nashville guide Archives | The Wildflowers

My Favorite Places to Get Stocking Stuffers in Nashville (and a couple non-local places!)

December 21, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

I love stocking stuffers- who doesn’t love getting cute little things? And as a mom I have discovered I love GIVING stocking stuffers- to my kids and husband. I put together my mom’s stocking gifts too so a few of these places covers the gambit…kids, spouses and parents.

Blake always gets something bourbon/cocktail related- whether it’s little bottles of bitters or fun sugar cubes for Old Fashioned cocktails. And he’s a candle and chapstick dude so I usually throw a fun version of each in there. My mom always gets a gift card to one of her favorite places and a special little treasure like a stone that says “HOPE” on it- as we like to exchange little things like that with each other.

Right now my girls are 3 and 1 so it’s little fun Christmas toys along with treats like giant candy canes. Some of my favorites I’ve given to them in past years include a wind up music box, a colorful spinning top, a toy truck (we live in Nashville after all), Christmas finger puppets and a fun bird whistle. Tessy has only had one Christmas so far and she was two months old, so I mostly speak for Charlie here…but she has played with ALL of these throughout the year and they have become playroom staples. Especially the bird whistle and top. There are a few local stores that I shop at every year- mostly for stocking gifts.

White’s Mercantile– Owned by Holly Williams- she has a few locations throughout Nashville and Franklin. My favorite is the original in the 12 South neighborhood. Mostly because it’s closest to me, but they also usually have the best and biggest selection there (IMO). She has curated the most beautiful store- the kids section is chalk full of fun little gems and there is a baking/food/cocktail part that is perfect for spouses. And even for friends- there are all sorts of fun little things that would be perfect for stockings. I recommend taking your time and really looking at the whole store- you’re bound to find something fun! There are other locations throughout the southeast too.

The Getalong– One of my very favorite stores in all of Nashville. The owner is so sweet and you will often see her two daughters hanging out in there. Mostly handmade items- many of them local. It’s a baby/child store, but there are a few things for mamas in there too. Handmade mugs, handmade apothecary items, handmade pillows and scarves. And bonus- they have many of their items online.

Arcade– This is a wooden/beautiful toy lover’s heaven (aka my heaven). In the Hillsboro Village neighborhood. It’s bright, it’s fun, it’s stocked with soooo many fun things. The bird whistle pictured is from here and Tessa got some absolutely gorgeous handmade wooden animals from here last year.

Besides these three local stores- Paper Source and World Market are my go-to places for fun little things too. Paper Source’s holiday goodies are always so much fun- Christmas sunglasses, little squishies, finger puppets- if it’s fun, it’s probably in there. This year I got my mom (and Charlie and Tessa) a little llama worry doll. I mean, come on. While you might not think of World Market for holiday gift giving, they have the most fun, vintage-inspired toys and games. Not to mention, their worldly selection of food + drink would be perfect for those foodies in your life.

Happy stocking shopping! Where are your favorite places to get stocking stuffers?

Nashville Guide – Our Favorite Easy Place to Get Pumpkins

October 30, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

I know- I’m writing this on October 30th. The pumpkins are almost gone. But maybe you’ll read this for next year! I will admit- I took the girls in the very beginning of October when the selection was so so good. We went back with Blake as a family just one week later and it had already dwindled down.

But that’s going to be true of any place- go early for the best selection.

I titled this one “easy” place to get pumpkins because this is not one of those pumpkin patches with family activities or food and snacks. This is simply a place on the corner of a middle school that you can stop by and grab some great decorative and carving pumpkins. But they truly have the most unique pumpkins I’ve ever seen. Different shapes and sizes. All sorts of pumpkins and squashes. And if you go early, they have beautiful apples and veggies.

In years past we have gone to the little place on 12 South because that’s our favorite neighborhood and it’s fun to walk to street in the fall. BUT. In all honesty, they just don’t have that great of pumpkins (sorry! I still love you 12 South!). They’re either bumpy or lumpy or marked up and not good shapes for carving.

But this place seriously has perfectly shaped, beautiful pumpkins. And it’s super easy to get to.

Address: 4425 Granny White Pike, Nashville, TN 37204 | Located on the corner of John T. Moore Middle School

Tips:

Park in the circle drive of the middle school
They have awesome carts to carry your pumpkins that also make it super easy to take them to your car
They do NOT accept credit card. They prefer cash, although they do take Venmo payments under “Market Fresh Produce”.

Nashville Guide – Dragon Park

October 27, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

One of the very best parks in Nashville. Simple as that. It’s smack dab in the middle of Hillsboro Village, which is just an incredibly beautiful part of town. This is a kid + family park. Not necessarily the park where people are walking their dogs and setting up hammocks to hang with friends. If you want that- Sevier Park is your place. But if you have kiddos, Dragon Park is a great choice.

It’s a very unique park in that it doesn’t just have a normal slide/swing set up. It has ramps that make it a GREAT park for early walkers and kids who love to just run. Charlie was in physical therapy for a year to help her walk and this was our park where she could practice walking up and down the ramps. There is also a swing bridge that is perfect for learning balance.

There is an area at the end of the green field with many covered picnic tables that would be great for family activities.

Address: 2400 Blakemore Ave, Nashville, TN 37212 | Located in Fannie Mae Dees Park

Pros:

Big + Beautiful!
A lot of shade
Great for early walkers
Variety of activities
Many tables for parents to sit or have lunch
Super fun, colorful dragon that kids love to climb on- it’s fun to find all the hidden shapes and pictures in the dragon!
Safe and large area so it’s not close to any streets
Smaller area for younger kids to play with small slide
Close to walk to Hillsboro Village shopping area

Cons:

No easy or close bathroom options
Not the easiest parking if it’s crowded- I always park in the little parking lot behind the Ruby Event Space (it’s a church on Sundays so that would be full then). There are only a few spaces there, however. So the next option is street parking on the edge of the greenway. Not a big deal at all! But your car will not be right next to the playground if there is a potty accident, etc.

Pro-tip: The tall pole that looks like a giraffe next to the swing bridge is a mister when it’s really hot. So nice in the Nashville heat!

Nashville Guide – Private Pottery Lesson with Rebecca Blevins

October 14, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

Ceramics and pottery are one of my true loves in life. I collect pottery from all over the world thanks to the beauty of Etsy and I try to grab little ceramic treasures every where I go. I’m specifically drawn to the undone ones, the rustic and raw ones. I have many, many little bowls and cups that I like to put little trinkets and treasures in around the house and I’m sorry but drinking out of a beautiful cup just makes it more fun. Head to my Pinterest for some beautiful ceramic inspiration or find me on Etsy to see some of my favorites. It’s been a goal of mine for a loooong time to take pottery lessons for a semester somewhere here in Nashville. But as any parent knows, it’s hard to squeeze that in when you’ve got littles.

Enter “Airbnb” Experiences. If you haven’t been on their app yet and checked out this new feature…you MUST. You can sign up for/join so many cool and interesting little lessons going on around the world. Prices vary…but there are things like making a cocktail with someone in Barcelona or doing an art lesson with someone in Rome. I stumbled upon Rebecca Blevins of Blevins Ceramics on there and found her private lesson offering for two hours for $95 (ended up being $75 because Airbnb cancelled my appointment and I signed up with her privately).

If this pandemic has taught me anything it’s that life is NOW. We truly do not know what tomorrow is going to hold so do what you want now. Take a leap and jump right in. Don’t wait.

One afternoon of wheel throwing lessons for me was perfect. It satisfied my desire to start learning how to sculpt pottery and I learned so much. It was so so so much harder than I never would have thought. Being an artistic person I thought it would immediately come naturally to me. But I was humbled in the plain and simple fact that it did not. But that just makes me want to learn more and practice harder.

Rebecca was lovely and professional and her pottery is beautiful. We worked along side each other for two hours, her modeling what to do and me following. You make two pieces and she will fire and glaze it for you.

Her studio is located in the Elephant Gallery at 1411 Buchanan St. in the Buchanan Art Distract. Parking is on the right of the building toward the back. There are several artists and ceramicists housed here, a fun place to check out and Rebecca offers open studio for those who have already taken a class or lesson. 4 weeks of three hour sessions and 1 week of learning how to fire in the kiln and glaze.

Yes, I went to the grocery store like this.

My second piece that had to be scrapped. But my first cup came out cute and I say one outta two ain’t bad.

If you’re here in Nashville or just passing through and want to learn the basics of pottery and how to wheel throw- check her out- I highly recommend!