Christmas, New Year's and New York

Friday, December 12 - Despite our long flight home yesterday from the Far East side of the world, we got up enough energy to attend my office Christmas party tonight over in East Nashville at Beyond the Edge.  The food was good, the libations were free, and we got second in trivia ($50 for us and our pals, Todd and Kelly) and had a pretty fun time.  Thanks Cumberland U Admissions Department!  

Saturday, December 13 - Our usual interstate exit off Hartmann Drive here in Lebanon has been booming with new additions recently including a new Tim Hortons of Canada fame with its tasty doughnuts.  Ashlee grabbed us a holiday six-pack this morning with a pre-order that made it quick.  They were excellent!  Welcome to Lebanon, Timmy H!! 

Well, we did it!!  Even if it meant eating cheeseburgers and fries at ten in the morning.  The brand new In-n-Out (the first in Tennessee) here at our nearby Hartmann Drive exit opened recently to huge crowds.  We figured it wouldn't be too bad this early and it wasn't.  They had opened at 9 AM and we were doorstep to doorstep through the drive-thru with our orders of double-double combos in about 25 minutes.  It looked and tasted like In-n-Out!!  Welcome to Lebanon, In-n-Out!! 

Tuesday, December 15 - We finally got to go see the sequel/2nd part to last year's smash movie adaptation, Wicked, tonight at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) for Bargain Tuesday prices also. We thought Wicked for Good was decent, a bit slower than the first half/film, but worth a look. 

Thursday, December 18 - We attended the complimentary dinner and musical show at Cedar City Brewing here in town tonight.  It was for all the CCBC Mug Club members of which I am one and Ashlee was my plus one.  We enjoyed the tasty chicken wings, a libation or two, and some good conversation and laughs.  

Friday, December 19 - We met up at East Nashville Beer Works - Wilson County tonight as I was dog sitting nearby.  We checked out their very nice Christmas on Callis pop-up and split a pizza for dinner along with some libations.  Sunny came along as well since this is "paws-down" her favorite brewery! 

Wednesday, December 24 - Ashlee and I exchanged a few gifts at home this morning before she headed to Chattanooga for the night.  I had to stay put with my dog-watching

Thursday, December 25 - Merry Christmas!! I drove down to meet Ashlee at Paige's house for Christmas Day dinner today.   I took the little doggie punk I was watching, Ivy, with me so she didn't have to stay in her crate all day.  She did great and we had a fun time hanging out with family, eating good food and exchanging gifts. 

Sunday, December 28 - We went to a post-Christmas dinner in East Nashville tonight at the wood-fired Asian restaurant, Noko, with our friends, Todd and Kelly.  Their daughter works there and could get us in much easier than the last time we came with a reservation made months out.  The food and libations were excellent and even got several small plates and a dessert on the house!  It's good to know people!! 

Monday, December 29 - Better late than never! We dropped in on our friends, Curtis and Kate, tonight for some appetizers and libations at their place before heading out with them to catch a post-Christmas viewing of the Dancing Lights of Christmas at the Lebanon Fair Grounds since we hadn't had a chance to see them yet this year.  

We also introduced Curtis and Kate to our new local Tim Horton's and its delicious doughnut selection afterwards!! 

Tuesday, December 30 - The 2025 Collage is complete and up on the wall.  It was a crowded year dominated by our big trip to Asia recently, but it turned out pretty nice.  That's # 27 representing 35 years together!! 

There was even enough extra stuff to make almost another full collage on the back! 

We went to see the new musical true-story film, Song Sung Blue, tonight at the Roxy Theaters (recliners!) here in town with our friends, Todd and Kelly.  The movie was very well made despite the story being a bit sad but uplifting as well.   Kate Hudson has earned an Oscar nomination for her role.  

Wednesday, December 31 - We spent NewYear's Eve at The Public House on the Lebanon Square this year.  It was so nice to have somewhere to celebrate that was only a few minutes from our house.  There was good food, good music and libations a-plenty!  We even won a drawing for a free two-night stay at a local AirBnb here on The Square! 

Thursday, January 1, 2026, at 12:01 AM - We counted down with drinks in hand (some of us two-fisting it!) to see the new year roll in.  And then we were home just a few minutes later!!  Can't beat that!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

Thursday, January 1 at around 9 AM - Happy New Year again!  Ashlee is headed out for a short girl's cruise today while I stayed home to take care of the Martin Avenue Zoo including a foster return, Darla, who is staying for a couple months with us while her owner transitions down to Florida.   

By the way, the count is 42 countries visited so far.  Thanks to a fun little gift I got at work with a fake passport and stickers of all the flags of all the countries around the world, I was able to figure out our count.  I did not include Brazil where we did land and change planes in Buenos Aires a few years ago on our way to Argentina.  Hopefully, we can get back there for a real visit someday.  

Monday, January 6 - As I mentioned earlier, we've got a little houseguest for the next couple months named Darla!  We were happy to help out, and we are even getting paid for our efforts which is quite a deal since she's such a little sweetie! 

Saturday, January 10 - Ashlee met me down in Murfreesboro this afternoon before a poker tournament I was playing there later this evening.  We went to the BoomBozz Craft Pizza and Taphouse location there and had an early dinner that consisted of some great toasted ravioli and a large Nona Pie that was outstanding.  We also watched Duke take down SMU at home on the many TVs they have there.  

Saturday, January 17 - We went with some friends today to Shotgun Willie's BBQ in Nashville mainly because it was "Beef Rib Day" - we were lucky enough to be the first in line in our group of six and got the very last one before they sold out!  It was so giant that we were able to share with everyone, nonetheless.  The line was out the door when we arrived and never slowed down much up until we left.  SWBBQ also got a Michelin rating last year.  Not bad for a Texas barbecue joint!  We gotta come back here for the next Beef Rib Day (they are once a month) and we gotta come earlier!! 

Saturday, January 24 - Well, Old Man Winter found us this weekend as we got snowed in for a few days at home with our first frozen precipitation of any real significance piling up outside with a final total of about four inches before it was all said and done.  And then a sheet of ice on top of that which lasted over a week.  

Saturday, January 31 - We attended the Wilson County Democrats Chili Cook-off this evening.  The keynote speaker was the awesome, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, a Vanderbilt professor with a good amount of TV fame now as well.  Before him was the dynamic TN House Representative, Justin Jones.  This kid's going somewhere, folks! Ashlee even won a silent auction bid on some Tupperware bowls!   It was a great night, albeit a little long, with over 600 people in attendance.  That's a dramatic 10-fold uptick from last year's attendance.  Go Blue!! 

The KING on his frozen green carpet,
 and the QUEEN looking on from the warmth inside.  

We've been enjoying watching the Peacock original series "The Traitors" to help wile away the cold dark winter nights at home currently.  Even though we aren't the biggest reality TV fans, it's been an interesting show to binge through its current four seasons. 

Saturday, February 7 - We grabbed some last-minute fire-sale tickets off StubHub today for the Niko Moon show tonight at The Pinnacle in downtown Nashville.  It was well worth the price and effort.  What a great performer and his band is killer!  His upbeat, positive music and vibes were just what we needed to get out of the winter doldrums.  Niko's better than any groundhog at letting us know that spring and summer will soon be here!! 

Sunday, February 8 - We dropped by the house of our friends, Todd and Kelly, this evening to take in The Super Bowl at a party they were hosting.  We were on opposing sides as Ashlee wanted former Titans coach, Mike Vrabel, and his New England Patriots to win while I am an old-school Seattle Seahawks fan from way back in high school and college.   My boys from The Jet City dominated by a score of 29-13 in a game that wasn't even as close as the final score.  We had great food, libations and camaraderie, and I even won $22 with the most correct prop-bet picks.  

Wednesday, February 10 - We went to play some trivia again tonight back at Cedar City Brewing with our $20 gift card that we won last time in tow.  They've moved the game upstairs to their new 3rd floor area, which is nice, but they also went kind of pro on us with the games now being hosted by Brainiac Trivia as part of a circuit of games throughout the area.  There seemed to be a lot of new-to-us teams that play a lot and we did not fare well unfortunately.  But it was good food, good libations and a fun time at least. 

Saturday, February 14 - Happy Valentine's Day!  We went to an early dinner at The Public House up on The Lebanon Square tonight along with our friends, Todd and Kelly.  Just like at New Year's, it was nice to have a place to go to celebrate that is so close to home with good food, a nice atmosphere and plenty of libations!  The photo above is our new Dudley-inspired Valentine's Day yard blow-up that I got Ashlee for Christmas (per her request, of course!).  We also had an after-dinner drink at Cedar City Brewing as well with a mild night for a walk around The Square.  

Friday, February 20 - We flew up to New York City today for a long weekend in The Big Apple.  Our main goal there was to attend the SOLD-OUT Jason Isbell solo show tonight at Radio City Music Hall.  Our friends, Todd and Kelly, came along as well.  We got rooms at the very nice Grayson Hotel in the Garment District in Midtown.  We started our trip off with libations in the hotel lobby bar called Harta.  Cheers to being back in NYC!! 

It felt good to be walking the streets of NYC again.  The photo above is the ultra-cool skyscraper known as 7 Bryant Park just around the corner from our hotel.  We had a pre-show dinner at the Irish bar called Pig and Whistle which was pretty good. 

This was my first time inside Radio City Music Hall and our first concert there. This pic was stolen from the RCMH Facebook page since I missed getting a shot myself outside which also showed that both shows were SOLD OUT while this pic does not.   

Inside RCMH is jaw-dropping and the acoustics are superb.  Jason was built for this place.  His excellent voice carried beautifully in here.  It was a great show with him playing several of our favorites, some great new ones of his new solo album and even a great cover of a Todd Snider (RIP) song in tribute.   

Jason's show was cell-phone free, but I was able to snatch this shot during the encore.  

The Grayson Hotel has a roof-top bar called Cima .  The views are outstanding, even on a foggy night in The Big Apple. 

Saturday, February 21- Breakfast time!! We started our full day in NYC today with a tasty French breakfast at Angelina Paris.  Ashlee went big with the French brunch tea of mini sweets along with champagne.  

  
Next up was a scheduled Gilded Age History Walking Tour hosted by the Bowery Boys who are involved with the HBO Show that we all love also called "The Gilded Age." It lasted a couple hours and was very fascinating and well done.  Sadly, many of the decadent mansions built along 5th Avenue facing Central Park are now gone, but enough remain to get a good feel for the glamourous and historical era in NYC whose occupants were important in the shaping of our entire country. 

Mrs. Fish's house!! One of our favorite characters from the show is Mrs. Fish who likes to stir the pot of society drama, and she was real person with this original wrought-iron fence around her home with sea serpents on it in honor of her name that is still there today!!  

We got to go inside one of the remaining Gilded Age mansions which now houses the French Institute for Culture and Education.  The marble columns in the entry all are truly amazing (oh and there's a naked Cupid statue as well that has been determined to be a Michelangelo original!). 

The tour ended at the amazing Hearst Mansion which now houses what looks to be the very cool Cooper Hewitt Architecture Museum. 

It's like we were on the set of "The Gilded Age" - such opulence preserved and restored.  This was inside the Hearst Mansion also.   

After the tour, we doubled back and checked out a couple other places pointed out by our guide including the incredible Church of the Heavenly Rest on 5th Avenue.  

Our second recommended post-tour stop was at the swanky and popular Vienna-style Cafe Sabarsky.  We had to wait in line to get a table in the opulent main cafe, but it was so worth it for a little glamourous break inside another repurposed Gilded Age mansion! 

Our desserts and our libations (beer for me and mulled wine for Ashlee) at Cafe Sabarsky were excellent. 

Our next activity was not-so-fun, as we got an alert that our flight tomorrow afternoon had already been cancelled due to an impending nor'easter blizzard that was headed for the city.  We calmly and coolly booked four seats on a very early (and relatively cheap!) one-way flight home on Jet Blue tomorrow morning before the weather was to arrive and then finished our day in NYC and hoped for the best.  

And now back to the regularly scheduled Big Apple fun!  Our next mission was to seek out "Stoopandthecity" - an Instagram and Facebook star that is always decorated to the max.  This time in honor of the Winter Olympics going on. 

Back up at the Cima rooftop bar at The Grayson Hotel tonight with the Empire State Building up front and the Freedom Tower way behind it.

Now, THAT is great NYC pizza-by-the-slice!! The line here at Joe's Pizza just off Times Square was even longer than the one to get into the Swarsky Cafe, but, again, so worth it. 

Times Square was its usual hopping self, and we stopped in the Yard House there for a couple pre-show libations. 

All Out is a Broadway comedy with a rotating cast and we were fortunate enough to be here when the hilarious, Ray Ramano, was the headliner along with some other brilliant comedic actors including Nicholas Braun of HBO's "Succession" fame; Tik Tok famed comedian, Jake Shane; and SNL alum, Jenny Slate.  The show was a little weird at times, but full of laughs and great music as well. 

We were just two rows from Ray!!  Thanks to the TKTS booth for scoring us second row seats at the cozy Nederlander Theater on Broadway.

Sunday, February 22 - We are OUT OF HERE!!  Our Jet Blue flight took off on time and got us home and away from the blizzard in NYC safely and soundly.  It was a bummer to have to cut our already short trip off somewhat, but it was better than getting stuck there for who knows how long because they did get POUNDED!! 

Well, Hi, Jet Blue! WE MADE IT!! 

It was a smooth flight home to clearer weather but still bone-chilling cold. 

Meanwhile in New York City this afternoon...

Monday, February 23 - Meanwhile at the NYC airports today...

Meanwhile back at "The Stoop" in Manhattan today...
(photo courtesy of the "Stoopandthecity" Facebook account)