I. Village Pub

A cozy pub in Nashville with a nice porch,
plenty of pups, and good beer

A place recommended for it's laid back atmosphere. Once I went here I immediately felt like "Ahhh this is what I'm looking for". I've been trying to find a place in Nashville that can make me feel the same vibes as summer cookouts felt in Memphis. In a land where cocktail bars reign supreme and the theme of the interior is just as important as the quality of the drink, I wanted to find a place where you can just go, sit outside, have a conversation and a beer no need to dress up just meetup. Village Pub fits that to a tee. At first Will & I would go just to get out of the house and have deeper conversations. Then as the weather became nicer and nicer I found myself treating myself to dates there. A glass of wine and a good book, surrounded by dogs, it has definitely become one of my happy places in Nashville.

II. The Green Room

A really cool concert venue in Memphis,
with 1970's vibes and plenty of jazz

One of my favorite Cindy adventures this year. Will and I made a trip down to Memphis for family and with my step mom Ms. Cindy, got to check out what had been done to renovate the once abandoned Sears building. Words cannot describe how much I love the new space, from a city funded gallery space, to moving over the local U of M jazz station, to building out a records library and listening room for Sunset studio records and more, I really am excited and proud that Memphis is doing things like this. The best experience of the night, and one of the coolest concert venues I've ever been to, was listening to musician Charu Suri in the Green room—an intimate atmosphere where we sat on a comfy couch and got to listen to where jazz meets raga in a space that felt like a 1970's living room.

III. Ugly Mugs

Café on the Eastside with a fun group of
baristas & plenty of outdoor seating

Coffee, coffee, coffee, yes I am definitely a café hopper. Normally I rotate between 2-3 coffee shops as my main motive for visiting nowadays is for a change of scenery as opposed to just a good cup. However, this year Ugly Mugs just seemed to be the place for me. From the baristas that stay consistent, to the locals and non-locals that would fill the space with interesting stories, I just couldn't get enough of the outdoor patio, the atmosphere and the seasonal drinks. Cupping my hands on an actual mug, soaking in the sunlight, I think Ugly Mugs has become my Cheers.

IV. Climb East

Will & I's playground, full of technical
boulders & chill social hangs

Will & I love bouldering to be sure. I love the puzzle aspect mixed with the understanding of your specific body. There is something performative about it, a sequence that you can struggle through or you can practice and execute with finesse. It makes me think of my drum corps days, or at least calls to that part of myself. However, I'm not sure I would have gotten as obsessed with climbing if it wasn't for the Climb East gym. It's style is very different than a lot of the newer bouldering gyms. The newer style of climbing is more acrobatic, meant for indoors, meant for creating excitement in competition. Meanwhile the East gym still goes off of the idea of indoor bouldering preparing you for outdoor climbing. With that being the case it's problems are set to where there's an emphasis on control, technical precision in where to place weight and tension versus dynamic coordination. I think that's why Will & I keep coming back.

V. My Office

My creative sanctuary & sandbox,
recreated this year to be more joyful

For some reason when we got the new house I became instantly tentative on doing any interior changes to it. Want to hang a picture? Wait! do I actually want it to be there? There will be a new hole in the wall if I change my mind! I would psyche myself out of making any changes and leave each room in a perpetual state of, "Well it still needs work to be done". I basically was living like the house belonged to someone else. I realized that my office was my most hated room. When it was the weekend I would close the door and pretend it didn't exist. It reflected my current state of thinking which was that that room belonged to the people I worked for it didn't belong to me and I was tired of living in their space. I realized through many a journal session how small external changes can help cultivate bigger and bigger internal changes. I sought out then to make this hated room into a room just for me. My own sandbox to creatively play in. No longer an optimized cubicle my office now is lush with plants, warm string-lights and little pins everywhere of things I like, no rhyme or reason behind them being hung other than I like them. It really has become one of my favorite places to make, to think, to rest.