48 Hours in Nashville

There's nothing quite as exhilarating as a weekend of traveling. And by weekend, I literally mean 48 hours. As of late, Steve and I have been spending a lot of hours and miles in our cars. Ever since we returned from our honeymoon, we've spent very little time at our home in Grand Rapids. Between work, concerts, and traveling, we haven't had much free time. To be completely honest, I don't mind all that much. It's so great to be constantly moving.  

This past weekend I flew down to Nashville. I left Friday morning.. like REALLY early in the morning. Steve had already been down there for the week since he was co-writing with some other musicians and attending networking parties. He picked me up from the airport around 10am and we began our 48 hours in Nashville. 

Now, we've had several weekends together in this glorious city since we've been together, but we thought it would be fun to jam-pack our weekend full of delicious food and fun activities with friends while we were there for such a short time, especially since Friday was my very last PTO day of the year.

FYI: I did not bring my Canon on this trip because I packed the world's smallest carry-on suitcase that barely fit my 1 1/2 outfits. 

We first grabbed a traditionally cheap and southern breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Yes, we have several in Michigan but we needed to get our biscuit fix. After satisfying our hunger, we headed to 12 South to relax in Sivier Park and grab some popsicles at one of my favorite places, Las Paletas. You don't know gourmet popsicles until you've tried them from here.

By the time we were finished wandering around 12 South, it was finally time for us to check in to our hotel. We headed there, freshened up, and set out to meet some friends in East Nashville for burgers at The Pharmacy. There aren't words for how tasty their traditional Pharmacy Burger is. At first I thought, "No way am I going to be able to eat this whole thing." Sure enough, 10 minutes later it was completely devoured along with the fries and washed down with a Sprecher hard root beer. It was such a satisfying meal. Steve ordered the Farm Burger, which contained ham, egg, and bacon with a side of sweet potato fries.

After enjoying the moderately-temperatured autumn evening while sitting in the beer garden with our friends Brian and Trisha, we decided to go out for drink in Midtown. We chose to go to Red Door Saloon, which is a place I went right before I met Steve in Nashville over two years ago. (We met at Loser's across the street. Fitting, right?)
If you've never been to Red Door Saloon in Midtown, I suggest you pay a visit. While you're there, look for the small holes in the floor toward the back near the bar. Crouch down and peek through the holes and you just might see a couple skeletons.

At the end of night one in Nashville, we headed back to our hotel and passed out after a long a productive day well spent.
Day 2 started with a trip back to East Nashville for some lattes and moto biscuits from Barista Parlor. I had been meaning to visit this place for quite some time and we finally did. Boy, was it worth the wait. The biscuit sandwiches we ate were one of the most delicious breakfast sandwiches I've had in the history of ever. Seriously, those biscuits! So. Good. I also had the vanilla bourbon latte, and yes, it was just as amazing as it sounds.

From there, we decided to go for a drive and see if we could find any of the cottages and homes on this list of "11 Breathtaking Nashville Airbnb Staycations to Rent Before Regulation Forces Them off the Market". We were unsuccessful, but decided we must book one of them for our next Nashville trip. Because just look at Music City's Tiny House.

c/o Airbnb

So what else do you do with a Saturday afternoon off? You go to the Nashville Farmer's Market, of course. It's a must-see every time we're back in town. Although we couldn't really purchase any produce during our short stay, I picked up some amazing handmade, all natural soap from Balneal Gardens Soap Co. 

We began to crave juice while being at the market, but we couldn't find anything other than smoothies. We decided to head out to visit The Urban Juicer. I ordered the 'cold buster' which seemed fitting since I was still kind of battling my illness from earlier in the week. Steve ordered something called the 'liver lover'. Gross name, awesome juice. 

For lunch, we met up with my friend Ashley of The Nashvillian Blog and her husband Jake at The Flipside. It was so great to catch up and finally meet her beau. She ordered to tater tot nachos because she said that's her favorite thing on the menu. We tasted them, and she was right. So good. Steve ordered "The Memphis" and I ordered "The Parm". Aside from the great meal, we loved the interior of the restaurant. It's so retro and bright inside. 

 When lunch was over, Ashley suggested we finally get our butts over to Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, which was just across the street. It really is a shame neither of us had been there until this past weekend because it was the best damn ice cream I've ever tasted. I sampled a couple flavors but ended up going for the dark chocolate. It's a no-fail. Steve ordered the brown butter almond brittle. 

Although I wanted to fall into a deep and comfortable food coma, my brain put up a fight. We headed back to the hotel room, showered up, then headed to our friend's place in Germantown. Brian and Trisha are another couple that we love spending time with because he's a songwriter who often writes with Steve, and she's a fun and adventurous girl who I can easily spend a day chatting with about our love for Nashville. Steve baked his famous corn bread, Trisha made some broccoli salad, and we all took off to Franklin for a writer's round hosted by Terry and Wanda Seay. They are a couple known for hosting private house concerts with some headlining acts right in their very own living room. It was so great to finally experience what Steve has been telling me about since we met. The songwriters were all fantastic. 
There really aren't words to express my love for this city. My favorite childhood memories are located in central Tennessee and things really do come full circle. I'm sure it won't be look until we're back again. Until next time, thanks Nashville. We love you. 

xoxo,
Laura

Some photos c/o Nashville Scene