Yumming and Strumming in Tennessee!

Biscuit gnocchi at Hog and Hominy

I have a group of girlfriends, and we've been meeting for dinner for nearly 20 years. (OMG. As I typed that, I realized how old we are.) Anyway, one of our party recently celebrated a landmark birthday. We decided that the occasion called for a girls' trip to Nashville!

We rented a cool house on Air BnB, planned a few must-sees, and off we went! Shawn and I decided to leave a day early and overnight in Memphis for food and fun. We rolled into town around lunchtime, navigating our way to Hog and Hominy, a Southern/Italian fusion place which the internet said had amazing eats. After trying their biscuit gnocchi, I have to agree! Shawn got a pizza, and we split the peanut butter pie (Lawdhavemercy.) for dessert. The place has a casual, airy feeling, with reasonable price points and really delicious dishes.

After lunch, it was off to the Staxx Museum of American Soul Music. In all of my years of going to Memphis, I'd never been there, and I couldn't wait to check it out! So fun! We walked through old churches, reconstructed within the confines of the museum, snooped through a layout of the studio where some of soul's greatest hits were recorded, and watch Isaac Hayes' custom Cadillac El Dorado  glitter as it spun beneath the lights. I loved the character of this museum, and I really loved the headphones throughout that allowed you to listen to landmark songs at the touch of a button. Worth a
stop!

After settling into our hotel, we hit downtown for dinner at Flight. I loved this place. I LOVED this place. Amazing small plates and wine flights, with an expert staff that knows what to recommend and how to steer you through the menu. And though the dishes and wines are grouped, you can order whatever you want. The delicious combinations are endless. I sampled small plates of lamb chop, pork, and fish, along with a flight of three glasses of different wines. Then, of course, Shawn and I had a dessert flight. Everything was so amazing. This was my best Memphis find of the trip, and I can't wait to return.

Heavenly dinner at Flight

We'd made a reservation, and I was glad we had, as the placed filled up. We had a lovely 2-top in the loft section, overlooking the main dining room. Service was perfect.

After dinner, we walked around downtown Memphis a bit, stumbling upon public art and the occasional street musician. Then, we returned to the hotel and sank gratefully into bed.

The next morning, Shawn had one thing on her mind - IKEA. Neither of us had ever been to one, and she was determined to check it out. Cups of coffee, and we were off! Here's what we learned - IKEA is HUGE. And the environments within it are staged. You open the drawers of the kitchen, and they have silverware and dishes in them. You open the closets, and clothing is hanging in side, with shoes neatly stacked at the bottom. They do everything they can to show you what it would be like to live in these environments.

Shawn marked IKEA off her bucket list!

I loved how they staged areas based on square footage. As in, "This is how you could stage an apartment of 700 square feet." (It seems remarkably livable.) We oohed and ahhed and nearly got lost several times before lunch, when we went to the cafe for a bit. (The meatballs really are good!) We looked some more after that, but had to leave at last to meet our other friends in Nashville on time.

That afternoon, we joined the rest of our party at the rental house. We mixed cocktails and tippled a bit before gussying up and heading to dinner at Lockeland Table. We had drinks and dinner, catching up and people-watching. (There was a guy on what looked like a blind date who had this really long, straight hair. He legit BRAIDED IT into two pigtails at the dinner table, while I watched in horror. Clearly, I was the least-hipster person there.)

Then, off to bed for another big day! More to come . . .