we heart nashville

A couple months ago, Ryan and I celebrated our 10th (TENTH!) anniversary, and decided that there was nowhere we'd rather spend it than Nashville.

Okay, maybe we could've gone for a trip to Paris, or San Francisco, or NYC... But Nashville was a close runner-up. :)

I'm so glad we were able to call Nashville "home" for nearly seven years... I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the place. And since we still have lots of family and friends in the area, we'll definitely be back often! 

After rolling into town at 3 a.m. (I'm seriously too old for that... It took me at least a day to recover!), we enjoyed a full day - I was able to attend a baby shower for a dear friend, and we had a family hair appointment at Salon Bouge, LOL.

And of course, this wasn't just your average family hair appointment... It was Jett's FIRST haircut! He did great (I'm sure the Yo Gabba Gabba on the iPhone helped a little!).

He also had a chance to catch up with a lady friend at Aunt Ali's salon...

That night was our big anniversary celebration! When we were planning, it was hard for us to decide between the tried and true (Rumours East) and the new and noteworthy (Rolf & Daughters), so we did both!

We went to our absolute favorite place ever - Rumours East - for some wine and cheese outside on the lawn, and then hopped over to Germantown to check out a newish restaurant that's been getting a ton of buzz (and that I hadn't been able to get reservations at in the past!) - Rolf & Daughters.

Both were fabulous, but, really, I can't imagine the experience at Rumours East being more perfect! If you're ever in Nashville, GO THERE!

At Rolf & Daughters, one of the things that we shared was the squid ink pasta. It was seriously the best pasta I've ever had - I most definitely recommend it!

Rolf & Daughters also has fabulous cocktails!

The next day, we hung out with Cici, and enjoyed a little Chuy's after doing a little H&M shopping...

That evening, we met some friends at an old fave, Silly Goose. Because, really, what's a trip back to Nashville without a little King Kong?

It was so fun catching up with these lovely ladies! And look at cute pregnant Mende (second from left)... She doesn't look 32 weeks pregnant, does she?

On Sunday, we were invited to the Bouge Estate (my words, not theirs, LOL) for a most fabulous brunch. Their house and surrounding property is so lovely, I didn't want to leave!

But, alas, we had to leave, as there was somewhere we had to be... The Titans/Jets game! And what a game it was!

Oh, and this last picture is from after we returned home... It was my most treasured "souvenir"... A bag full of TJ's goodies!

So, until next time, Nashville! Love ya! XO

Date night!

Last night Ryan and I were able to sneak out for a little date night. We went to my favorite place - Rumours East - and also got to see one of our friends perform a bit at Mad Donnas’s loft… Really, it was quite perfect.

It’s funny how things just kinda work out, isn’t it? We had planned to go out tonight, but after realizing she had double-booked her Friday night, Linny asked us if we could reschedule. At first, I was a little frustrated, because a) I had been thinking about date night since we planned it last week, and b) it kinda threw a curve ball in Jett’s routine, since she wanted to change the times a little, too.

After I got over myself, I realized that we would have just as much fun if we moved our date night up one day. And it was such a coincidence that our friend Pat was playing a block away from where we had planned to eat.

We sat outside at Rumours (something that may not have been guaranteed on a Friday night), and enjoyed a bottle of Pinot Noir with a pizza and cheese plate. The pizza special had a sweet corn base, chorizo, tomatoes, mozzarella and parmesan… And was incredible. The cheese plate featured herbed goat, manchego, smoked cheddar and drunken goat. It didn’t disappoint (but does it ever?).

It was so lovely sitting outside. The humidity and strings of lights created such a late summer southern/romantic feel. And the lightning show was pretty cool, too.

Love, love, love.