48-hour guide to Nashville

You have 48 hours to take a quick trip: where do you go? Our choice was easy--Nashville. I actually surprised Chris back in September with this trip as a gift for our 3 year wedding anniversary. Ironically, at the same time he surprised me with a trip to Chicago. 

Graham had already been to Chicago, and Chris and I had talked about going back to Nashville for years, so we decided to go with music city :)

Where to Stay in Nashville

Neither one of us had ever stayed at an Air BnB, so I decided to go for it. I knew we'd need a place to nap Graham in the afternoons, so I rented an adorable house in East Nashville from a really awesome couple (we're already planning our next trip back to this gorgeous 1940's home).

Graham clearly felt right at home ;)

​It was so nice having a bedroom to nap Graham in, meanwhile Chris and I could use the rest of the house to hang out in and continue our Suits binge watching without waking G. 

Nashville Murals

Nashville has tons of awesome murals throughout the city for great Insta-worthy shots ;) Here are the ones we love and recommend...

This mural extends far beyond this picture with even more blocks of vibrant color. You can find it on the East side at Center 615's building.

This mural is in East Nashville (the area where we stayed) which is on the side of the Joyner and Hogan building at 600 Main Street. Our hosts had a coaster with this mural on it in their home and I had total coaster-envy :)

You've probably seen this mural a 1,000 times in your feed, but it's worth the visit, because who doesn't believe in Nashville?? You can find this one in 12 South on the side of Mitchell's Deli next to Draper James (Reese Witherspoon's shop).

Chris and I took photos in front of this Johnny Cash mural when we were dating, so we had to go back :) You can find this one at 300 Fourth Avenue S. in downtown Nashville.

Live Music in Nashville

Chris is a fan of old school country, so he did a little research prior to our trip and decided to take us to Robert's Western World. If it sounds old, that's because it is. We were the youngest people in the crowd by about 40 years, but Graham loved EVERY MINUTE. 

(Side note: Apparently this is one of Brett Eldredge's favorite places to hang out and grab lunch when he's in town.)

Rachel Hester was the artist performing while we were there. She noticed Graham was locked in to what she was doing on stage.

​When she wrapped one of her songs, she said, "How old is he?" We told her he was 2, and she said, "He's going to be a musician. He has the same look in his eyes that I had when I first saw live music when I was 6. You've gotta get him a guitar."

Needless to say, we're not surprised. Graham asks to see guitars, play guitars, points at guitars in his books, and now asks me every day to play the video of Rachel from Nashville.

​EVERY. DAY.

Case in point...
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Where to Eat in Nashville

Keep in mind, we were only in Nashville for just under 48 hours, so we had to make good use of our time. That being said, you know a place is good when we revisit it within a 48-hour time frame. 

Five Daughters Bakery is a must in Nashville. They make these 100-layer cronuts that are out of this world. Trust me. Once you eat one of these, you'll break up with regular donuts. 

Lucky for us, our favorite coffee spot in Nashville, Ugly Mugs, was about 100 ft. from Five Daughter's. So clearly we went to both of these places Saturday AND Sunday morning before we did anything else :)

When you go to Ugly Muggs, get "the hoodie." It's a vanilla latte with honey and cinnamon. Need I say more?

Graham asking to see the video of Rachel playing the guitar, most likely :)

A couple of our favorites restaurants we hit were...

The Pharmacy in East Nashville: Amazing burgers, beautiful patio, and boozy shakes. We went here on our first trip to Nashville. From there on out, we decided this is a must-stop for every time we visit. 

Bartaco in 12 South: A fresh spin on Mexican, killer margaritas (which they use their house-made tequila for), and the nicest manager in all of the land. He bought us dessert--twice. If you go, you MUST order the pork belly taco and baja fish taco. I'm still dreaming of the pork belly.

And a few places we didn't have time for but would love to check out are Mas Tacos, City House, and Cafe Roze. 

I've always said if I had to raise a family in any other city other than St. Louis, it would be Nashville. Be sure to check these places out next time you're in town!

​We'll be back soon :)

P.S. Here is a little flashback from when I interviewed several country artists at the ACM Awards in Las Vegas...
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