a drive & surprise

This past weekend was magical. Nothing more, nothing less. After having what you may say, a bazaar, twilight-zone kind of week, a surprise appearance by my soulmate Lindley Atkinson, along with a spontaneous roadtrip to Nashville was exactly what the spirit needed.

How did this come about you may wonder? Ah …

The back story: Last November, I went to shoot a wedding with my Lindley, one of my closest friends from Baylor. When I arrived home, Dimitri couldn’t help but notice how much I had missed spending time with her. And so naturally, he started scheming a way to fly her out to the ATL, unbeknownst to me. (I’d like to take a moment to say, WHO DOES THAT? What kind of man has that kind of intuition to plan such a surprise 3 months in advance. It’s crazy talk I tell you).

Well, last Thursday was Dimitri’s 23rd birthday (yay!), and after we were done celebrating, he quickly said he had to go home to open Chikfila the next day (yeah, right). I was a bit surprised at how fast he left — totally bummed really. And so I went to bed, thinking the night was over.

It wasn’t 20 minutes later that I heard the doorbell ring. Jumping out of bed, my head was spinning. Was he back? When I opened the door, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Suitcase in hand, LINDLEY WAS ON MY FRONT PORCH. After I gave Dimitri a “you sneaky man” look, I jumped into her arms. Complete happiness filled my heart.

After picking up my jaw off the floor, we celebrated by going to the famous Majestic to catch up and find out what Dimitri had planned for the weekend.

a late night rendezvous at The Majestic.

Long story short … Lindley and I ended up playing around Atlanta all day Friday, and getting picked up bright and early Saturday morning to drive to Nashville. From 11 – 2 a.m., we visited coffee shops, centennial park, listened to live music, danced, and ate the most delicious food. Nashville has such an eclectic, trendy, and artistic vibe. It’s easy to see what so many people move there seeking artistic inspiration, music careers, and quality community. I’m looking forward to visiting again. 🙂

ready to take on the town.

Dimitri and Lindley bonding over some Cracker Barrel.

nothing i'd rather do.

a quick stop in Fido.

the parthenon in centennial park. of course, dimitri got quite the kick out of this!

enjoying the cool nashville air before dinner at PM. delicious!

my taste buds have never been so happy.

our snowy, city view right before we had to leave.

waking up to a snowy skyline was icing on the cake.

This is just a quick glimpse into some of the wonderful moments and memories we shared in throughout the past 24 hours. I’m so thankful, and still in awe of how sweet and thoughtful this weekend was. So much selfless time, money, and planning went into making this a special surprise, and I’m grateful for the rest and quality time with friends.

Cheers to making lovely memories!

Peace,

Rae