Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Weekend Rewind: Never Too Late for a Lil' Nashville (October 2-3, 2010)

Ok, so internet connections are still extremely spotty and far and few between at my place of residence; Its really putting a damper on my blogging, eh?
I mean, I've been back from vacation for nearly 2 wks now and I'm only now able to give you my first weekend rewind from my Nashville holiday...and that went down at the beginning of October!
Ok kids, let's forget the dates and just go with it...at least I can get this post up...now sure about the next one or when that might occur.
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So, as you know in my last post, I did nothing Friday (October 1st) but sleep.  Nice one Nickie!
So needless to say, I was up at the buttcrack of dawn--3am...then back to sleep for a nap...then up bright and early at 7:00am come Saturday morning.

Saturday: October 2nd, 2010
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The sun comes up in Nashville and I rise with the roosters. 
I started my day with 3 plates of biscuits and gravy
(needless to say, weight gain was inevitable on my lil' getaway...we'll touch on that later in the vacation).
IMG_1415
And as this would come as any surprise, I couldn't resist wearing the jean shorts.  Try as I might to have stored them away now that summer is over...well they just didn't stay packed up for long. 
Look out, now I'm probably going to wear them all winter too.
(Let's face it, I want to be a cartoon character-you know how they always wear the exact same outfit all the time?  well the jean shorts are going to become my staple item whether we like it or not, in fact I think they're already my staple item...the only time I'm not sporting the cutoffs these days is when I'm at work.  And God knows I would do that if they were a little more office appropriate.)
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So with the promise of meeting up with AlysonIsNeat, I chose my outfit--got ready for the day--and I was ready to go.  Oh............wait, by this time it was only 8:30am.  Too early to call Alyson, but man was I rarin' to go. 
(This is what happens when you sleep thru the prior evening Nickie-you wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed!)
Downtown Doll
(Thanks a-man-duh for snapping these outfit shots)
Wearing:
*Black t-shirt, Kensie
*DIY cut-off shorts, Gap
*Black leggings, Uniqlo
*Black booties, Steve Madden
*Black printed scarf, Express
*Black sunglasses, Kensie
*Silver leather bag, Cole Haan

Finally a few hours later its a decent time in the morning that I can call Alyson and not fear waking her up out of a deep deep sleep.  We make final plans to meet up and check out some vintage sales going on around town.

First stop, I find a table full of the most affordable, cutest-coolest vintage jewelry.
And well, who else does it turn out to be?
Why, its Vested Bee Vintage!
(Now, at this point, I admitted to her in the most crazed fan fashion, well that I follow her on twitter and I know her goods.  Then I get really giddy because she has forgotten her camera and I offer to snap a few shots of her and my purchase.  Too bad the internet has sucked so bad that I cannot get her the pics for 2wks.  Why'd I even offer if I can't follow-through, right?)
Vested Bee 1
And tell me...how undeniably awesome is this clipboard necklace I purchased?  She really did have some of the coolest jewelry around!  It's actually functional! 
(I plan to clip my name to it and wear it to the bars sometime so I don't have to talk to any of the moron meatheads that ask me my name.)
Vintage Necklace purchase
While at the same vintage local, I also purchased a sweet little pin for my gang vest.  I didn't take a picture of it, but I'm certain at some point it will make an appearance. 
It says, "World's Greatest Swinger" on it...now this is so not true, but so very cool!

Afterwards, Alyson and I headed over to the Gulch-which just so happens to be a very nice area of Nashville. Their Urban Outfitters is located there and they were having a little pop-up vintage sale of their own outside the front doors.
Closet Case Vintage
Within seconds upon arrival, Alyson had scoured the racks and convinced me I needed to buy a 1980's drapy sequined blouse she has found.  Probably not necessary, but how could I say NO?
Ironically enough, I ended up loving it so much after purchase, I wore it out later that evening.
(although no photos were taken of this lovely number-sometime in the future kids, patience...)

So thanks Alyson, I suppose for living vicariously thru my shopping habits that weekend considering you're in your last few weeks of no shopping (you can do it!)
Vintage Clothing Sale

Closet Case Vintage
Oh--here's the proof you're looking for...I really did hang out with AlysonIsNeat...see!  She's on the left, and that's the nice girl behind Closet Case Vintage on the right.
Mingling w/Bloggers
So as shopping drew to a close, Alyson took me back to the hotel where I awaited the arrival of my friend Amanda (actually my BFF's little sis, but I suppose we're friends at this point in our lives)
-A little shout out, Amanda is 1/2 of the duo behind Concocting with Cocktails.

Once Amanda showed up around 2pm, we decided it was high time we head downtown and get our afternoon dose of cocktails!
Nashville-downtown
Downtown is sort of like being in Times Square in NYC.  It's the tourist trap!  So I know its annoying to go there if you're a local...but this was MY TURN to be the tourist, usually its the other way around.
So I took in the touristy fun for all it was worth!
Tootsies
I took an extreme likin' to Paradise Park.
It reminded me a lot of the Trailer Park Lounge here in Manhattan.
Paradise Park
Amanda and I began harrasing the band, and hoping our $1 tips would coerce them into playing our requests.  Some were denied, ignored,what have you (er,.....Rocky Top--to which this blog gets its namesake...wtf guys!).  Others were embraced and played immediately (Conway Twitty!)
Paradise Park
Even Lil' Homie got into his Nashville travels....He digs Paradise Park as much as we do!
Lil' Homie at Paradise Park
And then...with the afternoon coming to a close, our friend Jaima met up with us and we had a few last minute beers before it was time for dinner.

Good ol' Alyson met me again--2x in one day!  She must like hanging out with me...or vice versa!
True true.
After dinner, we went to see my friend's band, HeyPenny at Exit/In.
Unfortunately we missed HeyPenny...boo!
Alyson and I
And no, we are not at the world famous Wild Horse Saloon!
This is a little prop leftover from the craziness of a band by the name of Peelander-Z
Peelander-Z
All I can say is, "MAD TIGER-MAD TIGER"
that one's for you Amanda!
Peelander-Z

Peelander-Z
We rounded out the night by watching the last of the bands, The Protomen...I enjoyed them immensly and hope they come to NYC sometime soon.  (I wonder if they're here for CMJ actually? I should look this up.)

And a few more drinks with the girls at a jazz-y/funk place before we called it a night
(and Phew!  Was I tired...)

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Sunday: October 3rd, 2010
The following day, it was my BIRTHDAY!
We met up with Alyson and her BF at the Germantown Cafe for brunch--Delicious!

Then, we said our goodbyes--promised to visit again, and I told them to come to NY.
And then the rest of us went onward to the Vanderbilt area where we did a little boutique shopping, and more boozin'
We had some birthday cocktails for obvious reasons, and to take it easy--afterall it was Sunday.
Jaima-Nashville friend extraordinaire!
Jaima, Above, had sangria which looked quite tasty.
But Abbey, my bff from highschool (below), had the best drink of us all--an alcoholic Root Beer Float.
Being the Bonne Belle chapstick conniseur that I am, I immediately pinpointed the drink as tasting just like their Rootbeer flavored lipgloss-YUM!
My BFF
And I've since forgotten what Amanda was drinking, it doesn't matter-apparently she just chose to shoot it out of her nose instead--well let's face it, I'm a funny girl and I have this effect on the Wolf family.
Amanda shooting snotrockets
Unfortunately kiddies, I was not photographed on my bday.  Not a big deal really considering 31 is a stupid age.  Nothing exciting happens when you're 31, nor do I care to really celebrate such an age-- especially after the crazy bday party I had the year prior, I mean could anything really come close to an Elvis Impersonator?  Definitely not!

And this is how I rounded out my birthday weekend in Nashville.

Next Up:
Onward to Indiana!!!!!!!

10 comments:

Alexandra said...

Wonderful pictures! I'm seriously so jealous of your ability to constantly wear heels. Like, REALLY jealous. I have some great ones but trying to find fitting places to wear them when I won't be standing/walking too much is such a pain!

Amanda said...

I laughed the whole way through this blog. I feel like a real star now with all of those shout-outs. What a fun time, a must-do for next year.

-amanduh

anna marie said...

This absolutely makes me wish you roadtrip to Pittsburgh/Cleveland so we can hang out.

I love it!

Nicole Martin said...

Dude, you're 31?!?! I seriously thought you were younger! Like 26/27ish. Looks like you had a great time! Everyone should travel for their birthday :)

~Nicole
http://employedpanache.blogspot.com

Alexandra said...

ok, Definitely much better the second time around ;-) (You know I couldn't resist coming back when you said there was MORE) And, I agree with the comment above me. You know I'm always telling you that you make yourself out to be way more of an old woman than you are... sleeping through friday forgiven. It happens to the best of us! Haha.

No said...

lucky! i've always wanted to go to nashville. and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! even if it is majorly belated.

Isquisofrenia said...

oh i hate internet connections when they dont work properly and i really like how you put the leggings with the shorts.
and the boots i dig so much!!
i want to be there in the closet vintage thing!!

Anonymous said...

Niki, what a fun trip!
I'm dying to visit Nashville and Franklin and those hill people, hahah. I love the pictures you took - and the outdoor shopping looked wonderful - thanks for sharing this.
J

LalaLaurynnn said...

Oh man I haven't been to Nashville in so long... this makes me want to go so badly! I can't wait to see the pictures from the Fall Festival!

Becca [Free Honey] said...

Since we're ignoring dates here, I hope you'll accept a belated happy birthday. Also, I'm already scheming the possibilities associated with alcoholic root beer floats. Yummm. Don't suppose you remember what was in it? Also, I'm planning on doing a cross-country road trip around new years, and Nashville is definitely on my list. Can't wait for the touristy stuff! Isn't that what road trips are for?!