Owning your City: Nikki

Lee Jeans South Africa recently launched a new campaign called 'Own this City". It's about the things that make the city you live in unique, and what makes it your city. It's about the things that you love, the little restaurant around the corner where only locals go, the park, with the mountain, the streams, the memories.

I thought that it would be a cool concept for a few bloggers to tell me and you about their favourite spots and hangouts in their cities. It also gives you a little insight to what people love and live for! 

First up is Nikki. She's a cutie! 

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Hi y'all! I’m Nikki and I blog over at The Pink Growl. 

Miss Megan reached out to me to participate in her Owning Your City series so here I am! A little bit about me…My blog explores the everyday adventures of a Southern belle wanna be. I'm a girly girl, soon-to-be cop's wifey, doggy mama, and TN Vol for life. If it glitters, is gold or growls then I probably love it. I keep it real on my blog talking about everything from weight issues, the urge to get married & reproduce, planning my wedding and any random crazy ideas that comes into my head. Come on over and help me figure things out, one normal girl struggle at a time!

When Megan first threw this idea out to me, I was definitely intrigued. I LOVE the city I live in - Knoxville,TN. Obviously, I'm probably a bit biased but maybe I can sway you to believe me! Knoxville is the 3rd largest city in Tennessee, behind Nashville & Memphis. It's located in East TN along the Smoky Mountains. Knoxville is a college town, home to the University of TN - my alma mater. The humdity is high, the accents are deep and the land is beautiful. One of my favorite things about living here is the plentiful lakes & rivers and also the mountains. It's definitely not a flat, boring terrain!

There are MANY tourist spots around this area. We are 40 minutes from Gatlinburg and a national park in the mountains. You can visit the 1982 World's Fair Site with the pretty sunsphere (as featured on The Simpsons). Lots of reasons bring people to my town.

While all that is well and good, I'm sure you want to hear about the fun places that locals hang out in Knoxville. First on my list is Market Square. Market Square has been a hip downtown spot for ages. Recently the downtown district went through some renovations, which has led to an influx of unique restaurants, boutiques and lofts in this area. Market Square is the central hub of downtown. It hosts businesses, restaurants with patios, salons, boutiques, bars and clubs. This is where many festivals, outdoor concerts and parades are held too. They also have a farmer's market on Saturday mornings, which is amazing! No matter what you are looking to get into, you can find it on Market Square.

Next up has got to be football. Football is a way of life in the South, so that goes for TN too. Every Saturday me and 107,000 of my closest friends go visit Neyland Stadium to watch the boys in orange play. I've been going to games since before I can remember. It's just what you do around here on Saturdays in the fall. We wouldn't know any other way.

At least we tailgate in style! Even if you don't love football, you can appreciate this turnout each and every week. It's how we roll in a college town!

Next up is one of my personal favorite restaurants - Calhoun's on the River. Calhoun's is an East TN staple and has been around since well before my time. They are known for their speciality brewed beer and their delicious ribs. There are several locations spread about town, but this one on the river is my favorite. Their food is yummy, drinks are strong and the atmosphere is fun!

It was so hard to choose which areas to highlight to you. Knoxville is a rapidly growing city, and awesome chic places are popping up everywhere. There is a great shopping district called Turkey Creek in West Knoxville that has anything you could ever want to buy there - but I couldn't find any good pictures of the complex to show you. Just remember if you want to blow some major cash, go to Turkey Creek!

If you ever come to visit Knoxville, please look me up! I would love to show you around! Thank you for having me, Megan! I hope to see you soon over at The Pink Growl!