The start of these friendships started over a glass of wine as I met Elizabeth (Liz) Greve for the first time at Eataly. I had just moved to Chicago in the fall of 2014 and didn’t know a soul, so the thought of getting together with other photographers in the industry was incredibly exciting to me! To make a super long story short, I met Liz, then Maria over coffee at Soho House, and then Nicki at the first ever Tuesdays Together meet up that was held at my house in June of 2015. We all clicked. Individually and as a group… which is so rare. Whenever one of us isn’t around, it just doesn’t feel complete. We love each other in our best and even in our worst. These ladies are the real deal!

After about a year of dreaming about taking a road trip together, deciding on Tennessee, and planning our stops, we made our way down to my home state! We made a quick pit stop in Elizabethtown, KY because when you have two Elizabeth’s in the car…it’s a must. We then arrived to Brentwood (a town just about 20 minutes outside of Nashville) to my aunt’s house where we stayed for the next two nights.

NASHVILLE

We had so much fun staying with my aunt in Brentwood. We spent the first day having a lazy morning and walking through downtown Franklin. We shopped at some adorable boutiques, had coffee and wine at The Frothy Monkey, and even saw Sadie from Ducky Dynasty there! It’s not a trip to Nashville unless you spot a celebrity! We ended the night by going down the Nashville strip (Broadway) and eating dinner at Puckett’s. The next day we ate hot chicken at Hattie B’s and got a backstage tour of the Grand Ole Opry! Nashville is simply the best.

The photo below will always be special to me. As we lined up to take our photo on the famous piece of wood that many talented country artists once stood and still stand on today, Liz (Greve) looked down and said “This is the photo I want.” To think that I stood on this historic piece of wood with some of my sweetest friends…all amazingly talented artists, I could just cry. Just like the country artists that are asked to be a part of the Grand Ole Opry, we all work so hard to follow our dreams and to make a difference in the world. I couldn’t be more proud to stand next to these three. (Photo below by Elizabeth Greve)

We woke up the next morning to go to the famous Loveless cafe for breakfast with my aunt and it was the perfect send off! Here’s a few iPhone photos from Nashville!

Photographers can’t go on a road trip without taking some time to get some updated headshots around the city! Love these that I took of the girls!

The next 3 set of photos below are by Elizabeth Greve!

The photos below are by Maria Harte!

 

GADSDEN

The next stop… my hometown! I was so excited to have a day to show my friends where I grew up, the treehouse (basically an apartment in a tree) my dad built, and all our animals! They even got to meet my childhood best friend Caroline. It was so special to have everyone together!

Thank you Elizabeth Greve for taking these photos of my home!

I love that when I’m home, I’m surrounded by love, comfort, and laughter. This is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

Can you believe the double rainbow that we saw that night? It went perfectly over my parent’s house and was something out of a dream.

 

MEMPHIS

Our last stop on the trip was to Memphis where my sister and brother live. We were on the hunt for the best BBQ in Memphis (naturally) and everyone told us to go to Central. It definitely did not disappoint – SO good! (Photo below by Liz Greve)

The biggest thing we did while in Memphis was go to Graceland– the home of Elvis Presley. The museum was much larger than I anticipated and was really neat to see. I can’t believe I had never gone before! 

The last stop was to see the famous Peabody Ducks. I loved being a tourist in my home state! Nearly all of these things were things I had never done before and I loved experiencing it all with my friends!

All the photos below were taken by Elizabeth Greve

We met my sister, brother, sister in law, and brother in law for dinner at South of Beale then made our way to Beale Street. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to Tennessee!

I’m so lucky to consider these ladies some of my best friends! I can’t wait to see what other adventures we get to go on!