Al and Joe, Henry and Ro

Smile Friday—it’s family vacation time! Without a...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:54:00 -0400

Smile Friday—it’s family vacation time! Without a doubt, it’s my favorite week of the year.

There will be 20 or so odd family members and significant others cobbled together for this year’s family vacation in Rosemary Beach, FL.

Plans include: eating corn dogs for breakfast and drinking Red Roosters, hosting my Great Aunt Lou’s 87th birthday bash (the last time we threw her one of these was her 80th and she took too many tequila shots and hung her bra from the light fixture), and getting my tan on.

This year my brother will be stuck in Charlotte working and unable to post hideous pictures of me to Facebook as his profile picture.

We leave this afternoon and I can’t wait.

Today is our 5 year Atlanta-versary

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:24:00 -0400

Things I saw in Midtown today (a potential series)

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:20:19 -0400

A girl wearing a great outfit: flowy tunic top, ballet flats, Longchamp bag, tousled ponytail, but nothing on the bottom half. She was entirely without pant.

A girl walking down Peachtree in an open-backed hospital gown, dragging her IV alongside, and smoking a cigarette with not a single care.

Lots of butts today. I love this city.

muchtoyourchagrin: Five full minutes of Michael Kors quotes...

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:15:53 -0400

muchtoyourchagrin:

Five full minutes of Michael Kors quotes from 10 seasons of Project Runway.

You need to watch this.

“it’s a brady bunch dashiki!”

“She looks like a transvestite flamenco dancer at a funeral.”

“It’s like a mexican serape gay flag.”

(via)

Michael Kors is a treasure.

GPOYW: the “I’m a terrible sibling”...

Wed, 29 May 2013 17:18:00 -0400

Nathan and Jordan

"Congratulatins"

This bar is a legit trailer

I think taking a picture in a casino is illegal

GPOYW: the “I’m a terrible sibling” edition

Nathan graduated a few weeks ago from Appalachian State University and we threw him a mountain shindig to celebrate.

We stayed in a beautiful cabin just outside of Boone, NC and in a strange twist, the owner of the cabin passed away in between us making the reservation and our arrival. It was incredibly sad but my family is morbid and kept discussing the likelihood of the cabin being haunted, though Grandma was more concerned with the perceived threat of bears. I stepped outside to talk on the phone and I heard her screaming at my dad, “GO GET HER BEFORE SHE’S EATEN”, without an ounce of sarcasm in her tone.

We stayed up until the wee hours decorating the night before the ceremony. Though my mom did manage decor in the appropriate collegiate colors, she bought the wrong size pump for the balloons and Joe later noticed the “congratulations” banner was misspelled [we left it up anyway]. It was at this point I realized I’d left my bag of clothes at home, five hours away.

Our entire extended family was on time for the ceremony, a college graduation first. Afterward, we walked across the street to The Klondike [a bar in a trailer] for a post-grad beer.

After our big homemade Italian dinner at the haunted cabin, Joe went to meet up with Nathan for a few beers at his apartment and popped my brand new tire. Logistically, we do not travel well.

On the way back to Atlanta, Joe was quietly taking a detour for Harrah’s with me hardly noticing. Not one to miss out on a good time, he insisted we play a few slots since we were “so close”. We lost every dime we gambled.

I am such a lazy blogger that Nathan has already started his first “big boy” job and found an apartment in Charlotte. He’s about to discover the cost of things like health insurance and why you need a 401K, but simultaneously how great it is to be an adult and do whatever you want, wherever you want to do it. Well, once he breaks the lease with his current roommates [mom and dad], that is.

As of today, we are officially homeowners!

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:56:09 -0400

I don’t know the last time I loved a song this much, but I...

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:00:26 -0400

I don’t know the last time I loved a song this much, but I can tell you that it’s been a long time.

Give it a listen.

fullcredit: JUST KIDDING I FOUND SOMETHING EVEN BETTER Olivia...

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:53:49 -0400

fullcredit:

JUST KIDDING I FOUND SOMETHING EVEN BETTER

Olivia Benson has been busy living my dream life.

I hope these two are in discussions of Joe Biden replacing Detective Amanda Rollins post VP term because there had better be a season 17 of SVU.

heelsandhardhat: Happy April 30th!

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:56:24 -0400

heelsandhardhat:

Happy April 30th!

Last weekend, the girls in my extended family road tripped to...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:41:00 -0400

Last weekend, the girls in my extended family road tripped to Fripp Island, SC for a quick weekend getaway. My grandma, her sister, and a few generations of girls in each of their families came.

The sleepy pace of Fripp and Beaufort was perfect.

Both mornings we had deer wander into our backyard looking for food. They ate apples and celery out of our hands.

We had a nearly four hour dinner at Wren after losing track of time. It turns out a few bottles of wine and non-stop laughing will do that.

In the afternoons we sat on a near empty beach and endured the chilly temperatures and chillier wind to get a little tan but mostly sunburned.

We wandered the neighborhood by golf cart and after a while, found the only beach bar that was open, where we were the bartender’s only customers.

On Saturday night we went to a neighborhood tavern for dinner at 10 PM and ate fried seafood while all of the drunk patrons sang along to “Don’t Stop Believing”.

And we didn’t remember to take a single picture of the group all together. Sometimes I think that’s an indicator of the very best kind of weekend.

The cherry on top was coming back to meet our family’s newest addition, Wyatt Richard. He joined the world almost a month early and is a goofy, grandpa-looking guy, and little brother to my favorite now toddler, Luke.

We all left under the assumption that yes, we will do this again. I am already looking forward to next time.

What we Eat

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:10:00 -0400

I’d estimate that 85% of my meals in the last two months have been consumed in a restaurant or drive-thru line. Yes, in a drive-thru line because waiting until you get home is for people who don’t enjoy fries that burn off your fingertips.

I very much look and feel like that percentage would indicate.

These are a few very bomb meals I have made in recent history that are worth discussing:

Beef Bulgogi- I did not even know what this was until seeing it on V’s Instagram and was basically a rabid dog until I could get to the grocery store. I went with her tweaks and added edamame and piled it on Soba noodles. It was a 10 out of 10 and I’m making it again tonight.

Chicken Tikka Masala- this is an old favorite that, to me, works for every season. If you only have one Indian dish in your arsenal, this should be a candidate. It makes enough for the entire week and re-heats beautifully. I like to keep the meat mixture separate from the rice for leftover purposes.

Maple Mustard Glazed Pork with Balsamic Brussels Sprouts and Mushroom Risotto (cheated and used TJ’s box version and added a pound of ‘shrooms)- Joe and I brought this to his former Manager and his wife a few days after the birth of their second child. It received rave reviews but that may have been because the alternative dinner would have been Mini Wheats. I will say I was shocked at the amount of flavor the pork held between the rub and the glaze. Note: use 100% real Maple syrup when making the glaze or you may be disappointed. This is also two-year old approved. Their toddler ate all of this which gave me hope that it is possible to teach your kid to have a palette that extends beyond Kraft Mac & Cheese.

On my “to make” list is this parmesan bread pudding with broccoli rabe and pancetta. I hope it doesn’t disappoint, though I don’t think anything with “bread pudding” in the title ever does.

Movin’ on up, to the east side...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:50:07 -0400

Movin’ on up, to the east side (literally)…

I’d forgotten about this fortune I’ve kept in my wallet for coincidentally, about a year, until last week.

Though it’s quite wrinkled and uncharacteristically sentimental, I still might just frame this little piece of paper. We put an offer on this house on April Fool’s Day (it’s a good thing I got too lazy to continue being as superstitious as I once was) and just finalized our June move.

I am soon to be the least hip girl in East Atlanta and I absolutely can’t wait. Joe already has ample plaid, Vans, and old school Ray Bans so I’m on my own here.

matt-t: SHE GOT A BIG BOOTY SO I CALL HER BIG BOOTY I think...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 08:59:34 -0400

matt-t:

SHE GOT A BIG BOOTY

SO I CALL HER BIG BOOTY

I think Michael’s is running a special on custom framing and I’ve never seen anything more deserving.

Thanks to the Final Four being hosted in Atlanta this year,...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:57:00 -0400

Thanks to the Final Four being hosted in Atlanta this year, there were free concerts downtown all weekend.

Maybe this was some sort of peace offering to the citizens of Atlanta who had to deal with insane traffic and 100K+ extra people in downtown alone, but I’ll gladly take it.

Saturday was primarily rap all day and Muse at night. I skipped most of the rap because if you live in Atlanta and haven’t seen Ludacris perform, I mean, I don’t even know how that’s possible. We saw Flo Rida’s entire set and I was kind of ashamed to know every single song. He actually put on a super fun show. We only stayed until they ran out of beer and then left because I cannot care about Muse. Just can’t.

Yesterday we saw Grace Potter who was absolute magic and Sting who did the perfect mix of his own stuff and old Police songs. The man is a legend. We left just before Dave Matthews Band because again, I cannot care about DMB. They closed the gates right as he came on and teenagers were coming through in droves. There were a handful of girls crying outside the gates so I guess DMB is still very much a “thing”.

I had to keep sunscreen from my dermatologist on hand at all times to not land myself in sun poisoning territory on the first warm weekend of the year, which I did last year and had the traces of a shorts tan the entire summer. Lesson learned.

I’m mostly a dead body at work today but also probably still contact high. And I am most definitely going to see Grace perform again and also pretend that we’re on a first name basis.

One whole week later, a picture from Easter! This is the only...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 11:58:00 -0400

One whole week later, a picture from Easter!

This is the only picture, despite all of the family arrangements, in which everyone’s eyes are open and people aren’t talking mid-snap.

It was Joe’s first Easter with my family. He’s been at work the last eight years and has never gotten to participate in Grandma’s cash Easter egg hunt. This year everyone brought a dish to Grandma’s but forgot to coordinate so we had enough ham for a village and every side dish was a carb. There were no complaints about the spread.

I baked one of the three things I know how: coconut cupcakes. Please try to gloss over the amount of butter and just know that these are a crowd pleaser, even for coconut skeptics.

Post-lunch, my mom thought I was announcing a pregnancy, but I was actually just surprising her with her birthday gift. The cut of my dress probably didn’t help but that was specifically selected for over-consumption. I don’t know where a silk scarf ranks on the scale of birthday card to grandchild, so I hope she wasn’t too disappointed.

We missed the full Easter egg hunt [not over it] because everything and everyone was running late this year, but we did snag a few eggs along the driveway on our way back to Atlanta to meet Joe’s dad for a tapas dinner.

Oh, and I finished my Easter basket goodies [thanks, mom!] a week ago.

In case you, too, are trying to shove in a quick lunch at your...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:47:37 -0400

In case you, too, are trying to shove in a quick lunch at your desk and are having a lie-in-the-fetal-position Monday at work, please allow the Jackson 5 put a bright spot in your day.

From their first appearance on American Bandstand in 1970, I Want You Back.

We are staring down the gun of putting in an offer on a house we saw last night and we have to move...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:06:00 -0400

We are staring down the gun of putting in an offer on a house we saw last night and we have to move quickly, as there is already one other offer on the table and it has only been on the market since Friday. But we’re still unsure.

I was in the shower weighing the pros and cons of this [lovely, wonderful, price-we-could-stomach house] and Joe yelled in “UM, AL…I WRECKED MY CAR”.

It’s been an eventful twenty-four hours.

We were scrambling around calling AAA, trying to secure a rental car, trying to move Joe’s car, which we presume to have a broken axle, and I was trying to blow dry my hair in the time frame that keeps me from looking like a poor man’s Tina Turner.

Once I finished throwing myself together, Joe told me it would be another half hour before the tow truck would arrive.

Internal dialogue: “A half hour you say?”

*turns on Mad Men*

Weekend

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:18:00 -0400

On Friday night, we looked at two no-go houses with our realtor. Though both had potential, they both had their tragic flaws. (Three-sided brick and then round the corner to see brown metal fake-shake? Girl, no. Beautiful craftsman style home with a neighboring home that appeared—and this is just my guess—condemned, set on fire, eaten by termites and then partially fenced? Try again.)

We got trapped in hideous traffic between viewings and wound up with enough chat time to discover that our realtor will be playing Owen Wilson’s sister in a movie this summer and that the writer of her comedy troupe’s sketches is a brilliant man with Aspergers who has made his wealth creating fetish porn. She leads a fascinating life, but doesn’t seem to be all that aware of it. At the second house, we collectively set off the alarm and had to answer some questions for a very skeptical police officer. That should sum up how the home buying process is going thus far.

Saturday morning was for a charity bowling event with my co-workers at which I ate 3 pieces of pizza and promptly split my pants. I had to cover it by tying my bulky jacket around my waist which made me look like a mom at Disney World or a girl who’d just gotten her first period, take your pick. I could get over myself enough to be excited that Big Brothers Big Sisters walked home with a big check that afternoon thanks to a packed alley and lots of donors.

We ate oysters (still in split pants) with friends and thankgod went home to change before going to a friend’s St. Patty’s day party. I really only own one kelly green piece, so thank you Atlanta for working with me on the weather because I was wearing that dress regardless, so it was nice to not look like a tights-less asshole. The highlight of my day was being asked if I want to participate in a mock jury to gage public opinion on the Jodi Arias trial which is basically my dream come true: the opportunity to be a “juror” with no real impact on anyone’s life! I couldn’t say yes fast enough. Like maybe it was too fast? Too desperate? I might never hear back from that friend.

I don’t even know what happened yesterday. One minute I was eating breakfast working on our taxes, the next minute the sun had set and I’d nearly completed season one of Mad Men and I don’t even know if I did daily hygiene things. I think I’m going to refer to all time before Sunday, March 17, 2013 as BMM and today onward as AMM; it’s that serious. I’ve been meaning to start this series from the beginning for years, but since I just learned to use our Netflix account (all I watch is crime and therefore thought I had no need for Netflix), it’s game on to catch up to present before the new season starts. At my current pace, this should be no problem. Last night we watched “Survive and Advance”, the ESPN documentary on the 1983 NC State men’s basketball team, and my heart has basically been ripped out of my body. It was really, incredibly moving and well done.

Good weekend.

James Beard Semifinalists*

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:52:00 -0400

James Beard Semifinalists*:

Atlanta has an impressive showing on this list. These are my feelings.

Best New Restaurant: Cardamom Hill

Outstanding Bar Program: Holeman & Finch Public House; The Porter Beer Bar

Outstanding Chef: Anne Quatrano, Bacchanalia

Outstanding Pastry Chef: Aaron Russell, Restaurant Eugene

Outstanding Restaurant: Ford Fry, Rocket Farm Restaurants: The Optimist, JCT Kitchen, No. 246; Mike Klank and Eddie Hernandez, Taqueria del Sol

re: any Ford Fry restaurant

re: Taqueria del Sol

Outstanding Service: Bacchanalia

Best Chef, Southeast: Billy Allin, Cakes & Ale; Todd Richards, The Shed at Glenwood; Steven Satterfield, Miller Union

re: Miller Union

Bacchanalia has been on my list since we moved to Atlanta, but until I am comfortable paying that much for something I can make disappear in 30 minutes, I will continue to save it for an unknown special occasion of epic proportions.

*Alternately titled: Atlanta restaurant review guide from someone with a mildly-cultured palate who still frequents her local McDonalds drive-thru.

Joe introduced me to this band and song a while ago, and...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:03:59 -0400

Joe introduced me to this band and song a while ago, and I’d forgotten about it almost entirely until it, apropos of nothing, got stuck in my head this morning.

Now I’m listening to it at my desk trying not to cry because this song is a very beautiful gut punch.

Been talkin’ ‘bout the way things change
And my family lives in a different state
If you don’t know what to make of this
Then we will not relate

Rivers and roads
Rivers and roads
Rivers ‘til I reach you