City? Country? Beach? Mountains? Lakeside?

So... just when I think I really want to move to Louisville and live the city kind of life... I have a day that makes me hate the city kind of life. There were so many people on and in the streets, side streets, alleys, parking lots and area around work the other day at about 2:30, that about 11 people almost hit me within the span of 4 minutes. I was trying to find a parking spot at Ce Fiore, a little dessert place down the street from the Browns (the family I nanny for) and there were just none to be had. So I abandoned the idea of a frozen Italian treat and headed back to the sleepy and usually boring Corydon, full of farmland, hills, and people who have spent their entire lives there.
As I drove I wondered the question I've wondered my whole life: Where do I really want to live, where would I be happiest and most at home? I know I love being near water... at the beach or even a lake or river, in walking/ hearing distance is preferable. Water calms me and makes me happy. But I also like a quaint country setting, a farmhouse in the middle of acres of fields and maybe a stream.  I love log cabins in the mountains and could be happy living in one.  And more often than not I see my father's need for privacy and seclusion from people coming out in me... and crave a wooded spot far from civilization.  (Especially when we can't escape screaming kids and babies and cigarette smoke and tailgating in front of our apartment, and fast food smells where we live now!)  All that sounds wonderful and peaceful and welcoming.  However, there are definitely times when I think I'd love to live in a cool city like Louisville, where we are everyday for work, where we can live in an old charming victorian home turned into apartments, and walk to the park, coffee shop, bookstore, library, and boutiques.  Where things are always going on - art fairs, fireworks, festivals.  There are tons of great restaurants, museums, and cultural and artsy activities.  Also appealing.
It's hard to know until you actually live in a place, how you would like it.  I guess that is why I say, "never let me settle..." because I know I can never settle down for good in one place or situation.  I look forward to having the opportunity in the future to live in many different lands and places.

Safier Mediterranean Deli

What this tiny hole-in-the-wall place lacks in ambiance and decor, it MORE than makes up for in deliciousness of food!  I had a falafel appetizer with taziki sauce and the Vegetable Paradise sandwich (a grilled pita with tabouleh, feta cheese, hummus, lettuce & tomato in it).  One of the best sandwiches I've ever had! 

Their tag-line is "delicious food from the middle east" ...and they aren't lying!  Check it out if your around downtown Louisville, 4th street near the Brown Hotel.

http://www.safierdeli.com/

Morning in Louisville

It was a gorgeous crisp morning in the Highlands. Though it should have felt like the dog days of summer, it was a cool 65 degrees on this August Monday. A sleepy, coffee-abstaining nanny decided to take her charge, a charming and lovable 11 month old redhead boy on an early morning walk, partially for exercise, partially to put him into a peaceful and hopefully hour-long slumber, and partially to wake herself up. The sounds of lawn mowers, weed wackers and hammers filled the air, and as she walked past the open screen doors of the old and well-kept homes, NPR and women's voices drifted out. She saw mothers pushing babies in strollers with dogs on leashes, people leaving for work or dropping children off at school, painters painting already white houses, an old man taking a slow walk by himself. She saw a curious orange cat, a message board and a bucket of chalk in someone's garden for messages, and birds convening on a rooftop for a morning chat. She saw light, sunshine, flowers, possibility. As the baby prince slept in his yellow carriage she saw so many things. She saw Morning in Louisville.

Toast on Market

I went here a few weeks ago on a rainy Wednesday with my sister-in-law Brooke for brunch... I'd never heard of it but when she suggested meeting at this cool downtown Louisville breakfast and lunch spot for comfort foods, I thought it sounded like perfect fare for a wet day!

The service was really great, they let us sit wherever we wanted since there wasn't a lunch crowd yet at 11, so we grabbed a cozy booth area along the right wall. The place was very artsy and antiquated inside, with large art deco paintings, large old stone framed windows and high ceilings. I had what they call THE KING - Brioche stuffed with bananas, peanut butter, mascarpone cheese and topped with syrup and pecans. It was made into to triangle sandwiches and was scrumptious! And came with a side of the best hash brown casserole I've ever had. It tasted more like cheddary cheesy scalloped potato casserole with roasted red peppers!

Here we are enjoying the Toast...

I will definitely go back there and try their lunch offerings!

www.toastonmarket.com

Louisville Houses

I love driving around or walking around the Highlands neighborhood of Louisville and seeing all the great houses, some majestic mansions full of "old money," some less fancy but not without their own unique richness and charm....