Etc in Atl

New Blog

2013-09-03T17:18:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! I've created a new blog, message me if you'd like the address :-)

Friday Five

2013-06-07T19:49:00.001-04:00

It's a rainy Friday night and I'm staying in, am getting up at 6am tomorrow to run a 5K with my colleagues to benefit Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. I am not begging for donations like the 3-Day but you can make a donation on my behalf that will benefit the Strong4Life program. My company built strong4life.com, lots of man hours went into the creation of it, check it out!

2 weeks since my last update so here is another Friday Five post!

The usual excuse, work! I have not had much spare time during my workday, but lots of exciting things are happening!

{1}

I got some new plants for my little balcony -

3 new plants doesn't look like a lot but it was quite the process for me!

And a new hanging dragon fly stain glass I got at the Decatur Arts Festival -

{2}

I finally got a light blue Clarisonic Mia, obsessed -

How I ever thought I was cleaning my face by rubbing face wash on it with my hands.... It's like a Sonicare toothbrush I'll never be able to not use it now!

Here's some lovely examples:

And it just feels a gazillion times better. Like last Saturday night I had been out in the Virginia Highlands for the annual Summerfest. (one of my fav festivals in Atl) Humidy + crowds + alcohol + fatty food = Ick! When I went home at the end of the night and used my Mia and put on PJ's = Ahhhh :)

{3}

George got groomed last week so of course a photo shoot was in order -

And he had his first beer over Memorial Day weekend

My little cavy is growing up! Oh but a real George update: We've started going on long walks! I had held off because of his weight and being malnourished but I've started taking him on longer and longer walks. We've even walked the belt line trail by my condo a couple times and it's 3 miles!

{4}

I'm trying to eat more fruits and veggies and just more healthy overall. I have such a sweet tooth and crave candy like gummy bears, Twizzlers and Mike&Ike's. (random I know but I love 'em) Anywhere I can get the bag your own candy I'm in heaven because there's fruity gummy candy galore. (Chrissy tells me the serve yourself candy is germy) So I *try* to counteract this craving by drinking a lot of water and eating a lot of fruit. I've started putting frozen fruit in my water, keeps water cold and then I eat the fruit, surprisingly satisfying. The Very Cherry Blend from TJ's is delish -

I've made this fruit quinoa salad twice the past couple weeks, for a family cookout and for a small group dinner. It's super easy and you can add whatever fruit you want. The recipe calls for a honey, lime and mint dressing and the second time I made it with lemon instead of lime and it turned out great. Recipes you can't mess up are best for me :)

Recipe!

{5}

I'm getting new kitchen appliances delivered tomorrow and on Monday! My yellowing white 70's appliances are getting replaced with new stainless steel, will post before and after pics!

Friday Five

2013-05-17T16:37:00.001-04:00

{1}

Saw Gatsby last night and loved it. Listening to the soundtrack right now, obsessive personality much? Saw it at the recently remodeled Phipp's Theater and was maybe the best movie going experience I've ever had, huge leather reclining seats and great concession and drink offerings. Safe to say it's my new fav place to watch a movie in Atl.

Aaannnd after watching Gatsby I want all of this.

{2}

A couple of my lunches this week (been a very eventful week ha)

A turkey lettuce wrap -

And catered lunch at work today, a veggie burger, pasta and salad, and I may have had a cookie too but it was so good totally worth the calories.

{3}

While talking food I have to admit my fitness has been a little lagging this past week due to having caught a stomach bug last weekend. Thankfully it was just a 24 hour bug but have wanted to play it safe and not push myself too hard when I'm feeling low energy. I've gone on a couple long walks with Georgie (he has boundless energy) and one 3 mile run this week. Nothing yesterday or today except the usual strolls with George. Tomorrow morning I'm planning on going to spin and then next week will hopefully be back to my routine of running with a couple of spin and yoga classes in the mix.

This is what you have to go through to get into the good instructor's classes at LA Fitness spin, get in line at least 30 minutes prior to the start time and put your name on the list, how I'll be spending my Saturday morning tomorrow. I snapped this pic a couple weekends ago but never got around to doing a weekend recap post, haha.

{4}

The latest few things I've ordered from Very Jane and GroopDealz, boutique deals that are emailed daily-

I got the statement necklace to the left in white from Very Jane -

This chevron infinity scarf in blue from GroopDealz but haven't received it yet -

And these fun teardrop earrings from Very Jane that I haven't received yet either but have gotten an email saying that they're on their way!

Way too easy to shop and buy, just wish the shipping time was a little speedier.

{5}

I adopted George on February 15 so this past Wednesday I have had him 3 months :)

Pic to the left was taken by the adoption counselor at Fulton County Animal Services after I'd signed all the papers and everything was official, pic to the right was taken this past Sunday at my parent's house while celebrating Mother's Day (day after my stomach bug ick).

Milestones in George's life over the past 3 months: Weight gain, got neutered, developed an affinity for sleeping atop plush pillows and eating chicken and rice, started going into the office to earn his keep ;), has made lots of new furry and non furry friends and of course a new home :)

Wordless Wednesday

2013-05-15T17:11:00.001-04:00

Just playin' fetch at work!

Mayhem at the Office

2013-05-14T15:28:00.000-04:00

Last week my company had our annual week long event, literally called Mayhem. You are put on a team with fellow coworkers and compete in all kinds of games throughout the week, a lot of alcohol and food provided too of course. (Last year's week of Mayhem) Some pics from the week -

Mariachi and margaritas for Cinco De Mayo

Monday night we went to Game-X, a new game spot downtown to enjoy unlimited games and an open bar

Look what I spotted, a giant Doodle Jump game! I've kind of gotten over my obsession though and just played once, it wasn't that fun you just moved the lever to make Doodle move.

Parker throwing a punch!

Part of my blue team playing trivia on Tuesday, we tied for last :( But had the cutest mascot!

So people get very competitive during Mayhem... One of the things you can do to earn points for your team is social media. Every time you tag your team name your team gets a point. One of my coworkers even stooped so low as to use George!

We were not pleased.

Wednesday was paint by numbers and King of Pops

Pics: Top two is the painting coming together (each team painted a portion); Middle left is balloons in the ladies bathroom from team orange (who won the whole week, boo); Bottom left are the yummy flavors KOP had for us (Banana puddin' was my fav); And bottom right is sweet Bella joining in on the festivities. She loved paint by numbers!

King of Pops even made their sticks especially for our event

Thursday was "the big day" which consisted of field day type activities all day long: Three-legged race, dodge ball, water balloon, flip cup and tug of war. You know a typical workday.

My team won dodge ball, at one point we only had 1 player in but he beat a whole team, needless to say we were very excited

Flip cup, totally normal 2pm activity on a weekday

My team playing tug of war

Parker falling at tug of war

Then getting an award for it the next day

So needless to say a week full of mayhem, need a full year to recover until the next one!

Lauren's Bachelorette and Wedding Weekends

2013-05-07T13:47:00.000-04:00

What I've been up to the last couple weeks, my cousin Lauren's wedding festivities!

We celebrated her bachelorette weekend here in Atlanta where the group stayed at the W Hotel in Buckhead. Her room was all decked out -

Cutouts of male celebs all over the room, haha

Ready for dinner Saturday night

Dinner at Seasons 52 and hanging out at the hotel bar afterwards. I found these funny scratch off cards that dare you to go up and do ridiculous stuff to people, it was entertaining enough just reading them haha

Sexy diva bride to be!

Whole Foods cookie cake (I kept asking for fun bachelorette decoration on the phone and the lady from the bakery responded in a monotone voice, "We only do balloons and flowers." But turned out well and was delish -

With the rest of the bridesmaids -

The following weekend we all gathered in LaGrange for Lauren and David's wedding!

Beautiful flower arrangement at the rehearsal dinner

Lauren and my other cousin Karen the next morning at the bridal luncheon

Wish I could have dessert after breakfast everyday

Spent the afternoon doing hair and makeup, right before the ceremony -

All ready to go :)

The 2nd star of the day, my cousin Karen's sweet little boy Landon, so presh

After the ceremony

Lauren and David's entrance, first dance at the reception and our bridesmaid's bouquets

Landon borrowed mine en route to the reception :)

Their cake was amazing, white cake and white butter cream icing, David loves desserts, when I sent him a list of questions to answer for a bachelorette game one of the questions was, "What is your favorite dessert?" His answer, "Yes! I love desserts." :)

Groom's cake, David sells and loves cars, he got Baby Pearl for me :)

Great band

Party animal!

Sending them off with sparklers! They took a limo to the Georgian Terrace that night then off to Bermuda in the morning.

Meanwhile George was living it up over at Austin's house, I mean Sheena and Ben's :)

Cavy's gotta stick together

Made himself right at home :)

Beach Pics

2013-04-24T18:11:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in blogging about our girl's beach trip, we got back last Tuesday evening and I have been very busy with work and my cousin's wedding festivities. We had her bachelorette weekend in Atlanta this past weekend and the wedding is this Saturday and I will be traveling to LaGrange for it.

I'd say this collage sums up our trip -

The top beach pic was taken within hours of arriving. This is pretty embarrassing but when we landed in Tampa we took a cab straight to the liquor store, haha. We did not have a car and there were no stores around the hotel. So liquor store to hotel to the beach. Priorities people!

One of several beverages we picked up, Skinny Girl Cucumber Vodka -

We drank it with club soda, very refreshing and low cal!

Sheena and I are obsessed with oysters, Allison not quite so much she can take them or leave 'em. That was one of about 5 orders we had over the course of the trip, delish.

Above bottom right pic taken at our hotel's rooftop bar, a fun beachy atmosphere that has a big countdown timer to sunset, gives out free shots and blares "When the sun goes down" at sunset :)

We were very lucky with the weather, didn't rain any during the day

We indulged in lots of fresh seafood, at one meal instead of each ordering an entree we ordered about 6 different appetizers of seafood. So many great spots all around our hotel.

No we did not plan to all wear teal dresses :) Our waiter asked if we had been in a wedding haha.

Our calamari and chocolate lava cake from that dinner, so good. For our entrees I had parmesan crusted salmon (yum), Allison had shrimp and grits and Sheena had lobster ravioli that was heavenly.

Some of the maid's handiwork in our hotel -

Do you think the right one looks like a swan or a snake? It's definitely a swan but Allison yelled, "Snake!" right when she spotted it haha.

Our last full day on the beach -

Of course Allison and I rented a tent and slathered ourselves in our fav sunblock -

Sheena was brave to go on a beach trip with us albinos, lots of "Can you put sunblock on back?" requests and Sheena was shocked at the amount of sunblock I would use haha.

Sunset on the rooftop bar with frozen pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris, ahh vaca

Our last night we went out to dinner and drinks (we stayed within a .3 mile radius of our hotel the whole trip) and met a new friend at one of the bars, this really drunk lady from Norway (I think?) and Allison was the only one who could understand her and carry on a conversation with her haha.

One last stop at the rooftop bar, we grabbed lunch there before heading to the airport

Bye, Clearwater Beach! Thanks for a fun girl's trip :)

Aannnd one more embarrassing story from the trip, so we definitely missed our flight the way there.... One word: Marta. It was absolutely miz. It was running on some kind of glacial schedule and long story short it tooks us 2 HOURS to get from Buckhead to the airport. I was so anxious because 1. Obvi about to miss my flight to my much anticipated beach vaca 2. I forgot to eat or grab a Luna bar that morning and we all know how that goes when I forgo eating 3. So many people scared me on the train, one man got on and was yelling racist comments and stuff like, "This is MY train!" and I thought we were all about to die and then this homeless man in a wheelchair started quizzing Sheena and I with number and word problems. I turned to Sheena and said, "This is what hell is like." But thankfully we got put on a flight all together just an hour later than our scheduled flight. Everyone with Airtran was very nice and accommodating and said people had been missing their flights all morning because of Marta! Ridic. We were very fortunate and happily boarded our plane with food in tow and arrived just an hour later to sunny Florida :)

Wordless Wednesday

2013-04-17T13:20:00.001-04:00

Returning to the office after vaca is always a little rough...

Friday Five

2013-04-12T14:39:00.002-04:00

1. Someone got neutered last week and was not pleased about it -

My boss gave me that soft cone for when her maltese was spayed and right when walking out of the vet he flicked it off, so I stopped by a pet supply store on the way home to get a new one but they didn't have any, so I cut that one and tied it to his collar with a bandana.

Not a fan of the cone, this is his "Seriously?" expression, he also gives it to me when I talk to him in a British accent -

The cone has held up relatively well until yesterday... When I got home last night his cone was still intact but missing were his sutures. The cone has gotten worn out and he managed to get to them. But it ended up being a good thing since I took him to the vet this morning and was told everything looks good since it's just a few days from when he originally was supposed to have his sutures removed. The vet tech said it looks exactly how it would look if they had taken them out. So no more cone or sutures for George! He's at the office with me today and a happy camper. He even jumped out of my cube area and sprinted to where another office cavalier, Oliver, was across the office -

He loves Oliver and this sweet 5 month old puppy Lula, who is the most calm and well behaved puppy I've ever seen -

I'm so glad he is sans cone now especially since he will be staying with one of my neighbors while I go to Tampa for a girl's beach weekend :)

2. So very excited to hop on a plane with Allison and Sheena tomorrow! Fingers crossed it doesn't rain the whole time and we can get lots of time beach time in. (under an umbrella for me and Allison of course)

Got a much needed pedi earlier this week, a new swimsuit and coverup from Target last night (yep another Target trip haha, see previous post ;) and getting a spray tan tonight :)

Xhilaration® Junior's 2-Piece Swimsuit -Peppermint

Xhilaration® Junior's Strapless Cover Up Dress

3. It's officially springtime, pretty flowers around my condo -

I wish I could get a pic of George smelling a flower :)

4. With warm weather I like making smoothies with fresh fruit and veggies to take to work, this one had frozen blueberries, spinach, kale, apple, blueberry Greek yogurt, a splash of orange juice and green tea and some Trader Joe's super green powder that is full of vitamins -

Here are lots of great recipes on my smoothie pin board :)

And the occasional milkshake splurge!

5. Springtime is my favorite time of year to do some serious cleaning and organizing, something therapeutic about it. Last weekend when George was recuperating I spent a good chunk of my Sunday organizing and cleaning out my closet. (It's the kind of chore that's painful to get started on but once you start you can't stop!) These pics aren't super impressive or blog worthy haha but I am very proud of my newly color coordinated hanging clothes and that I can now walk in my closet :)

The shoes still need some work. I got those clear plastic cases from The Container Store a couple years ago and need to add some more.

George was giving me a double "Seriously?" look as he was sitting on my bed sporting the cone and watching me wreak havoc in my bedroom by pulling everything out of my closet. I also wrestled with these wire stack-able shelves I got from Target when I first moved in and I am not being dramatic when I say this but they are possessed. They are impossible to stack. And I may have broken them in the process of trying.

Be back next week with pics from the beach :)

Target Love

2013-04-04T12:22:00.000-04:00

It's no secret that Target is my happy place, where I go to escape in the midst of a hectic workday and since it's Target I'm being productive and getting things I need, a win win! ;-) Well since I've been bringing my new fur baby into work with me everyday for the last few weeks I haven't been making my usual weekly lunch trips, but I went yesterday because I was in dire need of a lot of essentials. I left George with some coworkers and off I went (George was not pleased with this arrangement, but for some of you who seem to have this crazy notion that I'm spoiling him let this be an example that he doesn't always get his way ;-)

Some of the essentials I picked up -

A Brita water pitcher

In small group a few weeks ago one of the girls was drinking a massive bottle of SmartWater and somehow we all started talking about drinking water. She was going on about how much she hates Atlanta tap water and most of the other girls chimed in agreeing with her. I got quiet and ducked my head and looked at my glass of tap water sitting on my coffee table then finally quietly admitted, "I drink tap water." To which they all pointed out that my glass looked cloudy. I've considered getting a Brita for years but for some reason always dismissed it that I didn't really need one, until now... I think 30 bucks is worth ensuring I'm drinking clean water. And I got the pretty green color. And I think George will appreciate the filtered water, too ;-)

Method cleaning products

My absolute fav cleaning products are Method. They are so fresh and nontoxic and not abrasive. I ran out of my cucumber scented surface cleaner and opted for clementine this time. Getting excited about cleaning products = I'm so mature and fun ;-)

A few healthy'ish snacks for those late afternoon cravings -

These are delish and just 70 calories a pack, a much better alternative to when I sometimes go to the cafe in my office complex and load up on self serve gummy candy which always results in a self loathing sugar coma.

I've yet to have anything Kashi I don't like, their dark mocha almond granola bars are pretty satisfying and a good go to when a chocolate craving hits. I also like the dark chocolate cherry kind.

I ran out of my Oscar Blandi dry shampoo (what I use on non hair wash days). Don't know when I'll make it over to Sephora and I'm not that crazy about it anyway so thought I'd try this more economical one by Garnier Frustis -

Also almost out of matte face powder. I apply it in the morning and afternoon to keep the shine away. I use Benefit and then for reapplication and touch ups I've opted for a cheaper brand, I like Sonia Kashuk sold only at Target, just $10 -

Love my Sonicare toothbrush, I highly recommend making the investment so worth it. I needed toothbrush head refills and was pleased to see that there were Target brand ones for a little bit cheaper -

Hey I'm trying to save where I can with all the new pet expenses and such. Sweet George is getting neutered today, I was so sad dropping him off this morning he was shaking like a leaf. I decided to pay to have it done at my vet as opposed to taking him back to the shelter and done for free there. I don't think my heart could have handled taking him back there, plus they will give him the extra meds and attention he needs at my vet.

Got a small rug for my kitchen for the steep price of $7.99, I've put George's food bowls on the one I already have and needed another one in front of my sink, plus George likes to get one piece of kibble in his mouth and run to the nearest rug to eat it, so this will save him a few steps, haha. Yes he gets kibble now not chicken and rice like a big boy.

Splurged on this little frame for $1 :) It's a pic of when I first met him, you know the day I raced over to the shelter in the middle of a volunteer shift at the Junior League Nearly New shop, haha. I know I admit I am cray but he is my one and only fur baby! Vet just called and said everything went well with his surgery :)

I'll spare you from the rest of my very exciting toiletry and product purchases. Target has so much cute new home stuff and I didn't buy any of it! I also didn't buy a new swimsuit for my beach trip to Tampa next weekend with Allison and Sheena or any spring clothes. I also perused the Easter candy aisle and walked away empty handed. So proud of myself I think I deserve another Target trip.

Weekend Recap

2013-03-25T16:54:00.001-04:00

This past weekend was the Junior League of Atlanta's Tour of Kitchens event, kicked off with a lavish party Friday night at Mason Murer Fine Art and then Saturday and Sunday were tours of beautifully designed homes and chef demos around Metro Atlanta.

My first time attending the Toast of the Tour party, definitely did not disappoint - A large, cool space with live music, gourmet food, cocktails made by a mixologist with demonstrations, an entire dessert room and a silent auction. A typical Friday night ;-)

Drinks made with dry ice by the mixologist on hand -

Some of the ladies who are in my new member small group, I've really enjoyed getting to know them they are all so sweet and fun!

Aerial silks! Remember when I went to an aerial silks class a couple year ago? :)

Saturday morning George had to go out in the rain and was not pleased, he shakes and rolls all over the floor like a rabid animal when he's wet, the aftermath -

Saturday afternoon I volunteered at one of the houses on the Tour of Homes route, their newly renovated kitchen and master bath were featured -

Definitely makes me long for an upgrade...

Saturday night went out in downtown Roswell to celebrate Sheena's birthday!

Several people asked if it was her 21st birthday haha:)

After dinner we popped by Party Chic a couple doors down on Canton Street for some cupcakes to bring the group at our next stop -

Peanut butter, cookie dough and red velvet :) While at Party Chic they gave us free drinks, including my new fav drink - a vanilla vodka shirley temple!

I stayed at my parent's house that night and most of Sunday, with the cold weather and being on the go so much I was exhausted, nice to have a down day.

Back to work today!

Friday Five

2013-03-15T13:48:00.000-04:00

1 - I finally saw Silver Linings Playbook last Friday night and like everyone else loved it and all the actors -

Saw it at one of my fav spots to see movies, Cinebistro in Brookhaven, with some of my small group ladies -

+ Louisa's boyfriend Chad was there on a date with the 4 of us :)

2 - Today is George's first day in the office!

He's doing really well and already worn out by all the attention and new sites and smells :)

Today I have had him for 1 month!

We are working very hard on getting some weight on him, he's already gained a few lbs and needs to gain a couple more before getting neutered. He gets chicken and rice 3X's a day! Why chicken and rice you're probably wondering, well the vet recommended it for the protein and carbs and he was not loving the wet dog food, so we'll be sticking with this diet for another week or so and then transition over to kibble. I was feeding him his chicken and rice today at lunch and someone walked by and asked if he was eating chopped up onions, yes I feed my dog a big plate of raw onions.

He loves going places, can't wait until he's operating at full speed!

3 - I am beyond ready for spring, picked up a few spring clothes at where else Forever XXI last weekend -

Contras Maxi Dress

Buttoned Accent Shorts

Pointed Hem Blazer

Pointe Knit Jacket in this pink color, I never buy pink so this was a risky purchase for me :)

Ready for maxi's, flip flops and not having to wear a big coat when I take George out!

4 - George and I love watching the Bachelor and Bravo, I'm going to have serious Bachelor withdrawal as it was one of my fav guilty pleasures. I approve of Catherine who he chose and really want to ride on an elephant one day -

Those are my thoughts about that :)

5 - Some snacks I'm loving -

Louisa got me hooked on these snap pea crisps when she brought them on our small group lake weekend I ate pretty much the whole bag -

Good substitute for chips and salsa that I used to regularly buy and eat my weight in.

Trader Joe's reduced guilt brownie mix, you can make one serving in the microwave with a spoon of nonfat vanilla yogurt. I gave up desserts and candy for Lent and this has been a good go to for Sundays when I'm desperate for some chocolate. Last Sunday I indulged in cinnamon jelly beans and a Reese's egg!

On the agenda this weekend -

Read and drink coffee, my fav weekend activity

Spin class in the morning

Dinner at Loca Luna with friends

Enjoy the 70 degree weather, jog on the beltline and walk George

Put up the protective fence on my balcony railing a neighbor who moved out gave me that she used for her little dog (Anyone want to help?!)

Church

Pick up healthy groceries for the week

And of course lots of cuddle time :)

Recent Purchases

2013-03-07T17:59:00.001-05:00

I went to Scott Antique Market with Allison last month, has been on my bucket list for a long time. It comes to the airport area one weekend a month and I have had something just about every weekend I would remember to go check and see what weekend it was, so glad we got to finally go check it out. Allison got a cute "C" to go on her wall to make a photo montage but I definitely got a lot more than that, thank goodness we had her SUV :)

First, this chair that was at an outdoor vendor. I don't think anyone even knew it was for sale, it had piles and piles of burlap fabric on it. The vendor upholstered it herself. I'd been wanting a neutral sitting chair for my den area and I loved this one immediately. I ended up bargaining down from $480 to $280!

Thankfully we got it home in A's Highlander, thanks again, A :) Here it is at home -

Love it! That pillow was purchased with A as well last year at the Canton Street Antique Market in Roswell. (We do love antique'ing!) Now I just want to get a small footstool or ottoman for it. Also got this rose figure for my coffee table for $10 -

And this fun side table -

I've since added a stack of books and other decor items on top of it. Can't remember how much I got it for but I know I got the seller down some ;) I would warn A before I would approach a seller and bargain but if she were easily embarressed she wouldn't be my friend :)

And my last purchase at Scott's was this owl, it was not on my list but it was too adorable and unique to pass up -

I wondered if it was going to scare George (I bought it before adopting him, George not the owl ;) but he hasn't even noticed it. Successful day at Scott's and I would definitely like to go again!

When I went to Paris on Ponce with my dad and Chris over Christmas I got these two decorative signs that I recently got around to hanging, the framed picture is from a flee market in Kentucky -

I get GroopDealz emails everyday, think I've mentioned it on here before, it's like Groupon but for cute, boutique items. I got this ring for just $6 -

(in need of a mani)

And I got these red suede pumps for $20 and the sole is already coming apart after wearing them just twice, so will not be ordering shoes from them again...

For Christmas Chris gave me an Etsy gift certificate, I got this painted birch log with tealights in it for my mantle -

It looks great but needs maybe a few more logs or big candles around it to fill up the space.

And I got a personalized collar for George :)

I've started using Maybelline's BB cream, I have used Stila tinted moisturizer for a long time for everyday wear but the spf 30 on this one drew me to try it and turns out I really like it, plus you can't beat the price!

And a few more items for George :) Chelsea sent him this UK jersey!

He was not thrilled this had nothing to do with chicken and rice.

He'll be filling it out in no time! Chels also gave him an adorable squeaky owl toy that he loves and handmade the cutest collar, more pics to come :)

And Sarah sent him this rope that is perfect for him -

His first piece of mail :)

He says thank you and can't wait to meet his new aunts!

K off to yoga, hope everyone is having a great week!

George and Friends

2013-02-21T17:02:00.002-05:00

This sturdy toy breed is a re-creation of the toy spaniels that populated royal courts and noble homes in Europe from the 15th to the 19th centuries. True to their heritage as “comforter dogs,” Cavaliers love to be in a lap. The typical Cavalier is always happy, trusting and easygoing, a friend to everyone he meets. :)

-vetstreet.com

Can't wait for my painting of me and George to be done ;-)

I adopted George last Friday so it hasn't even been a whole week since I've had him, but that hasn't stopped him from making lots of new friends!

I haven't taken him into work or many new places to try and not overwhelm or confuse him so have had a few friends come by to visit and meet the baby -

Chrissy came by Saturday afternoon, the day after I got him -

He loved her and humped her arm right when he met her (he gets neutered in a month, yay!)

And Allison later that same day, he loves the deer antler chew toy she gave him!

He's very good at posing :)

Sunday late morning Louisa and Chad who live just a block over from me came by -

Kisses!

He loved the iced cookie treat and plush balls they brought him!

We headed up to Roswell later on that day where George met part of his new family - my parents, Tim, Shana, my grandparents, aunt and uncle. Here he is with my grandfather, Papa Kidd -

He was definitely overwhelmed with 9 people there, he'll usually curl up on the couch with someone but way too much activity for him to settle down that day! As soon as everyone left he crashed on the couch and fell asleep.

Monday I had off work for President's Day which was really nice, Hannah, Sheena and Austin came by!

They were crazy around each other, cavalier stand off -

Austin calmed down and acted normal but George never did, hoping once he gets more settled and neutered he will be a tad less crazy around other dogs.

They will be best friends whether they like it or not!

After their rambunctious play date I took George in for his first vet appointment. As you can see he is very skinny and the vet said he needs to gain about 5-7lbs. I am feeding him can puppy food and other supplements and vitamins so hoping that and lots of love will get him up to a healthy weight very soon! There are few things grosser than cutting open a fish oil tablet and pouring it over wet dog food.

Monday night I had dinner plans so my neighbor went and got him to hangout at her place for awhile, she sent me this pic of him lounging on her couch -

He is never lacking for a lap or soft place to lay!

I'll *try* to calm down on all the George pics :) Just can't wait to see her personality come out as he gets happier and healthier!

Mega Updates!

2013-02-16T12:23:00.000-05:00

Once again sorry for the blogging absence but I have some very good excuses this time, lots has happened!

First announcement -

Tim and Shana moved to Atl!

They have been here just a week and are living in the Inman Park neighborhood -

So happy they are here!

Their house warming gift I got from the Junior League's Nearly New shop, a big mason jar, a Waffle House mug and a sign that pays homage to Shana's love of cats :)

2nd announcement -

Meet George! As of yesterday I am officially a dog mom!

The story:

So as I'm sure all of you know I love dogs and have wanted my own little dog for years now, but just hasn't felt like the right time until now. I started looking more seriously over the past few weeks and was telling some of my friends and coworkers to let me know if they had any good leads. I wanted to adopt just a little mixed dog, some kind of poodle, terrier or bichon mix, and preferably a rescue. Sheena started sending me ads on Craig's List (where they found sweet Austey) and I went by the Humane Society one day after work. I wanted a one or two year-old dog that would do ok in my condo left alone while I'm at work. but wasn't seeing the right dog.

Well last Saturday I had Junior League Commitments all day, Allison and I were volunteering in the Nearly New shop that afternoon. I logged onto Facebook because I was going to check us in in case anyone was in the area and wanted to stop by and say hi, haha. My friend Parker had just sent me a message that said, Look!!! And it was an ad on Pet Finder for a one year-old boy king charles cavalier that they named Daniel at Fulton County Animal Services. My heart immediately started racing and I ran to the back to call the shelter. They said there was already one person on the wait list and when I asked if they could add me to the list they said I had to come in to do it (despite my pleading haha, I know imagine that) I ran up to Allison and showed her the ad, she agreed he was absolutely precious. So I called the shelter AGAIN to see when I could come by to meet him and get my name on the wait list, he told me they closed at 4, right when I was supposed to get off from working at the store. I frantically ran up to Allison yet again telling her all this and the store manager happened to be standing right there and overheard me (I'm sure the whole store did, haha) and she said, "So why are you still here? Bye. Go on. Bye Bye! Don't anyone ever say I don't do anything for anyone." lol So I raced to the shelter which was just a mile and a half from the shop. I met him and of course fell in love -

He was found running loose in southeast Atl with no tag or chip the night before, a lady called him in saying that 2 dogs were in her yard. When animal services got there it was just him. The shelter had to hold him for 7 days to give his former owner a chance to claim him, then they pick someone off the wait list to adopt him. They only took 3 applicants and I was the third one to get on there. I asked the head adoptions counselor what I could do to help my chances of getting picked and she said that calling and checking on him and visiting him helps a lot, that they mark it in my application and shows them how much I want and care about him.

The shelter is super close to my office so I visited him everyday on my lunch break this past week!

On Monday, had to stay inside because it was raining out, he was barking at a little dog in the cage next to him -

Tuesday, brought my coworker Emily with me to meet him, of course she loved him :)

On Wednesday my boss Donna came with me, as you can see I'm getting more excited by the day, haha. They said if the owner doesn't show up within 3 days that usually means no one is coming to claim him.

Aaannnnd I may have brought the adoption ladies these red velvet cupcakes I had made the night before for small group -

"Oh Ashley you didn't have to do that," the head adoption lady said. Yes she knew my name by this point. Thankfully it went over well and they ate them. Can't go wrong with red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting! (Made with my Baby Cakes cupcake maker Tim and Shana gave me for Christmas :-)

Thursday, last day to visit. It was the first day it was sunny all week so I just sat outside with him while all the workers walked by me laughing and rolling their eyes (It's mostly pitbulls in there, rarely do they see someone come in and visit a dog daily with cupcakes lol, I also brought him treats!)

And it was Valentine's Day so I had to bring in something for the adoption ladies again :)

(Yes that's a Valentine's Day with card with a pic of me and him)

So all I could do was wait! Needless to say I was very antsy to know, I wanted to have everything ready for his homecoming. They said they would be calling the person they picked early Friday afternoon. Well I went to Tim and Shana's apartment at lunchtime on Friday to see their apartment and get a few of Annie's old things they had gotten while they stayed in Roswell earlier this week, her crate, bed and bowls, just in case...While there I got the call! eeeeee!!! I could pick him up anytime that day! What an answered prayer :) He was originally supposed to get neutered that morning but the vet said he was too thin for it, so I will be bringing him back in for the surgery in a month after he's gotten happier and healthier :)

After I'd signed all the papers and he was officially George Bentley! I named him George because I think it's the perfect name for a little boy cavalier :)

Since he didn't have his surgery I took him to get bathed and groomed (thankfully they worked him in, how could anyone deny him?), all clean and on the way home yesterday evening -

He loves car rides, was bouncing all over the place!

As you can see he is very skinny and needs to gain some weight. He's been home since last night and is adjusting perfectly :)

He just met my neighbor Keisha, Auntie Chrissy and Louisa are coming over in a bit and tomorrow night we'll be heading up to Roswell for dinner with my family and relatives who are coming in town. (They already had a visit planned, they aren't driving 3 and a half hours from Prattville, Ala. just to meet George haha, not that he's not worth it ;-) He is just such an angel, it truly is a mystery where he came from because he is very well behaved, sweet and friendly. I just feel like he was meant for me to adopt him :)

Much better days ahead for George :)

Weekend Updates

2013-02-04T16:56:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned that I recently joined the Junior League of Atlanta, am really enjoying it so far and it's def keeping me very busy! Saturday morning we met at headquarters and went on a bus tour. I picked up a "skinny" mocha from Starbucks the way there and was pleased to see a of tray Chick-Fil-A mini's and fruit there for us. (They definitely feed us well!) We hopped on a big charter bus and went to 3 nonprofits around Atlanta that are partnered with the JLA and we can choose to volunteer at one of them when we pick our volunteer placement in a few months. We went to the Chastain Horse Park, Georgia Radio Reading Service (If I choose to volunteer there I will get to read books and magazines on air :) and the Woodruff Arts Center. Lots of great work and exciting things happening at each of those places!

Of course I took pics of the horses :) It was so cold and this one wanted nothing to do with us -

But most were friendly :)

After the bus tour my small group, a group of 5 other new members and our adviser, went to Verde for lunch, one of my favs. I had planned on going for a walk with Sheena and Austin afterwards but I was too tired, I went home and took about a 2 and a half hour nap, haha. I thought oh I'll go home and sleep for 45 minutes or so then go to the gym and then do something that night. Yeah not so much, when the cold rain came I was in for the night.

I did make it to the gym late Sunday morning, my first time going to the Lenox LA Fitness location since it has been redone. Since I've complained so much about LA Fitness I'll admit that it is super nice now. All the treadmills have TV's, the spinning studio bigger and better and a pool has been added. A much needed improvement. Looking forward to getting back to spin there.

I went over to my friend Hannah's (She just moved into a new house, loved it!) to watch the Super Bowl that night and good thing I made it to the gym earlier since we ate lots of Pinterest snacks haha. I made layered bean dip and these chocolate pretzel bites -

My first time making those but not my last ;-) Hannah made her fruit dip that I love -

Plus rotel dip and Mich Ultra's, a very healthy and balanced dinner.

And of course I got in lots of QT with Clooney :-) I used to see him every week at kickball and I've been having serious Clooney withdrawal.

My kind of Super Bowl viewing party, lots of snacks, drinks, a dog to cuddle with and a friend who cares as much about the game as I do ;-) We paid rapt attention to the Puppy Bowl, Beyonce/Destiny's Child and a few of the commercials though, haha.

That was my exciting weekend! It actually was just what I needed, I got in Target and Publix trips and errands, cleaned and organized some and caught up on sleep. Starting this week feeling a lot better than last Monday! (see previous post :)

Lately

2013-01-28T14:28:00.000-05:00

A typical Monday, can't seem to wake up today. Usually running on the treadmill before work gets me going but today I am dragging big time. Had a cup of Starbucks Verona Bold and now drinking green tea. It's not working.

I have not had a spare minute to blog between getting sick with some kind of virus going around, work and life. You know the usual excuses. This week isn't much different but thought I'd check in with a few updates on what I've been up to. But I know most of the people who read this already know :-)

Last weekend (pre-sickness) I went to my first Flywheel class and am now obsessed. I haven't been to a spin class in ages because the LA Fitness I usually go to spin has been under construction so it definitely made me realize how much I'd missed it. The studio is amazing, all new and modern, which it should be for what it costs. (First class is free) It's stadium style and all dark, music blaring, a screen where you can enter your name to see where you rank in the class (I didn't enter my name haha) and they use weights, so an awesome, full body workout for sure. Only complaints: Super pricey, most of the classes are only 45 minutes which is kind of ridic for what you pay and when I was there the mic was out and I had a hard time following what the instructor was saying. But I still loved it and think I'll buy a small package and go to the 1 hour class when I can. And my LA Fitness is back open so I can start spinning there again, yeah!

I went out for my coworker Parker's 25th birthday last Saturday, we went to Der Biergarten downtown, he got his beer in a giant boot shaped glass that cost $30 -

Owning the dance floor at Ri Ra later that night -

Needless to say he had a great time celebrating his birthday haha, what he can remember. Well the next morning I woke up feeling sick and then was MIA for several days, but after a round of antibiotics and Souper Jenny's soups I was all better by midweek.

I highly recommend their eggplant parmesan soup!

In my previous post I listed all the updates I want to do in my condo to make it feel less college'y. I am trying to take each thing at a time to not get overwhelmed or have to take an entire day. A few updates I made to my little bathroom -

New shower curtain from Target, I first spotted it last year and wanted it then -

Let's take a look at past shower curtains, shall we? The one I just replaced (what you can see of it, this is an old pic) -

And one I had in college and used when I first moved in 4 and a half years ago -

Now get ready for real excitement, my bathroom cabinet! Before -

Yeah not embarrassing at all, this is a new blog low. And after -

I should make a trip to the Container Store for some shelves, or do something like this -

In a perfect world (Thanks, Pinterest) -

I also got a new laundry hamper, replaced my yellow one I'd had since high school, and a basket for all my hair appliances. I'll save the pics for my next batch of condo updates so you have something to look forward to, haha ;-)

Just had a great weekend, good mix of productive and fun things. I had an eye checkup Saturday morning and got my car washed then Chrissy and I went to go see Silver Linings Playbook, but didn't quite make it there... We were trying to make a 1 o'clock showing and were very hungry so popped into the Publix beside the Tara theater to get a sub to eat during the movie. Usually we love their Boar's Head turkey subs but as we were standing there waiting for the man to make them we both got a very strong, distinct whiff of what smelled like dog food. There's a pet store next door but still, ew. I had just got over being sick, no thank you. We dropped the subs off in the deli section and booked it out of there. Outside Publix we decided on our next move, go to the movie starving or miss the movie. Everyone reading this knows how I get when I'm hungry, it's not pretty, plus my eyes were dilated which only added to my anxious and confused state. Oh and there were a bunch of caged dogs to adopt outside the pet store that were howling and whining. Basically chaos. What we did next will come as a huge shock to everyone, we headed back to Buckhead and got brunch at Buckhead Bread Company. Then mani/pedi's. All was restored back to order in the world.

So here's my nail drama. You may remember Sarah and I got gel nails for the first time on New Year's Eve -

Loved them the first few weeks but then I needed them off because my nails were growing out and only half the nail was colored. Well we both picked them off -

You would think we'd worked in a coalmine. So yeah love gel nails but will need to get them taken off next time. My nails now after Saturday's mani -

A little better :-)

Saturday night I had dinner at Coast with Chrissy and a couple other girls, had never been there before. I had sangria, the chopped salad and a crab cake, delish. I want to go back when it's warm and can sit out on the patio. After dinner Chrissy and I had a little more drama, we wanted to get dessert at Cafe Intermezzo but it was packed, I'd never seen it so crowded. Nowhere to even sit at the bar. While waiting and feeling all claustrophobic one of the waiters said, "I like your coat, Momma" to Chrissy and we had to leave immediately after that. Then we went to Cheesecake Factory but after waiting for a few minutes for a table decided to call it a night and forgo a thousand calorie piece of cheesecake, it was after 11 at this point and I was exhausted from the day's events.

Sunday I cleaned and did laundry, read, went to a Pure Barre class and church that night. This week is very busy with Junior League commitments and all the usual stuff.

In attempt to cancel out my nasty pics from this post here's a verse that I've come across a couple times in the past day -

If you want positive things to happen think positive thoughts! :-)

Have a great week, friends!

2013 Condo To Do's

2013-01-17T14:30:00.000-05:00

I've been keeping a mental list of all the things I want to do to my condo, so I'm going to jot them all down here in hopes that I actually accomplish them!

1. Hang the brown panel curtains I bought from Ikea last year that are currently shoved under my bed. I bought them to help insulate and block out all the sunlight. When I realized I needed an electric drill to hang them they went in a shopping bag in a corner for about a month and to make myself feel better I put them out of site.

2. Clean out everything - Closets, dressers, kitchen cabinets and drawers, bathroom stuff, personal papers and bills...just typing this out gives me anxiety. Because I know once I do it the sacks of stuff to give away will be sitting out for weeks, and y'all know my place isn't big. I like things put away (ok crammed in drawers) and out of site. My friend Lori recommended taking 15 minutes a day to do a drawer at a time rather than taking a whole day. We'll see, I may try to make some progress this Monday since I'm off work. I've recently joined the Junior League (really liking it and all the girls I've met so far!) and they require donations be made to the Nearly New shop, the JLA's biggest source of revenue that goes towards funding the work we do in the community. So hopefully that will help me get my butt in gear to generate some sacks of good stuff.

I've decided I hate my bedroom furniture. It's filled with furniture I had in college and what I've bought since living in Atl is from Ikea. As much as I'd love to upgrade with a whole new beautiful bedroom suit that isn't going to happen anytime soon, I'd buy new stainless steal appliances before I did that. Here are the upgrades I would like to do over this year -

3. Get rid of the TV and stand in my bedroom (watching TV in bed is BAD according to my doctor, plus having 2 TV's in a 2 bedroom condo feels kinda ridic). In place of it I would like to get a cute chair and a stand up lamp for reading, I really like this green chair from Target -

4. I also decided that I need a headboard STAT. I think this is a cool idea to buy a large frame and frame pretty fabric -

And this door mantle is to die for -

Love the decor on top, too. Another cute idea, fill a shutter with material -

Or just hang some shutters in pretty colors, looks like the easiest route -

5. I would also like to paint my dressers but don't know if it's possible, need to do some research. I have this MALM dresser from Ikea and a small brown lacquered chest of drawers that was in my 40 year-old brother's room when he was a baby, haha.

6. Get my closet whipped into shape. It is a large closet and I know I'm not utilizing it as well I could. The floor of it is covered in shoes even though I bought shoe cases from the Container Store and I got some stackable shelves from Target a few years back that I truly believe are possessed, they won't stay together or stand up straight, that's all I'm going to say about that because it upsets me too much. I was keeping Jake at the time I got them and while setting them up he was staring at me like this -

7. Replace my shower curtain, I regularly clean it with a sponge and Method shower cleaner as well as use a daily shower cleaner but I've used it for several years now and is due for a replacement.

8. Get some more potted plants for my balcony

9. New chair for living room to replace the massive hand me down from my parent's old living room I donated to the Harlem Boob Trotter yard sale last year. A couple I've pinned -

Oxford recliner from Bassett

Marjorie chair from Anthro

Neither of those are cheap :-/

10. Find some big candles and candle holders or logs to sit inside my mantle. During fall I had pumpkins and for Christmas it was filled with presents!

I am dying to go to Scott's Antique Market, it comes one weekend a month and is out by the airport, must go soon!

Oh and I want her, a mini golden doodle -

Note to self

2013-01-16T16:05:00.002-05:00

:-)

Weekend Post

2013-01-14T14:31:00.001-05:00

This past Thursday a group of us girls went to Sips and Strokes to celebrate Abby's birthday!

Some of the paintings our group did -

Aaannnd this beautiful rainbow, abstract one is mine -

So the teacher was a little intense, it was very quiet and serious in there. A couple times I saw her looking straight at me from where she was standing on her mini stage, I guess I was being too loud going on about how I wanted Menchie's that was right next door. I tried to follow her directions, chose some new colors of my own here and there, but when I got done I decided I hated it and was going to make it "abstract." When I started smearing the paint around she was looking at me like I was rubbing a rat carcass all over it, I don't think she shared my artistic vision.

The whole class, most of the paintings were very good -

Our group, I randomly decided to pick up one from a stack they had sitting there, I didn't want people thinking I was totally cray with my intense, manic painting, so at the time grabbing one that was signed by Nicole seemed like a good idea, haha.

I stayed in Friday night and watched the Bachelor and made cookies, needed a lazy night in, aka a night not making scenes in public...

Will def be watching this season

These are the cookies I made, cream cheese chocolate chip cookies -

Just get crescent roll dough (I used low fat) and spread beaten cream cheese (also low fat :), sugar and vanilla (Said to spread about an inch from the edges so I probably went too far)

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips

Then roll up in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Next time I'm going to let them sit in the fridge longer because they were hard to cut up.

Bake for just 10-14 minutes, they were super good and addicting! I made 2 batches.

Saturday morning my small group headed to Lori's family's lake house on Lake Sinclair for a little getaway. Her home is beautiful, Lori had done most of the decorating, the whole house down to the smallest details is amazing. (That's the refrigerator and freezer to the right behind us)

When we'd just arrived

We were even able to take the boat out

Hat and of course I was coated in spf 100

Lori made us delish beer margaritas

The back of her lake house, gorgeous. I will definitely be inviting myself back there ;-)

70's and sunny in January can't ask for better than that

We made a healthy dinner of grilled chicken, veggies, couscous and salad, but may have cancelled that out with all of our snacking and wine and champagne cocktails. (Chrissy made us her fav one from Cafe Intermezzo, champagne, pomegranate juice and a cherry :) Was so nice to get away to such a beautiful place this weekend, very thankful for my small group. It gave me the motivation I need to face a rainy, dreary Monday!

Motivation Monday

2013-01-07T17:13:00.003-05:00

It's my first Monday and full work week of the new year and am attempting a healthy start! I got my hair trimmed at Van Michael's, ran errands and stocked up on groceries yesterday. I'm going to try and bring my lunch more often that's something besides frozen food or a sandwich. Made this salad today and had 2 clementines and a handful of almonds with it -

Cheese, olives and tomatoes are my favs, I constantly crave Greek salads. I need to get creative and try some new and different veggies and sources of protein.

I eat a Luna bar for breakfast every weekday -

Did the treadmill and free weights before work this morning, morning workouts really do make all the difference, I'm much more energized throughout the day and sleep much better at night.

I had a nice weekend, went to the Fernbank Museum for the first time and saw Les Mis, loved it! I thought I would get bored and tired (Saw a 9pm showing) but I really didn't, a couple moments when Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe's solos dragged on but I had my Sour Patch Kids to keep me occupied. Allison and I saw it together and afterwards we were splotchy and puffy eyed, went to the bathroom and just looked at each other in the mirror while washing our hands and one of us said, "That was intense." But very good I want to see it again!

And just a Monday pick me up from an email forward from a coworker -

A dog after my own heart :-)

December Mega Post

2013-01-04T14:20:00.002-05:00

Here goes cramming the last few weeks into 1 post, I won't even apologize again for my infrequent blogging, a new year will be a fresh start!

December was filled with lots of delicious food, holiday lunch with my team at The Optimist, first time there and it was of course amazing. Banana pudding and praline beignets for dessert, a very productive afternoon followed ;-)

Christmas party at Sheena's house!

Her adorable and delish Pinterest desserts -

Guess who was the center of attention? :-)

Baby Austey of course!

"Get on the green!" they command him and he runs to that green mat, his tail was wagging furiously :-)

A happy hour at Noche in Brookhaven -

Christmas cookie baking! From Pinterest recipes of course, giant ginger cookies and red velvet (I substituted white chocolate chips for dark). I broke my neighbor's electric mixer making them oops, it was super old and she wasn't mad. I got my own for Christmas :-) And Tim and Shana gave me this cupcake maker!

Christmas presents all wrapped!

Spent Christmas week at my parent's in Roswell, a crooked pic of our Christmas tree, I may have had too much wine at dinner haha, another oops.

Speaking of wine I have a new fav that Shana recommended, Vinho Verde, it's like 10 bucks and has a little fizz and is dry and not at all sweet. (Sweet wine makes me sick) I picked up a bottle for New Year's.

Tim and Shana's first Christmas being married :-)

All the Bentley siblings :-)

I'd say this accurately sums up how a chunk of my time was spent last week -

Tim went out and got us Starbucks every morning he was there, married life is suiting him well ;-) I'm still reading the second installment in the Discovery of Witches series, it's really good but very long and dense so taking me awhile to get through.

We did venture out some, we always find ourselves at the Taco Mac down the road every time Tim and Chris visit -

Chris was over it ;-)

Tim's friend Josh looking like a random guy at another table who was not invited to be in our pic, haha

Then "Tana" (Tim and Shana's celeb couple name) headed back to Vermont that night, the weather was very different up there -

Jake's leg is shaved because he recently had surgery for a tumor but he is doing really well and should be just fine!

Chris and I saw the movie Django Unchained that night, it was good but definitely don't see it if lots of blood and violence bothers you. I wanted to see Les Mis :-/ I still haven't seen it someone see it with me please!

The next day Chris said he wanted to go into the city and see some areas he hadn't been to before, unfortunately Atl isn't super walker friendly like NYC but we drove in and made a day of it. We had brunch at the Highland Bakery, then walked around and stopped in some of the stores in the Little 5 Points neighborhood (I bought these TOMS, just classic I've wanted a pair for a long time :-) then went to Paris on Ponce, a giant antique and flee market.

No caption needed and don't worry my mouth wasn't actually touching it

My dad and I bought stuff there but Chris got bored after about 15 minutes which is weird because he just LOVES to shop ;-) Next stop was Piedmont Park, Chris and my dad's first time there.

It was a cold but clear and sunny day.

We finished the day with SweetWaters at Smith's Olde Bar before heading back to Roswell. The only stop we missed that would have made it a more touristy Atl day was the Clairmont Lounge ;-) Um did anyone see the latest RHOA episode where they went there? I was really surprised they allowed them to film, I've heard cameras are strictly forbidden in there.

The next day Chris flew home (Kenneth from 30 Rock was on his flight) and my dad and I went on a hike up the Amicalola Falls, it is about an hour north of Roswell -

I was sore the next day from climbing up those falls, don't know how all the little kids and dogs I saw there did it!

Trip to Kiawah and Charleston

2012-12-13T16:02:00.001-05:00

I had a wonderful time in Kiawah with Sarah, I got to spend 3 full days there. I got in Friday afternoon and one of the first things we did was take a long bike ride and see the beach! Then we went to pick up my race pack and got some dinner at a pizza place on the island -

My beer wasn't nearly as big as it looks in that pic :) It was a local beer that was very good! For dinner I had a creamy mushroom pasta dish and this healthy fried cheese that was amazing, I figured I could eat what I wanted ;)

A pretty tree in the center of where all the shops and restaurants are in Kiawah that I decided to go stand in :)

Up at 6:30 the next morning to run the Kiawah Half! So nice staying at Sarah's fam's house on the island and not having to deal with shuttles and driving from far away like so many of the other runners.

Waiting around for the race to start, and I would just like to share the self restraint I showed in not snapping a pic and sending to Sarah of the man standing in front of me who had so much back and arm hair I almost gasped when I saw it, but then this pin came to mind (I know I need a pin-tervention) and thought it would be mean.

Sarah took these as it was starting -

Only pic I took during the run, on mile 10 -

Another one Sarah took -

And a blurry one of me running by haha, I was so fast you couldn't even get my picture ;)

My only goal was to run the whole 13.1 miles and I was able to, but I definitely could feel my lack of training and that I'd been sick earlier that week. Things that motivated me during the run: Pandora, Sarah cheering me on and picturing her furiously riding her bike around to get to all the different stations :), the beautiful scenery which I'm sad I didn't take more pics of but it was not at the top of my priorities at the time, perfect weather and my number one motivation was looking forward to sitting on the beach with cocktails that evening!

My dad emailed me my results: I finished in the top 43% overall (1194/2758)/Top 42% (103/244) in my age, gender group/Just under 10 minutes/mile

I would also like to add a disclaimer: I ran with my phone and had my Nike running app going, at first the mile markers were the same as my app but then they started getting more and more off, my app would tell me I'd run 11 miles when I'd just past the 10 mile marker, soooo my app told me I actually ended up running 14 miles in 2 hours and 9 minutes and 28 seconds. The app has never been wrong and it displayed the map, so who knows! But what's weird is that Sarah and I found a guy on Twitter who'd run the half and posted his Nike app results that were exactly 13.1 miles and the same map as mine. Sarah asked if I could've gotten off the path somehow haha, not likely I was always with lots of people (No repeats of the 3-Day!). When I told my dad about it he said I was just that much closer to running a full marathon next year. Yay.

Wore my metal to lunch, I think it would make a pretty Christmas ornament.

Burger, fries and hush puppies hit the spot! We ate outside on the water it was so nice!

(Scary biker man with long fingernails took this for us)

After lunch I took a nice, long nap! Shower + Yummy lunch + Long nap = :D

Then had some wine on the beach that evening. The beach at sunset is my absolute fav I was so happy!

We literally sat out there until dark, the stars were so bright and pretty I even downloaded a star and planet app that told you the names when you held it up to them, haha. Then we watched the movie The Cabin the Woods that was weird and creepy but entertaining. (Brit you would have loved it!)

On Sunday we made the 45 minute drive into Charleston for lunch and shopping. The second Sunday of every month they block off King St, lots of people out and about -

We had lunch at Blossom and when I checked in on my Foursquare app people had left comments recommending their red velvet bread pudding, I immediately asked our waitress if they had it. Sarah had like 2 small bites and I inhaled the rest in record time. Allison please make this for my birthday next year :)

Bichon in a Santa costume spotting!

His name is Charlie and he was very heavy. Full view of his outfit -

After a grueling day of eating and shopping (got some Christmas shopping done and maybe a few things for myself) we stopped for happy hour at the bar at Fleet Landing. When we told the bartender we were on vacation he made us these -

Then hit up Wet Willie's before heading back -

We ate dinner that night at King Street Grille on the island, when we got home we were so exhausted and asleep by 10.

Monday can be summed up with these pics -

I woke up, drank coffee, read, ate breakfast, read some more then took a 2 hour nap, haha. Then we went on a long bike ride and walk on the beach. Finished the day sitting on a pier taking in this view -

That night we cooked chicken fajitas at the house and watched the movie Silent House which was very disturbing. Another early bedtime and then hit the road early the next morning. A very relaxing and fun few days! Chels, Brit, Caris and Rachel we missed you! Who wants to run the full with me next year?!

Long weekend in Kiawah

2012-12-06T16:04:00.000-05:00

Very, very happy to be heading to Kiawah Island, SC tomorrow! I am using a few vaca days I have left to use by the end of the year and meeting Sarah at her family's house there. I've never been during the winter but Sarah says it is very pretty and peaceful. I plan on walking and sitting on the beach, reading books on the porch, watching (and making?!) movies, eating some good food (shocking) and doing some Christmas shopping in Charleston.

Oh yes and running the Kiawah Island Half Marathon Saturday morning. I am not as prepared as I'd like to be having gotten sick earlier this week and a busy schedule not allowing me to go on many long runs. I did a 10 mile run over Thanksgiving weekend out at the Big Creek Greenway Trail and felt fine, so hopefully I'll be good for 13.1, we'll see in a couple days!

Sarah is going to ride her bike along the trail! Here is the course trail for the half and full, *maybe* next year I'll do a full marathon. I'm going to be missing my company's Christmas party Saturday night which I am sad about but given my choices at last year's party this is probably a good thing. Several damage control texts sent out the morning after last year.

Sarah is already in Kiawah since she works remotely and had a 10 hour drive, her breakfast this morning, so relaxing :-)

Just hope the Kiawah monster leaves her alone...Yes I know I'm one of 3 people who fines that funny ;-)

Surprise Parties!

2012-12-05T16:52:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday night were 2 of my Atlanta best friend's birthday celebrations!

A group of us surprised Hannah at the Mexican restaurant Cantina -

The boys in our group were off watching the end of the UGA game at the bar when this was taken, haha

Later that night I joined the festivities for Louisa's 30th birthday, Chad designed this Tory Burch cake for her, it was amazing!

We had dinner at Dante's Down the Hatch, I'd never been before and it's one of the Atlanta places I'd been wanting to go to for years. If you haven't been I definitely recommend going before it closes in a couple months, a very unique dining experience for sure. This is one of the alligators that lives there, Pinocchio! The owner, Dante, shared all kinds of crazy stories with us about celebs and wild animals he'd encountered and he had the pics to prove it!

My fav part of the meal was the bread I got to dip in the cheese fondue, just give me cheese and carbs and I'm good to go. The dinner was a little more intensive then I signed up for. They brought a plate of raw meat and veggies that you cooked yourself in a communal pot of some kind of boiling oil on a metal stick. It stressed me out making sure I cooked it enough, I asked my entire end of the table to inspect each piece and give me the green light that I wouldn't get salmonella from eating it. And even if everyone told me it was ok I didn't believe they could see it in the dim lighting. I was a super fun dinner companion. I did come down with something a couple days later but don't think it was from raw meat. Dante's is a fun place to celebrate a birthday, if I go back I'm just going with the cheese!