So, yes I really love Nashville. Thanks for asking!

This new feature will highlight a Nashville Noun (person, place, thing, or idea) that I love.

First on deck is the Nashville Public Library. I ventured there for my first in-agency Junior League General Membership Meeting.

This place is absolutely gorgeous! I went on a tour with the lovely Liz and she showed me some of the nooks and crannies. I’m a fan of libraries in general but those that have incredibly high ceilings, custom made chandeliers, a teen room (totally taking my Little Sister there), a room dedicated to Nashville and the role the city played in the Civil Rights Movement, and a puppet show theatre with performing artists on staff that have a puppet workshop below the library, are really pretty high up on my love list.

Me and reading are BFFs and adding the NPL to this equation is a must. On top of that I can get books for my Kindle and they have a free music downloading program and I can 5 free new songs a month.

I am armed with a public library card and the GRE to study for this spring.

Also, I’m totally going to a puppet show. Shakespeare’s The Tempest with puppets—I’m not missing out on that one even if I have to borrow someone’s kid for the day ;).

Oh, and yes. I’m a huge nerd!

The moment I knew I was sold on SEC football…

I purchased a monogrammed black & gold scarf (Go ‘Dores) specifically for football tailgates…It is currently February and football doesn’t begin until August. 

Ummm…so I guess I’m ALL IN! 

Renewing my season tickets next week ;). 

Times do change, don’t they? 

Purchase yours from Marley Lilly. Totally affordable and adorable. What more could you ask for these days in a scarf? 

I’m off to work with fraternity men this weekend at the Delta Tau Delta Southern Division Conference in Knoxville, TN. 

I love this part of my job and find it to be a great privilege to be able to work with various inter/national organizations. My day to day role is that of Panhellenic Advisor but since my days of being a SARF (HouseMom) for Pi Kappa Alpha at University of Maryland, College Park I have yearnings of jumping into guyland every once in a while. 

The New Member Educator Track will be my responsibility this weekend along with a co-facilitator who I have yet to meet but I’m sure he’ll be another lovely believer in the fraternity experience and specifically the experience of Delta Tau Delta.

I saw this article recently and I hope to be able to share some of these resources with the young men I interact with while in Knoxville. 

New Member Education can be a tough egg to crack especially because many of our men actually believe in or have been intensely socialized into believing in a culture of hazing. There is certainly a lot more work that we need to do in addressing that issue and not only just for Greek Life but also marching bands, athletics teams, and the military. 

Delta Tau Delta certainly does not endorse hazing and our time with the men this weekend will be spent helping them craft an intentional, educational, safe, and meaningful new member education program for its newest members. 

Should be quite an adventure this weekend. Wish me luck and wisdom! 

Let’s take a walk down memory lane…

1. CMA MusicFest- 4 nights of country acts including Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Reba, Lady A, ZBB, Thompson Square, Keith Urban, and T.Swift etc. 

2. The Script at The Ryman Auditorium

3. Margaret Durante at 12th & Porter

4. Zac Brown Band

5. Avett Brothers

6. The Civil Wars at The Ryman Auditorium w/ The Staves 

7. Mumford & Sons at The Ryman Auditorium* 

8. Lady Antebellum in Knoxville 

9. My So-Called Band: The 90’s Experience (twice) 

I have been in Nashville since June 2011. This means that I’ve been here for almost 9 months and in that time I have seen a ton of shows. I mean there are live shows in Nashville EVERY night—there is live singing in Kroger! The music that flows through this place has made my soul happier. Sitting in the Ryman and listening to The Civil Wars and then having T. Swift come on stage to sing ‘Safe & Sound’ was a sign that I was meant to live in Nashville, TN. Unbeknownst to me I have been yearning to call this place my home. 

The outpouring of emotion on every corner and the fact that the guy selling me my tights in Target actually plays shows on the weekend downtown is not overwhelming and it doesn’t feel “L.Aish” at all. Instead, it feels honest and admirable. I’ve met handfuls of songwriters and people in “the business”. With all of this I’ve never met anyone who was stuck up or pretentious, instead they want to talk about something else and that’s cool too. 

There are certainly people that are here “for the music” and others who could care less about “the music”. I tell you what, for now and probably for as long as I live here “the music” will be a reason I love calling this place home. 

Nashville folks are quite expressive and they share a whole lot about themselves. I dare you to ask a Nashvillian how he/she is doing…no, seriously you’ll get their entire life story and someone else’s. When I first moved here I thought that was unnecessary and a bit disconcerting but now I appreciate it quite a bit and I can’t blame a city that has been built on country music, which is all storytelling and emotion, for communicating in this way because to be honest it is who they are and who they always will be. 

It is true that “music is what feelings sound like”. I think that I have been looking for a place for a long time that would allow me to truly understand that quote. I don’t talk about my feelings a lot but I sure will sing about them at the top of my lungs in my car or even at my desk. What I really love to do is close my eyes at one of these concerts and just take it all in with my ears and my heart. Until the good Lord leads me away I have found my home—the place where I belong—in Nashville, TN. 

*Upcoming in March and I’m dying with anticipation!