Mother Love

I’ve been wanting to have a meal out at Marche Artisan Foods ever since we moved to Nashville, and we decided to take a family date morning out this past weekend to have breakfast at this beautiful little spot in East Nashville.

We arrived a few minutes before the doors opened at eight o’clock, and I’m so glad we went early since the place filled up almost immediately after we got inside. Our game plan for going out on weekends is always to try to beat the crowds, so we are often on the road into the city by seven thirty or so when we have a Saturday or Sunday breakfast out. I’ve had a lot of friends and Nashville food accounts that I follow recommend Marche, and it certainly lived up to the reputation! The menu offers simple food, but somehow it all feels so elegant and delicious and luxurious. I ordered the omelette special with butternut squash (so good), bacon, and cheese. Ben had a trio plate of eggs, bacon, and gruyere cheese grits. Ayla had her organic food pouch, half a banana, and then munched on a piece of my toast while we ate our meal.

Basically, if you are ever in the Nashville area, you want to hit up this adorable little spot for a breakfast and coffee. And while I haven’t tried their lunch or dinner menus, I have no doubt they are just as good!

It’s so funny to watch Ayla when we are out at a restaurant because she gets SO distracted with all the people and things going on around her. She stared shamelessly at the ladies at the table next to us and could barely stay focused on eating her breakfast because there was just too much to see. People watching > food apparently, hehe.

PARENT TIP: When you’re having a meal out, take some kind of snack food that the little one can chew/munch on on her own. We always keep dried mangos from Trader Joe’s in the diaper bag to pull out for Ayla to have once we get our food and it keeps her happy, satisfied, and entertained while we enjoy our meal!

What about you: what’s your favorite kind of weekend breakfast spot?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

We are having so much fun with our baby girl these days. Like, literally every day seems more fun than the one before. She’s now almost ten months, which is crazy because that means in only two short months, she’ll have her first birthday! Ben and I get sucked into what we call the “Ayla hole” all the time, which basically means we sit down in the evenings before bed and pull up photos and videos on our phone and end up scrolling/watching them for like half an hour. Tell me we’re not the only ones who do that, hehe!

Here’s just a few things that I never want to forget:

the little “uh!” exclamation she does whenever something falls on the floor from her high chair tray or when she’s sitting on our laps…and then she leans over and stares at it, seeming to attempt to will it back into her hands.
the way she wraps her little arms around my neck and buries her head into my shoulder
how she loves getting into her crib for naps and nighttime…like literally laughing and wiggling all over when you lay her down to sleep
the chatters and squeals and funny noises that she does all day long
the way she bobs her head to music and loves to jump up and down in our arms during worship at church
the way her eyes light up when Ben comes home from work and gives her hugs and kisses
the funny little motor sound she makes as she takes her little finger and pushes a toy or food crumb around on the table
the way she makes her toes all pointy when she’s starting to get frustrated with something
how she sits on the bathroom floor when I get ready in the morning and thinks the eyelash curling and teeth brushing are the funniest things