When American Girl closed down their store in Kansas City during the pandemic, I was bummed. To this day, I have so many good memories connected to the store and the trips my family took to surprise me and my sisters. They closed the store in Overland Park during my blog hiatus, so while I cared about the fact that it was closing, I didn’t care *that* much, as I wasn’t into American Girl during that time. Once I started getting back in American Girl dolls, I decided to visit Oak Park Mall, the mall that housed the American Girl store. I had to see it for myself that it was closed, right? Well.. it was indeed closed.

They had turned it into a sports clothing store. Super awesome. :,)

The other American Girl store I had visited multiple times was the store in Scottsdale, Arizona. My family visits Scottsdale frequently, and I had stayed in Arizona for 6 weeks my junior year of high school. It’s a special place to me. I enjoyed visiting the American Girl store (whenever my mom would take me), and I had bought several dolls there (Jess and Gabriel). And unfortunately, this store was also closed when American Girl decided to make cuts during the pandemic.

My family traveled to Arizona for New Year’s and we always visit the Scottsdale Quarter, which is one of the most popular shopping centers in Scottsdale. My sisters and I walked down to the old American Girl store building and reminisced on good times. Granted, they had never visited the Scottsdale store, but they were sad just the same.

I hate how they leave the exteriors up, in all their glory. Man, they sure know how to make beautiful stores. :,)

So the two stores I visited most frequently both closed. I’m still kinda bummed.. it’s on my bucket list to visit an American Girl store on January 1st and celebrate the new Girl of the Year on her release date. However, now that I’m old enough to drive, both stores I could be at on the first of the year are closed. But I digress. This post is about American Girl Nashville.

The company I work for took it’s employees to Nashville for a belated holiday party. They gave us about a full day of free time to do whatever we wished in the city. So, I got an Uber and my friend and I traveled to Franklin, just south of Nashville, to visit the American Girl store. As any responsible adult, with free time in the city, does. ;)

I didn’t take many photos, but man I had a great time. It’s crazy to think there were times where I had seen (in person) pretty much everything American Girl sold, because I had been to the store so many times. However, this time, I had seen very little and got to enjoy seeing the different dolls and items in person. I think the last time I had been to the store was in 2018. Kinda crazy!

The World by Us dolls are prettier in person, let me tell you. Evette is positively gorgeous, Maritza’s hair is stunning, and Makena’s new face mold looks so full of joy.

I’m also in love with the Local Bean coffee shop set.. the little bags of coffee beans and the card reader? Adorable. The little pieces really make this set.

And of course, you know I couldn’t leave American Girl empty-handed, right? I picked up the Winter Accessories for Kaya, which is a set I’ve had my eye on for quite a while.

Overall, it was just super fun to see (and touch) all the little American Girl sets. I’m so glad I got to visit an American Girl Place after so long. Seeing all the little kids with their parents in the store reminded me of the pure joy I felt whenever I would visit American Girl Place Kansas City with my family. It’s a little different now, since my local store is closed and I’m an adult and all, but one thing is still the same – it’s always a magical time at American Girl. ✨