10 best of franklin

hey y'all! (sorry, thought i could pull that off.)  just got back from tennessee last night and oh my god did i have an amazing time!  my sister anne picked me up from the airport friday afternoon and the fun didn't stop from there.  of course, i picked up the ten best things of franklin (a fancy suburb just 20 minutes outside of nashville) for y'all!

10. arrington vineyards

wine tasting in tennessee?  yes, i was skeptical too.  and the fact that said vineyards were founded by a country music singer doesn't exactly help.  but after tasting the kb 308 and the syrah at arrington vineyards, you won't care where you are.  you will just care about getting more of that wine.  after enjoying four glasses (free!) in the tasting room, move outside to one of the many picnic tables overlooking the vineyards with a bottle or two (or if you're like us on friday - 4), order some dinner or open up that picnic basket and enjoyyyy.  you'll thank me later.

view from our picnic table at arrington

me, anne, & two bottles of arrington's best

9.  the factory

what do you get when you cross an abandoned factory with a town determined to shop? the factory.  with one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants and decor like this:

it's pretty awesome.  you could lose a day there... and we did.  one of the best shops is times past & present, where you can find everything from home decor to vintage dresses.  i found the loveliest vintage cocktail dress... so unexpected!


8.  gin drinks with grapefruit

ok, so maybe i did this one before.  a few times.  but shortly after anne & i woke up saturday morning, we decided our drink of the day would be -- gin and grapefruit.  and so after some shopping, we stopped for lunch, and happy hour... and we decided that gin and grapefruit is best served with a splash of sprint and a squeeze of lime.  pretty perfect, especially on a hot tennessee day.  try it and i swear you'll be addicted.




7.  the food

i can't even begin to describe the food i ate.  if i had to sum it up... i guess i'd do it like this:

note the vegetable of the day 

that's right: vegetable of the day - mac & cheese.  simply amazing.  the source of this prized photo was puckett's grocery, home of something called the meat and three.  it's pretty much what it sounds like - a meat and three side dishes, usually consisting of mac & cheese and sweet potato fries.  not exactly easy to eat if you are a vegetarian, but i could sit in front of a bowl of grits... or mac & cheese... or sweet potato fries all day long.  when you are ready for something sweet, walk just down the block to merridee's.  you'll find viking bread, cakes, cookies, everything delectably southern.


6.  iron fence

so if i'm being honest, it will be a great day when i can finally afford something from this store.  but located right on main street in downtown franklin is a windfall of amazing shopping, and the iron gate was one of my two favorite spots (read below for my other favorite!).  just walking through the shop offered a wealth of new ideas and inspiration for ways to decorate my house.  the antique couches, chairs, beds, linens... everything was absolutely stunning!  by far the best home goods shop in franklin.


5.  being drank under the table by my mother

so great... 

kind of awesome.  that woman can let loose. :)


4.  philanthropy

this was easily the best shopping in all of franklin.  philanthropy combines my two favorite things ever: shopping and giving back.  at least 10% of all profits are donated to causes such as building wells in sudan (quickly becoming my personal obsession right now), their current campaign.  so if you are picking up that cute pair of heels, thinking, "should i really spend money on these right now?" all you have to do is remember that part of that money will go directly to people in need and -- bam.  momma's got a (few) new pairs of shoes.  and feeling pretty damn good about it, too.

while philanthropy was easily my favorite shopping because if it's mission, i can't help but mention a few other amazing shops i visited.  what's in store, where you can find unique jewelry and hats.  the best find at what's in store is mimi and dottie's history repeats itself line, where you'll find one-of-a-kind repurposed and antique jewelry.  also on my list is gin-o, where i found three gorgeous dresses for about $40 each.


3.  spending time with my sister and mommas on mother's day

me, my mom, kathy, anne

for those of you who don't know, a quick history of how anne came to be my sister.  when my family lived in pittsburgh and my mom was a stay-at-home mom, she offered her services as a nanny to other neighborhood moms.  and one taker of such services was kathy, who started dropping her daughter annie off at our house when she was just 13 months old.  annie and i would play together all day and later, i would come home from school to the happy face of annie.  so we started growing up together, and my mother became annie's mom too.  and, naturally, my mom and kathy ended up becoming best friends, and annie and i still to this day think of each other as sisters.  our annual girls trips are easily some of my favorite times of every year.


2.  stumble upon

ok, so this doesn't have much to do with tennessee.  but when i was in franklin, anne showed me her favorite website at 3am after a night at the bars, stumble upon.  and it's now my new favorite thing.  the basic principle is that you tell this website your interests, and this website actually finds other websites that fit what you are into.  so if you like cooking, this website will bring you to new cooking blogs.  or photography websites.  or how-to instructions for arts and crafts.  you can be as specific or general as you like, and it's easily the best thing to happen to the internet since... i dunno.  blogs?

1.  this photo, which easily sums up our trip

until next time friends...

xoxo