I'm getting settled!

Hello from my cozy home in Nashville! Where do I begin? This may be a long post so feel free to scan or skip down to a part you are curious about. I've had people asking specific details so I will try to answer all of the questions. Last week I packed up everything in Grapevine, or should I say my amazing friends packed up my apartment. Big thank you to Erin, Maggie, Tyler, Tyson, and Katrina. I don't know how to say thank you enough to yall! Everything was loaded up in the UHaul (in the RAIN!) on Tuesday night and I said goodbye to some very special people. I stayed with Mom on Tuesday night and we woke up bright and early on Wednesday to leave Dallas. 13 hours, inches and inches of rain, a few stops for gas, and some snacks and we were finally in Nashville. Mom kept suggesting we stop in Little Rock or Memphis, but I was determined to get here and I drove the majority of the way to get here in one haul. We pulled in the driveway around 11:30 Wednesday and passed out on the floor that night.
For those of you who don't know I ended up finding a great place on Craigslist. It is perfect. It's a 2 bedroom/1 bath with hardwoods and gorgeous woodwork. If you have seen Mom's house it's quite similar and makes it feel really 'homey'. My duplex is connected to the main house where the landlords live, or how I now refer to them, my "landfamily". I could not have gotten more lucky with neighbors. It's a couple with three sons, but only the 12 and 14 year old live at home. They are the most polite teenage boys I've ever met and love to come over and help with stuff and take Sadie outside to play. Did I mention they also have a 6 year old golden retriever named Cooper who is the male version of Sadie? We have to check their collars to make sure we have the right one. :) Heidi, the mom, is amazing and has already made me "Texas Sheet Cake" which is amazing, and had me over for dinner my first night alone. It's really the perfect fit. I could see myself living here for a long time.
That being said, my place is less than a mile from Music Row and about 1.5 from Downtown Nashville. I can get to pretty much anything from this location and Martina McBride lives down the street. Speaking of celebrities, it's strange how 'normal' they are to the community here. I've been told that because of the small nature of the town the celebrities just walk about as a normal person. I love getting directions here. Rather than take a left at the bridge, then right, etc. When you ask for directions you get this, "Go to Martina's and turn left to get to Target." or "When you dead end into Taylor's (Swift) condo, you make a right to get to a great restaurant.". I'm getting used to the idea that they really are just normal people. Mom got to meet her first celebrity here on Saturday. We went to breakfast and stopped by to see Jessi and J.R. (my friends that are behind this whole move). Turns out they were in the middle of writing with Dierks Bentley at their kitchen counter. I've met Dierks before but mom hasn't. He jumped up from the counter and came to hug me, then reached out to shake Mom's hand and introduce himself. He carried on asking about my new place and how it was going, etc. We stayed for a little bit, then let them get back to writing. Mom was shocked how normal he was, she just couldn't believe that was the Dierks Bentley. We now have a mission, meet one celebrity everytime she is here. Check one! :)
I am having to look decent when I run errands around here since you don't know who you'll run into. That will take some getting used to. Gone are the days of grocery shopping in sweats. I went to Target my first day and the sweet old man who was our cashier asked what I moved here for. When I replied "music business" he went on to tell us that Taylor Swift had just left and that girl from "Lady Isabella" aka Lady Antebellum had been there earlier and shops there all the time. I'm waiting for the day I'm standing in the milk aisle next to Carrie Underwood and we strike up a conversation over milk percentages. Haha. FYI there is ONE Target near me and by near me, I mean about 10 min away. Walmart is over 20 miles away. I guess that's why you run into people there, since there is ONE location. Boo. I'll have to get used to that.
I have been exploring since Mom left on Sunday and am learning to find my way around. I have my first meeting with a music exec. tomorrow so say a little prayer for me. I've been in contact with three companies that want to meet with me and all are located on Music Row so I'm hopeful something will come of that. I have my eye on one job in particular and so far, so good. It's with a huge company and would be easy to move up. I'd also get to travel to all the award shows with the celebrities so that's an added perk.
My 'people' are on tour until the 14th so I will be without Jessi or J.R. til then. I am learning to figure it out alone, but wishing they were here to visit with and play with their sweet girl, Shyla Rose. I will probably be getting lonely by the time they get back in town so I'm ready for that. For now the only other people I know are Dierks and his family. They live about 3 blocks away so they are a close resource should I need anything.
That being said, I have my calendar up and ready to fill in with people who want to come visit! Southwest Airlines usually does cheap fares to Nashville so if you want to come visit and stay for free, please let me know! I'd love to have guests!

That's all for now. Pictures will come soon! :)