P.S: Followed my Friends to Tennessee

I had the opportunity to go on a girls trip to Tennessee with my best friend and some of her family and I had a blast. I went to so many places I never knew existed and some that I’ve fallen in love with because of them. If you want a day full of vintage stores, sweet treats, good eats, and wonderful memories with people you love these days is the place to be.

Five Broke Girls

We set off from Kentucky and. Nashville is a 2 hour ish drive (a bit more but I don’t know exactly) We ate at this diner I’d never heard of before and my friend had only ever had their lunch so it was new for her to eat the breakfast. The establishment's name was Five Broke Girls and let me tell you, I loved it. Not only does it give you a rustic old timey feel, The service was good and the food was mouthwatering. I especially loved one wall covered in pictures. I thought it was so cool of them. The decor was so intriguing to look at such as a model plane on the ceiling, trinkets and such on the walls, a claw machine, and much more. 

I got a breakfast sandwich and that thing was so good and a decent size. Two eggs, bacon, cheese, a sauce I literally have no idea what it was served on Texas Toast. I was blown away with how amazing every bite was, even the potatoes. They had the perfect amount of salt and I’m one to put ketchup on mine. It’s home cooked and the eggs almost tasted like the ones my granny makes, it truly warmed my heart.  Also the youngest in the group really wanted a grilled cheese that wasn’t on the breakfast menu but they made it specifically for her. They were so kind. I love to see that. 

There was also this game room that my besties younger sister (who I consider a sister I literally love them both so much) wanted to check out. Going back their was so much fun goofing around and playing a few rounds of packman on the machines. Even though there are not many games to check out, I recommend going in there and taking some photos and playing what you can. Make the most of it!

I will definitely be checking out their lunch menu in the future. 

S.M.A.R.T Arts + Crafts 

Continuing our dive our first step was in a shopping center to visit an arts and crafts store. I’d never heard of it before and if you know me personally, I love to craft. Sewing, crocheting, latch hook, diamond painting, painting, I mean I could go on. When I found out the history of the store, it also made it even better. 

The owners of the establishment send the profits to programs that help people who struggle with intellectual disabilities. A lot of the people who work there also have some type of intellectual disability giving them a way to be employed serving as a vocational center. 

Not only do they have a wide range of supplies, its prices are astounding. I got a good amount of stuff for $35 dollars and in this economy, I was so happy. I got a Buch of material, journals, pliers for when I’m sewing and the needle won’t pull through, and I found these really cool art pieces. I wanted to buy all of them but I limited myself.

There was so much to see and I was told they usually have more out by my friend's mom but they recently had a sale where everything was a dollar so they were restocking while we were there. Everything is donated to the establishment and I can’t wait to tell my mom about it. 

If you love to craft, I high suggest visiting and if you know someone who does, bring them!

Wicked Ollie’s Vintage

Going back out after the damage I did, I was excited to check out what else was around and guys, oh did my wallet hate me. Granted I only spent like 100-130 total this day of I think it was a success. Going into this Vintage outlet place, you hear a live band as you walk in and the sent of leather. 

It was so cool, loving all the vibrant clothes around and vintage pieces. What took out to me the most was a cabinet that had VHS tapes. If you don’t know what that is, you make me feel old. Looking through the glass cabinet doors I saw mini VHS looking things and I noticed they were Disney McDonald's toys. You best believe I bought four of them, okay.

I love anything to do with Disney, especially The Little Mermaid and let me tell you, one of them was Flounder. I did a bit of research and apparently they were toys from the mid 90s. Now I know they exist, I need to collect them now, like, this is an amazing discovery. I also found something for my mom but I’m not going to say what it is just in case she sees this, hehe.

Duckies, Candles, and Friends

If you have a jeep or you know someone with has one, get them to this store to find really cool duckies. Looking through I found so many characters that I loved and I hope to go back in the future and buy a couple for myself to just put up in my room. There is also a tub full of duckies, I just loved it. 

The owner also has an array of different candles and we sat and sniffed so many of them suckers. I wanted to buy so many of them but I restrained myself because I’d already spent a bit more than I wanted. My friend got a candle and I hope the next time I come back I can buy a few from her. She was making them in house while we were coming to the store and I just love watching people do things like that.

There was also another part attached with a bunch of different things. What caught my eye the most was a little shelf with cute little journals and in the corner of the room a shark tapestry above a bead covered in games and a guitar that was tuned. I strummed them strings not expecting it to sound that good, I was genuinely surprised. 

Vinterest

This store was a bunch of booths that people could sell at, kind of like Peddlers Mall (If you don’t know what that is, you’re missing out.” Thrift stores are some of my favorite places to go to find vintage things and this store brought so much joy. One booth had a Buch a frog style trinkets and stickers, it was so cute. There was a pair of pants that I fell in love with but I was scared they wouldn’t fit so I didn’t get them but it's okay.

What caught my eye in the back the most was the crap ton of Elvis stuff they had. I grew up watching Elvis movies with my mom, watching documentaries of him, listening to his music and visiting Graceland when I was a baby. My mom loves Elvis so much. I know I’m talking about my mom a lot but she would have really enjoyed these stories so imma have to bring her one day.

If you haven’t heard about this store, I recommend checking it out!

The Factory at Franklin

The next part of our day after settling into our hotel, we drove into Franklin to visit The Factory At Franklin. It’s a shopping mall of sorts with amazing food, I mean guys, the tacos at Mojo’s Tacos are so good I got the smash burger and the hot chicken taco with chips/queso. I literally want to try every taco they have on the menu. 

There are a couple other restaurants sprinkled around including a hot dog place in the middle I want to try the next time we go. I mean who doesn't love a good hotdog (unless you don’t eat meat). Let me tell you right now though, when I learned that we were stopping by, my stomach thought about the sweet treats. My sweet tooth is crazy let me tell you and my favorite ice cream place and one of my favorite bakeries is in this mall.

Jeni’s ice cream is genuinely one of the best ice cream places I’ve ever tried. Not only do they have a variety of flavors, I love that they are always putting out specialty flavors. My favorite I tried the first time was the bubblegum ice cream. Even though they don’t sell it because it was a limited flavor, I still think about it to this day. Trying new flavors every time brings me so much joy.

Next is Five Daughters Bakery. I don’t think you can understand how my brain chemistry completely changed after hiving a croissant donut. I always get sea salt chocolate because they are my favorites and I usually get new flavors to try. I love that if I want to try a new flavor, sometimes they have them in mini form and I love it so much. If you are looking for a good sweet treat, the factory is a good place to stop by. 

Now there are tons of shops and boutiques to go into and even though we didn’t really look this time, I want to shout to a record store I got to browse a time before and fell in love with. Luna’s recorded environment makes you take a step back in time. When people would go to a music store and look through a bunch of records just to see if they find something of their taste. 

From brand new to used, I genuinely love this store. I love anything that has to do with record/music honestly. If I were a millionaire, you would see the signs. I mean, even the posters all over the walls and the vibe is just fire. I definitely wanted to come back and buy a couple to support them next time. Even though I didn't get to go in, I also saw they had a bunch of records outside the store people were looking at. I just love it so much!