, I had my hair appointment and got my brows done. I get my hair done at the Aveda Natural Alternatives salon, and as we are going into autumn, I decided to cut back on the pink in my hair, and went with more purple, with pops of pink throughout. I must say, I really like how it turned out.
That was pretty much my September. It was busy, but a good one. I know this blog post is going up super late, considering October is practically over, but September was such a good month, that I want to have this post, to look back on for the sweet, sweet mems. XD
Amanda Leigh 