Nashville

This past weekend was so so fun because my friends and I and our moms all took a girls trip to Nashville! We always have so much fun whenever our moms come to visit for parents weekend the past three years in Athens, so we decided to take it outside of Athens this time. About 10 people stayed at an Air B&B, another 10 stayed in a hotel, and my mom and I stayed at my cousins house. Her brother lives about 10 minutes south of downtown Nashville. We drove up on Friday afternoon. I had late classes so my mom and I didn't get there until about 7 so we went straight to dinner to meet everyone! We ate at The Southern, a steak and oyster restaurant located in the heart of downtown Nashville. I ordered the double cut  smoked pork chop that was served with spiced butternut squash risotto covered in a kale and apple-pomegranate sauce. It was delicious! The Southern was the perfect way to kick start the weekend! We even had our own private room! I attached the menu to to see what you guys would get! What would you order? Everything was delicious! Check out or dinner Friday night below!

Saturday morning my mom and I went to breakfast with my Uncle Doug, Aunt Laci, and cousin, Emma! We went to Le Peep and just caught up since we didn't really get to visit on Friday. Then we went back and got ready to head to Broadway to meet up with everyone! We just walked around downtown because there is so much to see! It was pretty packed because there was a Chris Stapleton concert and the Predators had a game. I've always wanted to go to a Preds game, but we are coming back for Thanksgiving so maybe we can go to one then! We went to lunch at Rippy's, which is a BBQ  joint on lower Broadway. The best part about Nashville is pretty much every bar and restaurant has live music at all times of everyday! My mom and I both got pulled pork! If you ever go to Nashville,  I definitely recommend trying Rippy's! 

When I was in Nashville in the fall for the Georgia-Vandy game we met Dean from Motocrossed (pictured below), but unfortunately we did not see him this time. 

After lunch we headed to the Tootsie's rooftop! It was such a beautiful day out so we wanted to be outside! We toured around some more then did the Pedal Tavern at 5:30! The pedal tavern is essentially a 2 hour bar crawl on wheels. I thought it was going to be one of those typical touristy things but it was actually so fun! I highly recommend it! It fits 15 so we did two separate groups and you can control the music! They supply a cooler of ice and cups and you can bring your own drinks! 

Our tour guide, Jeremiah, told us that if we don't pedal we don't move because there is no motor. About half way through my friend thought there had to be a motor. She challenged him that it was at the front, and he warned her whatever is in the bucket she looks in she has to wear if it is not a motor and she agreed. She went to check, and it was just filled with helmets- no motor! So he made her wear a helmet the rest of the time. 

And that was our trip to the Music City! If you find yourself in Nashville some time soon, I definitely recommend the Pedal Tavern! Even my Aunt Laci who has lived in Nashville her entire life had never done it, but she said she wants to do it again with her friends because she had such a good time! 

Galentine's Day

Valentine's Day is one of the best days of the year! It is just a day to celebrate how much we love one another and I think we need more days like that throughout the year. If you watch Parks and Rec, you know Galentine's Day is even better! As Leslie says, it's only the best day of the year, and it is just a holiday that solely celebrates you and the love you have for your girlfriends. Basically, its all about spending time with your best girlfriends, or your real soul mates, and therefore they deserve a holiday to themselves too so it is celebrated February 13th. Thelma and Louise-y before Mario and Luigi right? So here is how we celebrated:

Jalapeño popper dip: Cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, jalapeño, topped with bread crumbs served with tortilla chips

Garlic knots: Pepperoni and mozzarella cheese baked in fresh dough sprinkled with garlic and butter with marinara to dip

Loaded nachos: Grilled chicken, tomatoes, scallions, red peppers, sour cream and hot sauce, 

Chocolate covered strawberries: we might have eaten a few before I even got the chance to take the picture...guilty! 

The gals

And of course we had to finish the night by watching the 2-hour NBC Special The Best of Jimmy Fallon!

My personal favorites were the lip sync battles and when he hosted Nicole Kidman and they once went on a date, but Jimmy didn't realize it was a date or that Nicole was even interested. Here is the clip: http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/jimmy-fallonblew-a-chance-to-date-nicole-kidman/2838586

Favorite lip sync battle: Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvRypx1lbR4

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Weekend! 

Super Bowl Food How-To

Since my beloved Falcons did not make it to the Super Bowl (okay...or the playoffs for that matter) I just wanted a good game to watch. But it's always more fun when you have a team to root for so I cheered on the Broncos for Peyton's sake! Not a Tennessee fan, but a big Peyton fan! And in my opinion, the food (besides Beyonce...all hail Queen B) is one of the best parts! So my roommates and I grilled out and made burgers, chips and guacamole, spinach artichoke dip, veggie plate, potato salad, black bean and corn salsa, and popcorn! Here is a picture of our spread:

Unfortunately, we didn't go with Peyton's choice of Budweiser but we did have some Creature Comforts Tropicalia! 

And, of course we had to have a Super Bowl-themed cookie cake! Check it out below!

Here are some pictures of a few spreads I found on pinterest I might just have to try out for Super Bowl 51! 

 Super the size for the Super Bowl! This one might be too hard to make...

 Football-shaped bread bowl with spinach artichoke dip!

 Maple bacon roasted peanuts

 Three different dips in the shape of a field! Cheese dip, guacamole, and salsa! Yum!

The first one might be too hard to make but I definitely need to try the others! I guess we will see next year! 

Athens restaurant bucket list

I just got a "100 days until graduation" email and started feeling very nostalgic about my time in Athens. I started thinking about everywhere I wanted to go and everything I wanted to try and that's when it hit me- there are so many restaurants in Athens I have yet to try! So I thought to myself, why not make a bucket list and I will cross one off every week? Here's my list! (In no particular order):

• The World Famous
• Iron Factory
• The National
• The Branded Butcher
• The Place
• The Royal Peasant
• Heirloom Cafe
• The Table
• Porterhouse Grill
• The Pine
• Automatic Pizza
• The Rook & Pawn
• Ike & Jane
• Ideal Bagel

I know, I know, some of you think I am crazy for not trying some of these yet! Maybe some of the ones I have been too are just so good I keep going back, keeping me from trying new ones? Here are some of my favorites that I have tried! 

• Trappeze- In my opinion, you get the best bang for your buck at Trappeze. I usually go for the double pig, a braised pork sandwich on ciabatta bread with bacon, or the dubbel where you choose two out of the asian pork taco, pulled pork slider, or slider burger.

• Last Resort- I know everyone views Last Resort as the "expensive place downtown" but their lunch menu is not expensive at all! My freshman year odyssey professor actually took us all out to lunch here on the last day of class my freshman year. For lunch I usually go for the southwestern grazer soup which consists of fresh greens, black beans, corn, avocado, and veggies. 

• Cali N Tito's- My favorite environment! Cali N Tito's has the best atmosphere. When the weather is nice and the sun is out, my go-to spot is Cali N Tito's. My personal favorites are the steak tacos or the healthy cubano sandwich which is grilled steak or chicken (I typically go steak) with red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and cilantro on wheat bread. 
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• Taqueria del Sol- You can't go wrong with the brisket or carnitas tacos! My only complaint is that it is not open on Sundays. It's like Chick-Fil-A where you always crave it on Sundays. Why does that always seem to happen?

                                       

Favorite places not pictured:

• Clocked
• Shokitini

My goal is to try one of the restaurants on the bucket list every week! Do you have any recommendations of places I need to try? (Warning: I am a pretty plain eater and don't like seafood). Please feel free to comment your suggestions and check back in next week to see if I kept my word and crossed one off the list!