Building A Life

I Didn't Mean To Cause A Stir

Good Morning Loves,

How was your weekend? Two more weeks until Santa arrives. Have you been naughty or nice? Doesn’t matter. You are marvelous just the way you are.

Today I am writing you from Nashville. We have arrived. Along with a mighty tornado that created absolute chaos.

I hope it wasn’t something I said.

We are safe and sound, but the Mayor of Nashville has called a state of emergency here in the city. I can’t see any damage, but we just landed.

That might be a poor choice of words.

We are staying in a hotel downtown. It has a funny smell. And we are staying 4 nights. I’m buying a candle. Or three. I have a record now of picking the worst places for the longest stays.

Why, Gus, why?

After two hours at this hotel, I am coughing like crazy. The last time I coughed like that in a hotel (Vegas), I ended up with a chronic cough that gave me the gift of heinous bronchitis once a year for too many years to count.

I just couldn’t let that happen. Eric was determined not to let this happen.

E popped into Kroger while I shopped around for another hotel. This would most likely result in losing a lot of money at the first hotel. But I am starting my dream job and I just can’t be sick.

My beloved husband returned to the car with OJ, Ricola and Mucinex. Just in case. This man is a gem.

Mind you, Eric has just loaded 2 bell carts with all of our belongings and hauled them to the first hotel room. After the Kroger run, we go back to the first hotel where he reloads 2 bell hop carts with all our worldly possessions and rearranges them in the car. We then drive 2 blocks to the Hyatt House, where we check into a swell suite and Eric unloads all those bags onto 1 huge bell hop cart and delivers them to our room.

Genevieve, at the front desk, is the dearest and slashes the price of our daily parking from $36 to $21.

Eric wins the MVP award today. Honestly, he wins MVP most days.

Last night we stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Marietta, Georgia, after a fabulous dinner with 4 of our loves. That room was huge. Perfect. Amazing. So I figured another Hyatt might be the answer.

Genevieve signs me up for the Hyatt’s rewards membership.

Eric deserves a treat. We head to the lobby bar before setting off for dinner and live music at The Row. At the bar, I meet a woman from Chattanooga whose former roommate, Diane moved to…Setúbal! Diane and I are FB friends, even though we had not met when we were in Portugal. How weird is that?

Next up, a walk in the cold to The Row. Isn’t The Row the name of the fancy fashion house owned by the Olsen twins? This is a live music venue. A different type of luxury. We had large portions of comfort food while listening to the most amazing women singer songwriters. In this case, Ragan and Samantha.

Eric pulls me close and whispers in my ear, “Welcome Home.”

Let’s go, Nashville! You’ve got a lot of work to do to top Atlanta, but with connections to Dolly’s (yes, THAT Dolly) makeup artist (Lintu, who was our makeup artist at Atlanta Movie Tours) and Iïsha, Dolly’s dressmaker for the past 13 years (and the cousin of my friend, Jill, in Setúbal!), I’d say I’m off to a roaring start.

It’s been less than 12 hours so far.

Update on how I am acclimating to being back home. Well, it’s been just dandy. My first week back I have been lolling about in a hammock of love from my darlings Holly and John.

That sounds weird. But you know what I mean. Holly’s casa is a tactile dream come true. Everything feels soft and comforting. One night my bestie made us chocolate chip cookies as big as baby’s heads. Spectacular. Holly also packed them for our roadtrip and I had one last night, lounging on the huge couch of that one-night suite I booked at the Hyatt Regency. It was divine.

Being at Holly’s is the ultimate pajama party. We hung out, ordered in, made BLTs, watched Barbie, and laughed our heads off. She is the consummate hostess. We will be back at her Florida pad on December 19 for more hollyday fun.

Get it? Hollyday? I crack myself up.

John and Miss Marion hosted us for an evening of fun and Mexican food the night before we headed to Atlanta. We watched the Norman Lear tribute. What a wonderful life he led, and what a American treasure. Thanks for the memories, Mr. Lear. Thanks for letting us sleep in your enormous cozy guest bed, John and Miss Marion.

In Atlanta, more love awaited us in the form of Marcus, Marion, Crystal, and Teague. We all met at Rodney Scott’s BBQ, where Eric used to bartend. Oh, it was such a gift to be together again. My heart is growing three sizes. And I’m sure it’s not from all the brisket I ate. At least I hope not.

Which brings us to today. Here in Nashville. As you are reading, we will be touring apartments. We need to move. Like yesterday. So the next two days are crucial. Cross your fingers for us!

I took some pics of some things that delighted me on our road trip. Ice, y’all!! You can just go to the store and get a bag of ice. This same task is a quest in Portugal.

I’m over the moon for a big bag of ice. Pinch me!

I know I am all over the place today, but it’s been a pretty crazy week. Mostly, it’s been a pretty crazy 24 hours.

Hug each other tightly and call your lawmakers. Remember, you are ENOUGH and always have been.

I love you.

xoxo,

P.