i love the chilly, fall saturdays in which you can wake up at your leisure and slowly get out of bed just after the fog lifts. no alarm necessary. today was no exception.
driving to meet Jacquelene at JJ's Market (a convenience store meets coffee shop meets small corner of heaven) in Midtown, it occurred to me-- i absolutely love nashville.
taking the back roads from sylvan park (my quaint neighborhood), through west end (aka- vandyville) to midtown i thought about how much i love this city. the distinct features of each borough; how drastically different they are, yet how well they mesh together. i love each nook and cranny of this city, down to the urban ghettos that we drove through today scouting houses. and this city in the fall? spectacular. the bare-bones of the trees, mixed with the sporadicly brilliant oranges on the remaining maples is unparalleled against the stone gray of the sky. even more glorious was the sunshine today!
sitting in jj's, looking at the dated, maroon velvet curtain that covered the entire back wall, the hodge-podge of tables and chairs, the eclectic decor, with the classical opera music playing, i thought to myself, "where else?" you would not find this anywhere else in the world. not trendy enough for paris. too large, and slow-paced for nyc. would be passed over in just about any other city. there are people reading, studying, facebooking. jacq and i seemed to be the only ones talking and giggling. it had been two years since i had been there in my thesis-writing days. what i love about it is what everyone hates about starbucks: it's quiet enough you can be productive. it's inviting enough that you can get cozy. it's low-key enough that you don't have to be dressed to the nines. and a yoohoo? just 92 cents plus tax brings it to a dollar even.
after 3 hours of conversation, we left jj's to drive aimlessly around sylvan park, sylvan heights, and charlotte. it, too, was glorious. the doll houses, the yellow doors. the new-constructions with wrap-around porches. the old homes with character and porch swings. each neighborhood has its own distinct style of home, as if they illustrate the timeline of nashville's population and demographic expansion. 1940's bungalows (and renovations) in sylvan park; 1930's small cottages birthed from the great depression (with the square footage to prove it) in sylvan heights. government housing off of clifton. we drove and drove and drove, in circles, canvasing the areas around my home. i fell in love just a little bit more with nashville with every warm and inviting home that lined the streets, waving to us as if we were the parade and they, there to see us.
nashville, you amaze me. don't ever change.
runners up for today's thankfulness: jj's, friendships spanning decades, talk about future uncertainty and excitement, a productive day at home getting laundry done and my winter wardrobe into my closet from the attic, daylight savings time, the smell of freshly mopped floors, the humor on grey's anatomy, my fuzzy pink bathrobe, SEC football, justin timberlake on jimmy kimmel, and the crispy potato soft taco at taco bell. don't judge.
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