While I spent most of my weekend doing laundry and school work, I did take a few breaks. On Friday I saw Brave with some girlfriends, Saturday evening I went to hear Troy play at Harbour Bar in Decatur and then did the following on Sunday morning:

1.) A GIANT branch fell on the deck of our house Saturday evening preventing the dogs from going out into the backyard. Instead of trying to move the branch, Troy and I decided to take the pups out for a stroll around the neighborhood.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Oakhurst, it’s a neighborhood in Decatur that has a handful of shops and restaurants at the intersection of two roads. Decatur is only four square miles and Oakhurst is less than half of that, which really gives it a small town feel. The photo above makes it look more suburban than it feels.

2.) We decided to stop halfway on our walk to have brunch at Steinbeck’s – a great local pub that has better food than most restaurants.

The above photo of me isn’t an outfit shot, but for those of you who are interested, the scarf is from Anthropologie about 8 years ago and the necklace is a June Shin/ Jess Swift collaboration (similar here). The sunglasses are the same trusty Michael Stars that I’ve been wearing all summer – large enough to mostly hide the fact that I’m not wearing any make-up.

3.) I ordered the Tofu Scramble and Troy ordered ‘Da Breakfast Bowl. We shared two mimosas, which seemed like a healthier decision than each ordering a mimosa. I’m not sure why. Logic is not one of my strong suits on a Sunday morning.

4.) After brunch we walked across the street to Oakhurst Market to pick up a bottle of water before heading to the. . .

5.) Oakhurst Dog Park! Toby and Wheatie finally got the chance to run around, while we stood in the shade gulping down water.

After all that I really wanted to go home and take a nap. If only! I spent the rest of the day straightening up the house (although 24 hours later there’s no evidence of that) and doing stats homework.

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Dearest Lar,

Only 19 more days until I leave for Scotland!!! I can’t believe it’s coming up so soon – mostly because it feels like my stats class will never end. Once I’m done with my final, the trip will feel a lot more real.

Speaking of class, I’m so impressed with everything you’ve done at Scenehouse. I can’t wait to see your model in person!

Just for kicks, here’s a another photo of Tobs at the dog park. He’s totally in his element (note the muddy paws). For some reason he’s a lot less scared of mother nature than the indoors. I just can’t relate to that.

I hate that I didn’t get a chance to chat with you on Sunday. Let’s have a Skype date this Saturday, okay?

xoxo, Cath

As a late birthday present, Troy took me to Rhodes Hall because he knows how much I love house museums. Rhodes Hall was the retirement home of Amos Rhodes. That’s Rhodes as in Rhodes Furniture – still bringing affordable furniture to the masses!

Check out how my hair went all limp in the heat. I swear it looked a little bit better when I left the house for the day. A little. . .

Secondhand top • Urban Outfitter black denim shorts • Dolce Vita sandals • secondhand necklace and bracelet • Michael Stars sunglasses

Rhodes Hall was built in 1904, designed to look like a (small) German castle, and is now one of the only remaining mansions that once lined Peachtree Street in Atlanta. It’s sandwiched by skyscrapers and across the street from a Shell station, but you can’t tell in the photos below. You can almost image what the estate looked like at the turn of last century when it was 114 acres:

The Victorian era isn’t my favorite, but I still loved exploring Rhodes Hall. It’s always entertaining to see what the rich liked to spend their hoards of money on. For example, Mr. Rhodes had the windows by the main staircase painted with images of the confederate army almost forty years after the war ended.

My favorite room was the pink parlor with the elaborate chandelier. Well played, Mrs. Rhodes, well played.

Today Rhodes Hall is one part house museum, one part event space and one part headquarters of The Georgia Trust. If you live in Atlanta or are visiting the city and love house museums as much as me, head to 1516 Peachtree Street (across from the Shell station) and take a tour.

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Dearest Lar,

Touring house museums always reminds me of our family vacations. I think it wasn’t until I was 16 that I realized most families didn’t plan their vacations around historic homes.

Only 26 more days until I fly to Scotland to visit you! We’ll have to do some house/castle tours in addition to going to Spoon. I can’t wait!!!

xoxo, Cath