So here's the recap of our fun weekend. And yes, I did fall in love with Nashville while I was there. Such a fabulous city.
Thursday Night:
I arrived in Nashville at 9:30 and we headed straight to the movies to see Eclipse. You see, I was adamantly against all things Twilight related until Sarah came to visit me in April. We spent 2 of the nights during her visit watching the Twilight movies. After that, I was hooked. And it worked out perfectly that I was going to visit Sarah just days after Eclipse came out in theaters. So, loaded down with Sour Patch Kids, Fruit Gems, Reeses Pieces, Popcorn, and Diet Coke, we hit the theater. It was great!
Friday:
Sarah had to nanny in the morning so I tagged along. It was great having coffee and conversation and catching up on life. I really think that every Friday morning (heck, every morning, in general!) should start with conversation and coffee with a best friend. For lunch we headed to a place called Barbara's Home Cookin' in Franklin. Seriously, this place was amazing. The homemade rolls were delicious. The sweet tea was AMAZING. And the food was so, so, so good! Barbara's is the most unassuming place ever. It's a little house alongside the road, but dang is it good!
Next, we went grocery shopping because Sarah (Langiappe Personal Catering...check it out, good stuff!!!) had a catering job that weekend for a church. After that, a much needed nap was in order. And then we hit the town. We ate dinner at a place called The Local Taco. It was delicious. Seriously, so good! Then we drove around Nashville for a bit when I spotted...LIGHTENING BUGS!! So of course, I made Sarah stop so I could try to catch some. We stopped at a really cute park in Nashville and I took these fun pictures. And then we met up with one of Sarah's friends and hung out in Nashville.
Saturday:
We ran to Alan Jackson's house. Yep, that's right. Alan Jackson lives 2 miles from Sarah so we went for a morning run and ran to his house and back. And let me just say that Franklin, TN is so incredibly beautiful. And the weather during our run was so wonderful. Then we cleaned up and headed to downtown Franklin for brunch and shopping. We ate at Meridee's Bread Basket which once again was delicious. Then we went to lots of fun shops in Franklin. (Apparently T.Swift was there 2 days after we were. Darn it.). Pictures of Downtown Franklin and bricks in the sidewalk from the Judds. Cool!
Then we headed to the church to do the baking and prepping for their event that they were having on Sunday. It was so much fun working with Sarah. She's an amazing culinary artist. Seriously. In the time it took me to make my cookie recipe, she had made her cookies, cut up all the fruit, put nuts and mints in bowls, made punch, made a cheese ball, plated the cheese ball and cheese cubes, and cleaned up. She's pretty much awesome at what she does. So if you need a caterer for an event or just want a nice home-cooked dinner sometime, check out her website, www.lagniappepersonalcatering.com. Here are some quick pics I took of our finished product. Sorry, they aren't great pics...I took them while we were rushing out the door.
The spread:
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies (major YUM!!):
Peaches 'n Cream Cookies:
And more of the spread. Check out those fruit baskets that Sarah made!! So cool. Oh, and those cheese balls were pineapple cheese balls. Your mouth is watering, right?:
And this is a picture of the cross outside the church. I just couldn't resist because it was so beautiful!!
Saturday night Sarah's parents made dinner and it was DELISH! Then we put our boots on (well, I did!) and headed out with Sarah's sister Claire and her friend Hannah for some line dancing at Wildhorse Saloon. So. Much. Fun. And Sarah and I stopped at Paradise Park for a short bit, too. It's a bar themed after a Trailer Park. Awesome. Ha!Claire, Hannah, Sarah, and me at Wildhorse:
Yes! It is definitely Nashvegas! Table at Paradise Park:
Sarah and I at Paradise Park:
Why thanks Nashville, I'm glad I'm here too!
Sunday morning we got up bright and early to run a 10k in downtown Nashville. SO MUCH FUN!! I got to take fun pictures of Nashville and Sarah ran her very first 10k ever! She did GREAT! It's so much more fun to run with friends than by myself. Pics from our race:
Getting ready to run:
Sarah's a bit nervous:
Downtown Nashville. Beautiful:
After the race. Yay we did it!!
Then we slept. A lot. Which is what Sunday afternoons are meant for anyway! And then we headed downtown for the 4th of July festivities. We were planning to watch the free Trace Adkins concert, but it was so crowded that we ended up leaving and going to eat dinner at SATCO (San Antonio Taco Company) which we both believe was a good decision.Picture of me with a cool guitar downtown Nashville. Yes, sometimes I act like a tourist. And pics of SATCO. Yum. Seriously, yum.
Then when we were leaving SATCO, Sarah got a hold of my camera. And things got a little crazy...hahahaha. Love these pictures.
And then Monday we ate a delicious breakfast at Pancake Pantry which is a MUST if you visit Nashville. And did some shopping around Hillsboro Village. We went shopping at Pangea which is officially my new favorite store, plus a bunch of other cool shops.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat (yes, I told you we ate A LOT) at Bread & Company before heading back downtown to meet up with a group of people who collectively make up People Loving Nashville. Every Monday night, they gather together to cook dinner and serve it to the homeless community of Nashville. I'm not going to lie, this was by far my favorite part of the entire weekend. It was so great to be part of the greater good, to see God's hand at work in the community, and to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. I really believe this is what Christ has called of us...to love and serve others in need without passing judgment or condemnation on them. I really really really hope to have the opportunity to serve with them again and to love the people of Nashville again.
I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. God is good and I am so blessed...even when times are hard...I know I'm blessed, loved, claimed.
One last picture of me and my best friend! Thanks Sarah for a great weekend!
Oh, and be sure to check out Volunteer Traditions and Suineg Consulting. Both are great Nashville companies that I give a thumbs up to.
