Mo and I met when we were 3 years old! Our siblings were in the same kindergarten class, so Melissa and I had our first platydate that fateful year. We grew up together, pretended to be the Olsen twins, wrote fan letters to JTT, spent sunny days at the beach fishing for rock crabs with bacon on strings and going to summer camp together until our mid teens. From 1st grade to 1st boyfriends, getting married and now a BABY on the way; watching our lives unfold over the decades has been a treat Momo. I’m so happy for you and Jason and I can’t wait to meet your little man in just a few short weeks!
Here are some pictures of the baby shower that we (along with her Mama Sharon) threw for Momo in my Mother’s backyard. Sharon wanted to make it airplane themed to go along with Jason’s job. Cute idea Sharon!
The Mama-to-be looking beautiful as ever!
A cute onesie bouquet made by her sister Julie ^^^
“It’s a Boy” chocolates in my Grandfather’s 1950’s suitcase. ^^^
^^^Messages and love letters to baby Wyatt
Party
Our Trip to Nashville, Tennessee
Dan and I hopped on a plane a few weeks ago to visit our friend Evan for his White Coat Ceremony. Evan just got into Pharmacy school and we’ve been dying to visit him…so this was our opportunity to support Ev and check out his new town. We had so much fun, eating, drinking and partying our way through the city!
^^^Taking-off from SNA our local John Wayne Airport. It had been raining all week – we flew above those grey clouds and burst into a gold n’ pink fluffy sunset. It’s fun to get a bird’s-eye view of your neighborhood. We even spotted our house!
We arrived in NASHVILLE! Poor Ev had to wait at the airport all evening…first picking up Dany and then us a few hours later. We all spent the night in his apartment and then woke up early the next day to explore the city, search for good coffee and peruse through antique shops.
Headquarters Coffee & Tea
4902 Charlotte Pike
Nashville, TN 37209
(615) 386-6757
It may be small, but this Charlotte Avenue shop acts as a caffeine oasis in the West Nashville coffee desert. It also offers baked goods from locals such as Dozen Bakery and Vegan Vee. The coffee is superb! Smooth as silk. I ordered a cortado and Dan got a honey latte. Both were fantastic.
Cool Stuff Weird Things
4900 Charlotte Pike
Nashville, TN 37209
(615) 460-1112
Coffee and antiquing…right up my alley! We stopped at Cool Stuff Weird Things to look at antiques and vintage items. They have lots of jewelry, signs, records and clothes. Dan found a funky plaid jacket. Score. It’s right next-door to Headquarters Coffee & Tea! You can grad a cup of joe and walk over to the vintage shop to be entertained while you sip.
Antique Archaeology
1300 Clinton St., Suite 130
(Marathon Village),
Nashville, TN 37203
Dan is obsessed with the American Picker’s TV show, so we had to stop at Antique Archaeology. Danny loves finding old things and making them useful again. You should see this man flip stuff on Craig’s List. It should be his job. Any who… this place is one of the locations where Mike Wolfe stores and sells some of his American Picker’s items. It’s located just a few blocks away from downtown Nashville, you can find them in the old Marathon Automobile car factory dated from the early 1900’s right along I-40.
The houses here are ri-dic-ul-ous. Huge, gorgeous houses on acres of land. Open lawns, friendly neighbors and trees for days! I would love to dig up this land and transplant it back at home. All of our friends and family can pick a house to live in 😉 wishful thinking. Ev drove us around a few beautiful neighborhoods so we could creep on the houses. Would it be weird if I knocked on a door and asked for a tour?
Later that evening we headed down to Broadway…because that’s what all the first timers in Nashville do. It’s like Vegas…but country themed and no gambling. Haha. The people watching is fantastic. At one point we saw a tractor pulling a trailer-full of boozed-up-bachelorettes and a few sidewalk squabbles between lovers. Perfect country music lyrics in the making…
Acme Feed & Seed
101 BROADWAY
NASHVILLE, TN 37201
615.915.0888
Way happenin’! It’s located towards the end of Boradway a 3 story – cocktail, culinary and music venue with an open rooftop bar. The first floor at Acme plays classic honkytonk. The second floor has a lounge and bar and the third floor is home to The Hatchery, the largest one-level event and music venue on Broadway. Their open-air rooftop bar overlooks the entire downtown area. I really liked the concept of a multi-level bar and music venue…if you don’t like the vibes on one level, head to the next. It was the perfect place to spend our night out with friends.
^^^These ones are classic too!
^^^Evan’s support team during his White Coat Ceremony – sitting quietly in the balcony. Go Bogard!
^^^The Next day we had lunch at The Pharmacy. It seemed most appropriate to celebrate the new pharmacist at The Pharmacy…we should have made him wear his jacket!
The Pharmacy
731 Mcferrin Ave
Nashville, TN 37206
The Pharmacy Burger Parlor & Beer Garden serves 100% Tennessee-raised beef for their legendary burgers. It’s located in a residential area 10 minutes from downtown. They have a fabulous selection of beers that you can enjoy while sitting in their beautiful biergarten.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream
2312 12th Ave S
Nashville, TN 37204
I first heard of Jeni’s in Los Angeles (although I think it started in Ohio) and made it’s way to Nashville. Gawwwww this ice cream is the best. Dan and I ordered a scoop of Bangkok Peanut and Bramble Berry. I love their creative flavors. It’s by far my favorite ice cream shop. All natural, no synthetic flavorings, dyes, or off-the-shelf mixes, stabilizers and emulsifiers. Some of their fun flavors include gooey butter cake, sweet potato eclair, juniper and lemon curd, goat cheese with red cherries, brown butter almond brittle, whiskey and pecan, wildberry lavender, hot toddy and pink grapefruit buttermilk etc. the list goes on and on!
Urban Grub
2506 12th Ave S
Nashville, TN 37204
After Ev’s ceremony, we celebrated with a fancy dinner at the Urban Grub. Wowza this place is amazing! Their menu is a combination of southern traditions with a “flavored up tweak,” fresh fish, seafood and smoked meats.
^^^Miss Thor and I shared an order of their famous shrimp and grits with tasso cream and smoked gouda and Dan had a braised Andouille pork shank with celery root puree, smoked creamed mustard greens, chili butter. Their popover biscuits and strawberry honey butter were a crowd please too!
Home again home again. So much fun and so much foooood! OK roll me back to the gym 😉
Here are few other spots for eats, drinks and sight seeing that were on my list:
Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art
Fido
Grand Ole Opry
Colts Chocolates
Epice
Old Glory
Pinewood Social
Two Ten Jack
Holland House Bar & Refuge
The Crying Wolf
LA Jackson
Frothy Monkey
Crema
Bastion
Biscuit Love
Sunflower Cafe
Belmont Mansion
Beautiful Basic Invites
I’m a tad obsessed with stationery. My friend and I often write letters back and forth between Virginia and California. I really enjoy the formality of paper cards, letters and invites. There is something so special and exciting about receiving these goodies in the mail. I keep my favorite cards in a box at home – little mementos of friendship.
When Basic Invites approached me, I was amazed by their gorgeous stationery selection. Basic Invites is one of the few sites that allows customers almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. Once you decide on a design, you can change the color of any tiny detail you want – 180 different color options! How cool is that? In the past, I’ve spent hours scouring the internet trying to find that perfect color invite to match the look feel of a party… especially for wedding invitations and showers. A common question I was asked when planning our wedding was, “What are your wedding colors?” Basic Invites makes matching your invitation colors very easy for you.
Basic Invites also lets you print a sample of your actual invitation so you can see exactly how it will look and feel before you commit to ordering a certain paper quality and multiple invitations. Having a real sample in your hands before you order will save you time and money (no mistakes)!
They have 40 Different Colors of Envelopes – Basic Invite is just as colorful with their envelopes as they are with invitations. Customers can choose from over 40 different colors. All of their envelopes are peel and seal so the envelopes can be quickly and securely closed without licking a single one.
Each of their wedding invitations is part of a set. You can find everything from affordable save the dates to wedding invitations, enclosure cards, wedding menus, wedding programs and even matching thank you cards!
Basic Invites is your one stop shop for all your wedding paper necessities as well as baby shower invitations, birth announcements, meal planners, holiday cards, recipe cards and much more.
Check them out on social media too!
Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter
Spiced Apple Pecan Bourbon Cider
Spiced apple pecan bourbon ciders tonight. Sipping something cozy on the couch this golden October evening.
-Apple Pecan Bourbon Cider-
4oz Unfiltered apple cider
1.5oz Old Bally Castle Ginger by Powell & Mahoney Craft Cocktail Mixers
1oz Bourbon
1oz Laird’s Applejack
1 Tbsp roasted pecan syrup (recipe below)
Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a glass with ice. Garnish with apple slices and a pinch of cinnamon.
-Roasted Pecan Syrup-
1/2 cup classic gum syrup
1/2 cup roasted pecans
Blend both ingredients in a blender until smooth. Scoop into a mini sifter and use the back of a spoon to push the syrup through. Add 1 Tbsp of the creamy roasted pecan syrup to your drink. Put the rest of the syrup in the fridge for later. Discard the nut paste or keep it for toast in the morning 😉
*Gum syrup is a rich simple syrup (2:1 sugar:water) combined with gum Arabic, an all-natural resin harvested from the Acacia tree. The gum, which is comprised primarily of fiber and protein, acts as an emulsifier in the syrup and ultimately in your cocktail. 
Shannon’s Baby Shower
Wow! My best friend is having a baby boy! This is such a rad stage in life right now. Lots of friends are getting married and having babies. I love watching all of the puzzle pieces fall into place — this friend moves here and that friend moves there; he meets her and she meets him etc. Jobs, relationships, families…they’re all happening. It’s a fun/fast time of life.
Shan moved to VA with her Navy hub Justin a year ago. It’s been hard living without her down the street from me, but we’re learning to call each other more often. Facetime is fantastic! Last weekend, S and J flew out to visit, and My mom and I hosted a baby shower for Shan! I am so thankful that I got to spend the weekend with my best friend, feel tummy kicks and make her awkwardly sit there while I talked to the baby…
Me: “Who’s going to be the best Auntie? Yes…you’re right, I am.”
Shan: “Brittany, stop talking to my stomach you are so weird.”
Shan, it’s been such a beautiful/exciting/fascinating time watching you become a mommy. You and Justin are going to be wonderful parents and I can’t wait to meet the little bub when he arrives. Here are some pictures and a clip from the baby shower this past weekend. Love and miss you both.
^A woodland inspired baby shower for our Shan. We thought it would be a fun theme for an early fall shower.
^Shan and her mama Gene. Look at that cute little tummy!
