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Chattanooga Love

PERSONAL

I met the love of my life in Chattanooga.

Did you know that?

Jeremy & I were on a blind date.  a salsa dancing blind date.  and I was in the middle of the splits while Jer was doing some kind of limbo move with hip thrusts when I realized that he was the man for me.

Not really.  We have no idea how to salsa.

Or dance in general.

But we did bust a move that night in the love department 🙂  And now every single time we visit Jer’s hometown, we breathe in all that is Chattanooga.

It’s an amazing city.  Small enough to feel safe but big enough to have some great attractions.  We especially like the Aquarium, the walking bridge, Coolidge Park, pretty much all of the riverfront, Clumpies, Rembrandts, the Boathouse and Big River, just to name a few.   When I first met Jeremy, he had a boat that we would ride downtown and see the sites.  It was all very romantic and gushy.

So for Valentines day this year, I decided to commemorate the place we first locked eyes…our favorite little town of Chattanooga.  I whipped up this clip art and popped it in an Ikea frame for our kitchen.

I also took my new white ceramic turtle planter and turned him into a little bringer of love.  He was a birthday present to myself.  I’m very generous like that.  He was $10 at a local antique shop and I think he looks very Jonathan Adler-esque.  I popped some fake mossy rocks (from the dollar store) into his shell and used a few toothpicks to make him look like he has love balloons coming out of his back 🙂

I love it all together in my happy place (my happy place is anywhere I can see my kitchen backsplash!).

So that’s my recent little Valentines-turned-everyday art…

And I have little love to share with you too….this free Chattanooga printable 🙂

Just click on the Chattanooga art above and save it to your computer.  It is formatted to fit a 5×7 but I’m sure that you could change your print settings to whatever size you choose.  Enjoy!

p.s.  Don’t forget tomorrow is the Lovely Crafts Linky Party!  I’ll be posting my valentines day wreath and hope to see you all there!

p.p.s.  The ceramic piece next to my clipart is from Michaels, the candle holder from Target and the metallic frame is from West Elm (but I got it at the Pottery Barn outlet because I am awesomely cheap like that!).

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  2. Aww how sweet! My hubby lived in Chatanooga for 5 years before we met, I have fallen in love with that city and we try to go back every so often. I even have a “dream house” all picked out on the side of Lookout Mountain! 🙂 I will definately be printing out this great pic to frame for my hubby! Thanks so much!!!

  3. Yay!! After seeing it on instagram I was hoping for a printable! My hubs and I met here (and live here) too!

  4. I love my city!!! Chattanooga will always be my home!! My first job was at the Boathouse 😉 I cannot thank you enough for giving the ‘noog a shout out and for the printable!!! Love!!

  7. I love Chattanooga! I went to college there. The year was 1981 and I was a Yankee, through and through. It was the first time I had ever left home, in New England, and for the first three months I wondered “why I had chosen to do this to myself!” Nobody could understand what I was saying and I couldn’t understand what anyone else was saying. But … in time, I fell in love with Chattanooga, hook, line and sinker. Now more than thirty years later, I live in West Georgia and I visit Chattanooga often. It’s my happy place!

    (Every time I go I shop at Blue Skies on Frasier and I’ve been thinking about buying one of their Chattanooga keepsake prints/canvases/post cards. You just saved me a bundle and I love that the print is something you, and not a stranger, made. Thanks!)

  10. Next time you’re in town you should check out Sugar’s rib shack. My boyfriend and I stopped on our way into and out of Georgia. I’ve never had better ribs and I know BBQ – I’m originally from Kansas City.

  11. I absolutely love Chattanooga. My parents moved to Lookout Mountain almost 4 years ago and I have been in love with it ever since. How did I live in Atlanta my whole life and not discover this wonderful little gem until family moved there? It is awesome. Love that turtle, too!

  15. I have never been to Chattanooga, but I have collected turtles since 1966! Yes, I’m probably older than your Mom. Nice turtle, and he totally looks Adler-esque. Love your kitchen, and everything you have done to your houses. Enjoy those baby boys, but keep blogging! Blogless Peggy

  16. Oh Destiny that is exactly how our family felt when we moved to Georgia…I remember making our neighbor count to ten a bazillion times and laughing about the accent 🙂
    xo kb

  18. This is the sweetest post. I went to college in Chattanooga and it’s also where the hubs and I fell in love. I could really go for a latte and biscotti from Rembrandt’s right now 🙂

  19. I live just outside of Chattanooga (about 20-minute drive to downtown) and I too love it! I am a northern transplant and absolutely love living here. I get excited when others appreciate the great things Chattanooga has to offer. And I secretly (well, not so secretly now) hope that I will run into you someday while you’re visiting here…but not in a creepy way, in a lets-be-friends way. Okay, that’s just awkward now. 🙂

  22. I just realized that when I read your posts I don’t read in a southern accent…or Jeremy’s comments for that matter…you (ya’all??) need to post a video so I can properly hear you in my head. Or you could stay Californian in my head…the horror!

  23. How sweet is this print! Love it:) maybe someday you’ll post a tutorial about how you did it so us less computer savvy people can make our own for the cities we fell in love with our significant other…if it didn’t happen to be chatty;)

  26. Love your love story 🙂 and I love that print! However, my husband an I didn’t meet in Chatty so I’m curious as to how you did the print! Hopefully I don’t need photoshop! I’m probably the last person not to have it…. Ha!

    Happy Valentines Day!!

  27. Chattanooga holds a special place in my heart. My parents stopped there when we were on yet-another-Navy-family trip to see my Dad’s parents when I was 6. I have vivid memories of it, and hope to bring my children there one day!

  29. Thanks so much for the Chattanooga printable!! As a Chattanooga native I really loved it. My mom lives there and I am going to print one for her too! You are the best! Thanks again 🙂

  30. I grew up on Lookout Mountain! My mom lives there still… isn’t is just the cutest place. My first job was actually at Rock City lol. Hope your parents are enjoying it there 🙂

  31. Hey Katie!! Can you tell me where you get the state shapes so I could make something like you made but for Athens, Georgia? Thanks!!

    Mandy

    PS. It was awesome meeting you last week at the YHL book signing in Atlanta! Funny that we grew up so close together in Snellville.

  32. I love Chatty, I went to Bryan College in nearby Dayton, so if we ever wanted to do anything fun we would have to take the drive down. I have such good memories just hanging out in Coolidge Park and on the walking bridge. Although I didn’t meet my husband there, Chattanooga still holds a very special place in my heart.

  34. Shout out from Chatta-Vegas! Chattanooga is where my husband and I were both born and raised and we now live in Ooltewah! I may be biased but I think it’s one of the dreamiest cities in the South! I absolutely love the print, thanks for sharing it.

  35. This is so sweet! I love Chattanooga – I’m born and raised in NS, Canada, but took a roadtrip a few years ago through the US with ma’ hunny. No plans, just to see where the road took us, and we ended up in Chattanooga for a few days – it was gorgeous. We loved Lookout Mountain.

  37. I just used a free state clip art and filled it in with Photoshop…easy peasy 🙂 And it was so nice to meet you too! Go SNELLVILLE!
    xo – kb

  38. I used clip art in photoshop and just filled it in with one solid color. I’m sure that you could do the same thing even with a simple program like paint 🙂
    xo – kb

  39. Katie, I’ve been a blog-stalker for a while and love your little family and creative ideas. I met my husband when we went to school at Bryan College (the college you went to?) and one of our first dates was to the Chatty aquarium for the Valentine’s banquet. One of my favorite memories! Thanks for sharing!

  42. Chattanooga will always have a special place in my heart too. My husband and I were there for four years, got engaged on the walking bridge , spent the first two years of our married life there. Recently, we took our kids to see all our old haunts…really miss Rembrandts!

  43. Been stalking for a while, but this is my first comment. I’m coming out of hiding to say I ADORE Chatt. I grew up in Middle TN and we would visit for day trips whenever we got a chance. It’s one of the greatest small-ish towns.

    Now that I’m living at the other end of the state, I jump at the chance to take a road trip when the hubs’ work sends him.

  45. I live in Chattanooga and love it so this post was perfect for me! I have so many places to recommend to eat…if you’re into that sort of thing, but you must try The Ice Cream Show…it’s my favorite! It’s right where the walking bridge is on the southside…SOOOOO good!

    p.s. random side note, my college roommate and one of my bestest friends is from Snellville…wonder if you know each other… 🙂

  46. Hi Katie,
    My Dad and Step Mom live in Fairfield Glade/Crossville,TN and each time we have been down there they’ve taken us on a day trip to Chattanooga. Our first trip was to Lookout Mountain/Ruby Falls/Rock City. What an amazingly beautiful place. This past year we went with our children (8,5, 2.5) and they took us to the Aquarium and we grabbed dinner at Big River. Chattanooga rocks!

  47. The love of my life and I had lots of dates in Chattanooga, too. 🙂 I grew up just south of Chattanooga (in Georgia), so that was a great place to escape to and explore growing up. Love your <3 print!

    Erin

  48. Oh wow! I had no idea you guys had history in Chattanooga. I found you via YHL and would’ve never connected you to my city. I love Chattanooga, and you are right– it is that perfect size people crave, small enough to feel like a hometown, yet big enough to feel metro-like. We love it here, although we live on its outskirts. 🙂 Love the print!!

  49. Hi, I love Chattanooga as well. I would love to save to computer but nothing happens when I click on Tn. Thanks Michelle

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