There's No Place Like Home(s).

Over the past decade, my fiance and I have called three different cities "home." 

Louisville Skyline.
It's odd, really. When school, work, and life take you to various places, it's only natural to pick a favorite place. The place where you're the happiest, the place where you're the most successful, the place where you're the most comfortable -- there's no place like home. I find that I think of all three of "our cities" -- Lexington, Louisville, and Nashville -- as home. I love all three -- the river town bustle of Louisville, the glitzy Southernness of Nashville, and the small-town grace of Lexington. Each city holds dear friends and happy memories. I never really consider myself to have a favorite; each, in its own way, is home. 

A Lexington landmark peeking through.
The trouble with that mentality is that I often wish that I could blend aspects and amenities of each of my hometowns together into one super-awesome city. I'll find myself on a lazy Saturday, wondering if a trip to Louisville's Wick's Pizza is worth the trip. (A free piece of advice: Wick's Pizza is always worth the trip!) I'll crave coffee from my favorite little cafe just off Vanderbilt's campus, along with my favorite tuna dish, which can be found off Bardstown Road. I'll wish I could hit the Green Hills Nordstrom and make it back to Lexington in time for dinner at Ramsey's and the basketball game. These plans are always just a little too ambitious to work out, but that doesn't stop me from wishing that my favorite East Nashville-made hot chocolate would magically appear on a cold Bluegrass night. 

Tennessee State Capitol, Nashville.
Maybe I love my three hometowns because they're fundamentally similar -- mid-sized Southern cities, located on or near a river, with a commitment to sports, horses and universities. Maybe I've created similar experiences for myself in each city -- I've joined all three Junior Leagues, volunteered with my local sorority chapters, and scoped out the best restaurants. Maybe I've just been blessed to call three awesome cities "home." 

But, it sure would be nice if I could find a way to have Wick's Pizza and Marche Hot Chocolate in the same evening.
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