I forgot to mention where we went after the haunted house. Dora thought it would be a good idea to take Alex out for pizza. I don’t think we’ve mentioned Mafiosa’s before but it’s got good food, and a great wine selection.

I always said that that neighborhood needed a good pizza place. It evens out all the hip spots and shops over there. And it’s not too expensive. Plus, if you like the Godfather movies or are into that, you’ll like it.

As for the food they’ve got all kinds of Italian dishes. Dora always gets some pasta something, but I get the stone-oven pizza and then take half home for lunch the next day. It makes the best lunch even if you have it cold, which Dora says is a guy thing but it’s delicious.

Dane

I wouldn’t have guessed it but we took Dora’s nephew to a haunted house last night and it actually made me jump a couple of times. I didn’t even want to go. Last year we took him and he started crying before we even got the tickets. So I figured I’d wait in the car and listen to the radio.

But they both worked on me. And Dora gave me that look. So I went. And I’ll be darned if they didn’t do a good job with the whole thing. Pretty creepy actually. I’m not sure Alex will want to go again though. Ha.

If you’re curious, it’s called Demon’s Den House of Horrors and it’s across the street from the Hickory Hollow Mall. But get moving because for some reason their last night is the night before Halloween.

Dane

It really makes me mad that with Halloween there are some people out there who’ve ruined it for kids today. When I was growing up no one worried about us going out. We went all over the place and filled a pillow case.

Today it’s not the same.  We don’t even hardly get any trick or treaters anymore. We still buy the candy, but now we know that we’re going to end up eating most of it ourselves. Or myself I should say.

Here are my top 3 “Supposed to Be for the Kids But Are Really for Us” trick or treat candies:

1.    Mini 3 Musketeers – Freeze them. They’re the best.
2.    Milk Duds – Chewy deliciousness.
3.    Kit Kat bars – The best in the crunchy category.

I guess some people don’t like Halloween. But I think they’re crazy. I mean, who doesn’t like to get dressed up as someone else once a year? And candy! I’d say it’s probably my second favorite holiday. After Christmas. Third if you count my birthday.

I would even love to go trick or treating if people didn’t freak out when a non-kid knocked on their door. When I was little it was the one time of year I could have more than just one piece of candy.

So what we do now is every year we make a stop at Dixieland Delights. It’s a Nashville candy place that has my favorite. (No, not Goo Goo Clusters, though I love those too!) It’s their turtles. You just have to go to find out what they are. Plus the people are really nice there. No trick, just treat.

Boo!
Sabrina

Stop eating now. You want to save room. Because the 20th annual Jack Daniel’s world BBQ championship is around the corner. You have to swing over to Lynchburg, but it’s BBQ. At Jack Daniel’s. What more do you need to know?

This year it looks like more than 60 teams will be competing for the title of Grand Champion on Oct. 24-25. If you love a plate of smoky ribs or a tasty brisket sandwich you owe it to yourself to get over there.

There will also be two stages of music and crazy games. There’s the Country Dog Contest and something called Butt Bowling that I’m not sure I want to know about. You can also take a free tour of the Jack Daniel Distillery. Between plates.

Dane

I think good music is good music, no matter whether it’s country, or western. Ha. Or any other kind. Personally, I think some of the best, most talented people you can see in town, outside the Opry, are at the Bluebird. That’s where I’d take someone who really loves good, well-done music.

You might’ve actually heard of the Bluebird. It’s pretty famous and if you’re a songwriter I’ll bet you know of it. Everyone wants to play there because of its reputation. A lot of really well known musicians have stopped there.
Partly it’s because of how they do it. What they do is they have three or four singers sit in a circle, and then have them each play their songs. They also talk about how they came up with it, which is really interesting. And Sunday is free. Can’t beat that.

Dane

Don’t think that everyone that lives in Nashville or comes here only loves country music. OK, I do love it, but I also like rock too! They call us the Music City, not the Country Music City! Right?

So over at Elliston Place you can rock out as loud as you want. It’s just west of downtown near Vanderbilt. I guess you could call it one of the younger, trendier areas, but it’s got lots of food places and nighttime stuff to do.

And right in the middle is what we call the Elliston Place Rock Block. This a block-long area that has like five or six rock clubs. Probably the most well known is Exit/In. It’s been around since the ’70s. But my favorite is The End across the street. Told you we’re not only country!

Rock on!
Sabrina

If you’re like Dora and me and still miss that the Olympics are over, you might want to know about what’s coming up at the Sommet on Oct. 16. No, not Michael Phelps. Though tell me he wasn’t great to watch. I haven’t been that interested in swimming since Summer Sanders was in the Olympics.

No, I’m talking about the tour the U.S. gymnastics team is doing. They’re coming into Nashville on Thursday the 16th and I of course surprised Dora with tickets. Ahhh… Just don’t tell her they’re in the nosebleeds.

Shawn Johnson will be there and Nastia Liukin, the Hamms, Chelsie Memmel. Who else? Shannon Miller. Blaine Wilson. Pretty much the whole group it sounds like. I don’t think they could ever match the excitement from Beijing, but it will be great to see them live.

Dane

One thing you learn is that sometimes what seems like the smallest thing to you can really make a guest’s day. I love when that happens! The other day we had a visitor from New York who had been on a long business trip and was really missing home. So I just said to her, “You should go to Noshville.”

She went and totally went crazy for the place. It has all kinds of New York deli food like Reubens, corned beef, matzo ball soup and other stuff. She told me that their chopped liver sandwich was totally delicious but I’ll have to trust her on that.

The guys I know like it for the “We dare ya breakfast,” which has three eggs, two sausages, two pieces of bacon, and two griddle cakes. I like the seven-layer cake.  Plus how can you not love the name Noshville!

See ya,
Sabrina

What could be better than getting some exercise and helping out with a good cause?  Well, we’ll be having the Walk to Defeat ALS on Oct. 11 starting at Centennial Park. My friend’s mom has ALS which is also called Lou Gehrig’s disease. So we’ll do it together with a couple of other friends.

It’s such a terrible disease. People that have it start losing their ability to talk or swallow and even to breathe. I can’t imagine anything more horrible. Their site says every 90 minutes someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with ALS, and every 90 minutes another person will die from it.

Anyway, come on and join us for the walk! It helps raise money for the ALS Association. Registration starts at 8 a.m. and we start walking at 9 a.m.!

See you there!
Sabrina