Nashville

This past week has been a blur as I prepared to leave for our back to back business trips Saturday. Our first stop is Nashville, we are in town to attend the National Estate Sales Conference organized by EstateSales.net, the number one website for estate sales. The conference will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but we came to town a couple of days early to shop around before the conference started. On Saturday we had an early morning flight on American Airlines, there was a 15 minute takeoff delay because the wings of the plane needed to be de-iced but everything went smoothly and we even arrived 4 minutes prior to the scheduled time. We picked up our rental car and as we were leaving the parking garage at the airport, the agent at the exit took one look at my driver's license and in the thickest Southern drawl said, I HATE RAND ROAD! I found this hilarious first of all because he knew about Rand Road and second of all because Kuochun always says Rand Road is his favorite. However, when Kuochun lived in Gurnee he always said Grand Avenue was his favorite. He is directionally challenged so he's best off sticking to major roads. It turned out the parking garage agent lived in our area for over 20 years.

Our check-in time at the house was not until 3:00 so we headed from the airport to a pair of antique malls right near each other. They are called Gaslamp and Gaslamp Too. Both were really nice with tons of interesting items and great displays. I could not resist buying this piece of art even though I'll have to go to FedEx and have them pack and ship it home for me. I have a gallery wall in my living room which I'm looking to totally fill with original art and she will look smashing in there. I think this sums up Nashville style - cute, colorful and a little quirky.

I was charmed by this "honors bar" at Gaslamp, the area is unattended and snacks are $1.50 each. Those who patronize the bar are on the honor system to pay for what they consume.

After the antique malls, it was time for lunch. Many of the reviews on Airbnb for the home where we are staying mentioned the cafe down the street, one person said they loved it so much they went there every morning. It was an hour before closing so we decided it was a good time to give it a try. We both had the blackened chicken sandwich with home fries, it was good but the portion of home fries was really miniscule. I'd say there were about 12 little squares total. They also forgot to put the cheese and bacon on our sandwiches. Although the food was pretty tasty we won't be back.

After lunch, it was the perfect time to check in to the house. The house is a 1920 Craftsman and is nicely decorated in a modern / quirky / transitional style. It has three bedrooms, two baths and is very spacious at 2,444 square feet. There is a great outdoor space but it's too cold to use it. The third bedroom has been good to use as an office space to keep up with my daily tasks in the evenings so far.

We were really tired so we rounded out the day by getting some groceries at the local Kroger. It seems to be similar to Jewel, they had the Simple Truth products which Jewel also carries. This is a big advantage to staying in a hotel, to be able to comfortably eat at home and not always have to go out to eat. The price of this house was less than the hotel and is perfect for traveling with a snorer!

Today (Sunday) we went to the Nashville Flea Market. It was a little more flea market than antique market but I had good luck there. I bought this darling little man made with bottle caps and a baking mold for my living room, an iron and wood dog letter holder for my office, a pair of Hedi Schoop figurines which I don't need but love. The price for all was only $60. The nice man who had traveled from Ohio had $48 on the figurines and $18 on the dog so it was a great deal.

There was another lady with a huge booth filled with vintage (mostly within the past 25 years) handbags and accessories. I bought two bags - a crossbody bag in black suede with a Western look and a purple and black cowhide and leather handbag. Both were a bundle deal for $95 which I thought was reasonable for such unique items.

At the very end of the indoor space I was totally surprised to see a huge booth of jewelry display items. They actually had the burlap jewelry cases I purchased at a store supply warehouse in Des Plaines last year. They have held up well and are easy to carry, only one person is needed. In addition, they had lots of accessories to go with these cases such as trays, neck forms and tray inserts. I ordered a bunch of displays plus other supplies and they are going to ship everything to me for actual cost, no handling fees. I was really happy to find these nice folks!

Well, the Grammys are about to start so I'll sign off for now!