my first summer in tennessee has come to a sweet end. the past few weeks i've been working like crazy and the past few weekends i've had a lot visitors! summer came and went and i feel the exact same way i do every year around this time: extremely giddy for fall! but before i move onto pumpkin beer and football games, i need to wrap up what was an amazing summer.
my mom came back for a few days in early august and we had a wonderful long weekend doing mom & daughter things. aka drinking too much wine, shopping, and getting pedicures.
a group of us went to live on the green with 20,000 of our closest friends on a thursday evening. it was hot.
my dad, stepmom, and sister came to visit me for labor day! this was the first time they've been since the move and i was so happy to finally show them around my new city and show them what my life looks like here.
it's been a whirlwind of a summer, but it sure has been a fun one. my first full season in nashville couldn't have been any better. i'm so thankful for the life i've found here and that i have been fortunate to find it so quickly. i 100% believe this move was part of god's plan for my life, and i am glad i was crazy enough to pick-up my life and move to a city where i knew almost no one. a little bit of faith and a little bit of bravery can put you right where you belong.
so cheers to fall and to all the lovely things that come with it. cowboy boots, fall beers, non-stop football, sweaters, cool nights on porches, and no mosquitos - i can't wait!
"summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people. for those few months, you're not required to be who everyone thinks you are, and that cut-grass smell in the air and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool give you a courage you don't have the rest of the year. you can be grateful and easy, with no eyes on you, and no past. summer just opens the door and lets you out." - deb caletti.
is it embarrassing to admit that this was the first birthday i have ever spent without a single member of my family? i hope not.
but none the less, they went above and beyond to make sure i had a special day.
{my mom & brian sent these giant balloons that i had to fetch from the front desk and carry all the way through the hotel... nice touch, momma.}
{my team & i celebrated with this delicious homemade cake!}
{my stepmom & dad sent me a yummy edible arrangements!}
after work, linds and i quick changed and headed to burger up for dinner! the place is always packed so we got there a little early to have a beer and put our names in. dinner was delicious and i was so happy to have such a great group of girls come out to celebrate with me.
i felt so very loved on my first birthday in nashville! thankful for friends who already feel like family, and friends and family who know how to love me so well from hundreds of miles away. cheers to twenty six - the best is yet to come!
on august 1st, i left nashville around 2pm and landed in charleston at 7pm for a 36 hour adventure to see brad and amanda tie the knot! leigh and derrick were also there for the wedding, so court came down for the weekend so all of us siblings could be together.
court fetched me at the airport and after a quick change, this handsome fellow scooped us up for a late dinner + drinks at star restaurant on upper king street. maury is a dear friend from high school who always make time to see me when i am in his town. we've been friends for over 10 years now and he still loves me anyways.
leigh + derrick + alex + steven joined us after while and i was so happy to see those boys.
{i love my sisters}
we woke up the next morning and headed to the one and only groucho's.
{capturing his first STP dipper}
after wandering around king street for hours and hours, we finally headed back to the hotel to get ready for main event!
the wedding was held at the island house on johns island. the rain held out and made for a beautiful wedding on the stono river. the food was awesome, the drinks were strong, and the band was amazing. amanda looked stunning and it was great seeing all of my friends that were also in attendance. i'm so glad i got to be there to celebrate!
{i stole this from a stranger's facebook}
{my big sis}
11am the next morning it was wheels up and back to nashville. it was whirlwind of a weekend but just long enough to hug plenty of necks and laugh my butt off with my siblings. i'll see you in november, carolina!
when two of your favorite artists play within a 3 hour radius of your town, you go.
one of the reasons i love lindsay so much is that she, too, was a music loving, band tee wearing, heartbroken teenager. we grew up loving the same music, and so when i told her andrew mcmahon was playing, she was in.
we left nashville around 10am on saturday morning and headed up the bourbon trail to louisville. we lost an hour due to the time change to we got there around 2pm and went to bardstown road for lunch. a friend had suggested el camino, so we gave it a shot. talk about yummy, swanky, mexican food!
i had the "mexican firing squad," to start which was heavenly and included omleca altos plata, lime, grenadine, and bitters. it was basically a pomegranate margarita and i loved it. for lunch i had a barbacoa taco and a kale & black bean taco. both were delicious!
after lunch, we checked into the marriott downtown and changed before the bar-hopping began. but not before linds could give me the most awesome birthday presents ever. i got an eric church album and the cutest coasters ever from anthropologie! and not just any eric church album... a LIVE FROM CHATTANOOGA eric church album. it's awesome. so are the coasters. so is lindsay.
our first stop on the afternoon bar crawl was bluegrass brewing company. linds had an ipa and i had a raspberry meade which was only served in a 6 oz. glass. it was weird and very different and very good.
after one beer, we walked down to sidecar where i decided it was a good idea to start drinking bourbon at 4pm. i had a "gold rush" which included maker's mark, honey, and fresh lemon juice.
our last pre-concert stop was a lyft ride away to a place called garage bar, which has made its way onto my "top 10 favorite bars of all time" list.
i had one of the most delicious drinks i've ever tasted. it was called honey lavender lemonade and it was vodka, lemon, honey, lavender, and club soda. i am still currently trying to figure out how to recreate it. i could have hung out at this bar all night!
after a 10 minute hair curling session at the hotel, we walked over the mercury ballroom for the concert! it was an intimate venue and there were probably only about 400 people there - just the way i like it. andrew was up first and was amazing as usual. his music has been making my heart beat fast for over 10 years now and he never fails to move me.
and next up was matt nathanson. Y'ALL. i had no idea how sexy that man is. he is also hilarious which only increases his attractiveness level. he is incredibly talented and i can't wait to see him play again. he sang all of my favorite songs of his, and also sang whitney houston's "dance with somebody" and "you're the one that i want," from grease. it was awesome.
but the highlight of my evening was hands down seeing him and andrew cover tom petty's "american girl." do you ever have those moments where you just feel like all is right in your world and there isn't a thing that could ever bring you down? this was one of those moments for me.
after an eventful evening at the hotel bar making friends with a 60 year old woman named ruby, we called it a night. we slept in on sunday and sadly had to make our way back to nashville to head into work. my first trip to kentucky was a success and ever since we left, we've been talking about going back. you sure are cool, louisville!
when my mom married my stepdad back in 1998, i went from having 2 cousins to approximately one million. my step dad is a true italian and comes with the massive family to prove it. so about a year ago, some of the cousins started talking about a family reunion. and then somehow or another, we actually pulled it off!
so grandma and grandpa muscarella had 3 kids - mark, joe, and gigi. mark had 6 kids, joe had 10 kids, and gigi had 4 kids. my step dad belongs to mark and he grew up in new jersey. joe's 10 kids grew up in california and all still live there today. my mom and stepdad have been married since i was 9 years old - and until this trip - my mom, nor my sister and i, had ever met any of the california muscarellas!
after a super long day of travel, i got into lake tahoe around midnight california time. momma picked me up in reno and when we finally got to the resort (lakeland village), my heart was so full to find my first cousins drinking around a bonfire. i hadn't seen a lot of them in a few years and i absolutely loved getting to spend a whole 5 days with them.
over the next 4 days we beached, drank (a lot), paddle boarded, cooked out, rented out a restaurant for our big party, gambled, swam in emerald bay, parasailed, and got to know the "westies." it was an amazing vacation and lake tahoe is easily one of the most beautiful places i've ever been.
{my parents and i went out on a boat with a few of brian's cousins and drove over to emerald bay. it was so beautiful and brian said he couldn't pass up a chance to swim there. so before we knew it he had thrown himself into the water and scared my mom and i half to death. but getting to swim with him in one of the most beautiful bays in the world was truly special. there are a lot of things his stroke took away from him and from us, but his determination and spirit have never wavered. i am thankful.}
this was one of my all time favorite trips and i am so glad i was able to make it. hoping to make it out to california for easter next year for the annual muscarella easter bash!
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