On August 11th, my friend Darnell from Dayton came through town on his way to Alabama and we got lunch at McDougal's Chicken -they give you free ice cream! - even though it's only 2 oz. And their chicken is delicious. The pic on the left is some of the crazy decorations on the wall, the Boar with the life jacket looks like Alf to me
On August 12th, I went down the the Gulch to Casablanca Coffee to hear some good music from Jenn Bostic, Caitlin Nicol-Thomas, Tim Williams & Matt Spitko (these 2 guys were from Philly)! Take a listen to some great music from that night
Caitlin-Nicol Thomas
Jenn Bostic & Catlin-Nicole Thomas
Tim Williams
Tim Williams & Matt Spitko
Matt Spitko
Matt Spitko & Tim Williams
food at Genghis Grill
On Sunday August 14th, I went to see the Glee 3D movie with Laurie in Cold Springs. I had a free birthday lunch at Genghis Grill so I stopped by before the movie to use that. If you've ever been to Mongolian BBQ or Stir Crazy, that's what this place is like. On my way to the movie my friend Tara called me and she was driving through Nashville on her way to Alabama so she stopped by for some yogurt at Sweet CeCe's. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday
my food at Noshville Deli
On August 24th, I went to Noshville Deli for lunch. I kept driving by and it seemed like a cool place, I was right and it was delicious! Also my waiter was from Akron, Ohio...small world! I was wearing my Cleveland Indians hat so he asked me if I was from Ohio. I also checked out Whole Foods for the first time ever. It's pretty awesome with the exception of being expensive.
On August 26th I went to dinner with some people from work at San Antonio Taco Company. This place was really good. And I had an awesome time hanging out with the crew that works on More at Midday/Better. Can't wait till we plan our next outing.
To wrap up the month, on August 29th I went to Dan McGuinness Pub to listen to Jenn Bostic and others on a singer/songwriter night take a listen:
Sunday, July 31st, the power went out..twice. Of course my cell phone battery was half dead which made me nervous about going to be because I was worried I wouldn't wake up for work on time. I switched my days off this week because of my visitors so I had to work Monday morning at 2:30am. Basically this was the starting point that contributed to me being tired the next 2 days!
Monday, August 1st rolled around and I was tired because of the whole power outage drama the night before. Coffee was a must have today (2 cups to be exact), I was so tired I dropped my sugar packet in my coffee! On top of being tired it was a long day at work (another director was on vacation), I had to direct 4am, 6am, and Better (1 segment had to be recorded 3 times due to timing issues). On the plus side, we had Chef Jamie on More at Midday and he made the best pesto chicken pasta ever! My day wrapped up with a nap so that I could watch the Red Sox/Indians game on ESPN (since the Indians are hardly ever on TV where I live), it was good game- Indians won!
Tuesday, August 2nd, the day my friends were arriving...The day did not start off the way I had hoped, I completely overslept! I got a phone call at 3:40am asking me where I was- the news is at 4am. I got there 5 minutes before the show started and had to quickly program the first block. Luckily the other director got in a few seconds after me set my cameras for me. We had to sit in black about 45 seconds and then I was ready to go on air, surprisingly I made it on air with minimal mistakes but it was crazy!
Eliston Place Cafe
My lunch
After work I came home and got changed to meet my friends for lunch. We went to Elliston Place Cafe for lunch (It's like the longest continually operated restaurant in Tennessee or something crazy like that), I had a Meat and two: fried chicken, mac & cheese and mashed potatoes with a roll and then a cherry milkshake for desert! Allie, Mel, Skippy and Laurie met me there but I had already eaten my food before they arrived because I was so hungry I couldn't wait. Then when they finally arrived we had to wait for a table and then squeeze the 5 of us in but we managed.
After they ate, we drove downtown. We were going to take the Trolley Hop Tour but we missed the time we wanted to take it so we went to a bar and had a drink instead. Allie, Mel and Skippy went back to their hotel to change while Laurie and I went back to my place to freshen up and I walked the dog. About an hour later we drove back downtown (the parking guy was super nice and let us park back in the garage w/o paying twice since we weren't there that long to begin with) had dinner at Demo's.
We then walked to the Rutledge to hear the Billy Block Show where Jenn Bostic was performing. Another guy on the Billy Block Show that night was Matt Nichols, he was amazing! I got a huge blister on my foot from my flip flops so spent most of the night walking around downtown barefoot (boy were my fee dirty). After that Laurie drove me back to my car (which I left by the lunch restaurant) and that was how the day wrapped up. Here's a few videos from the Rutledge:
Jenn Bostic: Snow Storm
Matt Nichols
Jenn Bostic: Let's Get Ahead of Ourselves
My pancakes
Nashville Tradition
Wednesday, August 3rd I picked up Allie, Mel, and Skippy and we went to Pancake Pantry for breakfast. I had pecan pancakes w a side of bacon, so yummy but couldn't finish it (also not sure the pancakes are really worth waiting more than 20-30 minutes). After breakfast we walked around Hillboro Village a little
YUM-O
After this we drove to Gigi's for cupcakes - we got 4 and shared them(Strawberry Lemonade, Salted Caramel, Margarita, & Raspberry Champagne) but then only ate part of them all and threw them away - this made me sad (it was too hot to leave them in the car but we should have just ordered fewer so we could finish them).
Me and Skippy on the Trolley
We then drove downtown and took the trolley hop tour where we sat on a bazillion degree bus (pretty sure the a/c was not working) for 1hr45min and listed to a guy tell us about all the spots. I checked out around the Ryman (which was like the 2nd stop) because it was too hot to concentrate, I just wanted off the bus.
After the tour I got back in my car and went home to walk Riley (my car read 109 degrees) we did set a record of 103 for the high that day (without heat index). When I got home, I cooled off for a few minutes then picked the gang up at the hotel and met Laurie, Steph, and Sandra at Stoney River Steakhouse for dinner. I had the 14oz NY Strip steak with a glass of wine (total bill was about $40 with tip). After dinner we drove downtown and took the Nashville ghost tour. It was so HOT! It required a lot of walking so I basically stopped paying attention 10 minutes in because I couldn't concentrate. I didn't see any ghosts.
After the tour we went to Mike's Ice Cream and Coffee Bar downtown to get ice cream and cool off.
Mel, Skippy, Laurie, Allie
Sandra, Me, Steph
Thursday, August 4th started with me picking up the gang at their hotel and then went to Loveless Cafe for breakfast. After breakfast we went back to my apartment and relaxed a bit and I walked Riley. Our next stop was Bicentennial Park. This is a very cool park with a lot of history.
Yum, Ben & Jerry's
We walked around the park for a while before going Ben & Jerry's for ice cream. We then went to the Frist (even though I'd been there before, but this time I had to pay) to see the Warhol exhibit. After the museum, we met Steph and Lauire at the hotel and then walked to Broadway Brewhouse for a light lunch/snack. I had a beer and the fried mac & cheese kids meal which was more like a full meal.
Getting a tattoo
After lunch, Laurie and Skippy got tattoos at a bank converted into a tatoo parlor. They got the same tattoo something Skippy designed to represent the last chord or "For Good" (from Wicked). Skippy got his on his arm, Laurie on her hip. Skippy, Allie, Mel and I went back to the hotel and cooled off then met Steph and Laurie for dinner at Bricktops (Steph and Laurie just got desert).
awesome desert
one of the best meals of my life
This was the best parmesean chicken I've ever had! And then we had an amazing desert - a warm chocolate chip cookie in a skillet topped with ice cream. After dinner we drove back downtown and went to Tootsies and Legends to experience the Honkey Tonks. After about an hour or so at the bars we went back to their hotel and hung out a bit then I had to go home to get about 2 hours of sleep because I had to work for a few hours on Friday.
Deconstructed Sundae
Friday, August 5th, I had to work (because it was elections on Thursday). I was so tired I can't even describe it! I directed the 4am news and then went home to sleep some more before meeting up with Allie, Mel and Skippy again around 11am. We then met Sandra for lunch at J Alexanders. For desert we had a "deconstructed sundae" basically a do it yourself sundae but it was good! After lunch we met Laurie, Anthony and Annie at GiGi's for one last cupcake (I got mine to go-Lemonade) then drove my friends back to the airport. When I got home I watched an hour or so of TV and fell asleep around 4pm.
Sandra, Mel, Me, Skippy, Allie
Annie, Laurie, Mel, Allie, Skippy, Me
Saturday morning I woke up from falling asleep at 4pm the day before for work at 4am! I basically slept for 12 hours and it was amazing! I proceeded to eat my leftovers from J Alexanders for lunch and watched TV.
On July 21st when I woke up for work at 2am I discovered that my kitchen sink was leaking! Emergency maintenance was not very responsive, I called as I was walking out the door but I had to go home after the 4am news and call again. This time the guy called me back, told me to turn the water off and that he'd be in soon. He was there when I got home from work at 11am so you know he didn't get there till like 9:30am or something. Glad you hustled over buddy! once the water was off it no longer mattered. Oh and then a few days later the sink was leaking again in a different location, they ended up having to replaced the whole faucet feature.
Kathy Griffin at TPAC
Thursday night I had tickets to see the hilarious Kathy Griffin at TPAC with Laurie! watching her show live is like listening to someone with ADD because she jumps all over the place and takes forever to get through a story, then she promises to tell you about things and never comes back to it. Either way the show was great! She talked about how crazy hot it was here in Nashville, (I believe she said "how do you people live here, it's hot as balls here") she came out on stage wearing and I quote, "a target skirt and bikini top" and she said there was no backup plan if something happened with the bikini lol. The show was great, lots of laughs and I would recommend seeing her live if you enjoy her style of comedy (she's brash and doesn't hold back but it's all good)
I took my 4th of July holiday on Friday so I decided to take a me day. I went to Chipotle for lunch - I was going through withdrawal! it was over a month since my last burrito from there. Desert was of course Pinkberry. I stopped at the used bookstore and got 2 DVDs for like 10 bucks. I then stopped off at the car wash because my car was filthy, it hadn't been washed since before the winter! My next stop was Nashville West (a shopping plaza). I bought 2 shirts at NY & Co. and apparently you can get 20% off with your AAA card so major score for me! I bought a necklace at Claire's, a gossip Magazine at Target, a portable hard drive for my computer from best buy (which I ended up returning and buying at Target the next day), and finally I went to World Market (a sort of Trader Joe's type market), I bought mix for Red Velvet pancakes! I can't wait to try them. I also bought some Kettle Corn because who doesn't love kettle corn?
Backyard Burgers
I tried a new place for lunch on Saturday - with another free birthday coupon! Backyard Burgers. The food was good but if I didn't have a coupon it would have been pricey. And the floors at the restaurant were sticky.
Monday was my ear doctor appointment (remember last week I had that issue with my hearing?). I got a hearing test, which was interesting since I hadn't had one since I was a kid, and then the nurse practitioner checked out my ears. Basically since I was no longer experiencing the symptoms she couldn't really tell me what the problem was but she took out some wax and told me if it happens again to come back but most likely was just some sort of debris that worked it's way clear.
$3 Frozen Margaritas!
Later Monday I went to La Paz to listen to Jenn Bostic's set, it was also $2 margarita night! the other guy who played when Jenn played, Spencer Modler, played guitar and harmonica. The margarita's were awesome. Jenn was amazing as usual and she played 2 new songs (you'll find them below, along with part of one of Spencer's songs). After Jenn's set she invited me to join her and her friend for dinner. I wasn't hungry but I went to hang out with them anyway and I'm really glad I did. Lots of fun that night. This is what I love about this city - I wasn't planning on doing anything that night and all of a sudden I go out and listen to awesome music and hang out with awesome people! Oh and don't forget cheap drinks!
Tuesday my cousin Adele was in town, her last stop on her cross country road trip. I met up with her and her friends for lunch at Taco Mamacita. They have some interesting tacos. I got something called the Memphis, which had pulled pork and cucumber slaw with pickles and jalapenos on it, and a Caribbean chicken which had mango salsa on it. The Memphis was my favorite of the two.
Wednesday I decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings after work to watch the Indians game and grab lunch. Not the best idea I guess since we got no hit by the Angels (E. Santana). Then to top off that horrible show I get home and find out that Natalie Stovall is doing a free show with Bo Bice (from American Idol) at 12th and Porter but since I stayed up and didn't nap there was no way I could go! (Sounds like some sort of child punishment...you didn't take a nap so you can't go! haha). So I just sat on my couch and watched what I taped from "The 90s Are All That" on Teen Nick. They started this new 2 hour block of programming on Monday and I set my DVR Tuesday night to start taping "Doug" and "Clarissa Explains it All". I miss good Nickelodeon programming from when I was a kid!
Saturday I was finally able to put up some pictures in my cubicle at work. After work I ordered a pizza from NY Pie for dinner and just relaxed.
Food/Bars/Music: Backyard Burgers, La Paz (well technically just drinks), Taco Mamacita
Woke up for work on Saturday after getting probably my first consecutive 8 hours of sleep since I moved here! I honestly don't think I will ever sleep properly because there is way too much I want to do here on a nightly basis for me not to nap and stay up late.
red velvet cake pop
Saturday evening I went to Casablanca Coffee down in the Gulch to hear Jenn Bostic perform again. She was partaking in a singer/songwriter night along with Briana Tyson, Jamie Morgan and Richard Jordan. Jamie Morgan and Richard Morgan's music was more Christian music but was still very good. I had probably the strongest iced mocha i've ever had there (I'm pretty sure they made it a double even though I don't remember asking them to). However I somehow missed that the special coffee of the day was a red velvet mocha, I so wish I had known that I would have tried it! I also discovered the Nashville Cake Pop Company! they sell their products at this coffee shop. I bought a Red Velvet flavored one but they also had peanut butter cup - next time.
Briana Tyson
Jamie Morgan
Richard Jordan and Jenn Bostic
Here are some videos of the performances the rest of course are on my YouTube page:
So Sunday was terrible! I woke up at 3am for work after only a few hours of sleep, since I went out the night before, with a terrible ringing in my ears and also dulled/muffled hearing in my left ear. After my shift I went to Target to get some Hydrogen Peroxide on my mom's suggestion that it would help if I had a wax buildup. I put a few drops in and laid down to watch the U.S./Japan soccer game which we ended up losing on penalty kicks! I then took a nap hoping to wake up and it would be all better. It was no better when I woke from my name. I had tweeted about my ear pain and Kristin Chenoweth, who suffers from Meneire's disease (an inner ear disorder) suggested that I try a nasal rinse. I drove to Walgreens and bought a nasal cleanse kit plus a nasal decongestant and ear droppers (b/c getting that peroxide in otherwise was not working).
On my way home I stopped at a place similar to Pinkberry called Sweet CeCe's for some frozen yogurt. I got snickerdoodle flavor (and yes it tasted exactly like the cookie) and added chocolate chips, sprinkles, peanut butter cups, strawberries and cherries. With it being National Ice Cream Day that day it was very fitting and very delicious!
After I got home I tried the nasal rinse, and man if you have never done one - it's a strange feeling. I put in more peroxide in my ears and took a decongestant and prayed that when I woke up Monday it would feel better if not I was calling a doctor.
Monday came and I did not feel better so I mad an appointment to see and ENT doctor, but the earliest I could get in was the following Monday! Not to mention I was having issues getting my insurance information so I wouldn't have been able to get in earlier anyway b/c I didn't have an insurance number yet.
Tuesday was the same, still had the ringing and the muffled hearing in my ear.
Luke Bryan
Wednesday was back to work for the week and still had the ear issues. On the plus side on the news that morning I learned the Luke Bryan was doing a free concert at the Opry that evening. After my news I immediately went online and got a ticket to see the show. I went home and took a nap and drove out to the Opry. Doors opened at 7pm, I got there a little after 7, the seating was 1st come first serve type of deal so the line was crazy long and it was super HOT outside! I should have just waited and come a little later cause I didn't care about being close, I would have sat around the same spot whether I waited in the line or not. Either way I had to kill some time inside so I bought some Moosehead Kettle Corn (a local company) and a diet coke and sat down in the balcony and relaxed till the show. The show was sponsored by Samsung and also the Jimmy Kimmel Show apparently. They said part of the show was going to be on the Jimmy Kimmel show but I set my DVR for the show that night and didn't see it unless it aired the next night in which case I did not set my DVR for that night. I chose to wear ear plugs so as to keep my ears from getting more damaged. The concert was really good though! and of course I'll put some videos in here and the rest can be found on my YouTube page!
Wednesday July 13th was a long work day but relaxing otherwise. I had to direct 2 newscasts as well as Better Nashville and run prompter for Midday. Then we had a meeting at 12:30 but that was about 1.5 hours after my shift normally ended so I headed over to Buffalo Wild Wings at Nashville West to grab some lunch and watch part of the U.S./France women's world cup game. As it turns out from 11-2 Mon-Fri Bdubs does 9.99 all you can eat wings (10.99 for boneless) and it comes with fries! Of course after eating 10 boneless wings I thought man this was not a good idea, I can't eat any more wings but I have to in order to get my money's worth! I got 5 more and then ended up taking them home...I also had yet another free birthday coupon for a free piece of chocolate cake at Bdubs. I got that to go, however I did not realize it is served with ice cream so by the time I got home from my meeting the ice cream was soup! After my meeting I went home, watched the rest of the soccer game and took a nap!
Thursday was another relaxing sort of day. When I got home from work I watched the MLB All-Star game from Tuesday that was on my DVR, and then took a nap. When I woke up I decided to re-watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow's Part 1 in preparation to see part 2 the next day. I also discovered that Kristin Chenoweth is planning on performing at the Opry on September 17th so I immediatley jumped on buying tickets to that, I got floor seats, center about 8 rows back! (It took them about 2 weeks before they actually listed her on the calendar but I'm glad I got on that before they listed her b/c now I know I have a good seat).
Mac&Cheese: Noodles&Co.
Friday after work I went to see Harry Potter in 3D. The plan was to use my free noodle bowl (another free birthday coupon) before the movie but the line was crazy long so I had to settle for eating popcorn at the theater for lunch instead. Harry Potter was AM.AZ.ING! I cried it was so good! The best movie by far! Of course they changed a lot from the books but I haven't read the books in a while so I hardly noticed. The 3D was very cool because this is the first movie to be shot entirely in 3D so it was less about things flying out of the screen at you and more about perspective, like you were standing in the scene - so cool! After the movie I went to Noodle's and Co. and got myself a free bowl of Mac & Cheese and man was it good! I can't believe how much stuff I have gotten for free for my birthday! In the future July is going to be a very good month for free food :)
Food: Buffalo Wild Wings, Noodles and Co. Bars/Music: None
Sunday July 10th I started my birthday celebrations. I bought myself a little present in the form of a ticket to see one of my favorite Clevelander's in concert: Kate Voegele! she was one of opening acts for Natasha Bedingfield who was playing at the Exit/In that night for $20. What?! I would have paid $20 to just see Kate. So I bought my ticket earlier that week and was pretty excited about seeing her live for the 3rd time! The plan was that Sandra was going to come with me so we met up around 4 to grab some food (the doors to the show opened at 7pm). So we grabbed some pizza at a place nearby called Michalangelo's pizza - SO good! However Sandra did not buy her ticket in advance and therefore when we got to the door the guy said the show was sold out and she couldn't get in to see the show with me :( - I made friends with the 2 girls who were in line in front of me from Kentucky who were also there to hear Kate so I at least had someone to talk to since Sandra couldn't get in. Stood in line for about an hour outside the venue (I wanted to be close the stage) then once the doors opened it was another hour before the show started. It's been an unusually hot summer all over the country but here in Nashville the heat index has been in the 100's a lot! so it was very hot waiting outside, luckily it was semi-shaded. I figured once I got inside it would be cooler - WRONG! I'm convinced it was hotter inside the place than standing outside! With so many people crammed into a tiny bar there was no room to breathe, let's just say I straightened my hair before I left and by the end of the night it was a frizzy mess! (shoulda just went ponytail - but of course I didn't even bring a hair tie, big mistake).
The first performer was a guy named Andy Grammer. He is amazing one of my new favorite artists. Seriously go buy his CD. I bought it after the show and LOVE it! He has a single out with a music video for his song "Gotta Keep Your Head Up" and the song is so good! It's about being strong and keeping going even when you're not sure you can make it through. Great lyrics and very catchy oh and he's not bad to look at either! He sang about 5 songs or so including a cover of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" which is a great song. Later in the night I met him and took a photo and got him to sign my copy of his CD (he even signed it Happy Birthday for me when I told him my birthday was the next day). Such a nice guy and again super cute!
Me and Andy Grammer
Me and Andy again
Kate was next and this was the first time I'd seen her as an opening act, the other 2 times I saw her was in her hometown of Cleveland, OH and it was her show and other people opened for her. So since she was an opening act she only did about 7 songs. I felt like a bad fan because I had only heard one song off her new album which came out in May and I had yet to buy it as of July but it was purchased after her set and has been on repeat in my car for a week! I love her music! Check her out if you don't already listen to her, she also plays Mia on the CW show, One Tree Hill. Of course the songs she performed off her previous 2 albums I knew all the words to (which may or may not be who you hear singing along in the videos on my YouTube page). She did a meet and greet at the merchandise table after which was cool because the other time I was able to do a meet and greet with her in Cleveland it was along the lines where you had to buy something from the table before the show and get a wrist band for a meet/greet after but it was just an autograph session no photos. This time you didn't have to purchase anything (although I bought her new CD of course) and photos were allowed - I guess there's a slight advantage to going to a place where she is less well known (the people of Cleveland know her more since she grew up there). So I was able to get a couple photos with her and talked to her about Cleveland (since I grew up near there too) and our dogs (she has a Westie which is basically the same kind of dog as a Carin - which I have - only Westie's are all White) she made me show the pic of Riley that I showed her to her dad! She also signed my CD Happy Birthday so that was very cool.
Me and Kate Voegele
Me and Kate again
Me and Jay DeMarcus from Rascal Flatts
Of course the headliner of the concert was Natasha Bedingfield. Now I was right up on the stage for Andy and Kate but decided to give up my close spot to go back to the merchandise table after Kate's set and allow someone who was there to see Natasha move closer. I still stayed for Natasha's set though and she was very good. I've heard a few of her songs before so it's not like I don't know who she is I was just there to see Kate more than anyone else. Another fun surprise was that Natasha has a new single called "Easy" which she does with Rascal Flatts. Well it turns out Jay DeMarcus from Rascal Flatts was there! and came out on stage and sang with her. I was able to get a picture with him as well. He is very nice and pretty nice to look at as well. Of course right before I got a pic with him some drunk dude passed out at the bar and had to be carried outside...crazy!
So I saw Andy and Kate after their set but also said hello again and got a second picture with them after the show was over. I could have waited around for Natasha to come out (if she was going to) but I was so hot and gross I just wanted to go home so I left. I'll post a few video's here and the rest are up on my YouTube page so check em out (again the link to my YouTube page is on the right side of the blog).
Here are a few video clips check out more on my YouTube page:
My Actual Birthday!
July 11th, the big day - my 28th Birthday. I absolutely love my birthday 7/11 what's greater than that? I don't think I'll ever get to an age where I don't want to celebrate my birthday. And as many can attest I make sure everyone knows my birthday is coming up. I start counting down at the end of June! This year was my first birthday in Nashville!
Continuing my trend of free stuff for your birthday, I got a free meal from Firehouse subs. I think technically you only get a free medium sandwich but the guy gave me the whole meal for free so I'm not gonna complain that he threw in chips and a drink ;).
Pesto Chicken Penne!
For dinner that night I went out with Laurie and Steph (who came up from Alabama) at Cafe Nonna. What a great place this was! It's on the small side so they recommend reservations (and I understand why). I had the pesto penne with chicken and it was delicious! I will definitely be going back here in the future!
Steph, Laurie, and Me at Pinkberry
After dinner we were headed toward downtown to hit up a bar for a beer and decided to stop at pinkberry first. Because I will never pass up the opportunity for pinkberry. Oh let me fill you in on some back story here, Laurie went to the beach for the 4th of July and had tweeted a pic of this cool headband that was very festive so I asked her to save one for me for my birthday. She did and I had it on when we went in to pinkberry and the guy immediately asked me if it was my birthday! How'd he guess? Another guy said happy late 4th of July -haha!
So after the delicious frozen yogurt we went to Dan McGuinness Pub for a beer and to watch the end of the Home Run Derby. Steph got the strongest rum and coke ever made and we played a "fun game" of having Laurie try to name the states in alphabetical order. Way too much fun. The night was a great time and I even got a late birthday wish from Kristin on twitter (despite the fact that I basically asked for it and it was technically after my bday was over - in Nashville anyway it was still my birthday in LA where she was when she tweeted it haha)
The Celebration Continues
my lunch!
Tuesday I drove down to Laurie's house and had lunch with her and Steph and Annie at Dotson's Restaurant, a meat & 3 place. I got BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, and green beans w a roll - so good! Definitely southern to the max. We then went to a place called Sweet CeCe's (which is like a pinkberry but more along the lines of a Yougurland where there are different flavors of yogurt to choose from and you put the topping on yourself and pay by weight) because Annie wanted Sweet CeCe's, it looked good but i refrained. After that we picked up GiGi's and brought it back to the house. I finally got to try the cherry limeade cupcake
Cherry Limeade Cupcake with Candle
but only because they were out of the birthday one which was the original plan since it was kinda still my birthday celebration. When we got back to Lauries, we watched some Glee on netflix then watched part of the 1st Harry Potter movie. I took my cupcake and drove back home stopping at Chick-fil-a for dinner. Got home kinda late considering I had to work in the morning but it was a great 3 days of celebration! Here's to a year of fun in Nashville!
Food: Michelangelo's Pizza, Cafe Nonna, Dotson's Restaurant Bars/Music: The Exit/In, Dan McGuinness
Friday I got my very first paycheck (3 weeks worth) so that made me smile (however it was strange that they took out taxes for the state of Ohio on it, supposedly it's fixed and I might get reimbursed for it since I had my address as TN since 6/30). However, there was an issue when I deposited the check in the bank, they made an error and shorted me $1,000! It took me till Tuesday to get the money back in my account! Friday I also took advantage of more free birthday stuff and got a free scoop of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream at Baskin Robbins.
Saturday was my first time working my entire shift (which is a split shift: 4:30am-10:30am then a break then back from 2:30pm-5:30pm). It's kind of a pain in the butt shift but what can I do. For lunch I took advantage of yet another freebie (this one was just for signing up for the email list though not for my birthday), I got a free bagel w cream cheese from Bruegger's Bagels (everything bagel with honey almond cream cheese, yummy!). After lunch I went home and laid around before going back in and directing my first 5pm Saturday news, despite never having even sat in with someone on that show before (it went fine).
After my shift I needed to run some errands at Nashville West. I had a coupon for Petsmart that was about to expire so I bought Riley a new toy (a rope). I needed something to attach things to my cubicle so I stopped at Staples (however not sure how well the adhesive strips are working may need to go back for straight pins). I also saw Old Navy was having a crazy sale and I needed a white shirt to go with the skirt I was planning to wear on Sunday - ended up getting 3 shirts for about $30 not too bad. For dinner I went to a place in the shopping plaza called NY Pie, they sell New York style pizza by the slice (or a whole one if you want), it was pretty good, not as good as real NY pizza but still pretty good.
Next Blog will contain a lot of pictures and videos from my 3 day Birthday extravaganza
Food: Baskin Robbins, Bruegger's Bagels, NY Pie (2 of the 3 I'd been to before) Bars/Music: None
