Last Friday

This is the end of Notes from Memphis.
Thanks for reading, it's been a lot of fun! It may be that one day I re-launch something totally new and different. And if I do, you'll be the first to know.

Five Favorites for Friday

A random assortment of favorites for this Friday:

River Inn Rooftop - a new favorite for cocktails and appetizers

Nail Bar - still a favorite for manicures/pedicures

Lansky 126 - a favorite place to shop for myself and for gifts

Charlotte -  a favorite jewelry store

Riverwalk and Bluffwalk - favorites for running/walking

Seriously, Things Like This Make My Day

This guy was just rolling up and down the streets of downtown today. I don't know what's weirder/cooler, the bike, the hat, the sunglasses, the Lil Wayne "!*ck My Life" t-shirt, or the bike plus the hat and sunglasses and the t-shirt. The whole package was great.

Mobile Music Machine

As if this blog wasn't testament enough as to why I love downtown, there are still more reasons than I could put into words. For example, tonight after returning home from having drinks with friends on Local's patio, I heard what sounded like live music on the street below my window. Sure enough, it was the Mobile Music Machine...behold Video #1:

And so I opened my window and listened for the few minutes that they were stopped in front of Bardog. Alas, they are mobile and so had to roll on elsewhere. Bonus: there's a cute trolley at the end of Video #2:

Amusing, no? All of this is to say nothing of that hearse parked out in front of Bardog, which they are raffling off for Halloween.

Once again it's been demonstrated that a picture is worth a thousand words. I would never have been able to tell you about this; much better for you to see for yourselves.

Five Favorites for Friday

Five favorite downtown lunch spots:

DejaVu

The Brass Door

Thai Bistro

McEwen's

Flight

A Sugary Recipe That's Good for You

 I follow a weekly regimen of  spa-like processes at home. Those who know me well know that I adhere to this weekly routine religiously. But buying all of the exfoliators, masks, moisturizers, scrubs, soaks, etc. for all of this meticulous grooming can add up fast. The scrubs (salt and sugar) in particular can be a bit pricey, the ones I like anyway, so I decided to make my own. It's likely you already have the ingredients in your house. Lots of scrub recipes use olive oil but I chose grapeseed oil because it doesn't have a smell. And I also prefer to use sugar instead of salt because salt can sting sometimes.

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup grapeseed oil

1/2 teaspoon vitamin E oil

1/2 teaspoon rose water (which I used only for the rose scent)

Mix it together and store it in either a glass or plastic container. Instead of rose water you could use any of a zillion essential oils or extracts available at stores like Whole Foods and Maggie's Pharm; think about lavendar, peppermint, rosemary, bergamot, lemon, tangerine, vanilla and on and on.

But when you want a real spa experience there are a couple of excellent choices downtown:

Gould's in the Peabody Hotel

Rachels Salon & Day Spa

Rachel's has a few specials during October :

"OCTOBER SPOOKY SPECIALS : Mention codeword "Spooky". Manicure w/Parafin Treatment w/VICKI $30 (saves u $5), Ladies Haircut w/RENEE $35 (saves u $5), Hot Stone hour & half Massage w/STACY $135 (saves u $15), 90 minute Full Body Massage w/CAROLYN $90 (saves u $20) Add a Color to your Highlites w/BECKII FREE (saves u $20)."

100 Tigers

The University of Memphis was founded in 1912 and in honor of the 100 year anniversary 100 artists have decorated 100 tigers that will be placed in various locations throughout the city. To read more about the tigers, sponsors, artists and to see photos of all the tigers, click HERE

Here are the four tigers at the U of M Law School downtown (two are in front and two are in the back of the building) ...

To see info about the tiger above click : Three by Me Design