Weekend Wine-Filled Getaway

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Crashing Nightingale

I’m a big believer you don’t have to travel too far for a good time. There are tons of fun things to do within a days drive. My husband and I are ambassadors to this way of living because we’re always interested in travelling and exploring the world, near or far.

Recently we indulged in our local “wine country” and visited a few wineries and stayed at the bed & breakfast that one winery owns. My husband found a groupon for the Natchez Hills Bed & Breakfast, which to our delight, included the opportunity to visit the winery, Natchez Hills Vineyard, too.

Our trip gave us the option of taking the scenic route or interstate to get to our destination. The scenic route took us on the Natchez Trace Parkway. We were running short on time so had to save the scenic route for our return home. We arrived at the bed and breakfast first but learned we had to check in at the winery. I took a little video of the drive up the bed & breakfast. It is tucked away off a two-lane country road. The long drive-way made it feel very secluded and the perfect get-away from city life. No one around but you and nature.

We drove to the winery to introduce our taste buds to some sophisticated wine. The winery is just a few miles from the bed & breakfast, right off the main road. It was quiet and serene when we pulled up. The grapes glistened with their plum color in the late afternoon sun.

Our wine tasting host gave us a friendly and warm smile when we entered the room to taste the wine. We sipped on delicious and rich red and white wines, each time figuring out which one we’d like to purchase a bottle of. Our host entertained us while we went through the list. When we finished our wine tasting, we knew it was getting close to dinner time and inquired where we should dine. Our host suggested we go to Mt. Pleasant Grille in a nearby town. So we hopped in the car for our dinner destination.

By the time we arrived, it was dark but the quaint downtown the restaurant was located at was lit up. The restaurant had a modern but vintage diner look to it. Each booth had a little lamp and the floors were checked with black and white tile. There was a counter-top with the matching diner seats, which I’m always a sucker for sitting at for some reason.

And what diner-inspired restaurant would be complete without milkshakes? 🙂

The bed and breakfast itself was such a treat. They have two individual cabins and one room in the main house. We stayed in the main room but will definitely be checking out one of the cabins in a future stay. In the house is a living room, dining room and kitchen area. Guests can watch t.v. or choose a book from their large library. They had plenty of ways for guests to peacefully entertain themselves. Whether it be curling up with an old book or sitting out on the deck and soaking up nature.

We slept in an antique bed and sipped on the wine and chocolate we purchased. Enjoying every minute being away from the busy city and hectic work-life environment. When we woke up the next day, the wife of the husband and wife owner of the winery and bed & breakfast was preparing coffee and our breakfast. She was truly the most gracious and warm host I’ve ever met. Ironically, as a result of a morning chat, we found out she is originally from the same area my husband is from in Southern California. We had a great conversation getting to know her and her husband. There were two other couples that joined us for breakfast as the place can accommodate up to six it seems between the room in the main house and the two cabins nearby.

It was one of the nicest weekend getaways I’ve experienced. Between the peacefulness of the bed and breakfast, our kind hosts, the beautiful wineries and the scenic route we took on the Natchez Trace Parkway, it was a weekend not to forget. And a reminder that you really don’t have to travel far to soak in life and everything it has to offer. We’ll definitely be back to stay at the Natchez Hills Bed & Breakfast & visit the Natchez Hills Vineyard.

Living True in the Name of Vintage

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Crashing Nightingale

Most of us have a motto we live by. “Live each day to the fullest,” “Live fast, die young,” “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” For Tammy Pope, she not only lives by a motto, she named her vintage business after the words she lives by.

Tammy Pope is the lovely owner of Live True Vintage in East Nashville, Tenn. Tammy had her grand opening of her eclectic business just a little over a year ago on May 18, 2013. The road to getting the place business-ready was not easy. If you look up the definition of “blood, sweat and tears,” I’m pretty sure you’d see a picture of Tammy pouring herself into whipping the building into shape. While most people would have given up on a run-down building, Tammy did not and the fruits of her labors show when you walk into the store today. Tammy has the whole store displayed in such a charming and appealing way. She definitely gets a A++ in decorating.

When asked to describe her shop, the first word she said was “fun.” She went on to explain that when girls come into groups to try stuff on together, even if they do not purchase anything, they say they have fun. This is the biggest compliment to her. She also says she gets to listen to The Cramps instead of local radio station Jack FM, which she was subjected to when she worked for the United States Postal Service. I have to admit, being a music lover myself, it is nice when you can listen to what you want while you work.

She opened the business out of necessity. “First I started doing Ebay and Etsy. It was going good and I would set up a flea markets,” explained Tammy. She would also commission pieces and paint furniture. She kept accumulating items and first bought a little vintage bus and showcased at car shows. When it started to look like she might have to get a storage unit to store all the vintage treasures she was finding, she started looking for a residential business. After looking for a long time she found the building she currently occupies.

She described her experience with opening up her business as, “Super satisfying….any progress is your own.” There was no electricity during the first three months and she started having other problems with the building. She stated it’s, “been like a fun roller-coaster.” And how she elaborated on that was the feeling you get when the roller-coaster is about to crest at the top of the hill and the feeling as you’re plummeting down (she also did an amazing demonstration of being on a roller-coaster). Even though it’s a wild ride, when the roller-coaster stops, you’re wanting to go again.

Coming up with the business name didn’t prove to be a cake walk as one would think. When she started to create her online stores on Ebay and Etsy, she used the search tool to ensure there wasn’t another name out there. Every name kept coming up taken. Out of a fit of frustration, she threw her head and fists to the desk to at least take a moment to breath. That’s when she looked at her hands and decided to type in the words that are tattooed at the tops of her fingers. She entered the words, “Live True”, and BAM! the name wasn’t taken and the answer had truly been right at her fingertips the whole time. “Live True is my business motto. I’m not apologizing for anything,” stated Tammy. I’d say one can’t argue with that because these two words have a big meaning and is a phrase everyone can understand.

I asked her if she had any favorite items she enjoyed selling. “I like t-shirts because they’re always so funny.” She had a Dolly Parton t-shirt that sold in one day. She also likes country and western concert tour shirts, especially from the 70s and 80s. “It makes people so happy to find these t-shirts.” She likes to see people’s faces light up when they discover a t-shirt from their favorite band, musician or tour. As someone that still owns some of my band t-shirts from back in the day, I can see why people get so happy when they find their favorite. Her favorite part about owning Live True Vintage is seeing everybody and when her friends come to visit. She also enjoys the shows that are showcased at the shop. There is a space in the shop that bands and musicians can set up and play a show.

To close out the interview, I asked Tammy for some closing remarks or what I like to call, “Famous Last Words.” She said this, “Support small businesses. If you can’t come in, you can share a status [on Facebook].” She also pointed out that other small businesses help each other out and support each other. Live True Vintage is a charming little shop that not only delivers a great message with it’s name, it also delivers the best vintage products in town.

Live True Vintage is located on 3123 Gallatin Pike Nashville, Tenn 37216. You can also go like her Facebook page at Live True Vintage or Instagram at livetruevintage.

Behind the Scenes of the Southern Turf Building

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Crashing Nightingale

Being a member of Historic Nashville, Inc. definitely has it’s perks. Once a month Historic Nashville, Inc. hosts members-only behind-the-scenes tours to various historic places in and around Nashville, Tenn. Pretty much they had me at “behind-the-scenes.” What a treat to see historic buildings and places that aren’t often or at all seen by the public! For the month of March, we had the opportunity to view the historic Southern Turf Building.

The Queen Anne-style building was built in 1895 by a wealthy bookmaker, Marcus Cartwright. It’s home was located in what was known as Nashville’s “Men’s Quarter.” If you need me to elaborate on what was Nashville’s Men’s Quarter, it was a male domain that hosted gambling, saloons and quiet prostitution. A place no “well-to-do” lady would ever venture in. Living up to it’s section of downtown Nashville, the Southern Turf building operated a saloon on the first floor, a gambling parlor on the second floor and a bordello on the third floor. The building had it’s hey-day during the late 19th and very early 20th century. A black cloud called prohibition was looming and when statewide prohibition passed in 1909, the operations at the Southern Turf came to an end. Following this was the campaign to shut down the red-light district surrounding the Capitol. By 1957, vice could no longer call this section of the city home.

Following the passing of statewide prohibition in 1909, the saloon closed in 1916. The building’s manager, Ice Johnson, shot himself to death on the third floor where he lived while operating the saloon. We did visit this area and it has a new resident today. Between 1916 and 1937, the Southern Turf was home to The Nashville Tennessean newspaper. Following the The Nashville Tennessean, others called this place home including, a billiard hall, a restaurant, a shooting gallery, a clothing store, a restaurant, and a paint store. In the basement of the building the infamous Skull’s Rainbow Room entertained tourists and Nashville’s own residents in historic Printer’s Alley. Unfortunately, the owner, David “Skull” Schullman, was murdered and what glitter was left faded.

Between the years 1916 and 1982 the beautiful building was robbed (in my opinion) of it’s grand furnishings and fell under many unjustified remodelings. Below is a picture of the saloon.

In 1982, the building did fall into the hands of kind owners who took up the responsibility of restoring the building to it’s former architecture and style. Today it is owned by the law firm Trauger & Tuke. Historic Nashville, Inc. members can rest easy with the Southern Turf’s current owners as one of the owners, Mr. Robert “Bob” Tuke, has fought to save many of Nashville’s historic building and sites. Mr. Tuke was also our tour guide for the Southern Turf building.

And to save the best for last, while on our tour, we passed through one of the coolest doors we’ve ever seen or walked through. It was a heavy and tall door that had a little sliding “peephole” window that was used during it’s speakeasy days. You hear so much about these types of doors it was so awesome to actually use it! One can only imagine what the passcode was to enter.

Below are some exterior photos of the grand historic Southern Turf and interior photos of the infamous Skull’s Rainbow Lounge that is currently undergoing renovation in hopes to once again be a source of entertainment to Nashvillians.

All Aboard for 1950

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Crashing Nightingale

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, my husband and I set on an excursion to 1950. Before you start asking where the DeLorean is, I’ll explain that this wasn’t a scene from Back to the Future. The Tennessee Central Railway Museum hosts excursions to the DelMonaco Winery in Baxter, Tenn. My husband and I couldn’t resist jumping on board this retro voyage.

Of course we had to dress the part. I mean, we literally live in vintage clothing any chance we can get. The day before I went to my favorite antique warehouse to scout out a vintage hat. I found a hat…and a 1950s vintage ladies suit. It fit like a glove and I was thrilled to have brought it home. My husband wore a vintage suit as well and we arrived at the station bright and early Saturday morning.

Mr. & Mrs. before boarding.

Our train car host greeted us dressed in his uniform and assisted us to our seat. He thoroughly gave us our instructions for the three-hour trip to the winery. Before you think you can’t handle a three-hour trip on a train, I have to point out that the winery had a staff member on board that conducted a wine tasting that lasted the entire trip there. We sipped on whites then reds, tasting the most driest to the most sweetest wines the DelMonaco Winery produces.

Viewing the countryside from this angle was quite interesting. We traveled through a few towns but for the most part, we drank in the rolling hills of slumbering scenery while sipping on fine wine. A few times we passed by houses and caught a few people waving as we traveled by. We had the opportunity to see our state from a point of view we hardly ever get to see and it was a treat.

The passenger train we traveled on is a restored classic 1950s era American streamlined stainless steel passenger train. The museum has preserved this gem well and we felt so pleased they have. When we arrived at the winery, I snapped a few shots of the ladies restroom/lounge with my camera phone (sorry for the poor quality).

Who wouldn’t want to gab with their girlfriends while powdering your nose or ensuring the curls in your hair are behaving? 🙂

Upon arrival at the winery we had approximately two hours to have lunch and check out the winery. Unfortunately it was a chilly February day so we stayed inside instead of exploring the grape vines. The winery had live music and guests sat around round tables enjoying their favorite wines they purchased as a result of the wine tasting.

When it was time to board we had a few folks snap our picture with their camera. One gentlemen pointed out that people no longer get “dressed up” to go on trips. That they just throw on a pair of jeans just to be comfortable. For my husband and me, this is part of the fun. We love to dress from days gone by and it definitely adds to the event.

Dining car

Before we boarded to go back to the city.

On the way back we sipped on one of our recently purchased wines and I put on some Bessie Smith while we enjoyed the wine. We plan to take another excursion once the weather is warm and take a picnic when we go. This was by far the best Valentine’s Day celebration I’ve had so far. I highly recommend booking a trip on one of the Tennessee Central Railway Museum‘s excursions. And if you don’t live close by, check out what is in your state. After this trip, I declare we bring back railway travel.

Phillips General Store and Antiques: An antique lover’s playground

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

photography by Crashing Nightingale

Phillips General Store & Antiques Vintage catalogue that was showcased in the store’s earlier years.

One of the things I love is anything unique. What I love even more is if those things that are unique carry history behind it as well. This is what one can find at Phillips General Store & Antiques. The store carries an array of vintage items and rare antiques.

Nestled in the cozy town of Bell Buckle, Tenn, the Phillips General Store & Antiques building comes with it’s own history. The business is owned by Billy Phillips who purchased it from his antique dealer mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Phillips after he graduated high school. The store began its career as a dry goods business in the 1890s. The store operated until the mid-1950s and was closed up until Mr. and Mrs. Albert Phillips purchased it in 1971.

“We bought the building and it’s contents for $750 in 1971. When we opened it back up, it had all the clothing from the original stock. The showcases, rolling ladders and counters are all original to the building,” explains Mr. A. Phillips as he points out the antique clothing displayed around the store.

The “apothecary corner”

As a shopper makes their way around the store, one can tell a lot of thought and work is put in displaying all the antiques. Different sections of the store are decorated with similar items or colors. For example, many sections are dedicated to the various holidays. It is easy to find exactly what a buyer would need for any holiday setting or special occasion. Some areas are decorated according to the color of the item. As you maneuver in and out of the different settings you can find yourself admiring antiques that are dedicated to individual colors such as green, red, black or white.

“Billy decorates, no one else is involved. He has travelled around the country working on set designs for gift shows,” states Mr. A. Phillips.

Vintage photos and that have found a new home in the store.

Currently the store is showcasing many items celebrating Halloween. Antique witches, devils, pumpkins, black cats and goblins are the main attraction upon entering the building. It is a Halloween lover’s dream as there are so many vintage and rare items for the spooky holiday. 19th century photographs are mischievously adorned with construction paper cut-out witches hats. Vintage Halloween costumes hang above the displays and show a time when yellow and black were the traditional Halloween colors.

Spooky décor for that perfect Halloween party.

Phillips General Store & Antiques is the kind of place you could lose time in while exploring all the rarities and oddities. Every inch of the store showcases another very cool item that you suddenly find hard to live without. It’s the place where items from long ago have found a new resting place and are waiting to be discovered by you.

http://www.tnvacation.com/vendors/phillips_general_store_antiques/
http://bellbucklechamber.com/