The Honeybee's Lifestyle

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  • My City Tasting Tour

    Hello Honeybees,

    If you ask anyone that has lived in Memphis for a while who has the best barbecue you will probably get the answer: my backyard or my uncle, brother, daddy or cousin etc. There are a lot, I mean a lot of folks in Memphis that can werk a barbecue grill. It’s a Memphis thing mane!

    But if for some reason you are like me, not a big barbecue fan but you love good food & Memphis then I have a treat for your palate. It’s called City Tasting Tours. This tour was on my 2019 bucket list and now I can scratch it off.

    Started almost 3 years ago, Cristina McCarter has definitely earned her title of culinary guide. She takes you on a guided tour of the South Main Arts District while sampling some of the best LOCAL food that Memphis has to offer.

    Our first stop was Pontotoc Lounge. I can’t tell you the number of times that I have driven past this restaurant & never knew it existed. Our first dish was the pot roast. This is not what I expected from this establishment but man oh man was it delicious. Just like grandma use to make.  You can add alcohol to your tour, which gets you an alcoholic beverage at every stop. Bottoms up!

    As we walk to our next stop, Cristina gives us some local history. Tunnels, ghost & brothels oh my!! And being that this is the arts district there is art all around you. Memphis has it all.

    Next up is the  409 S. Main Market Food Hall. This building houses several eateries, a coffee shop and a bar. I can say that I have been to this building but only for events on the 3rd floor, but never just to eat. I have been missing out. We enjoyed tacos from Venga and a turkey sandwich from City Block Salumeria. Y’all so darn good. The bacon on the turkey sandwich was thick and crispy and the bun was so soft. At this point I’m starting to feel a little full but we have 2 more stops to make.

     

    As we are walking down South Main St. we pass several local shops that I have heard about but never knew where to find them. We saw all of the new construction that is taking place, hotels, movie theater and yes another restaurant and of course the history that comes with the National Civil Rights Museum. We stop at The Vault, which use to be a, you guessed it….a bank. There we have a trio of fried catfish with a dill tartar sauce, a beet salad with goat cheese & candied pecans and a crab cake with remoulade sauce. My taste buds where in heaven I tell ya. But we STILL had one more stop.

    You can’t have all of this food without dessert. It’s Memphis mane! So of course we went to Makedas for Lemon Icebox pie made with Makedas famous butter cookies. OH..EM…GEE!! This pie was so good. Not to tart but with just the right amount of sweetness. I really, really wanted to purchase a whole pie but I bought some cookies for my sons. They have a variety of other cookie flavors. I think the iced oatmeal is my favorite, or maybe the chocolate pecan. Either way no one in my house was disappointed.

    After the tour I had a chance to sit with Cristina to get a little more background. Cristina wanted to start the tours years ago after having participated in ones in other cities but the restaurant options were just not available. But as downtown & especially South Main began to grow thankfully she acted on her vision and City Tasting Tours was born. Ironically she gets more locals than tourists, which is not a bad thing because this local learned so much about her city & found new places to enjoy on the regular.

    Be on the lookout for the Craft Food & Wine Festival at The Columns June 23rd hosted by Cristina. Early bird tickets are on sale here. I can’t wait to support her and her vision and eat. Also she has a Soul Food tour coming and you know you don’t want to miss that.

    Thank you Erica for the invite and thank you Cristina for a wonderful experience and for teaching me about my city. Head over the City Tasting Tours website to book your tour NOW!

     

    Beewisdom- Good Food, Good Mood

  • Be. Here. Now.

    Hello Honeybees,

    I live what I think is an active social media life. I document places, life and events to share with you all on the interweb. But sometimes I like to just enjoy the moment. Sometimes I don’t want to share the person or the experience. Sometimes I just want to be in that moment.

    I heard the phrase “Be. Here. Now.” during a staff training. We talked about actually listening & being there for teammates. But also how to apply it to our personal lives. If you have teenagers then you already know that communicating with them can sometimes be a struggle, especially if they are boys.

    Mom: how was your day
    Son: ok
    Mom: everything going ok with you
    Son: yes
    Mom: do anything interesting today
    Son: no

    I have heard that girls are different.

    Trying to parent more than one child has been very interesting. Two humans with the same DNA, who grew up together in the same environment but are so totally different. Because their personalities are so different I have to engage them differently. I have to Be Here Now in different ways.

    The morning of the training I asked my son to take his clothes out of the dryer before he left for school. I could tell by his reaction that something was off but I didn’t stop to see what it was because I was so focused on the clothes in the dryer & getting out the door on time. That evening he started talking about something that happened at school & I immediately stopped was I doing to Be Here Now for him. No phone, no laptop, no distractions. What I learned from that talk was when I asked him about the clothes he felt that I was yelling & angry at 6:18 am. I didn’t feel like I was yelling or angry but he did. So we both started the day on a sour note.  All of this could have been avoided if I had just been present in the moment and acknowledged his reaction to the conversation.

    I am committed to Be Here Now for my sons because I won’t have them with me always. I want to cherish the time that we have before my nest is empty. I am committed to Be Here Now for my friends because our friendships are important to me. Having the much needed girl gatherings. Catching up over drinks. Stopping to actually have that phone conversation.  Most importantly I am committed to Be Here Now for ME. Saying NO and meaning it. When my body tells me to slow down, I listen and will slow down. Why? Because I am worth it and you can’t pour from an empty cup.

     

    Beewisdom- Wherever you are, be all there

  • Then Add Tax

    Hello Honeybees,

    Ever see a quote on the interweb that just speaks to your soul?  Well that happened to me.

    This quote struck something deep inside of me & at the time I wasn’t really sure why. We have all seen this quote or something like it plenty of times. But for some reason on this day it was like a punch to the gut and I watched it play out in my life not to long afterwards.

    We spend a lot of time with our self worth being tied up in what we see on social media, where we work and who we hang out with. We place a lot of undo stress on ourselves because we compare ourselves to others. Don’t let your self worth be tied to someone else.

    We get in relationships hoping that the other person will be able to “fix us” or complete us but they can’t.

    Only you can “fix” you.

    We get upset when the people who we thought should support us don’t. We’re ready to throw in the towel. But we must keep pushing with or without their support.

    I posted a picture where I was in a room full of women that I admire & look up to. I questioned why I was in that room. Yall imposter syndrome is real but it didn’t last long. Just as quickly as those thoughts came, they went. Why? Because I realized that I deserved to be there. I questioned my own self worth. Someone thought enough of me to invite me. They saw my value and in the end so did I.

    People can and will doubt you. They will question your value. That’s their problem.

    YOU not realizing your value that’s YOUR problem.

    Seek out ways to understand your value.

    Don’t settle for less than you deserve.

    Beewisdom- know your worth and then add tax