My Favorite Place to go in Northeast Georgia!

Tate City is in the community of Persimmons, located in Rabun County in northeast Georgia. This is the prettiest spot in our neck of the woods I do believe! At least in my opinion.

Tallulah River Trail to Tate City This wide, 14.5 mile in and out route takes you from Persimmon Valley Road north to Tate City and the North Carolina border. Along the way are hiking trails, the Tate City Mall and some incredible beauty. Take U. S. Highway 76 west from Clayton (Rabun County) for 8 miles to Persimmon Road. Turn right and travel four miles to Tallulah Road (F.S. 70) on left. The Tallulah River Road, which continues north over the bridge is one of the finest scenic drives in the state. It continues north to Tate City, a mining and lumber town that died out in the 1920’s.

When you return to Persimmons Valley Road you can turn right. The road continues to Patterson Gap, a beautiful, but little known area of Rabun County. This then comes out on Highway 441 north of Dillard. Road offers Scenic Drive along Tallulah River. Road turns into single lane with turnouts and goes to Tate City. This drive up the Tallulah’s upper gorge is spectacular. It begins at the bridge over the Coleman River. At this bridge is the trailhead for an exciting, short (less than a mile) trail up the gorge of the Coleman River through the Coleman River Scenic Area , described on a sign just north of the bridge. FS 70 dead-ends in the heart of the Southern Nantahala Wilderness. The major access point for the Tallulah River basin, FS 70 follows beside the Tallulah through the 3-mile-long Rock Mountain Gorge, on the old railroad bed, which was blasted out of solid rock by the lumber company logging the valley in virgin timber days.

This lovely road crosses the Tallulah four times. The picturesque gorge has been the site of television commercials and postcard vistas. One can picnic on the rocks or fish the pools stocked weekly with eating-size rainbow trout. In the gorge grow a number of the beautiful and rare flowering tree, the mountain camellia, or Stewartia, which blooms in June and July. The best place to see the tree is in a stand at a wide place in the road at the extreme southern end of the Tate Branch Campground. At Line Branch, one can look back, high up at the Flat Branch Falls. Just below the Tate Branch Campground, Charlie’s Creek Road fords the river. When this road emerges on a flat near the AT, a north-turning fork leads one to the main Charlie’s Creek. Across the creek and up the road a few hundred yards, there is a trail up to an amethyst mine that has produced some of the finest gem amethysts in the United States. Explorerabun.com

Sofie Says go check it out and get cooled off on a hot day!

Free places to go in Franklin North Carolina

I love going to Franklin N. C. it is a cute little town with history! There is some great shopping and restaurants to visit and some neat historical sites to like Wilson Lick and Wayah Bald. Watch my video and see what you are missing.

Easy Furniture Makeover using chalk paint

So not all my videos are about Syrup! LOL here is one I did when we painted our bedroom furniture. We have painted several things with chalk paint and I love the stuff. Chalk paint is a easy and quick way to paint and renew so many things. The chalk paint I use is Rust-Oleum Chalk Paint.

Refresh Your Décor With Chalked Paints

One Coat Coverage for Most Surfaces

Rejuvenate your décor with a soft, matte chalky finish on wood, metal, ceramic, glass, canvas & more. For added customization and style, distress item following application for an aged, chippy look and vintage appearance. Available in a variety of trending colors, Rust-Oleum Chalked Brush Paints may be layered over one another to create a unique, one of a kind look. For added protection following application, use Rust-Oleum Chalked Clear Protective Topcoat brush-on.

Also available in a spray version and Chalked Decorative Glaze for antiquing.

• Use on a variety of interior surfaces like wood, metal, ceramic, canvas and easily distress to create a vintage look

• Low-odor, latex formula allows for easy clean up with soap & water

• Dries to the touch in just 30 minutes and covers up to 150 sq ft, 1-coat coverage allows projects to be completed easily

• Excellent adhesion and easy application with minimal prep

• Dries to an ultra-matte, creamy white finish

I get it at my local hardware store for about $20.00 a quart which is a good buy compared to most!

So a few years ago when we moved I sold all my bedroom furniture and bought smaller pieces at a resale shop. I bought a dresser and chest of drawers for $250.00. Then went the long search for 2 matching nightstands, they are hard to find in pairs and in the style that would match what I had already bought. I went one day up into North Carolina to the town of Cowpens to pick up my niece to keep her for the summer and we went into a nice antique store and I told the owner what I was looking for and she said she had two matching one's in the back so I went back to look at them and low and behold they were exactly what I needed! I had looked everywhere to no avail. All the pieces are from about the 60's and in great shape I bought it with the intention of painting them and have finally 6 years later gotten to it! Below is the first nightstand we painted.

So I took off the hardware and lightly sanded it down. My hubby stained the top first.

Then we sprayed the rest of the nightstand. Now you can paint with a brush we just like to spray since we have the equipment either way is just fine.

Next you want to sand down your paint to get a smoother finish especially if you paint it with a brush, you use a fine sandpaper. You can sand through in places that the paint would naturally wear, like the edges and around the hardware to your liking. Once you have sanded your piece you just have to wax it all over with wax made for chalk paint. Apply wax according to the directions and buff it. There you are done and it looks great! Watch my video for more in depth directions.