FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA... KIND OF.

since we're all reminiscing and whatnot with the new year, here's a random post for you. i've lived in three states in my life and all are wildly different. my heart still belongs to each of them a little bit and i thought i'd share some of my personal pros and cons of my homes from the midwest to the south to the west.

the worst: poor ohio. it has a bad rep, but the rumors about the economy are mostly true. there's just not a ton of diverse career opportunities there, though i do have friends who are super successful in their buckeye-state-based jobs {hello tricia and betsy!}. also: you will never live somewhere where people complain about their home state more.

the best: my favorite thing about ohio is that there seems to be a shared experience among people that grew up there. b and i were raised 138 miles from one another, but we have SO many similar traditions. i also enjoy the local fare {pierogies!}, the fact that most people know how to drive in all types of weather and our undying desire to root for the underdog {ex: the cleveland browns}.

the worst: though a booming city, nashville is still very much in the south. it's in the bible belt and you would be remiss to think that everyone lives a liberal lifestyle or is okay with you living one. i got more than one "bless your heart" when i lived there, and if you know anything about the south, that isn't a compliment.

the best: nashville has some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. there is rarely a honk on the highway and i always felt safe walking alone around town, even at night. the food is beyond wonderful and it is also within driving distance to some other amazing places, like new orleans!

the worst: i get flipped off an average of once a week while on the road and i have never been around more aggressive drivers. denver is also super landlocked {am i the only one who thought it was right next to california? oh, i am...} and there is no culinary specialty, unless you count beef, which i do not.

the best: colorado is the most beautiful place i have ever lived. the sky opens up straight from heaven and i have never seen more stunning sunrises or sunsets. there is a ton to do here; regardless of if you enjoy outdoor activities.

four years, three states and what feels like three different lives i've led. i can't wait to see where life takes us next.

QUICK PICS.

some of my fav iphone photos from our trip to nashville last week.

another view from aerial.

can you tell they're related? b and his dad, hands on hips, analyzing what to get at frugal macdoogal.

my favorite sweet face.

we may or may not have rushed to get noshville for breakfast at the nash airport before we left. it was on the short list of things we had been missing.

these past few weeks have been busy, but hoping that as the year starts winding down - only 40 days left! - that our schedules do, too.

WEDDING WEDNESDAY: THE VENUE.

 

i pinned this photo more than a year ago in my nashville folder. this was long before we were engaged, i simply loved the picture and the vibe of this wedding.

then, after we got engaged - and decided we wanted a downtown wedding - i knew it had to be wherever this photo was taken. only, i could not figure out where that was.

after much googling, i remembered that popular nash blogger beth had also gotten married downtown. i found her post and realized it was the same location as my beloved pinterest photo.

and that was that. our venue was decided: aerial. i've been working with the team there to coordinate hosting both our ceremony and reception. we'll get married overlooking the city where we fell in love, and then our friends and family can dance the night away under the stars! {and then walk out the front door onto broadway to continue the party well into the night!} 

i think it will be the perfect location to start our life as mr. and mrs.

{photo credits: a gorgeous aerial wedding as seen on style me pretty, beth's wedding, a wedding with a pretty awesome bridal party entrance via alex bee photo}

last of nash: yazoo brewery tour.

i don't care if this was a month ago and i now live on the other side of the country: the yazoo tour was one of the coolest things i ever did in nashville.

it was on the we-must-do-this-before-we-move list, so it was crossed off our very last weekend in tennessee. and, brandon came with us!

these are dehydrated hops. one of the most interesting things about yazoo is that they partner with so many other businesses in town. so when they're done using a bunch of ingredients they pass them along. like, after yeast is done making the beer... yeasty...  they give it to local bakeries. or after the grain is used they give it to local farmers. drunk cows? i had to ask baker all these details, it's hard to remember after a few weeks. {plus, they totally give out generous samples on the tour, so that doesn't help my memory either.}

gigantic beer makers!

bottling. the labels on all of yazoo's beers are hand drawn by the owner/founder's wife.

 

and then, after your super-worth-it $7 tour, you end up in the tap room, where you can drink to your heart's content.

i know i should be drinking coors light, but i can't deny that i could go for a dos perros right now. 

please come to colorado, yazoo!

last of nash: turnip truck.

this is the first in a series of posts aout things i did right before i left nashville. i actually had this one all written, but then was busy piling our stuff out by the trash can that wouldn't fit in the uhaul. {which our neighbor ended up taking most of! #environmental} all of the below still rings true. especially the part about missing ben and needing a denver bff. applications now available.

i LOVE the turnip truck.

they have a salad bar {score! since when did salad bars go the way of the dinosaur?}, a hot bar, a soup bar, a deli, and the best zucchini bread i have ever had.

plus, they are also a healthy/hipster/all-natural store!

i always eat off the veg side, even when i wasn't a vegetarian, because they make delish veggies. also, that eggplant parm was killer.

full disclosure: turnip truck was the one and only time i've ever eaten brussels sprouts. sick. so i knew that if my beloved turnip truck couldn't make me like them i really hated them.

ben is also always about the veg at tt.

awe, my friend ben. SO sad to see our regular lunches come to an end. and, he's never lived in denver so i have no idea where i'll get all my food recommendations from.

anyone in denver looking for a best friend? i'm totally available.

bittersweet.

{by}

even now, sitting here thinking about it, it makes my stomach hurt.

goodbyes.

they are sometimes short and sometimes ugly and and sometimes necessary.

i've been saying a lot of goodbyes this week, which is why i've been absent here. i have a ton of food posts waiting in draft mode, but it doesn't feel right to hit publish when my days are taken up with things much more important.

i don't want to go into great detail of my feelings for the friends i have here in nashville. it would make me cry.

and, i hope, it isn't needed.

i hope that each of them already know what they mean to me. what they've meant to me. i hope they understand that walking away from them is the h a r d e s t part of moving to denver.

leaving somewhere has a lot of perks - including coming to grips with how much you're loved. and, so, in that sense, goodbyes are bittersweet.

i feel so much joy in knowing that i will be missed here.

but i have a pain in my chest knowing what i'm leaving behind.

nashville originals week: yellow porch.

yellow porch was my first choice when the nashville originals restaurant week menus went up.

first point: it is in the weirdest location. i guess it's the 100 oaks neighborhood? i am only ever in the area to go to applebee's. they also have a very nice movie theater, though, as well.

they were a two for twenty location, as opposed to holland house's three for thirty.

although, i always add on a cocktail, too. my work friend erica said the lemondrop was a must have. super sweet, as expected.

the most-raved about menu item: cheddar fritters. holy guacamole! really, really amazing. b and i should have split an order. it was a generous portion and so filling.

b's choice: pork chop. he is still talking about how good this was. i witnessed him lick the plate clean, so i can vouch for his enjoyment level.

and mine: salmon. it was very good.

i want to talk about the fritters again: you must try them.

better than a hushpuppy by a mile.

#southernsin

and the service - wow, wow, wow. it had been suggested to me to not try a new restaurant during this busy week, but we had nothing but excellent experiences at both yellow porch and holland house.

restaurant week, i will miss you.

you too, cheddar fritters.

nashville originals week: holland house.

if i could sum this review up in three points it would be:

1. holland house is so hipster/fancy.
2. the service was incredible.
3. it was restaurant week and not crazy overcrowded.

photographic evidence:

the waiters in suspenders? um yes, please.

probably the best beverage i've ever had. in my life. definitely the best thing i had all night. "a walk in the park" if you're going soon. try it.

salad. okay, if i had one bone to pick with hh it would be their overuse of bacon. which, most people would word as, "if i had a favorite thing about holland house, it would be their overuse of bacon." so, i know i'm alone in this, but there was only one salad option without it.

yep. this is beef. what can i say: chicken is a gateway drug. the steak was good. what i must tell you about is the ketchup. courtney and i both got this and kept saying, "these fries are SO spicy!" b tried one, and was like, "that is not spicy." i was using more and more ketchup thinking i was cooling down the fries when we realized... it's the ketchup that is spicy. duh. however, it burned so good. i would get anything they serve with that condiment next time i go.

creme brulee. i actually don't like creme brulee and took a chance that this would be more of a mint pudding. {what can i say, it said mint.} but, it was just reg creme brulee. however, courtney ate most of it - after finishing her bread pudding - so i would say our general review of the dessert course was two noms up.

men.

ladies.

holland house, if i wasn't moving out of the state and if you weren't in the deeeep east side, you would be my new park cafe.

and THAT is a seriously compliment.

food truck feastival.

this weekend, wanderland food park organized the wanderland feastival, an all-day event where the nashville food trucks gather. we had perfect weather and i was thrilled to get the chance to try multiple food trucks i hadn't run into around town yet. before we move we're hitting some of our favorite spots again and trying some "nashville must haves", like deg thai truck.

 

 

 

my choice: riffs truck! i've heard a lot of great things about it and they won the battle of the food trucks event last fall.

woh, woh. out of tacos.

veg paella. with a surprise soft tofu cake.

b's pork and macaroni from rollin + smokin.i tried the mac and really liked the use of the spiral noodle. his official review was positive, especially about the sweet cornbread pancake.

my wait ended up being about 30 minutes. b's was about 10 minutes longer. i've read a lot of negative reviews online, and talked to some people who were very crabby at the event. it's true: i was bummed out that the truck i really wanted to try was out of food less than two hours after it opened. however, it didn't ruin the day for me. i think it's a great idea and i'll definitely be giving riffs another try and will continue to support this awesome explosion of food truck goodness around nashville.

plus, you can't beat the view.

nye at red pony.

happy new year! how was your big night?

we had a great meal at red pony. it's a nashville original, which means it's locally owned and operated, and i had heard a lot about it. it's right on the square in downtown franklin just a short drive outside of nashville.

the menu was different than their usual, with set choices for each course. round one was a cheese plate with champagne! such a fun way to kick off new year's eve.

course 2. i ordered the "italian butters" plate. which was mascarpone cheese, tomato sauce and super soft flat bread. yum yum yum. i could go for that again right now.

salad course. and they were nice enough to let me order without bacon. i do not like to make special requests, but the whole atmosphere is so laid back - most people were in jeans and, so, as you'll see in a min, i looked totally overdressed - but our waiter was cool about it and my salad was delish.

b's main course: a HUGE prime rib. typically when you go somewhere with multiple set courses all of the plates are very small bites. not at red pony. illustrated clearly by this photo.

i got the crab cakes. so good, so fresh. i was surprised by the mexican feel of the plate. i not only got two crab cakes, but also a huge chimichanga with mushrooms and spinach and guacamole.

not gonna lie, my favorite bite of the evening. a "chocolate demise" lava cake with vanilla ice cream.

there we are! great picture thanks to our waiter. and we had the best seat in the house right in front of the kitchen window. an added bonus getting to see the chefs at work. my dress is from asos and i wish i had a better picture of the awesomely 80s poof on the other shoulder.

after that we came home, started a fire in the fire place, cracked open a bottle of sparkling wine champagne and counted down 2011 from the couch. it was totally grandparental of us, but perfect after the whirlwind year we had. 

can you believe it's 2012? i'm so excited for things to come. let's get to it, bloggies!