I don't know if you know, but I just moved back to Maine this summer from Chattanooga, Tennessee. I've lived in Chattanooga for the past 12 years even though my family and I would go back to Maine for the summer and Christmas. About a week ago I went back to visit my friends before everyone started leaving for college, and it was so much fun. I thought I'd do this post to show some good places to eat, visit, and things to do if you're thinking about visiting Chattanooga plus it just gives you a glimpse of my life.
So getting to Chatt was a bit of a struggle. Originally I was suppose to get on a 5:00 am plane to Washington D.C. then get a connection that put me in Chattanooga around 11, but then the 5am flight got moved to 11am and my connection would put me in Chattanooga at 7PM, so I was like oh heckkk no. Long story short I changed flights four times after that and got in at 11.
One of my best friends Lily picked me up from the airport, and we went straight to brunch at one of my all-time favorite places to eat, The Bitter Alibi. It has a really cool vibe because it's like an Asain fusion type restaurant mixed with a bar. My favorite thing to get there is called the Which Came First. It's rice with chicken, egg, broccoli, and sweet and sour sauce. I also highly recommend the dumplings. My friends and I used to go there all the time after lacrosse practice.
After that Lily dropped me off at hair appointment at Plum Fancy Salon. I just got a light hair cut, and a balayage touch up because mine was looking kinda rough from being out in the sun all summer. I'm thinking once I get to London I might go a lot lighter, but not sure, so I'll see if I'm feeling it then.
A few hours later, my other best friend Landie had a few people up to her lake house, so I headed up there. It was really nice being able to see some random people from high school and just chill on the lake. Nothin' like a Tennessee summer. After helping my friend take his boat out of the water which was a real struggle, Landie dropped me off at Lily's house, and Lily and I went to my absolute favorite place Milk and Honey.
Milk and Honey is one of the best things to come to Chattanooga since the Choo Choo. I'm not kidding. I probably spent half of my high school career at that place. I would go before school, and see my other best friend Belle there on days that we didn't get coffee for each other, and I would go there almost everyday during my junior year to do my homework after practice or before Young Life. It's a coffee shop, but it has the BEST specialty lattes you will ever have. My go to order is a Large Iced Burnt Sugar Latte, and if I'm hungry then I'll do a make your own sandwich with the roasted Ham, white cheddar, and honey on a croissant. My addiction is so bad that the baristas all knew my name, and even after being gone for two months a few still remembered. S/O to you Maddy, you a G.
We then went to the Chattanooga Country Club to have dinner. We ate at the pool side restaurant, and I got a goat cheese and berry salad. That night we had a movie night, and made brownies with cookie dough and Oreos (slutty brownies) with our other friend Maddie.
The next day the three of us went to Brunch at a local place called Sidetrack. It's kind of a hidden gem because it's located a few minutes from downtown, and really only people from the Enclave, my old neighborhood, go there because it's right next to it. My dad and I would go there pretty much every Sunday night after Church when my mom wasn't in town, but I had never been for Brunch. It was amazing though; we got the whipped feta to start with some really good coffee. Maddie and I split the beignets and an egg skillet with goat cheese, and oh baby was that good.
After brunch we went to the farmers market which is one of my favorite things to do. When I was little the whole family would go, and everyone would get the same thing each time. My sister, Julia, would get the kettle corn because she's obsessed with popcorn, my brother Ian would get Beef Jerky, my other brother Murphy would get four different types of desserts, and my dad would buy some random food that no one else would eat and produce for my mom. The only thing I got that day was a key chain, and some frozen lemonade. It was really hard to resist the thumbprint cookies. If you're ever in Chattanooga during the summer, going to the market on Sundays is a really fun and easy thing to do.
One thing I have neglected to do for the entire summer was get my nails done. I still had my rainbow nails from May on because they were powder, so they could last for years. Lily and I would always get our nails done together in high school, so we headed straight to the salon after the market. We treated ourselves to the pedicures too which was one of our best ideas. I just got a gel manicure this time because I'm kind of afraid to get powder again. On my finger nails I got this really pretty shiny pearl white, and on my toes I got white.
Once the nails were done we went the Whole Foods which is in the same area, and I bought flowers and a slice of pizza because I was pretty hungry. Then we headed back to Lily's house and went to the pool to tan.
*dress featured is from princesspolly.com
After tanning, my all-time best friend Belle who just got back from the beach picked me up, and we went to dinner at Lupis, a local pizza chain, and met up with Landie, The three of us are definitely high key a squad, and I'm sure it annoys some people because the three of us are always together. After dinner, we all got ready and went to hang out with some other friends.
The next day, the three of us got up and went to breakfast at Milk and Honey because I had to go as many times as possible when I was there. I got my usual, and I actually ran into a few friends there and my old Young Life leader who I love. We walked around a little after that because Milk and Honey is next to Fraizer Ave. which is a road that has a bunch of cute boutiques and is connected to the Walking Bridge that goes over the river.
Landie left after that, so Belle and I went to a place called Warehouse Row which is essentially an old Warehouse that was refurbished and now has shops like Anthropologie and LuLuLemon. I only bought one thing, but it was nice to just walk around. Belle and I then went up to her house to tan and met back up with Lily later.
That night Lily and I went to mall, and honestly the mall in Chattanooga is not the best, but beggars can't be chosers right. I bought a few things there, but the best part was we got cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, and went home and watched a movie.
The next day we went back to Milk and Honey for breakfast (I told you I wasn't joking about my love it). Belle then picked me up and we met up with Landie at a juice place (ft. my new ring), and I had to say bye to Landie which was so sad.
After that Belle and I went to the country to tan and have lunch. The club was actually crazy with little kids because it was their last day of summer, but it was nice because I got to see some random people from high school that I honestly thought I would never see again, and I got to hang with Belle's little sister who is one of my favorite people.
A few hours later Belle took me down to mountain to meet Lily who was taking me to the airport, and we all got pizza, and then I had to say my goodbyes which was probably the saddest thing I have ever done just because I don't know the next time I'll see them, and the earliest is in a year.
I then went to the airport, got a coffee, watched Aquamarine, and left the Chatt:(
Hope you enjoyed this post, let me know if you liked this type
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