August - A Month for Friends, Food, Concerts, and Crafts

The Williamson County Fair

I recently went to the Williamson County Fair with some friends. 

And you know what that means...
Lots of food.

 A Caramel Apple with Sprinkles

 I had a corn dog...

 And washed it down with a Gyro.

Cool rides.

Karaoke. (My friends... not me, of course)

And a cow with a hole in it.

A real, live cow with a whole in one of its stomachs.  The guy fed the cow some grass and then reached into its stomach and pulled it out.  They do it to study the digestion of cows.  I personally think that it is really awesome. I could have watched it all night.

Worship

I had the best week of concerts recently.  I went to see Kari Jobe with a few friends at a local church. 

She was awesome! If you listen to Christian radio, you will know her song “We Are”.

And then I went to a Zoe Group album release.  Most of the members of Zoe either attend, or have attended, my church so they decided to do their album release with us.  It was an awesome night!

Sam’s Sushi

I really, really love sushi and I finally found the best Nashville sushi joint. Sam’s Sushi. It is a tiny little place downtown on the corner of Printer’s Alley and Church. Sam owns the place. Yes, he does literally own the establishment but I mean it more like he owns the place. Dominates it. He is the only person who works in the tiny little corner restaurant that seats about 10. He takes orders (you write it down on the piece of scratch paper that he plops down on your table). He makes the sushi (by taking his sweet time, there are signs everywhere reminding you that this is not a “fast food” joint and that orders take 15-30 minutes). He does the dishes (after you clear your own plate of course). And he makes the best sushi in town (at the best price - $5.95 for two huge rolls). You have to go in small groups of people.  Any more than three and he might just make you leave. If the place gets crowded, he locks the door. If you ask for a To Go box and he thinks you haven’t eaten enough, he will make you eat more. If you take to long to eat, he will make you give up your table. And don’t try small talk. He has a sign beside his sushi bar that says “I’m fine, okay” as if he were saying Don’t ask me how I am doing. I’m fine. Okay. Nice, Sam. 

Under the "Please have a seat" sign on the picture of the sushi: "I'm fine ok"

And one day he made me and a group of fellow young professionals read this article before ordering:

18-35? You are Generation Screwed! 

(An article highlighting social security changes, social responsibility, etc.) 

Oh, Sam.

Sewing Class

On Saturday I finished my sewing course! (This was all a part of my New Year's Resolution.) Yes, I now officially know how to thread a machine and sew a reversible tote bag. Pure awesomeness. 

Class 1 - Threading a machine and sewing various stitches on straight lines.

I can’t always sew straight and my thread gets hung in the machine a lot and I always forget to reverse stitch before sewing and I have a bad habit of pushing the fabric through the machine instead of guiding it. But that is all beside the point. The point is that I made this.

 Class 2 - Tote Bag

It's reversible!

And now I just need to purchase a machine! Look out, Pinterest!

Birthdays

I have celebrated birthdays for two of my favorite people recently.

My dad!

I made him a chocolate covered peanut butter banana cheesecake.

(Why yes, I did get a hair cut. And a glaze, which basically makes your hair shiny. It was a groupon experiment. I can't say that I completely notice a difference. But I did like the girl who did my hair.  We were getting along great until she said "You have Snow White hair." Ugh. Snow White isn't even in my top 5 Disney Princesses. Pocahontas is my favorite, but whatever.)

And we celebrated my friend Ashley's birthday! You might remember her as the girl who took me to the Emergency Room when I sprained my broken arm.

With the birthday girl.

My (at this point still long) hair was out of control that night. The only down side of outdoor seating - my hair got bigger as the night went on.

We ate at The Pharmacy in East Nashville.  I had The Mission City Burger. A grilled burger topped with guacamole, black beans, pico de gallo, and other yummy things. Best burger in Nashville! Awesome outdoor seating. A soda fountain. And room for a bunch of friends. 

I am realizing as I type this that my August has been full of music and food. I’ll take it.