I’m slowly becoming a traveler as I get older. By now, I have friends and family who have moved to new cities, and my still-feels-like-new income definitely helps me be able to visit them more often. I haven’t been going on vacations by myself for very long, but I've come to love the freedom of it. I’ve flown up to Baltimore, out to California, and plenty of other cities with family and friends. But a road trip by myself was something I had yet to do. I started feeling an itch to get out of Atlanta for a weekend, and the first place that came to mind was Nashville, Tennessee.

Ever since I spent New Year’s Eve there for my first Bassnectar show, I’ve been absolutely hooked. My first impression was that the city has such a unique energy level and I just kept wanting to be a part of it. I’ve gone back a few times since then, but this time was different.

After a yummy Thanksgiving leftovers lunch with my mom, I grabbed some coffee and started off. Nashville isn’t too long of a drive, but it was enough to jam out to a lot of Bassnectar and check off another classic rock album from my 101 in 1001 list. You’ll definitely be hearing all my thoughts on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon sometime soon! 

We caught dinner at a yummy local burger place called Burger Republic. Lauren was raving about their Tennessee Burger, so duh I was sold on going. It was everything I could have wanted from a burger; medium rare, American cheese, chewy bacon, and dripping in some sort of heavenly bourbon glaze. And since I was feeling indulgent, I ordered one of their famous alcoholic milkshakes, too. I went with the festive sounding Apple Pie Moonshine Milkshake, which was the perfect pregame drink before our night really began. 

Our next stop was Bridgestone Arena for a Predators game. While I'm no stranger to Bridgestone, I had never been to a hockey game there before. I'm a huge sports fan (Sox and Pats!), but I never cared about hockey. It wasn't even like basketball where I knew I didn't like it, I just never gave it a try. I went to a college game not too long ago, and I was dying to get in on the full NHL experience. It definitely exceeded all of my expectations. The crowd, the ice, the action. It was all too perfect, and Lauren was a great commentator for my first game. I'm also a big fan of how your beer will stay cold the whole time, since the stadium has to be ice-friendly. Overall, it was one hell of a time, and I can't wait for my next one.

The next morning I woke up bright and early to make my way down to Alabama to visit with my aunt for the afternoon. Two days is never long enough to spend in Nashville, but it just gives me another reason to come back soon!  It's never easy to leave such a great city behind, but I loved getting a chance to drive through Birmingham and check out the new venue where Bassnectar will be hosting his New Year's Eve concert this year. I never stay in one place for too long, do I?

I make it a point to check out new and unique places when I'm visiting a different city, and I knew my trip to Nashville would be no exception. My friend Sarah’s brother Eric recommended I check out this quirky little coffee shop called the Frothy Monkey on my afternoon adventure. The name alone piqued my curiosity, so I decided I’d spend a few hours by myself, soaking in the city and its people. It’s something not everyone understands, but I love going off by myself and seeing what kind of things I might run into. I even parked a little further away on purpose so I could walk a few blocks to find the place. Maybe that’s out of habit from my trip to New York, but I just love the feeling of walking around a city. It’s the only way to get the full experience! 

They have a cozy little loft area upstairs that I settled down in and sipped my coffees. I had a great view of the street, which made for great people watching. If you’re a banana fan, you’d definitely love this mocha. It’s just the right bit of sweetness and aroma mixed with all the things you love about coffee. And the peppermint was totally a solid choice. I’ve been hooked on Starbucks’ version and Frothy Monkey’s gives it a run for its money. I might have to move up here just for the coffee. And the people. Nashville has some of the nicest people, and I had some great conversations. I’m truly a people person at heart and I love getting a glimpse into someone else’s life. People always tend to make me look at things from a different perspective, even something as minimal as a stone wall. 

​It’s no secret that I’m a huge holiday fanatic. I’ve mentioned before that I love any reason to celebrate, and especially when there’s great food involved. I got lucky being able to kick of Thanksgiving a little early this  year when my boss took everyone out for a company lunch this week. His favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, and I can totally understand why. I’ve had  a lot of conversations with him about what it’s like to own a small business and he constantly tells me to appreciate the people that work for you. I can tell he does, too, because he shows his gratitude in a lot of ways. It feels good to be something that someone else is thankful for, and that’s what this holiday is all about. Letting others know how special they are to you and how you’re thankful that you have them. ​

​Over time, Thanksgiving has somehow morphed into a multi-day holiday. Since it’s always on a Thursday, it rolls right into a nice long weekend. And of course, Black Friday marks the official start to the Christmas season (another favorite time of year of mine!). I definitely tend to keep myself busy, making sure I can soak up every bit of holiday cheer that I can with as many people as I’m able to. I have a big family, and more years than not I’ve had multiple Thanksgiving dinners that week. It makes me feel especially grateful to have so many good friends and family to spend this holiday with. Being thankful is something I strive to do every day, and it feels even better when you’re gathered with people you love and sharing good times together. 

I always celebrate at least one dinner with my parents and the southern half of my extended family. When I was little, we would go up to New England for Thanksgiving with the Keets (my Mom’s side). She has so many siblings that they decided years ago to split up the meals and celebrate Thursday with in-laws and Saturday with everyone else. We’re pretty good at maximizing our celebration time in my family, I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve been home for the most recent years, and more traditions have been added. I try to spend time with as many people as I can, including the families of the guys I’ve dated. This year will be the first I’m spending with Tyler’s family. I already feel so welcomed by his parents and I’m excited to spend a holiday with such a sweet and fun group of people. 

I’m a little biased when it comes to the food, though. No matter where you go for Thanksgiving, your mom’s food is always the best. It’s what you’ve known for years and it’s a meal that brings so many good memories back. Menu planning is an art my mom has mastered, and she always starts early. I love chatting with her about what she’s planning, because something is always a little different year to year. Once we made oyster dressing (way delicious!), and she’s tried a lot of different potato recipes until I begged her to only make the Roasted Garlic IPA Mashed Potatos. There was the one year my mom wasn’t hosting so she didn’t make nearly as much food as she would have. My siblings and I were upset we’d miss out on some of our favorite dishes so she decided she’d just have another Thanksgiving the next day for us. My mom is a huge reason why I love holidays so much, she always does what she can to make it extra special for everyone. And she got an unexpected surprise this year; my brother and his wife unexpectedly came in town from California and are able to join us tomorrow. She was so happy and she said “I’m so excited all my babies will be home for Thanksgiving!” It’s things like that which make me feel so grateful for her constant love. It makes this holiday resonate a little more each year.

Tonight, though, is Thanksgiving Eve and for the past few years I’ve been spending it going out with friends. In recent years, it was always a fun excuse to get together because everyone was back in town for the holiday. We’d get the group back together and go out to the bars and catch up. It’s become known by more than just me as Dranksgiving, which is just the rowdy version of Friendsgiving. It’s another thing to be thankful for, staying in touch with good friends over time. After high school I can admit that I was pretty bad about it. But it’s a tradition that sticks around, and I look forward to this whole week because of it. 

I’ve got a lot of celebrating ahead of me, and I’m heading to Nashville this weekend to visit a few more friends that I haven’t seen in a long time. Before I go, I wanted to make sure I took a minute to really spell out my gratitude. Putting thoughts into writing really helps solidify how I feel about them, so here it goes. I’m thankful for this outlet, and that I’m able to share the great blessings in my life with others. I’m thankful for my readers who inspire me to keep up with what I’m doing. I’m thankful for my job that lets me be as creative and ambitious as I’d like to be. And most of all, I’m thankful for all of the wonderful, caring and intriguing people in my life that give me so much happiness and love. I hope you all have a beautiful holiday!

Uh oh. My worst fear is becoming a reality. I’m neglecting my blog big time. The worst part is that I know I’m doing it and it’s only making me procrastinate further. My list of posts I’ve brainstormed is getting lengthy and the moments I had planned to solidify in writing have escaped my head. I need to rediscover my self-motivation, and quick.

October was a busy month, and it feels like I've been constantly on the go. But I haven't given myself the time to spend working on my personal side projects. Beyond this blog, I have about fifteen other things going on in my life, and I'm pretty bad at prioritizing them. But, the good part is that I'm able to point these faults out about myself, write them down and reflect on them, and then keep working to make changes so that I can get to the place I want to be. ​

 I’ve never felt more like an adult than in these past few months. And even with all the preparation and anticipation of how hard it would be for me to adapt to a new lifestyle, I still managed to shirk more than a few responsibilities. And for that, I apologize. This blog is something I’m so proud of, and I love sharing it with people. But it does need a lot of my attention, and lately I’ve been spreading it pretty thin. Luckily, I’m pretty good at making up for lost time. And surprisingly enough, I made some solid progress on my 101 in 1001 challenge without even realizing it. ​

Completed will be bolded. In Progress will be italicized. Incomplete items will stay normal.

Well, honestly that’s more goals than I would have expected to make progress in. I even managed to cross off a new one. Much of these topics are touched on in other blog posts I plan to write. And I hate to leave you on a cliffhanger, but you’ll just have to be patient until I can dedicate a full weekend to writing my heart out. I have to recap Hulaween, which was a fantastic music festival I went to last weekend. I've also got a few other music posts in the works, and some on the way about the upcoming holiday season. My head is too full of stories, I need to get them out soon. ​

As for November, I’m going to push myself to focus on one thing at a time. I know I said this last month, but I have a lot that I'm trying to balance right now. I'm kind of stuck in between two phases of my life, and I have no clue what to expect around the next corner. I guess you'll find out if I ever get it all written down.