Earlier this month, several friends and I headed to Nashville to celebrate our Sparkles turning 40. Some of us had been to Nashville recently while others had never been. This gave us the perfect excuse to hit up all the famous honky tonks on Broadway each night. Our days were spent shopping. We stayed at The Graduate, which is gorgeous and funky. It truly is the best spot for a girls trip. I’m not sure it would be my first choice for a couples trip, but my crew loved it! In case you’re wondering, the Loews hotel just down the street would be a great couples trip spot. We stayed there three years ago and loved it.

Our very first night in town was spent at Justin Timberlake’s spot on upper Broadway, Twelve Thirty Club. Twelve Thirty Club is everything you would expect from Justin Timberlake; it’s got a restaurant with southern steakhouse flair, amazing musicians, gorgeous decor, and a fun drink menu. Twelve Thirty Club is HUGE, with several different elements. Our steak dinner in The Supper Club portion was DELICIOUS. After filling our bellies, we moved over to the cocktail lounge where we were treated to live music from Chris Ferrara + The Common Good. Words fail me when I try to describe the level of talent these guys possess. Remember that name, because you will likely see them on the big stage some day. After 1230 closed for the night we wandered down a few doors to pop into The Stage and Tootsies. We didn’t stay long, but these are “must do’s” when on Broadway for first timers.

Twelve Thirty Club and Broadway

Our first full day in Music City was all about shopping, particularly at Stoney Clover Lane and Draper James. Y’all, I hate to poop in your Easter Baskets, but Stoney Clover Lane was a DISASTER. I am giving them grace because working in retail is a nightmare right now. We’re all familiar with supply chain issues and problems getting employees. SCL had two employees working the day we visited and they were very sweet, but definitely in over their heads. The store was busy and placing an order is a lengthy process. We were in the store for over two hours. Stoney Clover’s items are super cute and we were trying to knock out a bunch of Christmas shopping on this trip while we were away from our families. Everyone on the trip has a twelve year old daughter (isn’t that wild?) and each of our girls has Stoney Clover bags on their Santa wish list. For what they are, Stoney Clover merchandise is quite expensive. Between the five of us, we easily spent well over a thousand dollars in that store. Sadly, we are very disappointed. Several of the orders are flat out incorrect. Some of the orders, while correct, are stitched so poorly that we’re sending them back. Think puckered fabric and crooked letters. To be fair, a few of the items are completely correct and the stitching is gorgeous. But for the amount of time and money spent in the store, we had higher expectations. Furthermore, if you order online rather than in store you’ll be waiting about two months. Since we needed our goods by Christmas, in person shopping was the only option for us. I can’t post pictures because I don’t want to ruin any surprises, but unless you’re shopping for someone who specifically requests Stoney Clover Lane, I would consider Judith March or various Etsy shops. I must admit that the Stoney Clover Lane storefront is gorgeous and the shop itself is adorable.

We headed to Draper James after Stoney Clover and loved everything in the store. Their holiday collection is spot on. The ladies in the shop are wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed shopping with Draper James.

Stoney Clover Lane and Draper James

I don’t have any pictures, but we ate dinner at a fabulous little pizza shop right in the heart of the 12th South area. The restaurant is MAFIAoZA’s. It’s a small, unassuming spot with a great menu and excellent service.

All of our shopping left us tired at the end of the day, but we did rally for a quick visit to FGL’s bar off Broadway. As is always the case in Nashville, the band was fabulous.

FGL Bar and Broadway

Our final full day consisted of more shopping! This time we focused our efforts on The Gulch and Hillsboro Village areas and did some damage at Lululemon, Uncommon James, Alter’d State and The Impeccable Pig. With our daughters’ demographic, these shops were perfect for knocking out Christmas shopping. Uncommon James was really fun! The collections are beautiful and inventory was plentiful. Same for Impeccable Pig. I was really impressed with their price points and selection. So many fun finds. We did pop into Kittenish, but the store seemed kind of sparse. Again, I know many places are struggling to get their merchandise. I have zero pictures of any of these shops because we were too busy carrying all of our bags!

We headed back to our hotel’s area for dinner and landed at Nada for Mexican. It’s not a traditional Mexican menu, but the food was good and the atmosphere was excellent.

The final night was all things The Graduate. Our hotel is home to two bars: White Limozeen and Cross Eyed Critters Watering Hole. We donned the fanciest dresses we packed and our fun cowgirl hats and made our way to the top of the hotel for White Limozeen. This place is SO me. I loved everything about it. The decor is the stuff of my dreams and Dolly gets plenty of love. The drink menu was right up our alley.

White Limozeen and The Graduate

Critters is honestly kind of weird, but I’m glad we stopped by for a bit. Karaoke is always entertaining, right? I cannot believe I do not have any photos from Critters, but just imagine honky tonk Chuck E. Cheese animals and nice beer.

I am incredibly thankful for this time away with great friends. Nashville showed us a phenomenal time!