Escape to Chattanooga
“So that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” — 1 Peter 1:7
I’m grateful for the encouragement & inspiration I brought home with me after two days at the Refined Conference so beautifully hosted by Mandy Roberson and her fabulous Market Refined Media & Publishing team.
I hugged people who walked alongside me in the self-publishing process but had only been names on the screen, reconnected with an old friend, signed books and shared conversations with new friends, and heard compelling stories from creatives I now follow on Instagram. It’s not lost on me we opened and closed the conference with worship & prayer. That’s where all our work, skills, and stories belong — surrendered to Jesus.
While I was at the Refined Conference on Friday and Saturday, Greg played golf at Bear Trace at Harrison Bay and Moccasin Bend. I had lunch both days from Lil Mama’s Chicago Style Hoagy and became a little obsessed with the Spicy Mami sandwich.
Then I sat down the laptop down for a couple more days and finished my much-needed getaway with my husband in Chattanooga.
We had dinner at 1885 Grill on Friday. My Shrimp and Crawfish Étouffée was delicious — and we put away many hush puppies with honey butter. Then we went to see Ruby Falls, which was fun!
After the conference on Saturday, we had dinner at Scottie’s on the River, which had good food and a good view. Then we decided to go to a minor league baseball game because it was a nice night. The Looksouts versus Trash Pandas was entertaining and we walked up and bought tickets in the third row near home plate.
On Sunday, we went to the Chattanooga Market had lunch at Naked River Brewing Co. My brisket tacos were good but the service wasn’t great. We rode the incline railway up Lookout Mountain and hiked to Glen Falls, which we knew was dried up from the drought.
We met my cousin/friend Mary and her husband, Kyle, at Tony’s Pasta Shop. I like pasta fine, but this may have been the best pasta I’ve ever had. I had beef ravioli with broccoli, Italian sausage, and spicy Alfredo sauce. Then Greg and I did a quick Trader Joe’s trip to get some fun groceries to bring home.
Before we left town this morning, we had a late breakfast at Big Bad Breakfast. I wanted everything on the menu, but my French toast was delicious. Greg’s biscuit crumble was yummy too.
I’m thankful for a chance to getaway from normal life, think about what God is calling me to write next, sleep in, eat good food I didn’t have to plan, do fun things with Greg, and just have some time together about a month after celebrating our 22nd anniversary.
*****
Traveling is one of my favorite things to share about, and here are some of my favorite (travel) things and tips on how to take the trip (any trip).
And here are some family-favorite trips:
Thank you for coming to Refined, and for your kind words! It was so great to see you after all these years, and I can’t wait to hear what’s next for you.
I’m so bummed I didn’t make it to the market on Sunday! Would have been fun to run into you there. 🙂 (And I would have suggested a different lunch spot. ha!) Sounds like you found several great stops though–we LOVE Tony’s!
We’ve been enjoying the bread we bought at the market this week! We picked lunch out of convenience and should have done a little more investigating. That’s okay – we had a great time! Thanks again for hosting such a wonderful two days. Truly it was all what I needed.