How to End a Love Story is a gripping love story about Helen Zhang and Grant Shepard, two writers whose lives are inextricably connected after a tragic accident in high school. Helen and Grant haven’t spoken to each other in a decade, and when they find themselves working together on the same project, they are constantly reminded of the pain of the past and the fact that there is also an unexplainable connection between them now. There are so many reasons they will never work as a couple… but there’s so many reasons why they will too.
This is hands down one of my favorite reads of the year. Kuang has a gift for being able to create dynamic characters that lift themselves off the page; they were dynamic and witty and each had an unforeseen depth to them.
Judging solely off the cover, this book looks like it will be light and fluffy, and while it did have those light and fluffy moments, the book also had serious, and at times heavy, themes sprinkled throughout it. I think an author has to have great talent to achieve both of those things and Kuang succeeded with flying colors.
Helen and Grant are two very different people on the page, but they compliment each other so well. They both are seeking love and connection, but whether they realize it or not, they both are also still dealing with the aftermath of what happened in high school and it’s impacting the ways in which they can (or can’t) love. With that being said, Kuang did an incredible job exploring the different ways in which we grieve. She shows that we don’t all grieve in the same way and also makes it a point to show that even though we think we’re the ones that have a right to grieve the most, there’s another party in the equation as well and it can take time and patience to understand the other person’s perspective and, when appropriate, forgive them for that.
The romance that develops between this unlikely pair is wholesome and loving. Their love had me in my FEELS and seeing the way that these two were able to grow with each other was so special. I was swooning over Helen and Grant the.entire.book. We see situationships all the time in our real lives, and the skill with which Kuang was able to so accurately depict a situationship on the page is so admirable. Plus, her characters were so lovable, especially Grant, who I felt was the definition of a golden retriever boyfriend.
I loved Helen, but I felt like I completely sympathized (and empathized) with Grant throughout the entire book, whereas there were moments with Helen when I wish I could’ve shaken her and made her open her eyes a little bit more. Grant is probably one of my favorite book boyfriends of all time. I really loved the part in the hospital toward the end of the novel when he said he would rather have a fraction of her than none of her at all. Even though I already knew how much Grant loved her, this reaffirmed how much he truly cared and I loved how he later brought this conversation up again at the end of the novel.
I also thought this book was very well done because of its exploration of the industry. We see a lot of books about writers, but because Yulin Kuang is a screenwriter and director herself, she was able to include details about the industry I don’t feel other books do and I really appreciated that. I truly can’t believe that this is her debut novel; this is one of the most well done novels I’ve read and it blows my mind to think that this is the first time Kuang has written her own book.
Something else I really enjoyed was the depiction of Helen’s family and what it can mean to be a child of immigrants and a child of Asian parents. I think there are a lot of stereotypes out there about how Asian parents treat their children, and while not every family is going to share the same qualities, I think Helen’s family was a very interesting family to immerse ourselves in. One side of my family is Asian and one is not and I found it quite interesting to be able to draw parallels (or spot differences) in how our families treat us.
Overall, I can’t recommend this book enough! And, if you’re a fan of tropes like enemies to lovers, close proximity, and novels where he falls first, then this book is for you!
Red Rising is dystopian fantasy novel about life on Mars. The story follows Darrow, a member of the lowest class in the society in which he lives. He works day in and day out to make the surface of Mars livable for future generations, but he quickly learns that the surface has already been reached and Darrow and his people have been treated like slaves by the ruling class for generations now.
Very early on in the story, Darrow faces an unimaginable tragedy and dedicates his life to getting justice for the mistreatment of his family and his people, enrolling at the Institute and competing for his life as he works to take down his enemies.
Red Rising was Brown’s debut novel and is the first book in the lengthy Red Rising series. Throughout the book, Brown did an incredible job with world building and with character exploration.
Brown’s characters feel multidimensional, even (and in some cases, especially) the antagonists. His characters, especially Darrow, Eo, and Cassius, are built like warriors. They are strong in body and in mind and while you may not agree with all of their thoughts and actions, you grow to fully understand each character’s motivations.
The world Brown was able to build was incredibly well thought out – well beyond anything my brain could have drawn up – and some of the parallels between the world we see in the novel and the world we live in were extremely thought provoking.
My only qualm with this book – which leads me to a piece of advice – is that I think the novel is best physically read, not listened to. While a strength of Brown’s is his ability to world build, there are SO many moving parts in this story and so many different characters that the audiobook felt confusing to me.
The audiobook’s narrator was incredible and I loved the way he was able to articulate Brown’s story, so if you’re insistent on listening to the story, I would recommend also having a physical copy handy to follow along as you listen.
I’m excited to see where the saga takes Darrow and his loved ones next!
What is Waitress the Musical and Why Does it Mean So Much to Me?
If there is one thing to know about me, this is it: I love Waitress the Musical. There are few things in this world that I identify with or hold so close to my heart, and Waitress will forever be one of those things (Vampire Diaries and the band Hot Chelle Rae are two others).
Waitress is about an unhappily married waitress who learns she is pregnant. The show emphasizes the importance of friends, family, and love and the power of independence and self-growth. It has moments of comedy mixed with deep, tear-jerking scenes that will forever resonate with you.
The show is based off of the 2007 film of the same name starring Keri Russel and Nathan Fillion and was turned into a musical in 2015 with music written by Sara Bareilles and an all-female production team.
Waitress opened at the American Repertory Theater in Massachusetts before moving to Broadway in the spring of 2016. It remained on Broadway until 2020 and then was the first show to re-open on Broadway in 2021 where it remained until the end of the year.
During that run, the company filmed a pro-shot – meaning, the entire live show was filmed with the intent of releasing it as a feature film – and the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June of 2023. Then, in December, the film was in movie theaters for two weeks and it was released on digital January 9th, 2024.
I’ve always been a Broadway fan; I grew up loving Wicked, Legally Blonde, and Les Mis, but it was Waitress that truly igniting my love for live theater.
The first time I saw Waitress, I was too young to even understand all of the jokes in the show, but what I wasn’t too young to understand was the profound impact this show would have on me and amongst everyone who sees it.
As I sat down in the Brooks Atkinson theater, I knew very little about the show. Here’s what I knew:
#1– The show was about a waitress.
#2– As a HUGE Sara Bareilles fan, I knew Sara had been part of the production.
#3– I was upset that Sara wasn’t going to be performing in my show.
#4– There is a wacky song in the show called Never Getting Rid of Me that mentioned a cat named after a kind of fish which I listened to on the bus on the way to New York City. It was the only song I heard before seeing the show.
There was something so freeing about not knowing much about the story that was going to be unfolding in front of me. As I sat in the theater, I was so engrossed in the story; it truly felt like I was portaled into an alternate reality and when the actors took their bows at the end of the show, I could feel myself deflate knowing that the story was over and it was likely I wouldn’t be seeing it again (boy was I wrong, but we’ll get to that).
Waitress was only the second show I saw Broadway (I’d been to touring productions, but only once to Broadway), and I was so.lucky. I had second row seats, and the cast.was.incredible.
Stephanie Torns was playing the lead role of Jenna and Jason Mraz was playing Dr. Pomatter. Caitlin Houlahan and Natasha Yvette Williams played Dawn and Becky. Eric Anderson played Cal, Christopher Fitzgerald played Ogie, Will Swenson played Earl, and John Cullum played Old Joe.
While I had always loved theater, this was, like I said, one of the first shows I saw on Broadway. I knew so few Broadway actors, and this show and this cast catapulted me into a Broadway frenzy. Caitlin quickly became someone I looked up, Matt DeAngelis, an ensemble member, rose high on my list of favorite actors, and before I knew it, Waitress.became.my.life.
I loved everything about the story. I loved how it could make me laugh and make me cry, sometimes even in the same scene, and I found myself completely swept away by everything about it.
Before I’d even left the theater, I was planning my next trip back to the city and I was already trying to figure out who I could see the show with next. Over the course of the next 15 months, I took several trips back to the city with my dad to see the show.
I don’t know if theater was something that interested my dad before Waitress (or something that interests him now), but what I do know is that it’s something that brought us closer together. I have such fond memories of our little trips to NYC and I miss those drives we took together.
One time, we were given a backstage/on stage tour of the theatre – check out one of the photos we took!
I was so young and SO starstruck in these pictures – This was back in March of 2018.
When the show closed in 2020, I felt like I didn’t know quite what to do with myself. Because it’s a live musical, I was so discouraged that I wouldn’t be able to see it again. At least when a tv series ends, you can rewatch it. I couldn’t rewatch a live show.
So, when the announcement was made that Waitress was coming back in 2021, I was over the moon. The cast coming back was my DREAM cast – when you see a show as many times as I had, for better or for worse, you learn who like in what roles and who you maybe don’t like in some other roles.
I bought tickets the moment they went on sale, and after my first show back in September of 2021, I immediately bought tickets for another show. Annnnd then another one after that and after that and… you guessed it, after that too.
My dad couldn’t come with me to the show in September, so I went with my friend Morgan, one of my best friends from college. Morgan ended up loving the show as much as I do and she was living in New York after graduation, so between September and December, she and I were seeing the show almost every other week.
I’ll forever be grateful for those few months we had – for a little while there, our entire lives centralized around Waitress. Morgan and I had been close while we were at PC, but we shared so many laughs (and so many tears), so many drinks, so many songs over Waitress that it created a bond between us that will ever be able to be broken. It’s a period in my life I will never forget.
September 21, 2021
I often wish we could go back to those months – my wallet doesn’t agree, but my heart does! – and we got a little bit of it back when Waitress the Musical the movie premiered at Tribeca Film Festival last June.
Morgan and I had tickets to opening night and I’m not sure how the timing happened so perfectly, but we were actually able to walk to the theatre with Drew Gehling, his wife, Matt DeAngelis and his wife Christine Dwyer, and Stephanie Torns and Benny Elledge, which was SO COOL.
Of course, once we got there, they pivoted toward the red carpet and we pivoted to the line to get into the theatre, but for a few minutes there, we were all there together.
It had been around a year and a half since we’d seen the shown, and emotions were running high. To be able to sit in a theatre with so many other people who love the show was a dream, but there a magical feeling in the air that night.
Until you are in that space, you don’t realize how special it is to watch a film in a theatre full of the creative team and actors who made the film.
Not only were Drew (Dr. Pomatter), Matt (ensemble member), Christine (Jenna on tour), Stephanie (Jenna), and Benny (Cal) there, but Caitlin Houlahan (Dawn), Charity Dawson (Becky), Sara Bareilles (Jenna), and Joe Tippett (Earl) were all there as well! There were probably other cast members too who I didn’t even see. After the screening, I was even able to talk with some of the cast members about the movie.
There’s no other way to say it than to say the atmosphere was truly magical.
When the film was released in theaters, it was initially only a 5 day release, and my mom hadn’t seen the show since we saw it that very first time on Broadway, so she and I saw the movie the first night it was in theaters.
Before the movie even began, I had tears streaming down my cheeks and I was anticipating the laughter and tears that were to come.
The film was so incredibly well done and the idea of being able to see it again (and again) gave me such an immense amount of joy.
I can’t pinpoint exactly why this show means so much to me, but I know a good portion of it can be credited to the feeling of nostalgia I feel when I see it.
The story also puts so much love and faith into friendship – the song A Soft Place to Land will forever hold a special place in my heart, especially the line “May We All Be So Lucky”. I think I could point to something in every track that makes me feel “THE FEELS” but songs like Take It From An Old Man, You Matter To Me, and Everything Changes are just so.incredibly.special.
I’m being repetitive here and I know it, but the show is innately special.
Since the movie was released on digital, I’ve hosted Waitress parties, I was able to share the film with my younger cousin – and maybe that’s what it is: This show has been something that brought me closer to the people I love.
If you haven’t seen the movie – WATCH IT. It’s available now on dvd and to rent, and it’s SO worth it.
This will spoil nothing but please take this with you: the scene at the end with the lines “another lifetime” and “moonpie” will stay with you forever. I can’t watch that scene with dry eyes, but it’s worth it every.time. It cuts deep; the show will rip you apart and put you right back together, but that’s what makes it so special.
This show and this movie will forever be part of who I am, and if you’re ever wondering what movie I’m watching, it’s probably Waitress ♡
Expiration Dates, Rebecca Serle’s latest novel, is a novel about love and what it means for each one of us. In the book, each time Daphne Bell begins seeing a new man, she receives a slip of paper that tells her exactly how long she will be with that man for. She spends her life in romantic entanglements, never surprised when a romance fizzles and never too hurt when it ends. For years, she’s been waiting for the day that she receives a paper without an expiration date, and as the novel opens, she finally receives that paper with just a single name on it, Jake.
As the novel progresses, Daphne recounts her old flames, including her sweeping romance with Hugo, her now best friend, and as she journeys through her new relationship with Jake, we learn that there’s more to her than just a woman who is looking for love.
We begin to understand why she keeps men at a distance, even though she doesn’t see in the moment that she’s doing it. We watch her grow from someone who is a self-admitted commitmentphobe to someone who is ready to open herself up, truly open herself up, to someone else.
This novel was beautifully written. We spend some chapters in the present day, then we flashback to anecdotes of Daphne’s past loves, and then forward again to the present day. At times, it felt there was no rhyme or reason to the order in which these stories were told, but their chronology built up beautifully once we got to one particular story: Daphne’s and Tae’s.
If you plan to read Expiration Dates, I’d suggest coming back to this review after you finish the book. The rest contains big spoilers ☺
Daphne has spent her life keeping the men she dates at arm’s length, never fully letting anyone in, and as a reader, you assume it’s because she knows each relationship is finite. You assume that she grasps for the piece of paper without an end date because she so desperately wants to know that she’s found the person she’s going to spend the rest of her life with.
In reality, Daphne has congenital heart disease, and while a paper without an end date could mean that she’s found her life partner, it could also mean that this is her last relationship because she won’t live to commit to another.
In the past, only two of her partners have known about her condition: Tae, whom she was dating at the time of her diagnosis, and Hugo, whom Daphne begrudgingly told and promptly broke up with after.
Once readers find out about her condition, her actions begin to make sense; why she is so hesitant to fully open up to Jake, who lost his wife several years earlier, and why each anecdote about her previous partners is so crucial in the build up to the person she is now.
Something else that I found so special about this book was the different types of love felt in this book. There was passionate love, innocent love, easy love, a feeling of forbidden love, and Daphne’s awareness of this was so raw and special to me.
While she didn’t always know what she wanted and didn’t always know how to go about getting what she wanted, Daphne had a unique way of looking at love which I so enjoyed being a part of.
I also loved the looming sense of an impending love triangle.
Jake is perfect for Daphne. He is kind, he is straightforward, he knows how to communicate, he treats Daphne with nothing but love and respect, yet, to me, it felt like there was something lacking in their relationship.
It isn’t that I was searching for conflict, but Jake was SO perfect that their relationship felt a bit…flat. It almost felt to me that he was so perfect that their relationship was going to be left with nothing in the end; there would always be a desire for more.
Meanwhile, Hugo was on the sidelines, clearly (and not so clearly at other times), still in love with Daphne. Although their relationship was strictly platonic in the present day, there were moments that were so charged between Daphne and Hugo that I was itching to see them get back together, even though Daphne’s papers made it clear their time was done and she was happily committed to Jake.
To me, Jake felt like the person you SHOULD pick – he was, by definition, the Right Choice. Whereas Hugo was the person you shouldn’t pick, but you WANT to pick.
Would Daphne live a happy life with Jake? Absolutely. But here’s the thing: she would’ve been living a life where she was happy enough, but not necessarily happy.
At the end of the novel, Daphne does stand up for herself: she breaks off her engagement with Jake, she spends some time abroad, and when she comes back, she has a date with an anonymous man. When she arrives at the meeting place, the slip of paper with what can only be assumed to have been the expiration date on her relationship with the man she’s meeting, slips away from her and she doesn’t reach for it, effectively ending the hold these slips of paper have over her. Then, she sits down for coffee with Hugo.
I love this ending, I love that we’re led to believe she ends up with Hugo, but I will be completely honest when I say I wanted more.
Although this is a book about love, I do think the driving force behind it is character development. With that being said, the novel ends perfectly.
As someone who devours romance novels though, I definitely would have liked to see more of the rekindled romance between Hugo and Daphne.
Something else I think is special about Serle’s novels is the incorporation of magical realism in all(?) of her novels. I have read three of her other novels (One Italian Summer, In Five Years, and The Dinner List), each of which also included elements of magical realism.
Her novels are always realistic, but they mix in such unique elements, seemingly with no explanation at all. It’s not something I think I would ever be able to conjure up in my own brain if I were writing a novel, but Serle has such a gift at weaving these magical and realistic elements together.
She also is incredible at setting the scene. The specificity of setting in this novel was incredible; I felt like I was in each of these places with the characters, even though I haven’t been to every one of the places they went. I’ve felt this way with her other novels as well, especially One Italian Summer.
Lastly, one of my favorite things about reading is being able to identify and isolate quotes that hold profound meaning both inside the passage in which they lie and also carry that weight once isolated as well.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from Expiration Dates:
“It’s hard to hold on to people the older we get. Life looks different for everyone, and you have to keep choosing one another. You have to make a conscious effort to say, over and over again, “You.” Not everyone makes that choice. Not everyone can.” (Page 120-121)
“But I have no memory of an aha moment, no recollection of any specific revelation. When do we stop believing in the things we do? And why does it happen so slowly instead of all at once?” (Page 127)
“We have to be cracked open sometimes. We have to be cracked open sometimes to let anything good in. What I see now, emerging in the mirror, is this one, simple truth: learning to be broken is learning to be whole.” (Page 231)
“Being surprised by life isn’t losing, it’s living. It’s messy and uncomfortable and complicated and beautiful. It’s life, all of it. The only way to get it wrong is to refuse to play.” (Page 238)
I truly don’t think I’ve ever been as busy as I was this month and the music I listened to this month is special because it brings me right back to how I was feeling in all my travels.
At the beginning of the month, I visited a friend of mine in Nashville and he has incredible music taste and played the DJ all weekend, so the beginning of my playlist is a lot of the songs we listened to together.
One of my favorite memories from the trip (and from March in general) was when he played Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac out of the blue and said “this is the best song to sing to in the car with the windows down.” I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hear that song again without thinking of that moment.
It was also ironic that he chose that particular song because I had recently read Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering (named after Little Lies) and I’d been meaning to listen to the song since I read the book, but I kept forgetting, so the fact that he picked that song, of all songs, stuck with me. And it’s also ironic because several parts of that book centralized around music, and the songs in the book had already reminded me of him because we’d coincidentally listened to all of them together back in December. It goes deeper than that, but the entire situation felt far too coincidental for me to overlook.
The following weekend, I went to 90s Con in Hartford, CT and met two of the Dawson’s Creek cast members and some of the OG Roswell cast, so although I didn’t put any Dawson’s Creek songs on the playlist, I’d be remiss not to include the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack in this post (especially Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus).
Then, the weekend after that, I flew to Chicago and I went to Epic Cons Chicago and met some of the Roswell NM, Twilight, Teen Wolf, One Tree Hill, and Pretty Little Liars casts and the first night I was there, my friends and I saw Tyler Posey and Phem in concert. Unfortunately, at the time, I only knew one song by each artist (I’m a fan of Posey’s because of Teen Wolf, not his music), but I was blown away by how talented the two of them are!!
So, I started going through their discographies, and I ended up loving three of Posey’s songs SO much that they are the ONLY songs I listened to for the last FIVE days of March. Those songs were Runnin’, Sober, and Happy. Runnin’ is so chill and just vibey and Sober and Happy are some fun, head bumping songs with really great lyrics!!
Check out my full playlist below:
You’re The Song (That I Can’t Stop Singing) – Frankie Valli
Tell Me Lies is a raw and gripping story about Lucy Albright as she navigates life after meeting Stephen DeMarco early in her freshman year of college. Stephen is the definition of the Wrong One, but no matter how how hard she tries, Lucy has a hard time letting go of Stephen, even when she knows she should.
Initially, I had reservations about this book because of the toxicity in its characters, but this book genuinely took over my life after reading it. I truly cannot stop thinking about it and it’s easily become a 5 star read for me. I listened to the book and then almost immediately got a physical copy and dove right back in. I also watched the Hulu series, but that will be touched on in another post.
I loved this book so much that it sent me into the biggest reading slump I’ve ever experienced; I was reading a book every couple of days at the beginning of this year, and since I finished Tell Me Lies, I’ve only re-read a single book.
In a general sense, this book is an incredible read because of its characters. Lucy and Stephen, specifically, are so fleshed out and feel so dynamic and real on the page. This novel is so character driven, which makes the ending INCREDIBLY rewarding. I won’t spoil, but the scene where Lucy and Stephen talk at the wedding had be smiling so big and feeling so much pride for Lucy that it almost hurt.
I truly don’t think I’ve read a novel this rewarding in years – to be able to watch two characters go down such an deep journey, both together and separately, filled me with pride and I honestly wish I could read more and spend more time with these characters.
I also loved how the characters were so aware of each other’s body language (even if many times, they were presumptuous and wrong in their thinking). I can’t remember reading a book where the characters were so cognizant of others’ actions and body language.
Plot wise, I’m not quite sure what I was expecting when I picked this book, but I really enjoyed how deep this book was. I thought it was going to be something light and fun and this was not that. This book made me stop and think and really analyze the impact our actions and personalities have on each other. I also loved how this story wasn’t just the story of what happened between Lucy and Stephen, but also Lucy’s journey in forgiving her mother (and Stephen’s journey of self-destruction).
Something else I found so gripping about this work is that the novel has a tremendous amount of foreshadowing and Carola Lovering was able to wait for the perfect moments to let the story’s elements unfold (i.e. Macy, The Unforgivable Thing, and Marilyn’s role in Lucy and her mom’s lives).
The dedication of this novel also played a role in how powerful this book was for me. I didn’t pay attention to the dedication when I listened to it the first time around, but reading it the second time added an unforeseen depth to the story.
Lastly, from a strictly superficial perspective, this cover.is.stunning. It’s very easy to overlook the intricacies of this novel’s cover – it’s just words after all. But knowing Lucy and Stephen’s characters, but Lucy especially, this cover holds so much more meaning.
One True Loves is a heartwarming, moving story about Emma Blair, a woman who has found herself in a place where she’s found not one, but two, true loves.
Emma spends her young adult life with a crush on Jesse Lerner from afar. Meanwhile, she works alongside Sam Kemper, whom she accidentally sent straight to the friend zone, which she regrets, until Jesse notices her. Emma and Jesse then go off to college together and build a life together on the west coast full of love and travel and they end up marrying.
Just a year after their wedding, Jesse is in a helicopter accident and is presumed dead, sending Emma into a spell of grief she’s unsure how to pull herself out of. In an effort to heal her heart and her life, she moves back home to her family in Massachusetts and embarks on a journey of healing, becoming a person she never expected to be, but loves nonetheless.
In a chance run in, Emma encounters Sam and the two fall in love and get engaged. Though she didn’t see it coming, everything in Emma’s life is perfect. That is, until she finds out Jesse is alive and her life is thrown off kilter once again.
One True Loves is such a raw and touching story of life and love and grief; it made me laugh and it made cry and I closed it feeling an intense ache but also like I’d been broken and been mended back together perfectly.
Taylor Jenkins Reid has such an incredible ability to craft realistic and raw characters, so much so that I felt each emotion Emma did as she put herself back together, as she fell in love with Sam, as she navigated what her life could be with Jesse back, and ultimately what path she chose for her life in the end.
There’s no better way to say it than to say that each time Emma’s heart broke, I felt it deep in my bones, and each time she was able to put it back together, I felt that with her too.
This book is a reminder of what true, innocent love can be, while also showing you the struggles you will face when you’re in love. Each of us are faced with choices when we fall in love – we have to decide what to do with our heartbreak and we have to choose how to express that true, feel it in your bones, love – and TJR so skillfully paints such a realistic picture of these actions and emotions.
This book makes me feel nostalgic and reminds me of what love can be and should be at its core.
A couple weekends ago, I went down to Nashville to visit one of my friends from high school. Nashville has always been on my list of places I wanted to visit, but beyond the bars and the country music and cowboy boots, I really knew nothing about the city before I visited.
I flew in late on Friday afternoon and Evan and I went straight to 12th Ave S and got drinks at Bottle Cap Nashville. Per his recommendation, I tried a Strawberry and Lime Crush, and if you’re ever there and want to a drink, I’d definitely recommend it! It was light and refreshing with the perfect amount of sweetness in the background. I only had one, but I feel like they’d sneak up on you because I couldn’t taste any alcohol at all!
We intended to go to bartaco afterwards for dinner, but with it being a Friday night, there was way too long of a wait to justify waiting. Instead, we headed to 21st Ave S and got dinner at Taco Mama. Definitely would recommend their food too! Their prices were super reasonable and they gave so!much!food! with each order. And it was a fun vibe inside.
21st Ave S was also a really nice street with tons of shops and it was far enough away from downtown that it didn’t feel overcrowded or overwhelming at all. Definitely a good spot if you’re still looking to go out, but don’t want to deal with the hoards of people you’ll find on Broadway.
Saturday
We started the day with brunch at Nashville Jam Company and oh my god, that food was delicious. It was such a cute, quaint restaurant – it was in a house in a neighborhood amongst a lot of music studios and it felt so homey inside.
I got the 2 egg breakfast with grits – I felt like I couldn’t go to Nashville and not try grits! – and we shared some biscuits with the restaurant’s signature jams (all of which were delicious!)
Then we headed to Centennial Park and saw the Parthenon (which was gorgeous) and walked around for a little while. The weather was a little gross and rainy that day, but there were swings set up around the park, so we found one and sat for awhile – which was the best thing we could’ve done because we witnessed a wedding!!
We passed a young boy (probably only 18 or so) walking around with his family and they were all dressed up, and when we stopped to sit, we saw his family and his wife’s family staring to gather by a pretty bench. Then the couple sat down and started reading their vows.
Evan and I were so infatuated we stayed until the ceremony was over and pictures were taken and both families left. We were so invested we were even making up backstories for the couple and their families and tried hypothesizing what they were up to the rest of the weekend and how excited they must’ve been for the wedding.
We also saw the end of a proposal while we were there!
Then we headed to Broadway and walked through a bunch of tourist-trap shops – which I LOVED. I love souvenir shops like that. But I will say, those shops had the highest prices I have ever seen for souvenirs. I always buy a magnet for my mom and a shot glass for my dad when I travel, but they were asking between $12 and $18 for SHOT GLASSES! (Other than this though, I did think that Nashville prices were really reasonable).
Of course, we also walked through all the shops that were selling cowboy boots. Check out my favorite ones:
I’m a huge fan of both of the Roswell series, so I thought these were so cool! But, unfortunately, all the boots down there were SO expensive and I really don’t think I would wear them outside of Nashville, so I came home empty handed.
We also dropped into Coyote Ugly. When I was in Covington, GA last December, my friend and I were getting dinner at a little rooftop concert. It was a low-key, acoustic show with very little dancing, and in the middle of the show, our friend Bob Somerhalder came up to us, had a short conversation, and left. The next day, we were all at an event with Bob and with my friend’s parents and Bob told her parents that we were dancing the Coytote Ugly the night before at the concert, which couldn’t have been further from the truth! I’ve never seen the movie, but when I saw the bar, I knew we had to go in because that’s all I could think of.
It was probably around 3pm when we walked in and people were drunk off their asses and playing musical chairs as the bartender stood on top of the bar. I never would’ve wanted to be one of the people playing, but it was a funny environment to be in… until Evan and I got called out for not drinking and watching from the sidelines. And we took that as our cue to leave.
We walked the rest of Broadway before heading back toward Evan’s apartment and dropping into McKay’s, which is a HUGE used book and music store. They have an INCREDIBLE stock of books, vinyls, cds, games, and so much more. It was almost overwhelming walking in there but I absolutely loved it.
I found a signed, first edition of one of my favorite books – We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, which is being adapted into a Prime series by Carina MacKenzie and Julie Plec – and I found so many Frankie Valli records and I’m still a little heartbroken that I didn’t have enough room in my backpack to take any of them home.
We took it easy for the next few hours after that – we took a nap and watched New Girl while eating our leftover chips and salsa. (Which was even funnier than normal because Evan is the epitome of Nick Miller).
Then we headed out to get dinner at Amerigo and their food was to die for. We shared a Caesar salad (and I don’t even like Caesar salad – lettuce is a no in my book – but it was incredible) and for my meal I got the chicken piccata. The portion was huge and it was!so!good!
I know I’ve said all the food I got on this trip was good, but I promise you, I’m a harsh critic and I’m not easily satisfied when it comes to food, so this is saying something.
If you’re looking to drink, I got a Sgt. Peppar, and it was…interesting. Not something I’d order again, because although it was good, it also tasted like PEPPER. And you’ll probably think I’m crazy because it should’ve been obvious it would taste like pepper, but I missed the part when I was reading the menu where it said Absolut Peppar Vodka. (It also had Dry Vermouth, St Germaine, lime juice, and cranberry juice)
Before heading back to Broadway, we stopped into Cross-Eyed Critters Watering Hole in the Graduate Hotel for some karaoke. I tried to convince Evan to do a song with me – we had an epic karaoke performance of Tonight Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae back in middle school that could use a reprise – buttttt Hot Chelle Rae wasn’t really the vibe in this place.
Our last stop of the night was at Luke Bryan’s bar – I loved the vibe and loved the rooftop, even if it was a little chilly that night – and we ended the night with Milkshakes (which was arguably the best part of the night. We had fun at Luke’s, but the whole time, we were looking forward to those milkshakes).
Sunday
We started out my last day in Nashville at Warner Park Center and what was meant to be a little 20 minute walk turned into a 4 mile low-key hike. The park was beautiful – with areas for events and picnics, paths for biking and family walks, trails through the woods, it was lovely. But, both Evan and I are stubborn (and forgot to take pictures of the map) and we ended up getting a little lost and didn’t make it back to our car for nearly an hour and a half.
We were starving by the time we finished our walk and ended up at Inchin’s Bamboo Garden. Per Evan’s recommendation, I tried the Mongolian Beef with white rice (which again, was very good!) and we tried some dumplings also, one of my personal favorites.
Before dropping me at the airport, Evan took me by the Opry, which I have to say, was SO different from what I expected. I feel like I’d thought it would be closer to Broadway and I definitely didn’t expect it to be right next to a huge shopping center either. We didn’t go inside, but we did go through the gift shop (I LOVED all the clothes with fringe) and I’d definitely be interested in going back for a show.
Lastly, we took a walk through the Gaylord Opryland Resort which was STUNNING. I felt rich walking through there (which I am not) – it felt like a dream. I also used to work at a hotel and loved the job, so all I could think of while I was in there was how nice it would be to work there. We also got gelato from a pop-up shop inside and it was so good. The clerk gave us a hassle for ordering “boring” flavors, but I’d definitely recommend the pistachio and the salted caramel.
I wish I had more photos to share from when I was there but I didn’t really take many besides the boots and a photo of Evan and I at Luke’s.
Overall, I loved the city and I can’t wait to go back asap! I think there is so much to do in Nashville and while I think the two/two and a half days that I was there was the perfect amount of time to spend in the city at once, there’s definitely a lot left I’d like to do. But despite how much I liked the city itself, I think my favorite part of the weekend was catching up and singing in the car to whatever music Evan queued – some people are bad at being the DJ (I am one of them), but he killed the music game this weekend.
Tips for Visiting Nashville
Bring Your Cowboy Boots (and Hats!)
I travelled with just a backpack, so there was no way I could possibly have brought my boots and hat unless I wore them on the plane. I get SO self conscious though and never would’ve gotten on a plane wearing my cowboy boots, but when I got to the airport and saw everyone else was wearing them, I kind of wished I had too. So, if you feel like you want them, bring them!
Bring Liquid IV
I do this whenever I go on a trip where I know I’m going to be drinking a lot (like Vegas in January). I didn’t need it on this trip since I didn’t drink too much, but drinking a bottle of water with Liquid IV in the morning when you wake up and at night after you get back from the bar works wonders.
Over Budget
Like I said, these souvenir shops were the most expensive I’ve EVER seen, and drinks at Luke Bryan’s weren’t the cheapest either, so I’d plan to over budget if those are things you’re interested in. Otherwise, I didn’t find prices to be too high on food or anything (and I never had to pay a cover to get in anywhere), so if you’re working on a tight budget, I do think Nashville is a good city to visit. Also, parking was SO much cheaper than any other city I’ve visited.
Try Tacos Somewhere
I was shocked how many different places had tacos – Nashville is not the place I’d expect to have tons of taco restaurants, but they were everywhere! And the ones I had (and other places Evan’s said he’s been to) were SO GOOD
This post is coming a little late because I really didn’t like this episode and don’t know exactly how to write about it beyond the bullet points I wrote down when I watched the episode, so these are pretty much just my raw reactions here. I still haven’t watched episode 3.
Charlie
I wish Charlie would STOP TALKING ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT. Like buddy, we get it, you like Taylor. But that doesn’t have to be your entire personality.
Venus
I like Venus, but I don’t want her to just jump into this alliance with Brandon so quickly and just automatically think she can trust him. I actually do believe she CAN trust him, I just don’t want to see her getting blindsided by trusting people too fast.
Yanu Tribe
I really freaking hate this tribe. I think anyone that got placed on this tribe was screwed from the start. Jess was barely able to speak or be spoken to on this tribe, Bhanu is so vocal that it screws him and his tribemates over, Kenzie (and Tiff by association) are your stereotypical mean girl, Q is stuck between a rock and a hard place, and don’t even get me started on Jelisnky.
I really do have a hard time speaking about reality tv online – everyone on this show is a real person and I don’t want to come on here talking poorly about them (it’s not like a scripted series where everyone is acting a part) – but what I will say is that I do not like Kenzie.
I think she’s a complete mean girl and I don’t like how she treated Jess at ALL.
I will admit that Jess never spoke her mind and I do believe she WAS a weak player, but Kenzie and Tiff were genuinely mean to her and I didn’t appreciate that at all.
I just felt like they were bullying Jess and doing everything they could to be MEAN and get her out of the game. Getting people out of Survivor is the name of the game, but their actions were so mean spirited and there was simply no need for that. Kenzie and Tiff treated Jess like she was stupid and like they were superior to her and it just painted them as mean girls in my eyes.
I don’t think there was anything wrong with Q making a fake idol for Jess – it was pretty smart – but I hated the way the girls talked about Jess when she couldn’t find it and how they were laughing at her and talking about her like she was stupid.
Kenzie comes off like she thinks she’s above everybody else – she said something along the lines of: “we’re the only people here who know anything about the game” and “Jess is a bad survivor player. It is what it is.” In saying this, she placed herself on such a high pedestal and looked down on most of the other people, and honestly, she’s been in the game for such few days (and hasn’t done anything remarkable) that she hasn’t done anything to justify such an arrogant attitude. There was even a moment during Tribal when I felt like Kenzie was looking at Jeff like she was above him and the game too and that’s just not true.
I disliked the way Kenzie treated Bhanu also. She treated him like he was a child and all of them actively excluded Jess at Tribal? Like what the hell?
I don’t dislike Bhanu as a person, but I do dislike him as a player. I think he’s too emotional and he doesn’t seem to really understand the game; he completely panics and is all around way too overly emotional. But I don’t think that’s an excuse for Kenzie to treat him like a child either.
I was glad that Jess thought their gameplay at Tribal was incredible because I sure didn’t. Honestly, I had angry, hot tears in my eyes after how they treated her.
Some overall observations–
This one hit me like a ton of bricks: Growing up is being more interested in the interpersonal dynamics of all the people on the show than the comps. I’ve watched reality tv since I was a kid, and I was always way more interested in the comps, whereas my mom, who I’d watch with, would always tune out the comps and pay attention to the people and I thought she was crazy. Now, that’s kind of exactly what I do! The drama is way more interesting now than watching everyone compete in comps!
I’m not a fan of how these people treat each other. I don’t like the interpersonal dynamics yet this season, and it’s really taking away from me enjoying the game because I truly just don’t like many of these people and don’t think they treat each other well. I know that it’s a game and deception and strategy is part of that, but my issue lies in the fact that I don’t think these people are showing each other respect and treating each other like they’re also people.
Anchored Musings 