Nashville On My Mind

Ray Charles said it best in his famed song "Georgia On My Mind"...

(my version)

"I said Nashville
Ooh Nashville, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Nashville on my mind

Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you

Nashville, Nashville,
No peace, no peace I find
Just this old, sweet song
Keeps Nashville on my mind

I said just an old sweet song,
Keeps Nashville on my mind"


My first trip to Nashville left quite an impression on me. As Ray felt about Georgia, so I felt about Nashville - the city truly resembled the sweetest of songs. Adorned with gently rolling hills, cowboy boots on every corner, laughter and live music spilling into the streets, and scents of southern cooking wafting in the breeze how was a girl to keep from falling for it?



From down home BBQ's with friends to posh rooftop escapes, we blanketed this small but mighty city during our 3 day stay. Some of the more notable pit stops were:

Downtown (Broadway St) - A notable tourist hub, this famous street still managed to harness the charm and country flavor that Nashville is most known for. The buy 1 pair of boots, get 2 free was especially reminiscent of southern hospitality. And a deal so alluring I had to stop and run the other way in order to not come home with 4 pairs (i brought 1 with me). With all these boots you need a place to do some kicking and stomping, and Broadway has just that. Two notable places, Roberts and Stage were deemed the hot spots. I enjoyed a great cover band, and shaking what my momma gave me at Stage. But Robert and I WILL meet next time I'm in town!


Hillsboro Village - We had the pleasure of staying in this eclectic gem of a neighborhood during our trip. And ended up spending much of our time in this area. From the cozy coffee shops like Fido to the uber cute boutiques and amazing outdoor patios at the restaurants (Jackson's), this place had it all. One of the locals coaxed me into getting up at the crack of dawn to beat the crowd to the most popular breakfast joint - Pancake Pantry. As much as I love sleeping in, I'm a sucker for breakfast, so I heeded her advice much to my delight. My sweet potato pancakes were simply decadent. Five soft, tender flapjacks filled my plate covered in powdered sugar and served with fresh whipped butter, pure maple syrup and a savory sweet cinnamon cream compote. I got a taste of the hash browns too - the best I've ever had!

Opryland - This majestic place has been heralded by many and seen by so few (Nashvillites that is). I was shocked when my companions told me they had never seen this Tennessee wonder and determined that we must go! The Opryland Hotel is one of the most gigantic establishments I've ever seen. Not in the skyscraper sense, but more the sprawl of it's many wings. To my delight, the hotel had it's very own riverwalk complete with a boat tour, a botanical garden, restaurants, bars, shopping and even a hip night club (not sure who goes to it though). This place most directly resembled a cruise ship on land complete with all your dining and entertainment needs. Amidst all it's beauty and majesty it screamed "retiree haven"! I think we were the only people there under 30. And I knew that my dear grandma would just love this place. After finding our way out of the maze of hotel, we briefly stopped by the world famous Grand Ole Opry House, but decided against the $20 tour. I'll go back some day and see a show and really get my money's worth!

Inside the Opryland Hotel

Vanderbilt & Belmont University - Both nestled tightly in the heart of Nashville, we drove by these sunbathing beauties several times during the weekend. I must admit that I had no foreknowledge of Belmont, but this best kelp secret stole my heart with it's picturesque buildings and well-manicured facade.

The Gulch - This is Nashville's newest, hottest hood. We had friends living at the Icon and got to make use of their fabulous roofdeck amenities with breathtaking views of downtown Nash. There were also some brand new tasty restaurants such as Cantina Laredo that totally made my radar!



Centennial Park & The Parthenon - Out for an afternoon stroll, we stumbled upon this urban playground. Not having done adequate homework on Nash before making the trip, wandering upon the Parthenon was quite a treat! Hoping to get a better view we climbed the stairs to this magnificent building in awe of it's massive columns. As luck would have it there was a wedding reception taking place inside that kept us from the intimate tour, but we were still able to get a peak at the replica of the 42-foot statue Athena which is the centerpiece of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. Beyond a taste of Greece, Centennial Park had a host of other sweet and simple attractions. Spring was in the air and families of geese and ducks were all a flurry. Squirrels ran wild and flowers sang out in their brightest tones. The park offered many swings and park benches throughout the premise for taking in the scenery - which we obliged!

As you can see...everything from the sweet tea to the Grand Ole Opry...sure spoke to me. So I leave you with this:

"I said Nashville
Ooh Nashville, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Nashville on my mind"

Beware...Orange Hair!

Don't Try This At Home!

No...I didn't accidentally dye my hair orange, however, it would make for a good post!

This past weekend I harnessed my adventurous spirit and tried a new sport (guess you can call it that)...haha. I awoke super early on Saturday morning (much to my dismay) and found myself headed about an hour outside of Chi with some friends and strangers to go battle it out at the Realms of Ruin!

That's right...my first foray into the little known world of Paintball. I had been wanting to embrace this activity since the days of High School, but never really got around to it. And now that it was upon me I wasn't quite sure what I had gotten myself into. I mean, running around in the woods def sounded fun enough, but getting hit with high speed balls of paint, well that's another story. It didn't help that the day before I left gobs of people were preparing me for the worst, "wear layers," "it hurts," "you'll definitely get bruises and whelps," and it kinda got to me. But being the Ardent Adventurer, I was not going to let a little fear keep me away.

So, Friday night I set out to find some camo because heck...if I turned out to not be good (wild thought I know), I was at least going to look the part! First attempt: 25 min bus ride in the rain to a random area north of the city to the Army Surplus Store (go big or go home, right?). Upon arrival, I noticed it was a little dark and there were bars all over the windows and doors (great sign right)...Confused, I slowly made my way over to the entrance and realized that it was indeed closed. Ugh..the nerve. Now what was a girl to do? Plan B: Salvation Army - Luckily, I was accompanied by my handy iphone, love of my life, who diligently guided me to my next destination, which by the time I walked the 2 miles there was inevitably closed as well...this is not looking good. I was wet, starved and just wanted to find some stupid pants!

Defeated, I started walking south back toward downtown. Minutes later I passed by a little place called Plato's Closet (a consignment shop) and I'm not sure if it was intuition, luck or God that made me stop and just check it out. Literally, the first aisle I came to had army green cargo pants that were the perfect size! I walked out of there with $10 poorer, but with my head held high and green pants in tow.

$10 pants = good investment!

Now...on to the good stuff. Our group of about 20 had arranged for a full day's worth of playing private games - THANK GOD! Why? Well, the groups we ran into there were seriously hard core. They had spikes coming off their masks and all these extra belts and ammo and crazy guns. Seriously..i think they were off duty army dudes. I wouldn't have set foot on a playing field with them for fear of losing it, haha!

After getting all decked out with the Darth Vader masks, guns and paintballs we were set. Split into teams and positioned on opposite sides of the field. My heart raced as we awaited the signal that the game was starting. Seconds later we were off, running through trenches, hiding behind barrels and trees, crawling through brush and scoping out our opponents. It was a rush! Paint was flying, winning was on the line and I started firing. What surprised me the most was just how "into it" you can get. It's like you just switch modes and shooting at people seems completely normal, haha. Kinda scary too.

My first game my goal was to not be the first one out, haha...which turned out to be easier than I had imagined. I stayed in fairly long and took a paintball to the head. Not too shabby for a first hit! It definitely helped diminish my fear of the pain associated with getting hit...really it wasn't that bad! Little did I know that this same hit would provide me with a whole new do (hair that is). Apparently, I wear orange well - or everyone was lying. I proceeded to get hit in the same exact spot later in the day as well as the hand and shoulder amongst others. But nothing I couldn't "walk off".


A very fun day to say the least. I picked up a new sport, made some good friends and got to try out a new hair color. What more could a girl ask for? Already thinking about what adventure sport I should try next...any suggestions?

Trust Me...

Trust: reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence (Dictionary.com)

As I was walking to the train after work today, staring down at my feet as I dodged puddles of rain water, I noticed something...Something that I rarely ever think about. It was as if a light came on and something that is normally mundane had new meaning. What did I notice? That I had been walking over grates in the sidewalk - grates that cover possibly bottomless holes that potentially lead to sewage, the subway or some other unpleasant destination. And at this moment I realized, I have an immense amount of trust in the ground I walk upon. Now, it may seem silly, but seriously...at any moment the frail metal could break or shift and I'd be lost in the abyss of Chicago's sewer system.


Doesn't sound too pleasant, huh? Why do I trust Chicago's sidewalks and streets so much? Who told me they were good, reliable or "trust"worthy? No one. Experience has made a pretty strong case for this. But even when I first roamed these bustling streets I'm pretty sure I didn't tiptoe around making sure it was safe to tread.

Hmmm.... This topic is especially relevant to me right now as I am in a constant battle in my personal life to TRUST God! The other night I was wrestling particularly hard with trusting Him in a certain area of my life and so like any hopeless soul, I just opened my Bible randomly searching for help. Thus, dun, dun dun...it opened to Psalm 118. Nothing too strange about this, right, the Psalms are in the middle of the Bible. But I beg to differ, especially after reading vs. 8, "It is better to TRUST in the LORD, Than to put confidence in man." Ha. There you have it folks...plain as day. God answered my inability to trust Him with scripture telling me that I'm a fool. Gotta love His sense of humor.

But seriously, why is it so much easier for me to trust the ground I walk upon than the creator of the ground? The Bible reminds us to trust in the Creator, not the created, over and over. I'm reading a great book right now, that probably brought this whole issue to the forefront of my mind, Seizing Your Divine Moment by Erwin McManus. It has literally rocked my way of thinking, challenged me and has caused me to change (yes that often dreaded verb). The book challenges you to "Dare to live a life of Adventure". All four things I love: Dares, Living, Life, Adventure!

In this book he talks a lot about trusting and responding to God through Biblical parallels. Two of which are Jonathan and Elijah. Jonathan's story can be found in 1 Samuel 14 and it's a tale of his bravery and obedience to follow God's direction to attack the Philistine army. Now, this may not seem all that brave until you realize that A) He goes against his Father's (King Saul) orders, and B) He approaches the Philistine army with only a sword and his armor-bearer by his side. Also, he doesn't attack them while they sleep or via some strategic mastery. Nope, he goes out in plain sight and yells at them!!! Knowing that if they responded "Come up to us" then God would deliver them. BUT, if they said, "Wait there until we come to you," they would be doomed.

Ahh...does anyone else see that he is crazy! The armor-bearer too - he concedes to this mad plan, "Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul." Wow. Well, the story goes...they were called up and defeated the Philistines with the hand of God. How's that for a lesson in trust? My issues aren't even life or death.

Another great example of triumph and failure is the story of Elijah in 1Kings 18. In this passage, Elijah finds himself in a Battle of the Gods, a real life show down between his God and the God Baal. The test was to see who's god could rain down fire from heaven onto the alter. Simple task, right? Well, Baal ceased to respond and left his followers in a bloody mess. Then confident Elijah builds his alter and places his offering to God and proceeds to have it drenched in buckets of water 3x!!! I'm thinking..man, this is really not going to help you out. However, this radical action proves even more so his immense trust in God to even produce fire on wet wood. WOW. He calls to God in Heaven and sure enough, fire comes raining down and all are amazed and fear the one true God!

Great story ehh? What a steadfast man of trust and confidence in God, right? Well yes, at this point. You see, the thing about Elijah's story that really got to me is that in the very next chapter 1 Kings 19. Ahab threatens to kill him before the next day and Elijah runs off like a scaredy cat! Ummm...hello! God just rained down FIRE! He runs off to the mountains where God finds him and whispers, "What are you doing here?"What a great question...Erwin says it best, "Whenever we run from the challenges sets before us, He asks us the same question. Whenever we settle for a life of mediocrity, God asks us the same question, 'What are you doing here?' Whenever we decide that the average is good enough, He asks us. Whenever we settle for simply existing, God asks us, 'What are you doing here?'"

Elijah is then commanded by God to go back to where he came from. To face his fears and fulfill his God-given destiny. And folks...that's what he does for us. When I repeatedly don't trust God in an area of life or a situation, I repeatedly find myself in that situation, weird huh? Frustrating, but as I'm learning, God is gracious and keeps giving me chances to turn back, face my fears , and move on! Fear prohibits freedom. And I don't know about you, but I long to be FREE! So here's to TRUST and GOD. May they live happily ever after!