The Nashville List

THINGS TO
DO, SEE, HEAR, EAT, & DRINK
IN NASHVILLE

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Cumberland Park on the East Nashville side of the Shelby Pedestrian Bridge right next to Nissan Stadium, is really great — especially with kids, but even without them. Walking paths, splash pad, climbing walls, and activities for littles. Best park view of downtown.

Shelby Bottoms Greenway is a stunning spot in East Nashville for hiking, walking, biking, running, and soaking in some nature… 5 miles of paved trail through some of the most gorgeous scenery imaginable so close to the city.

Bicentennial Mall is a great urban park, fashioned after the Mall in DC — at one end is the TN capitol building up on a hill, with a long narrow park that runs to a bell tower memorial on the opposite end. If you find yourself at the bells on the hour, you’ll hear some music. Also, look for a small circular marker in the dead center of the bells… and say something out loud. *surprise!*

Bicentennial Mall runs parallel with the large Nashville Farmers Market that’s really fun to explore too. (Great lunch options there!) 

Centennial Park in West Nashville has a full-size exact replica of the Parthenon from Greece. Crazy, I know, but so picturesque. This park has great trails and paths for longer walks, and often has events going on with live music and food trucks. 

If you want to go full-on hiking, hit Radnor Lake State Park. It’s absolutely STUNNING! Also, Cheekwood Botanical Garden usually has art exhibits in addition to their beautiful natural scenery. 

The Shelby Pedestrian Bridge crosses the Cumberland River, making it really easy to walk from East Nashville to downtown. Some of the best views of the skyline you can get! Also, if there are no events at Nissan Stadium, it’s the best way to score free parking for going downtown. Park on the East Nash side and walk over the bridge to get to Broadway, Country Music Hall of Fame, etc. 

About 45 minutes south of Nashville is Arrington Vineyard — beautifully tucked away in the rolling hills of gorgeous Tennessee countryside. Pack some snacks and make the drive — you can do wine tastings or buy a bottle (or two) for drinking while you’re there (and to take home with you). (Antebellum is my favorite red; Firefly Rosé is my fav on a hot day…)

Go for a scenic road trip on the gorgeous Natchez Trace Parkway for some stunning views and great places to get out and explore along the way. You could drive it all the way down to Leiper’s Fork, a quaint town with great shops and the original Puckett’s (home-cooking and live music). 

Into sports? Catch a Nashville Sounds minor-league baseball game at First Tennessee Park or watch the Titans get creamed at Nissan Stadium. 

The Country Music Hall of Fame is supposed to be really great (I sadly still haven’t been). Even if you’re not into country music, it’s probably still worth hitting up — I’ve heard amazing things.

The Frist (center for the visual arts), tours of the Ryman and/or Grand Ole Opry, and a visit to Hatch Show Print (one of America’s longest-running letterpress printers) are always great options too. 

Some of my fav local boutiques and shops: Anderson Design Group (gorgeous prints as well as a myriad of locally sourced goods), Shoppes on Fatherland (a fun smattering of shops on the east side), Welcome Home (you guessed it, home goodies), Hey Rooster (cutest general store you’ve ever seen), Fuselage (vintage finds and goodies), Two Old Hippies (boutique clothing, gifts, instruments), and 12 South (a whole stretch of unique shops, good food, and coffee places). 

You can also cheer on the Predators at Bridgestone Arena during hockey season, 

You’ve gotta go honky tonkin’ one night, for sure. It’s crazy touristy, but definitely worth experiencing. The music and people watching make it a lot of fun. :) Hit up Broadway downtown: pretty much any bar you go into will have good tunes, but don’t miss classics like Tootsie's and Robert's Western World. One of my favorites is Big Bang (dueling piano bar) — not for the easily offended (a.k.a. be prepared for crude humor), but the musical talent is unreal, and it’s always a fun late-night hang.

At the end of the street, where Broadway meets 1st Avenue at the riverfront, is Acme Feed & Seed — a multi-storied restaurant, cocktail bar, and live music venue that attracts locals as well as tourists. Fun live music on the first floor, hit the second floor for cocktails and nicer food, and then definitely spend time on the rooftop bar for a fantastic view of Broadway and the river. 

More live music places that are off the beaten path from the typical tourist stuff (check their calendars online): The Listening Room (singer/songwriter) and Station Inn (great bluegrass!). If you’re in Nash over a Monday evening, the Time Jumpers (Vince Gill and a whole crew of unbelievably talented and award-winning studio and old-timey musicians) play most Mondays at 3rd and Lindsley. These guys will blow your mind, and are hands down the best $20 you can spend on live music in the city. 

If you can make it to a show at the Ryman, it’s absolutely worth it. Every single time. 

Bluebird Café can be tricky get into (thanks to the TV show, Nashville), but if you can score tickets, the talent in there is usually pretty amazing.

Musicians Corner (May/June/September in Centennial Park) and Live on the Green (August/September downtown in front of the courthouse) bring awesome free concerts. Pack some snacks, or plan to eat from the incredible food trucks that will be there. Check the schedule online to see who’s playing, but there’s usually some big names — and you may be pleasantly surprised to discover some great music even with unfamiliar names.

Spring through fall you can enjoy one of the most Nashvilliest things you could ever hope for: Full Moon Pickin’ Parties. Held at Percy Warner Park, you can bring chairs, blankets, snacks, and other goodies and enjoy some amazing bluegrass. Beer and food trucks on site. New last year is an East Nashville version: Cornelia Fort Pickin’ Party is definitely worth checking out as well.

Cumberland Park has a splash pad and climbing activities for younger kids.

Bicentennial Mall Park also has fountains children can play in. Any of the other parks mentioned above are great for kids as well. 

Nashville Zoo is always a fun option. Check their website for special events, like “Zoovie nights” (movies at the zoo) during the warmer months. 

Nashville Shores (water park), Treetop Adventure Park (zip-lines), and Nashville Paddle Company (Stand-Up Paddleboarding) could be a blast as well!

Local parks host outdoor movies from spring through fall. Check the schedules and locations: 

For indoor/rainy day fun: Adventure Science Center, Nashville Children’s Theater, story time at the main downtown Nashville Public Library branch, and trampolining at Sky High Sports.

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Now onto the important stuff...

  • Steadfast — My absolute favorite coffee shop right now. Get their coffee soda. Trust me.
  • Barista Parlor — The original BP is here in East Nashville, but they now have multiple locations around the city (each with its own unique style and vibe). It's hipstery, but the space and coffee are great!
  • Frothy Monkey — Cozy. Good coffee. Great sandwiches.
  • The Post — Coffee, smoothies, juice, & baked treats {traditional, vegan, & gluten-free}; fun vibe; great place to hang
  • The Family Wash — Coffee, breakfast, lunch — also has a full bar with live music at night
  • Marché — Definitely a fav for weekend brunch; there’s often a wait, but you can drink mimosas as you pass the time. 
  • Sky Blue Café —You pretty much can’t go wrong with anything on their menu. Casual local fav.
  • Tavern — One of the best brunches in town. The wait can be ridiculous, but get there right when it opens and you’re golden. 
  • The Southern — Fantastic brunch menu + live music + they take reservations = a regular go-to for me
  • Marché — If you don’t make it in for weekend brunch, at least grab a weekday brunch there. Healthy + delicious.
  • Mitchell’s Deli — Great outdoor patio, beer available, great deli sandwiches.
  • Mas Tacos Por Favor — Tiny mexican joint that is unbelievably good; cash only (ATM on site).
  • Nashville Farmers Market — Lots of great international food options.
  • Pinewood Social — This place is so unique: coffee shop, restaurant, bar, and bowling alley in one — definitely a place not to miss.
  • Otaku Ramen — If you haven't yet experienced the wonder that is real ramen, I think it's time. (And their hot chicken biscuit will change your life.)
  • Five Points Pizza — Feels like a NY pizzeria (which says a lot coming from a New Yorker). Garlic knots, beer, and large pies of fold-it-in-half pizza, with a walk-up window for late-night slices. 
  • Hattie B’s — Nashville is known for “hot chicken” — if you like spicy food, you should definitely try it! There are plenty of hot chicken places, but Hattie B’s is one of my favs. 
  • Rolf & Daughters — Pricey, but worth every cent. Order a bunch of things and eat family-style so you can try as much as possible! Fills up fast so make reservations if you can; they do always keep tables open for walk-ups, so if you’re willing to wait, you can usually still get in without a reservation. 
  • Butcher & Bee — Small plates for sharing; lots of vegetarian and gluten free options; I'm in love with this place.
  • Husk — Delicious Southern fare from acclaimed chef Sean Brock.
  • The Pharmacy — Burgers and beer garden.
  • Virago — Sushi, rooftop patio with a great view of the skyline.
  • Two Ten Jack — Small plates, ramen, Asian with a twist, plenty of Japanese whiskey, craft cocktails, and a beautiful bar... 
  • Chauhan Ale & Masala House — Incredible Indian restaurant; great happy hour deals too.
  • Holland House — Great craft cocktails… sit at the bar (although they do have a fabulous patio too). (Closed Sundays.)
  • Patterson House — Speakeasy style, nondescript building with no windows and no visible sign. and their craft cocktails are to die for! I’m a huge fan of sitting at the bar here too, because it’s amazing to watch them work their magic.
  • No. 308 — East Nashville late-night hang spot; loud music, eclectic crowd, and ridiculously good craft cocktails. (They also have great happy hour deals for earlier in the evening, and the place has a much quieter/chill vibe during that time.)
  • Pinewood Social — Lots of different seating options: booths, couches, bar, patio; great cocktails
  • Bar Luca — Wine bar with craft beers and cocktails as well; small plates for snacking
  • Dino's — Classic East Nashville dive bar; local fav
  • Jeni’s Ice Cream — The most delicious & creative flavor combos... This is a local fav for sure (the long line is evidence). But if you like ice cream, you should go. Trust me. Your tastebuds will thank you. 
  • Olive & Sinclair Chocolate — Slow-roasted, stone ground, small batch chocolate, handcrafted right here in East Nashville… 
  • Dozen Bakery — These guys make delicious pastries and cookies with high-quality local and organic ingredients. And their space is beautiful and bright (with tasty light lunch options too). 
  • Sweet 16th — Scones, muffins, coffee cakes, cookies, cakes, and more, baked fresh daily right here on the east side.
  • City House — The best restaurant dessert menu in the city (made by their extraordinary pastry chef)!

Here’s an additional list of my favorites
within 2 miles from my house —

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Got anything you would add to the list? Or any other categories/specific things you'd like suggestions for? 

ever becoming

I set out to be brave last year. 

I waffle back and forth in my opinion of how well I actually lived it out. But there are moments when I find it easy to recognize the small acts of personal bravery that marked my journey through 2014. 

I opened my heart to possibilities. I allowed myself to enjoy the present without needing to know where things may (or may not) lead. I let my guard down and let others in. I used my words more — like when I wrote about depression and suicide, even when it terrified me. I leaned into relationships and established healthier boundaries. I faced a devastating loss and didn't fall apart like I once thought I would. I started going to church again. 

From the outside looking in, I'm sure my life didn't look very brave to others. But from the inside looking out, I see it: 2014 demanded courage of me. 

Let's be honest though. The year didn't end with me arriving at some grand finish line with an "I am brave" medal hanging around my neck. But I never really expected it to. That wasn't the point.

The year did, however, end with me feeling more confident that I am becoming brave. And, when I force myself to remember the truth, I know that the process of becoming is far more valuable than the arrival at being. 

I hear Sara Bareilles in my head: Show me how big your brave is. 

And my brave is bigger this January 1st than it was last January 1st. Shoot, my brave is bigger today than it was yesterday. And that, friends, is all that matters, isn't it? It's the best any of us can do really. 

My last brave step of the year was choosing my one word for 2015: Wholehearted. 

I'm determining to live more wholeheartedly. To be all-in. To be fully present. I'm committing to give myself permission (and a nudge) to be truly myself. To stick to my guns. To live, write, and speak with integrity (in the fullest sense of the word — with wholeness and completeness in all parts of me).

I'm purposing to show up this year, in every way.

In each situation, in each decision, and with every single person, I want to show up wholeheartedly. Even when that means facing my fears. Or candidly sharing the vulnerabilities of my heart. Or taking a huge risk. Even when that means flying solo. Or saying no. Or standing my ground when I want to run away. 

It's a good thing I developed some extra bravery. This wholehearted business is daunting.

When I'm falling short and feeling like a big hot mess of a failure, do me a favor. Remind me to extend myself grace, and to focus on the journey rather than the destination.

Never arriving.

Ever becoming. 

Will you join me? 

What word do you want to guide you through 2015? 
Join the One Word 365 community »

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Originally posted at A Life Overseas.

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a christmas miracle

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It was the year when THE Christmas gift for little girls was a Cabbage Patch doll. What year was that? '83? '84? So you were maybe five or six...

You wanted one soooo badly.

You don't know what it was about those ugly-faced, yarn-haired, autograph-bottomed dolls, but you were dying to have one. It was at the top of your Christmas wish list.

The Santa bubble had already burst for you. After all, you'd recognized he had daddy's eyes when you were just three. But—even more recently—Jesus became the only reason for the season.

So that Cabbage Patch doll you wanted? You weren't asking Santa for it. You were asking Jesus. And your parents too, of course.

Despite the hard times and the sold-out stores, unbeknownst to you, your parents had found you one. They had it safely tucked away at the top of the closet where you wouldn't be able to find it.

But when your aunt told them she was struggling to find one for your cousin, they sat you down and filled you in.

They told you they'd bought you a Cabbage Patch doll, and even where it had been hiding. Then they told you about your aunt, devastated over not finding one. You imagined your cousin, brutally disappointed on Christmas morning. And when your parents asked what you'd think about giving up your doll so she could have it, you said yes.

You don't remember what you felt in that moment—because, honestly, you don't really recall any of this, only the stories about it. But you imagine that tears in your eyes accompanied the sense in your heart that you were doing the "right thing."

Fast forward to Christmas morning.

You wish your mind could play back for you in vivid detail this particular December 25th. You wonder if you woke slower than Christmas-morning-usual, less eager to tear into gifts, knowing your prized doll would not be under the tree. You wonder how disappointed you actually were, and if your face gave away your heart.

Gifts were opened. Family came over; more gifts were exchanged. And by the end of the day, you'd somehow unwrapped three Cabbage Patch dolls. Three!

Your parents were just as surprised as you were. But there they were: three Cabbage Patch dolls—when you were expecting none.

It was a Christmas miracle.

Fast forward three decades.

You no longer think in terms of Christmas wish lists, but if you were being completely honest, you'd admit that your wishes bubble at the surface of your heart all year long.

You still don't write letters to Santa about them.

You don't really even ask Jesus for them. Not any more.

But they remain wishes nonetheless.

The memory of your Cabbage Patch Christmas story keeps coming to mind, and you don't know why. It lingers close, pestering you from the inside out. You try to shake it off, but—just like a catchy T-Swift song—it doesn't budge.

And then you realize:

It's because deep down, you're hoping for another Christmas miracle...

"Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight."
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when none of it mattered

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I've spent the past few years in a spiritual detox.

In my lifetime, I've heard more sermons than one could ever possibly need, and I've read more Christian books than anyone should ever read. I've done the Sunday-morning-Sunday-night-plus-Wednesday-evening church service thing. I've memorized the verses. I've had the Romans Road and Four Spiritual Laws and Spanish plan of salvation down pat. I've prayer-walked, mission-tripped, youth-grouped, See-Ya-At-The-Poled, 40-day-fasted, preached-and-teached. Baptism? Check. Tongues? Check. Slain in the Spirit (modesty cloth and all)? Check. I've kissed dating goodbye, been a missionary, gotten ordained, run a ministry, and been a pastor's wife (whatever that really means).

Hell, I've even won a Best Christian Witness trophy. (Heh.) (But seriously, I did.)

And when, at 30-something, my entire life fell apart? None of that mattered. None of it.

All that I'd done, all that I'd learned, all that I'd believed, couldn't spare me from the worst pain and deepest heartaches and greatest losses. It couldn't spare me from it, and it didn't comfort me in it.

None of it mattered.

The verses and worship songs and experiences that previously made God feel close, bolstered my faith, and left me feeling held, no longer did. They didn't carry me like they used to. I didn't find solace or strength or support in them anymore.

But there in The Great Sadness, with my heart stripped bare, I discovered God was still undeniably by my side. In the vast darkness, when He wasn't visible at all, and in the boundless sorrow, when I couldn't feel Him at all, and in the deafening quiet, when He wasn't speaking at all, I curiously never felt abandoned (at least not by Him anyway). Even when He felt far, He was still right there in the struggle and sadness and silence with me. Just Him, without all the other religious frills.

Thus began my spiritual detox.

Burned out on church and ministry and Christian leadership, I steered clear of anything that smelled like corporate Christianity for a good long while.

I quit church, stopped reading my Bible, gave up on any real semblance of a prayer life — and you know what? He was big enough to take it. His feelings weren't hurt when I spoke words of doubt instead of faith. He didn't mind when I cried rather than worshipped. He is God enough to handle this human heart of mine. He didn't scold me; He didn't heap "shoulds" or shame on me; He didn't tell me He only helps those who help themselves. 

He just sat in The Great Sadness with me.

As I've emerged out the other side, I've done so with a very different faith. With changed eyes. With an altered heart. The certainty of my faith gave way to uncertainty. Question marks replaced the periods. And yet, I've found a sweet intimacy in the wrestling.  I've discovered a depth of faith that is laced with unbelief.

Breaking my spiritual detox is a slow process. I've only recently returned to church, and — for right now — that's enough. Most Sundays demand a whole lot of bravery to walk, alone, through those doors. So I acknowledge the significance of this seemingly-small step, and I actively work to silence the nagging to-do lists of my former breed of faith.

I'm learning to be content with just sitting here for now — in The Sadness or otherwise — with the God I both question and believe.

Originally posted at A Deeper Story »

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comfort and joy

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Ohhhhhhh, the holidays... 

How I used to love them.

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I waited expectantly all year for the sights, sounds, and smells of this beautiful season. I'd transform my African home with all things inappropriately seasonal—autumnal colors in springtime... snowmen in summertime. I'd cook Thanksgiving feasts for twenty, sometimes thirty or more. I'd put up a Christmas tree and hang stockings and spraypaint snow in the corners of my windows. 

It was, hands down, my favorite time of year.

:: ::

But that was before.

And this is after.

After love walked away. 

After trust was shattered, along with my heart. 

And after all of this betrayal and heartache unfolded within the holiday season. More than once. 

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The joy this time of year used to hold was replaced with painful memories and unrivaled grief. The storm clouds that now loom over Thanksgiving week—and stretch all the way through New Year's—are dark and thick and deafening.  

storm

This formerly beloved season now feels like labored breathing. Exhausting. Hard. Painful. And mostly just hoping it will end as quickly and painlessly as possible. 

Sadly, I know I'm not alone in this.

Though our pain and timelines differ, I know so many who have endured their own unspeakable loss and grief, and wish they could just fast forward through the festivities... So many who find themselves under the storm cloud of sorrow along with me...

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I hear the words of the song playing in my head: "O tidings of comfort and joy." And I shake my head. Comfort and joy? 

Sigh...

:: :: ::

Those of you who, like me, find the holidays uniquely heartsore, please know you're not alone. And those of you who love this season, please celebrate with eyes and hearts open wide to recognize the brokenhearted around you. 

Maybe we can all be gifts of comfort and joy for one another. 

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Emmanuel. God with us. 

In our befores.

In our afters. 

In our right nows.

God with us.

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Comfort and joy, friends...