I find it both ironic and hilarious that after arriving at my sister’s house in a Nashville suburb, we loaded into a vehicle and traveled in the opposite direction of Music City. She knows us … knows traffic and crowds give my mom hives, knows we love to travel off the beaten path, so she took us to Nolensville, a tiny little burb with antique stores, a cute little diner and the Nolensville Feed Mill. They had homemade breads, cinnamon rolls, ‘the world’s best chicken salad’ and of all things, pink pig-shaped gummies. I got some for the kids.

It’s a cool, charming kind of place. A place you’d like to pull up a chair and shoot the breeze for awhile. The kind of place you’d like to return to on Saturday mornings for breakfast. Unfortunately we’re headed to The Pearls II Event, so we’ll miss breaking our fast in Nolensville.

Hey, fancy meeting the neighbors, here! Remember? I told you we were on the crazy train to Nashville! We accosted Nolensville’s antique shops next.

Doesn’t this look like it’s brimming with possibilities? My sister found a cute necklace inside. I found a treasure at the next store …

I think it’s an industrial trash can of some kind. Regardless, I fell in love with it. I’m going to put it in the corner of the family room to store the cue sticks that everyone usually leans in the corner. I’m constantly wiping pink chalk off the wall.

We had lunch at Martin’s and I thoroughly enjoyed a Beef Brisket Redneck Taco. Smoked brisket, cole slaw and a yummy, slightly spicy BBQ sauce on a peppercorn pancake. It was delish!

It’s an awesome little place with loads of atmosphere and friendly service. They were even smoking some meat inside a pit in the restaurant. We left wearing the perfume of a smoker, literally. And it smelled delicious.

From there we headed into downtown Nashville and took in some familiar scenes. I didn’t get many photos, but I did manage to capture CMT headquarters. Cuz you know, it’s Nashville, and why not?

She also took us up into the hills to see this. It’s the home of John Rich of Big & Rich fame. I have to say if I had millions to spend on a house overlooking Music City, I would make it more attractive than this …

However, who am I? No one. And I suppose if John Rich wants to build a gigantic monstrosity that looks like a coffee maker, he has the freedom to do so. *Shudder*

The weather was absolutely beautiful in Nashville, and today looks to be a repeat of sunny skies and near-70s weather. The trees are in bloom, too, which makes the reports from family in Ohio seem so miserable. (It’s cold and gloomy, there.)

Truth be told, another day here and I’ll definitely be ready to cuddle up at home away from crowds of people, busy crazy traffic and concrete. And now I need to go make some coffee … while humming, “Save a horse, ride a cowboy.”