Hey y’all! “I don’t know about you, but I’m feelin’ 22!” These catchy Taylor Swift lyrics have been on repeat in my head for the past several days. Last Friday, May 18, I celebrated my 22nd birthday {& recent college graduation} with a surprise trip to Nashville, TN. If you knew me from high school, you might remember that I loved to sing country music, and I traveled to Nashville regularly to work with a vocal teacher/producer. Since then, life has definitely changed, but I still love the city. Nashville is such a fun place, and it’s always great to be in the state of Tennessee!

So, Thursday night, Hayden broke the news that we {along with my parents, Taylor & Hannah} would be going to Nashville to celebrate my birthday! I was over-the-moon excited!! It was still a secret as to what Saturday’s plan were, but I was so excited to go on a mini vacay. We arrived at our hotel at 11:30 p.m. on Friday after a long traffic-jammed drive. Saturday started with a bang: my mom and I tuned into the Royal Wedding. We turned the T.V. on right as Harry and Meghan walked down the aisle and kissed. After watching the carriage ride, we left the hotel and started our day of adventure. Hayden packed our day with so many fun things {he actually planned to do more than we ended up doing. We were so exhausted that we couldn’t get through the entire list!}. Our morning activities were centered in the 12 South area of Nashville: Five Daughters Bakery, The Frothy Monkey, Amelia’s Flower Truck, and Draper James… to name a few. I LOVED it!!! We ate out at a BBQ spot along the way, and it was wonderful! After lunch, we headed to the Belle Meade Plantation. Y’all know I LOVE gorgeous Southern properties and this one did not disappoint. The grounds were well kept and the home was in excellent condition. P.S. Nashville brides – I’d be head-over-heels in love with the idea of photographing your wedding here! 😉 I will admit this portion of the day exhausted our crew. My feet started to hurt from all of the walking, since I wore the wrong shoes. We planned to go to the Nashville Zoo before it closed, but the thought of walking much further was a no-go.

This trip was SO much fun, and I highly suggest checking out the spots I mentioned. I’m so excited to see what 22 will hold. 21 was another year for the books- full of big moments, faith, change, growth and fun. For 22, I’m hoping to enjoy each and every day and find something small to be appreciative for. I can’t fathom how FAST this year is already flying by, and I know before I know it 23 will be here. So, I’m going to soak up every single moment and try to embrace every bit of change. It’s not going to be easy, but I can tell 22 is preparing me for something big.

xoxo,