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The Nashville Mom

/ Dawn's Latest

The Nashville Book Club

“Never underestimate the power of a girl with a book.”-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I am so excited to announce the launch of The Nashville Book Club. I have always loved to read but need some accountability and wanted to establish a community.

In The Nashville Book Club, we will pick a book to read together each month and discuss online. We will also meet up a few times a year.

You can also expect giveaways, author interviews and all things favorite books in the group.

Our January book is: The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda. Grab a copy and join us! You can also follow along on Instagram @thenashvillebookclub

/ Weekend Happenings

Nashville Weekend Happenings: 2020

Marshmallow Hikes

  • Thursday, Jan. 2nd, Friday, Jan. 3rd, Saturday, Jan. 4th and Jan. 11th (10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. hikes)
  • Owl’s Hill Nature Sanctuary (545 Beech Creek Rd. Brentwood
  • Start the new year in the outdoors with a family-friendly hike followed by hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows. $10 per hiker

Nashville Home and Garden Show

  • Saturday, Jan. 4th (10-6) and Sunday, Jan. 5th (10-5)
  • The Fairgrounds
  • FREE ADMISSION all weekend. At the Nashville Home and Garden show, you’ll find builders, contractors, kitchens, baths, garden displays, landscapers, pools, spas, security systems, garage doors, driveways, windows and much more!

Hamilton

  • Through January 19th
  • TPAC
  • This hit musical comes to Nashville’s TPAC. Remaining tickets are limited. There’s also a digital lottery for $10 tickets (40 per show. Find lottery details here.

Belmont Bruin Basketball

  • Thursday, January 2nd and Saturday, January 4th (various times for mens and women’s games)
  • Curb Event Center
  • Cheer on the Bruins to a win! Grab a seat in the kid’s section and enjoy a free snack!

Cheekwood Holiday Lights

  • When: November 23rd (Members) through January 5th (Closed on Christmas Day) Timed-ticketed event
  • Where: Cheekwood Botanical Gardens
  • What: Over one million lights, real reindeer, holiday carolers, meet Santa , explore the Cheekwood mansion, hop aboard the North Pole Express with Cheekwood’s new train depot featuring a slide, climbing net and more! There will also be Dog Photos with Santa! Find all the details here.

Zoolumination: Chinese Festival of Lights

  • Through February 2nd (Nightly 5-9 p.m.) 
  • Nashville Zoo
  • See the Zoo in a whole new light with the country’s largest Chinese lantern festival. Over 500 custom-made silk lanterns will be spread across 60 acres with elaborate displays along with some of your favorite Zoo animals, holiday-themed scenes and more!

*Upcoming Events*

The Nashville Boat Show

  • January 9-12
  • Music City Center
  • Over 300 boats and family friendly activities planned throughout the show including Boating Skills Virtual Trainer, Fishing 101 course, Discover-A-Boat Scavenger Hunt, Create-a-Crankbait station, Super Thursday one-day only with superhero meet and greets, Career Day, Miss Geico Racing Boat and special guest speakers and seminars.

/ General Info

The Nashville Mom: Year in Review

2020, we are ready for you! A new DECADE!! But first, let’s take a trip down memory lane and see the best of 2019!

I started the year with launching my podcast, The Nash Chat! It has been so much fun connecting with women (and a few men) sharing their stories and being inspired! Starting the podcast was out of my comfort zone and I’ve learned so much along the way, but it has been such an incredible experience for me! Looking forward to more interviews in the new year!

Gaylord Opryland opened Soundwaves! We have loved spending time at the indoor and outdoor water resorts! Such an amazing place for families! I can’t believe that I raced down the slides and even tried the one the bottom drops out of but I can’t wait to go back again!!

Southern Living Instagram Story Takeover! This was such a thrill for me to be able to takeover Southern Living’s Insta Stories to share about Cheekwood in Bloom!

Spring Break at Dollywood! Dollywood is one of our favorite kid-friendly spots! The kids love the rides, shows, games and Dream More Resort!

Touring Southern Living Headquarters was a DREAM COME TRUE! Seeing the test kitchen where recipe magic happens, the prop room with every colorful dish you can imagine and more. I’ve read Southern Living for many years and can’t wait for it to arrive in my mailbox every month!

Football fans all around Music City celebrated the NFL Draft! The free fan experience at Nissan Stadium was a blast! My football obsessed son was in heaven!

Hosting a Mother’s Day Luncheon with some of my best friends and Honeybaked Ham. It’s always a good time to gather around a table with delicious food and spend time with friends.

CMA Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence was an inspiring event honoring music teachers from across the U.S. and the impact they are making on students!

Elisabeth Hasselbeck Book Signing and Mother’s Day Party at Draper James This was my favorite event of the year! Elisabeth shared stories from her book, Point of View. We had a bloom bar with Natchez Glen, food from Apple Spice, a beautiful photo booth, Nashville Cheese Gal and so much fun!!

The time I turned Draper James into concert venue…We kicked off CMA Fest with a Writers in the Round event! Sarah Darling, Rachel Wammack and Stephanie Quayle lended their beautiful talents for the party to benefit the CMA Foundation.

Visiting Bryson City was another highlight! This quaint, mountain town is such a family-friendly destination with cute shops, restaurants and outdoor activities!

Charleston calls us home! We love spending time in the LowCountry of South Carolina, it’s one of the best places to travel! See my Charleston Guide here!

HOTLANTA: We spent some time exploring Atlanta and had the best time at the Braves, touring the College Football Hall of Fame, the Atlanta Botanical Garden and checking out a new city! There were so many family friendly activities and great food!

Holiday World: We took a short drive up to Santa Claus, Indiana. The amusement park has holiday themed sections like 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Halloween as well as Splashin’ Safari water park! We can’t wait to go back again!

30A Travel Guide: Our cousins moved to 30A so we have enjoyed lots of beach time with them. I compiled my guide to these sandy shores.

We added two puppies to our home! Beau and Scout have been a handful but have also brought so much joy!

Tazikis Tailgate Tailgates are always the best part of football season. We gathered our friends for a party with Tazikis!

Sissy Goff’s Raising Worry Free Kids Launch Party: I celebrated with Sissy and friends her latest book! Beating anxiety is such an important topic! It was a privilege to support Sissy and her book!

Kid-Friendly Halloween Party with Dollar General: Making the holidays more festive has become one of my favorite things! We hosted a popcorn party with a few friends for Halloween. It was a highlight of trick or treating!

/ Events, Holiday

Kid-Friendly NYE

We love ringing in the new year, kid-friendly style! Here are some options for family fun to bring in 2020!

Discovery Center will host a Member’s New Year’s Eve Breakfast Party with a continental breakfast and special activities. RSVP here. There will also be a Countdown to Noon pj party with karaoke, Wii dance party, resolution wall, special art and tinkering projects. And of course the iconic balloon drop at noon. Countdown to Noon is included with admission or free for members.

Adventure Science Center will be celebrating Happy Noon Year with fun, science and CONFETTI! Grab your tickets here.

Kings Bowl: Strike your way into the New Year with bowling, dining, live entertainment and music! See more about the offerings here.

Brentwood Skate Center: Daytime skate from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (for younger ages) $10 covers admission and skate rental. Children will gather on the skate floor for the balloon drop at 4:45 p.m. Balloons filled with prizes will drop! New Year’s Eve Night (for pre-teens and older) will be from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets are $30 (covers admission, skate rental, a NYE shirt) A balloon drop will launch at midnight.

Nashville Zoolumination See the Zoo in a whole new light with the country’s largest Chinese lantern festival. Over 500 custom-made silk lanterns will be spread across 60 acres with elaborate displays along with some of your favorite Zoo animals, holiday-themed scenes and more!

Cheekwood Holiday Lights Over one million lights, real reindeer, holiday carolers, meet Santa , explore the Cheekwood mansion, hop aboard the North Pole Express with Cheekwood’s new train depot featuring a slide, climbing net and more! There will also be Dog Photos with Santa! Find all the details here.

Gaylord Opryland’s A Country Christmas Three million twinkling lights, festive decor and beautiful sights! Other events on the property include ICE featuring A Christmas Story, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical  Tubing, Ice Skating, Carriage Rides, Gingerbread Decorating, Reindeer Games Scavenger Hunt and much more! Find all the details here.

Glow Nashville Glow Nashville features one of the country’s tallest Christmas trees, millions of lights adorning larger-than-life sculptures, epic ice skating and tubing experiences, life-size Santa’s workshop and lots more family friendly activities. Purchase your tickets here.

Downtown Nashville will host a free concert with Keith Urban, confetti, the Music Note Drop and more for those with older kiddos or who want to brave a late night!

/ Weekend Happenings

Nashville Weekend Happenings: Almost Christmas Edition

Holiday Movie and Cookie Decorating

  • Friday, December 29th from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
  • Brentwood Library
  • Watch Elf and decorate sugar cookies! (The event is aimed for teens ages 12-18, please register in advance)

Jurassic World Live Tour

  • Thursday, Dec. 19th through the 22nd
  • Bridgestone Arena
  • Jurassic World dinosaurs are taking over Bridgestone Arena with an adventurous story with dinosaur favorites like Indominus Rex, Blue the Raptor, Triceratops, Pteranodons, T-Rex and others from the movie.

Aladdin’s Winter Wish

  • Thursday, December 12th through Sunday, December 22nd
  • Tennessee Performing Arts Center
  • Aladdin and His Winter Wish is the ultimate family holiday show playing at TPAC! 

Cheekwood Holiday Lights

  • When: November 23rd (Members) through January 5th (Closed on Christmas Day) Timed-ticketed event
  • Where: Cheekwood Botanical Gardens
  • What: Over one million lights, real reindeer, holiday carolers, meet Santa , explore the Cheekwood mansion, hop aboard the North Pole Express with Cheekwood’s new train depot featuring a slide, climbing net and more! There will also be Dog Photos with Santa! Find all the details here.

Gaylord Opryland’s A Country Christmas

  • When: November 8th thru January 1, 2019
  • Where: Opryland Hotel
  • What: Three million twinkling lights, festive decor and beautiful sights! Other events on the property include ICE featuring A Christmas Story, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical (Book by 12/2 and save $10 using code PC19 at RudolphMusicalNashville.com; Valid for 11-17-12/25 performances, excluding Saturdays for Prem Orchestra, Prem Mezzanine, Orchestra & Balcony ), Tubing, Ice Skating, Carriage Rides, Gingerbread Decorating, Reindeer Games Scavenger Hunt and much more! Find all the details here. 

Zoolumination: Chinese Festival of Lights

  • Friday, November 15th through December (Nightly 5-9 p.m.) 
  • Nashville Zoo
  • See the Zoo in a whole new light with the country’s largest Chinese lantern festival. Over 500 custom-made silk lanterns will be spread across 60 acres with elaborate displays along with some of your favorite Zoo animals, holiday-themed scenes and more!

Ornament Event

  • Sunday, December 22nd 10 am-3 pm (Walk-in)
  • AR Workshop Franklin
  • Stop by AR Workshop Franklin between 10am-3pm to paint-your-own DIY wood slice ornament. Multiple designs to choose from! $5.00 each Shop our retail for candles, jewelry, stocking stuffers, bath balms, soaps, home decor, and more – all 20% off!

Auntie Claus

  • Thursday, November 14th through Sunday, December 29th
  • Nashville Children’s Theater
  • There’s something mysterious about Sophie Kringle’s glamorous aunt. She serves Christmas cookies at teatime, even in July and there’s always a secretive trip every year around the holidays! Come see more on the world premiere musical commissioned for Nashville audiences.

Winterfest

Through Jan. 20th (Mondays and Tuesdays are closed)
The Fountains at Gateway, Murfreesboro
Third annual Winterfest at Fountains at Gateway are hosting ice skating and holiday activities through the season.

The Dancing Lights of Christmas

  • When: November 16- Jan. 4th
  • Where: James Ward Agricultural Center (945 E. Baddour Parkway, Lebanon)
  • What: The Dancing Lights of Christmas returns for it’s 8th consecutive season. Light displays, Christmas tunes and Santa’s village.

Tennessee Titans Home Game

  • Sunday, Dec. 22nd at 12 p.m.
  • Nissan Stadium
  • Cheer on the Titans against Drew Brews and the New Orleans Saints

/ Columbia, Nashville Shops

Smith and York

Meet Katherine York, the owner of Smith & York, a modern home boutique. Katherine is sharing her story of transitioning from working from Visit Franklin to opening her own store!

TNM: You worked for Visit Franklin for 14 years, what was your journey to opening your own shop?

KY: Adam and I started visiting Columbia in December of 2018. The first time we visited the square, we were blown away at the restoration that had taken place since we had been there years earlier. You could sense that Downtown was on the verge of a renaissance of sorts. We quickly started doing our research and knew that Columbia is where we wanted to put our first shop. I resigned from my job to focus on starting the business, thinking it would take nine to twelve months to secure a location and start finding vendors. Little did I know that I would have a lease to one of the largest, most recognizable buildings on the square just seven days later. I believe that God knew exactly when and where we would be. We just had to trust and take the steps to get there. We received keys to the shop April 1st, with zero retail experience. We started demolition and renovating immediately. We didn’t purchase our first piece of merchandise until the last week of April and opened our doors May 30th. The store opened with limited inventory, but Adam and I made the decision early on to only purchase items that we loved and would have in our own home. We hope others see that our shop is an extension of our home; a place where everyone is welcomed. 

TNM: Not only did you open a shop in Downtown Columbia but your family has moved there as well. What drew you all to Muletown? 

KY: Once the shop had been open for a few months, we start to develop a real appreciate for Columbia. It’s a true small town where everyone knows everyone. A lot of our customers were born and raised in Columbia, and they have a deep pride for their community. We were already regulars at restaurants like Vanh Dy’s piano bar, Muletown Coffee, Taps Off Main, and Buck + Board and stores like the The Linen Duck and Oak + Lace. Our customers had become our friends, and we felt like we belonged. The
sense of community is so strong in Columbia, and the city has a lot to offer.
TNM: What can readers expect to find at Smith + York?

KY: Smith & York Co. is located in historic 1800’s building right on the Public Square. Our space is charming and quaint and is the perfect backdrop for a relaxing shopping experience. We have created a space that makes you feel right at home when you enter the shop. As you stroll, you will find an array of unique items for your home and lifestyle. We pride ourselves on bringing something different to the shopping experience in
Downtown Columbia, while also staying true to the spirit of the local
community. 
TNM: What are some holiday events coming up in Columbia that we should mark on our calendars?

KY: There are so many wonderful events happening in Muletown this holiday season. We are most excited for Fa-La-La Fridays. Every Friday in the month of December the shops will stay open until 8:00pm for shoppers to stroll downtown and pick out the perfect gift. There is something about being on the square at night that is so special, especially with the square lit by the Christmas tree. For a full list of events in Columbia, visit 
www.VisitColumbiatn.com.
TNM: What are your top three gift items in the store?

KY: Our top three best sellers are, first and foremost, cheese and cutting boards. We offer a variety of accessoriness and books to accompany them. They make perfect gifts for hostesses, birthdays, and weddings. The second best seller is our candle line, Bridgewater Candles. Our most popular fragrance is called Sweet Grace. It’s the only candle we burn in the shop and what most people in town would tell you is our signature scent. Lastly, we sell a lot of men’s gift items. We have a section in the store that
displays a selection of items that are perfect for any gentleman. 

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