Nashville

July 12, 2016July 18, 2016 / Mollie Jo / 2 Comments

Nashville is magic. I had the opportunity go to with an amazing group of girlfriends and would really love to make another trip someday soon. Quick picks and snaps below for eating, drinking and shopping (basically the keys to life).

SHOP – the 12 South neighborhood has the best shopping in Nashville

Cadeau – I literally wanted to purchase everything in this shop, and I’m not just saying that. From cards, to cheeky home decor – it’s all just so, so great.

Draper James – preppy, southern, Reese Witherspoon? Doesn’t get much better. And you know how much I love a good stripe. draper james lavender stripe

Imogene & Willie – An outpost of this famous Nashville spot opened in Portland a couple of years ago, but I do have to say nothing beats the original.

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White’s Mercantile – “a general store for the modern day tastemaker.” The buying and curating in this store is impeccable. From baby clothes to kitchen towels, they had me convinced that I needed it all. Definitely worth a stop in! whites-mercantile

EAT & DRINK

Pinewood Social – We totally fell in love with this place. Bowling and great drinks in a very well designed space.

Honky Tonk Central – Classic Nashville, on Broadway. Three floors of live music and such a fun, party atmosphere!

Losers – This was our first taste of Nashville and I think we were all hooked. Cold beer and live music, EVERYWHERE! The bar next door, called Winners, was closed for a CMA party. Guess we’ll have to go back!

Pedal Tavern – I’ve done Brewcycles or Pedal Taverns in several cities and I would have to say this was one of the most fun. Part of it might have been that the only available slot was 10am on a Saturday, but hey it’s Nashville and the bars are all open at 10am!

The Pharmacy – sometimes you just need a good burger and a Diet Coke. thepharmacy

A few more gems I couldn’t resist sharing!

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I hope Nashville is on your travel list!

xoxo, MJ

Bring on Summer!

April 25, 2016April 24, 2016 / Mollie Jo / Leave a comment

The crazy nice weather last week has me so excited for summer! Living in Portland, there are endless things to experience come summer time. Below are a few of my favorite Portland summer activities:

Brew Barge – if you’ve done Brew Cycle then this is the natural next step. Grab 10 friends, a cooler of beer (or rose in a can) and head to Waterfront Park. On a beautiful day, this is an amazing way to see the city and not a bad workout either!

Oneonta Gorge – The Gorge is full of great hikes, one of the most popular in the summer is Oneonta Gorge. Make sure to go on a hot day, and go early. You’ll be completely submerged in water and it will be super packed in the afternoon.

Burgers & Brew – Portland has no shortage of food related events, and summer typically brings even more. One of our favorites last summer was Burgers and Brew in Fields Park. Be on the lookout in Portland Monthly and on Eater for upcoming events!

Barre 3 at Stoller Vineyard – This is Barre 3 in the Park taken to a whole new level. An outdoor Barre 3 class in the vineyard followed by an amazing lunch and wine tasting. I definitely hope they do this again!

Can’t wait for June!

xoxo,

Our Interstate Ave. Adventure…

February 22, 2015March 7, 2015 / Mollie Jo / 1 Comment

Matt and I are really lucky to have an amazing group of friends. Every month or so, we try to get together to do a family dinner – either someone cooks or we go out. This month everyone wanted pizza so we decided to go out. Now there is some bomb pizza in Portland, but not a ton of options that are super conducive to groups. I did some Yelping and came across Pinky’s. Pizza and whiskey are they’re specialties and the place has a great atmosphere. If you ask the bartender, you can roll the dice for a particular whiskey shot or whiskey cocktail – I was lucky enough to get a great action shot, haha.

Now, after dinner was the real treat. I have ALWAYS wanted to go to the Alibi, and that Friday night, my dreams came true. Three words: Tiki bar + karaoke. Ridic.

Bottom line – if you haven’t been to The Alibi – Go. Now.

xoxo

Best. Day. Ever.

January 17, 2015January 16, 2015 / Mollie Jo / Leave a comment

I was so pumped to find out that our wedding was featured in Junebug Weddings‘ blog earlier this week! I’ll do a longer post on our wedding, the planning process, etc soon – but here’s a quick look at the Junebug feature
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And, a few of my favorite pics that were highlighted–

xoxo,

Fargo?

January 16, 2015March 20, 2015 / Mollie Jo / 1 Comment

I can honestly say I never thought I’d go to Fargo, North Dakota. But, this past September, that’s exactly what I did. Watching my little bro play football took us to yet another STRANGE place. When I searched Design Sponge to see if there was a Fargo city guide, by some small miracle there was! Such a good surprise. We didn’t have a ton of time in Fargo, but we definitely got to check out a few good restaurants while we were there. Thanks again for the awesome recos Design Sponge!

JL Beers – great place with a really interesting concept. Each of their restaurants only has 47 seats, no matter the location (it’s an ND, SD, MN mini-chain). The place was packed when we got there, but totally worth the wait. Delish burgers and fab beer selection (you’ll quickly notice that beer is a theme of my travels…) If you ever find yourself here, get the buffalo BLU chips with your burger, you will not be disappointed.

Beermail – totally genius. They have postcards at the bar that you can send to anyone, anywhere!

Wurst Bier Hall – this gem wasn’t in the city guide, but so glad we stumbled upon it. Very cool, German style bier hall – complete with das boot. This place wasn’t just cool for Fargo, it was cool for anywhere. I’d definitely go on a regular basis if it was in Portland.

locks of beer?

Rhombus Guys Pizza – college-y atmosphere, really good pizza. Very cool roof top deck that we weren’t able to take advantage of due to the weather. Great selection of beers on tap.

A few more snaps from the trip…

: Fargo Theater by day…

: …and night

: They sure do know how to tailgate at NDSU. I’ve been to a lot of college football stadiums and NDSU had some of the best tailgates and nicest fans ever.

: football in a dome is just weird

For the Love of the South Part 1

December 30, 2014April 21, 2016 / Mollie Jo / Leave a comment

September brought an amazing opportunity to head to Georgia and South Carolina with Matt and two of our best friends, Matt & Kelly. Our trip started in Savannah, GA and then took us to Beaufort, South Carolina for 4 days. From Beaufort, Kelly and I were able to take day trips to Hilton Head and Charleston. I am completely in love with all of the charm and history of the South. Architecture and discovering new places are two of my loves and this trip combined them flawlessly.

Savannah

I have honestly never heard anyone say a bad thing about Savannah. I was so pumped to go explore the city. Before we left, I found an amazing city guide on Design Sponge that had fantastic recommendations. Below are a few that we hit during our two days in Savannah. And yes, we like to eat. A lot. Trying new restaurants is one of our all time favorite things to do. When we’re in a new city for a short period of time, we usually have appetizers and drinks at a couple of different places rather than dinner at just one restaurant.

The Olde Pink House – A Savannah staple since forever, the mansion that the restaurant occupies is reported to be haunted by the ghost of Joseph Habersham Jr and several slave children. I highly recommend the tavern downstairs for a drink and delish apps.

downstairs at The Olde Pink House. so rustic.

Prospector Co. – I absolutely loved this shop. Clean and minimalist, with great, quality products. I walked away with an awesome great sweatshirt and some Scout’s Honor greeting cards. The guys working were super nice and gave us some good local recos. Also – I just found out that their line of skin care products is now carried at Barney’s – congrats!

Elizabeth on 37th – We ate at Elizabeth on our last night in Savannah. One of our good friends gave us a gift certificate as a wedding gift! It’s rated one of the best restaurants in Savannah and it did not disappoint.

Elizabeth on 37th

Collins Quarter – this gem we stumbled upon while on a self guided walking tour of the city. It has the ambiance of a European cafe and a laid back, welcoming vibe that’s perfect for an afternoon drink or weekend brunch. We were only in Savannah a couple of days and stopped by Collins Quarter 3 times!

: terrible pic, but love the logo

: Avocado Toast. Amazeballs.

shopSCAD – a place to buy goods from the amazingly talented SCAD students. A must stop!

Vinnie VanGoGo’s – delish, NY style pizza on a busy square that’s great for people watching

Leopold’s – A stop at Leopold’s was a tip from my friend Chelsea. Homemade ice cream? Count me in! A plus – it’s right next door to the SCAD theater which has an awesome old marquee (I’m really into old theater signs, there’ll be another post about that.)

Clary’s – this is another place that we stumbled upon, because we were too hungry to wait in line at Mrs. Wilke’s. The diner style food was excellent and Clary’s was featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Clary’s from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Forsyth Park – huge, beautiful park in the heart of the historic district. We got caught in a RIDICULOUS downpour while we were in the park. You can tell by the pic below that I was super thrilled about it.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist – to be honest we stopped in here initially to get a break from the awful humidity. BUT, it was amazingly beautiful inside! It’s been restored a few times in its history, and it’s hard to believe it survived a fire in 1898.

: Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

: bad pic, really doesn’t do it justice

Moon River Brewery – coming from what feels like the craft brewing capital of the world, we had to try a local brewery. The beer wasn’t fab, but fun to try nonetheless.

Back in the Day Bakery – this was another find from Design Sponge. The Bakery’s owner, Cheryl Day, did an awesome guide for a 24 hour visit to Savannah that’s posted on the Design Sponge site. Coffee and pastries were great!