George the Incredible Pug

Having George in our lives has surpassed my expectations. For the longest time I was dreaming of getting a dog and annoyingly stopping any stranger with a cute dog. Now I'm finally on the receiving end of stranger admiration, but I don't mind because it's nice that people are so taken away with George and of course, it's good socialization.

first ride home

I'm up to my eyeballs in puppy training and I find myself obsessively stressing out about it. Is this normal? As soon as George is up I'm already thinking about watching him at all times, is he doing a "I gotta pee/poo" sniff, feeding him at exactly the same times and then repeat. It's exhausting.

Having said all that, Hub and I are in love. It's incredible how this tiny little creature has brought so much joy into our life. I love how he goes into submission for a belly rub.

I love that he loves cuddles and kisses and yes I kiss my dog.

We basically love watching him sleep and have lots of photos of him just sleeping.

George gets his final vaccinations this week and we are so looking forward to taking him on his first walk and of course, outdoor potty training!

Welcome to Nashville

Hub's sister moved to Nashville, almost around the same time we moved to Rio, and she invited us down to celebrate Christmas. Although I grew up in Northern Virginia, I've never been south of the Mason-Dixon line so I was pretty stoked to see Nashville. There were three things on my to do list - live music, BBQ sauce, bourbon. We ticked all those boxes and then some. Welcome to Nashville. 

Nashville is experiencing a kind of Renaissance and cool independent shops and restaurants are popping up. It's kind of like the hipster movement that hit Williamsburg, but without the pretentiousness and with great Southern charm. On our first day we hit Pinewood Social for lunch where we nibbled on fried green tomatoes and smoked trout dip and I had a lovely Dr. Loosen Riesling. 

My sis-in-law Abi lives in a cute little area called Five Points and we hit up the local crafts market for some Christmas stocking fillers.

Brazil is one of the largest exporters of bad ass coffee, unfortunately there isn't a single coffee shop in Rio selling brilliant Brazilian roast. True story, so I was pretty excited when Abi mentioned that Barista Parlor served amazing international brew. I can't begin to describe or explain why my latte made from Salvadorian beans was incredible, but it was.

And while I downed my latte, I sat admiring Abi's buttermilk biscuit brekkie.

Later that day we hit up the best of BBQ in Nashville - Martin's bar-b-que joint. This place was a real locals joint and the corn bread was delicious.

Hub's dry rub ribs

We spent Christmas day holed up at Abi's and nursing some serious hangovers from the night before. Hub and Abi dined on some turkey, while I loaded up on heirloom carrots and roasted potatoes British style. 

The following day we drove out to this little village called Leiper's Fork, a popular destination spot outside Nashville. We drove through some gorgeous country side and passed some amazing stately homes, which I was trying desperately to capture with no such luck. Once we reached the town it was like a Hollywood studio set, just charming.

We had lunch at this crazy little diner that looked like Christmas and Mardi Gras blew 

up inside.

Our Nashville trip wouldn't be complete without a Honky Tonk, live country music bars where bands play for tips all day everyday. We hit up Robert's Western World, which is one of the best in town.

Nashville has some great veggie restaurants and on our last night we hit up the The Wild Cow. The vegan buffalo nachos and taco sampler were insanely good.

Nashville - you kept our bellies full and our minds entertained. We will be back!