09/03/2026
There are some places that just become part of your family’s story, and East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains are that for ours. 🩷
My husband’s family has been going there for decades. His parents were just a couple of little ol’ timeshare owners who probably had no idea at the time how many family memories they were creating for all of us.
Over the years, we’ve gone back again and again. We’ve been to Dollywood, driven those winding country roads, looked out over those beautiful Smoky Mountains, and made memories there that I will cherish forever.
The last time we were in Gatlinburg, we were pregnant with Alex. When we came home, we made his nursery Gatlinburg-themed, with the bears and the mountains. Even all the way out here in San Diego, Tennessee is always with us. 🦋💖
And somehow Dolly feels woven into all of it.
The mountains. The music. The people. The stories. The love of where you come from and never forgetting it.
I just absolutely adore her. Not only because she’s Dolly Parton, but because of the kind of person she has chosen to be — generous, funny, honest, positive, humble, and so deeply connected to her roots.
East Tennessee will always have a very special place in my heart. And so will Dolly. ❤️