Last year, the women in my family started a tradition of meeting up in a new location to catch up before the year’s end and celebrate the holiday season together. This year, Nashville, TN was our destination of choice. Though I was born in Tennessee and grew up in the South, I had never been to Nashville in my adult life. With all the bachelorette and birthday parties being thrown there recently, I couldn’t wait to visit!
Our first stop after I landed was the Loveless Cafe, a Nashville landmark that serves traditional southern dishes. I had the southwestern omelette, cheese grits and biscuits. My sister ordered a “veggie plate” filled with hashbrown casserole, collard greens, fried okra, and macaroni & cheese. I ate about half of her hashbrown casserole because it was to die for! The Loveless Cafe actually has the recipes to many of their famous dishes online if you’re interested in making some comfort foods for your upcoming holiday meals.
To kill some time before everyone arrived, we ventured to the Gaylord Opryland Resort. The Gaylord is a true “fun for the whole family” destination. People could go there and never have to leave the indoor resort for the entire weekend if they wished. It includes numerous bars and restaurants, shops, an indoor/outdoor water park, and a concert venue – all within connected atriums so the weather is never an issue. We were hoping to check out How The Grinch Stole Christmas ice sculptures, but we decided last minute that we didn’t want to pay $30 each. (Though this colorful ice sculptures experience even includes parkas for everyone to wear and ice slides!) Instead, we walked around the hotel and grabbed festive drinks at The Falls.
After checking out all the Gaylord Opryland Resort had to offer, you’d think we would be disappointed by our AirBnB, but it was so stinkin’ cute! The “Rustic Retreat“, as it’s owners called it, is a three bedroom cabin not too far from Downtown Nashville. The owners even decorated it for Christmas and included a Social Media and Selfie guide for us Instagramming millennials. We ordered pizzas and salads in and spent the rest of the evening chatting around the fire and Christmas tree.
The next morning we woke up to storm clouds and thirty-two turkeys in the front yard! Only in the South…
We made our way over to 11th Avenue South for breakfast at Biscuit Love. I originally found Biscuit Love through Instagram but then read about it on many blogs after. It was even featured in our AirBnB’s Social Media and Selfie guide book because it’s so darn adorable. Don’t let the line to get in deter you – it moves quickly and the food is worth the wait!
We shared the “bonuts” to start which are doughnut biscuits with blueberry compote. Yum!
I ordered a kale salad, grits, a biscuit with jelly (which I swapped for my sister’s pimento cheese), and a hot chocolate. This meal my favorite of the entire trip!
Unfortunately, it started raining/snowing during breakfast, but we didn’t let that stop us from shopping and finding allllll the street art. Our first stop was the #WhatLiftsYou wings mural by Kelsey Montague as it was located just down the street from Biscuit Love.
We then walked over to Uncommon James, a jewelry, home goods, and baby clothes brand by Kristin Cavallari (of reality TV fame). No signs of Kristin, but I did pick up a beautiful gold bar ring.
We then Ubered over to Draper James, Reese Witherspoon’s store featuring all things southern. I mean, they greet you with sweet tea! What’s not to love?!
The famous “I Believe in Nashville” mural is conveniently located right next door. We hit up a few more shops before heading back to the cabin to defrost by the fire until dinner.
We had a reservation at Woolworths on 5th for dinner. While I enjoyed the ambiance and history of Woolworths I wasn’t exactly impressed with their food unfortunately.
My favorite dish was their roasted brussels sprouts (with Alabama white sauce) appetizer. I followed that with pot roast served with stewed root vegetables and whipped potatoes and a chocolate peanut butter pie topped with bananas and bacon pieces. The weather was still gross after dinner unfortunately, so we headed back to our cozy cabin for more time talking in front of the fireplace.
While we would normally enjoy a Sunday brunch together before heading back to our separate states, we decided against that this year as some of the roads were wet and snowy. It was a quick trip, but I enjoyed the family time! I’ll be back “on the road” in two weeks for more family time in Florida. In the meantime, I’ll be posting a Christmas in the City guide shortly.
Stay fit and fabulous,
A
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