From New York To Nashville

Main Street in downtown Franklin, TN is exactly what - in a...

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:07:49 -0500

Main Street in downtown Franklin, TN is exactly what - in a perfect world - an adorable main street in a quaint, southern city should be.

Each storefront is gorgeously maintained and has its own unique character.Even national stores such as Chico’s, keep the beautiful of the little city by not imposing on the exterior of the buildings minus the signage. From cute independent skincare and spa shops like Serendipity Skincare & Cosmetics, to Starbucks, to Ben & Jerry’s, back to beautiful independent and socially concious boutiques like Philanthropy Fashion, it’s a dream come true for a girl with a retail obsession such as mine.

I just adore it.

Above are some pictures I took during a walk through that area. This is definitely something I love having the ability to go to over and over again.

We may or may not have eaten lunch near Tim Meadows today in...

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:52:34 -0500

We may or may not have eaten lunch near Tim Meadows today in downtown Nashville. Look over my little brother’s shoulder.

By the river in downtown Nashville is a beautiful thing. There...

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:44:00 -0500

By the river in downtown Nashville is a beautiful thing. There are restaurants, bars and clubs (a.k.a. honky tonks - I will never get tired of saying that) that go on forever, along with country shops that stretch all over the city. But everything seems to stop for a moment when you’re near the river.

You can literally walk down into the water if you’d like, since steps lead you right there. However, I thought perhaps I shouldn’t act too “Yankee” right away and go splashing in the waves rejoicing over how warm it was on January 1. Although, my hometown of Binghamton, NY had record breaking highs today, too.

Across the river is LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans. While I’m not a huge football fan now, other than my little brother’s college team (go Hartwick Hawks!), I feel as though I will be living here. You can sense the excitement just looking at the stadium - I can’t wait to catch a live game there.

As for the people here, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. The culture, the entire world down here, is different. People want to talk to you, they genuinely care about having a good conversation. They want to make sure when you catch their eye that they smile. You could pass someone on a back road in your car, and they’ll be sure to wave.

I guess, being from New York (and not even the city, upstate), and before that, Connecticut, I am used to being a little closed off towards strangers. What a refreshing feeling it is to have a whole community who just wants to say hello.

We made it!

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:03:55 -0500

Fifteen hours in a compact car with my mother, father, little brother and half of my life-long belongings and we survived!

Actually, the ride down was pretty pleasant. We took the PA-to-VA-to-TN route, and the scenery was gorgeous. Just before you get into TN, there are so many rolling hills dotted with horses, cows and other farm animals sporadically - it’s almost like seeing a painting every time you look out the window. That perfect.

For a girl who always thought she’d end up in a compact city like NY, or even a sprawling metropolis like Los Angeles, I found the view coming in to be serene, refreshing and all around everything I had hoped it would be. Funny how life changes so quickly.

Getting to Casey and my new townhome was one of the most exhilarating things I have done in a while. Weird, I know, that just pulling up to a place can give you only what I can describe as a “runner’s high,” but after not seeing my fiance for more than two weeks since he moved down before me to “set up shop,” I couldn’t have been more excited to see him walk out the door and toward my car.

The townhouse is more beautiful that I remember it being when we decided to take it. Maybe it’s because all of the furniture and odds and ends that we had fallen in love over at our old place make it that much more spectacular to me.

In fact, when I first walked in, I was a little confused. The living room looks practically like our house in Binghamton! Definitely comforting, even though I needed no real push to leave my hometown anyways. Binghamton is wonderful, but I needed a new adventure and a new terrain to explore. I think Nashville and its surrounding suburbs are just the place to keep me busy.

For the next two days, I’ll be exploring downtown Franklin and Nashville with my family and Casey before my mom, dad and brother head back to NY. Be ready for plenty of pictures…

Our new home in Franklin, TN.

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:29:00 -0500

Our new home in Franklin, TN.