November 6, 2025 • 43 mins
Two words you don’t expect together: margaritas and the FTC. Nashville creator Sarah Beth Schulte of The Tip Jar Nash joins My Crunchy Zen Era to talk creator ethics, brand deals, and her “40 Dates in 40 Days” experiment. We dive into building trust online, what disclosure really means, and how to stay authentic when content becomes business. Plus: a perfect Nashville day, a must-try East Side restaurant, a scenic Tennessee hike, and tips for keeping your screen time (and sanity) in check.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:01):
What's something crunchier zen that you've done
lately?
Welcome to my crunchy zen era.
Uh this is a weekly podcastfilled with a little fun, a
little humor, and a whole lot ofcuriosity.
(00:21):
I'm your host, Nicole Swisher,and this week my guest is Sarah
Beth Schulte.
She runs the Tip Jar, um, aXenil's Guide to Nashville.
Did I get that right?
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (00:33):
Well, the Tip Jar Nash, but yes, that's correct.
SPEAKER_01 (00:36):
Tip Jar Nash.
Um I first came across youbecause a fr a mutual friend was
like, you should go check outthis website or this Instagram.
And then I couldn't stopscrolling.
And then and then you came to acomedy show.
Oh thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (00:53):
Yeah.
Yeah, I think our mutual friendwas my realtor for the very
brief time that I was thinkingabout buying a house.
SPEAKER_01 (00:59):
Also my realtor.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
Turn friend.
Yes.
If ever I buy one, she willagain be my realtor.
But um, yeah, and I loved yourcomedy show.
And um, I think that's one ofthe greatest gifts that running
my Instagram has brought to meis just the the many different
paths, uh the many differentpeople I've interacted with and
(01:20):
whose paths have now crossedjust because of putting things
out on the internet.
So it's been fun and it's beengreat to get to know you.
SPEAKER_01 (01:29):
Yes, it has.
And um, can you tell me justabout Tip Jar?
SPEAKER_00 (01:33):
Yeah, yeah.
So I started the Tip Jar.
Uh, when did I start it?
Um May 2022.
I had just moved back toNashville from DC.
I lived in DC for the two yearsof COVID, which is a whole other
story.
Um, but was out with somefriends.
We were doing this brewery crawlthrough the nations and started
(01:54):
talking about Nashville Guru.
And I said, I love that website.
That's how I learned my wayaround Nashville, but I know
they're not hiring.
And so my friend was like, Whydon't you pitch to them, just
pitch yourself to them?
I said, No, I know they're nothiring.
What if I did my own?
But specifically tailored it forpeople in their 30s and 40s, and
so um I just started thinkingabout that, and it was
(02:18):
originally intended to be awebsite like Nashville Guru, and
Instagram was just designed topoint people to the website, and
I very quickly realized, oh no,Instagram is that's the thing.
Um so now I have both, but Ithink they're very separate
audiences.
But I just um that's what I do.
I look for things in Nashvilleto do bars, restaurants, old
(02:39):
favorites, new ones, whatever,that people in their 30s and 40s
would enjoy.
My tagline is because we stillwant to have fun, but also go to
bed at a reasonable hour.
SPEAKER_01 (02:50):
Yeah, I definitely like to go to bed at a
reasonable hour.
So I'm a big fan of that.
SPEAKER_00 (02:55):
I'm already thinking about bedtime tonight.
I will be honest.
SPEAKER_01 (02:58):
Um, I'm going to Zany's tonight, and I'm like, oh
man, I'm gonna be awake late.
It's a seven o'clock show.
SPEAKER_00 (03:06):
Yeah.
For real, I have an 11 o'clockparty tonight that I would never
have gone to if it weren't wait.
It starts at a Wednesday night.
Yeah, it's an after party forBig X the Plug, who's playing at
the Ryman country now,apparently.
It sounds like a really funparty.
If the person coming with me hadcanceled, I would not have been
(03:27):
sad, but he's like, Yeah, let'sgo.
Nice.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (03:31):
Fine.
Yes.
So when you started the tip jar,uh, were you working full time?
SPEAKER_00 (03:37):
I was.
Um, I worked for the governmentactually today as we were
recording this.
This is my first day officiallynot a government employee.
Um, I took the Doge buyout, thefork in the road, or whatever.
And so I've been paid sinceFebruary to do the tip jar um
until yesterday.
(03:58):
But I was working, that's why Imoved to DC in January 2020 to
work for federal student aid.
And then after COVID, they saidwe could stay remote.
So I said, well, I'm going backto Nashville.
And my DC salary in Nashville iswhat gave me the ability to
start the tip jar because it'sexpensive to get content,
(04:19):
especially when you're juststarting out.
Nobody's inviting you toanything.
You're nobody, why would theyinvite you?
So I was really grateful to havethat income and the flexibility
of being remote to help me getit started.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (04:33):
Yeah.
And you're, I mean, you'reextroverted.
Correct.
Okay.
I'm like, I already know it's aleading question.
You're very extroverted.
Uh, do you ever get tired ofgoing to all these places?
SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
Um, I get worn out because especially like it's
October 1st, uh starting abouttwo weeks ago until about
December 15th.
I have so many things on thecalendar because that's when
everybody's doing their events.
That's you know, the holidayseason.
So I I get tired just fromgoing, going, going.
(05:07):
But I really love them.
Um, and sometimes like last yearI went to I think 20 Christmas
pop-ups.
That was way too many.
I will not do that this year.
But that was so many.
SPEAKER_01 (05:19):
By the end, I was like, I don't want to ever drink
hot chocolate again.
What would you say you'd wantpeople to know about or that may
people might find surprisingabout content creation?
SPEAKER_00 (05:30):
Um, I think something I found surprising was
that it was how much work itwas.
Yeah.
I just thought when I started, Iuse Instagram, therefore I know
how it works.
And I did not.
I mean, there it's marketing, itis advertising, and there's so
many different types ofaccounts.
Not everybody using Instagram isnot a marketer, but when you're
(05:53):
a content creator, that is whatyou're doing.
Um, uh, at least in the nichesthat I'm in, and a lot of
Nashville content creators arein.
So um I didn't realize just howmuch work it is to keep up with
emails.
I didn't realize I've never hadto negotiate a contract before
in my life.
(06:13):
And now I do it at least weekly.
And um that takes a long time asan attorney, I'm sure you're not
gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_01 (06:21):
I negotiate contracts too.
SPEAKER_00 (06:23):
Yeah.
Um, and just making contentthat's going to the public
versus going to your besties onyour private Instagram is a way
different ballgame.
There's psychology involved.
You have to think about what'smy audience gonna respond to.
You also have to think aboutwhat's the algorithm gonna
respond to because if thealgorithm does, unless you're
(06:45):
truly making it for the joy ofmaking content, which if you
are, great.
You have to cater to thealgorithm, or otherwise, what's
the point?
Nobody's gonna see it.
So there's just so many aspectsthat go into it beyond, well, I
got a free meal and I made avideo.
Yeah.
And I did not, I would see, youknow, dancing girls on TikTok or
the fashion girlies or whatever.
(07:06):
I'm like, they're just gettingfree clothes and recording
themselves.
But there's so much behind thatthat we don't see that I don't
think most people realize.
SPEAKER_01 (07:15):
Yeah.
And so what were you in ingeneral?
What were you doing in your dayjob?
And was it were there skillsthat you had learned there that
you trans transferred, or was itjust like this is a whole new
thing?
SPEAKER_00 (07:28):
Uh it was I'm trying to think if there was any
crossover.
It was a whole new my day job.
Uh my day job with thegovernment was just admin.
I mean, purely I uh was theexecutive officer, which meant I
was the go-between for mydivision and HR and some of the
other admin divisions.
(07:48):
Um soul crushing, really.
Um, but prior to that, I'dworked mostly in higher ed
admissions.
I worked at Belmont and gradadmissions there.
I'd worked for a law school.
So I think maybe there's someoverlap there.
And it's I used to calladmissions sales light, you
know.
I don't have to make I don'thave to make you sign on the
(08:10):
bottom dotted line.
Right.
But I'm still trying to presentthe school in a way that will
appeal to you and so you canmake the best decision for you.
I'm trying to be honest andtransparent while also
representing things in a goodlight.
Um, and I think the psychologyof that also translates to
Instagram content um of justunderstanding what people are
(08:35):
looking for and what's going toappeal to them.
Do you I mean, do you ever runout of ideas?
How do you keep them coming?
I don't, I think I so years andyears ago in the peak mommy blog
era, I was not a mommy, am not amommy.
Um, but I had a fashion blogthat I never did anything with.
(08:56):
But I found that when I waswriting consistently, I just
sort of saw the world throughthat lens.
I would whatever happened to me,I would think, oh, this would be
an interesting blog post.
SPEAKER_02 (09:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (09:10):
And so I think that's true with probably m most
creative endeavors, is when youget when you train your brain to
be in that mode, you just kindof see stuff.
Um, so when I'm scrolling, Idon't do scroll anymore, except
on TikTok.
But on Instagram, I don't doscroll.
I sort my followers inchronological order, which you
(09:33):
can do.
I need everybody needs to knowthat you can sort so you only
see who you are following.
So I do that and just I followplaces like breweries or event
venues or whatever that arehosting events so I know what's
going on.
I follow other creators so I seeif they find out about a new
restaurant opening and postabout it, I'm in the loop.
I subscribe to newsletters.
(09:54):
I'm on Google Maps constantly.
So I'm always like, I want to goget coffee today.
Let's see if there's any newshops.
And I'll just type coffee intoGoogle Maps and kind of like
zoom in and out and see ifthere's anything new.
So I sometimes there are dryspells, but usually I have such
a backlog of content and ideasthat I What do you do if you are
(10:17):
like invited somewhere and thenyou're like, I don't want to
recommend this.
Yeah.
I try when I'm invited, I try toI well, let me let me go back
even further.
I kind of have parametersalready in mind of the things
that I'm willing to post aboutor not.
I I really try to keep thingsfamily friendly.
(10:39):
I try to stay away from anythingpolitical or religious just
because I have so many people ofdifferent walks of life
following me.
I don't I want everybody to feelwelcome.
Um, so I already kind of knowwhat I'm interested in doing and
what I'm not.
I also already kind of knowwhat's gonna do well and what's
not.
I know my audience pretty well.
(11:01):
So um that helps inform some ofmy decisions.
But if people invite me to aplace, I try to never guarantee
coverage.
Um because I don't ever want tohurt somebody's business, but I
I want my audience, trusts me,and I value that, and I want and
(11:22):
I value authenticity.
That's uh high, you know, that'shigh on my list of things that I
care about is authenticity andhonesty.
So um if somebody invites me andI don't love it, but I don't
hate it, I'll probably post instories to honor the invitation,
but my tell is that I use noadjectives.
(11:44):
Like, here's a place.
It's a burger.
Yeah, yeah.
They have this on their menu.
Um if it's a paid thing, then Ithat's obviously guaranteed.
Now, if I truly hated it andthought it would be unethical to
post about it, I'd cancel thecontract or something.
Sure.
(12:05):
But if it's paid, I try to findsome angle that makes sense.
Like I did something withCrystal hamburgers, it's fast
food, it's not local toNashville, although I think they
are a Tennessee chain, but itthis is not why people followed
me to find out about Crystal.
(12:25):
Right.
But since most of my followersare millennials, they love
nostalgia.
So I tried to tie it in thatway.
This is nostalgic.
I got it like remember, you wentto the doctor's office, you'd
come back to school with yourfast food lunch.
I tapped into that and was like,I went to Crystal, brought it
back to my office, and yeah.
So I'm always trying to thinkhow can I do well by the brand
(12:50):
and be authentic to me and honorwhy people followed me in the
first place.
SPEAKER_01 (12:56):
So do you view your role as like almost like a
journalist or like entertainmentor like something else?
SPEAKER_00 (13:03):
Um, that's a good question.
I don't I would not sayjournalist, although sometimes I
am lumped into media, which isprobably fair, but definitely
not journalists.
They have a different code ofethics, they have a different
they have different criteria.
Um it it's just very different.
There is definitely an elementof entertainment because if I'm
(13:24):
not entertaining, then no onewatches.
Right.
Um, so I think it's more I don'tknow.
I honestly don't know whatcategory to put this in.
Um but I do I for contentcreation there is a code of
(13:46):
ethics.
Um it's a lot, this is a newfield, it's a lot loosey more
loosey-goosey.
Um, but FTC, Federal TradeCommission, has rules that many
people do not abide by.
I'm gonna start getting on myhigh horse about that soon.
Not not on this podcast, but Iwas actually gonna ask you about
as a lawyer.
SPEAKER_01 (14:05):
I well, we can come back to it.
But that's so funny because I Ihave but had to learn about that
because I have had some clientswho are like in the influencer
space or engaging an influencer,and I see it all the time now
that I know, and I'm like, yeah,you're not like you're supposed
to be well, I'm not giving legaladvice here.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
There are things you're supposedto do, please look into it.
SPEAKER_00 (14:26):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (14:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (14:27):
There there are ethics and there are legalities.
It's a little gray sometimes.
Technically, every time I'minvited to a restaurant, I'm
supposed to disclose.
That seems extreme to me,honestly, so I don't really
worry about that.
But anytime I'm in pay I ampaid, I have to disclose.
Yes.
And there are many creators whodo not.
(14:49):
I don't care if you useInstagram's paid promotion,
that's Instagram's thing.
But you have to disclose hashtagad, hashtag paid, hashtag
sponsored, whatever you choose,you have to disclose.
And there are many that do not.
And the reason they don't,sorry, this is a little bit
tangent, but the reason theydon't is because Instagram tends
(15:09):
to um not promote your contentas much.
This is this is an urban legend,but I think it's true.
Instagram, I think, assumes ifit's an ad, somebody's putting
money behind it, therefore theyhave money to boost it, which
pays Instagram.
So Instagram wants toincentivize people to boost paid
(15:30):
content.
Yeah.
So they don't uh if you legallydisclose, they do not often show
it as much.
That's that's everybody'stheory.
And I think that's why mostpeople don't who don't disclose
don't do it.
And I get that temptation, butit's legal.
SPEAKER_01 (15:47):
Like it's constantly evolving too.
Oh yeah.
Because, like you said, it'svery loosey-goosey, it's a new
industry.
And yeah, yeah.
I've been up in that Westlawresearch.
unknown (15:59):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (16:00):
I need to do more, honestly, because yeah, it's all
that to say to your originalquestion, it's definitely an
industry, but I don't think it'sfair to journalists to put it in
that category.
Yeah.
And but I think it's more thanentertainment.
So I don't know where it goes.
I and I also think it'seducational, informative, but
that makes you think of youknow, wellness influencers or uh
(16:26):
the Instagram psychologist orwhatever, which we're definitely
not that either.
SPEAKER_01 (16:31):
Yeah.
Um, what would you say is one ofthe coolest like tips that
you've given or come across?
SPEAKER_00 (16:38):
Yeah, I um I this sounds terrible, but I go to so
many places that like I have tolook back through my phone to
remember things.
Like I have to see the pictures.
And so it's hard for me off thetop of my head to remember, oh,
that was really unique.
That was really cool.
One thing that I really enjoy iswhen something on my account
(17:01):
kind of goes viral and randompeople who don't follow me start
commenting.
I don't always love that.
That's when the trolls come out.
So I'm not saying that's a goodthing overall, but a couple
times there have been Nashvillenatives, older people who've
lived here forever, that bring avery interesting tidbit.
One time I posted a meme aboutum newcomers not knowing how to
(17:24):
say De Munbrian.
And some people from the DeMunbrian family commented and
were just talking about theirfamily history a little bit, and
so that was really cool.
I posted something the other dayabout where each Gilmore Girl's
character would live.
And someone said, I don't knowabout Luke Danes, but Scott
Patterson, the actor, did livein Nashville.
(17:46):
He played for the NashvilleSounds in the 80s.
What?
Yes, I had no idea.
I knew he was a baseball playerback in the day.
SPEAKER_01 (17:52):
Okay, I didn't even know that.
SPEAKER_00 (17:53):
Yeah, he I knew that.
Um, but I had no idea it was inNashville.
I think just for one season.
So those are the kinds of thingsthat you have to be a native to
know, really, and and when thosecome out of the woodwork, that's
really fun.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:08):
Have you had any uh shift in mindset from you know,
you started like you said youhad like 500 follow followers
for like six months and then itkind of spiraled from there.
How have you started viewing itdifferently or like changed the
way you I don't know, plan?
SPEAKER_00 (18:26):
Yeah.
Um it requires a lot moreplanning for sure.
Um when I was a small account,it was just literally an hour
before I had to I I did postalmost every day, but I was
like, what can I post aboutabout uh about today?
Now it's very strategic.
Okay, I need to start postingabout Christmas November 1st.
(18:48):
Um I know the cycle better.
I I have a better understandingof when things are gonna go
viral and when people are gonnahave fatigue and whatever.
So it is a lot more planning.
Um, I think the biggest mindsetshift is just understanding the
value of content.
Um, I have firsthand accounts.
Somebody I had a real did verywell, and I went back, it was
(19:11):
about a bar, and I went back,and the bartender was like, I
was gonna have to get a secondjob and I don't have to now.
SPEAKER_01 (19:16):
Oh, that's amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (19:17):
Yeah, it was so sweet.
I don't know if that's still thecase.
That's the hard part aboutcontent.
If you have if somebody postssomething, it goes viral, it's
great for a business, but theycan't always sustain that.
And there's right, there'snothing I can do about that, you
know.
So, so that's the the other sideof it.
But um, so I know anecdotallyhow powerful this can be.
(19:38):
Um, I know how much work it is.
I know um I also know better howthe algorithm works, so you're
kind of a slave to it, which isterrible.
But um, so I think just thinkingof it really as a business
instead of a hobby was a mindsetshift for me.
And and again, I think I've saidthis kind of a few times, but
(20:01):
not everybody's gonna think ofit that way, and that's totally
fine.
But for me, it is my full-timejob now, and um even when it
wasn't, I just really like itand want it to be successful,
and so I think thinking of it asa business is the way to do
that.
SPEAKER_01 (20:18):
So it is your full-time job.
SPEAKER_00 (20:19):
It is my full-time job now, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (20:22):
How do you make money off of it?
SPEAKER_00 (20:24):
Well, I don't make much yet.
Um, I have been saying to peoplerecently, I think I picked a
niche or niche.
I can't ever decide which I say.
I say niche.
Okay, that's most common.
It sounds like fancier.
Yeah, but I grew up sayingniche, so I feel like
disingenuous saying niche, likea niche.
SPEAKER_01 (20:42):
I just didn't say it.
And then I'm like, this is it.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:46):
Um, so I think I picked a niche that was
relatively easy to grow inbecause everybody likes food,
everybody likes drinks,everybody likes things to do,
everybody loves Nashville.
As opposed to like fashion, forexample, it's there's so many
people, and you're not as um uhniche down, like anybody can
(21:07):
follow a fashion blogger.
So it's a little bit harder togrow.
But once you grow, it's harderto make money if you're doing
small businesses and restaurantswith razor-thin margins in 2025,
and you know, it's harder tomake money in that field than it
is to have Amazon or Target payyou to talk about their clothes,
(21:28):
right?
So it's you know, everything haspros and cons.
Um so the the primary way that Ior any content creator makes
money is a brand pays us to talkabout them.
And I one thing that I'm tryingto educate the world on is to
(21:48):
think of an ad on Instagram thesame as a commercial, the same
as a billboard, the same as anad in a magazine or a newspaper.
That's why um that's why theyhave to disclose because all of
those things have to disclosethat they're ads in some form or
fashion.
Um but that's also why it costsmoney because you would never
(22:12):
expect to take out an ad in theTennessean in exchange for a
hamburger.
You wouldn't, and you understandthat you're paying not only for
their work of putting it inthere, but for their audience.
And so brand deals forInstagram, that's what that's
(22:34):
what brands are paying for toreach our audience and
potentially another audience andan audience that they might not
have.
They don't all of the peoplefollowing me are not necessarily
following Target or whatever.
So that's the primary way.
Um, but that's not super stable.
Um, so I personally have triedto come up with a lot of
(22:55):
different ways of varyingsuccess.
Um, I have a website, so I'vegot ads on that that are you
know automatically generated.
Um eventually I'd like to havesponsors for some of my articles
there.
Um, I have I think one itineraryon my website, but eventually
I'd like to have a bunch thatyou just you just go buy the one
that makes the most sense foryour trip.
(23:16):
Um for Nashville or ForNashville.
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Um I have a Google map that hasall my favorite places on it,
pinpointed, and it has adescription of the place and the
parking information.
Okay, that's valuable.
Thank you.
I also I was like, how can Imake this worthwhile to locals?
Um, so um, you know, I have uh Ihave affiliate codes that if you
(23:40):
use my code, you get a discounton X, Y, and Z, but I also get a
little kickback.
Right.
So all of these things that I'mhoping at some point will equal
a stable income.
But we'll see.
Entrepreneurship is exciting.
I love the flexibility, I'venever done it before.
Probably not gonna haveinsurance for a couple months.
(24:00):
Like, let's hope nothinghappens.
Um, but it's not for the faintof heart and it's a ton of work.
Yeah, it's exciting though.
It is exciting, yeah.
Yeah, and one of my friends isalways like, believe in
yourself, keep counting onyourself.
And like, that's a really goodperspective, and I want to be
able to pay my bills.
SPEAKER_01 (24:18):
Yes, I always am amazed at how much friends like
believe in you like more thanyou do, and it's like I need you
in my head constantly.
SPEAKER_00 (24:28):
Yeah, yeah.
And it's it's so important tohave people like that around
you.
SPEAKER_01 (24:33):
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, so you did a podcastrecently called 40 Dates in 40
Days.
Yes.
Tell me where that came from,and was it related at all to the
tip jar?
And where is it at?
SPEAKER_00 (24:49):
Well, it was very loosely related to the tip jar.
So I'm in Enneagram 3.
Um, my best friend is also inEnneagram 3.
So our conversations are like,what are your goals?
Um, and she said, What do youwant to do with the tip jar?
Like, where is it going?
What what are your plans?
And she said, Would you like tohave a podcast?
(25:10):
And I said, I'd love to.
I love talking, but I don't knowwhat I would talk about.
And she also is very I had gonethrough a breakup in January,
and so she's been myencouragement through all that.
And she said, What if you wenton a date for every every day
for a month?
And I was like, Oh, I actuallylove that.
I think people would be reallyinterested in it.
(25:32):
So, but what if, because Iturned 40 in January also, I was
like, what if I did 40 dates in40 days because I turned 40?
SPEAKER_02 (25:39):
And she's like, Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (25:41):
So it just kind of went on from there.
I was hoping a lot more of mytip jar audience would come over
than did.
Um, a few did, and I'm gratefulfor them.
Not that many though.
Um so I tried to tie it in, liketalking about where I went in
Nashville, and I think if it hadgotten a little more esteem, I
could have maybe gotten someNashville sponsorships or
(26:01):
something and tied it moreclosely.
But it was largely prettydistinct.
Um, so yeah, I almost real timedid the podcast while I was
eventually the podcast got toofar out, so it wasn't as real
time.
But the first couple weeks I wasgoing on these dates recording a
podcast talking about them.
SPEAKER_01 (26:21):
Yeah.
Um, how'd it go?
SPEAKER_00 (26:23):
It was horrible.
It was the worst experience ofmy life.
SPEAKER_01 (26:26):
I did listen to all of them, so some of these are
leading questions.
SPEAKER_00 (26:29):
Yes, well, thank you.
Thank you for listening.
And please lead away.
Yeah, it was terrible.
I um I loved podcasting.
That part was a great experiencethat at some point I hope to
resume.
So thank you again for giving mean opportunity to do this.
Um, but the actual dates were sohorrific.
SPEAKER_01 (26:52):
I don't understand how you had wait, I do
understand how you had so manybad.
I just like I thought that therewere more good guys out there,
and it just seemed like you hadbad date after bad date.
SPEAKER_00 (27:08):
I did.
Um, I think there's a fewfactors.
One, I do think there are moregood guys out there than I
experienced.
I don't know if they're not onthe apps or but I also know for
my male friends and my brotherand the angry men on TikTok that
they gave you great feedback.
Um the women are no better.
SPEAKER_01 (27:31):
So I think that's probably fair.
SPEAKER_00 (27:33):
I do think women have it a little bit worse if
for no other reason, because wehave like more safety concerns
than men.
Um, but nevertheless, both sideshave it really bad right now.
Um, so I think that's part ofit.
I think the nature of what I wasdoing, what I couldn't vet any
of these people.
SPEAKER_01 (27:52):
So that's what I was wondering if it was partly
because it was like 40 in 40days.
Yeah.
You just have to go.
SPEAKER_00 (27:59):
Yes, which was part of the experiment.
Is like, well, maybe if I hadn'tbeen doing this, I wouldn't have
gone out with this person, butthey were really great.
Well, that never happened.
But that's what I was trying tosee.
So a lot of the bad ones I wentout on, I never would have gone
out with them.
Yeah, period.
Did anyone get past a firstdate?
(28:20):
I feel like there were there wasone guy that I went on a second
date.
That is the the one of the 40,uh, which actually I only went
out with I think 25 or 26 actualdates.
The rest were like singlesevents, or I went to a bar and
just tried to meet somebody inreal life or whatever.
But in those 40 days, uh 40days, there the guys in Alaska I
(28:44):
went out with a couple times.
They were great.
But in Nashville, there was oneguy who to this day I would a
hundred percent set up with afriend.
He was a really good guy.
I really liked him.
He was not a fit for me.
Um, but he was he was not a hewas great, you know, and that
that's part of dating is youmeet people and you're like, oh,
(29:08):
you're wonderful, but we're notgonna work out.
But yeah.
So the rest though, I would sayof the rest, I forget the
numbers now.
My my last episode, I like brokeit all down, but um I would say
probably about 50% were justfine.
Not they were just forgettable,uh obviously I've already
forgotten them.
(29:28):
The other were truly terrible.
SPEAKER_01 (29:31):
Do you ever think like taking out this particular
experience of like going on somany, but when you do go on a
date with someone you meet onlike hinge or whatever, and it's
just kind of like the date'sokay.
SPEAKER_00 (29:43):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (29:44):
Do you generally lean towards going on a second
date just to see, or are you thetype of person who's like, it
should have been great, thereshould have been a spark?
SPEAKER_00 (29:53):
Yeah.
Um, I think it it reallydepends.
Um I I do tend to so that nice.
Guy, I was not interested on thefirst date, but I was willing to
go on a second just because hewas a really good guy.
Yeah.
Um, so if I can tell, like if Ican tell it's not an automatic
no, then I'll go on a seconddate.
But some of these, like, eventhough they were okay, I'm still
(30:16):
this is yeah, I I had a coupleothers that I was willing to go
on a second date and they didn'tfollow through or they canceled
or whatever.
So there were some others that Iwas not blown away by, but
willing to see, and it stilljust didn't happen.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:33):
Are you willing to share your worst date?
SPEAKER_00 (30:36):
Um, yeah, I think the worst was a guy who hated
Nashville.
Um, not my this is not my worstever, but this is my worst in
the 40 days.
The 40 days, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
He um he was younger, so I'm 40,he's 31, he had twins, and I
will say, bless his heart, he hedoes have some trauma from an
(30:59):
on-the-job experience thathappened that I'm super
sympathetic about.
Nevertheless, I could tellbefore I even got there, we're
not intellectually, we're notcompatible.
We're just not the ourcommunication is bad.
He has no clue.
I said, why don't we meet atfive?
He's like, a.m.
And I was like, what?
Why on earth would I suggestgetting tacos at 5 a.m.?
SPEAKER_01 (31:22):
Why is that an option?
unknown (31:24):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (31:24):
So just things like that.
But the the kicker, and he'scomplaining about how expensive
Nashville is fair, except we'reat a place that had a$9
margarita, which for Nashvilleis cheap.
That's a good deal.
Yeah, and he's like, This is soexpensive.
I was like, this is no, it'snot.
He's like, but it's so small.
I'm like, this is a full-sizemargarita.
(31:46):
Anyway, as we're talking abouthis children, he says to me,
40-year-old me, he looks at meand he says, Can you even still
have kids?
I was I wish I'd said so manymore things to him than I did.
I was just too caught off guardthat I like answered him
seriously.
(32:07):
I was like, Well, yeah.
Actually, I said, Well, I don'tknow, I haven't tried.
But I was like, lots of peoplehave kids in their 40s, but I
could have been so much moresarcastic.
I just was like, oh my god.
How old was he?
31.
So, but old enough to like knowhow biology works, and old
enough to know that's a rudequestion.
(32:27):
Even if you Yeah, 100% rude.
Yeah, like if you want to knowthat, just say, would you like
to have children?
And then that gives me theopportunity to say, no, that
ship has sailed, or or not, youknow, whatever.
But I just was so dumbfounded.
At the end, I clapped my handsand I was like, okay, let's go.
(32:50):
I hated him so much.
I can't believe he asked youthat.
SPEAKER_01 (32:53):
I know.
Oh my gosh.
Um, we I guess we all need abiology lesson in all this.
Uh women can have babies at 40.
Okay.
Um, so any big uh takeaways fromthe process?
SPEAKER_00 (33:08):
Yeah, my biggest takeaway was twofold.
One, I was like, my ex wasamazing, and I'm still in love
with him, and we need to getback together.
So does he know this?
He does, and I'm gonna make himlisten to this episode.
Um but so that was takeaway one.
Takeaway two is that I willnever again judge people for
(33:30):
their relationships.
Um, as if if their partner's notabusive or um, you know,
cheating on them or somethingthat's a like ob universal red
flag.
Right.
If I just think he's kind of ajerk, you know, whatever that
you have to live with him.
I don't, and there may be otherqualities that you appreciate
(33:50):
about him that I don't see.
Um, or uh if I think he shoulddo more around the house, again,
like my therapist always says ifyou find somebody that's a 70 to
80 percent match for you,perfection does not exist,
that's really good.
But I, as an external observer,cannot say what their 80% is.
(34:11):
And dating is so hard, andfinding somebody that you click
with is so hard, especially asyou get older, especially in
2025, that if you are withsomebody that I don't really
think is good enough for you,but they're not doing anything
actual, dangerous, illegal,whatever, right, then you do
(34:33):
you.
That's your and I used to bevery judgy about people's
relationships before thisexperience, before this
experience, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (34:41):
Oh I mean, I think that's a really valuable
takeaway though.
SPEAKER_00 (34:44):
Yeah, well, yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (34:45):
I mean, just this weekend my friend actually said
if you find someone who's like70, 80 percent.
Oh, yeah.
So I don't know if that's comingfrom somewhere, like a stat or
something.
But I mean you can't ever findsomeone who's a hundred percent
because you know, they'd beperfect and we're just not.
SPEAKER_00 (35:00):
Yeah.
Um well, and this is a wholeother tangent that we could talk
a whole podcast about, but Ithink that's something that I
talked on my podcast aboutpurity culture, and I think
that's something that thewell-meaning church in the you
know, early in the 90s, 2000s,probably before, conditioned us
(35:21):
to think is that there is thisperfect person for you.
And and not just the church.
I mean, every rom-com conditionsus to think that someday our
prince will come, and we justexpect the prince to come when
we're about 24 years old and tohave no flaws and for us to live
happily ever after.
And that's not reality foralmost anyone.
SPEAKER_01 (35:43):
No, and yeah, I feel very strongly about purity
culture.
We can leave that for anotherday.
But I do I do think, like, assomebody who I'm 37, I'm not
married, um, I'm not waiting fora man.
I'm gonna have a great life.
And sure, if someone comesalong, like, okay, great.
(36:04):
But you know, that's not howyou're complete.
And I I don't believe insoulmates or the one or anything
like that.
I think that we there areprobably multiple people that
would work.
SPEAKER_02 (36:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (36:17):
But I don't I just you know, dating is really hard
right now for both men andwomen.
And so to put too much emphasison it day to day, taking away
your your experiment was veryunique.
But I I think that it has it cancause people a lot of um
(36:41):
unhappiness when perhaps uhputting the emphasis on
something else, and by the way,you're dating too could help
diversify and have a whole lifeand remember like you're not
waiting for your prince orprincess.
Yeah, you know, it goes bothways.
SPEAKER_00 (36:59):
Yeah, for sure.
And I think there's a lot oftalk these days about learning
to meet your own needs, and thatkind of ties into my trying to
make my inner child happy.
And um I think it's easy toexpect your partner to meet all
of your needs.
And so, if like you're saying,you have a more full life where
(37:21):
you're getting your needs metyourself, but also through
friends and family and all theseother ways, when you're a
partner, no matter how perfecthe or she is, inevitably fails
because they are a human, thenyou have it within you to okay,
like move, you know, this yeah,yeah.
So I think you're right, andthere is just so much more to
(37:44):
life than finding that person.
SPEAKER_01 (37:46):
And that being said, I'm waiting for this guy,
putting it out into the world.
All right, so give us um yourrecommendation if somebody's
coming to Nashville, they've got24 hours.
What do they do?
SPEAKER_00 (38:05):
Yeah, so I actually have an itinerary on my website.
SPEAKER_01 (38:08):
Okay, we'll make sure to link to it.
I like that.
SPEAKER_00 (38:11):
Um, it's uh it my one-day itinerary is free, so
anybody can go download it.
And I really tried to thinkabout like, okay, Nashville is
so much more than Broadway, butif you're only here for one day,
you want to do Broadway.
So I think I haven't looked atit in a while, but I'm pretty
sure I have you starting in themorning in 12 South, going to a
couple local spots, doing someshopping, getting lunch, then
(38:35):
coming to Broadway for um honkytonks during the day.
They're so much better duringthe day.
I agree.
Yes, yes.
You get to hear live music, butit's not chaotic.
And uh you can see if there'sanything you want to avoid
because the sun's out.
It's great.
Um, and then I suggested a fewplaces, I think in the gulch for
(38:58):
dinner, and then at night, likethe listening room or um uh
yeah, sorry, I should havelooked at it before, but a a
live music thing that's notBroadway.
Yeah.
Um, so just trying to givepeople the full Nashville
experience in a condensed formwhile again acknowledging that
(39:20):
Nashville is so much more thanBroadway.
It definitely is.
Yeah.
Support that, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (39:26):
Do you have a recommendation for our audience
today?
SPEAKER_00 (39:29):
Yes.
Um, so I'll give you a tip jarrecommendation and uh
recommendation along the linesof what you're suggesting.
Uh, first, if anyone listeninghas not been to Corey in East
Nashville, I'm pretty surethat's my favorite restaurant
right now.
It's one of my top three.
It is uh across from Rose Pepperin that part of East.
(39:50):
Uh they do Asian small plates,but they're not really that
small.
Uh the prices are superaffordable.
It's in an old house, service isspectacular.
It's always busy.
It's very loud, but it it feelslike you're in a neighborhood
where everybody knows everybodyand the food's delicious, the
drinks are delicious, they'vegot a good zero-proof menu.
So core is my top tip jarrecommendation.
SPEAKER_01 (40:13):
I'm gonna have to try it.
Yeah.
Sounds good.
SPEAKER_00 (40:15):
Um, I also am gonna recommend an app called
ScreenZen, and it's uh to likeblock certain apps at different
times to monitor your screentime.
Good idea.
Yeah, I the negative thepositive is it's free.
The negative is it's fairly easyto turn off.
So if you have noself-discipline, then it might
not be the app for you.
But if you have a modicum, likeI do, then you can set it and it
(40:39):
forces you to really beintentional if you're if you're
gonna turn it off.
I use it, I can't use it forInstagram, but I do use it for
TikTok because that is what Iwill just scroll endlessly.
SPEAKER_01 (40:49):
Yeah, I have one too, I don't remember what it
is, but just that extra stepmakes you think.
Yeah, for sure.
So my recommendation is theDenny Cove Trail in South
Cumberland State Park.
Okay.
I did it for the first time thisweekend, and it's my favorite
hiking trail in Tennessee rightnow.
Oh nice.
(41:10):
Yeah, it's so beautiful.
You do a little bouldering, it'svery quiet.
You get to the end and there'sthis gorgeous waterfall, there's
a rainbow.
SPEAKER_02 (41:19):
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_01 (41:20):
And nobody was there most of the time that we we just
kind of like sat and enjoyed it.
Yeah.
So Denny Cove.
Denny Cove.
Okay.
Yeah, it's like it's not at thethe trailheads for um like the
fiery gizzard for the actualpark.
You have to drive a littlefurther.
Okay.
So I feel like because it's notas easy.
SPEAKER_00 (41:40):
The fiery gizzard is also pretty.
SPEAKER_01 (41:42):
Yeah, I've done part of it.
Have you done the whole thing?
SPEAKER_00 (41:45):
No.
Okay.
I just went to the waterfall andback.
That's why okay.
SPEAKER_01 (41:48):
That's what I've done.
I want to do the whole thing,but I'm I feel like I need to
get in a little better shape.
SPEAKER_00 (41:54):
I I call myself moderately outdoorsy or mildly,
I forget now what I say, butlike I enjoy hiking, but only if
there's a waterfall and I get togo to a brewery after.
And no more than like an hourand a half.
SPEAKER_01 (42:05):
That's it.
What are you looking forward tothis week?
SPEAKER_00 (42:08):
Honestly, this is so silly, but this week has been a
marathon week for me, andtomorrow is insane.
But Friday, I have nothing on mycalendar, and I'm gonna clean my
house.
Like all these house projectsthat I've put off for months,
yeah, doing them on Friday.
SPEAKER_01 (42:24):
It's a good feeling.
Yeah, I like it.
I'm looking forward to BethStelling tonight at Zane's.
Oh love her.
Great comedian.
Uh-huh.
People should go see her.
SPEAKER_00 (42:34):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (42:34):
So thank you so much for being here.
SPEAKER_00 (42:36):
Thank you, Nicole.
This was great.
I loved it.
SPEAKER_01 (42:39):
Thank you guys for listening or watching whatever
you're up to.
Um, please come back next week.
Subscribe, follow us whereveryou listen to your podcast.
The end.
Thanks for listening to mycrunchy zen era.
Please subscribe and leave areview wherever you listen to
your podcasts.
This podcast is produced by me,Nicole Swisher, and my good
friends Summer Harcup and LizColter.
(43:01):
Editing is by Drew HarrisonMedia, and recording is done by
Logos Creative in Nashville,Tennessee.
Thanks for hanging out.
We'll be back next week.
What's something crunchier zen that you've done
lately?
Welcome to my crunchy zen era.
Uh this is a weekly podcastfilled with a little fun, a
little humor, and a whole lot ofcuriosity.
(00:21):
I'm your host, Nicole Swisher,and this week my guest is Sarah
Beth Schulte.
She runs the Tip Jar, um, aXenil's Guide to Nashville.
Did I get that right?
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (00:33):
Well, the Tip Jar Nash, but yes, that's correct.
SPEAKER_01 (00:36):
Tip Jar Nash.
Um I first came across youbecause a fr a mutual friend was
like, you should go check outthis website or this Instagram.
And then I couldn't stopscrolling.
And then and then you came to acomedy show.
Oh thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (00:53):
Yeah.
Yeah, I think our mutual friendwas my realtor for the very
brief time that I was thinkingabout buying a house.
SPEAKER_01 (00:59):
Also my realtor.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
Turn friend.
Yes.
If ever I buy one, she willagain be my realtor.
But um, yeah, and I loved yourcomedy show.
And um, I think that's one ofthe greatest gifts that running
my Instagram has brought to meis just the the many different
paths, uh the many differentpeople I've interacted with and
(01:20):
whose paths have now crossedjust because of putting things
out on the internet.
So it's been fun and it's beengreat to get to know you.
SPEAKER_01 (01:29):
Yes, it has.
And um, can you tell me justabout Tip Jar?
SPEAKER_00 (01:33):
Yeah, yeah.
So I started the Tip Jar.
Uh, when did I start it?
Um May 2022.
I had just moved back toNashville from DC.
I lived in DC for the two yearsof COVID, which is a whole other
story.
Um, but was out with somefriends.
We were doing this brewery crawlthrough the nations and started
(01:54):
talking about Nashville Guru.
And I said, I love that website.
That's how I learned my wayaround Nashville, but I know
they're not hiring.
And so my friend was like, Whydon't you pitch to them, just
pitch yourself to them?
I said, No, I know they're nothiring.
What if I did my own?
But specifically tailored it forpeople in their 30s and 40s, and
so um I just started thinkingabout that, and it was
(02:18):
originally intended to be awebsite like Nashville Guru, and
Instagram was just designed topoint people to the website, and
I very quickly realized, oh no,Instagram is that's the thing.
Um so now I have both, but Ithink they're very separate
audiences.
But I just um that's what I do.
I look for things in Nashvilleto do bars, restaurants, old
(02:39):
favorites, new ones, whatever,that people in their 30s and 40s
would enjoy.
My tagline is because we stillwant to have fun, but also go to
bed at a reasonable hour.
SPEAKER_01 (02:50):
Yeah, I definitely like to go to bed at a
reasonable hour.
So I'm a big fan of that.
SPEAKER_00 (02:55):
I'm already thinking about bedtime tonight.
I will be honest.
SPEAKER_01 (02:58):
Um, I'm going to Zany's tonight, and I'm like, oh
man, I'm gonna be awake late.
It's a seven o'clock show.
SPEAKER_00 (03:06):
Yeah.
For real, I have an 11 o'clockparty tonight that I would never
have gone to if it weren't wait.
It starts at a Wednesday night.
Yeah, it's an after party forBig X the Plug, who's playing at
the Ryman country now,apparently.
It sounds like a really funparty.
If the person coming with me hadcanceled, I would not have been
(03:27):
sad, but he's like, Yeah, let'sgo.
Nice.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (03:31):
Fine.
Yes.
So when you started the tip jar,uh, were you working full time?
SPEAKER_00 (03:37):
I was.
Um, I worked for the governmentactually today as we were
recording this.
This is my first day officiallynot a government employee.
Um, I took the Doge buyout, thefork in the road, or whatever.
And so I've been paid sinceFebruary to do the tip jar um
until yesterday.
(03:58):
But I was working, that's why Imoved to DC in January 2020 to
work for federal student aid.
And then after COVID, they saidwe could stay remote.
So I said, well, I'm going backto Nashville.
And my DC salary in Nashville iswhat gave me the ability to
start the tip jar because it'sexpensive to get content,
(04:19):
especially when you're juststarting out.
Nobody's inviting you toanything.
You're nobody, why would theyinvite you?
So I was really grateful to havethat income and the flexibility
of being remote to help me getit started.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (04:33):
Yeah.
And you're, I mean, you'reextroverted.
Correct.
Okay.
I'm like, I already know it's aleading question.
You're very extroverted.
Uh, do you ever get tired ofgoing to all these places?
SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
Um, I get worn out because especially like it's
October 1st, uh starting abouttwo weeks ago until about
December 15th.
I have so many things on thecalendar because that's when
everybody's doing their events.
That's you know, the holidayseason.
So I I get tired just fromgoing, going, going.
(05:07):
But I really love them.
Um, and sometimes like last yearI went to I think 20 Christmas
pop-ups.
That was way too many.
I will not do that this year.
But that was so many.
SPEAKER_01 (05:19):
By the end, I was like, I don't want to ever drink
hot chocolate again.
What would you say you'd wantpeople to know about or that may
people might find surprisingabout content creation?
SPEAKER_00 (05:30):
Um, I think something I found surprising was
that it was how much work itwas.
Yeah.
I just thought when I started, Iuse Instagram, therefore I know
how it works.
And I did not.
I mean, there it's marketing, itis advertising, and there's so
many different types ofaccounts.
Not everybody using Instagram isnot a marketer, but when you're
(05:53):
a content creator, that is whatyou're doing.
Um, uh, at least in the nichesthat I'm in, and a lot of
Nashville content creators arein.
So um I didn't realize just howmuch work it is to keep up with
emails.
I didn't realize I've never hadto negotiate a contract before
in my life.
(06:13):
And now I do it at least weekly.
And um that takes a long time asan attorney, I'm sure you're not
gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_01 (06:21):
I negotiate contracts too.
SPEAKER_00 (06:23):
Yeah.
Um, and just making contentthat's going to the public
versus going to your besties onyour private Instagram is a way
different ballgame.
There's psychology involved.
You have to think about what'smy audience gonna respond to.
You also have to think aboutwhat's the algorithm gonna
respond to because if thealgorithm does, unless you're
(06:45):
truly making it for the joy ofmaking content, which if you
are, great.
You have to cater to thealgorithm, or otherwise, what's
the point?
Nobody's gonna see it.
So there's just so many aspectsthat go into it beyond, well, I
got a free meal and I made avideo.
Yeah.
And I did not, I would see, youknow, dancing girls on TikTok or
the fashion girlies or whatever.
(07:06):
I'm like, they're just gettingfree clothes and recording
themselves.
But there's so much behind thatthat we don't see that I don't
think most people realize.
SPEAKER_01 (07:15):
Yeah.
And so what were you in ingeneral?
What were you doing in your dayjob?
And was it were there skillsthat you had learned there that
you trans transferred, or was itjust like this is a whole new
thing?
SPEAKER_00 (07:28):
Uh it was I'm trying to think if there was any
crossover.
It was a whole new my day job.
Uh my day job with thegovernment was just admin.
I mean, purely I uh was theexecutive officer, which meant I
was the go-between for mydivision and HR and some of the
other admin divisions.
(07:48):
Um soul crushing, really.
Um, but prior to that, I'dworked mostly in higher ed
admissions.
I worked at Belmont and gradadmissions there.
I'd worked for a law school.
So I think maybe there's someoverlap there.
And it's I used to calladmissions sales light, you
know.
I don't have to make I don'thave to make you sign on the
(08:10):
bottom dotted line.
Right.
But I'm still trying to presentthe school in a way that will
appeal to you and so you canmake the best decision for you.
I'm trying to be honest andtransparent while also
representing things in a goodlight.
Um, and I think the psychologyof that also translates to
Instagram content um of justunderstanding what people are
(08:35):
looking for and what's going toappeal to them.
Do you I mean, do you ever runout of ideas?
How do you keep them coming?
I don't, I think I so years andyears ago in the peak mommy blog
era, I was not a mommy, am not amommy.
Um, but I had a fashion blogthat I never did anything with.
(08:56):
But I found that when I waswriting consistently, I just
sort of saw the world throughthat lens.
I would whatever happened to me,I would think, oh, this would be
an interesting blog post.
SPEAKER_02 (09:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (09:10):
And so I think that's true with probably m most
creative endeavors, is when youget when you train your brain to
be in that mode, you just kindof see stuff.
Um, so when I'm scrolling, Idon't do scroll anymore, except
on TikTok.
But on Instagram, I don't doscroll.
I sort my followers inchronological order, which you
(09:33):
can do.
I need everybody needs to knowthat you can sort so you only
see who you are following.
So I do that and just I followplaces like breweries or event
venues or whatever that arehosting events so I know what's
going on.
I follow other creators so I seeif they find out about a new
restaurant opening and postabout it, I'm in the loop.
I subscribe to newsletters.
(09:54):
I'm on Google Maps constantly.
So I'm always like, I want to goget coffee today.
Let's see if there's any newshops.
And I'll just type coffee intoGoogle Maps and kind of like
zoom in and out and see ifthere's anything new.
So I sometimes there are dryspells, but usually I have such
a backlog of content and ideasthat I What do you do if you are
(10:17):
like invited somewhere and thenyou're like, I don't want to
recommend this.
Yeah.
I try when I'm invited, I try toI well, let me let me go back
even further.
I kind of have parametersalready in mind of the things
that I'm willing to post aboutor not.
I I really try to keep thingsfamily friendly.
(10:39):
I try to stay away from anythingpolitical or religious just
because I have so many people ofdifferent walks of life
following me.
I don't I want everybody to feelwelcome.
Um, so I already kind of knowwhat I'm interested in doing and
what I'm not.
I also already kind of knowwhat's gonna do well and what's
not.
I know my audience pretty well.
(11:01):
So um that helps inform some ofmy decisions.
But if people invite me to aplace, I try to never guarantee
coverage.
Um because I don't ever want tohurt somebody's business, but I
I want my audience, trusts me,and I value that, and I want and
(11:22):
I value authenticity.
That's uh high, you know, that'shigh on my list of things that I
care about is authenticity andhonesty.
So um if somebody invites me andI don't love it, but I don't
hate it, I'll probably post instories to honor the invitation,
but my tell is that I use noadjectives.
(11:44):
Like, here's a place.
It's a burger.
Yeah, yeah.
They have this on their menu.
Um if it's a paid thing, then Ithat's obviously guaranteed.
Now, if I truly hated it andthought it would be unethical to
post about it, I'd cancel thecontract or something.
Sure.
(12:05):
But if it's paid, I try to findsome angle that makes sense.
Like I did something withCrystal hamburgers, it's fast
food, it's not local toNashville, although I think they
are a Tennessee chain, but itthis is not why people followed
me to find out about Crystal.
(12:25):
Right.
But since most of my followersare millennials, they love
nostalgia.
So I tried to tie it in thatway.
This is nostalgic.
I got it like remember, you wentto the doctor's office, you'd
come back to school with yourfast food lunch.
I tapped into that and was like,I went to Crystal, brought it
back to my office, and yeah.
So I'm always trying to thinkhow can I do well by the brand
(12:50):
and be authentic to me and honorwhy people followed me in the
first place.
SPEAKER_01 (12:56):
So do you view your role as like almost like a
journalist or like entertainmentor like something else?
SPEAKER_00 (13:03):
Um, that's a good question.
I don't I would not sayjournalist, although sometimes I
am lumped into media, which isprobably fair, but definitely
not journalists.
They have a different code ofethics, they have a different
they have different criteria.
Um it it's just very different.
There is definitely an elementof entertainment because if I'm
(13:24):
not entertaining, then no onewatches.
Right.
Um, so I think it's more I don'tknow.
I honestly don't know whatcategory to put this in.
Um but I do I for contentcreation there is a code of
(13:46):
ethics.
Um it's a lot, this is a newfield, it's a lot loosey more
loosey-goosey.
Um, but FTC, Federal TradeCommission, has rules that many
people do not abide by.
I'm gonna start getting on myhigh horse about that soon.
Not not on this podcast, but Iwas actually gonna ask you about
as a lawyer.
SPEAKER_01 (14:05):
I well, we can come back to it.
But that's so funny because I Ihave but had to learn about that
because I have had some clientswho are like in the influencer
space or engaging an influencer,and I see it all the time now
that I know, and I'm like, yeah,you're not like you're supposed
to be well, I'm not giving legaladvice here.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
There are things you're supposedto do, please look into it.
SPEAKER_00 (14:26):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (14:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (14:27):
There there are ethics and there are legalities.
It's a little gray sometimes.
Technically, every time I'minvited to a restaurant, I'm
supposed to disclose.
That seems extreme to me,honestly, so I don't really
worry about that.
But anytime I'm in pay I ampaid, I have to disclose.
Yes.
And there are many creators whodo not.
(14:49):
I don't care if you useInstagram's paid promotion,
that's Instagram's thing.
But you have to disclose hashtagad, hashtag paid, hashtag
sponsored, whatever you choose,you have to disclose.
And there are many that do not.
And the reason they don't,sorry, this is a little bit
tangent, but the reason theydon't is because Instagram tends
(15:09):
to um not promote your contentas much.
This is this is an urban legend,but I think it's true.
Instagram, I think, assumes ifit's an ad, somebody's putting
money behind it, therefore theyhave money to boost it, which
pays Instagram.
So Instagram wants toincentivize people to boost paid
(15:30):
content.
Yeah.
So they don't uh if you legallydisclose, they do not often show
it as much.
That's that's everybody'stheory.
And I think that's why mostpeople don't who don't disclose
don't do it.
And I get that temptation, butit's legal.
SPEAKER_01 (15:47):
Like it's constantly evolving too.
Oh yeah.
Because, like you said, it'svery loosey-goosey, it's a new
industry.
And yeah, yeah.
I've been up in that Westlawresearch.
unknown (15:59):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (16:00):
I need to do more, honestly, because yeah, it's all
that to say to your originalquestion, it's definitely an
industry, but I don't think it'sfair to journalists to put it in
that category.
Yeah.
And but I think it's more thanentertainment.
So I don't know where it goes.
I and I also think it'seducational, informative, but
that makes you think of youknow, wellness influencers or uh
(16:26):
the Instagram psychologist orwhatever, which we're definitely
not that either.
SPEAKER_01 (16:31):
Yeah.
Um, what would you say is one ofthe coolest like tips that
you've given or come across?
SPEAKER_00 (16:38):
Yeah, I um I this sounds terrible, but I go to so
many places that like I have tolook back through my phone to
remember things.
Like I have to see the pictures.
And so it's hard for me off thetop of my head to remember, oh,
that was really unique.
That was really cool.
One thing that I really enjoy iswhen something on my account
(17:01):
kind of goes viral and randompeople who don't follow me start
commenting.
I don't always love that.
That's when the trolls come out.
So I'm not saying that's a goodthing overall, but a couple
times there have been Nashvillenatives, older people who've
lived here forever, that bring avery interesting tidbit.
One time I posted a meme aboutum newcomers not knowing how to
(17:24):
say De Munbrian.
And some people from the DeMunbrian family commented and
were just talking about theirfamily history a little bit, and
so that was really cool.
I posted something the other dayabout where each Gilmore Girl's
character would live.
And someone said, I don't knowabout Luke Danes, but Scott
Patterson, the actor, did livein Nashville.
(17:46):
He played for the NashvilleSounds in the 80s.
What?
Yes, I had no idea.
I knew he was a baseball playerback in the day.
SPEAKER_01 (17:52):
Okay, I didn't even know that.
SPEAKER_00 (17:53):
Yeah, he I knew that.
Um, but I had no idea it was inNashville.
I think just for one season.
So those are the kinds of thingsthat you have to be a native to
know, really, and and when thosecome out of the woodwork, that's
really fun.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:08):
Have you had any uh shift in mindset from you know,
you started like you said youhad like 500 follow followers
for like six months and then itkind of spiraled from there.
How have you started viewing itdifferently or like changed the
way you I don't know, plan?
SPEAKER_00 (18:26):
Yeah.
Um it requires a lot moreplanning for sure.
Um when I was a small account,it was just literally an hour
before I had to I I did postalmost every day, but I was
like, what can I post aboutabout uh about today?
Now it's very strategic.
Okay, I need to start postingabout Christmas November 1st.
(18:48):
Um I know the cycle better.
I I have a better understandingof when things are gonna go
viral and when people are gonnahave fatigue and whatever.
So it is a lot more planning.
Um, I think the biggest mindsetshift is just understanding the
value of content.
Um, I have firsthand accounts.
Somebody I had a real did verywell, and I went back, it was
(19:11):
about a bar, and I went back,and the bartender was like, I
was gonna have to get a secondjob and I don't have to now.
SPEAKER_01 (19:16):
Oh, that's amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (19:17):
Yeah, it was so sweet.
I don't know if that's still thecase.
That's the hard part aboutcontent.
If you have if somebody postssomething, it goes viral, it's
great for a business, but theycan't always sustain that.
And there's right, there'snothing I can do about that, you
know.
So, so that's the the other sideof it.
But um, so I know anecdotallyhow powerful this can be.
(19:38):
Um, I know how much work it is.
I know um I also know better howthe algorithm works, so you're
kind of a slave to it, which isterrible.
But um, so I think just thinkingof it really as a business
instead of a hobby was a mindsetshift for me.
And and again, I think I've saidthis kind of a few times, but
(20:01):
not everybody's gonna think ofit that way, and that's totally
fine.
But for me, it is my full-timejob now, and um even when it
wasn't, I just really like itand want it to be successful,
and so I think thinking of it asa business is the way to do
that.
SPEAKER_01 (20:18):
So it is your full-time job.
SPEAKER_00 (20:19):
It is my full-time job now, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (20:22):
How do you make money off of it?
SPEAKER_00 (20:24):
Well, I don't make much yet.
Um, I have been saying to peoplerecently, I think I picked a
niche or niche.
I can't ever decide which I say.
I say niche.
Okay, that's most common.
It sounds like fancier.
Yeah, but I grew up sayingniche, so I feel like
disingenuous saying niche, likea niche.
SPEAKER_01 (20:42):
I just didn't say it.
And then I'm like, this is it.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:46):
Um, so I think I picked a niche that was
relatively easy to grow inbecause everybody likes food,
everybody likes drinks,everybody likes things to do,
everybody loves Nashville.
As opposed to like fashion, forexample, it's there's so many
people, and you're not as um uhniche down, like anybody can
(21:07):
follow a fashion blogger.
So it's a little bit harder togrow.
But once you grow, it's harderto make money if you're doing
small businesses and restaurantswith razor-thin margins in 2025,
and you know, it's harder tomake money in that field than it
is to have Amazon or Target payyou to talk about their clothes,
(21:28):
right?
So it's you know, everything haspros and cons.
Um so the the primary way that Ior any content creator makes
money is a brand pays us to talkabout them.
And I one thing that I'm tryingto educate the world on is to
(21:48):
think of an ad on Instagram thesame as a commercial, the same
as a billboard, the same as anad in a magazine or a newspaper.
That's why um that's why theyhave to disclose because all of
those things have to disclosethat they're ads in some form or
fashion.
Um but that's also why it costsmoney because you would never
(22:12):
expect to take out an ad in theTennessean in exchange for a
hamburger.
You wouldn't, and you understandthat you're paying not only for
their work of putting it inthere, but for their audience.
And so brand deals forInstagram, that's what that's
(22:34):
what brands are paying for toreach our audience and
potentially another audience andan audience that they might not
have.
They don't all of the peoplefollowing me are not necessarily
following Target or whatever.
So that's the primary way.
Um, but that's not super stable.
Um, so I personally have triedto come up with a lot of
(22:55):
different ways of varyingsuccess.
Um, I have a website, so I'vegot ads on that that are you
know automatically generated.
Um eventually I'd like to havesponsors for some of my articles
there.
Um, I have I think one itineraryon my website, but eventually
I'd like to have a bunch thatyou just you just go buy the one
that makes the most sense foryour trip.
(23:16):
Um for Nashville or ForNashville.
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Um I have a Google map that hasall my favorite places on it,
pinpointed, and it has adescription of the place and the
parking information.
Okay, that's valuable.
Thank you.
I also I was like, how can Imake this worthwhile to locals?
Um, so um, you know, I have uh Ihave affiliate codes that if you
(23:40):
use my code, you get a discounton X, Y, and Z, but I also get a
little kickback.
Right.
So all of these things that I'mhoping at some point will equal
a stable income.
But we'll see.
Entrepreneurship is exciting.
I love the flexibility, I'venever done it before.
Probably not gonna haveinsurance for a couple months.
(24:00):
Like, let's hope nothinghappens.
Um, but it's not for the faintof heart and it's a ton of work.
Yeah, it's exciting though.
It is exciting, yeah.
Yeah, and one of my friends isalways like, believe in
yourself, keep counting onyourself.
And like, that's a really goodperspective, and I want to be
able to pay my bills.
SPEAKER_01 (24:18):
Yes, I always am amazed at how much friends like
believe in you like more thanyou do, and it's like I need you
in my head constantly.
SPEAKER_00 (24:28):
Yeah, yeah.
And it's it's so important tohave people like that around
you.
SPEAKER_01 (24:33):
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, so you did a podcastrecently called 40 Dates in 40
Days.
Yes.
Tell me where that came from,and was it related at all to the
tip jar?
And where is it at?
SPEAKER_00 (24:49):
Well, it was very loosely related to the tip jar.
So I'm in Enneagram 3.
Um, my best friend is also inEnneagram 3.
So our conversations are like,what are your goals?
Um, and she said, What do youwant to do with the tip jar?
Like, where is it going?
What what are your plans?
And she said, Would you like tohave a podcast?
(25:10):
And I said, I'd love to.
I love talking, but I don't knowwhat I would talk about.
And she also is very I had gonethrough a breakup in January,
and so she's been myencouragement through all that.
And she said, What if you wenton a date for every every day
for a month?
And I was like, Oh, I actuallylove that.
I think people would be reallyinterested in it.
(25:32):
So, but what if, because Iturned 40 in January also, I was
like, what if I did 40 dates in40 days because I turned 40?
SPEAKER_02 (25:39):
And she's like, Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (25:41):
So it just kind of went on from there.
I was hoping a lot more of mytip jar audience would come over
than did.
Um, a few did, and I'm gratefulfor them.
Not that many though.
Um so I tried to tie it in, liketalking about where I went in
Nashville, and I think if it hadgotten a little more esteem, I
could have maybe gotten someNashville sponsorships or
(26:01):
something and tied it moreclosely.
But it was largely prettydistinct.
Um, so yeah, I almost real timedid the podcast while I was
eventually the podcast got toofar out, so it wasn't as real
time.
But the first couple weeks I wasgoing on these dates recording a
podcast talking about them.
SPEAKER_01 (26:21):
Yeah.
Um, how'd it go?
SPEAKER_00 (26:23):
It was horrible.
It was the worst experience ofmy life.
SPEAKER_01 (26:26):
I did listen to all of them, so some of these are
leading questions.
SPEAKER_00 (26:29):
Yes, well, thank you.
Thank you for listening.
And please lead away.
Yeah, it was terrible.
I um I loved podcasting.
That part was a great experiencethat at some point I hope to
resume.
So thank you again for giving mean opportunity to do this.
Um, but the actual dates were sohorrific.
SPEAKER_01 (26:52):
I don't understand how you had wait, I do
understand how you had so manybad.
I just like I thought that therewere more good guys out there,
and it just seemed like you hadbad date after bad date.
SPEAKER_00 (27:08):
I did.
Um, I think there's a fewfactors.
One, I do think there are moregood guys out there than I
experienced.
I don't know if they're not onthe apps or but I also know for
my male friends and my brotherand the angry men on TikTok that
they gave you great feedback.
Um the women are no better.
SPEAKER_01 (27:31):
So I think that's probably fair.
SPEAKER_00 (27:33):
I do think women have it a little bit worse if
for no other reason, because wehave like more safety concerns
than men.
Um, but nevertheless, both sideshave it really bad right now.
Um, so I think that's part ofit.
I think the nature of what I wasdoing, what I couldn't vet any
of these people.
SPEAKER_01 (27:52):
So that's what I was wondering if it was partly
because it was like 40 in 40days.
Yeah.
You just have to go.
SPEAKER_00 (27:59):
Yes, which was part of the experiment.
Is like, well, maybe if I hadn'tbeen doing this, I wouldn't have
gone out with this person, butthey were really great.
Well, that never happened.
But that's what I was trying tosee.
So a lot of the bad ones I wentout on, I never would have gone
out with them.
Yeah, period.
Did anyone get past a firstdate?
(28:20):
I feel like there were there wasone guy that I went on a second
date.
That is the the one of the 40,uh, which actually I only went
out with I think 25 or 26 actualdates.
The rest were like singlesevents, or I went to a bar and
just tried to meet somebody inreal life or whatever.
But in those 40 days, uh 40days, there the guys in Alaska I
(28:44):
went out with a couple times.
They were great.
But in Nashville, there was oneguy who to this day I would a
hundred percent set up with afriend.
He was a really good guy.
I really liked him.
He was not a fit for me.
Um, but he was he was not a hewas great, you know, and that
that's part of dating is youmeet people and you're like, oh,
(29:08):
you're wonderful, but we're notgonna work out.
But yeah.
So the rest though, I would sayof the rest, I forget the
numbers now.
My my last episode, I like brokeit all down, but um I would say
probably about 50% were justfine.
Not they were just forgettable,uh obviously I've already
forgotten them.
(29:28):
The other were truly terrible.
SPEAKER_01 (29:31):
Do you ever think like taking out this particular
experience of like going on somany, but when you do go on a
date with someone you meet onlike hinge or whatever, and it's
just kind of like the date'sokay.
SPEAKER_00 (29:43):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (29:44):
Do you generally lean towards going on a second
date just to see, or are you thetype of person who's like, it
should have been great, thereshould have been a spark?
SPEAKER_00 (29:53):
Yeah.
Um, I think it it reallydepends.
Um I I do tend to so that nice.
Guy, I was not interested on thefirst date, but I was willing to
go on a second just because hewas a really good guy.
Yeah.
Um, so if I can tell, like if Ican tell it's not an automatic
no, then I'll go on a seconddate.
But some of these, like, eventhough they were okay, I'm still
(30:16):
this is yeah, I I had a coupleothers that I was willing to go
on a second date and they didn'tfollow through or they canceled
or whatever.
So there were some others that Iwas not blown away by, but
willing to see, and it stilljust didn't happen.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:33):
Are you willing to share your worst date?
SPEAKER_00 (30:36):
Um, yeah, I think the worst was a guy who hated
Nashville.
Um, not my this is not my worstever, but this is my worst in
the 40 days.
The 40 days, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
He um he was younger, so I'm 40,he's 31, he had twins, and I
will say, bless his heart, he hedoes have some trauma from an
(30:59):
on-the-job experience thathappened that I'm super
sympathetic about.
Nevertheless, I could tellbefore I even got there, we're
not intellectually, we're notcompatible.
We're just not the ourcommunication is bad.
He has no clue.
I said, why don't we meet atfive?
He's like, a.m.
And I was like, what?
Why on earth would I suggestgetting tacos at 5 a.m.?
SPEAKER_01 (31:22):
Why is that an option?
unknown (31:24):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (31:24):
So just things like that.
But the the kicker, and he'scomplaining about how expensive
Nashville is fair, except we'reat a place that had a$9
margarita, which for Nashvilleis cheap.
That's a good deal.
Yeah, and he's like, This is soexpensive.
I was like, this is no, it'snot.
He's like, but it's so small.
I'm like, this is a full-sizemargarita.
(31:46):
Anyway, as we're talking abouthis children, he says to me,
40-year-old me, he looks at meand he says, Can you even still
have kids?
I was I wish I'd said so manymore things to him than I did.
I was just too caught off guardthat I like answered him
seriously.
(32:07):
I was like, Well, yeah.
Actually, I said, Well, I don'tknow, I haven't tried.
But I was like, lots of peoplehave kids in their 40s, but I
could have been so much moresarcastic.
I just was like, oh my god.
How old was he?
31.
So, but old enough to like knowhow biology works, and old
enough to know that's a rudequestion.
(32:27):
Even if you Yeah, 100% rude.
Yeah, like if you want to knowthat, just say, would you like
to have children?
And then that gives me theopportunity to say, no, that
ship has sailed, or or not, youknow, whatever.
But I just was so dumbfounded.
At the end, I clapped my handsand I was like, okay, let's go.
(32:50):
I hated him so much.
I can't believe he asked youthat.
SPEAKER_01 (32:53):
I know.
Oh my gosh.
Um, we I guess we all need abiology lesson in all this.
Uh women can have babies at 40.
Okay.
Um, so any big uh takeaways fromthe process?
SPEAKER_00 (33:08):
Yeah, my biggest takeaway was twofold.
One, I was like, my ex wasamazing, and I'm still in love
with him, and we need to getback together.
So does he know this?
He does, and I'm gonna make himlisten to this episode.
Um but so that was takeaway one.
Takeaway two is that I willnever again judge people for
(33:30):
their relationships.
Um, as if if their partner's notabusive or um, you know,
cheating on them or somethingthat's a like ob universal red
flag.
Right.
If I just think he's kind of ajerk, you know, whatever that
you have to live with him.
I don't, and there may be otherqualities that you appreciate
(33:50):
about him that I don't see.
Um, or uh if I think he shoulddo more around the house, again,
like my therapist always says ifyou find somebody that's a 70 to
80 percent match for you,perfection does not exist,
that's really good.
But I, as an external observer,cannot say what their 80% is.
(34:11):
And dating is so hard, andfinding somebody that you click
with is so hard, especially asyou get older, especially in
2025, that if you are withsomebody that I don't really
think is good enough for you,but they're not doing anything
actual, dangerous, illegal,whatever, right, then you do
(34:33):
you.
That's your and I used to bevery judgy about people's
relationships before thisexperience, before this
experience, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (34:41):
Oh I mean, I think that's a really valuable
takeaway though.
SPEAKER_00 (34:44):
Yeah, well, yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (34:45):
I mean, just this weekend my friend actually said
if you find someone who's like70, 80 percent.
Oh, yeah.
So I don't know if that's comingfrom somewhere, like a stat or
something.
But I mean you can't ever findsomeone who's a hundred percent
because you know, they'd beperfect and we're just not.
SPEAKER_00 (35:00):
Yeah.
Um well, and this is a wholeother tangent that we could talk
a whole podcast about, but Ithink that's something that I
talked on my podcast aboutpurity culture, and I think
that's something that thewell-meaning church in the you
know, early in the 90s, 2000s,probably before, conditioned us
(35:21):
to think is that there is thisperfect person for you.
And and not just the church.
I mean, every rom-com conditionsus to think that someday our
prince will come, and we justexpect the prince to come when
we're about 24 years old and tohave no flaws and for us to live
happily ever after.
And that's not reality foralmost anyone.
SPEAKER_01 (35:43):
No, and yeah, I feel very strongly about purity
culture.
We can leave that for anotherday.
But I do I do think, like, assomebody who I'm 37, I'm not
married, um, I'm not waiting fora man.
I'm gonna have a great life.
And sure, if someone comesalong, like, okay, great.
(36:04):
But you know, that's not howyou're complete.
And I I don't believe insoulmates or the one or anything
like that.
I think that we there areprobably multiple people that
would work.
SPEAKER_02 (36:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (36:17):
But I don't I just you know, dating is really hard
right now for both men andwomen.
And so to put too much emphasison it day to day, taking away
your your experiment was veryunique.
But I I think that it has it cancause people a lot of um
(36:41):
unhappiness when perhaps uhputting the emphasis on
something else, and by the way,you're dating too could help
diversify and have a whole lifeand remember like you're not
waiting for your prince orprincess.
Yeah, you know, it goes bothways.
SPEAKER_00 (36:59):
Yeah, for sure.
And I think there's a lot oftalk these days about learning
to meet your own needs, and thatkind of ties into my trying to
make my inner child happy.
And um I think it's easy toexpect your partner to meet all
of your needs.
And so, if like you're saying,you have a more full life where
(37:21):
you're getting your needs metyourself, but also through
friends and family and all theseother ways, when you're a
partner, no matter how perfecthe or she is, inevitably fails
because they are a human, thenyou have it within you to okay,
like move, you know, this yeah,yeah.
So I think you're right, andthere is just so much more to
(37:44):
life than finding that person.
SPEAKER_01 (37:46):
And that being said, I'm waiting for this guy,
putting it out into the world.
All right, so give us um yourrecommendation if somebody's
coming to Nashville, they've got24 hours.
What do they do?
SPEAKER_00 (38:05):
Yeah, so I actually have an itinerary on my website.
SPEAKER_01 (38:08):
Okay, we'll make sure to link to it.
I like that.
SPEAKER_00 (38:11):
Um, it's uh it my one-day itinerary is free, so
anybody can go download it.
And I really tried to thinkabout like, okay, Nashville is
so much more than Broadway, butif you're only here for one day,
you want to do Broadway.
So I think I haven't looked atit in a while, but I'm pretty
sure I have you starting in themorning in 12 South, going to a
couple local spots, doing someshopping, getting lunch, then
(38:35):
coming to Broadway for um honkytonks during the day.
They're so much better duringthe day.
I agree.
Yes, yes.
You get to hear live music, butit's not chaotic.
And uh you can see if there'sanything you want to avoid
because the sun's out.
It's great.
Um, and then I suggested a fewplaces, I think in the gulch for
(38:58):
dinner, and then at night, likethe listening room or um uh
yeah, sorry, I should havelooked at it before, but a a
live music thing that's notBroadway.
Yeah.
Um, so just trying to givepeople the full Nashville
experience in a condensed formwhile again acknowledging that
(39:20):
Nashville is so much more thanBroadway.
It definitely is.
Yeah.
Support that, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (39:26):
Do you have a recommendation for our audience
today?
SPEAKER_00 (39:29):
Yes.
Um, so I'll give you a tip jarrecommendation and uh
recommendation along the linesof what you're suggesting.
Uh, first, if anyone listeninghas not been to Corey in East
Nashville, I'm pretty surethat's my favorite restaurant
right now.
It's one of my top three.
It is uh across from Rose Pepperin that part of East.
(39:50):
Uh they do Asian small plates,but they're not really that
small.
Uh the prices are superaffordable.
It's in an old house, service isspectacular.
It's always busy.
It's very loud, but it it feelslike you're in a neighborhood
where everybody knows everybodyand the food's delicious, the
drinks are delicious, they'vegot a good zero-proof menu.
So core is my top tip jarrecommendation.
SPEAKER_01 (40:13):
I'm gonna have to try it.
Yeah.
Sounds good.
SPEAKER_00 (40:15):
Um, I also am gonna recommend an app called
ScreenZen, and it's uh to likeblock certain apps at different
times to monitor your screentime.
Good idea.
Yeah, I the negative thepositive is it's free.
The negative is it's fairly easyto turn off.
So if you have noself-discipline, then it might
not be the app for you.
But if you have a modicum, likeI do, then you can set it and it
(40:39):
forces you to really beintentional if you're if you're
gonna turn it off.
I use it, I can't use it forInstagram, but I do use it for
TikTok because that is what Iwill just scroll endlessly.
SPEAKER_01 (40:49):
Yeah, I have one too, I don't remember what it
is, but just that extra stepmakes you think.
Yeah, for sure.
So my recommendation is theDenny Cove Trail in South
Cumberland State Park.
Okay.
I did it for the first time thisweekend, and it's my favorite
hiking trail in Tennessee rightnow.
Oh nice.
(41:10):
Yeah, it's so beautiful.
You do a little bouldering, it'svery quiet.
You get to the end and there'sthis gorgeous waterfall, there's
a rainbow.
SPEAKER_02 (41:19):
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_01 (41:20):
And nobody was there most of the time that we we just
kind of like sat and enjoyed it.
Yeah.
So Denny Cove.
Denny Cove.
Okay.
Yeah, it's like it's not at thethe trailheads for um like the
fiery gizzard for the actualpark.
You have to drive a littlefurther.
Okay.
So I feel like because it's notas easy.
SPEAKER_00 (41:40):
The fiery gizzard is also pretty.
SPEAKER_01 (41:42):
Yeah, I've done part of it.
Have you done the whole thing?
SPEAKER_00 (41:45):
No.
Okay.
I just went to the waterfall andback.
That's why okay.
SPEAKER_01 (41:48):
That's what I've done.
I want to do the whole thing,but I'm I feel like I need to
get in a little better shape.
SPEAKER_00 (41:54):
I I call myself moderately outdoorsy or mildly,
I forget now what I say, butlike I enjoy hiking, but only if
there's a waterfall and I get togo to a brewery after.
And no more than like an hourand a half.
SPEAKER_01 (42:05):
That's it.
What are you looking forward tothis week?
SPEAKER_00 (42:08):
Honestly, this is so silly, but this week has been a
marathon week for me, andtomorrow is insane.
But Friday, I have nothing on mycalendar, and I'm gonna clean my
house.
Like all these house projectsthat I've put off for months,
yeah, doing them on Friday.
SPEAKER_01 (42:24):
It's a good feeling.
Yeah, I like it.
I'm looking forward to BethStelling tonight at Zane's.
Oh love her.
Great comedian.
Uh-huh.
People should go see her.
SPEAKER_00 (42:34):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (42:34):
So thank you so much for being here.
SPEAKER_00 (42:36):
Thank you, Nicole.
This was great.
I loved it.
SPEAKER_01 (42:39):
Thank you guys for listening or watching whatever
you're up to.
Um, please come back next week.
Subscribe, follow us whereveryou listen to your podcast.
The end.
Thanks for listening to mycrunchy zen era.
Please subscribe and leave areview wherever you listen to
your podcasts.
This podcast is produced by me,Nicole Swisher, and my good
friends Summer Harcup and LizColter.
(43:01):
Editing is by Drew HarrisonMedia, and recording is done by
Logos Creative in Nashville,Tennessee.
Thanks for hanging out.
We'll be back next week.
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