3lh take nashville
The three of us have been close for about five years, which is hard for people to believe because we live in three different cities. In fact, we’ve been long-distance best friends the entire time, even though we’ve been in constant contact since 2012. When I told my husband that we were having a girls’ weekend in Nashville, his first question was “Well, won’t it be weird?” and it wasn’t; Gabrielle and Lauren are like the older sisters I’ve never had.
When we first started planning this weekend, our first concern was food. In fact, the entire weekend was planned around our meals. Since Gabrielle lives in Nashville, we went to places the locals flock to. We may not have hit the spots that every tourist does, but you can never go wrong when you have a local for a tour guide!
Friday Night: We hit Mafiaoza’s Pizzeria, an amazing little, pizza place. Gabrielle and I were seated right away. We ordered Fried Cheese Ravioli Sticks and there are two things you need to know about these: they’re huge and they’re delicious. Not pictured: the pizza we ordered and immediately inhaled. They have the most adorable drinks which in true Nashville fashion were served in mason jars.
After dinner, something really special happened (and I’m not talking about dessert even though we had cupcakes). Lauren’s due in December and we are beyond excited for her. We could not be more thrilled that she’s going to be a mom. Baby Calvin is so loved and he won’t even be here until December. It was so important to us that we do this weekend before she gets too far along. What Gabrielle didn’t know was that Lauren planned to ask her to be Calvin’s godmother.
On Saturday morning, we went to Holler & Dash for brunch. Holler & Dash is a biscuit place in Brentwood and it was wonderful. Lauren had the Chicken Holler, one of their signature biscuits. If you stop by, you need to get tots with Hollerback Sauce. Lauren is originally from Kentucky and two of her favorite foods are chicken and biscuits, she said this was absolutely one of the best. I accidentally drowned one of my tots in the sauce and it was still amazing!
We spent a few hours shopping in downtown Franklin, which is swoon-worthy. If you’re looking for southern charm, you’ll find it there. Lauren and I found the cutest state tea towels, ice cream, and souvenirs killed some time while we were waiting for the main event: Saturday night. We went to Party Fowl for hot chicken and if I wasn’t in love with Nashville before, the chicken nachos made me fall head over heels. Most tourists hit up Hattie B’s when searching for the Nashville hot chicken experience, but the lesser known Party Fowl hit the spot.
Sunday morning was bittersweet. Bitter because a weekend has never gone by as quickly as this weekend; sweet because we stopped at Five Daughters Bakery! The exterior of the building makes a perfect, pastel post for instagram, but what’s baked inside is just as wonderful.
Last weekend was incredible. Going from virtually inseparable friends (it worries us when someone doesn’t participate in the group text for a few hours) to physically present was unreal. I never would have imagined five years ago that we would be where we are today: best friends. The time we spent together was short, but oh so sweet. It may have taken five years for all of our schedules to match up, but it was worth it. In fact, this may even become an annual thing! Thank you, Gabrielle, for hosting us in your gorgeous home. Thank you, t-shirt company, for giving me two of the best friends I could ask for. Thank you, Nashville, for being amazing.
xoxojessica