It's Tailgating Season!

It’s FINALLY football season! I’ve been waiting on this since Spring! One of my ultimate favorite things about football season, especially with college teams, is  the tailgating. Tailgating is the staple of the college football experience. Since I can’t get tickets to my alma mater’s football games without paying an arm and a leg now, tailgating is the next best thing.

For those who are tailgating this weekend and the rest of this season, here are a few tips to get you through, courtesy of about.com:

Do you love all things couture? Do you consider yourself a fashionista, or do you just love nice clothes? Then check out the Golden Age of Couture Exhibit at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, about 20 minutes from the South Wind Apartment Community.

The Golden Age of Couture Exhibit runs through September 12, and features high fashion from Paris and London, 1947-1957. The Golden Age of Couture is an exhibition that transports visitors to the most glamorous fashion houses of Paris and London in the years after WWII. The thing that makes this exhibit so special isn’t just the gorgeous clothing, but the fact that the Frist Center of the Visual Arts is the only venue housing the exhibit in the States during it’s international tour. So the city of Nashville should feel special.

The exhibition celebrates an important decade in fashion history that began with the launch of Christian Dior’s famous New Look in 1947 and ended with his death in 1957. In addition to Dior, the exhibition highlights the work of such luminary Paris designers as Cristóbal Balenciaga, Hubert de Givenchy, and Pierre Balmain and celebrated London designers including Hardy Amies, Charles Creed, and Norman Hartnell.

Designs featured in the exhibit are examples of day wear, cocktail dresses, and evening gowns designed for royalty and aristocracy. The exhibit is truly a site to see, so if you get a moment, be sure to visit the Frist Center for Visual Arts to witness the Golden Age of Couture.

Adult tickets are $10, Senior Citizens are $7, and those 18 and under are free.

photo credit: Sacheverelle

Franklin Jazz Festival 2010

Do you enjoy some good jazz music every now and then? Maybe you’re chilling at a jazz club, or you’re just chilling in your apartment at South Wind Apartments, and you want the melodies to sooth away your stresses or to get your body moving! If you’re a jazz buff or enjoy any of the aforementioned things, then you may benefit from attending the Franklin Jazz Festival on September 4th and 5th.

The jazz festival will take place at the downtown Franklin square on Saturday, September 4th and Sunday, September 5th. It will feature 2 National acts and many other popular regional jazz acts playing on two stages. For a full list of performers, visit the festival’s website.

The festival is also taking the time to recognize the recent floods in Tennessee. This year at the festival there will be a tent on the square with additional opportunities to donate to the flood relief effort. There’s also links on which you can find out more information on how to help.

As with any festival, there will be a lot of food in the building! The festival will feature food from places like European’s Delight, Ace’s Kettle Corn, Snow Ball Heaven, and many more!

Be sure to make it out if you can!

photo credit: wikipedia

Everyone loves good BBQ!

Hey everyone! You never can get enough BBQ right? Well, there’s yet another BBQ  festival in Tennessee and it’s the Music City BBQ Festival in Nashville! This event takes place at First Ave at Riverfront Park at the foot of world famous downtown Honkytonk Lower Broadway, and is being held from August 26th to August 28th. Tickets are relatively cheap, depending on what you want to attend, but I’m sure that’ll it’ll be fun for all!

In addition to the tasty BBQ and the cook offs, there will be live music (I mean, Nashville is called Music City for a reason), and various demonstrations and presentations. Over 100 BBQ cooking teams will competing for cash and prizes in a Tennessee State Champion event sanctioned by the Memphis BBQ Network and the Kansas City BBQ Society. On Saturday, you will also find events at the Grand Ol’ Porker Arena including a “Peoples Choice Award“, where you can sample the teams fantastic BBQ, a Viking Cooking demonstration and a mini brew fest. And don’t forget about our Kid Fun Zone. The Music City BBQ Festival has something for everyone!

So if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, this is definitely an event you should check out, and it’s only minutes from South Wind Apartments!

Have you been to any other BBQ events this summer?

photo credit: Maggie Hoffman

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• 2010 Music City BBQ Festival: More than Food and Entertainment [Kenneth Bargers] (ecademy.com)

Renters insurance is definitely a beneficial investment. It helps to cover those ‘what do I do now’ moment, when a disaster happens, and you seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

If you have wisely invested in renters insurance, you don’t have much to worry about. Many people don’t take advantage of renters insurance because of a common myth: the cost. Renters insurance is surprisingly inexpensive. For a small fee a month, normally between $10 and $20, you can save thousands of dollars in case you have to replace your belongings. In all honesty, I’d much rather pay about $10 a month than to pay over $200 to replace a lost television or over $500 for a new laptop.

Renters insurance also covers liability for anything you’re found negligent to have caused an accident or a fire. Basic renters insurance may run you as little as $100 a year. In my opinion, that’s a small price to pay for piece of mind and the reassurance of securing your precious belongings. This video shows what happens when people choose not to invest.

How do you get renters insurance? National insurance sites like State Farm and GEICO all carry policies. You can also visit the South Wind Apartments leasing office, and they’ll be happy to get you on your way to a higher piece of mind in no time.

Image via Wikipedia

Hey! Are there any Nashville Sounds fans out there? If so, are you going to any of the games against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox this week?

Baseball has been coined America’s Favorite Pastime for as long as I can remember. There’s nothing better than a perfect summer day (that hasn’t been affected by the massive heatwave we’ve been having this summer) with a hot dog in one hand, soda in the other, and the crack of a baseball bat hitting a baseball traveling 50 mph. That, my friends, is summer.

Don’t deprive yourself of an American tradition. Head over to Greer Stadium, today, August 17, August 18,  August 19, or August 20 to see the Sounds drown out the Sky Sox!

Tickets are $12 reserved, $8 general admission, free ages 2-under. On the day of the game, tickets are $14 reserved, $10 general admission, free ages 2-under. The game starts at 7:05 pm.

Hope to see you out there!

Professional Bull Riders

Hey South Winds! Have you even gone to a bull riding showcase? If not, you chance is upon you as the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) host the Jack Daniel’s Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee on August 14-15 at the Bridgestone Arena.

Bull riding is SO dangerous, but it can still be a thrill to watch. I’ve always thought that the professional bull riders were very brave men, if not short a few screws. Riding an angry bull isn’t even on my list of things I wouldn’t do; it’s not even a thought. But those who do ride bulls, and do so successfully, absolutetly love it, and they entertain crowds time and time again.

The closest that I’ve ever gotten was watching competitions on TV; I don’t know if I can handle that much suspense up close and personal. But if you can, then the Jack Daniel’s Invitational is waiting for you. The invitational is at 7:50 pm on Saturday and 2 pm on Sunday.

When buying tickets from ticketmaster, they are $10, $20, $35, $50 and $100.

Can you stand the heat?

photo credit: Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Hey everyone! Have you ever seen a meteor shower? It’s a pretty amazing sight. I’ve been fascinated by stars in the night sky for some time now, though I never thought to study them. I just think they’re lovely to look at and moonlight picnics under the stars are very relaxing and romantic. If you’re fond of stars as well, or just would like to see a meteor shower in person, you’ll have your chance on August 12 around 10 pm.

The meteor shower happening on Thursday is the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. The Moon is just a couple of days past new at the shower’s peak, so there will be no moonlight to interfere with the faint meteors. The shower should reach its peak in the hours after midnight, with a maximum of a few dozen meteors visible per hour.

To best view this meteor shower, you must be away from the glare of city lights. Head to a near-by park or an open field where it’s light enough to be safe, but the sky is dark enough for you to see every star in the Little Dipper. Pinkerton or Jim Warren may be good spots. With this meteor shower, it would help if you position yourself in the direction that the shower is coming from. Since this is the Perseid shower, meteors will appear to “rain” into the atmosphere from the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast around 11 p.m.

You can bring everyone out to view the shower! Treat this outing as you would the fireworks on the 4th of July; blankets, bug spray, snacks, and comfortable chairs. Just be sure to clean up after yourselves when you’re done!

photo credit: wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Hey South Wind! As we all know, tax free weekend starts now! August 6th – August 8th is the weekend where stores will be flooded with multitudes of people striving to stock up on savings since many things are tax free.  The question is, exactly which items are tax free?

Well, for starters clothes are tax free. That includes scarves, gloves, and other accessories of the like, baby clothes, shoes, diapers, aprons, hosiery, pajamas, lingeries, and a host of other items. As for school supplies, the normal items are tax free this weekend, like pencils, paper, pens, notebooks, etc.

So, what isn’t included in the tax free holiday? A good number of items actually: handbags, sunglasses, watches, jewelry, video games, cell phones, mp3 players, and basically anything that isn’t really essential to a regular student going back to school. We know all of those items are “essential” to college students. Or at least that’s what they want you to believe.

I’m sure you’ll find numerous bargains around town, and it’d be great if you could share them with your neighbors!

Where are you going shopping?

Image via Wikipedia

It is so hot outside. I can’t even think of a clever analogy to compare it to: it’s that hot. And apparently, my blogging world isn’t the only one affected. Football camps around the country start this week, and in the south, they are really feeling the brunt of this heat wave.

There’s a common mantra around football camps this summer: Drink plenty of water. Then drink some more. Then take a swig of Gatorade (though I prefer Powerade myself). The Tennessee Titans emphasize to their players to drink before, during and after practices at training camp.  A trainer is always nearby to hand a player a cup of water. Many players keep a wet towel draped over his head. Heat exhaustion and heat illnesses are nothing to joke about; they could lead to serious complications in the future.

Before and after practices, players are required to weigh in. An offensive lineman may lose as much as 8 pounds in water weight in a practice session. If the risks weren’t so great, this would be the perfect way for me to lose those extra pounds I’ve been loathing! Players aren’t

Image by benwatts via Flickr

allowed back on the field until they gain at least 90% of that water weight back. I don’t think they’d object to sitting on the sidelines and filling up on water and Gatorade, though.

High school sports are also being mindful of the heat. Some coaches start their practices as early at 6:30 am when it’s much cooler outside, with water breaks scheduled every 30 min. With school starting, practices have gotten a little tricky, but they delay going out in the sun as long as possible.

Atheletes aren’t the only ones who should watch how long they’re out in the sun; you should to. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Wear light clothing
• Drink plenty of water
• Avoid alcohol
• Wear wide brimmed hats.

Stay cool South Wind!