I do believe in Spooks

I love ghost tours.  Kinda in a weird way.  I was NEVER into ghosts, but after my first ghost tour experience in Richmond, I was hooked.  Sorry I'm not sorry, but they're SO MUCH fun.

Last weekend I had friends in town and Friday night we decided to brave the 109 degree weather and do the Nashville Ghost Tour.  A 90 minute walking tour downtown full of stories of Nashville & her ghosts.

We met our tour guide, Jodi, down by the Hermitage hotel and she was dressed in costume with her lantern in hand.  We heard about the MULTIPLE ghosts that are hanging out in the Hermitage hotel (I definitely want to stay here one night - but only if I can stay in room 816 or 910) then walked us over to the Capital building where we heard the stories of the two architects of the capital building that are both buried there.  They hated each other and life and now have to "live" together for eternity.

Our tour guide, Jodi - Complete w/ Costume & Lantern

Gorgeous Hermitage Hotel. Totally haunted.

A couple more stories followed down by the first Catholic church in Nashville and the infamous L&C building (let's be real, L&C stands for "Life & Casualty" - lots of ghosts there, people) but the real take home to mom story happened down on Printer's Alley.

Uh, yeah - our capital building is scary.

Example #37 of things that JUST HAPPEN in my presence:
Printer's Alley isn't exactly the classiest place to go in downtown Nashville.  The history of this area is this is alley that housed a lot of publishing companies back in the day.  Obviously it turned into an alley of bars.  This IS Nashville after all.  I wouldn't call these bars Honky Tonks.  I would call these bars secret strip clubs because I'm pretty sure that's what they are.  At least that's what I've heard, I've never actually been "out" down there.  Hopefully I've painted a good picture of our surroundings at this point:
We walk over to Printer's Alley to learn about a ghost living inside the Southern Turf building and all of a sudden this MAN falls out of the door of a bar. Literally, the door opens up and he fell straight onto the ground.  It's hard not to stare at things like that, but I tried to focus on Jodi and the ghosts.  This man (who we'll later learn is named William) is now flat out laying on the ground. Just hanging out. He's not worried.  Well, he's not worried until the police come up.  Police man tries to create a distraction from this tour group who is staring at William and calmly asks for his identification.  William can't seem to find it.  So, calm police man says:
"William, buddy. You have two choices.  Tonight you can either go to the hospital, or you can go to jail."
William looks up at him and says "But...but, I want to go home."
Police man says "Nope. Two choices.  One or the other - you can go to the hospital, or you can go to jail."
       [It's hard for me to put into a blog what happens next.  Please believe me that this is real.]
William doesn't reply and all of a sudden police man looks at him and says, "AND you just peed on yourself."

Poor William.  I wonder how his night ended....

Printer's Alley. (Bottom left corner: William on the ground...)

Kendall & Kelsey seeing if they can feel the ghosts through this HAUNTED door

All in all, the ghost tour was a success and a good way to do some sightseeing with friends on a weekend where being outside during the daylight hours could have produced 3rd degree burns.  Fortunately things are cooling off here in Tennessee, just in time for my NEXT weekend visitor that arrives tomorrow - MY MAMA! :)

Love having friends come to visit!!

That's all from me y'all!

There isn't much I won't do for Edward Cullen

During the month of June, every Wednesday night, there was a free outdoor movie shown @ Percy Warner Park - this is called (go figure) Movies in the Park.  Most of the Nashville Food Trucks show up every week to feed you and the movie starts at Sundown.

I first read about this in one of the Nashville blogs I follow.  This sounded like a pretty fun thing to do so I checked more into it.  Then things got real.  Week 3 they were showing Breaking Dawn - Part 1.  Uh, duh.  I'll be there.

I recruited a work-friend to go see this with me & she brought along some friends as well.  No one had been before, so we showed up around 6pm worried that we might be facing a park full of teeny boppers who are on summer vacation.  Sure, there were teeny boppers, but I was more irritated with most of their moms who were treating this like a sorority social.  I put my blanket down as far away from most of them as possible.

Everyone starting to set up camp

I've been wanting to try The Grilled Cheeserie Food truck since I moved here and I was super pumped to see them there.  Pumped to see them there...a little disappointed with the outcome.  Let's just say, it's no grilled cheese from Shockoe Espresso.  I also finally got to try out The Cupcake Collection.  Cupcake stores are all the rage here right now and their food truck is an old school bus.  Let's just say the Sweet Potato cupcake is borderline life changing.

Now, given that I've seen BD-P1 multiple times already there were no disappointments there.  It's literally a gigantic blow up movie screen and sure enough, the movie started right around sundown.  I will say the length of the movie combined with sitting on the hard ground created a bit of a situation by the end of the movie.  Next time, I'll bring a chair in addition to the blanket.  A chair to sit in, a blanket to wrap up in - it gets COLD when that sun goes away!

I told you: LITERALLY a giant blow-up screen

Not too shabby of a view

I'm bummed this is only a one-month thing and wish I had caught on a little sooner to have seen some of the other movies, however, now that it's over 100 degrees every day, I think I'm fine with putting a blanket on the floor of my air conditioned apartment and making my own grilled cheese.

Live a little, Love a lot

In case you live under a rock and missed the appx. 97 mobile uploads that took place last weekend on Facebook, I went to the Tim McGraw & Kenny Chesney concert.  The prodigal sons returned to Nashville for the "Brothers of the Sun" tour and it. was. amazing.

Do you ever get nervous before live concerts that you're going to be disappointed?  Yeah, me neither. I love live concerts.  I'll go see anyone. (Seriously, I've considered going to see Def Leopard & Poison this Tuesday night...stay tuned...)

The concert lasted from 4:30-11:30pm and just imagine them singing every awesome song they've ever sung, and we heard them all.  The next day I felt a little bit like both an Indian Outlaw and a Hillbilly Rockstar Out of Control.....

It was a thousand degrees, we sat in the nosebleeds, and I wouldn't change a moment of that day.

(one of the) Best Concerts Ever.

A few pics below:

Tailgating all day outside of Titans Stadium.  (So ready for football season...!)

My Sisters of the Sun

When the musicians have concerts in their hometown, their famous wives show up to sing as well - Tim & Faith

Take me out to the Ballgame

So, I've been to more baseball games in the last month than I've been to in the last 10 years.

I great up going to Richmond Braves games down at "The Diamond" in downtown Richmond.  A farm team for the Atlanta Braves, it's one of my favorite childhood memories.  You just can't beat soft serve in those little plastic helmets (Don't get me started on the replacement of dippin' dots...)

Nashville has a minor league team called....The Nashville Sounds.  What is it about minor league team names? I have to admit the Sounds is a better name than say, The Flying Squirrels, but still.  I've been to two Sounds games so far and had a blast both times.  Thursday night is "Thirsty Thursday" which I've learned is basically a frat party at a baseball game, but as long as I sit far enough away from those yahoos, it's pretty fun to watch.

I also went to an actual Major League game this past month, the Atlanta Braves.  It's quite different, I won't lie.

Either way, I love having access to America's best past-time and hope to make it to some more Sounds games this summer.  Hopefully one with Fireworks ;)

Guitar shaped score board. SO Nashville.

Great view on Thirsty Thursday

Friends @ the game!

The ATL.

I remember the first time I realized that Atlanta was within driving distance of Nashville.  I hadn't even officially accepted my new job, and my friend Lane said "Do it. You'll be 4 hours from me."  What an enticing selling point!

Last weekend I finally made my first drive down to Atlanta after a couple of failed attempts including the weekend a tornado hit and I decided it was best not to get in a car and drive with the tornado. We had a great time catching up, laughing, eating & drinking.  I've been on a serious detox for the past 7 days...

The weekend agenda was jam-packed prior to my arrival.  I got into town on Friday after driving 80mph for the last hour of the trip to make up some time I missed in Bonnaroo traffic.  We walked to this great pizza place, Fellini's (Ugh, I really miss living somewhere you can walk places...) and was able to control myself enough not to eat an entire pizza by myself.

After dinner, we walked back home and within minutes a beer pong game was being set up on their kitchen island.  I mean, why not?  A couple games of beer pong later, I was tired and we called it a night.  Trust me, we had a big day planned on Saturday.

Beer Pong on the Kitchen Island. Normal Friday night behavior

Saturday morning was filled with brunch and H&M.  Yes, H&M was on the agenda.

Obviously I "checked in" on Facebook

We don't have one in Nashville (don't get me started...it baffles me every day AND they run H&M advertising on TV here. Someone's not doing their job...)  I felt like I was "home" in H&M and Lane felt like we might get mugged when we left the store after I got into a slight altercation at the check out line. It went something like this:
There was one big line (I was 2nd in line behind the people currently checking out) and they decided to open a new register.  Out of nowhere this person, let's call her GhettoFab, walks right up to the counter. (Also, I say person because part of me thought it was a boy.  It was wearing baggy pants 1990's style, and over-sized t-shirt and a flat-brim hat.)
I very politely said, "Oh, I think I'm next actually."
GhettoFab turns to me and says, "No, this line is open and I want to check out."
I reply: "Oh, well, there's a whole long line here of people waiting."
GhettoFab: "So?"
I decide to drop it and GhettoFab decides not to purchase her $3 socks and just leaves the store.  I apologized to the associate for getting involved in something that wasn't my business and all seemed fine.  I purchased my H&M garb and while leaving the store Lane was bright-eyed on the prowl looking for our potential attacker.
As I've said before - things like this just happen to me.....

Saturday afternoon we headed over to the Sweet Water Brewery.  I've talked about Sweet Water before and I knew I wanted to go to the Brewery at some point.  You can't beat this deal, people: $10. You get a Sweet Water glass and 6 drink tickets.  You walk in and there's this long bar filled with taps of all different Sweet Water brews and you just walk up, hand them a ticket and they fill you up.  Step & Repeat 5 more times. So much fun and don't anyone be surprised if you get a gift from the Sweet Water gift shop because I got a little excited after beer #4.

Lane & I outside of Sweet Water Brewery

After Sweet Water, we went to the Atlanta Braves game.  (I know, I'm tired just writing all of this)  I'll post more on that later, but it was a blast!  Growing up going to Richmond Braves games, it was so exciting to see the actual Braves :)

Saturday evening turned into a 4am Corn hole/Saturday Night Live rerun/Rock Band fest where I ultimately had to pour myself into bed because, well...it was 4am.

Sunday, you can imagine the Hangover that followed Saturday and Lane & I hit up the mall for a while to get the systems moving.  We went for a long power walk that afternoon through their awesome neighborhood, which is something we used to love doing together in Richmond.  I loved seeing their awesome neighborhood in Atlanta and picked out a few places for me to live some day.  That evening we made dinner at home and it was so nice just grilling out and sitting down at the dinner table like regular people.

I headed back to NashVegas Monday morning since I lose an hour on the trip back. CST is amazing, I seriously love it, and went straight to work Monday morning without missing a beat.  Well, I mean, I wasn't functioning on all cylinders but at least I was there!

So, Atlanta was awesome and the weekend was exactly what I needed.  I'm so lucky to have made great friends in Nashville, but I miss my Richmond/Martin Agency friends so much, so being with Lane last weekend filled a major void.  I'm tired from writing the longest (too long?) blog post in history, so I'm going to rest.

How to 1/8 a Recipe

Something I've always enjoyed is cooking. (Well, post-College that is, believe me, I didn't know how to make Kraft Macaroni and Cheese until I was 22)  Cooking is a great stress reliever for me.

I loved cooking back on Davis with my roomies in Richmond, but lately all of the recipes I've wanted to make are for 8 servings.  8???  How do I whittle that down in half, and then in half again?  It's not easy, and right now my freezer is OVERFLOWING with individual size portions of different meals I've made since living on my own again.

I am trying to get back on the cooking bandwagon, though.  This past week & weekend I spent a lot of time in the kitchen.  I used my cast iron skillet for the first time and made Turkey burgers.  I learned a little bit of a lesson in that I needed cooking spray, but they turned out pretty great anyways!

6 Turkey Burgers for 1 

On the weekend I love to make breakfast instead of my normal daily breakfast of either cereal or oatmeal, so this weekend I made a breakfast banana casserole.  It's just the right amount of food and gives me a special breakfast to enjoy for 3 more days.

Love making this Banana Casserole!

Enjoying a bite post-5 mile run (I promise I don't look like this normally)

I also made lasagna from scratch.  It was good, but I'll be honest.  I have a lasagna recipe from Real Simple that I've been making for years.  It's 5 ingredients, takes no time to put together and tastes better than all the work put into a REAL lasagna.  Good thing this tasted so good since it made enough to feed a high school basketball team.

LOTS of prep work goes into making Lasagna

Leftovers to last me who knows how long!

I can't believe it's JUNE, but I'm so excited for Summer in Nashville.  I've got lots of super fun things planned for the next few months and can't wait to share the stories!  First up is a trip to Atlanta to visit one of my best friends from Richmond.  Atlanta is a quick 4 hour drive and I can't wait!!!!

"I just can't turn and walk awayyyyyyy"

Last Wednesday started out like every other typical Wednesday.  I woke up & went for a run (okay, that's actually not typical these days, let's be real) and then went to work.  Nothing special to see here.

After work I was invited to an artist showcase with some friends who are in "the biz" at a local bar called The Basement.  Giving that I had nothing planned that evening, I decided to go.

I had never been to The Basement before so I allowed myself a lot of time to find it and planned ahead to probably drive around a lot looking for parking.  I was right to have done that and after about 15 minutes and turning around about 6 times I finally parked.  I walked about 100 yards towards the bar before finally turning back around because I was not comfortable with the fact I had just parked in what was SURE to be a crack house.  Found a space a little closer and walked down a pretty sketchy alley to finally get to this bar.

Artist showcases are awesome in Nashville.  Unknown artists come and sing about 3-4 songs, usually in small bars, really intimate.  I went to see an up-and-coming artist named Jesse Lee.  Get ready y'all.  She's awesome.  Just wait until you hear her song "Hotel."  You will love.

During the showcase I happened to be chatting with my friend in "the biz" about the fact that Sister Hazel was in town that night.  He goes, "Oh yeah, that's right.  They texted me."  (Oh they did?)  10 minutes later we have VIP tickets to the concert that night.  No biggie.
(Well known fact: Sister Hazel is my jam.  I've been going to see them in concert since I was 14 years old.)

I love when a typical Wednesday turns into VIP tickets to one of the best 90's bands of all time.
Enjoy this little ditty / Flashback to 1998: