The Nashville Mom

March 13, 2023 / Easter, Spring/Easter, Style

Nashville Easter Round Up

Eggstravangza

Saturday, April 8th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Nashville Zoo
Nashville Zoo’s annual spring celebration is back with egg hunts and Easter fun for children of all ages. Activities during the day include 12 scheduled egg hunts for kids, face painting, keepe r talks, animal encounters and animal egg hunts! Reservations are required and will sell out!

Bound Books Egg Hunt

Monday, April 3rd from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Bound Booksellers
Egg hunt, an Easter craft, storytime and treats. Registration required

Once Upon A Spring

Through May 14th
Gaylord Opryland
An itinerary full of both weekend and weekday activities are in store for guests including a brand-new crafting clubhouse and interactive show for kids, spring-themed boat rides, an Easter Bunny meet and greet and much more.

The Great Harpeth Easter Egg Hunt

Sunday, April 9th
Main Street, Franklin (From 1st Avenue to 5th Avenue)
This event will feature 12 golden eggs hidden in top secret locations throughout downtown. Each egg will be filled with an awesome prize such as a one night stay at The Harpeth, dinner for two at 1799 Kitchen + Cocktails, a $50 gift card to McGavock’s Coffee and Provisions and lots more! The event begins at 7 a.m. on Easter Sunday. Once you’ve located a golden egg, post a photo on Instagram, tagging @harpethhotel, and tell us where the egg was found. Eggs + prize certificates must be redeemed by Saturday, April 15th.

Great Spring Art Hop

Friday, April 7th and Saturday, April 8th
Cheekwood
Featuring nine oversized bunnies painted by local artists – eight of them hidden throughout the gardens – and the return of egg hunts, the Great Spring Art Hop is not to be missed! The event will also feature food trucks, live entertainment and family activities!

For Pete’s Sake Pop Up

Saturday, March 25th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Draper James
For Pete’s Sake Pottery will be popping up with a beautiful variety of hand painted eggs, chonoiserie bunnies and build your own Bunny village!

Easter Jam

Saturday, April 8th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Rolling Hills Community Church (All campuses)
Join us at any Rolling Hills Campus for our fun and exciting Easter Jam! No matter what campus you call home, you’re invited to join us at one of our two in-person After Jam locations. There will be inflatables, egg hunts, a petting zoo, crafts, food trucks, and more! Other than the food trucks, everything at the After Jam is FREE!

Cedarmont Farm Egg Hunt

Saturday, April 8th (Gates open at 12:30 and close at 1:15 p.m., Egg Hunt is at 1:30 p.m.)
Cedarmont Farm
Bring a picnic & blanket and join us and the Easter Bunny
for a lovely afternoon of egg hunting on the farm!
Egg Hunts will be divided by age group and in addition to candy-filled eggs, there will be a special prize egg hidden in each egg hunt area. All proceeds from this event will be donated to TN Alliance for Kids

Easter Egg Hunt and Spring Festival

Friday, April 7th and Saturday, April 8th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Lucky Ladd Farms
Celebrate spring with the Easter Bunny as he gets things hopping around the Farm! This family friendly event features all your favorite farm attractions, non-stop egg hunts, and you will meet some of our brand new sweet fuzzy baby animals. It’s an EGG-citing way start the spring season!
Easter Bunny meet-and-greets takes place each hour throughout event.

Community Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday, April 8th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Plaza Mariachi
The Hispanic Family Foundation in cooperation with its partners will hold a community Easter Egg Hunt at Plaza Mariachi on Saturday, April 16, 2022. There will be live music and entertainment, contests, prizes, and more!

Egg Hunt at Brentwood Library

Saturday, April 16th beginning at 1 p.m.
Brentwood Library
The John P. Holt Brentwood Library invites you to the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Come early to enjoy, beginning at 1:00 p.m. to meet the Easter Bunny—Bring your own camera and make a guess as to how many Jelly Beans are in the jar. The field will be divided into the following age groups: Toddlers to age 3, Ages 4-6, ages 7-9, ages 10-12. The Egg Hunt starts Promptly at 1:30 p.m. Please bring your own basket or bag for the hunt! Location and parking: The festivities will take place in the field between Lipscomb Elementary and the library. Please arrive early for best parking. Parking is available at the library, the Brentwood Civitan parking Lot and River Park.

Photos with the Easter Bunny

Through Sunday, April 9th
Bass Pro Shop
Bass Pro Shops in Nashville invites families to celebrate Spring by offering free photos with the Easter Bunny. Families are encouraged to make a free advanced reservation online to receive a free, studio-quality 4×6 color photo. Photo package upgrades will also be available. Bass Pro Shops will offer free bubble wands for participants, while supplies last.
Reservations are recommended and can be made seven days in advance. To learn more and schedule a visit with the Easter Bunny, visit basspro.com/easter.

March 6, 2023 / Dawn's Latest, The Nashville Book Club

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of local students about what inspired me to write This is Nashville and about the writing process! I thought I’d share a little of the backstory with you all too!

Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher and loved children’s books. I collected them for my “one day” classroom. I had meaningful writing experiences along the way too-I won a writing contest at my elementary school, wrote for my high school newspaper and entered other writing competitions. I didn’t realize the impact these opportunities made on me until later.

Fast forward through several years of teaching (I’ve taught 3rd, 4th, 5th grades as well as Math and Reading Intervention), two babies and a lot of life later….our family landed in Nashville, TN. Living in Nashville had been a dream of mine for many years. After lots of prayers and hard work, we finally made it happen! I never anticipated becoming a blogger but it just sort of happened…and I’ve naturally loved sharing about all of my favorite places in and around Nashville.

I wanted to write a book for a few years but kept putting it off. Each January, it would be my goal for the year…and then slowly would fade into the background! However, in January of 2021, I decided to finally made it happen! I took the notes that I had been jotting down for years and put them in a draft, researched illustrators and put together a plan! Once I connected with Candler, we worked on the draft and the images. The process took about 9 months from draft to publish!

It has been such an honor to partner with local businesses, museums and bookstores! I am thrilled to see my books in store, host book signings, school events and ship books all over the country (and one even went to Israel!) I am so thankful for everyone who has purchased a copy, supported my dream and encouraged me in this process! I have also written a children’s coloring book for one of my other favorite towns, Fairhope, Alabama!! Candler and I also have another project in the works for this year!

Order This is Nashville

Order Hello Fairhope

*Where Can You Find This is Nashville Locally*

Music City Shop at Nashville Airport

Music City Shop at Bridgestone Arena

*Upcoming Book Events*

Pop Up with Scraps of Magic x Sweethaven: March 23rd

Drop Everything and Read at Cheekwood: April 15th

Main Street Festival: Signing at Landmark Books, April 22nd

February 27, 2023 / Happenings

Nashville Spring Break Ideas

Spring Break is just around the corner! If you’re staying in town, save this post for a few ideas for local activities!

Explore the interactive exhibits and create in the Taylor Swift Education Center at the Country Music Hall of Fame and then lunch at Assembly Food Hall at Fifth and Broadway
Go for a hike at Radnor Lake, chase waterfalls at Jackson Falls or Old Stone Fort Archaeological Park
Make you own pancakes at Pfunky Griddle and then head over to Nashville Zoo
Take a day trip to Tullahoma and have lunch at Sun Drop Shoppe
Paint pottery at Third Coast Clay and lunch at Mojo’s at The Factory in Franklin
Support a local bookstore- Parnassus, Bound Books, Landmark Booksellers, The Nolensville Book Nook
Get your game on at Pixel Planet Arcade
Picnic and play at the park- Fannie Mae Dees, Sevier Park, The Parthenon, Crockett Park, Pinkerton
Go bowling and play in the arcade at Franklin Entertainment Center
Hit the ropes course at The Adventure Park

January 31, 2023 / Savannah, Travel

Weekend Trip to Savannah

I’m not sure how I’ve never been to Savannah, Georgia before! I lived right down the road in Charleston but somehow never made it to this port town! One $49 Southwest deal later and I finally got there with some girlfriends! We had the best time exploring this town draped in spanish moss and green spaces! I thought I’d share our favorite Savannah spots in case you’re looking to plan a trip!

EATS

Local 11 Ten We had our first dinner in this cozy spot! The restaurant was very aesthically pleasing with artwork and quaint vibes. Unfortunately, their rooftop area was closed on the night we were there but that would be a fun summertime spot. I had scallops with polenta that was delicious but felt like it was a little pricy for the amount of food we received.
The Olde Pink House feels like a must in Savannah! Nestled in a historic home, their service was top notch! I bet you won’t be able to eat just one of the cheddar crackers they bring to the table, such a tasty savory snack!
Treylor Park-Hitch is a festive atmosphere with unique menu items! Don’t miss their nachos that are inspired by Chick-fil-a with waffle fries, fried chicken, pickles and cheese! There wasn’t a bite left! I also had one of the best salads-the Georgia Hitch, complete with toasted pecans, Georgia peaches, vidalia onions and feta cheese! My friend Lauren and I both ate every single bite!!
Zunzis had me at dinner in an outdoor apres-ski inspired igloo! Indoors was Tiki Bar themed and they had the best South African-inspired sandwiches and cocktails! Their Conquistador sandwich was voted the #1 sandwich in Georgia!
Little Duck Diner is the spot for brunch and even includes a rubber ducky in your drinks! There was a little bit of a wait so we walked around the City Market which is close by!
The Collins Quarters has two locations in town. We had our last brunch at the one on Forsyth Park and it was a hit! Not only was the food scrumptious, it was a great spot for people watching!
Churchills is a British-inspired pub with fish and chips, She Crab soup and a rooftop area during warmer weather.

SHOPS

E. Shaver Books was one of the best bookstores I’ve been to! Lots of great books to browse and two resident kitties as well!
The Paris Market is a chic French-inspired shop with antiques and other treasures! There’s also a cafe with coffee and pastries!
Broughton Street is full of local and chain stores like Kendra Scott, Vineyard Vines, H & M, Free People and so many more!
The Boutique District on Whitaker Street (A few shops to stop by One Fish Two Fish, Hannah E Shop, The Annex)
The City Market has lots of souvenir shops and Spartina is a cute one
Chocolate by Adam Turoni was a drool-inducing chocolate with beautiful, hand crafted chocolates

THINGS TO SEE/DO

There are a few trolley tours. We personally rode with Old Savannah Tours and enjoyed seeing historical sites around Savannah
Forsyth Park is a 30-acre park where residents and visitors gather for picnics, to bring their dogs out and to play! Savannah’s most famous fountain, installed in 1858 can also be found in Forsyth Park.
Haunted Pub Tour-we went on a haunted pub tour! While this was interesting, it wasn’t our favorite experience. Totally Awesome Bar was a fun 80’s/90’s inspired stop along the way! This bar had pool tables, a photo booth, Nintendo and of course, I loved that they were playing The Golden Girls on one of their many televisions!
Plant Riverside is a waterfront area with shops, restaurants, live music and hotels along the Savannah river. Make sure to stop by the J.W. Marriott lobby to see the dinosaur and fossil museum-like display!
Forest Gump’s iconic scene with Forest on the bench took place in Savannah. While the bench is now housed in the Visitor’s Center museum, you can stroll through the area where it was filmed.

WHERE TO STAY

We rented an Airbnb for our stay in the historic area, it was a fabulous location and allowed us to walk most places around town. While I did not stay in these and can’t offer personal experience, The Alida Hotel and J.W. Marriott both looked very nice! There was a water fountain/splash pad outside of the J.W. Marriott that looked like a fun place for kids in the warmer weather!

While this was my first visit, it certainly will not be my last! It took me about a day to get the ”feel” of Savannah! A few girls felt like it was a blend of Charleston and New Orleans. It felt like a laid back town with lots of park squares to relax in. And…Tybee Island is a short 25 minute drive so you can be at the beach in no time! Southwest has direct flights from Nashville to Savannah, so next time they’re having a sale, snatch up a ticket and head to this beautiful town.

January 26, 2023 / Dawn's Latest

Let Your Light Shine with GloriLight

Do you want to light up your kid’s rooms with encouragment and Bible verses?

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