Posts Tagged ‘ nashville ’

palo santo sticks

palosanto

excuse my inner hippie coming out for a moment, but i had a trippy 2016.  if you catch me after a few beers, i’ll elaborate a little further.  bottom line: i spent a lot of time looking inward and discovered some things about myself that i think are pretty f**king cool.  before going any further down this rabbit hole, let me stop myself and recommend something that i found during this strange time: palo santo sticks.

what the hell is palo santo?  quite simply it’s wood from a tree that is thought to be holy.  palo santo (spanish) literally translates to “holy wood” (so it’s not just a clever name).

what do you do with it?  you burn it like incense.

why would you do this?  to cleanse your aura, chase away evil spirits, bring you good fortune…it’s powers are endless.  oh, and it smells good.

i realize it’s a bit hokey and not for everyone, but it works for me.  i burn some while i meditate or if i feel some negative energy that’s followed me home from my day.  you can find it at your local hippie store or hipster store for that matter and even on amazon.  try it out and let me know what you think.  i swear this s**t works.

“black nashville flag” t-shirt

blackflagtee

somewhere between being called the “it city” and now, nashville got really really annoying.  more people moved here.  more condos were built.  more people.  more cranes.  more people…you get the idea.  we are a growing city on steroids.  it’s madness.

with this influx of people and traffic came this weird obsession with showing pride in nashville.  hats and clothing popped up out of nowhere bearing nashville’s name or likeness.  most of it i’ve shrugged at, but last week i saw a shirt that i absolutely had to have: this black nashville flag shirt from project 615.  kudos to the designer that came up with it.  if you don’t know the band black flag and their iconic logo, here’s what the original looks like:

blackflag2

black flag were one of the founding fathers of hardcore punk.  like most other punk bands, they were all about a little anarchy.  in the early 2000’s, nashville had some of that same rebel spirit which is a big reason why people started calling nashville “cool” and the “it city.”  we’ve lost that in recent years.  my hope is that one day we’ll get some of that swagger back that made us so special in the first place.  this may be just a clever t-shirt, but i like to think it’s a homage to the pre-boomtown nashville.  whatever it is i dig it and will wear it with pride.

48 hours in nashville

nashville1

full disclosure: i’ve lived in nashville my whole life, so this 48 hours is not necessarily how i would do a weekend in nashville, but i’m happy with it.  maybe there will be a part 2 in the future.  i like that idea.

we had a guest in town this past weekend and we did our best to cover as much ground as humanly possible in 2 days.  many drinks were consumed and many ubers were taken.  i’m still tired…and full.

somewhere over the last 4 years nashville became the “it”city which means every single person in the entire world wants to be here on the weekends.  it’s insane.  the airport on friday afternoons looks like a la guardia or lax except it’s full of bachelorette parties and bros in flat brimmed hats looking to get absolutely obliterated on broadway.  honestly, if i didn’t live here and visited for a weekend, i wouldn’t want to leave.  it’s an amazing city.   Continue reading

j. crew suiting

jcrewbluesuit

hello.  how are you?  it’s been a minute since i posted something on here.  i am truly sorry.  i wish i could promise more posts on the reg, but 2016 has proven to be a crazy year.  for example, i met an amazing girl, my company was bought by another company, i’m getting a new dog, i lost 20 lbs…and a billion of other things that you’re probably not overly concerned with.  one thing that i’ve done that might pique your interest is update my suiting game at the request of the wonderful woman i am dating.

when i first met alex, i was repping a couple a couple of brooks brothers suits that i’ll admit i thought looked pretty good.  they were tailored albeit a little loose after the weight drop, but again i didn’t think they looked that bad.  i was wrong.  we met for lunch one day and while going to grab us water i turned around to find her staring at me.  without saying these exact words, she pretty much said, “that thing looks horrid and i will never eat lunch with you again if you continue to wear suits like that.”  point taken.  it was time to get a new suit.   Continue reading

dating again (part 3.5)

lately when i think about dating, this scene from best in show keeps popping into my head.  “we met at starbucks.  not at the same starbucks, but we saw each other at different starbucks across from each other.”

dating is miserable.  it’s become one of those things that i am starting to hate.  i used to think i was good at it – that i had it down to some sort of science, but no longer.  it’s confusing and complicated and unfulfilling.  look, i don’t mean to sound like a complete pessimist, but i would argue that in today’s time period dating is harder than it’s ever been.  let me explain why… Continue reading

chris stapleton and justin timberlake at the cmas

unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock the past week, then you’ve probably seen this video of chris stapleton and justin timberlake performing at the cmas.  if you haven’t seen it, then turn up your speakers and prepare to have your face melted.  i can’t stop watching it.  it brings a smile to my face.

i was in the audience last wednesday night.  it brought the house down.  it’s one of those things i won’t forget for the rest of my life.  i was lucky enough to hear chris stapleton back in the early 2000s when i worked in the a&r department at sony nashville.  i heard him sing through the walls and later told my boss that that was the best singing i had ever heard.  my boss replied, “yeah, he’s the greatest singer i’ve ever heard too, but he doesn’t want to be an artist.”

i’m glad he changed his mind.  he’s been one of nashville’s best kept secrets for a long time now.  i don’t think there was a person in that room last week that wasn’t pulling for him.  he’s worked his ass off and deserves every bit of success that’s coming his way.   i like seeing good things happen to good people.  now go buy traveller.

traveller

on sale: the i+w jack canvas utility coat

iwcanvascoat

you gotta love the changing of the seasons.  a lot of the time that means sales.  imogene and willie has been trying to unload some of their inventory this week.  the jack canvas utility coat is currently marked down from $265 to $165.  that’s a savings of a $100 to you and me.  they’re out of smalls, but everything else is in stock.  better act fast.

workout plan

stevemcqueenweights

guys, it’s almost beach time.  i’m headed to the promised land (30a beaches) in 2 months which means i have 2 months (duh) to get my fat ass in shape.  i’m probably one of the last people you should listen to when it comes to fitness advice – mainly because i can’t quit eating pancakes and drinking miller lite – but i have dropped 30 lbs since i got divorced and i feel f’ing great.  i’m going to go ahead and insert the “read more” tab, so if you’re interested in reading about what you can do to get in above average shape, read on.    Continue reading

wes lang x i+w bandana

weslangiplusw

wes lang is a badass.  if you’re not familiar with his work, google “wes lang grateful dead” or “wes lang kanye.”  dude has ridiculous amounts of street cred.  it’s no surprise that he’s a) friends with matt and carrie eddmenson from imogene + willie and b) partnered with them to make this limited edition bandana.  there are 500 of them available, so act fast if you want one.  buy yours here and be sure to check out the video on his work.

wespainting

 

hair care: pomade or creme

haircare

this has potential to be the worst photo i ever post on this blog.  it’s awful.  i used an app that i thought would make it look cool.  instead, it looks like one of those effects they use at theme parks to make you look old-timey.  and to top it off it’s blurry.  oh well.  let’s move on.

i don’t spend too much time on here talking about hair products, because i haven’t really used them until a year ago when i abandoned my frat-cut for a somewhat hipper cut (thanks mic at parlour & juke).  now depending on what i want my hair to look like i use one of two products: suavecito pomade or kevin murphy’s easy rider hold creme.  both smell amazing and both do different things.  if you want a slick, shiny look, then opt for the pomade (think don draper mad men).  if you want something that will hold it in place, but won’t look like you have crap in your hair, then go for the hold creme.  i choose based on my mood that morning.  just remember that a dab will do with both of these – unless you want to look like a 1950’s greaser.  if that’s the case, then load up.