For Thanksgiving we went down to Atlanta to visit Gavin's Aunt and Uncles. I had never met them or their children (Gavin's cousins) and it was great to be able to meet them and spend some time with new family. Since we both had to work the day after Thanksgiving we were only able to spend a day down there. I hope that we are able to go back down and explore more of Atlanta in the future!
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas Gavin and I were both working a lot and getting settled at the apartment. We got (mostly) everything unpacked by the time my parents came out for Christmas. My parents came out for Christmas and we got to explore more of Nashville with them. Here are some picture highlights from their visit:
Gavin carved the turkey for Christmas dinner!
We used our china for the first time!
We visited Opryland at night to enjoy the lights
They had horse drawn carriages that took you around the grounds!
Some of the trees all lit up
We went to a barbeque restaurant that was on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It was soo good!
We went downtown with my parents and checked out some of the honkeytonks!
At Honkeytonk Central, this place is three stories and has a different band on each floor
We toured the Ryman auditorium and even did the backstage tour!
Those were some of the fun things we did while my parents were here, but there is still so much more of Nashville to explore! My parents stayed through New Years and we spent New Years Eve downtown. They closed off Broadway Street downtown and had a stage at the end of the street by the river. There were multiple artists that performed and The Fray played the last concert at midnight!
The stage and the music note that dropped at midnight
It was cold and started raining around midnight.
My parents flew home after New Years and Gavin and I got back into the normal swing of things. I am still working at Hobby Lobby and starting to work some Saturdays in the office. Gavin passed his Series 6 test before Christmas and just finished a 2 week program they call product training. He is now on the phone with advisors who are calling with questions and is studying for his Series 63 licensing test. Once he passes that test he is eligible to interview for Internal Wholesaler positions within Jackson and will only have one test left to take! Meanwhile, I have started looking into Master's Programs and taken the beginning steps toward studying for the GRE.
I have been enjoying putting my spare time towards crafting and trying new recipes. These are a few projects I have done in the last week or so:
Valentine's Day Wreath
I made this with crayons and my blow dryer
I am loving all the wine cork crafts that are all over pinterest! They are so inspiring!
My next project is painting a desk we got off of Craigslist. It is going to be my craft desk and storage area. After that I have our table and chairs and then a pair of side tables to paint. I am excited to take on this project and a little nervous at the same time. I have yet to attempt to paint furniture in my DIY projects.
On another front, Gavin and I found a Church that we have gone back to and even want to continue to go back to. I did not think that it would be so challenging to find a church in the "belt buckle of the Bible Belt". So far the people have been very friendly and welcoming, the worship has been good and the preaching is solid. The first week we were there we found our the preacher and his wife are from California and his wife even went to Cal Poly. Also last week we found out that there are some big Duck fans that attend the church. I guess it just made it feel like we could relate that much more. It isn't that those things are necessities, but they just make us feel a little more at home.
Well, I think that is all for now! I really am going to try to update more often! The posts might not be as long or as in depth, but I figure more frequent posts are worth it.
