Starstruck in Nashville

We're finally home from our fantastic trip to Nashville! We started the weekend with an amazing Snoop Dogg concert, to which I wore (drumroll......) jeans, a black tank, metallic heels and gold chandelier earrings.  I also carried a metallic clutch with a wrist strap so I could get my groove on and ya'll know I did! 

Since the concert was on campus at Vanderbilt, most of the people in attendance were college kids which made for great people watching. Apparently, very short, tight mini dresses are all the rage, as are ankle boots and skinny jeans. Did I mention how THIN the kids are these days? I didn't see a single girl in the place that looked like she had fallen victim to the freshman fifteen. I wondered whether the current generation was truly more health conscious or whether their size was a reflection of society's obsession with weight. Of course it could be that I'm just getting old, which is a good possibility. Here's some more highlights from the trip.

• I tried one of these delicious Southern treats for the first time.  They're made in Nashville!
• Discovered some new music by this band who opened for the DoggFather.  The college kids were going wild for them and I must admit, the lead singer had some amazing energy!
• Did some shopping here which is one of my favorite spots in Nashville.  It's a family owned local business and they're in the process of improving their website to offer more online shopping.
• Had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with this talented and adorable food blogger.

Of course all this was enough to send me home a happy girl but then I found out that our friends, who kindly hosted us, live within a stone's throw of Dolly Parton's Tennessee home.  Umm, don't you know I almost ran out the door that moment to try to catch a glimpse of her?!?!  For those of you who don't know, I am a huge, huge Dolly fan.  There aren't many stars who I'm "struck" by but she's one of them.  I've always been intrigued by her but after reading  this , I became a crazed Dolly fan.  I love her rags to riches story, her generosity and her positive perspective on life and fame.  So, long story short, and in true southern fashion, I went to Nashville to see Snoop Dogg and ending up stalking Dolly Parton.  I got a few shots of her home I want to share with ya'll but not in a creepy kind of way, I promise.  (wink, wink)

That's her house on top of the hill hidden behind the trees.  I love that she has an American flag flying proud out front.  I also love that she has a chain link fence around her entire property!  It cracked me up because you know she doesn't give two cents about what people think of her.

 

She also has a small chapel on the property.  This is the closer up photo but you can also see it in the far right hand side of the first picture.

And of course, she's got her fall decor on the gates out front.  Isn't that sweet?

The weekend was great fun and brought back a lot of memories of my younger years when my husband and I were dating.  After the Snoop Dogg concert, I commented to my husband that I felt like we had just renewed our wedding vows.  Romantic, right? Yes, we did get to hear (and dance to) the song we meet to back in 1994!  To top off a wonderful weekend, we enjoyed the gorgeous colors of fall on the ride home.

Thanks for sharing in my adventure and I hope you have a wonderful week!

What to wear to a Snoop Dogg Concert

It's Wednesday.  I'm supposed to go to the Snoop Dogg concert in two days.  Can you say fashion crisis? 

Worried? Who me?  Of course not, silly!  He's performing here in Nashville, home of country and western music and the Vanderbilt Commodores, my husband's alma mater.  Now if we were gonna see Snoop perform in Detroit or something, now THAT would be scary.  I'd have to pack heat and that just isn't a good fashion statement for me personally.

You're probably wondering what kinda business a thirty-something, stay-at-home mom has going to a Snoop Dogg concert.  Well, you see, I'm actually a HUGE fan....shhh, don't tell anyone.  My husband and I met at a house party the summer of '94 while dancing to one of Snoop's songs that is so degrading to women, it would make Rosie O'Donnell's head spin.  That was an awesome summer and everyone (even us country kids up in North Georgia) was listening to Snoop Dogg's album Doggystyle which had just been released.  My husband and I probably would have danced to Snoop Dogg at our wedding but that would've probably been inappropriate, right?

Of course when my husband asked me several weeks ago if I would like to attend Snoop's show in Nashville, I excitedly replied yes like a little school girl who had just been asked to the prom.  However, the last few weeks, I've been asking myself if it's really appropriate for me to go to a Snoop Dogg concert.  Hello!!!!  I have two kids...I'm a mom..I'm in my thirties.  After long, thoughtful consideration, I've decided that yes, I will go to the concert.  I mean Snoop and I practically grew up together!  When his career took off, we were both in our late teens and living life to it's fullest.  Actually, the more I thought about it, Snoop and I have a lot in common.  Here's the list.

1. We both like dogs.  That was easy.
2. We both like Gin.  Easy again!
3. We both have a "molasses-like" drawl.
4. We both married our high school sweethearts.
5. We're both proud parents. 
6. We both like the Pittsburgh Steelers.
7. We both like to wear lots of bling.
8. We both like parties.
9. We both used to sell drugs.  (Mine were the boring and legal kind, his were the fun and illegal kind.)
10. We both quit selling drugs to spend more time with our families.

See, we're pretty much the same person except I'm east coast and he's west coast.  I'm confident that if we lived closer, we'd probably hang  out on the weekends.  Maybe a few backyard barbecue's, play dates with the kids, stuff like that.  So anyway, now that we have all of that out of the way, can anyone help me with my fashion crisis?     

Johnny Cash

Photo Credit: JamsBio

Every household with children has it's witching hour.  Ours happens to be at 5:00 pm when I'm starting dinner and the kids are getting restless and hungry.  About a year ago, I started playing Johnny Cash at about a quarter of five. We call it "The Johnny Cash Dance Hour" where we dance carelessly around the kitchen pretending to ride horses and other silly things like that.  My son also refers to it as "Cowboy Music."  I'm convinced absolutely nothing can go wrong when Johnny Cash is singing in the background.  Nothing.

Here's to the Man in Black and my sanity...