Sunday, September 15, 2013

Nashville: 12th Avenue South

This post is a couple weeks late, but school has been very busy!
My mom and I took a trip Labor Day weekend to Nashville to stay with my aunt and uncle. They have a drum shop, Fork's Drum Closet, on 12th Avenue South, and every year they host a concert that they call Fork Fest at their farm in Springhill. My uncle's band The Midnight Riders played, as well as another band from Clarksville. It was a very fun and relaxing weekend, and I got to see some of my family, so that was nice. We also did a little exploring around the 12th Ave S area.  Here are some of my favorite places we checked out:

The Frothy Monkey
As cozy as it looks!
This was a sweet little coffee shop a few doors down from Fork's. It had a great atmosphere (we walked in to hear Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You" playing, so I was sold immediately), a nice selection of organic teas, bakery items, and coffee, and an interesting clientele. I had a cup of their seasonal tea blend, and Mom had the turtle latte, which she let me sample. Delicious! We'll definitely be back at our next visit to Nashville.


I'm sure you've heard of this store from another blog already, but if you haven't, it's a denim company that makes all of their jeans in the USA (mostly regionally) and will custom tailor them to fit you in-store. The day I went in I tried on the high-waisted jeans but they were out of my actual size, so I'll have to try again when we go back in December for Christmas. But let me just say, they were a true high waist!  You don't see jeans like that very often. The dark wash that I tried on was beautiful.  Imogene + Willie also has home goods in the store, and they are a showroom for Warby Parker eyeglasses (and sunglasses). I tried on a few pairs that caught my eye, and since Warby Parker will send you five pair to try on for a week, I think I'll be testing them out at home soon. And only $95 for prescription glasses! Plus they give one pair of glasses away for every pair sold.  
Warby Parker "Crane" eyeglasses in Mallard Green shade
One last funny thing about our visit to Imogene + Willie:  the sales associate that helped me with the jeans was named Peggy Sue.  Can you believe that?


Located down the block from Fork's, I can easily see why this is my relatives' favorite lunch place. Burger Up sources all of their ingredients from local farms for a seasonal menu that beats any other burger place I've ever been. There are large communal tables inside and small tables on the patio, where we sat.  Since this was our third time there, we knew we needed to get the cheese plate. Mom and I shared the patty melt, but I've had their regular burger too and it's great. They also have a lot of salads and vegetarian options. I wish there were more places like this where I live in Dallas that cared about environmental sustainability.  

We also spent some time in downtown Franklin, about halfway between Nashville and my aunt's farm in Springhill. It's a really quaint city with lots of boutiques and antique stores and, most importantly, a new Anthropologie!

A couple bonus Nashville-related links:
-Local painter and blogger Rebekka Mann Seale just opened a new online yarn shop, Camellia Fiber Company.  She dyes all the yarns by hand with natural dyes! I have my eye on the Sea Glass and Spanish Moss yarns.
-The Gulch is the next up-and-coming neighborhood, according to my aunt and uncle. We had lunch there at the Whiskey Kitchen before they dropped Mom and me off at the airport.  

Do y'all have any favorite Nashville spots?  I'd love to hear about them.