If you’re in Chattanooga, and you want to support new, local businesses, let me suggest Fredriksson’s.
Fredriksson’s has just been started by my former co-worker, Sarah. She has always enjoyed baking, and recently decided to start her own business.
Her husband is from Sweden, and they lived in Sweden together before relocating to Chattanooga. She’s got the inside scoop on authentic, Swedish baked goods.
She’s told all of us about fika, which in Sweden is basically a coffee and cake break. Fika also is about slowing down and enjoying time with friends or family.
Fredriksson’s is taking orders online at https://fredrikssons.square.site/. She was also at the Chattanooga market for the first time last weekend. We bought six of her buns in four different flavors: cinnamon, cardamom, blueberry and saffron. We also bought almond caramel cake.
According to Sarah, the cardamom and cinnamon are the two most quintessential Swedish flavors. These were also the two I enjoyed the most. The buns were not overly sweet, which I like. As a person who does not have much of a sweet tooth, something slathered in icing can be too much.
I look forward to buying from Fredriksson’s again in the future, and enjoying fika at home with my husband.
What’s better on a cold morning with snow flurries than cups of hot chocolate?
We visited The Hot Chocolatier for the first time this week. It’s right across the street from the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, and perhaps for that very reason, it’s why we did not know this place was there. I’m always so enamored with the Choo Choo, that I have not paid attention to my surroundings. (Sorry!)
Last week I saw a picture on Instagram of a girl drinking a hot chocolate from there, and the post said that it was vanilla lavender hot chocolate. My interest was piqued.
The Hot Chocolatier has all of your chocolate and dessert needs. They had a lot of pastries to choose from. In addition to our hot chocolate, Derek got peanut butter fudge and I got a pistachio macaron. There is also a ton of chocolate candies to purchase.
Derek got Mexican hot chocolate with cinnamon, and had espresso added in. I got what I had came for: the vanilla lavender hot chocolate. The hot chocolate menu looked amazing, and there were lots of flavors that we would like to come back for, such as salted caramel, s’mores and hazelnut.
The best part was the very large marshmallow in each of our cups.
There is a lot of space for seating, and there are windows looking into the kitchen so you can see the chocolate being made.
When we lived in Houston, we frequented a place called the Chocolate Bar. It is the same type of concept. We both agree that we like The Hot Chocolatier better though. We can’t wait to come back!
I have spent the last week in Chattanooga. It was good to be back with Derek for a full week, and not have most of our time taken up by unpacking, which left more time for exploring.
The reason for my visit was twofold – of course I wanted to see Derek, because we had been apart for three weeks, but then I also set up a meeting with the Vice Chancellor of communication and marketing at UTC, and I registered for a job fair. I was trying to be productive in finding a job.
Unfortunately, nothing panned out. I knew that there were no positions available at the university to begin with, but it was still disappointing to hear that confirmed. The job fair was disappointing. I was in and out in 15 minutes. There were only 12 companies represented, and only one of them was looking for “resume writers.” I went to them first, feeling hopeful. The website that the job fair was listed on said “interviews and hiring on the spot.” Maybe I could land this job? Maybe not. The man barely looked at my resume, handed me a pamphlet about the company, and told me to check them out online. I felt pushed aside. I guess job fairs don’t really fit into this type of world anymore. I’ll stick with searching online for now.
Regardless, it was good to be here, and it was good to get those things done. I can’t say I’m not trying.
I worked remotely for my job in Houston for the week, from our home office computer. I shifted my hours a little later than usual so I was working when Derek was working. He teaches two night classes. One of the nights I went to campus with him and worked from the campus library. We spent the mornings together going out to breakfast, watching movies, and setting up the apartment a little more each day.
We checked out a few coffee shops and restaurants together, as well as a bakery. We went to City Cafe, which is a 50s style diner. The place was packed, which told us it was a good, popular place. I ordered Greek food: stuffed grape leaves, salad and pita bread, thinking it would be a light meal. The plates of food were enormous!
We wandered the Riverfront one afternoon and came across a Naval ship on display. We also saw the Trail of Tears fountain. We also stumbled across a little flea market.
I’m going back to Houston tomorrow and I truly feel stuck between two states. I am glad that there will only be 11 days more until I can drive home to Chattanooga for good.
Working from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga library.
A blueberry crumble from Bread & Butter, a bakery near our apartment.
The massive plate of Greek food at City Cafe.
Naval ship on display at the riverfront.
Trail of Tears fountain and memorial, which doubled as a splash area for kids.
