Music City

These past weekend was a whirlwind of adventures.  Wine tasting, candlelights , a baby shower, coffee, coffee, & more coffee, Whiskey Kitchen, the Stage & Big Bang in Nashville, & a beautiful riverfront walk in Newburgh.

On Friday, I was invited to an Alpha Chi Omega alumni event in Franklin, TN which is right outside of Nashville.  The event was a blind wine tasting, luxury jean brand trying-on, & candlelight filled night.  Somewhat regretfully, I decided I was too stressed from a busy work week & a crazy driving schedule (I hate driving and don't do it at all costs) to drive from Indiana to the Nashville, TN area.  The lovely ladies that did go had a wonderful time & three sisters announced engagements at the candlelight ceremonies!  How wonderful & special!

The Beautiful new bling for the lovely sisters & their candelight candles!

I got Brittany a gift since I knew of her engagement.  It's actually a tea light holder, but I use these types of things around my own house to hold rings while washing my hands at the sinks!  I hadn't seen one that looked so cool & blingy & when I saw it I though how adorable would that be for Brittany & her new ring!

Saturday morning rolled around & I had to get in a 6 mile run before I could consider driving into Nashville for a baby shower I planned to attend.  Those 6 miles were at a really easy pace, it was my long run at 8:50 mile pace.  Sadly, at 4.5 miles, my left knee started to hurt.  I walked a few minutes & finished up running the rest just so I could get off the treadmill.  I then got on the machines to do some leg strengthening extensions, kickbacks & other moves.  Right now, I am praying that I didn't over do it, but we will see tonight when I do my speed work run!

After running, cleaning up, swinging by a local craft fair for ideas, & driving 2 and a half hours, I was finally at the baby shower.  My friends theme is the "Lion King", and her son's room is going to be just the cutest!  He received so many adorable goodies in "Lion King" & jungle theme.

Emily, Brittany & My gift to the mama!

 

The hosts & the mama!

Alpha Chi Sisters

Cute Little Mama!

Since I was coming to Nashville, my friend Natalie drove in from East TN to meet me half way between our two homes for a girls night out.

We checked into the Maxwell Millennium Hotel where we would be staying for the night since they have a great shuttle service to the downtown area & if you book on Expedia you can get up to $40 off a night!  Not a bad deal & the hotel was clean, friendly staff, & loaded with Nashville music scene memorabilia.

Even though we were beyond excited, we still knew we would need triple shot iced lattes from Starbucks to keep us up all night!  Due to my quirky excited nature and the fact that I had downed 1/5 of my triple shot latte, I spilled my drink everywhere right as we were leaving, but the kind baristas made me another one. 

Tripple Shot Drinks - Mocha & Vanilla Lattes

Natalie & I got ready & the awesome staff took some pictures for us before we headed out to Whiskey Kitchen for some pizza & of course a whiskey drink.  I wanted to try a maple flavored whiskey, but they were out, so I opted to go for one recommended by our waitress that turned out to be a honey whiskey & water.  Not too bad, but I still want to try the maple.

 

 

We then met up with my little sister in my sorority & went to The Stage, a fun bar with a live band, cool vibe, & just crowded enough to enjoy the band with others without bumping into someone at every step.

Lo & behold, we ended our night at The Big Bang.  All of my friends know that this is practically the only bar I go to in Nashville.  I have weird phobias of going to places I don't know well & I can get too buck wild or too nervous to try something new.  Yes, it's pitiful, but at least most everyone I know can have a great time at The Big Bang too! 

Dueling pianos, fun bartenders, embarrassingly cute dances on stage for people that just got engaged, talented singers & drummers, lively music, you can't ask for much more!  Oh, and I almost always get in free thanks to my sweet friend Emily who was lucky enough to get a Big Bang VIP card & lets me borrow it when I am in town!  And if she can't help me, I have become 'friends' with one of the bartenders & one of the piano players, both of which have been kind enough to get myself & some friends into the bar! 

After closing down Big Bang, it was time for some R&R back at our hotel.  We got in around 4am, and Natalie's alarm went of at 7am.  My poor husband knows this too well, but once I am up in the morning, I am up.  So instead of trying to go back to sleep, I gathered my stuff and took the 3 hour drive back home.

My friend that  recently moved from Nashville area to Evansville met me for a Newburgh Riverfront Walk, which is something I enjoy doing to help release toxins after a night where I may have drank a drink or two more than needed.  I brought my dogs along, Walden is just simply obsessed with Erica! 


Walden, you are way to big to be a lap dog!



Happy Sasha after her walk

It was a long, sometimes tough, weekend for me, but I do love Music City, Nashville.  I didn't appreciate the town enough when I lived there, but now I can see why so many people fall in love with the beautiful city by day & lively town by night!  The people are friendly, the music is spectacular, & there's always something to do!