Nashville Sights & Sounds

Nashville is the perfect place to take in the sights and sounds for a girls trip.  Last week I flew to meet up with five ladies I previously had only known as “online friends”.  Good news, they are all who they say they are…whew!  We had so much fun staying up late and getting to know one another and soaking up the city during the day.  Today I’m sharing some of the sights and sounds of our Nashville itinerary as well as a few of the things we didn’t get around to!

East Nashville

Laura, Chrissy & I all arrived about the same time and sweet Lisa was already in Nashville visiting her kidos and was kind enough to pick us up at the airport.  Our timing could not have been more perfect as Andrea was driving in about the same time.  Since we knew we needed to stay somewhat close to the airport to pick up our last friend, Kellyann, we chose the Sky Blue Cafe for brunch in the East Nashville area.

It may look a little suspect but this breakfast hash was amazing!  From what we heard there is typically a line an hour long to get into this little hole in the wall cafe on the weekends but we waited about 20 minutes.

We also walked over to find this adorable mural at 625 Main Street.  I recommend going on a weekend if it’s on your list because the parking lot was full of cars and it was near impossible to take a picture in front of this one.

15th Avenue

Andrea of Living on Cloud Nine secured the cutest little air bnb located at 1312 15th Avenue South and it turned out to be an amazing location for our adventures.

We were all somewhat exhausted after a day of travel and decided to walk to Taco Mamacita for dinner.  The only thing I’m going to say about Nashville is they need to get on board with free chips and salsa!

We woke up Tuesday morning to rain which threatened to ruin our plans for the day.  What’s a girl to do?  Well these girls headed to Green Hills and the mall.  We grabbed a quick bite at Panera Bread and explored the mall where I found the most amazing panties EVER.  We noticed the rain had stopped and decided we could shop any day and headed off with our Uber to get back to our original itinerary.

12 South

I think we can probably agree the 12 South neighborhood was our favorite!  Lots of fun murals, shopping and places to eat all within a comfortable walking distance.   I found this guide to the murals of 12 South before heading to Nashville and it will lead you to all the hot spots if murals are your thing!  We missed a few and intended to get back but Nashville happened.  Ha!

Of course we had to make our way into Draper James and were greeted by the sweetest southern sales rep offering us some sweet tea.  I loved everything in this sweet little store.

We probably all agreed these laughing pictures were a great idea!  Our “in real life” friendship was only 24 hours old but you can see we wasted no time enjoying one another.

We stopped for a bite to eat at The Frothy Monkey.  My understanding is this place usually has a huge line and a long wait but once again we seemed to hit at the right time of day.  I opted for a glass of red wine instead of coffee and shared this delish cheese board with Lisa.  The fig newton with some cheese and bread topped with homemade pimento…yes please!   We walked out the side door to leave and bam, another mural I wasn’t even expecting!  How cute is this?  My top is sold out but the exact pattern is now available in a long sleeve and a different style short sleeve perfect for fall AND it’s $10 today + an extra 10% off!

We headed down to shop White’s Mercantile which is an adorable little shop owned by Hank Williams Jr’s daughter, Holly.   They have lots of little gift items with a variety of price levels.

On our walk back to the house we ran into all kinds of delish options for a sweet treat!

I grabbed a doughnut topped with buttercream frosting at Five Daughters bakery to share with Kellyann over coffee the next day!

Because around the corner was Jeni’s ice cream and oh my goodness there was no waiting for tomorrow!  I had the brown butter almond brittle in a kids scoop and it was as incredible as it sounds!  Don’t worry, we had this a second time on our last night and made sure to all try the goat cheese and red cherry as recommend by one of Chrissy’s followers.

Opry Night

We cleaned up and headed out for a night at The Grand Ole Opry!  The Opry is a must if you go to Nashville in my opinion.  While Rascal Flatts was the headliner this night, the duo Striking Matches stole the show along with a Texas girl, Stephanie Urbina Jones who made her Opry debut.

Y’all, you would have thought we won the lottery when this picture popped up on the big screen!

Hillsboro Village

I knew I wanted to try Biscuit Love but am not one to wait in line!  We scored big with the Belmont location and walked right in to order.  Of course we had to try the bonuts which were amazing!  I opted for the Lindstrom which may look a little sketch but was so delicious.   The only negative is this location shows off “Music City” in lights verses “Nashville” in the other locations.  The trade off was worth it for me!  Lots of little boutiques and an Altr’d State in this location so we walked off breakfast with a little shopping!

The Gulch

Of course we had to grab some pictures in front of the iconic What Lifts You mural in The Gulch!  You can find this mural at 302 11th Street.   What I didn’t expect to find was this huge mural!  And we coordinated so nicely with the background don’t you think?  Of course it’s always a little tricky with a camera remote but we decided to try a jumping picture regardless.  This is just one of many attempts and they are all equally as entertaining!     We headed to the roof of the Thomson Hotel for an afternoon snack and the views at La Jackson.  This bacon dip and squash bruschetta was amazing!  The view, even better!  

12 South Farmers Market

We knew we wanted pictures in the graphic tee Andrea gifted us so when we saw this pumpkin patch we knew it was the perfect backdrop!  More about this tee coming next week!  The farmers market is typically only open on Tuesday afternoons but the pumpkin patch is open this time of year daily of course.  It was all lit up with twinkle lights at night too and made such a great backdrop for pictures.

Broadway

So Lisa and I both celebrate birthdays in October and the girls felt we needed a little “extra” to celebrate so they made sure everyone would know before we headed out for the evening.   We grabbed tacos and the most amazing guacamole along with a margarita made with in house tequila at Bartaco.  The tacos are pretty tiny and I did add a 3rd.  The atmosphere was great and the staff was amazing and fun.  I definitely would recommend this for one of your meals if you are in the 12 South area!  Too bad I didn’t pull up their menu ahead of time as I see a note about a secret menu! 

There is a reason why you sometimes will hear Nashville referred to as Nashvegas, the nightlife on Broadway is bright and full of characters.  We walked down the strip and headed into Luke Bryan’s bar for a hot minute to look around.  I personally suggest heading to Broadway early in the evening.  You can catch some great acts even during the daylight hours but avoid the crowd.  Stay until it gets dark enough to see the street lit up and you’ll still be home by 8!

Last Meal

I was dying to try Hattie B’s hot chicken and luckily I watched Mallory Evin’s you tube video which gave the low down on this location.  No line whatsoever!  I ordered the chicken tenders hot and they were HOT.  I cannot even imagine extra hot or Shut the Cluck Up seasoning.  The pimento cheese mac was good but these were seriously the best greens I’ve ever eaten!  

All good things must come to an end and these sweet girls dropped me off for my flight with a full belly and a full heart!

One more photo op before heading home!  This fun mural was found in the Nashville airport but I was too shy to stop someone to take my picture.

I’m 100% positive Nashville is one of those places you can head to more than once and design a different feel each time.  The Franklin, Tennessee area is nearby and such a sweet little town.  I ran across this post after I returned and it looks like we crossed paths with Courtney!  She did a few things I had never heard of and had a much different trip so check it out if you are headed that way.

Have you been to Nashville?  I’d love to know your faves!