A Weekend of Southern Hospitality

Last weekend, I had a miniature adventure to Nashville, Tn. crossing another item off my "Train Ride Across America" bucket list. I attended the PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) Regional Conference hosted by Belmont University. The theme of the weekend was "Southern Hospitality," and it was a weekend filled with "Southern Hospitality."

It was such a great trip because I got to see a new city, learn from professionals and visit it with my Aunt Pam, who is a PR professor at Belmont University. I met some of her students and colleagues while networking with fabulous PR people from all over the Midwest.

I drove to Nashville with one other girl in my Chapter, Katie Brady. We had a great road trip filled with ghetto rest stops, winding county roads and rickety old bridges. Eight-hour drives are the best way to get to know someone new.

There were over 100 students, who got to hear from top-notch professionals like Julie Davis of Cracker Barrell, Tressa Robbins of Burrelles-Luce, Gary McCormick of HGTV, Ashley Capps of AC Entertainment and Bonnaroo, Brandi Boatner of IBM, and more. I learned valuable information about public relations strategies and finding that first job.

Belmont did a great job hosting the event too. Everything had a Southern flare, even down to mason jars to hold our drinks at dinnertime.

Nashville was such a fun city to visit as well. Everyone was so nice, and I got to check out some fun little shops at the village. (more coffee reviews to come!) I always love experiences like this where I get to meet new people, reunite with old friends and learn more about my profession.

I am such a nerd.

Stay tuned for more reviews of all the little shops I visited!

-Coffeegirl

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Still Waggin' My Tail About Fido Coffee

Any adventure for me is not complete with visiting only one coffee shop.

(as you may have noticed)

The second cafe we checked out was called Fido.

Even though it uses the same roaster as Hot & Cold, Bongo Java, and is right next store, the atmosphere of the cafe was completely different.

I loved this shop.

It was super cute but rough around the edges giving it such an unique character.

The mascot of the the shop was this cute little blue dog,

Fido.

While waiting in line at this popular Nashville location, the adorable signs explaining the coffee drinks caught my eye. 

The graphics breaking down the traditional Italian drinks made my heart smile and made me feel

safe.

On Saturday morning, we started the day off with breakfast and coffee at Fido. 

I had a yummy bagel sandwich paired with a delicious cappuccino.

It was a perfect way to start the day.

To hold true to my traveling tradition, I purchased a mug from Fido as my city souvenir!

And because I always need coffee to fuel my eight-hour road trips,

Katie and I got yummy lattes to-go!

I highly recommend checking out Fido if you ever find yourself in Nashville!

-Coffeegirl

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Coffee + Ice Cream = The Perfect Match

The first coffee shop we tried in Nashville was Hot & Cold.

After a lovely lunch at Jackson's, we strolled over to a little shop called Hot & Cold to get an afternoon pick-me-up before going to the conference.

The space was so cute, and I was obsessed with the signage...

so creative.

While my cafe latte hit the spot, what got me even more excited about this place was realized they served Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream!

Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream is this wonderful ice cream company in Columbus, Ohio, that uses all real and natural ingredients--starting with milk from grass-fed cows. In Springfield, when I want to grant myself a luxury, I will buy her Askinosie chocolate flavor from Homegrown Foods.

It. Is. Heaven.

So I was extremely excited to see her product!

And I just love the concept of combining two delicious things in life:

coffee + ice cream.

(Hence, the name "Hot & Cold")

It goes without saying that we returned the next evening to enjoy some of Jeni's Ice Cream, and even though they did not have my Askinosie flavor I had one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of something else delicious.

One of the workers, oddly enough, had family in Springfield! I love how coffee (and ice cream) bring people together in fun, unique ways!

So if you ever find yourself in Nashville with a sweet tooth, I highly recommend Hot & Cold!

-Coffeegirl

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Train Ride Across America

10) I want to leave room to DREAM.

So I have been thinking a lot about adventures I want to take over the last couple of months. For much of my life, I have been focused on getting out of America--seeing the WORLD. I love other cultures and languages and traditions. I have always fast forward through American history classes and over-studied zealously for World history classes. I take culture classes like it was my major or something (it is not). 

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Anyway, I got to thinking the other day how as much as I want to see the world, I really haven't see much of my own backyard, which is a shame. I have been to Chicago, Colorado, Ohio, Texas, and I am told that I went to New York as a baby (which doesn't count).

America is such a melting pot, and I have neglected to consider all the rich culture I could find in it.

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New Possible Plan: 1)Take my last General Education course, Geography. 2)See America. 3)Tour and volunteer at non-profits  and drink good coffee in that city.

In other words, I am considering visiting some close friends across the States, staying with them for a week or so, setting up a volunteer gig at a local non-profit, and visiting the local coffee shops.

For example, my beau's mom lives in Tulsa, OK. I have thought about visiting her for a week or so, volunteering at the Hispanic library (because they have a large Hispanic population) and frequenting a shop like Topeca to learn more about their coffee process. 

I want this to involve a train as a side note.

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My American Bucket List:

1) Visit Travis' mom in Tulsa, OK and volunteer at the Hispanic library and go to Topeca.

2) Visit Robbie and Katie Britt in Seattle, WA. Possibly tour World Vision Headquarters and visit as many coffee shops as possible.

3) Visit my current roommate Mallory Roth and former co-worker Jon Freihofer in Portland, OR. Drink LOTS of coffee.

4) Visit my friends, Jay and Amber, in Pittsburgh, PA. They are doing some great work with Americorp, and I know their is a lot of coffee and history there.

5) Visit my friend Lizzy in St. Louie, hang out with the Kaldi's coffee crew, and possibly work with Three Avocados, a non-profit coffee company.

6) Visit my Aunt Pam in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a PR professor at Belmont University.

7) Visit my former RA, Megan Eubanks, in Chicago, IL, check out World Vision, and Intelligentsia. 

8) Go home to Cape Girardeau, MO to be a part of the re-opening of my mom's cafe, and possibly work with Room for One More, an adoption awareness non-profit.

9) Visit my cousin, Christy, in California. Period.

10) Tour Compassion International in Colorado Springs, CO.

11) Visit my Aunt Sue in Indiana.

12) See a Broadway show in New York...for no apparent reason. :)

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OK, so there is my new idea. I definitely want to complete one of these bucket list items this year, but I think I can do more.

Thoughts? Comments? Ideas? 

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