Showing posts with label
Nashville
Having pets and treating them like family is fairly common
all across America and yet, our shelters are at capacity year round; especially
no-kill shelters, which is where we adopted both our indoor cats. We love and adore
our fur babies and we couldn’t imagine our lives without them. While we can’t
adopt another animal at this time, we are going to help on national shelter pet
day, which is on Sunday April 30th this year. Here are some ways to help in your community.
We live south of the newest “IT” city, Nashville Tennessee.
Our local news station has a series on the boom in growth Nashville is having
and one of the most interesting area of growth to me is the plethora of new
places to eat. From fine dining to food trucks; Nashville is making a name for itself
as a foodie city.
It's the last Wordless Wednesday post of 2016. I hope you are treasuring family time today right on through to the new year!
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| Treasuring family time |
We are just nine days away from the second most celebrated
holiday of the year in the United States! Whether you go all out with your
decorations, host an epic block party, or are known for your crazy witch cackle, Halloween spending across the country is expected to exceed 8 billion
dollars!
That’s a whole lot of decorating and candy buying for our trick or
treaters. If you plan on heading out with your family for a night of fun, check
out this handy list of the top 20 cities for the best candy haul courtesy of my
friends at Zillow. Did your city make the list this year?
There
were some major shifts in the top ten city ranking from last year’s trick or
treat map folks. Philadelphia came on strong and took the number one spot from
San Francisco! My beloved bay area did well in overall standing with San Jose
keeping its number two spot of the list and San Francisco coming in a
respectable third. Click here to see my map share from last year.
As you can see from this infographic, Zillow comes up with
their lists by using four equally weighted variables: median home value,
housing density, population age and crime.
The Top 20 Cities for
trick or treating 2016 are:
I’m proud to see that Nashville
moved up one spot in the rankings to 19th! If you are in the greater
metro Nashville area, here are the top five neighborhoods to go trick or
treating in for the best candy haul, walkability and safety.
- Green Hills
- Tulip Grove
- Cherokee Park
- Sylvan Heights
- Historic Old Hickory Village
I love that Zillow compiles this yearly list and hope they
make this an annual Halloween tradition! I invite you to stop by Zillow today
to read their trick or treat post for even more neighborhood rankings, and to learn more about their mission to help
you find your way home by helping you find your perfect home in the perfect
neighborhood.
From my family to yours, we wish you a happy and safe
Halloween!
Please share in comments: Did your city make either list?
Are you surprised to see a certain city or region listed?
We are in the midst of a
true spring fever here at our house. All the flowers have buds, the leaves on
our trees are that lovely new leaf green color and the sun is shining so
brightly today that I’ve had to take two breaks just to step outside and soak
it in. Living just south of Nashville, TN. has it’s perks and lots of green
space is one of them, that’s why my family and I will be helping locally on
Earth Day this year by attending the Nashville Earth Day event held at
Centennial Park.
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| Source |
This is the sunken garden at Centennial Park with the Parthenon in the background. We love bringing our daughters to this park and have a lot of fun family memories here. It's the perfect place to hold our local Earth day event!
I’m
thankful for the ability to walk outside and enjoy fresh air. To get lost in bird
watching because our front yard is teaming with birds in our mature Maple and
Pin Oak trees. We’ve planted trees in past years to celebrate Earth Day because they are so important to our planet!
Sadly, there are some areas of Nashville that don’t have enough green space due
to our steady growth. Neighborhoods seem to pop up overnight and we are losing
one of our best and most natural resources- trees.
That’s why I was excited to learn about a Music City
initiative to preserve our trees called If Trees Could Sing. This cause has the
backing of the country music industry with Reba McEntire and Amy Grant leading
the way.
I’ll be looking for this booth when we’re at Centennial Park
on Saturday the 23rd celebrating earth day, Nashville style!
Fun Ways we help
while attending our local Earth Day Event:
- We listen to local bands
- We shop local businesses and farmers
- We listen to and participate in educational booths so we can become better stewards of our resources
- We recycle all containers used in their proper containers
- We donate to local foundations
- We smile and applaud and laugh and talk to strangers and pet puppies and try samples which adds to Nashville’s friendly vibe
It’s
a fun filled day for the whole family, including dogs so if you live locally,
come on out and join us! And yes, attending really is helping because without attendees sponsorship to parks and rec centers would go away! You can learn more about Centennial Park and the Earth
Day Event HERE.
If you love being outdoors like we do, whether that's digging in your flowerbeds like me, planting a garden full of veggies, or just bird watching, then you are ready to celebrate earth day locally! If you’d like to learn more about Earth Day events in your
community, just head on over to EarthDay.org and look under events. You’ll find
a wealth of information and ways to plug in and help our earth stay green!
Please share in comments: Do you celebrate earth day and if
yes, how?
When does a simple walk to your mailbox turn into a nature trip? When the day was as gorgeous as yesterday was here! Our row of ornamental Pear trees called to me. I must be part bee!
Please share in comments: What's blooming in your yard?
Please share in comments: What's blooming in your yard?
Tonight is the first hard freeze of the season here in the Nashville, TN. area and nothing can make me ready for the holidays quicker than a chill in the air! That's why I'm happy to team up some wonderful local bloggers to share this giveaway with you!
Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
With black Friday deals just around the corner, it's the perfect time to start your shopping lists now and I can't think of a better mall to go to than Opry Mills!
Ready to win $50 to Opry Mills Mall in Nashville, TN?
Entering is easy using the Rafflecopter form below. No purchase necessary to enter. Must be 18+ years to enter. Once you've entered to win let me know which store at Opry Mills is your favorite by leaving me a comment!
Terms:
Transportation is not provided to the Nashville, Tn mall. You must live within driving distance and can get yourself to the mall. Gift card will be mailed to winner.
Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
With two weeks to go until Halloween
arrives, Americans coast to coast are gearing up for this fun filled night in a
big way. At our house, we still need to carve our pumpkins and find a few more
accessories for our costumes, but we will be ready to celebrate in style! Yes,
we do have to drive to celebrate now that we live in a rural area, but there is
fun to be found in neighborhoods all around us. As a matter of fact, Nashville, TN.
made the list for top 20 cities for trick-or-treaters compiled by Zillow.
This map shows the top 10 cities. Zillow says they picked
areas with the greatest share of their residents are under 15 and the houses
are closest together. That would help explain why San Francisco tops their list
for the 5th year in a row!
Another way these cities made the cut was by giving out the
most candy to all those cute goblins! Speaking of candy, do you know that the
average kids gets at least 50 pieces of candy on Halloween? Some kids have
reported getting more than 100 pieces! I know we gave out and received a huge
amount of candy each year we lived in suburbia, maybe that helped Nashville,
TN. make the top 20 list!
How did your city do? Are there any surprises on the list? I
was delighted to see Milwaukee on the list. Can you imagine all those brave
parents and kids bundling up against the cold to go trick-or-treating? Way to
go! Please stop by Zillow to read all the fun facts on how they came up with
their top 20 list and see the in depth neighborhood breakdowns.
From our home to yours, we wish you a happy, safe, and fun
Halloween!
I drive my girls down our long gravel drive each school morning to meet their buses around 6:12 am. Lately the morning sky has been so beautiful! We can see the moon, Venus, Jupiter and several stars. Country living has its perks.
Please share in comments: Are you up to enjoy your morning sky? Have you taken pictures? If you have shared them on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest, share your link so I can see your morning view by following or tagging me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest or leaving a comment here with your profile.
Fall is rapidly approaching folks and I for one am happy to
see that one of my favorite times of year officially starts in 11 days. Fall is a fun season, full of great outdoor
events and festivals.
You can find all sorts of festivals to attend- everything
from sports and family fun to beer and wine festivals, just head to Google and
type in your zip code and festivals. We
were looking for a family event, when I discovered a unique festival coming
to Nashville, TN. in October; a book
festival. Yes! A book festival!
We are a family of avid readers, so how I didn’t know about
this festival, which has been held in Nashville since 1989 is beyond me. Better late than never as the saying goes! I
knew I had to extend a warm, southern style invitation to all of you to come
visit us in Nashville and check out this festival!
About the Southern
Festival of Books: A Celebration of the written word:
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| Source |
Humanities Tennessee's Southern Festival of
Books was first held in Nashville on the second
full weekend in October in 1989, and has been held annually on the same weekend
since then. It is one of the first book festivals of its kind, a
true celebration of the written word, and has
inspired hundreds of similar book festivals throughout the nation and
beyond.
The festival
is free and open to the public. No advance registration or tickets are
required. All seating is on a first-come basis.
The
dates and times for 2014 Southern Festival of Books are:
Saturday, October 11, 2014: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 12, 2014: 12:00 noon - 5:00 p.m.
This
festival isn’t just for adults; there are lots of fun activities for the kids! They
will have an opportunity to meet renowned children’s and young adult authors,
see favorite book characters, and listen to musicians and storytellers too.
To learn more about the events for children and young adults, including a list of attending authors, go here.
Fall is a
wonderful time to visit Nashville. The heat and humidity of summer are a
quickly fading memory and Nashville welcomes you with classic southern charm
and hospitality. Plus, by this time of October, you’ll get to see all the
pretty fall leaves.
Ready to come to this Festival? You’ll want to
check out their handy Plan Your Visit page,
which gives you full directions, hotel accommodations suggestions and more.
Whether you
can make it to Nashville or not, I want to wish you and yours a happy, fun fall
season. Head on over to Google and find out what is happening in your
neighborhood and get out there and have fun!
Please share
in comments: Is there a fall fair, festival or event you can’t wait to attend
this year?
Recently my
family decided to be tourists in Nashville again. While we live close to Music
City, it had been a while since we’d been downtown with our daughters.
If you have
never visited Nashville, let me be the first to invite you to put us on your
travel list.
Nashville is
a pretty city, seamlessly blending the old and new. From their music scene to
the beautiful Architectural wonders of our older buildings, Nashville takes
pride in its past, while still welcoming new looks and sounds.
Nashville is
a friendly city, full of life, even on a Thursday afternoon when my husband and
I decided to take our girls to see Printers Alley. We figured they were old
enough to see some of the more adult business venues from the outside, and since
it was late afternoon, we felt no adult activities would be going on.
I was
excited to see this part of Nashville on foot, having only driven past Printers Alley on previous visits. Up 3rd Ave. we walked. Laughing and
talking and people watching, like true tourists do, so by the time we made it
to Printers Alley we were a little hot and hoping it was worth the walk.
It was.
This is a
historical landmark. You can feel it as you walk down this little strip of
pavement, sandwiched in between old buildings full of history. The iron work,
the old doors and windows, the bricks all melded and whispered of times gone by.
Some of
Country Music royalty like Johnny Cash, Charlie Pride and Willie Nelson have
walked this Alley and played to the patrons who have kept these businesses
alive all these years.
While we
have never frequented the lounges, bars and other businesses in the Alley, we
found it all rather charming and I decided right then to root for saving this
part of Nashville history.
Save Printers Alley is a grassroots movement started when a proposal for a new hotel
was implemented. While growth is good, I do agree with others who want to
preserve the history of Nashville.
I invite you
to learn more by visiting The Save Printers Alley website and following them on
Facebook and even order a Save Printers Alley tee-shirt to show your support.
We loved being tourists in our local big city and hope to return again soon. I'll be sure to share more each time we visit a part of Nashville, so stay tuned.
Please share
in comments: Is there a historical landmark in your hometown in jeopardy due to
growth?
It’s a rainy morning here in middle Tennessee, but I for one
don’t mind the rain. April showers do bring May flowers and there’s just something
so fresh and serene about an April morning after a little rain.
I’m sitting at my desk, looking out my the window and I
can see our trees filled with birds and squirrels, the edge of our pond with
our resident musk rat and all the green, green grass and I am thankful for this
piece of land we call our home.
Here's a sunny day picture from my front walk.
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| Our Tennessee Home. |
In honor of Earth day we decided to plant peach trees this
year. It was a good family day, with all of us pitching in to pick the right
trees.
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| Our Elberta Peach Tree. |
Marking off the area we wanted to plant them and assisting my husband in whatever way we could while he dug the holes.
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| My Husband makes digging holes look easy. |
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| Our Elberta Semi-Dwarf Peach tree is doing better than the regular one. |
We also attended Nashville’s Earth Day Festival this past
Saturday. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect weather day and the
festival was very well attended. We walked around all the vendors gathering
information on recycling, protecting our parks and streams and talked with
local gardeners at the Farmers’ market. There was good music and food and lots of
happy families and dogs. If you are looking for a wholesome, family fun day that is budget friendly, attend an Earth Day Event this weekend.
On the 26th, we are going to take the girls to
our local library where they are having an Earth Day Celebration as well. We
may even bring home a new Dogwood tree to plant since they are free.
Celebrating Earth Day is as simple as getting outside
and being a part of nature. Go for a walk, plant a tree or flowers, visit a
local park or farmer’s market, start recycling, pick up trash, and get involved
in your community by volunteering to beautify a green space, school or help out
at your church. Check your local newspaper or your cities website to find out
about Earth Day events in your area. Or go to the Earth Day Network for valuable resources.
Please share with me in comments: Do you celebrate Earth
Day? What will you be doing to celebrate this year?
This is a special post just for my Southern area readers- I am partnering with Ringling
Bros. to help get two local families to the Greatest Show on Earth next week in Nashville, TN.!
Disclosure: Thanks to Ringling Bros. my family and I will be attending the circus free of charge. Ringling is also generously hosting the giveaway below so that other Nashville area families can enjoy the circus. No monetary compensation was received.
I can’t think of a more enjoyable time than sharing a day full of laughs and excitement with my family at the circus- but not just any circus, we’re talking about The Greatest show on earth; full of acrobats, clowns and of course the animals!
We can’t decide what we are most excited to see, especially after watching this behind the scenes video of Built to Amaze!
About Built to Amaze:
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| Courtesy: Ringling.com |
“Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey ® Presents Built To Amaze!℠ , the 143rd edition of the Greatest Show On Earth. Surprise and wonder delights audiences with over the top feats of strength, agility and courage. As the momentum builds so does the anticipation, anything can happen when Ringling Bros. Presents Built To Amaze! Circus performers from across the globe create the perfect blend of athleticism and bravery, where power meets fearlessness and amazement has no bounds. Magnificent elephants, ferocious tigers, astonishing acrobats and awe-inspiring aerialists are engineered into one spectacular performance!”
I smile and get excited just reading that- because there really is something magical about going to the circus and watching the delight on my children’s faces. Actually, I bet we will be surrounded by smiles from young and old alike. Going to this family fun event just brings out the fun, happy kid in all of us.
Check out this behind the scenes look at Built to Amaze animal trainers Alex & Irina!
You can learn more about the circus at Ringling.com where you find a cool Fun Zone with games and quizzes sure to please your kids. And be sure to check out their special offers that include Baby’s First Circus and more.
The Giveaway:
2 lucky readers will win a family 4 pack of tickets to the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN. On Jan. 24- 26.
Ringling Bros. set aside ticket vouchers for the winners at Will Call. Winners will need to redeem them for actual tickets, which allow you to choose the date and time for their preferred show.
Please note: Winners MUST respond to my winner announcement email with contact information within 48 hours to guarantee their tickets. Otherwise another winner will be chosen.
Entering is easy using the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway open to U.S. residents 18+. No purchase necessary to win. My WAHM Plan not responsible for prize fulfillment. See full terms and conditions on Rafflecopter form.
Good luck!
Disclosure: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Do you remember being a kid and hearing the commercials for the famous Harlem Globetrotters? The very first note of their theme song would have us glued to the T.V. to see Curly and Meadowlark Lemon. Even though our parents knew how much we wanted to go see them, it never worked out.
Fast forward a few decades and now I am the parent hearing that theme song again, but this time I know we are going. That is, if the Tornado warning, flash flood watch and flooding Nashville streets didn’t keep us from attending.
Yep, 2 Saturdays’ ago our weather forecast said it wasn’t a good day to be out and about. But did that stop us or thousands of others from trying to get to downtown Nashville? No, no it did not.
That’s us at our seats pre-game. A little wet: (okay, a lot wet) but still in good spirits.
You rock!
We had to deal with adverse weather conditions to put it mildly and yet I saw more random acts of kindness and more open friendliness than I normally do at our local supermarket.
Here is the trophy the teams are playing for.
And for the first time ever, fans got to have a say in the rules! That was one of the highlights of the game for us.
The pre-game show was a lot of fun, but we were all were excited to see the game start.
It didn’t
take long for Big Easy and the other Globetrotters to start their antics. One
of their favorites was arguing with the Ref.
Somehow
through all the game stops and sometimes campy fun, The Harlem Globetrotters
won the game and took home the trophy.
Thinking
back on our day, I think all in attendance are winners because isn’t laughter,
fun, family and community things that make life worth living?
We won’t
soon forget our special day of fun and we highly recommend this activity should
you find yourself drawn to the T.V. screen by the familiar whistling theme song;
Sweet Georgia Brown.
Disclosure:
I received 2 tickets courtesy of USFG to facilitate this review. All opinions
are my own.
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