The Ingrums: The Tourist

Wow! I cannot believe it's almost April and my final days living in Auburn, AL are quickly approaching. I think of it as bittersweet. Exciting to think about new adventures ahead of us. Sad to think about friends we are leaving behind.
It feels kind of weird to think about having to make new friends in a new city. "Hi, I'm Cassie. Do you want to be my friend?" may not work in Nashville...haha. Hopefully, Ben and I will be fortunate enough to find a wonderful church family and nice coworkers.
My best friend, Alyssa, moved to Nashville last year. Mom and I went to visit her last week for a few days of shopping, dining and exploring the city. Her mom came from Memphis, so it was truly a Girl's Weekend. Alyssa is such a wonderful hostess. I told her I wanted to see all the areas of Nashville and eat some great food. Boy, did she deliver!
Mom and I showed up Friday afternoon, and Alyssa took us to a yummy diner close to her house. It was so great to see my friend again. I cannot wait until we can spend a lot more time together.
The three of us then went to the mall in Green Hills. I found a cute skirt at J Crew, but they didn't have my size, so I guess I will either stop at the store in B'ham or order it online.

Alyssa's mom met up with us, and we ventured to 12 South to eat pizza at Mafiaoza's. We finally found a place to park then walked down the street in the wonderful 70 degree evening air to this cool neighborhood hangout.

We had the most wonderful appetizer I have ever eaten. Fried Ravioli Cheese Sticks dipped in marinara sauce. You seriously have to try this. Come to Nashville and visit us, and we will take you to Mafiaoza's.

Saturday morning, we woke up bight and early (seriously, for me....7 am is early), and went the the Pancake Pantry near Vandy. People seriously wait in line outside this place at 7:30 in the morning to eat breakfast. But now I can see why. Nothing like homemade buttermilk pancakes and bacon to get your day started. We spent the afternoon looking at antiques in downtown Franklin.

I cannot believe it, but none of us bought anything! Oh well- we had fun looking. It is difficult to think about spending money on antiques when I am quitting my job in a few weeks and we are moving to a new city :)

We all went back to Alyssa's apartment to rest up, and then we went to fill our bellies with some great Mexican food- a requirement for a "Cassie and Alyssa" weekend. Alyssa then showed us what Nashville is all about. We want to a dueling piano bar called "The Big Bang" where we sat back and listened to some awesome musicians. These guys could seriously play anything on the piano that you request. I requested Benny and the Jets, and they blew us away! Such a fun night.