I’m trying to be very Zen about Nashville’s growth explosion and its resulting traffic and soaring prices and overcrowded everything, and really the only way I can do that right now is by focusing on the food. Until the last few years, the food scene was pretty boring here — Our restaurants catered largely to […]

Machine Falls near Tullahoma has been on our short list for a few years now, for two reasons:  First, we’ve heard it’s an impressive waterfall by Middle Tennessee standards. Second, State Naturalist Randy Hedgepath told me a couple of years ago that Short Springs Natural Area– where Machine Falls is located– is one of his […]

Like most of you, after months of quarantine, we are so very tired of being cooped up in our house — At the same time, we’re being extremely cautious about traveling this summer. It’s hard to find a place right now that meets our standards of crowd size, cleanliness, and plain old fun, but we […]

Cooler weather is (finally!) here, which makes it the best time of year for weekend family field trips. I’ve always had two ulterior motives when planning weekend activities for my family — No matter what we do together, I want my kids to get active or I want them to learn something. Fortunately, there are […]

If you’re like me, you might be freaking out a little right now as summer approaches and the kids get out of school. What are you going to do with them? How will you get them off screens and make sure they’re having fun? Luckily, I’ve got a solution for you — I’ve got 65 […]

For years now, I’ve been trying to plan a weekend getaway with my husband in Murfreesboro. Even thought it’s just 45 minutes from Nashville, we feel like we’re worlds away when we visit, transported to a place where history abounds, nature beckons, and plenty of shopping and restaurant opportunities await. Dennis and I finally got […]

  If you haven’t been to Clarksville, Tennessee lately, you’ll definitely want to schedule a visit. Just an hour’s drive from Nashville, this history-filled town has tons of outdoor activities, an increasingly sophisticated restaurant scene, and a newly-revitalized downtown that’ll have you dreaming of renovating a loft space and moving here ASAP. We spent an […]

Maybe you want a great mural photo, but you don’t want to wait in an hour-long line to get it. Or perhaps you want beautiful, interesting backdrops for your photos that haven’t already been used by half of Nashville. I’ve got an easy solution — Head to Rutherford County! Just a quick drive from Nashville, […]

Shelby Bottoms has some beautiful natural features you won’t find at any other park in Nashville — including several beaver dams! But with its close proximity to urban Nashville, you and your family might see a little more than you bargained for… We don’t get out to Nashville’s Shelby Bottoms Park all that often and […]

These fantastic restaurants near Nashville boast fabulous food and lots of small-town Southern charm. This post was written in partnership with Visit Rutherford.  Nashville’s restaurant scene is on fire right now, but while this means more options on the food front, it also means higher prices, longer waits for a table, and the disappearance of […]