NASH-ATTACK! Girl's weekend in Nashville 2012

Last week Katie & Elaine traveled 6 hours away from our little Columbus home to take NASHVILLE! It feels like months ago we were randomly scouring Southwest.com for flights anywhere but Columbus because we needed a getaway. Well - we found flights to Nashville for $45, so Nashville it was! The planning had been going on for so long that when it finally came time to leave we were PUMPED! Our friends Michelle, Gillian, Krysti and Danie came along for the ride to help us take Nashville. We were only going to be there for less than 3 days - how much damage could we really do? 

The week before our trip was my birthday and the day after we arrived was Krysti's birthday - so basically we used that as an excuse to celebrate all weekend long. Our first day we explored close to our condo and went to the Opryland Hotel. In our future lives when we are trillion-billionaires we will stay there - it was so pretty! We ate at the Jack Daniel's restaurant - YUM! That night after some daytime pool time it was time to start the party. Girl's weekend was officially a go.

 

The morning of day 2 was spent by a few of us recovering from night 1. Michelle, Katie and I woke up at the crack of dawn only to hit the pool and take a nap. Sidenote - HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRYSTI! After mimosa's and breakfast we headed out to do some shopping in Hillsboro Village. Being graphic designers, of course we had to hit up the paper store, Social Graces. I think we all made at least one purchase then we had lunch at Boscos. They had live music playing while we ate - it was so Nashville of us. We also stopped at Pinkberry Yogurt on the way home - OMG YUM.

For Krysti's birthday we went on a ghost tour - not quite what we were expecting as it was more of a history lesson than getting scared, but either way we had a good time. Afterward it was time to find food and the on with round 2! We got ribs for the birthday girl then went to check out Tootsies. It wasn't really our crowd (full of old people). Unfortunately, from the moment we stepped off the plane, Krysti's allergies went crazy so she wasn't feeling good. Her and Danie went home but for Katie, Michelle and I the night was young. We wandered around for a while not really knowing where to go, so we decided to check out The Stage. Remix to Ignition, Purple Rain, What's Love Got to Do With it? - Oh boy were we in for a treat. We stayed there all night, got on stage TWICE, and rubbed elbows after the show with the band. GAAAHHH!

It was the best night - EVER. The next day the only thing on the agenda was to visit Hatch Show Print. We came, we bought lots and lots of screen prints, we left. We ate at a place called Burger Up - so good, kind of reminded all of us of North Star. Also, they carried Jeni's ice cream - what's not to love? Our last night wrapped up with going to the Mercy Lounge to watch 8 bands compete on the Road to Bonnaroo. The place was awesome and the music was fantastic! That night we also may or may not have met up with a certain keyboardist/guitarist/singer from the night before :) 

 

Hopefully this is the first of many girl's trips to come. Thanks Nashville it was real - we had a blast!

A "Suite" Time with the Columbus Blue Jackets

2012 has been absolutely crazy for Katie and Elaine, so we apologize for being slower to post than we would like. This story begins last year around Halloween when Limited Brands had a pumpkin decorating contest. Teams were instructed to decorate pumpkins then set them out for people to vote on the best. Votes were cast with money and all of the proceeds went to charity. Being part of the creative team, we were challenged to not only enter this contest - but win.

Well obviously we were more than up for the challenge along with the help of our friend/co-worker Krysti Kalkman. Our idea was to transform our pumpkins to look like they were walking down the runway of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. We chose 4 outfits to mimic from the previous year's show for our pumpkins - and we WON! The "girls" looked great and we were able to raise a lot of money.

The winner of the contest got to choose a game for the Columbus Blue Jackets to sit in the Limited Brands suite. Not only did the winning team get to go, but 18 of our closest friends as well. They gave us the entire suite - it was SWEET. The Blue Jackets played the Carolina Hurricanes and won 5 to 1. Although this year, like most years, was more than a struggle for the Blue Jackets - the game we went to was super fun and very exciting!

Last weekend Katie and Elaine took NASHVILLE - check back soon to hear about our trip!

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

So far in 2012 Katie and Elaine have been reading like mad women. Be it the cold weather or just the fact that we have realized it's not necessary to watch every episode of Sex in the City 300 times, we have read a lot. One story we have both been practically obsessed with is The Hunger Games.

For those of you who haven't joined this band wagon - The Hunger Games is a 3 part book series about a girl named Katniss who must save her family from starvation. Every year the capitol picks a boy and girl from each of the 12 districts to compete in what is called the Hunger Games, a competition where  children literally fight to the death, and the last one standing then becomes the winner. Katniss has a little sister, Prim, who gets chosen as the representative for their district, District 12. She can not possibly let little Prim compete because she knows Prim will get killed. Katniss volunteers to take her place, along the way falls in love, and goes on to (SPOILER ALERT) win the Hunger Games.

Because we were so consumed in the books we just had to see the midnight showing of this baby, so our friend Krysti Kalkman rounded up a group of friends to watch at the Arena Grand Movie theater. For those of you who might be confused, Arena Grand is downtown - NOT on OSU's campus. I may or may not have gotten them a little mixed up. Luckily Katie was there to save the day so we wouldn't be late to the movie. We also met up with many work friends who had also planned on seeing the midnight showing at Arena Grand: Cheryl Forcina, Anna Bonevac, Mollie Wells, Phokeng Dailey, and Sara Kreinberg.

Arena Grand was just that - GRAND. The theaters are multiple levels and you get to pick your exact seat. Also, if you are interested, this is one of the few theaters in the Columbus area that you can drink alcohol at while you watch your movie. $14 bought us a great view and a complimentary popcorn. The movie was incredibly close to the book, which as anyone who has read a book and then seen the movie knows this is usually not the case. Hunger Games was awesome and Arena Grand was great. For anyone who lives downtown, this would be a fantastic spot to walk and go see a movie on a nice night this summer. And always remember, may the odds ever be in your favor.