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From TV to Reality: Our Unforgettable Trip to Laurel, MS

October 13, 2024October 14, 2024Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Around the beginning of the year, I told my sister Clarissa I was ready for a road trip. We hadn’t done one in forever and I thought we should plan one to celebrate her upcoming birthday. I gave her the choice of destination and she immediately chose Laurel, Mississippi, the home of Ben and Erin Napier and origin of HGTV’s popular Home Town.

I’d never seen an episode at that point, but she took care of my lack of education, and I was immediately hooked. I’ve always been a sucker for revitalizing historic areas, love the show, appreciate the atmosphere you pick up on in their episodes, and was really looking forward to the experience. After the fact, I’m here to say that, of all the vacations we’ve taken together, this was one of the best!

Big picture: Although we did plan for travel to other cities, we focused primarily on the historic part of Laurel, which is where the Napiers and their businesses are, and from the beautiful architecture to the quirky streets to the phenomenal people, we truly felt right at home. Admittedly, this is an area rich in tourists, so obviously the businesses are going to focus more on customer service than the average checker at the big box store. Still, we weren’t the only tourists commenting on how friendly everyone was; I overheard several such conversations. Too, as a Christian, I was delighted by how many of the stores played Christian music.

We did make one major mistake, and I’ll share it right now so you can save yourself the frustration. We planned our trip for Saturday through Thursday. What we didn’t realize is that some of the places we would specifically end up wanting to go are only open Thursday through Saturday. We still had a fantastic time, but it would have been better if we’d done more research. We’ve already decided that, were we to go back, our trip would start on Wednesday.

We also could have attended church Sunday morning if we’d planned ahead. Honestly, it’s amazing what you don’t think about.

We arrived late on Saturday, so that day was a wash as far as Laurel was concerned. Then, on Sunday morning, with almost everything closed while people were in church, we parked downtown and started walking. It was a beautiful day, and we were able to ogle the gorgeous old houses and buildings to our hearts’ content because we pretty much had the streets to ourselves. By the time we got hungry, we found the one place that was open: Grits and Some. If you go to Laurel, plan to eat a meal at Grits and Some. I don’t remember what Clarissa ate, but I had some truly excellent biscuits and sausage gravy (more than I could eat), and the price was good. I paid around $7 before the tip. We fully intended to eat there again later in the week. That didn’t happen for two reasons: We failed to pay attention to their hours of operation, and we found something different for “breakfast” the next morning.

Enter Forever Nutrition. I’d heard of loaded teas before, but didn’t know what they were and this place sells them (and many other things). Since we were alone in the store the owner took time to fill us in on loaded teas and… well, a lot, really. By the time we left on that first day, we felt like we’d found a friend. From that point on, Forever Nutrition was our first stop in the morning. A healthy breakfast? Maybe not so much, but it sure tasted good, and we seriously enjoyed getting to know the owner a little better and hearing her thoughts about the town, and the Napiers.

Speaking of Ben and Erin, we saw them that day at lunch. At our new friend’s suggestion, we went to Wilson’s Commissary (southern cooking), which is what I think of as community dining. Instead of individual tables, you have long rows of tables. It’ an efficient use of space, allowing them to serve quite a few people in a small room, and it’s clearly a popular destination; they need all those chairs. At one point, while I was looking around, I caught a glimpse, only a glimpse, of a woman whose haircut matched Erin’s and who, even more telling, was using her hands the way Erin does when she talks. With people between us, I couldn’t be sure, so I texted Clarissa, who was sitting across from me. (Community tables, remember? I didn’t want to say it out loud and have the local beside me think I was a stalking fan.) She was able to see not only Erin, but Ben sitting beside her.

Did we approach them? Definitely not. We are fans, but not that type of fan. We just thought it was cool that we’d seen them in their normal habitat, so to speak. Interestingly, it seemed like Ben intentionally stuck around for a few minutes after everyone else in their party left, just to make himself available to people. I can’t be sure if that was his purpose, of course, but it was nice to see him shaking hands.

In talking to the owner of Forever Nutrition (Can’t believe I never got her name!), we learned that what we’d expected…hoped…is true. The town is very protective of this family. She didn’t tell us a whole lot, but did share one story that made it clear just how dangerous fame can be and how the town comes together to have their backs. All of which is another reason we had no intention of approaching them.

One last thing on food. We ate well while we were in Mississippi, but our hands down favorite restaurant was the Bird Dog Cafe. This is one of the locations Ben and Erin had worked on, which is why Clarissa knew about it and wanted to go. The atmosphere is phenomenal, but oh, the food! Oh man, the food! I just can’t! They have a great menu with fancier choices, but I opted for a meatball sub that beat every other sub I’ve ever had. My receipt says I also had a salad, and I’m sure it was awesome too, but that sub left an impact. I was so full that I almost didn’t order dessert, but I had a feeling their chocolate peanut butter cheesecake would be equally amazing. I was right. So, if you go to the Bird Dog cafe, get dessert too!

Moving right along, I’m sure it won’t surprise anyone that one of our favorite things to do when on vacation is shop. Even if I don’t have much to spend, as long as I have something budgeted for shopping I’m happy. With that in mind, some of the places that got my money were…

Office Products Center & Gifts
Yes, it’s an odd name. I didn’t ask, but suspect it started out as an office supply store and someone was smart enough to start adding gifts. It’s about half and half now, and though there were many things I liked, I settled on long-sleeved, Laurel-themed, Christmas Ts for the two of us. Clarissa found a gorgeous leather purse and a few other things. We were there for a while and had a blast visiting with the owner and other shoppers. It’s what I referred to earlier; even with other shoppers the feeling in downtown Laurel is one of community.

The Remnant
As soon as we heard about this resale shop, we knew we had to go, because its profits help fund housing for women and children who are going through truly hard times (think domestic abuse, recovery, etc.). Walking in was a nice surprise, because you don’t get a resale shop vibe at all. I suppose I would call it a resale boutique because they’ve done a beautiful job with the decor, and their staging of the antiques and similar items makes you feel like you’re in an antique store. They also sell clothing, and I did buy some.

The Plaid Pecan
Also a resale shop, this one netted me two sweaters and two tops, one of which was new with tags, and even the new top only cost $10. I left happy.

The Scotsman
Fans of the show know The Scotsman is Ben’s company. It sells a wide variety of both leather and wood items, as well as other very cool gifts. We shopped there two different days. The first day, I discovered absolutely adorable child-sized wood items: My youngest granddaughter got a maple cutting board, “knife,” and rolling pin for her birthday. They are made for a child, but are adult quality and I can see her using them for a very long time. The children’s section was a definite challenge to my self-control, and it was only one corner in a fabulous store. We spent a lot of time oohing and aahing that day. Then, after he learned about the leather items they offer, my brother-in-law had us go back the next day to shop for him, and we hit the Home Town fan jackpot.

One wall of the Scotsman is a huge window that lets you see into the wood shop where they film episodes. And they were filming! We got to speak with one of his team members while we watched, and learned some really interesting things – like just how grueling the shooting schedule is. We also shopped, and I bought one little thing for me, a leather business card holder. I couldn’t leave without something to help me remember the experience and, besides, I needed it.

Scent Library
I tried hard to resist the temptation. The Scent Library is another place we went twice, and the second time was because I could not get the memory of one particular candle out of my head. The Scent Library is Erin’s brainchild. Their tag line is “Every scent tells a story,” and the shop is set up accordingly; it looks like a library. The scent I couldn’t pass up is Leiper’s Fork. It makes me think fall and Christmas. Here’s its story.

On trips to visit friends outside of Nashville, we spent most of it at the hearth of a wood burning fireplace in Leiper’s Fork. After gathering firewood from the dense woods around their house, spending a cold night fireside in flannel pajamas was the best ending to the day. – Erin Napier

Since I was already buying one candle, it didn’t take much for the “Blind Date with a Candle” display to suck me in. One description sounded like it would fit me, and the discounted price was enough to bring me back to that table for the third and fatal…I mean final… time. I ended up with Ouida’s Garden, a luscious floral that I’m really glad I bought.

Hellfighters
This place is amazing! At first glance it looks like it would be a motorcycle shop, and it is, but it’s much more. They do custom work on bikes and Jeeps and have quite a few bikes in the showroom/store. They carry a little of everything from clothing in a variety of styles to accessories to fun and funky gifts to… Well, everything. They also have a motorcycle history museum upstairs that we both enjoyed visiting.

And best of all, which we didn’t learn until we checked out, they support Mission At The Cross, a home that helps recovering addicts find victory. We were told that pretty much everyone who works there is someone who has been going through their program, so they’re also being prepared to re-enter the workforce. Definitely pay this place a visit!

You’ll find street after street of shops and places to eat in Laurel. These are just the ones I can remember because I still have the receipts. There are other things to do as well. They have multiple museums, and the visitors center is a must. Not too far down the road is a living history museum that our poor planning kept us from experiencing. As I said earlier, there were several interesting places we missed because of our scheduling mistake.

They also have events throughout the year, and I’m sure the place is beautiful at Christmas. Clarissa is already talking to Brother about going back at some point during the holidays for that very reason. If you’re looking for a road trip, here’s your sign.

Tiny House Part 19: Final Kitchen Tour

February 9, 2024April 4, 2024Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

And today we reach the end of the kitchen tour, which is pretty much the final part of the house tour, though I will have more things to share. First up, the second built in!

I love how deep they were able to make this cabinet. As you can see, the top shelf is perfect for the two rectangle baskets. As I explained in a previous post, they’re woven rope and are 15x10x10. Because they are flexible and I have my mixing bowls in the one on the right, they’re not decorator rectangles, but they are definitely functional! The basket on the left houses my to-go containers. I’ve made no bones about the fact that I don’t cook, but I do occasionally buy frozen family-sized meals that I can cook in the microwave. Then I freeze leftovers for taking to the office to save money on eating out.

Ah, the rainbow baskets!

MINTWOOD Design 3-Pack Storage Baskets for Shelves, Playroom and Classroom Storage Basket, Book Basket, Decorative Storage Cube Bins, Woven Closet Organizers, Nursery Baskets, Rainbow

Study the picture again and you’ll see how they used more of the teak countertop to set me up with a microwave shelf. As you can see, they notched the teak to give me space for my fridge. They did this because I needed as many inches as I could possibly get in my closet! Maybe I’ll show you the closet later, but it still has way too much room for improvement.

There is plenty of room on the shelf in front of the microwave, however! And, as I mentioned before, the dryer serves me well as additional counter space.

And now, look at my adorable fridge! Yes, this vintage-style treasure is one of the delights of my life.

We found it at Sam’s Club, but believe it or not you can actually get it on Amazon and it comes in six colors! I chose white because I wanted it to match my washer and dryer, and because white works with pretty much everything, but you can also get it in black, a retro blue, creame, pink, and red. I’m not showing you the inside of mine, but here’s a screen shot from the Amazon ad.

It’s the iio 7 Cu Ft Bottom Freezer Retro Refrigerator, Small, with Mini Fridge for Bedroom, 3 Glass replacement Shelves, LED Light,1 Crisper, 2 Drawers, and I chose to take a screen shot of the blue one so you could glimpse the color that would have been my second choice. It stands 57″ high and 21.5″ wide and is very energy efficient. Also, as you can see, the fridge shelves are totally adjustable.

My decorator friend says she’s going to build me some kind of base that we can put under it to raise it up a little bit. It really doesn’t bother me, but she insists someone as tall as me shouldn’t have to bend over so much to reach the freezer. What I’ve not told her is that I usually just scoot over there in my desk chair if I’m going to be doing much in the freezer at all. Just one more advantage of tiny house living!

Ah, and the basket on top of the fridge is something I picked up randomly at T.J. Maxx. I keep my bread products in it: bread loaves, bagels, crackers, tortillas…that sort of thing.

Thank you for visiting my tiny house!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 7: Desk Storage

October 27, 2023April 4, 2024Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

We’re taking a closer look at the desk today, specifically discussing storage.

This desk offers great upper storage with one large open compartment in the center and two on each side of it. I will note that in the desk I found for you on Amazon those three compartments appear to be the same width. That is not the case here.

Moving from left to right, you can see that I simply put boxed items in the first space. The center storage is made up of 6 plastic trays that I picked up at Walmart and spray-painted teal. You would be surprised just how much that set of trays holds. The white thing you see between two of the trays is my AC remote; I like to keep it handy. Finally, in the third compartment, I have a wood box that had been hanging around for years. It fit, so I spray painted it purple. Beside it, in case you’re curious, are a glass pen (in the box) and a bottle of purple India ink.

In case it’s not obvious just from this photo, I like color. I fell in love with all the colors while cruising the Caribbean with my sister. Consequently, from my absolutely amazing vintage-style fan to the artwork and decor you’ll see throughout, color rules. Be ready.

And since I mentioned the fan, I’ll point out that my ceilings are low enough that a ceiling fan is not an option. I didn’t even think about that fact until my third night of feeling like I was suffocating from the heat prompted a conversation with my sister. She reminded me that my bedroom ceiling fan in the other apartment was never turned off; I’m used to air that moves. Shortly after this conversation, we headed to Walmart where I almost embarrassed myself in my excitement over this gem. I love its vintage style and the fact it is an almost exact match for the color of my “kitchen” cabinets. I can set it to oscillate and it has a variety of speeds. It even has a fabric-covered cord like they used when I was a kid!

Down girl. Calm down. Yes, I love my fan.

Moving on. Heading back to the photo, if you look at the left part of the L you’ll see that there is a traditional desk drawer. It is huge. I filled it with a variety of desk organizers that I may or may not ever be willing to show. (I do not have a magazine-perfect home and the drawers prove it.) To the right of that, you can see another opening that can be used in a variety of ways. I’ve chosen to slide a bamboo tray into that spot. My pencil sharpener (and, in this photo, a tube of moisturizer) fits perfectly beside the tray.

Moving on to the next photo, I’ll hit quickly on what’s on top of the desk. (By the way, the book on the easel is the one I’m pulling the American Women biographical sketches from.)

The glass jar holding peppermints is one of a set of 12 I bought on Amazon when I was working on gifts for friends. It’s 20 ounces and has a bamboo top with a seal. It’s the perfect size when you need to hold something (like peppermints) but don’t need a huge container.

The “rainbow” to its left is a clear plastic box that holds seven smaller pill boxes, each marked “Mon.” through “Sun”. This is a huge help to me. I take several supplements, as well as a couple of prescriptions, and it’s much easier to set this case up for the week than it is to haul all those bottles out from the medicine shelf every single day. Each little pill case has two compartments, one for AM and one for PM. When I travel, or even if I just know I’ll be working an extra long day at the church, I snatch up the appropriate pill boxes and toss them in my purse.

Now to the floor. (I might get killed for letting you see this part of the concrete. Remember I’m the one who insisted on no flooring; the rest of the floor is gorgeous.) This is what I meant when I said this desk allows a wealth of under-desk storage. The two white boxes in the back corner are stackable plastic drawers. The top one holds my paper towels and the bottom is essentially my first aid kit; it contains all sorts of things from bandages to lotion to ice pack sleeves to the wrist brace I wear on (thankfully) rare occasions. I did find these boxes available on Amazon and about choked at the price, but in reality these are over five years old and have held up extremely well to continual use, so they’re worth it.

Next to this is a plastic basket I bought somewhere years ago, and it’s home to a variety of items having to do with my book and blog publishing. I hope to reach a point where I have a better place for these things, but for now it works. And then, of course, you have the shredder. It may seem counterintuitive to have a shredder in a small apartment, but it’s great not only for security purposes but also for keeping paper trash volume down as well. I snagged this one at Sam’s Club and it has been more of a help than I ever dreamed.

And that’s almost it for the desk. All that’s left is the shelf on the end. It’s perfect for the few DVDs I permitted myself to keep as well as my bank (Yes, the door is an old post office box front.), journals, my Bible and notebook (when they make it to the shelf; I use them constantly), and the binder that holds my Prismacolor collection. The three zippered sections of this pencil case have elastic straps that hold a total of 120 pencils, and it’s the best storage solution I’ve ever found for my art pencils.