June 2014

Nashville is home to many historic neighborhoods undergoing serious booms and revivals, and East Nashville is no exception. This residential community has a low-key atmosphere and strong community focus, with many residents comparing it to residential areas of cities like Seattle or Portland. Many of the homes in East Nashville consist of a mix of eclectic antebellum buildings and craftsman style homes. East Nashville is home to two historic preservation districts in the area focused on maintaining a timeless quality to the area's buildings and homes. The area has been featured on several HGTV network shows, including "Our Place" and "Restore America".

Most people associate the condo lifestyle with young adults and downtown metro areas, like Nashville's Gulch or South Broadway neighborhoods. But in the idyllic area of Franklin, just a short commute from Nashville's downtown, several condo developments are demonstrating that the turnkey lifestyle isn't unique to the big city.

Franklin offers many condo developments which feature units ranging between 1 and 4 bedrooms, making them ideal spaces for singles, couples, and even larger families. There are many benefits to condo ownership, including the fact that outer maintenance and landscaping is taken care of by the condo association. Condos are also typically far cheaper than most traditional homes.

Orlean's Estate, Regency Square, and Carriage Park are all

While you don’t need to clean your home as you would if you’re showing it to prospective buyers, you should clean anything permanent in the home such as carpets and walls. A clean home gives the impression that you’ve maintained it.

Take care of the exterior clean-up, too, by pulling weeds, mowing your lawn, trimming your shrubs and putting away any toys or tools that could trip up your appraiser.

The appraiser will need access to your basement and attic and possibly a crawl space, if there is one. Moving items to make the appraiser’s job easier can leave a more positive impression of your home.

Make the appraiser comfortable by turning on the heat or the air conditioning, which also proves that your system works.

Keep your children and pets out

Living true to its name of “Music City”, local artists have contributed new albums to this season and here would be what’s hitting the stands.

• Lucy Hale — Road Between

• Release Date: June 3 (DMG Nashville)

Lucy Hale is better known as a TV actress on ABC’s nightly series “Pretty Little Liars”. Before Hale landed a spot on “Pretty Little Liars”, she started out in a vocal group and it looks as if she never lost her country music touch, something that Hale has been hoping to share to the world. It is nothing but a privilege to hear her voice with songs such as “You Sound Good to me”. A mix between adventurous and sentimental, Hale’s vocals resonate with passion. Her album “Road Between” is about a journey within herself, her destination of

Some of us consider pets to be a part of our family, more than just something that we simply have as companions. If you are interested in having a new family member, here is a friendly reminder that there are wonderful animals, both young and old, that can really use a home. If you have considered adoption, that’s great, as well. We have a list of rescues and shelters with animals waiting to be a member of your family.

Agape Animal Rescue

• P.O. Box 292766, Nashville, TN 37229­2766
• 615­406­7799; info@agaperescue.org

Agape Animal Rescue’s personal mission is to find perfect homes for abandoned and displaced dogs as well as educating the public to be more responsible pet parents. Each dog is tenderly cared for, trained, and even nursed back to

Oh, yes, Nashville does have a great selection of Mexican food, beyond what we think of hot chips and salsa. Several of these Mexican restaurants have incorporated traditional dishes with American influences and here we have our top choices!

Mas Tacos – This began as a your a typical food truck that you may have seen traveling around town, and has long since transformed into one of the best on ­site restaurants that serves Mexican food in Nashville. Don’t let this small, seemingly modest building slip through your vision, this is worth the pit stop and then some. Mas Tacos is what you would expect – a plentiful bounty of awesome tacos, like the avocado and fish dishes that are far superior to your regular national chain of Mexican food. Be aware that

It should be no surprise that Nashville likes to celebrate food and welcome others to the city with unique attention to detail to everything that its denizens create, adding just a personal touch. Most will not be aware to the fact Nashville hosts many outdoor summer food events, let alone a big culinary scene. With summer just barely in its infancy, there are numerous things to do, many outdoor events being held all throughout the season. What a perfect way to introduce out of town guests, right? You can show them something completely different to what they may think Nashville, Tennessee really is. Now, what if you told your friend or family that Nashville has one of the largest beer festivals in the country? If you do, you have better invite them along

A major expansion for youths in crisis as well as temporary shelter for displaced families is being prepared in Rocketown. Rockettown of Middle Tennesse already owns about 2.5 acres of south of Broadway between fourth and fifth avenues. The plan includes a new 15,000 square foot indoor skate and bike park; the building will double in space with plans to have the skate park moved side by side, right next to the bike park. The shelter planned for those in need is converting the White Building on site for this use, creating a safe haven for those who really need it. All of this is underway under the supervision of Rocketown’s executive director, Jim Mallory. “This will be an additional amenity that we could have,” He has said to The Tennessean.

However,

City Winery – It is marked as the fourth location by City Winery (who’s other cities include New York, Chicago, and Napa), it will be situated at the warehouse district at 609 Lafayette Street. As anyone knows, Nashville is a hotbed to music and food, so needless to say, the folks at City Winery are very confident that their model of wine, food, and music will flourish here. It will include a 300 seat concert venue, a 125 seat restaurant with private dining and an onsite wine­making facility.

Union Common – As they put it, they are a “social concept” steakhouse, featuring shared plates to patrons, as well as an extensive wine and whisky itinerary marked to be open during the summer of 2014. The brand new, upscale steak house will be opening at 1929

It goes without saying, the 1952 classic, “Singin’ in the Rain” is adored, so widely quoted, even by those who have never seen the movie. Chances are, you've heard it one way or another, in passing or jokingly when rain seems to be pouring down. Now get this—the Nashville Symphony will be celebrating summer this year with Singin’ in the Rain, so that you can now possibly use that famous song whilst twirling on a street lamp and be content in the fact you've seen the movie! If you’re not excited, you should be. The movie will be screening inside of the large Schermerhorn Symphony Center and yes, that will be air conditioned, while the orchestra plays the whole entire movie score live.

The film is one of the most celebrated film musicals of all time from