Travel

3 Days in Nashville: Our Delicious Itinerary

May 18, 2022 by Chelsea Kram – XO&So: Vegetarian Comfort Food Leave a Comment

I can't believe it's already been a month since I jetted off to Nashville for a girls trip! I've been meaning to update you on the highlights of the trip in case you're planning your own trip there. (If you're not planing a trip there, you should!)

So, whether you have three days in Nashville or three months, here are some of my top recommendations for eating, staying, playing.

(I also have a TikTok with more pictures and videos of the best food in Nashville here)

3 Days in Nashville

Let's begin, of course, with food! I'm not a big planner in general, but when I'm traveling, I definitely do my research into the best places to eat ahead of time. And booooy did we eat!

Here are my...

Top Nashville Food Recommendations

Butter Milk Ranch

What to order:

Banana rum cake—it changed our lives!
Breakfast cubes (I got The Countryside with Gruyère and Boursin)
Snickerdoodle lattes

When you're done here, head out to shop and walk around the 12 South area. We loved it there so so much!

See the Butter Milk Ranch menu here.

The Mockingbird Nashville

What to order:

“Don’t worry, Brie happy” mini grilled cheeses
Mac and cheese (It was one of the best we had ever had!)
The cocktails that come in little bags like grown up capri suns!

See the Mockingbird Nashville menu here.

Sixty Vines

What to order:

Their cheese boards (make sure to choose the house made ricotta!)
Crispy zucchini (wowwww!!)
The burrata

This place is right on Broadway so you can head there for dinner, drinks, and wine then hit up the honky tonk bars afterward that are just steps away!

See the Sixty Vines Nashville menu here.

Pancake Pantry

What to order:

Chocolate chip pancakes
Hash browns with cheese and onions

See the Pancake Pantry menu here.

Biscuit Love

What to order:

The biscuits are obviously good but the B-roll (their version of a cinnamon bun) was incredible!
We also loved the brown sugar lemonade.

See the Biscuit Love menu here.

Five Daughters Bakery

What to order:

Any of the 100-layer donuts

Where We Stayed in Nashville

We knew we had to stay at Graduate Hotels Nashville location! There's a reason everyone and their uncle posts about it online. It's so trendy, well thought-out, and themed...we were not disappointed! It seemed like every little detail had been planned, down to the room key cards with Dolly on them.

Of course, there were tons of great photo op spots too!

(Also, the Poindexter Cafe in Graduate hotel has awesome lattes and great breakfast/light lunch options!)

There's a really fun karaoke bar inside of Graduate Nashville called Cross-Eyed Critters and you should definitely check it out if if you're there!

Our Itinerary for 3-Days in Nashville

Our itinerary looked something like this:

Day 1:

Brunch at the Butter Milk Ranch
Walking and shopping in 12 South.
Dinner at Sixty Vines then off to the John Mayer concert!

Day 2:

Biscuit Love brunch (prepare to wait in line, it moves fast though!)
Walking and shopping in the Gulch
Dinner at The Mockingbird Nashville

Day 3:

Brunch at Pancake Pantry (prepare to wait in line—but it moves fast too!)
Shopping in Hillsboro Village then shopping in the area
We went to Green Hills Mall to shop
We had dinner at Amerigo Italian. It's across the street from the Graduate. It was good but I wouldn't go out of my way to go there.
Then we checked out the honky tonk bars on Broadway! Miranda Lambert's Casa Rosa was our favorite. Really good vibes and a fun crowd.

Where are your favorite spots in Nashville? I'm already dying to go back so I'll add them to my list!

XO,

Chelsea

The Best Travel Accessories on Amazon

August 20, 2018 by Chelsea Kram – XO&So: Vegetarian Comfort Food Leave a Comment

Before my trip to London, I stocked up on some travel accessories I found on Amazon to make the long trip there easier, and to help with packing, and just general convenience. I tested everything out for the nine or ten days I was there, and here are the things I loved the most!

UTO Laptop Backpack Oxford Waterproof Cloth Nylon Unisex Rucksack School College Bookbag Travel Bag Shoulder Purse

Here I am wearing the backpack just before we started our tour of the Tower of London.

I needed a backpack to bring along, so I looked for one that had a special pocket on the backside where you can hide special items and I came across this one. It was only about $40 and I was so pleasantly surprised by the quality of it! It fit my laptop perfectly, and it has a middle compartment, as well as two other front sections and the secret back compartment, and two side compartments perfect for holding water bottles or umbrellas. It's waterproof which was handy in London, and it was comfortable to wear.

Trtl Pillow - Scientifically Proven Super Soft Neck Support Travel Pillow - Machine Washable Grey

I grabbed one of these travel pillows with a neck support built into it, and it was a GAME CHANGER! For someone who can't sleep on flights and finds sitting upright for a long time really uncomfortable, this really helped me relax and close my eyes on the flight. They seem like they wouldn't be comfortable, but they're surprisingly really cozy and hold your neck up perfectly. This one cost about $27 and it was really light and convenient to travel with. It closes with velcro, so when I wasn't wearing it, I just wrapped it around my purse strap!

PROMUN Travel Packing Cubes, 6 Set Luggage Organizer with Laundry Bag, Luggage Compression Pouches, Waterproof and Rip Resistance (Pink)

I'd heard a lot about packing cubes and how they help keep your suitcase organized and help you pack way more, so I was excited to find these pale pink travel cubes with a cactus print for only $28 on Amazon. It came with three mesh packing cubes, an underwear bag, a drawstring bag (I stored the shoes I wore to the wedding in here!), and another sizeable square bag without the mesh. The bags have two-way zippers and packing straps, and I was really happy with how much they helped the packing process. I liked that once one of the cubes was packed, you could pop it into your suitcase and not worry about your clothes coming unrolled or falling out of place. I won't travel without these now!

Travel Cosmetic Bag Pouches Makeup Bags Women Girls Barrel Shaped Hanging Toiletry Wash Bags Drawstring Cosmetic Organizer Storage Bag + Small Zipper Pocket+ Clear PVC brush bag (Pink)

Mermaid Beauty Co,.Ltd

This cosmetic bag cost less than $10 and it's perfect for holding bigger containers like hairspray or body lotions! It has little compartments inside of it and elastic and mesh compartments to keep things of different sizes organized. It has a drawstring at the top so you can pack up quickly, and you can also fold the top over to access your items more easily. It's made of a durable nylon and it's easy to clean and pack up.

I'm sure I looked like a horse when I wore this sleeping mask, but boy, I did not care! I was too busy enjoying the pitch blackness it created! It's comfortable and adjustable, and pretty much a necessity if you plan on getting any sleep on a flight.

That's it for now! Hope these are useful to you!

xo - C

Chelsea Kram of XO&So is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.ca or amazon.com.

Kelowna Highlights (Including My Favourite Vegetarian Meals!)

August 1, 2017 by Chelsea Kram – XO&So: Vegetarian Comfort Food Leave a Comment

I recently had a lovely vacation in Kelowna, B.C., and part of what made it so lovely was having Eggs Benedict for breakfast every. single. day. of my trip.

I put together some of my favorite pictures from the trip as well as pictures of my favorite vegetarian meals at restaurants there because it seems like everyone and their cousin is spending time there this summer. And if you're not eating to your heart's content, what's the point really?