I like to celebrate. I believe in marking occasions with something special. I believe you should 100% recognize birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. Sometimes for our anniversary that has meant going to get pizza with Charlie sitting on our lap. And sometimes that means having a full blown do it big kind of night. Blake and I decided to trade anniversary years. I plan one year, he plans the next. This was his year and I said all I wanted was to be surprised. I’m usually the planner of our family because I LOVE having that role. And I usually have a pretty big opinion of what I want to do and where I want us to go. But sometimes I like to be surprised: ) Our anniversary was on a Monday so we celebrated on a Saturday- Blake arranged for my mom to come stay with the girls and off we went for a night out.

I did have one request- because I can’t help it! Massages at my favorite Thai massage place. And they were heavenly (I’ll post about that someday). But from then on, it was all Blake. We pulled up to the Dream Hotel– one of three hotels on one block downtown called Printer’s Alley that we love. We said a while ago it would be fun to stay here one day and here we were.

Fun story: One year ago on our sixth anniversary, we came to the Dream Hotel for dinner. I was 38+ weeks pregnant. I was pretty much in labor, I had been having contractions on and off for a week. I knew our Tessy girl was coming very soon but I said I’M GOING TO DINNER I DONT CARE THAT I’M ABOUT TO HAVE A BABY. When we walked in, the woman at the front of the hotel asked if we were looking for the hospital- true story. I said, “No ma’am. I’m looking for the restaurant.” She thought we were crazy.

The restaurant at Dream is called Stateside Kitchen. It’s a fun, cheerful restaurant with a great bar. We sat here on our sixth anniversary and we sat here again this year for pre-dinner cocktails for nostalgia sake. (That story from last year ends with me timing contractions in the Uber home, going to get our car, driving to the movie theatre and seeing Joker, coming home to labor for a few hours and having Tessa at the hospital by the next morning.)

This year we had the warm crab dip for an appetizer and cocktails before off to dinner at The Hampton Social. I HIGHLY recommend the crab dip at Stateside- it was absolutely delicious. The staff is wonderful and so are the cocktails. Our anniversary tradition is to recap the past year with two things: we each pick a favorite overall moment and a favorite travel moment. It’s a really nice way to look at the past year with gratitude and a fun way to relive some memories. The Stateside Kitchen bar was the perfect place to do this two years in a row.

Dream is an art-deco inspired hotel and it’s stunning. Rich colors, warm and sensual fabrics. Per their website, “This airy, urban retreat offers lofty ceilings and a colorful palette of deep crimson and blue jewel tones. Design details include richly over-dyed Oushak rugs, Karelian Burl wood closets, and Japanese- style wall coverings.”

Their are fun framed quotes all over the rooms and halls which makes it a fun and whimsical stay. The Parlour Bar to the right of the restaurant is swanky, yet inviting. Comfortable yet fancy. Fun cocktails and a beautiful ambiance. After dinner we came back here for a night cap which was lovely.

The room we stayed in was huge and had an amazing floor to ceiling window view of 4th Ave with the most indulgent velvet curtains. The bathroom shower was fancy and cool and all the things. We stayed up late and watched Friends and ordered pizza to the room and IT WAS SO FUN.

In the morning, make sure you go to Natura- their coffee shop that is also accessible from the street. I recommend the cold brew. We went to brunch at Pelican & Pig in East Nashville – another spot that I recommend 100%. Dream Hotel also has two nightlife spots- but we’re parents of two and this was during Covid so TV and pizza it was for us. But when it’s safe to do bars, they have SNITCH and Dirty Little Secret- which they call an “intriguing nightlife theatre.”

Whether you’re visiting or planning a staycation, the Dream was an absolute…dream.