Girls' Weekend in Nashville

Lately I have been making more of an effort to put my thoughts into action instead of just sitting on them and waiting for the "perfect" opportunity to arise. There will always be a reason to shoot down that event/trip/whatever that you have talked up but never committed to, but I'm not getting any younger and don't want to miss out on these opportunities anymore. So, this past weekend I finally made the long-overdue road trip to Nashville for a girls' weekend with two good friends who currently live there, Caitlin (SAA friend) and Caroline (W&L friend). 

I hit the road for Nashville a little after lunch on Friday with prosecco and housewarming gifts in tow (a gesture Mother taught me and which I am trying to practice on the reg now that I am a wife and I guess a grown up). Even though Nashville is not totally foreign to me (I am from Memphis and spent many summers in Nashville with my aunt, uncle, and cousins), I was excited to get back and experience the Nashville scene as an adult. 

(Disclaimer - I am still trying to figure out the best approach to taking pictures for the blog without becoming "that girl" who roams around and bugs people while snapping pictures of menus, doors, artwork, place settings, etc. Caitlin and Caroline were terrific sports (and I am grateful for that!), but I did not take many high quality pictures this weekend. We didn't even get a group pic, so here's a picture of Caroline's cat, Pepper)

We all gathered at Caroline's house Friday evening to sip our prosecco and catch up before our 8:30 p.m. dinner reservation. Once the prosecco bottle ran dry, we headed over to Whiskey Kitchen in an area of town called "the Gulch" for another pre-dinner cocktail. Caitlin and Caroline love a good meal at a popular restaurant just as much as I do, and they thoughtfully made reservations at two hip Nashville eateries for Friday and Saturday night. Up first was Adele's, a lively restaurant with an expansive interior also located in the Gulch. I think it used to be a mechanic's shop, hence the multiple garage doors that line the facade. 

I was bummed when I realized that the menus I had religiously perused a few days before my trip (who doesn't love doing that?) were outdated, so they no longer had the gin/caramelized peaches/basil cocktail that I had been pining after. They also didn't have sauvignon blanc (panic mode!), so I took one for the team and became the least classy of our trio by ordering an IPA from Yazoo Brewing Company, a local brewery. Caitlin ordered a delicious cauliflower salad that we all nibbled on while we sipped our drinks. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and I was appreciative when he steered me clear of the deceptively spicy shrimp risotto. Keeping in line with my barbaric beer drinking ways, I decided to go for it and order the beer-braised pork ribs with polenta and a peanut salad.

Oh my gosh. This dish was AH-MAH-ZING. The pork was tender and juicy, falling lovingly off of the bone and into the embrace of my awaiting fork (and stomach). The polenta was buttery and creamy and balanced the pork nicely. I didn't know what a "peanut salad" would entail, and wouldn't you know it, there were just peanuts on the plate! Duh! Truthfully though, the peanuts added a nice crunch to a dish that was otherwise soft and delicate. If you ever go to Adele's, I beg of you, release your inner fat girl and get the braised pork ribs!

After dinner we headed to the Red Door Saloon to finish out the night. If you go to this bar, check out the hole in floor that supposedly looks down into a basement with bones...

There's bones down there!

Caitlin had to work until noon on Saturday, so Caroline and I tackled our hangovers by going on a long walk throughout Nashville and enjoying the absolutely gorgeous fall day. We strolled through Vanderbilt's campus and naturally I snapped a picture of Vandy's Theta house.

We also passed a lot of the record labels, each one proudly displaying a banner for their golden child artist.

After about 2 hours of walking, we arrived in an area of town called 12 South, which had a ton of cute stores and lively restaurants that reminded me of the Virginia Highlands neighborhood back in Atlanta (there is even a Taqueria del Sol here!).

We posted up for lunch at a funky bar/grille called 12 South Taproom. This restaurant has a dog-friendly patio that a lot of Nashvillians were taking full advantage of on this sunny Saturday. We opted to sit inside and began perusing the extensive beer list and menu. For my hair of the dog beverage, I selected a Pumpkin Ale from Czann's Brewing Company, another Nashville brewery (and one of the better Pumpkin Ales that I have tasted). My cheeseburger was seasoned really well and was delightfully delicious, a diamond in the rough compared to the food that other bar/grille restaurants produce. The vinaigrette-based pasta salad was a fresh accompaniment to the burger and also had a great flavor.

We finished up our leisurely lunch, migrated to a different bar to watch the first half of the Alabama game, and then headed home to get ready for the evening. Our dinner reservations were at a European-chic 9:30 p.m., so we picked up some cheese and crackers to munch on while watching the Ole Miss-Tennessee game. We then Ubered off to our Saturday night dinner locale, Rolf and Daughters, located in the Germantown area of Nashville. This is apparently the hot new restaurant, and I was very excited to try it out!

Our table wasn't ready when we arrived, so we hit up the bar for a pre-dinner cocktail while enjoying the early-2000s jams playing throughout the restaurant (Destiny's Child, Sisqo, you name it). Why did no one tell me that specialty cocktails, when made with tender love and care, are so delicious! I have been living in a world of alcohol fear and thus stick to the beers/wines that I know, nothing more. I honestly didn't know most of the ingredients included in my drink, but I remember it having Pimm's, mint, soda, and lemon. It was crisp and refreshing and did not have that strong alcohol taste that makes you wince when you take a sip. I could have drank about 3 more of these, but the $12 price tag held me back. The bartender at RAD was like a drink magician, mixing whimsical, colorful concoctions three at a time and pouring them into funky glasses with ease.

My drink

Caitlin's drink was too pretty not to document

The hostess offered us a seat at the long communal table in the middle of the restaurant in case we did not want to wait for our individual table to open up. We politely declined (we weren't committing to a 9:30 reservation to be plopped down at a communal table!), and I am glad that we did because this group of guys who awkwardly stared us down without shame as we walked into the restaurant sat down at the communal table a few minutes later.

The only complaint that I had about RAD was our waitress, who was painfully awkward and did not introduce herself to the table or try and engage us. She simply came over to the table and asked us if we knew what we wanted without explaining how the menu worked (the top half are plates meant for sharing, the bottom half are pastas meant for individual consumption). Given that most of the descriptions on the menu included food that I had never heard of, it would have been nice for her to walk us through it with a little more enthusiasm. She would also slowly stroll past our table throughout the evening, staring us down and looking to snatch up plates before we were finished. This is a very minor complaint as everyone else who worked there was very friendly and approachable.

Once we figured out the menu, we each ordered an appetizer to split with the table (a mozzarella-esque cheese plate, blood sausages, and a salad of fresh lettuces). I would love to give you the exact name of each dish, but RAD's online menu isn't up to date and like I said, most of the ingredients were totally foreign to me.

Fresh lettuces salad

For my main course, I ordered the garganelli verde with pork ragout. You could tell that this pasta dish had been lovingly prepare by the chef: fresh homemade pasta, a light pork ragout that gently coated each noodle, a fine dusting of cheese. This restaurant is all about providing you with a dish that is beautifully presented, simple yet rich in flavors, and deceptively filling (no Cheesecake Factory, diabetes-ridden portions here, folks). I'm disappointed that I hit the food-coma wall and could not finish my last 6 noodles, which we jokingly considered asking our lovely waitress to box up.

Since we are over the hill and couldn't handle another night of going out, we ended the night by watching an episode of Happy Endings (RIP) back at Caroline's house. Gosh this show was funny, why oh why did they have to cancel it! If you liked HE, then check out the new comedy Marry Me on NBC which stars HE's Penny.

On Sunday morning I packed up my things and said goodbye to Caroline and Pepper. I drove over to my aunt's house to visit with her and my cousin, and the three of us went out for an early brunch at BrickTop's. It was really nice to get in some family time on my trip to Nashville!

Thank you Caitlin and Caroline for being such great hostesses! The invitation is now open for y'all to come down to Atlanta for another foodie weekend!

Gone Girl and Fancy-Schmancy Movie Theaters

Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl is one of those books that people cannot stop talking about, and for good reason. Personally, I think there are two key elements that make this story a success. 1) A thrilling plot that is constantly evolving and does not get bogged down in superfluous nonsense; and 2) Flynn's ability to convey emotion and feelings through the written word is absolutely astounding. It's as if she enters the average person's head and extracts the non-sugar-coated version of what he/she thinks or feels. Even her descriptions of everyday objects and places left me speechless, as her words were literally exactly how I pictured the object in my own mind.

But would the movie be as great as the book...?

                                    

Here were a few of my thoughts before we saw the movie:

1. Ben Affleck annoys me and I'm not sure if he can pull off the like him one minute/hate him the next Nick Dunne role. I'm still irked that he is playing the new Batman because I can only picture him as the dweeby guy in Forces of Nature who hates to fly.  
2. Rosamund Pike (aka Amy Dunne) pulls off the neurotic beauty queen look quite well. 
3. How are they going to portray the powerful words of Amy's diary in a cinematic format? 
4. The movie trailers were suspenseful and creepy at the same time, and I had a feeling that this movie would leave me with an icky, "that was so messed up" feeling. 

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Ever since my first taste of fancy-schmancy movie theaters a year and a half ago, I have become a theater snob. Movies cost an arm and a leg for the bare bones anyways, so why not shell out a few extra dollars to view your movie from the comfort of an over-sized leather recliner while snacking on  gourmet goodies and sipping a cocktail. (An added bonus is that you can avoid the riff raff that hang around larger theaters on a Friday night. Quick shout out to the woman who once yelled at me during a showing of Sex and the City 2 for politely asking her to shut her trap. How rude of me to ask her to stop talking!) 

We typically go to the Phipps theater but for whatever reason they were not showing Gone Girl. So, we reserved our tickets at Cinebistro three days before our Friday showing, snagging one of the last remaining pairs of seats. 

We had actually never been to Cinebistro before, a theater where you can order food and have them bring a legit meal to your seat. Matt was running late from a presentation at school, so I wandered into our packed theater to figure out how the whole ordering of food and drinks thing went. We had not planned on eating at the theater, but there was no time for either of us to eat before the movie started. So, two beers, a BLT, a bucket of popcorn shrimp/chicken, and $43 later (not including the $30 we paid for tickets), we were ready for the show.

Here are my thoughts post-Gone Girl viewing:

1. I loved the score! The music was simple yet powerful and perfectly complimented each scene. 
2. Rosamund Pike nailed her portrayal of Amy. She was the perfect blend of beauty, grace, crazy, neurotic, psycho, etc. Oscar buzz?
3. Ben Affleck did a good job, but I felt like the movie focused more on developing Amy's character while in the book Nick's character development was just as important. 
4. We had trouble understanding some of the things the actors were saying. Was the music too loud in some scenes for anyone else? Should we go get our ears checked? Maybe Rosamund Pike was speaking softly because she was focused on covering up her English accent? 
5. Remember how I said that my biggest pet peeve is people who talk while other people are talking? Add people who talk during a movie to that list. The lovely couple next to us successfully remained silent for 5-minute intervals before the wife would lean over to explain what was happening. I don't care if you are whispering or yelling, I will throw one of my $13 popcorn chicken bites at you if you keep interrupting my movie.
6. The director beautifully portrayed the back and forth nature of the book, flipping between present day and Amy's words about the past. 
7. I could tell that people who had not read the book really felt the suspense of the movie, but I just didn't get that feeling. Don't get me wrong, the movie was great and did the book justice, but the suspense was not there for me seeing as I knew what was going to happen at every turn. 
8. I was right - the movie was totally messed up and pretty graphic (similar to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo which had the same director), but it did not leave me feeling as icky as when Matt made us watch There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men back to back (shutters to herself). 
9. Aww hell no! The chairs at Cinebistro did not recline and were actually pretty stiff.  This place is not worth $75 and I will be sticking to Phipps exclusively from here on out.
10. If you liked Gone Girl, then you really need to read the author's other two books: Sharp Objects and Dark Places (which have as equally disturbing plots but might be a notch or two below Gone Girl in the suspense level). Dark Places is coming to theaters next year and stars Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Nicholas Hoult (Jennifer Lawrence's ex-BF who was also the little kid in About A Boy!) so stay tuned...

Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder Premieres

The majority of my TV repertoire falls into the reality TV category: Dance Moms (don't judge - the closest any of us has ever come to doing a flawless arabesque is mid wipe-out at the bar after one too many G&Ts), Top Chef, Project Runway, House Hunters, etc. I also have a (weird?) fascination with crime shows like 48 Hours and Dateline Mystery. I do not, however, watch a lot of the scripted shows that pull viewers in each week and cause a flurry of social media updates as soon as the credits begin to roll. This is probably due to the fact that I used to work in public accounting and inevitably had to sacrifice shows that I liked due to my terrible work schedule. Sticking to reality shows that I could watch on my own time without really caring if the current week's episode got spoiled (which it never did because no one is posting about the Top Chef contestant who totally effed up his risotto and was told by Padma to pack his knives and go) seemed to better fit my lifestyle. 

Now that I have escaped public accounting and have more time on my hands, I figured it was time to get back into the scripted TV game. Nowadays, if you do not religiously watch House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Breaking Bad (RIP), or Game of Thrones, then you will have some fierce shade thrown your way and be 12 steps behind your colleagues' lunchtime convos. I say NO MORE! I am attempting to break into this club with Scandal and the new ABC drama, How to Get Away With Murder ("HTGAWM"). Note to the reader - turn back now if you don't want to know what happens in the premieres.

SCANDAL PREMIERE

I cannot claim to be an original "gladiator" who has watched Scandal from Day 1. In fact, I started binge watching Scandal this past April while my husband was away at back-to-back bachelor parties. His absence gave me the perfect opportunity to dig up an old email address that I had yet to use for a free trial month of Netflix and get to work. By the end of the first episode, I was hooked. I loved Cyrus and Abby's sarcastic quips and Mellie's piercing comments that left a lasting sting. Top it off with Olivia's graceful style and the way President Grant looks at her, and any 20-something woman instantly picks up the ability to rationalize some of the completely heinous things that these people have done. 

I have been eagerly awaiting the Season 4 premiere of Scandal with bated breath, hoping beyond hope that this won't be the season where the show starts to lose steam, introduces boring/overused/stupid plot lines, or, even worse, fails to keep my attention anymore. I have seen this dance before and had my heart broken one too many times: Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls, Glee (do I only watch shows that start with "G"?); I don't want to see this happen to Scandal! Not Scandal! 

First things first. Olivia Pope is known for drinking gigantic glasses of red wine and munching on large, fluffy bowls of popcorn in her impossibly cute Georgetown apartment (she has a grand piano in there, people). Given that Olivia is teeny tiny yet still manages to rule DC fueled by only two items must mean that this is the diet sent from the TV Heavens that I need to jump on board with ASAP. 

To pay proper respect to Ms. Pope, the gaggles of women who gather on Thursday nights for their Scandal fix bust out the red wine and popcorn, preferably drinking their vino out of Olivia's famous oversized wine glass. In real life, though, Kerry Washington does not drink red wine (or any alcohol for that matter) and neither do I. I don't care for popcorn either, so for my solo viewing party (womp womp) I stuck with a Sweetwater 420 and a bowl of lightly salted Snapea Crisps. <<< Try these! They taste like puffy Cheetos without the orange cheese dust. You can even snag them at Whole Foods which instantly makes them chic and healthy. 

Now on to the review...

At the end of Season 4, we left OPA and the Grant Administration in a bit of a mess. Fitz's young son had just been murdered on Olivia's father's order, and her crazy mother Maya was accused of the crime and hidden away. Fitz was re-elected for another four years and also found out about his wife's sexual assault at the hands of his deceased father. We were left with Harrison's life on the line, but as all fans know, Columbus Short is not coming back this season due to legal troubles and thus we can assume that Harrison's life is no more. Quinn and Huck had a really creepy romance going on that I wish would end immediately, and Huck learned that his pre-B-613 family is alive and well. Lastly, we saw Olivia and Jake fly off into the sunset in order to escape the chaos of their lives... 

Instead of giving a synopsis of the episode that you can read on any entertainment website, I am just going to list out my totally subjective thoughts about the Season 4 Premiere: 

1. Loved that Olivia was reading Gone Girl on the beach in the opening scene. I think we would be fast friends. 

2. Harrison's death "revelation" was anticlimactic given that everyone knew it was going to happen. The only time the characters seemed to show true emotion about his death was at his uber depressing funeral. Even though Harrison didn't have the most exciting story lines, it is sad seeing OPA a member down. 

3. Cyrus, stop trying to make the side-buzz haircut happen, it's not going to happen. 

4. Fitz tried to commit suicide after his son's death? 

5. Olivia's mom is dead? Doubt it. That woman is like a cockroach - a nuclear blast couldn't kill her.

6. Mellie had some zingers this episode and it was a tear-jerking moment when she laid down on her son's grave. 

7. Huck still creeps me out. We would not be fast friends.

8. I'm glad that they brought back the "situation that needs fixing" story line reminiscent of the episode construction of Seasons 1 and 2. Hopefully they will use these situations as lead-ins into more involved plots as opposed to individual problems that are confronted, solved, and put aside at the end of each episode. 

9. I'm calling it now - the final scene of the show will be Fitz and Olivia on their farm in Vermont. I just wanted to get that out there.

10. This moment. I can't. 

HTGAWM PREMIERE 

ABC did a great job of hyping up its new Shonda Rhimes-produced show HTGAWM. The promos were suspenseful and packed with energy, in typical Shonda Rhimes fashion. I was even more excited to tune in once I found out that Liza Weil (aka Paris Gellar from Gilmore Girls) was a prominent cast member. Throw in the actor who played Ginny Weasley's pre-Harry Potter boyfriend, Dean Thomas? Sold!

In full disclosure, I had to re-watch the premiere because I fell asleep 20 minutes into my initial viewing, and I now have mixed feelings after concluding my second showing of HTGAWM. First, I am hoping that the show can slow down and develop a little more. I'm not  fan of shows that time-hop all over the place, and this one was (trying to be edgy?) bouncing all over the place from the very first scene. They've already picked which students get to intern at Professor Keating's firm? Law school friends - does this really happen in your 1L year or is it strictly reserved for Legally Blonde and HTGAWM? Professor Keating's husband is dead? I can't imagine that the show will spend its entire life trying to cover up one murder. Only in TV land can someone as important as a husband be killed and everyone seem to forget about it a few months later, so maybe this death is just a small bump in the road. Second, a lot of the characters' lines seemed contrived and a bit predictable. Nothing they said shocked me or made me laugh, as the characters in Scandal are so capable of doing. Third, the guy from Harry Potter has a terrible American accent and I am waiting on pins and needles for him to exclaim, "Neville's got a remembrall!"

I am definitely going to give HTGAWM a few more chances. If you look back at the first episode of any show, it looks and feels totally different than later episodes. Here's to hoping that the producers/directors/actors find a comfortable groove that works for them and for us, and we can all eventually become one happy family.