11.22.2010

Nashville, Memphis and Back Again


Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN (via)

9= Number of Pumpkin Spice Lattes consumed during 4 days of road tripping

279= Approximate number of mullets seen during 4 days of road tripping through AR/TN

45,690= Grams of trans-fats ingested at various southern eateries in Nashville/Memphis

Priceless= Seeing an amazing band at a world famous venue, visiting the grave of one Johnny Cash and laughing so hard every day that our stomachs hurt.

In case y'all haven't figured it out by now, I'm back from the Nashville road trip extravaganza. Oh, it was so bittersweet having to come back to work today...if only every week consisted of 3 days of actual working and 2 days of roadtripping through the deep South with my sweet guy. Le sigh.

Today, a little recap of the past 4 days:

We headed out from Northwest Arkansas around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. We grabbed the first of several Pumpkin Spice Lattes, packed our stuff in the car and hit the road, iPod and appropriate playlists set and ready to go.

We got to Nashville around 3:30 Thursday afternoon and went straight to our hotel room to get ready for the NeedToBreathe show.

Before the show, we walked around downtown and took pics and ate dinner. We stumbled upon this beauteous beaver statue outside of a restaurant and an impromptu photo sesh ensued.


We got to the Ryman around 7 for NeedToBreathe, which was AMAZING. Seriously guys, if you ever get a chance to see these boys in person, please go. They truly have a God-given gift.

S and I at the Ryman...so fun!
They played several of our fav songs and a couple of new ones too! One of my fav moments of the show was when they came out on stage and played a completely acoustic/unplugged version of "Valley of Tomorrow"; no mics, no speakers, just their voices and instruments. Literally gave me goosebumps...

Artsy looking picture of S


Friday morning, we got up and went to breakfast at this little bitty diner, 417 Union in downtown Nashville. So good!


Next, we hopped in the car and drove 20 minutes away to Hendersonville, TN to visit the grave of Johnny Cash and June Carter-Cash. You see, S and I are HUGE fans of the "Man in Black", so we figured this was the perfect opportunity to pay our respects to (in our opinion) one of the greatest musicians/songwriters that ever lived.






In true Johnny Cash style, the gravesite was simple and modest; nothing flashy or crazy. Just the humble resting place of a legend and the lady he loved.

Next, we hopped back in the car and headed toward Memphis.

S and me at Sun Studio in Memphis

We started our afternoon in the Birthplace of Blues at Sun Studio, the sacred recording studio where legends like Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins began their careers.

Sun Studio, Memphis, TN





Later that night, we went to dinner at our favorite restaurant in Memphis, Blues City Cafe. Listen folks, if you go to Memphis and don't eat here, then really you haven't gone to Memphis. Located right on Beale Street, it's truly in the heart of the city.


We devoured the stuffed mushrooms, fried catfish, tamales and homemade chili, french fries and buttery toast in true Memphian style.

Holy yum.

On that note, I'm going to go back to my desk and resume fantasizing about catfish and mushrooms. We're heading to Chicago for a pre-Christmas mini-vacay next month, so until then...

Peace, love and cholesterol.

Be blessed, lovelies-

25 comments:

  1. What an awesome road trip! How cool that you got to see Johnny Cash's grave...Nashville is definitely on my list of places to visit. I love your outfit for the concert!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fun fun fun post!!! I love your stats the beginning (9 lattes? that's it?? kidding!).
    I have never been... but now I want to go. And the pictures of you both at the grave were beautiful.
    And love ALL of your outfits... wow!!! Wish I was an ounce as fashionable as you are :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my gosh what a fun trip! This is incredible. I MUST know where you got your coat in the first picture. SO CUTE! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks like you guys had a great time! I love Johnny and June Cash! You guys are a cute couple!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Loved all the pics and looks like ya'll had a great time! You both make such a CUTE couple!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your weekend looks amazing!!! I live so close to all of these things and yet never venture to any of them. Thank you for the reminder I really do need to make this happen!! ox

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love Blues City!!!!! We eat there sometimes after late nights out! Looks like y'all had a great time!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. looks like a fantastic time. That auditorium is beautiful. Yeah...work is rough on monday even after a not so exciting long weekend! At least it's a short week.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Im so glad that you got to experience Blues City!! I love it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Loved this post!! Great pics of you and your boy! Memphis is a beautiful city, I'd love to go back again someday...

    ReplyDelete
  11. :) i'm so happy you had an awesome weekend, you deserve it! you and your mister sure are cute together! so sad we're already back at work on this stupid monday... i'm a little bitter about it too! xo!

    ReplyDelete
  12. How fun!!
    Looks like you had a great trip!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Looks like such a fun trip! You two are adorable. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a fun weekend! Nashville & Memphis are two of my favorite places!

    ReplyDelete
  15. You guys make the cutest little couple!!

    Thanks for sharing your fun trip adventures with all of us... I could taste those deliciously amazing stuffed mushrooms right along with ya! ;)

    PS- what cute little outfits you had, you stylish vixen, you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I was at Sun Studio's in August and it was so great! I'm glad you enjoyed the tour. I remember seeing that restaurant on Beale Street but didn't eat there. We chose Dryers instead. Next time!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. first off, i loooove nashville and am quite envious of your fun trip. it looks like ya'll had a GREAT time! i love seeing pictures of you and the boy, too ;)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I would LOVE to go to Nashville, never been to the states and that place would certainly be on my list! Great pics XXXX

    ReplyDelete
  19. Girlfriend, it sounds like you had a FAB trip! I have been dying to see needtobreathe, so I'm super jealous of you! I know they were incredible! Did they play Garden?? That's hands-down my favorite. Annnnd I just at at Blues City Cafe a few weeks ago...best meal in the whole world. I am incredibly jealous :) So glad you had such a great time, honey! And by the way, you look super cute in the pic from the Ryman!!

    Happy happy Monday :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yay! So glad y'all had a good trip!! :) Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Looking forward to seeing you Saturday!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sounds like a great trip!! I love when Need2Breathe performs songs without any background music. They're amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  22. And, more importantly- who is S??? I haven't been reading in a while, and I'm hoping I haven't missed something! Shame on me if I have!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I LOVE all of your photos!! It looks like you had such a fun trip! And you are the most adorable couple ever!!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. How freaking fun!! And I LOVE NeedtoBreathe by the way!!!! My friend introduced me to them and totally dig their stuff! :) You and your man are simply adorable! You guys look like such a happy couple that totally make people want to be around them! :)

    ReplyDelete

What'cha got?