Nashville Travel Diary//Part I

Question. Have you ever traveled to a place where you arrive, take in the scenery around you and say "Hm. Maybe this is where I was supposed to be living all along?"

**raises hand** Yep, that's Nashville for me.

I have had a fascination with this city ever since we drove through it on a family trip to Florida, years and years ago. While our time in town was short, young Melissa was instantly hooked.

Of course, it doesn't help that my favorite writer (Karen Kingsbury) and favorite singers (Thomas Rhett, Jeremy Camp, Russell Dickerson) are all from there. The city is full of creative individuals like writers, musicians, photographers and bloggers; which I've always hoped to fit into one of these categories. Therefore, you can see the draw I had to vacation here for our two-year anniversary this year <3 Our first day was nothing short of amazing full of delicious food, amazing music and total fan-girling (including Tom ;))

Our plane flew out of Minneapolis at 9am on Wednesday morning. I had closed the night before, so I was a littleee tired at the terminal. But after a venti-sized cup of a light roast from Starbucks, I was good to go. The flight was super smooth and only took about two hours (roughly 5 episodes of "The Office")

We actually flew into Atlanta with Spirit airlines since that was the cheapest option for us (#savingthemdollars), so we rented a car from Enterprise and hit the road to Nash. Georgia and Tennessee are looking beautiful this time of year, which made the four-hour drive go by quickly. **add an hour nap in there as well**

We got hungry along the way and chose a quick drive-thru of Chik-fil-A, which was Best Decision Number 1 of the whole trip. Everything is certainly better in the South and that doesn't exclude this restrarunt chain. The first of many mouth-watering meals on the whole adventure.

We arrived in Nashville a little before five and headed straight to our AirBnb. Both Tom and I have never rented though them before, but it was AMAZING. Our loft was situated about someone's detached garage and had everything needed for our stay and then some. I really wanted to see the inside of our renter's home because if her styling of the loft was any indication of her home, we would be great friends.

We quickly freshened up and then headed to Exit/In, for Russell Dickerson's concert!! (And in time for a few outfit pictures as well ;))

criss-cross tee//American Eagle
jeans//American Eagle
booties//Target
purse//TJ Maxx

The line was fairly short when we got there, so we were able to get amazing spots on the floor, about 2 rows back.

Hannah Ellis opened and I loved her vibe. Her songs have now made it my Spotify list and perfect for those windows-down-hair-blowing car rides.

Russell was next and I WAS PUMPED. His new album just dropped this past week and I think he played his entire set from it. If you haven't listened to it yet, I HIGHLY recommend him to anyone with a little country-pop taste. His whole album is about his wife, their life together and where they headed for their future. If anything, just give a listen to "twentysomething" or "All Fall Down". You won't regret it.

One of the coolest moments was when he started doing a variety of covers of songs he likes. He ended with "Amazing Grace" which almost had me sobbing in the crowd. He has recently played this same set in Las Vegas and it just felt so overwhelming to know he had sung this in a city so filled with sadness in the following days to come. Yet it's been amazing to see the country stars come together in support of these unimaginable times. It took a while for the goosebumps to go away after this moment.

As the concert began wrapping up, I got a series of texts from my older sister (a fellow country fan) in all caps "DO YOU KNOW WHO IS AT THE CONCERT WITH YOU?!" At that exact moment, Tom had turned around and oh so casually stated "Oh. I think Thomas Rhett is here."

Sure enough, the country star was standing on the deck in the back with his wife Lauren.

Now, I haven't had a starstruck moment since meeting the Jonas Brothers (don't judge), but I may have blacked out for a moment of time. I then had the common sense to snap a quick pic and respond with the only words that could come to mind.

"dhfiushendjfseuhdnsduhgfweng"

Life. Made.

After the concert was over, Tom and I were a little hungry so we decided to hit up one of our chosen food spots that we had scouted for earlier on Pinterest/Instagram, BarTaco.

I was blown away by both the food here and the amazing service we got. From the moment we walked in, I literally felt a VIP. Tom and I were seated outside on the quiet patio with some cozy blankets and heaters. Our waiter (Tanner, you da bomb) read us through the entire menu and gave us his recommendations. We ordered the chips/quac, a surplus of tacos and one of their famous margaritas (they make their own tequila in house). It was one of those moments that you wish could last forever. And that my stomach could turn into a bottomless pit. We also chatted up another staff member (Christopher, you made our entire trip) who sent us other samplings from the menu and gave his recommendations of must-do in Nashville.