Be Sure and Tell Mimi It's Your First Time!

Have you ever been to a Mimi's Cafe??

If not, YOU SHOULD GO!!!

I went to breakfast with some of dearest friends in the world this morning... and we met at the Mimi's in good ole Hendersonville TN. I had never been before. After I finished my meal, my friend, Sarah, whispered something to the waitress and they both looked at me. It felt like she was telling her it's my birthday... but that's not true... plus it was breakfast time. Not exactly "free hot fudge Sunday" time.

A few minutes later THIS happened:


I got 4 free gourmet muffins!!!
I was so excited!!! Well played, Mimi's! It did exactly what it is supposed to do. Those 4 muffins have caused me to tell at least 10 people, plus blog about the restaurant. I have seen Mimi's Cafe on the road but didn't know anything about them, so we've never stopped at one. They serve breakfast all day and have just a good ole American menu. It felt to me like the love child of Ruby Tuesday and Cracker Barrel. (And Maybe Panera as a distant younger cousin)

Mmmmm Cracker Barrel. I'm not even hungry but Cracker Barrel always sounds good. And now so does Mimi's! The muffins are pretty spectacular. They are a great way to hook someone and get them to come back to the restaurant! Plus I want to try the corn chowder everyone was talking about.

So, go to Mimi's! And tell em you're a first-timer!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Darton College

It feels like days ago that we played our show at Darton College! We played from 11-12:30 for their Sustainability Day event. :) I kept expecting Greenzo from 30 Rock to walk in.

This morning when we left Cochrane at about 6:30am, we were all freezing - and could see our breath. And then this afternoon when we got to the hotel, I laid out for 20 minutes at the pool because it was so hot. Go figure!

Today was a strange day. I really felt awful after I got back. I think sometimes when we have an early show, my body isn't ready for all that. No matter how awake or sleepy I am, how sick or healthy, I try to give the same energy for the show. But after some afternoon rest, and some chicken and dumplings at Cracker Barrel, I feel a LOT better. :) Plus we get to have a good night's rest tonight, and a whole day to drive to Mississippi. But I am going to be triple washing my hands and be EXTRA cautious in the next few days. (Mamma is glad to hear that, I KNOW!) I hope everyone out there is staying healthy, too!

I have another REALLY bad internet connection. Ughh. One day I'll get to upload all these cute pics! At least to facebook :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

My Heart Will Crack On

Long Day of driving... but it's the first time in a while we haven't been in a ridiculous hurry. We got to go to Cracker Barrel tonight which made me so happy!

We heard "My Heart Will Go On" today at lunch. I sang that song in high school assembly and totally cracked on the high note. I'll never forget that. I was SOOOOO nervous about that one note - I did it a million times on the drive up with no problem, but I had only gotten a couple hours sleep (I never slept in high school). Plus, singing it over and over probably wore my voice out before I even got to school! That was back before I really understood how the voice works.

I guess we all have to go through those moments. And even though it seemed like a huge deal to me then, NO ONE but me remembers that. I KNOW if I hadn't been so worried about it, it would have been fine. I had the ability, just not the confidence. Nerves can be a crazy thing. But even when they make your biggest fear come true, if you can overcome it, you'll be so much stronger. Cliche? Yes. I don't care. It's the truth.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

I Love Me Some Cracker Barrel

We had the strangest experience at Cracker Barrel tonight.

We walked in and the hostess asked, "How many?"
I said, "4"
She said, "3?"
I said, "4".

Then, we get to our table and it's too close to the table behind it... I felt bad because as I tried to squeeze in... but I kept hitting the lady behind me. She didn't like it very much. But there was nowhere to go!

Then our waitress is taking our order and as Tim asks for his corn the she just runs away. It was funny at the time because it really seemed like she was offended that Tim had asked for corn. We kept trying to figure out what had just happened. Even when she took the drink orders it was a bit odd, so we didn't really know what was going on.

Another waitress came up a few minutes later and asked if she could take our order. We told her we were in the middle of giving another waitress our orders, and she said, "Oh. She's not feeling well. I'm taking over."

Somehow our dinner conversation lead to coming up with a meatloaf turkey sandwich... like... meatloaf slices instead of a bun... with turkey in the middle... or a meatloaf Monte Cristo. I don't like these ideas at all. They almost make me sick to think about. Which is EXACTLY why the guys enjoy talking about it so much. :)

Then as we were finishing up dinner. Our waitress runs up to us, slams her hands down on the table, and says "Well, folks, I've got some bad news." And then she starts laughing and says "No, no. You guys already have it!!!" And then trails off muttering about something as she bounces away.

This is what? The 4th time we've all looked at each other like "what just happened?" and started laughing.

As we get up to leave, we see a fire truck and ambulance. They are taking our first waitress (that originally ran away) out on a stretcher. She had high blood pressure. We're not exactly sure what happened, but we were told they had a bus come in during their normal dinner rush and she had over worked herself.

Now we all felt really bad. We never thought something bad actually happened to her. It was just so humorous and seemed like she forgot something...

Our thoughts and prayers are with our Cracker Barrel waitress tonight.

As for the rest of the experience? I laughed. A lot...

I love Cracker Barrel.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie