Favorite Spots in Nashville

Hey, y’all! Are you planning a trip to Nashville sometime soon? For the holiday season, a bachelorette party, a concert or even just a fun, chill girls’ weekend? Do you need some ideas and recommendations? Welp, you came to the right chica!

Nashville is no doubt one of my favorite cities in the whole country. I wouldn’t even hesitate to live there someday and start a family with my future husband. That would be a dream come true! It may be one of the most famous cities in America, especially being best known for their music and Southern lifestyle. However, there’s so much more than that. There’s so much to see and do, it’s very hip and it’s a fun place for people of all ages to visit. And all the people there (well, at least most of the people there) are super positive and outgoing. It was hard to go anywhere and receive bad service, Southern people are just so friendly!

While it’s all about having fun, planning a trip to the city can still take a lot of thought and consideration. There’s so much to do, yet you can only do so much in a few days. And Nashville can be a pretty pricy trip to plan for as well. But don’t worry, I have a few fun recommendations and ideas that should spark up your planning process and make it a little less stressful. In fact, planning a getaway should be more focused on the fun and anticipation rather than the stress! After visiting the city two times in my life so far, I’ve rounded up a few of my personal favorite hot spots that you won’t want to miss out on. So here’s a few places I highly encourage to check out for your trip!

Nashville Coffee

• Milk & Honey

  • I’ve been to Nashville two times, and I’ve been to Milk & Honey both of those times as well. It’s definitely number one on my favorite places in the city to get coffee. It’s so good, plus they have amazing and seriously fancy desserts. Gelato, macaroons, pop-tarts, you name it. It makes other coffeeshops look like they have to step their game up!

• Barista Parlor

  • My friends and I found this place close to our Airbnb during our trip this past summer, so we made a pit stop for coffee on our way to the Delight Ministries conference. I was actually surprised, I didn’t think I was going to like this place as much as I thought I would. I one hundred percent recommend, and they have three locations in Nashville! Plus, outside of the Barista Parlor has cool walls and backgrounds for photoshoots, so that’s a bonus!

• Killebrew Coffee

  • Not only does this place have really good iced lattes, this was also where me and my friends met Joel Smallbone, from the band For King & Country, and his wife Moriah during the Delight conference this past summer. It was no doubt one of the coolest moments we’ve ever experienced, so this coffee shop definitely has been a Nashville favorite based on that experience! But for real, Killebrew does have really good coffee that’s worth trying.

• Frothy Monkey

  • This is probably one of the most popular coffeeshops in Nashville and has several locations all over the city. I visited the Southside location with my friends about over a year ago and walked around the area and took pictures while drinking our coffee. What’s awesome is that it’s all locally roasted in Nashville! And not only that, they also have wine and beer options for dinnertime!

Nashville Dining/Restaurants

• Pinewood Social

  • I absolutely encourage you to check this place out, it’s my favorite restaurant in Nashville at the moment. There’s great food and drinks, the urban decor and setup is flawless, and there’s even a bowling alley! It kind of reminds me of a smaller version of the Punch Bowl Social in Cleveland. The Pinewood Social a fun place to spend a Friday or Saturday night with your gal pals!

• Burger Republic

  • Located in the Gulch, Burger Republic has been voted in the top 10 best burger restaurants in the nation. And they’re not wrong, they have burgers, garlic french fries (you heard me, garlic french fries!), and shakes that will not doubt satisfy your hungry tummy!

• Hattie B’s Hot Chicken

  • This is actually the first stop my friends and I made during our first trip to Nashville ever. It’s one of the biggest hot spots to eat at all over the city, and we were recommended to give it a try. The lines can be insanely long at times since it’s so popular, but it’s absolutely worth it if you love good Southern fried chicken!

• The Perch

  • A cute European style brunch restaurant - their hazelnut chocolate crepes are amazing!

Nashville Entertainment/Tourism

• Country Music Hall of Fame

  • I’m going to sound like a complete hypocrite, but I’ve never actually been to the Country Music Hall of Fame. But I know it’s super famous and it is my goal to go there next time I visit Nashville. As a girl who loves country music and singers like Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley and so on, I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re the same way!

• Broadway

  • It’s definitely not the Broadway that I’m sure just popped into your head. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. You honestly can’t spend a trip in Nashville without checking out all the shops, bars, and honky tonks located in the Broadway district. If you call yourself a country girl with a love for country music, beer and cowgirl boots, this is the place for you!

• Thompson Hotel Rooftop Bar

  • Even though we weren’t staying in the hotel, a few of my friends and I were allowed to go up to the rooftop bar for free since we were over 21! The balcony area is a fabulous place to sit with your friends while checking out the Nashville skyline and sipping on a few cocktails. It’s the perfect place to check out if you’re planning a getaway with you friends, especially for a bachelorette weekend!

• Marathon Music Works

  • This place holds a special place in my heart because this is where they hold the Delight leadership conference every year. But besides that, they also hold concerts with popular people and it’s super spaced out and cool. It’s also where the “I Believe in Nashville” mural with the American flag is located, so you can take a picture in front of it!

Nashville Shopping

• Draper James

  • Okay I’m not going to lie, this boutique is pretty damn expensive since it’s owned by a particular famous Southern actress … Reese Witherspoon. But since it’s owned by her, it’s still worth checking out. And if your’e not too concerned about spending a little money, they have super charming and graceful outfits!

• LifeWay Christian Store

  • Just recently, they started shutting down most of the LifeWay stores and now can only be accessed online. Thankfully; however, they still have one up and running in Downtown Nashville and is hopefully going to be there for a longer time. Better yet, it’s super big and I’m pretty sure there’s a Starbucks in the same building!

Nashville Instagram Hot Spots

• Of course … all the murals

  • I mean, that’s an obvious! Nashville is practically know for having many famous, artistically beautiful murals all over (including the famous angel wings one by Kelsey Montague pictured at the top of the post!). If you visit the city and didn’t take a picture in front of a mural, did you even go??

What's your favorite place to go in Nashville? Comment down below and share!

Studying Abroad in Italy: Week 4

Ciao, y’all!

It actually makes me sad because that’s the last time I can really say “ciao” for a while (till the next time I return to Italy). That’s right, my month long trip for studying abroad has officially come to an end 😭 It flew by so fast, it actually was a blur. I still feel like I’m spiritually there, even now I’m physically sitting outside of my house writing this final studying abroad post and drinking a Starbucks passion tea lemonade while my dogs roam around in the green grass.

June literally flew by so fast, it’s hard to believe I was even in Italy for that long. It’s like I was there for only a few seconds (okay, maybe more like a few days), and then I blinked and I was back in Ohio. Although I’m happy to be back home with my family, friends and have a normal routine again, I do really miss Italy and everything about it: the architecture, the accents, the authentic, vintage shops and, of course, the gelato. Studying abroad for a month is long enough for me, but I do kind of wish I had an extra week or two to explore more of Italy without spending time in classes, and even having the opportunity to explore other countries in Europe such as Austria, France, Spain, England, Ireland, etc. But either way, I’m EXTREMELY grateful for the opportunity to go abroad for a whole month and learn about a whole new culture. It has also helped me to mature more and become more wise and strong. I thank my parents for financially supporting me, I thank my friends and relatives for encouraging me to take this opportunity, and I thank God for giving me the strength and passion to follow this dream of mine. I’m so happy about every moment and experience during the trip, even the stressful ones.

Speaking of stressful, the the last weekend in Italy was kind of a shit show 😂 It was stressful at the time, but my friends and I laugh about it now. I spent at the Amalfi Coast with a few fashion majors and their guy friends who I’ve gotten to know throughout the study abroad trip. It was the trip I’ve been looking forward to the most because I’ve heard so many amazing things about all the islands. Y’all no joke, it was one of the most sketchiest experiences of my life …

Don’t get me wrong, it was so amazing to see the islands and see it in its truest beauty. I HIGHLY recommend seeing it before you kick the bucket! It was rather our experience with the Airbnb boat house and the two captains that we stayed with. What happened was we got on the boat and didn’t realize how small it was (there was ten of us and four bedrooms, just to give you the better picture). There were no showers, you couldn’t flush toilet paper in the toilet (you had to throw it away in a plastic bag tied near the sink counter 😖), and it was just a very tight space. But we all didn’t mind that, it was our captains that were the main issue. Not only did they speak poor English, but they were just weird to be around.

For instance, on Friday night, one of them let ten random locals of Postitano on the boat without our permission and let them drink our alcohol, smoked weed and break glass while the captain did all of the above and made out with several of the local women. The next day wasn’t as bad, although that night both our captains got drunk after their night out in Agropoli. They bought us a bottle of wine and thanked us for a “great weekend”, then proceeded to ask me and my girlfriends to take our shirts off and give them lap dances … that was my cue to go to my bedroom, go to bed and pretend that I didn’t hear what I just heard (my girlfriends obviously didn’t give them lap dances either). The next morning, our last day in Amalfi, the captains were supposed to drop us off in Salerno at 9 AM so that we could take a train back to Florence. However, by the time we all woke up, we were still in Agropoli. And our captains told us that we had ten minutes to get off the boat. We argued with them for straight ten minutes that they were supposed to drop us off in Solerna to get to the train station, but they kept refusing to listen to us. They left us no choice but to leave the boat and spend an hour in the dreadful heat trying to find a train station on an island we weren't familiar with at all. We couldn’t get any train tickets back to Florence till early in the morning, so we took a train to Naples for a beach day and to spend the night in a cheap hotel (I don’t recommend staying the night in Naples unless gun shots in the middle of the night don’t bother you).

Thankfully, we made it back to Florence the following morning without any issues! Despite that crazy and sketchy weekend, I am grateful that I not only got to see the majority of Amalfi (including Postitanto, Capri, and Agropoli) but spend time with this new group of friends who I am now very close with. We had a blast just laughing around, exploring the areas we went to, and learning about each other. Were still going to try to get a refund for the weekend after our captains screwed us over, but either way I’ll always never regret that weekend with my friends in one of the most beautiful places in all of Europe.

The final week in Florence wasn’t as thrilling, at least not as our weekend in Amalfi 😂 We were all busy with final projects and writing a five page paper for one class (boooooo), but we still managed to enjoy our last few moments in the beautiful city. I finished shopping for my relatives, friends and for myself, went to a few of my favorite local cafes and restaurants one last time, and hung out with all my friends before we all parted our ways till the upcoming fall semester. Before heading to the airport bright and early in the morning, the Kent State Florence staff hosted a special farewell dinner for students at the Palazzo Borghese Ricevimenti E Banchetti. I honestly felt spoiled having my dinner there, it was STUNNING! The ballroom we ate in looked like an art museum or a ballroom in a Disney movie such as Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast! They served us delicious zucchini rice, spinach cheese ravioli, beef and potatoes, and vanilla yogurt with fruit. It was a simple but fun way to celebrate the last few moments in Florence, with great people, a beautiful Italian ballroom and delicious food!

I will forever for this opportunity I had to study abroad in one of the most beautiful, unique countries in the world, and I look forward to revisiting it as well as exploring other beautiful, unique countries around the world. And for all of you who went on the journey with me and read all my posts about my trip, grazie!

What’s your favorite thing about Italy? If you’ve never been, what would you like to see if you ever go? Comment below and start a conversation!

Shop My Swimsuit: Yamamay

(Sorta) Sleepless in Seattle

Happy first week of April, y’all! I can’t believe it’s already April, which means were almost halfway through 2019! Wow, I feel so old 😂 Anyway, I just got back from my spring break vacation and I’m so eager to finally tell you guys all about it!

Both my mom and I had the same week off for spring break, so we went to Seattle for four days. We was super excited to go, both of us have never been before! It’s on my bucket list to visit every state at least once, so I was very happy to finally check Washington off my list. I’ve also always wanted to see Seattle in person, so that was a bonus! I would totally visit again more often, it’s one of the coolest and most unique cities I’ve ever been to. There’s so much to do, you can never be bored!

One of my favorite spots in all of Seattle was Pike’s Place Market. It’s a very iconic part of the city, so my mom and I had to see what the hype was all about. Luckily, we were very impressed. That was our first stop on our first day of the trip; where we ate breakfast at Lowell’s and walked around the farmers market, as well as bought a beautiful bouquet of flowers. We went back again to walk around the two other days we spent in Seattle. It’s also the perfect place to take cute, authentic pictures for your Instagram! I should warn you though, it gets super crowded with people and cars. Plus, everyone wants a picture. That’s why it’s the most Instagrammable spot in the city!

Pike’s Place Market

We did about pretty much everything you could imagine in Seattle for three days. We saw the Great Gum Wall (gross but worth it!), went to the top of the Space Needle, toured the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, went up for some drinks at the Sky View Observatory at the Columbia Center, saw the original Starbucks location, and explored both Queen Anne (I don’t recommend walking there, the hills are STEEP AF!) and Capitol Hill. We hardly missed anything, which I’m very satisfied with! There are a few restaurants that I want to recommend, but I don’t want to explain every single one. Here’s a list of some of my favs:

• Assaggio Ristorante

• Bacco Cafe

• HeartBeet Organic Superfoods Cafe (Their PB & J smoothies are the BOMB!)

• Outlier

• The Seattle Roastery | Starbucks Reserve

• La Cocina Oaxaquena

One day, we decided to escape the city for some nature and hiking. My cousin Karly is a traveling scientist who’s currently working in Seattle, so she met us on the Bremerton island to take us to the Olympic National Park. Y’all, it was beautiful. One of my favorite things about the West Coast is the amazing scenery, especially the mountains. They were everywhere we drove and hiked. They were big and majestic, it was absolutely unreal! I was overwhelmed with joy just looking at the scenery. It was like jumping into a photo on Pinterest!

Karly took us to Lake Cresent and then to Cape Flattery, the Northwestern-Most Point in the Contiguous U.S. Those two places were what I would consider the most beautiful places I’ve have ever seen in my life so far. I could see God’s creation in every single detail: the clear blue water, the ginormous rocks in the coves, the radiant sunshine, and the insane view we had of Canada from afar! I could go on and on. Everything about the scenery was so incredible, and I’m so grateful we got to experience it in person.

Plus, we saw a bald eagle flying over the bay at Cape Flattery! It was the most patriotic thing I’ve ever seen in my life, it was so cool! My mom was so happy, she’s always wanted to see a bald eagle in person. I wanted to sing the National Anthem as it happened! It was a perfect day to be an proud American, just like every day 🇺🇸

Lake Cresent, Washington

Karly and I ❤️

Cape Flattery, where we saw the bald eagle!

Seattle definitely now ranks in the top of my best spring break trips yet to date! The only thing that would have made the trip better would have been hanging out with Tom Hanks, which is why the title only says “(Sorta) Sleepless in Seattle … maybe next time perhaps!

Did you go anywhere or do anything fun for spring break? Comment below and share!

Another Cali Adventure

You probably know where this is going with the title ... I went on another vacation to California for the fifth time! You’d think at this point I’d be sick of it, but truly I am not. Cali is one of my favorite places in the world to visit. Of course, I’m determined to travel around the world and discover as many countries and cities as possible before I kick the bucket, but I’m still always down for another adventure in the Golden State!

My dad had to go over to Newport Beach for Shamrock, a company that he works with, to do some business. My mom and I were invited to go with him once again. My sister also managed to take a week off from work and the four of us flew over to have our family vacation. It was extra special because Lauren is getting married next summer, so it was our last vacation with just the four of us! We spent four days in Newport, one day in Anaheim, and the last two days in Santa Barbara after my dad was done with work.

It’s been almost a week since we came back from California. Now that I’m back and busy with my internship and blogging part-time, I could really use a margarita and an influential book sitting the poolside in noncloudy sunshine! But I’d be more than happy to reflect our amazing trip with y’all.

We stayed at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa for the first few nights while in Newport. It was perfect because it was right next to Fashion Island, a beautiful outlet mall where we mostly walked around, got coffee and shopped. We spent our time in Newport by doing that, walking around Balboa Island, and relaxing at the Marriott’s pool. That gave me the opportunity to wind down after a so far super busy summer and drink an uptown margarita, sit in the hot tub (if the wind got too breezy), and read Ainsley Earhardt’s "The Light Within Me".

Unfortunately, my chest became roasted red. So bad that it was painful to take showers afterward, it felt like I was bathing in lava. But I don’t regret relaxing in sunny paradise!

Two of my favorite things to do in Newport Beach: walk around/shop at Fashion Island and get frozen bananas at Balboa Island!

Y’all, these banana treats are THE BOMB. I was honestly not expecting to like them that much, but I was so pleasantly surprised. The chocolate covered ones with all the toppings on the menu on it were a hit. Definitely worth blogging about it! 

Dont be too fooled though, it may sound more healthy with the banana 😂 My family and I kept joking about that. But hey, it’s still a perfect splurge to treat yo self! 

What’s great about Newport is that it’s only a ten minute drive to Laguna Beach, one of my favorite places to go in Southern Cali. We spent an afternoon and evening there, mostly just dining, exploring the beach and checking out the (overly expensive) shops. The beach is obviously the best and most iconic part. A perfect place to relax and have fun photoshoots!

Laguna Beach

The beach is my happy place!

On Day 4, my dad had to work all day so the three of us ladies got to spend a girls’ day at the happiest place on earth: Disneyland!! 

It was indeed a very magical day. It could not have been any better. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to park hop to Disney’s California Adventure, but it was still a full day well spent at the Magic Kingdom! The whole day at the park cost around $500; $381 for our three tickets to the park, $100 on food and $30 on parking. Not too shabby, especially for how expensive Disney is!

Being a roller coaster/adrenaline junkie myself, we got to go on plenty of thrilling rides that I love including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (my favorite), Space Mountain (my second favorite), Splash Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Indiana Jones Adventure, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Snow White’s Scary Adventures. You can't go wrong with any of those rides, they're worth it even when the lines are almost two hours long!

(P.S. I highly recommend downloading the Disneyland app to check wait times for rides or shows, and don’t forget to buy some FASTPASS tickets!) 

Matterhorn Bobsleds

Other than either riding rides or waiting in line for rides, we got to watch some fun shows in honor of the Pixar Festival including  the Pixar Play Parade and Together Forever - A Pixar Nighttime Sepctacular, which is still going on until September. 

I love Pixar movies, both old and new. So the fest definitely brought back both old and recent memories!

The Toy Story float during the Pixar Play Parade on Main Street USA

We also ate some super delicious food, obviously! From churros to Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream sandwiches, we were living the experience up to the fullest potential. Popular opinion: all kinds of food taste way better at Disneyland!

It’s impossible to not smile while at Disneyland, whether you’re a Disney fan or not. I was in all smiles throughout the entire day. I felt like a college blogger turned princess! 

After one last full day arm Newport Beach spent with two of our college friends (who live and work in LA), we drove three hours through LA and made it to our next destination: Santa Barbara. It was such a beautiful city full of missions churches and cute small town shopping areas. One of the highlights was going wine tasting at SAARLOOS AND SONS in Los Olivos. It was so relaxing and perfect for a sunny day outdoors. And for a bonus, we got to eat cupcakes with the wine!  

On our last full day in Cali (sigh), one of my dad’s Santa Barbara native friends took us out on his boat into the Pacific Ocean. The areas we drove around were supposed to be areas invested with great white sharks, but we didn’t see any – which was unfortunate but also relieving. We did see a few harbor seals pop their little heads out of the water, and they looked so adorable I wanted to pet them! Our friend also showed us all the houses along the beach shore owned by either celebrities or successful business workers, including Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, and Steven Spielberg. They all had to be at least over $30 million (not too expensive, right?). The best part about the boat ride; however, was driving back when the wind picked up big time and the waves coming toward us were super choppy. Our friend increased the speed of the boat and we went flying over a ton of waves. Sometimes me and my sister were in midair! It was so fun, like being on a roller coaster. My sister, my mom, our friend, and I loved every second of it! My dad, on the other hand, not so much.

To top off the night, we explored the tangerine and lemon gardens of Montecito before having dinner at our friend and his wife’s house. It was indeed a beautiful and adventurous day, the perfect way to end an amazing vacation! Now I realize it's time for me to go to bed as I type this.

Have you ever vacationed in California? Comment and share your experience down below, I’d love to read about it!