Who Gives a Hoot RD

This past weekend was so full of fun, love, and great food! Matt and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary early. Our official anniversary is tomorrow, and we are going out to dinner at Wasabi for sushi, which we used to do so often when we first started dating. Because I took and shared so. many. photos, I’ll try to keep my words short.

Friday

Simi posted about these gf Pumpkin Spice Bagels from TJ’s, so naturally I had to get them. I enjoyed one for breakfast toasted with apple cinnamon goat cheese on one side and pb/banana/chia on the other. It was amazing!

Comfy cute outfit for the day, complete with a Rachel accessory. 😉

I came home in the afternoon and made a hot chocolate of sorts using almond milk, honey, cocoa powder, and Earthly Choice Cocoa Mocha blend. It was quite enjoyable!

For dinner, we each had a big salad topped with warmed Bush’s seasoned beans and TJ’s gf toast on the side.

I noshed on a pear with yogurt, TJ’s Pumpkin Spice O’s, and almond butter.

Saturday

I prepped overnight oats in our pb jar Friday evening, so I enjoyed them with a banana on the side. Simple and tasty.

Once I finally got my act together, we were ready to head out for our fun day! First we had to get our photo out front. The outtakes were fabulous. Haha. This was the best we could do.

We made our way to Naked Foods Chattanooga. Alison, the owner, catered our wedding, and all of their food is gf. It’s so nice for Matt to be able to eat safely here, and all of the food is amazing!

I brought my Polaroid and took a photo of the avocado mural that Alison painted. You may recall we dined here when we went to the aquarium earlier this year.

Matt chose their meat sauce over spaghetti squash, and it was seasoned perfectly! He gave me several bites.

I had their avocado toast with tahini, micro greens, and an over easy egg. YUM.

While walking back to our car, we thought this building was pretty with the stained glass and all of the architectural details.

Then it was time to navigate to Ruby Falls! We took some dorky SnapChats while we waited in line because what better way to pass the time? Matt’s rabbit killlls me.

We rode the elevator down several hundred feet then took a guided tour through the narrow passageways to the 145-foot indoor waterfall.

Leo Lambert discovered the falls and recounted his discovery in his journal. He and the other explorers noted certain formations looked like animals andm in this case, bacon. Haha

They thought this looked like a potato chip. It was said in his journal that it was at this time that they were getting really hungry in their quest.

After probably 45 or more minutes, we finally made it to the fall!

The lights were really pretty.

<3 <3

I love these photos.

Selfie with a 145-foot waterfall as our backdrop. 🙂

This was looking opposite of the fall.

Sadly, after all of that time to get there, they only allot seven minutes to enjoy and take photos. Matt and I both agreed that were so glad we went, but it was a one-and-done dealio.
It was then time to head to See Rock City. We bought three delicious baked goods from Naked Foods, so we split our pumpkin muffin with almond butter.

It had a fairytale feel to it that was really fun.

Sadly, the weather was anything but cooperative. 🙁 Super cloudy, windy, and rainy. But we tried to make the most of our visit together.

Kaci was SO kind and let me borrow her adorable sweater and skirt from Val’s, and I actually stayed nice and warm. At least the temperatures were cooperative. I bought this clear bubble umbrella from Kohl’s on Friday, so I tried to just roll with the rain!

I managed to capture this selfie on my first try while holding my umbrella. Score! Sorry not sorry for all the photos together. I just love having these memories for years to come.

I actually walked across this suspension bridge without fear! I can’t do heights, but I managed to conquer it here.

It was pretty high up!

So cute!

We were getting soaked at this point, but I really had such a good time. I’d love to go back when it’s sunny!

So magnificent.

Lover’s Leap.

We had to push our reservation to 7:00, but this gave us time to get there safely. We ate at The Dancing Bear Bistro last year, and it was so amazing that we knew we had to return.

I love how the light reflects on the table.

They brought us each a complimentary bite. I don’t remember exactly what she said mine was, but it was amazing whatever was in it. Ha! Matt had a beet prepared in a certain way.

A trio of breads and compote for me.

We split this beef French onion soup with caramelized red onion and a pork rind on top. It was so warm and full of flavor!

I chose their vegetable platter again because last year it was so perfect. This had an apple beet salad with dill clabber cream sauce, roasted broccolini/cauliflower/tomatoes with peanuts, and a spaghetti squash/carrot/cheesy casserole.

Matt had their Appalachian Hot Pot that included Mountain Trout stuffed with lump crab, Red Royal Shrimp & diver scallops, braised greens, grits, Andouille sausage, and tomato gravy. He gave me a few bites, and the combination of flavors and textures was incredible! The fish was so delicate and went nicely with the salty sausage.

We decided to have coffee by the fire, and it was such a wonderful idea.

How sweet are they?!

Tuxedo strawberries!

Had to pose with my coffee and this gorgeous fireplace.

We are definitely planning to stay at their lodge for next year’s anniversary. The property is so wonderful!

As we were leaving, we saw this fall setup and had to take some photos.

The best time of year! I just adore fall.

It looks like Cinderella’s carriage!

We got changed and cleaned up after we got home then called it a night.

Sunday

I enjoyed a banana/avocado/cherry/berry/kale smoothie with half of our Naked Foods apple cider donut for breakfast. The donut is so tender, and the sauce was made perfectly.

I vacuumed and did some cleaning then finally got myself ready for brunch at Simpl.

So handsome!

<3

Matt tried their shrimp and mushroom stir fry. Unfortunately, Matt said it was really salty. :/ Benton’s bacon is very high in sodium, so sometimes it can overwhelm a dish.

I had their chicken and waffles with a fried chicken thigh on a Belgian waffle with cayenne maple syrup and cucumber slaw. It was unbelievable! Very well-made.

We grocery shopped at Kroger together, which was a treat. It’s so fun to go together.

I then went over to Kaci and Drew’s to get ready for Cruze Farm’s trunk-or-treat event. At the last minute, I came up with my scarecrow outfit, and I loved it so much!! Last minute costumes are my jam because then I can’t overthink them. I wore my Cloth & Stone flannel, overalls, wool hat, and makeup.

Kaci was the cutest cat, and Axl was a pumpkin! He was rather mortified, but he’s our goob that goes along with our antics.

Cruze Farm held the event at a church down the road from their main location. It was beautiful!

They had inflatable bounce houses, obstacles courses, ice cream, and the trunk-or-treat set up.

The cutest!

I loved getting to enjoy this event with Kaci, Drew, his parents, his sister and brother-in-law, and their adorable kids. Getting out and doing things in our community is always a blast.

They were giving out mini cones, and I had their Pumpkin pie ice cream. It’s the best!

We all migrated to their main location for pizza.

I enjoyed a slice to tide me over to dinner with Matt. So good!

This is our happy place.

The sky was so gorgeous. This photo doesn’t do it justice.

I loved these decorations in the Pizza Barn. Know Your Bull – so cute!

Once I was back home, I made us each a salad with rotisserie chicken warmed on Matt’s.

Colleen Cruze was very kind and snapped our photo to feature on their page! Even Axl got in on the fun.

This weekend was so full of fun that it did make today rather difficult. But that’s part of it, and I wouldn’t ever take away our epic weekends. I enjoyed half of this coffee cake from Naked Foods this morning, and man was it stellar.

I know this post was long, but if you made it this far, thank you for taking an interest in the amazing weekend we had! Here’s to three years as of tomorrow and many more to come.