So we’re coming up on almost 2 years of marriage and yet I’m just posting about our one year of marriage trip 😅 Better late than never and also better now since we’re about to take off for our two year anniversary trip ✈️ So rewind to a year ago this time and we celebrated our first year of marriage by going to Nashville!

It was our first trip on a plane since the pandemic and it was very exciting and also very stressful. We were (and still are – boosters are our friends!) fully vaccinated and in a way felt like “yay life is going back to normal!”, but also felt so daunting being with people again. I really feel like the plane seats for smaller or I got bigger during covid lockdown…but really it just felt strange being close to strangers again. When we arrived, the excitement took over and the joy of seeing my friend again after not seeing her since February 2020 was overwhelming! I hugged her so tight and as great as FaceTime and video chatting has been, the joy of being together in real life just doesn’t compare!

The beginning of the trip was trying to maneuver the line between what felt “safe” because Nashville and California are night and day for mask wearing. It turned out fine overall and for our own comfort we chose to eat outdoors, but still did some activities indoors like an escape room – the 60 Minute Escape, it’s known as one of best in the USA! The decor was really well done and the attention to detail was amazing. I wouldn’t recommend more than 4 people for the Frankenstein room though because it’s not a huge space. We escaped with less than a minute to spare, but we did it and it was glorious!

We also did a brewery tour at Yee Haw Brewing Company which was slightly miserable because it was so hot and the brewery was warm inside BUT the drinks were worth it and our tour guide was hilarious!

We also shopped at various places, but the one spot I had to visit was Uncommon James because I’ve been a uber Kristin Cavallari fan since the Laguna Beach days (don’t come for me, I was never team LC 😝). We bought a few of the skincare items since they had just come out – quick review: the face cream is not my favorite. I know the name is Daily Water Cream, but it’s very watery and the packaging is huge considering the amount of cream. The mango chapstick is one of my favorites though and I would like to try the eye serum at some point.

We did do a few “photo shoots” and learned some history at the botanical garden and at Gaylord Opryland. We wanted to do a house tour, but tickets were sold out so we just wandered on our own. We definitely want to go back for more of the historical parts of Nashville…well to be honest, my husband wants to learn more and I prefer to eat and shop more 🙂

The crowning moment of our trip was our dinner at the Listening Room Cafe! You can see who is performing ahead of time, but honestly even though we went not knowing the musicians, it didn’t matter because they were amazing! My friend who lives there has gone back many times and every time she’s loved it!

The rest of the trip was literally eating everything! We had bbq at Hattie B’s and the Peg Leg Porker. And my absolute favorite was the cronuts from Five Daughters! We loved it so much we bought two dozen to bring back home!

Overall this was a successful trip and just really nice to feel normal again! Nashville was very welcoming and a joy to explore. Now I will jump on my soap box for a bit – our country is very broken and it’s very hard to see a country so divided as reds and blues, but deep down there is common ground. At the end of the day we all want children to be safe to learn in school, families to go grocery shopping without fearing for their life and so many “normal” activities like going to the movies, worshipping at church or enjoying a music festival, we should all be safe. 90% of Americans want gun reform and yet, we’re nowhere close. I plead of you to not lose hope because I know I feel helpless at times. Together we can mobilize and more importantly vote! The people in government work for us and it definitely seems like they have forgotten that and the greed has taken over. So please please vote – not only in primaries, but also locally. Donate to causes (some I donate to are: Everytown, Moms Demand Action, and Sandy Hook Promise) whether it be money or time. Take some time to learn and research (guide to call senators) And most of all, be kind to others and yourself. We’ve all just been surviving and we need to take care of each other xo