When in Nashville...

One of my lovely friends Julia turned 35 this year-and wanted to do it up with a big celebration. Y'all know I always love to celebrate the people in my life, so of course I was on board for this! She decided on a girls' trip to Nashville, a place I had never been but have been hearing more and more about in recent years (especially as a bachelorette party destination, but what can you do). I had to do a slightly abbreviated trip, but it was 100% worth it!

I took an Uber directly from the airport to meet the ladies for brunch at Americano. Thank goodness I managed to schedule my flight in time for this all-important meal! I'll do a separate post, of course, on all the food I ate while in Nashville, ha.

We then made our way to Nashville Boot Co., where we all tried on a few pairs and I had to remind myself that it was unlikely I would wear them regularly.

Next up: the Bluebird Cafe. It's been famous for a long time as a small venue with some big-name performers (they stop in on occasion), but the TV show Nashville definitely played a part in upping the long lines. We got there plenty early to ensure we'd get in-a long wait, but worth it in the end. As someone who is not a fan of country music in general, I actually loved it. Not every piece was to my liking, but enough were (those that were more in the folk-bluegrass-country style) that I really enjoyed the music overall.

We went back to our home base to get ready for a night out on the town-I unfortunately had definitely not planned for it in my packing, but the ladies were able to help me out with the loan of a dress and doing my hair for me. We did the touristy thing and went to the Coyote Ugly bar-it is, shall we say, an experience-before wandering around in search of live music. I headed back a little early, as I was wiped out from my early morning flight.

The next morning I got up fairly early and went for a run around Nashville-it's such a great way to see a city, especially on such a beautiful Sunday morning. The view from the pedestrian bridge is just gorgeous.

We then cleared out of our lodging, wandered around the neighborhood a bit, and headed to lunch. Throughout the day people began to head home, whether it was driving or to the airport.

Julia, Cheryl, and I were all leaving on Monday-Cheryl and myself at an ungodly early hour and Julia after a relaxing morning-so we spent the night at Julia's hotel pick, the Opryland Hotel. It was astounding and we spent a good amount of time Sunday evening walking around the hotel itself. We were all pretty exhausted from the weekend (and I had to go to work the next day straight from the airport) so we had an early night.

What a weekend-thank you, Julia, for including me, and happy (far belated) birthday!

xoxoxo
Emma

Maybe you can go home again... (Part 2)

The last of my summer vacation in Michigan...

After spending the first part of my week in Ann Arbor and Detroit, I had to head up to Michigania-the Michigan alumni family camp. I grew up going there with my family, as my dad was a faculty speaker for a number of years, and then got to teach horseback riding (and take out lots of trail rides) for three summers and change. I don't know many of the program staff anymore, but two of my closest friends are a part of the administrative team, so I had to get up there to visit them! Plus, camp had a very special family there this year-BJ, who was on staff when I was a kid, came back with her family to direct the riding program this summer.

Honestly, most of my time up there was spent simply relaxing. Obviously my friends had to work a fair amount of the time, so I spent some time just reading and walking around. It had been quite a while since I had no responsibilities and I didn't quite know what to do with myself! It was pretty chilly, so I didn't go in the water-at all-but it was still a wonderful week!

Julia and I got to belatedly celebrate her birthday with a lovely afternoon tea at the Inn at Bay Harbor-and to go to the fair! We didn't do much there, but it's always fun to experience the feel of a classic, small town, county fair.

I also briefly went out with James and the entire crew who was up for Jack & Kelly's wedding the next day-there's a new brewery, Beards, in Petoskey that was pretty good! I was almost persuaded to stay an extra day, but I knew I had to get back to the East Coast.

I also did manage to get in a fair amount of riding. Leslie and Michael (and her family) happened to be camping the same week I was visiting, so we got to do some of this riding together, which was just like old times! She was the director at riding my first summer, which was truly life-changing. She first paired me with Layla, the horse I worked with for the entire time I was at camp. Layla started out bucking when you asked her to canter, and now they can put kids on her! It's pretty awesome to see how she's continued to improve...proud "mama" over here, ha!

It's hard to believe that this was already several months ago...I'm happy to be where I am but reliving this definitely made me miss my home state! Hopefully I'll get to go back in the spring...until then it's all family-related travel with the holidays coming up-and we've all abandoned the Mitten State ;) 

xoxoxo

Emma

Maybe you can go home again... (Part 1)

Get ready for an epically long post... ;)
This summer, I took advantage of our shutdown time at work to take a full week off and drive back to Michigan. Yes, a little insane (especially with my insistence on making the drive each way in one day), but worth it to have the mobility once I made it there. It was so wonderful to get to catch up with friends from so many stages of my life, from childhood to my last job before leaving for Boston.
I drove into the Metro Detroit area first (after a slight disagreement with Pennsylvania, where road construction added a couple hours onto my drive...sigh) to stay with Shelley, one of my (old) work besties. She was dog/housesitting, so as a bonus I got to play with an adorable pup!

On Sunday, we participated in a fundraiser event put on by her barre studio, Barre Code Metro Detroit, at Atwater Brewery. Nothing better than barre + beer + raising money for an animal shelter! Naturally we followed this up with brunch-at Vinsetta Garage, a restaurant I had actually been wanting to try back when I did a show with Birmingham Village Players. It was worth the wait!

On Monday morning I drove into Ann Arbor to spend some time just wandering around my hometown (and shopping for Alvan's birthday present!) and spend time with friends who live there. I hit up Roo's Roast for breakfast-my favorite avocado toast in Michigan and amazing coffee-then wandered around all my favorite stores downtown. Naturally I went to the M Den (where I limited myself to just one sweatshirt!), but also made it into Shinola, Cherry Republic, Rock Paper Scissors, and Literati (where I did not manage to limit myself to just one book...oops). I need to do some more research into Boston bookstores, as I'm sure there are wonderful ones...but I just miss Literati so!

obsessed with the food & drink section here!

I then met Elizabeth, a friend from the Ann Arbor theatre scene (particularly Brass Tacks Ensemble) for lunch at Sava's and a stroll through the Arboretum. It was a hot and humid day, but there was no way I was passing on the Arb-I love it not only for the natural beauty but also memories it holds from my childhood all the way through Shakespeare comedy performances with the Residential College Players (you never forget it when you have to spring through the woods on a hot summer night in Elizabethan dress to beat the audience!).

I had to get some ice cream at Blank Slate Creamery, of course-they have the best flavors and I love that it is all made fresh from quality ingredients! I then decided to take full advantage of happy hour (as it doesn't exist in Boston-which just drives me crazy) at the Raven's Club. I always love trying out their seasonal infused vodkas!

That evening I got see a number of people-first dinner with Alex (we became friends in middle school when I did my first play with Ann Arbor Civic Theatre) at Jolly Pumpkin, then sangria with Megan (friends since I volunteered to be her buddy when she transferred schools in 6th grade) at Aventura, then some of my trivia crew-Joe, Steve A, and PJ-where Megan and I helped them secure first place in the final round.

Tuesday was pretty chill, as it was planned entirely around lunch and dinner plans. I did make sure to go by Zingerman's for breakfast-and a couple drinks to take home-where I wondered why I couldn't just have leisurely mornings with pain au chocolat and café au lait all the time.

Megan and I had made reservations at the Lunch Room's new restaurant, the Detroit Street Filling Station, as it was their soft open-perfect timing, right? The food was fantastic and I cannot wait to go back (someday) now that they have a full menu-and to hit up the Diner & Canteen for some vegan ice cream treats!

Megan refused to take a photo with me...so I made her dog, Sophie, take one instead!

Tuesday evening I got to have a reunion of sorts with my old coworkers, my warriors of love. Binh hosted us all and it was truly fantastic to get to catch up with everybody. I have become close with some of my coworkers here, but there was something magical about our relationships there.

Stay tuned for part 2...I promise it is waaaay shorter!

xoxoxo
Emma

Eating Elsewhere: Madison

I had a quick trip to Madison to celebrate with my friend Caroline for her wedding shower and bachelorette-but still managed to fit in an impressive amount of food! Not quite as crazy as when Dad and I went to Denver, but still...

Her shower wasn't until the afternoon on Saturday, and I was staying with my good friends Erica and Erik, so the three of us decided to have some fun before. In the morning, Erica told me she knew the best doughnut place in Madison, so of course we had to go there. She wasn't wrong! Dough Baby Bakery is sooo delicious and I need to go back to try more flavors. Perhaps when I'm there for the wedding? We had the blueberry, mint lemonade, and chocolate almond toffee flavors-I think the blueberry was the winner for both of us. It was such a clear and strong flavor, and a little different from what is usually available.

Of course we stopped by Colectivo Coffee as well-one of my fave coffee places in Madison.

For lunch we joined up with Erik and went to a delicious restaurant, Alchemy, that I had actually been to during Lucas' graduation weekend. The stuffed grilled cheese sandwich and seasonal salad were killer.

Caroline's bachelorette began at her and Patrick (her fiancee)'s favorite cocktail bar, Graft-which also has fantastic food. It's heavy on the seafood and meat, so I could only enjoy some of it, but what I had was great. The jasmine rice salad in particular was delicious-enjoyed by vegetarians and meat eaters alike! Everyone else seemed to especially enjoy the scallops as well, and the brussels sprouts were great.

The next day I went to brunch with Erica-the rest of the bachelorette party (Caroline included) seemed in no shape to enjoy delicious food, ha.

We walked over to Heritage Tavern, yet another great restaurant in the Capitol area. I can never turn down a breakfast sandwich, and this one was particularly well done. I like to assess brunch restaurants on their potatoes and Heritage didn't disappoint-they essentially made potato pancakes.

One is not allowed to go to Madison and not consume cheese curds at least once-Erica, Erik, and I decided to hit up the classic Old-Fashioned in the afternoon for said treat and a drink before I went to the airport.

Now, to plan out where I'll eat this weekend when I return...any hot tips?

xoxoxo
Emma