I could probably write a dozen posts about my love for blogging, but this past weekend is easily at the top of my list. When people in my real life ask me about why I blog, I usually keep it simple saying that I have a passion to write, but honestly, there’s so much more to it. To me, blogging symbolizes opportunity – opportunity to do what I love, opportunity to connect with brands, opportunity to share my voice and opportunity to connect with people. I think that’s one of the most beautiful things about blogging – being able to make genuine connections with people that I may have not met otherwise.
This past weekend, I met up with two of my blog besties, Nina and Erica. I’ve been following both of their blogs for about three years or so, and they’ve both been part of my blogging journey from way back before my blog was even called Endless Bliss. I’m still blown away by how well the three of us connected. It’s crazy how many moments occurred where we would start telling a story only for someone to say “Oh yea, I saw that on your blog/Snapchat/Instagram/etc.” Yes, I had a blast with these girls, but more than that I was amazed at the fact that there were no awkward moments. It really was like we were having a reunion and not meeting for the first time (though Nina and I met back in December. Read about that here!). We left each other with plans to meet again, and I’m so glad to turn two of my blog besties into two of my IRL besties.
I’m so excited to share our #perfectTEN (that’s Tiffany-Erica-Nina) weekend with y’all! It really was the perfect weekend. So excited that when I tried to write one blog post, it was way too long, so I’m breaking it up into multiple parts. Yes, the trip was that epic.
Side note: All of these photos are grainy because the first day, I didn’t whip the camera out for any photo opps, but better quality photos will be comin’ atcha in the next post(s), so stayed tuned!
FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016
I have this horrid habit of saying ‘yes’ to almost any social activity that anyone asks me to, so the night before I left for Nashville, I went to trivia night with three of my friends (We were the Tequila Mockingbirds, and we won!), and afterwards, I went and hung out at my friend’s house until about 11:30 pm. This would have been fine if I didn’t have to leave for Nashville at 3 am. I barely got three hours of sleep because I had to finish packing, and I was so tired during the latter half of my eight-hour journey. I ended up stopping at a rest stop to take a 30-minute nap, after which I felt brand new.
After checking into our hotel early (thanks so much, DJ!), I took the quickest shower in America and then practically ran out the door when Erica texted me to tell me she was at the airport. From the moment we met, there was so much chatter about the little bits of our lives that we don’t share online. It honestly felt like we had been friends for years (which I mean, technically we have been).
Random funny moment with Erica: We were walking to our hotel room, and one of the front desk agents asked us if we wanted oatmeal raisin cookies. Erica looked at her suspiciously and asked, “Are they free?!” I should probably note here that Erica is from Philly and isn’t used to people offering free food.
Our first stop was to a restaurant called Darfon’s that was just half a mile from the hotel. I ordered a Cherub’s Cup to drink, which had Absolut Citron, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, strawberries, lemon juice, simple syrup and champagne in it. If someone told me “Tiffany, you can only drink Cherub’s Cups for the rest of your life,” I would totally be okay with it. Erica and I shared a black bean pepper jack cheese dip that was absolutely delish, and I got the BBQ salmon for lunch, which was salmon over smashed sweet potatoes with kale on top smothered in white BBQ sauce. Before I went to Nashville, I asked around about things to do. My friend, Todd, told me that I had to try the white BBQ sauce, and I’m so glad I took his advice. My whole dish was delicious, but that white BBQ sauce was so amazing.
After taking another much needed nap, I woke up to Nina being at the door. Hugs were exchanged, and then we got our priorities in order: food. We headed downtown to eat at Dick’s Last Resort. It was my first time, and even though I had heard about it, I don’t think I was quite prepared for the hilarious inappropriateness of it. When our server gave us hats, mine said “I’m as kinky as my hair.” There was another server that came up to me and faux-gasped before saying “I loved you in Slumdog Millionaire.” Side note: I’m not Indian, but I loved his spew of Indian puns that followed, involving curry and Mumbai. I’m so bummed that I can’t remember any of them, because they were pretty clever. The only one I do remember is “Do you want to go out with me to the New Delhi?” Dead.
After dinner, we walked over to a few local karaoke bars. We went into the first one we saw, which was called Wanna B’s. There’s just something about country music that makes everyone sound good. They stop slow songs at 9 pm, and before that time came around, it’s like every single person that sang was really good. When the later crowd came in, my turn was up, and I sang “Gunpowder and Lead” by Miranda Lambert. Erica and Nina did an amazing rendition of “Shake It Off” by my girl, Taylor. A dance party ensued, and then we left to hit up another karaoke bar.
The second karaoke bar we went to was called Troubadours. This was definitely more of a college crowd. They give you the option to “tip to skip,” so if you tip the DJ, you can hop the line. I did this and sang “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea. I panicked during one part, but I still had so much fun. I love the adrenaline of singing karaoke. I’m Filipino, so I come by honestly. Nina sang “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood, and she said she channeled all of her anger into her performance. I totally felt it.
Funny (more ironic?) story: There was a man named Tommy who came on stage and sang a song by David Allen Coe. We all recognized Tommy from Wanna B’s, because he sang the same song while we were there. When he was thanking the crowd, he introduced his wife, Deb, who sang “TNT” (OY OY OY) at both bars as well. They were both really good!
I’ll be sharing more about my trip next week, and there will also be a vlog coming your way too. See a little snippet of the trip in this video:
Have you ever been to Nashville?
