From Politics to Peaches

Feast of St. Francis

2011-10-03T22:13:00.000-04:00

Someone was a really good pup in church yesterday for the celebration of St. Francis. Here he is getting his blessing for the year after the service.

Yummy things to cook: Banana Bread

2011-09-05T21:26:00.000-04:00

I love to cook and I especially love to bake. I make this banana bread frequently and it's become somewhat famous with our families as I almost always make it when we have weekend guests. I'm planning to make it to take to the beach in a few weeks for the Chandler family beach vacation. I'm guessing the two loaves will last about two days, maybe three :)

The following recipe is adapted from the Unbelievable Banana Bread recipe in The Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook by Mary Corpening Barber & Sara CorpeningWhiteford, which is a fabulous cookbook and I highly recommend it - newlywed or not. Anyway, the recipe is very easy and a great use for too-ripe bananas, enjoy!

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup soy milk*
2-3 very ripe mashed bananas

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray.

Stir together the flour, kosher salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

Combine the oil and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (Or use a hand mixer.) Beat on low speed until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute.

Stir the baking soda into the buttermilk in a small bowl. Add one third of the dry ingredients to the mixer, followed by half of the buttermilk and mix on low until barely combined. Repeat, scrape down the sides of the mixer as needed. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Add the mashed bananas and mix until just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 minutes to an hour, depending on your oven.

*I know the soy milk seems weird. The original recipe calls for buttermilk, which I hate to buy because it comes in such large containers and I don't have a use for the rest of it so it spoils in the refrigerator. You can add white vinegar to regular milk to "make" buttermilk but since I don't drink milk, we rarely have that in the house. I just started using soy milk and it tastes great. Even my dad who is highly suspicious of anything make from soy, loved this banana bread. I just didn't tell anyone it was made with soy milk :)

Projects: Gallery Wall

2011-08-15T21:47:00.000-04:00

For years I've collected pictures from magazines and catalogs of decorating ideas and furniture that caught my eye. One thing I've always loved is the idea of creating a gallery wall. The upstairs hallway of our house has the perfect spot so I decided to make a gallery of family pictures - sort of a visual family tree. I love seeing old pictures of my grand parents and even great grandparents! It was quite surprising to see how much my sister looks like young pictures of our grandmother and how my dad and my cousin (his nephew) resemble each other.

Once we had gathered the pictures and ordered the frames, I cut pieces of heavy paper the size of each frame and taped them to the wall with blue painter's tape. Then we just left it that way for a week or so, living with the arrangement and making adjustments here and there. I highly recommend this step if you make a gallery wall.

The actual hanging wasn't too difficult, just a little tedious. And of course, now I'm driving myself crazy straightening the pictures every time I walk by! But I love how it turned out and it makes that space feel so much cozier and lived-in.

Do you like a good deal?

2011-04-13T13:49:00.001-04:00

I certainly do! Between economic uncertaintity, every-increasing gas prices, and a mortgage to pay, I like to find easy ways to save money while still having a good time. And today I'm sharing one of my secrets. If you live in Atlanta, you're probably already a ScoutMob fan. The good news for everyone else is that they're expanding! Check out my link below for the details on the new ScoutMob cities and if yours isn't on the list, don't worry, I'm sure it's only a matter of time!!

http://scoutmob.com/revel/politicstopeaches

So what exactly is ScoutMob? Well, it's a daily email (similar to Groupon, LivingSocial, etc.) with a 50% off coupon for something cool in your area - restaurants, coffee shops, stores, events. The best part (other than the fact that it's FREE) is that the 50% off coupon is sent to your cell phone so you always have the coupon with you! No more trying to remember to actually bring the coupon with you. I've used ScoutMob at Atlanta restaurants such as Murphys, San Francisco Coffee, and Harry and Sons. It's a great way to try out new places in your city (hey, if you don't like it, at least it was half-off!) or just to save at the places you already know and love. So give it a try, and let me know what you think! Happy saving!

PS. If you're an obsessive planner like I am, this is also great for upcoming trips. Check out the deals for cities you'll be visiting and get the scoop on cool new places to go and get discounts while you're at it!

It's time for a makeover

2011-03-07T22:18:00.000-05:00

I love a good makeover - from What Not To Wear to HGTV - there's just something inspiring about it. So I figured it was time to give my blog a little makeover. It's still a work in progress and I would love your feedback. Are the colors easy to read? Too cramped? Too busy? Anything you'd like to see me add? Let me know! I know there are amazing and experienced bloggers out there who know a ton more than me - I'd love to learn from you!

Happy Monday to all!

Snow Days

2011-01-26T21:37:00.002-05:00

Remember when snow days were fun? When the mere mention of the word made you dance with joy and anticipation for a day off from school?

I remember my dad going out to make sure our sledding path was clear of big branches before a predicted snow storm.
I remember the anxious feeling of watching the school closing list scroll across the bottom of the TV screen.
I remember fun-filled snow days - sledding, building snow men, and making snow angels - and then going inside for hot chocolate by the fire.

And now?

Now snow is an inconvenience, a hassle, something I'd rather not deal with (hence why I moved farther south!). This evening, I trudged through the wet, slippery, still-falling snow. Fighting to stay upright, to keep my umbrella up, to not step in large, dirty puddles of half-melted snow. I arrived at my corporate apartment feeling cranky, wet, and miserable. And it makes me sad.

Sad that something that once brought me so much joy now brings misery. Sad to have lost that childhood sense of wonder and fun that came along with snow days.

And I wonder....what else have I lost along the way?

Politics (and peaches!)

2011-01-25T21:08:00.005-05:00

Now that I'm back in Washington DC part-time, I find myself being more interested in politics. Sometimes when I'm working long hours I feel like I'm in a bubble and have absolutely no idea what's going on in the world. But being in DC inspires me to at least try to keep up with news and politics. I watched the State of the Union address tonight. Overall, I thought it was a good speech. Political ideas have a way of sounding great in speeches and then being very difficult to actually implement. We'll see what happens. ok, enough politics - on to peaches :)

This past weekend, we had a session with a professional photographer. We haven't had professional pictures taken since our wedding, more than 5 years ago. Last summer, I bought a Groupon for a portrait session and finally was able to use it this past weekend. I'll post a few good ones when I figure out how!! In the meantime, for anyone in the Atlanta area, check out http://www.sarahesther.com/. Sarah is super-sweet, really energetic, and takes wonderful pictures! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far!

Well, Hello There!

2011-01-14T10:55:00.003-05:00

It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Life threw me a huge curve ball a few months ago in the form of an out of town work project. For the past three months, I've been traveling to Washington DC (the irony) every week for work. In short, it's terrible. It's been difficult to juggle home, husband, friends, family, the holidays, etc. all while being away from home every week. The home that we just finished and moved back into.....life can be so unfair. It's tough, as I'm sure everyone has experienced, to keep the faith that things will get better. Sometimes I feel as if I've been dealt more than my fair share of trying times. But then, I take an honest look around - at the struggles of others, at the unfairness that seems to grip entire countries, and the horrible events that appear on the daily news, and I realize that I'm being rather self-indulgent and spoiled.
And so.....I'm back. Again. Back to share bits of my life, to connect with friends, and to learn from this crazy adventure called life.

House Tour, Part 1

2010-08-13T13:04:00.007-04:00

I've been delaying posting pictures of the house because, honestly, it doesn't yet look the way I want it to. We need furniture, there are many blank walls and it just doesn't look and feel complete yet. But that's my perfectionism talking so I'll go ahead and share pictures of the work-in-progress.

Living room - this room is exactly the same as it was before and that's the original fireplace - one of the only pieces of the original house that survived!

Dining room - also the same as the original except for a few minor changes, like the built-in china cabinet below, designed by Cary :)

Front hall. We bought that painting at the Dogwood Festival in Atlanta this past spring and I love it. It doesn't photograph well but I think it's beautiful.

Kitchen

Family room, which is open to the kitchen.

The other side of the family room, which goes out to the screened porch aka my favorite place. And there's Jackson sleeping, which he does 80% of the time :)

Guest bedroom on the first floor.

Guest bathroom

Master bedroom, it's pretty dark in the picture but it's actually very bright and sunny. This is the back of the room, across from the door.

The other side of the bedroom. We're sleeping on a mattress on the floor - see what I mean about incomplete? So there's part of it. More to come!

Creative inspiration

2010-07-15T09:43:00.004-04:00

I absolutely LOVE Paper Source and going in the store always gives me tons of ideas for creative projects to try. Granted I'm not the most artistic person in the world, but just stepping foot in a PS store makes me think I could pull off anything.

For anyone who does not live near one, they also have a great website and blog where they regularly share some amazingly creative projects. I love this idea for sugar-stamped plates. How gorgeous is this?

I can't wait to try this out for a shower, birthday party or even just a small dinner party!

A sort-of-final house update

2010-06-02T18:05:00.003-04:00

I say "sort-of-final" because I'm sure I'll be posting more pictures as we move in, decorate, etc. But...here's the finished product!

It's been a long year-plus since this day but now we can't wait to move in!

got corks?

2010-05-18T21:50:00.004-04:00

wine corks, that is! I had tons that I'd been saving forever. I saw a similar project at a wine festival a long time ago and recently decided to make my own.

I still need to make a pretty bow for it (talented sister, are you reading?). Overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out. And before you start to worry about (or judge) my (our) drinking habits, I've been saving these corks for years. Some of them are from our wedding 5 years ago so it takes awhile to accumulate enough good ones for a project like this.

Too cute to resist

2010-05-18T21:42:00.005-04:00

I was planning to post a project I recently completed, but this was too cute not to share. Yesterday's mail contained a small package for Jackson, from his "cousin" Inga....

Delicious Dinners

2010-05-17T14:58:00.003-04:00

I made this for dinner last night:(picture from MarthaStewart.com)

It was delicious and very filling. But also time-consuming - don't try making this after work when you're starving! I will admit that using dried black beans gives a better, less mushy, consistency than canned. However, I think you could sub canned black beans for the dried and it would still be good. I plan to try that next time. I usually like to follow a recipe exactly the first time I make it and then tinker with it later.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/brown-rice-and-black-beans

Signs of Spring

2010-04-03T16:09:00.000-04:00

Spring has definitely arrived in Atlanta! I took this picture outside of a cute speciality foods shop in my neighborhood. They make all sorts of wonderful homemade spreads, pestos and spice mixes. Just walking in there makes me want to plan an elaborate picnic in the park! Although Bella Cucina is a local Atlanta company, they have been featured in Southern Living and on Oprah! Check out their website at http://www.bellacucina.com/shop.asp
Happy Spring!

Good things to remember.....

2010-03-16T10:57:00.003-04:00

Happy Tuesday!

Finally, a house update!

2010-01-28T21:30:00.006-05:00

A couple of more recent pictures of the renovation. Here's the front:

And from the back. The backyard is really sloped so we added a retaining wall so the yard will be more usable.

A list kind of day

2010-01-07T14:46:00.008-05:00

I've been neglectful of my blog lately so here's a recap of what's been going on lately. In list form, because I love lists!

Finally joining a yoga studio and starting to practice more regularly
Spending a long weekend in NYC to celebrate my 30th birthday!
Seeing Wicked in NYC
Driving 2,241 miles - from Atlanta to Richmond, VA and back for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Shopping for and wrapping Christmas gifts
Christmas in Virginia with both families
Holiday parties, holiday parties, holiday parties
Self-assessment/review period at work
Making an overwhelming amount of decisions relating to the (re) construction of our house (pictures coming tomorrow!)
A low-key New Year's Eve celebration with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Wisteria, and a nice bottle of champagne at home with Jackson (he even gets a little sip!)
And since it's now snowing and freezing cold in Atlanta, I thought this little note that I saw on the fun blog of a fellow Atlantan was appropriate:

That pretty much sums it up! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season!

puppy talk

2009-11-18T16:43:00.002-05:00

Last night, we were having dinner with some Junior League friends and their husbands and we started talking about our dogs. Oddly enough, we all admitted to having a "dog voice". For example, when I get home from work and ask Jackson how his day was, Cary will respond in "Jackson's voice". So now I'm curious - who else has a voice for their dog??

sample sale anyone?

2009-11-10T10:36:00.001-05:00

Kate Spade is having an online sample sale!

Click here: http://www.katespade.com/samplesale/login.jsp and enter your email address, which puts you on their emailing list.

Happy Shopping!

busy, busy weekend

2009-10-26T15:44:00.002-04:00

I just love when my weekends are full of fun activities and this weekend definitely delivered!
Saturday morning started off with the JLA bus tour. We started out at Zoo Atlanta where we watched the adorable pandas (I wanted to bring the baby one home with me!), the parakeets, and the lions - while learning about the zoo and the volunteer opportunities there. Next up was Atlanta Community Food Bank and Atlanta Union Mission. All three stops were extremely interesting, educational and eye-opening!

After the bus tour, I sadly had to pass up lunch at Taqueria del Sol with my provisional class to run a few errands then stopped by the house and chatted with our contractor and finally headed home for a quick lunch before leaving for an alumni event.

The event, a fundraiser for a scholarship fund at my school, was a big success and tons of fun with bbq, local beer, and Yacht Rock Revue - a fun and highly entertaining local band.

After some much-needed sleeping in Sunday morning, Cary and I took Jackson on a super-long walk around our neighborhood debating the pros and cons of various window styles. I think we finally narrowed it down to 4 styles! Next up tonight - roof shingles and doors! The excitement never stops...

Is it just me, or does the end of the year seem to speed up and get even more busy?

New Beginnings......

2009-10-23T15:55:00.005-04:00

You may have noticed that I kind of stopped "Design Fridays" and general renovation updates. Nothing exciting has happened on that front for awhile as we've been dealing with both insurance and the mortgage company. Now however, things are really picking up! You may recall this post from last year when we purchased our house. Sadly this is what things look like now, mid-demolition:

I think this is really funny. I don't know why the toilet is still just sitting there.

This is the back of the house, where the trees hit. You can see between the two doors where the brick just crumbled in.

As much as it sucks seeing my house look like this, it's not as though it was livable after all the damage from the tree. I'm trying to stay positive and look forward to the great new house that we're building.

Yum

2009-09-23T15:10:00.000-04:00

I love Martha Stewart. I would become her if I could (well, minus the jail time...) And I love her magazine and recipes. However, if I cooked like that all the time (heavy cream, butter, etc) I'd have to double my gym time to keep the extra weight off! Which is why I love the Fit to Eat column. I made this recipe the other night and it was delicious, easy, and extremely filling - I made half the recipe for dinner for the two of us and I still had leftovers for lunch!

(From Martha Stewart Living September 2009)

Tilapia with Barley, Shiitake and Edamame Salad

FOR THE SALAD
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces shiitake mushroom caps, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 shallots, minced (1/3 cup)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame
3 cups cooked barley (from 1 cup dry)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper

FOR THE FISH
2 tilapia fillets (6 ounces each), halved lengthwise, or 4 fillets (3 ounces each)
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice (from 4 limes)
1/4 cup water

Make the salad: Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add shallots and garlic, and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add edamame, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Add barley, and heat through, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, and season with pepper.
Make the fish: Sprinkle both sides of tilapia with salt, and season with pepper. Heat oil in saute pan over medium-high heat. Add tilapia, and cook until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Add lime juice and water, carefully swirling pan to combine. Serve tilapia with barley salad, and drizzle with sauce.

*You could also make this with tofu or chicken if fish isn't your thing.*

rain, rain

2009-09-21T15:07:00.002-04:00

I realize this may be a slight exaggeration, but I feel like it's been raining in Atlanta for a month. Seriously this has to stop. Last week it was raining so hard that we actually tried to get Jackson to use the toilet. It was unsuccessful, in case you're wondering...

there's a reason i'm an accountant, not an artist....

2009-08-26T16:57:00.004-04:00

I made guacamole for last nights football-themed JLA meeting. It was supposed to look like a football field but...well I have a hard time drawing straight lines.

Oh well, it tasted good!

really, "Hotlanta"?

2009-08-24T17:42:00.007-04:00

This past weekend was absolutely beautiful in Atlanta. Despite it being August, the weather was pleasantly warm and not all that humid. We took advantage by going to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens on Saturday.

The Japanese garden

Pretty ornamental peppers

The garden currently has an exhibition of sculptures by Henry Moore - this is looking through one of the sculptures with the Bank of America tower in the background.

One of Moore's favorite themes is mother and child. This sculpture is in the Orchid House.

The spiny forest

View of midtown Atlanta from the botanical garden, which is rightfully called an urban oasis.

We also had dinner with our fun and adventurous friends at a Bangladeshi restaurant. Yum and cheap and they let you bring your own wine!

summer concert fun

2009-08-13T13:55:00.005-04:00

Last night we went with a few friends to see Michael Franti & Spearhead, Augustana, and Counting Crows at Chastain Park. I've seen Counting Crows live before and they were great. The show last night did not disappoint. It was an unusual format for a concert though. Rather than the normal 1 band, break, 1 band, break, main band - the three bands played together for nearly the entire show. At a few points all members of the three bands were onstage performing - 18 in all! It was a fun show.

The girls (and yes, that's a can of Bud Light I'm holding. Don't judge - the beer selection was limited and the wines consisted of red, white, and pink so Bud Light seemed like the best option!)

The guys

Junior League

2009-08-10T14:31:00.003-04:00

Tonight is my first provisional meeting for Junior League of Atlanta! I'm so excited to meet my advisor and the other girls in my small group. The calendar already looks pretty busy but I'm actually looking forward to being busy with something other than work! Happy Monday everyone!

Dream Design Friday

2009-07-31T17:51:00.005-04:00

I'm back with design Fridays! Not much to report this week on the reconstruction/renovation front, I guess things are progressing just slowly. Actually decorating and painting seems like a really long ways off but thinking about the end result helps give me patience with this boring and slow part. Here are some beautiful interiors that I just love...

I love how bright and airy the two rooms above seem, even with the bright pops of color. This is truely dream design for me since there's pretty much no chance of my husband ever agreeing to buy pink furniture! A girl can dream....

Now this may be more reasonable - I just wish that view could be found in Atlanta!

This is gorgeous as well for a more formal living area.

Although this room is much larger than any of ours, I love the overall concept. I think it's such an art to create a room like this that looks put together over time and "goes" without matching exactly.

That's all for today - hope everyone has a fab weekend!

House Update

2009-07-10T11:27:00.006-04:00

Sadly this process is slow and frustrating! We met with a fabulous architect several times and have nailed down a design for the house. Now we're working with the contractor on budget, the insurance company on payment and the bank on a loan. If you can't tell, this is the boring part. However, I do have a fun drawing to share of what the front of the house will look like!

It's showing up a little small in blogger. But from the front, it's not all that different. Just a steeper roof and the upper windows will be actual windows that open instead of the glass faux windows up there before. I hope that actual construction will start in August or September and our contractor estimates 8 months until it's finished. sigh

Happy 4th!!

2009-07-04T11:04:00.000-04:00

Happy Independence Day! I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!
I'd also like to wish my grandparents a very happy 66th anniversary! I'm so sad to not be with them today but I know they are enjoying the day with the rest of my family.

Summer Cocktails

2009-07-01T11:54:00.003-04:00

For a twist on the traditional mint julep, try this blackberry mint julep (courtesy of Martha Stewart, of course!) You'll need:

1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1 pint blackberries
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup bourbon
4 cups small ice cubes
4 sprigs of mint for garnish

Chop the mint leaves then puree the mint, blackberries and sugar in a blender. Press through a fine sieve into a bowl, discard seeds.
Return puree to blender and add the bourbon and ice; blend until smooth. Garnish each glass with a sprig of fresh mint and enjoy!

Sweet dreams

2009-06-26T11:46:00.010-04:00

Since we'll need more bedroom furniture for our new house, I've been thinking it may be time for us to upgrade to a king-sized bed. (Plus I really want a Golden Retriever so 2 adults + Pug + Golden = we need a bigger bed!) Some bedroom pieces and design that I really like....

The Stratford Mahogany Sleigh Bed from Charles P Rogers. CPR has beautiful, if somewhat pricey beds, and they also have gorgeous bedding that is more reasonably priced and often on sale. I have a red linen duvet and shams that I bought several years ago. They been moved more times that I care to count and have been washed several times and still look vibrant so it's worth the money.

The Marston Sleigh bed from Restoration Hardware is similar and it's on sale right now.

This upholstered bed from Restoration Hardware is nice too - it looks so cozy!

Happy Birthday Jackson!!!

2009-06-19T10:57:00.004-04:00

Jackson turns 3 years old today, which is like 18 in dog years. I can't believe he used to be this tiny (sorry the picture is so small, I have no idea how to fix that!)

Happy Birthday Jackson! You may be getting a nice big carrot tonight to celebrate ;)

4 quick years....

2009-06-17T12:53:00.004-04:00

Four years ago today, we were saying our vows...

And celebrating with family and friends here

We both freely admit to dealing with our fair share of challenges these past four years, including the recent tree drama, but those challenges have definitely brought us closer and made our relationship stronger. I can't imagine a better man to spend the rest of my life with! Happy Anniversary to us!!

2009-06-13T09:30:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to share a picture of the gorgeous peonies I bought the other day at Trader Joe's.

For $7.99 I'm very impressed! I hope everyone is enjoying an amazing summer weekend!

Classic Blue & White

2009-06-12T16:49:00.004-04:00

This month's Traditional Home magazine provided some great eye candy for those of us who love blue and white. Here are a few of my favorite looks that I hope to incorporate into our new home!

Blue and white seems so fitting for outdoor spaces like the 3 above.

I love the look of plates hanging on the wall. I know some people think this is weird but my mom always did it so it seems totally normal to me.

We're planning to keep the traditional formal style in the front of our house and then make the back a bit more modern and open like this lovely open kitchen, dining area and family room. The crisp contrast between all the white and pops of blue really opens up the space even more.

That last one isn't from Traditional Home, it's Ralph Lauren's Palm Harbor collection.

Dream Design - bathrooms

2009-06-05T14:33:00.015-04:00

Ok, ok, so I'm far from a perfect blogger and fell off track with design Fridays last week! But I'm back with some beautiful ideas. We're meeting with our architect next week to go over her first round of ideas for the house - maybe we can incorporate some of these!

I love this vintage-y freestanding tub. Since our house was originally built around 1920, we're trying to go with a slightly vintage, but updated, look. I think this tub fits the bill! Plus I love the built-in shelves on either side of the tub.

This tile is just beautiful - but maybe a tad too modern?

This bathroom has really interesting tile with a woven patten. I also really like how the vanity looks almost like a piece of furniture.

A steam shower like this one is definitely on the wish list!
Ahhh, this looks like a spa! Having this in your house could be dangerous - it would be so hard to leave!

Happy Thursday!

2009-05-28T13:39:00.003-04:00

I just love these short work weeks after a holiday. Every week should be a 4 day work week in my opinion!

I picked up our second load of veggies the other day. Here they are on the counter, aren't they beautiful and delicious looking?

Thanks to the CSA, I've recently discovered a love for fresh dill. I threw some on top of a salad the other night and last night made a pesto-ish sauce with dill rather than basil and used it to top a chicken breast. Delish - so fresh and summery!

Dream Design Friday

2009-05-22T14:40:00.004-04:00

**In an attempt to a) bring some structure to my blog, b) blog more frequently, and c) keep home renovation talk from dominating, I'll be introducing a few theme days. Friday will be 'Dream Design Fridays' since I've got a pretty big renovation project underway! Please feel free to share ideas and pictures - I'm not the most creative person in the world so I'd love any and all input. Thanks!**

Some dream kitchens that I'm loving right now...

I love the white marble counter tops and the glass front cabinets. But is this too much white?
Beautiful tile back splash and that stove/oven is amazing!

Love the furniture-like details of these cabinets...

Another white on white design and the back splash over the range is pressed tin ceiling tiles - I love the bit of antique charm that adds to this sleek kitchen.

Another white marble and glass-front cabinet combo. (All pictures courtesy of Traditional Home.com)

the full story...

2009-04-27T17:19:00.007-04:00

whew! Just when you think you've got things figured out, life throws you a curve ball. A month ago, I was sitting at my desk starting my day, drinking green tea, opening email, etc. I received a call from our alarm company telling me that the glass break sensors were going off at my house. There was a high wind advisory that day - the wind was so strong it was rattling the windows on the 19th floor of my office building. I was sure that this stiff breeze had rattled the poor windows on my 90 year old house so much that it set off the sensors, so I was not that worried as I drove home to check it out. Just to be safe.

This is what I saw when I pulled up to my house:yep, that's our adorable little house under there, the one we just purchased and moved into 7 months ago, the one we had nearly finished painting and started some front yard spruce-up.

Several of my neighbors were outside and had called 911 and were trying to get in touch with me. A very nice man who lives down the street helped me climb over the branches (in 3 inch heels) to see the back yard. At this point my biggest worry was Jackson - I needed to know that he was ok and get him out of the house. We got around to the back and I saw that the stairs leading up to the deck - and both back doors - was completely crushed, no getting into the house that way. But I could also tell that the room where Jackson's crate sits was not crushed. By the time I got back to the front yard, Cary was there and he climbed over the side of the front porch and went in to get Jackson who was shaking and terrified but otherwise ok.

Honestly the rest of the day is a blur. I was outside talking to neighbors, the gas company, firefighters, etc all day and kept just hoping that this was a dream and I would soon wake up.

The next two days were some of the most stressful and emotional days I've ever had. We hired a tree removal company to come out to remove the trees from the house and yard. Because these trees were so huge, this required a 70-ton crane sitting in the front yard.

This process was really quite amazing - especially considering how close the houses are to each other. Here is a piece of the trunk from one of the trees, with Cary standing next to it to demonstrate how big it was.

Here is one of the biggest sections of trunk from the largest tree. You can see that it is hollow in the center - that's a sign of a diseased tree.

And here is what the house looked like once the trees were gone. See my pretty navy dining room? (This was taken from the roof of our neighbor's house)

Now we're all moved out and renting a condo nearby. We've met with 5 contractors in the last week to get ideas for design and price and hopefully we will pick someone in the next week or so. The estimates so far are 6-9 months for the re-construction. sigh.

The bright side of all this is that no one was hurt and we now know all of our neighbors (including the awesome couple from Virginia who let us stay with them for a week!)

We will also get a brand new, renovated kitchen, new bathrooms, all new wiring (this makes me really happy because, call me crazy, but I did not feel comfortable with the close to 90-year old wiring in our house), new heating/AC, new windows and we're adding on a bit. As my grandmother said, "God works in mysterious ways."

Sorry this turned into a novel and congratulations if you made it through my ramblings!

trees

2009-04-17T11:24:00.002-04:00

We are all fine (including Jackson). I won't be blogging for awhile as we try to piece our life back together and find a place to live.

Masters weekend

2009-04-10T15:31:00.002-04:00

The husband was not lucky enough to get tickets to the Masters this year, which is a bad thing for both of us. I'm pretty sure that going last year made his list of "top 5 life events ever." That means he will be completely glued to the TV all weekend. To give you an idea of the extent of his obsession:

Last night I get home from work and there is a tied-up bag of dog poop on our front steps. I walk in the door and inquire about this. His response?

"Jackson wouldn't go out in the back yard so I had to take him out. I missed Tiger playing 1 hole!"

so he couldn't take 2 seconds to throw the poopy bag in the trash can. Lovely.

In an attempt to make him feel better about not actually being at Augusta, I will be making him pimento cheese sandwiches this weekend. And then I'm leaving the house to get a pedicure. I try to be a good wife... ;)

mid-week fun

2009-04-02T11:32:00.004-04:00

Last night I went out to dinner at Top Flr with a group of women from my street. It was a fun group; several neighbors that I know and some new faces. I've always liked to be friends with my neighbors. I guess it comes from growing up in a small, southern town where I played with the kids on my street and later baby-sat for the younger children in the neighborhood. When I lived in DC this was difficult because people tend to be wary of strangers. If you smile at someone and say hi, they look at you suspiciously. Well, not everyone, I'm generalizing a bit, but you get my point. Anyway, it's nice that here my neighbors are friendly and hang out together.

One of the women I met is also from Richmond, she and her husband both grew up there, and she went to Virginia Tech and her husband went to UVa. What are the chances that we move 600 miles away and live 4 houses down from a couple from the same town??!! They also do not yet have children and we laughed about how different our schedules are from the rest of our neighbors. For example, you will rarely find us up before 9 or 10 on the weekends. Don't judge, I get up at 5 in the morning during the week. I need to catch up on my beauty sleep!

It was a very fun night and Top Flr is great - delicious food and a very fun cocktail and wine menu. Our waiter was fantastic and friendly considering we were a fairly loud group of 12 women and he didn't panic or get rude when we had a late addition and required an extra chair and some shuffling. Honestly, I'm not the pickiest eater so usually the service in a restaurant makes all the difference to me.

Tonight we're going to a cocktail party here hosted by the Atlanta UVa alumni club to celebrate the start of Cavaliers Care week. I love drinking for a good cause ;) Happy almost-Friday everyone!

walk like an egyptian

2009-03-27T13:18:00.004-04:00

Last night we went to the Fox for a special lecture by the famous archaeologist Zahi Hawass. If you ever watch National Geographic specials or pretty much anything on ancient Egypt you'll recognize him. And yes, going to a history lecture on a Thursday night probably qualifies us as either old, boring, or dorks - or maybe all three! but it was really very interesting. Dr. Hawassi talked about and showed pictures of his work finding, excavating, and preserving sites like King Tut's tomb and the Valley of the Golden Mummy! This all goes along with the big King Tut exhibit that is in Atlanta until May. I'm hoping to go soon as I've heard that it's amazing and a really well-done exhibit.

Hope everyone has a delightful weekend!

one 2009 resolution down....

2009-03-19T16:26:00.004-04:00

One of my resolutions for this year was to eat better, ie more vegetables and fruit, less sugar. After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma I became really interested in how organic and/or local produce impacts the environment and our bodies. I'll skip the boring and probably convoluted thought process I had about this but the end result is that I decided to join a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You basically buy a "share" of a local farm at the beginning of the season and then share in the output from the farm all season long. I just got a welcome email from the farm today and I can't wait until April when we start picking up our produce!

a new dog obsession.....

2009-03-11T16:45:00.003-04:00

I'm loving The Daily Wag - Martha Stewart's latest blog written by her two French bulldogs Francesca and Sharkey. Frenchies are distantly related to Pugs - they both fall into that stout, snorty dog category ;)

an amazing weekend in store...

2009-03-06T15:30:00.002-05:00

After having 2 inches of snow on the first day of March, spring has now arrived in Atlanta. It's supposed to be in the mid to upper 70's all weekend - I can't wait! Just today while I was running errands at lunch, I noticed tons more trees and plants starting to bloom.

No big plans this weekend really. We're having our friends C & A over for dinner tonight to celebrate their recent engagement! Other than that, I plan to spend as much time as possible outside. Probably a run, some biking around the city, walking Jackson and maybe spending some time at the park. Oh and with the arrival of "typical" grilling weather, I'm betting that my dear husband will cook 3 dinners this weekend on the infamous Egg ;) I tease him endlessly about his egg obsession but really I love it. We're making salmon for dinner tonight and cooking on the grill = less clean up for me and no fishy smell in the house!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend full of flowers, sunshine, and the promise of Spring!

Is this the cutest dog in Atlanta?

2009-02-27T13:09:00.003-05:00

We'll soon find out since I just entered him in Atlanta magazine's Cutest Pet contest. There are tons of adorable dogs already entered, including a few pugs. But Jackson is definitely the cutest - not that I'm biased or anything ;)

TGIF

2009-02-20T10:53:00.003-05:00

Even though this week was a short one (due to the President's Day holiday on Monday), it has felt really long. It's been a weird week too.

Monday, on our day off, Cary and I went to the gym then showered up and went to West Egg for brunch. It was absolutely delicious and I can't believe we've waited so long to try it. Breakfast food is my favorite so it was a nice treat. Then we were planning to take Jackson to the park since it was a semi-nice day.

Before we could get to that, we had some unwelcome excitement on our street. I glanced out the window and noticed that it was really smoky outside and then I saw our neighbor outside with her two adorable little boys. I panicked and ran outside to hear and see fire trucks racing down our street. A house across the street from ours and about 3 houses down was on fire. Not just a little either - we're talking flames shooting 20 feet above the roof. It took more than 3 hours for the firefighters to put it out. It was a truly terrifying event. Luckily, there was no one home and I later learned that the guy who lived there was on his way out of town so he had his dog with him. That's pretty much the only thing that made me feel a tiny bit better. It's very unsettling though to drive past the house and see basically nothing but bricks. We didn't even know the guy but my heart goes out for him. How terrible it must feel to see your entire home destroyed.

Now that I'm done being depressing...

We also had a visitor this week - Cary's twin brother who was in town for 2 days. We had a great time showing him around Atlanta. Cary grilled on the Big Green Egg (which he's obsessed with) and we just enjoyed hanging out.

So now it's finally Friday. I don't have much going on at work today so I'm planning to catch up on some things, organize myself a bit and look forward to Friday Jazz at the High Museum. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Spring!

2009-02-10T14:06:00.002-05:00

For someone like me who hates the cold, dark days of winter, the past few days have been absolute heaven. It's been near 70 degrees since the beginning of the weekend and I'm loving it! Unfortunately the crazy temperature switch has given me a nasty sore throat, which I'm trying to cure by practically drowning myself with water.
Sunday we went for a long bike ride around our neighborhood, through Midtown and then to Piedmont Park. I'll just say that I'm not the only one really looking forward to spring. The park was packed and it was so wonderful to see so many people and dogs out enjoying the weather. Let's hope that the groundhog was wrong about six more weeks of winter!

Tag, I'm it!

2009-01-30T13:44:00.002-05:00

Thanks to BLC at The Company She Keeps for tagging me!

The rules for this little game: Step 1: Respond, replace a question you don't like, and add one more. Step 2: Tag 8 more fun bloggers.

Favorite football team: Virginia
Clothes of choice: sundresses and flip-flops
Current book of choice: a biography on James Madison (yes I'm a huge dork, don't judge)
Best bear hug: my hubby
Obsession of choice: online shopping
Favorite websites: Jcrew, Lilly Pulitzer, CNN
Must-show-kids movie: Aladdin
My super power would be: Flying
Favorite weather: those perfect humidity-free days in the spring
Wake-up call: 5:15 AM
Most challenging goal: trying to figure out 'what i want to be when i grow up'
Person who tagged me: BLC
House {paid for and furnished} anywhere, where? Sorrento, Italy - our honeymoon spot!
Vaca spot: any warm, not too crowded beach with lots of fun stuff to do when i get tired of lying on the beach
Favorite book: Eat, Pray, Love
Evil, irresistible temptation: wine and dessert
Favorite color: pink
Any job of the world: drummer in a famous band - i have no idea why but i think that would be so fun - at least for a night or two!
Favorite quote: "I often wondered how lives are shaped by what seem like small and inconsequential events, how an apparently random turn in the road can lead you a long way from where you intended to go - and a long way from where you ever expected to go." - Ronald Reagan
The last thing you bought: a birthday gift for a friend's 1-year old daughter

I'll tag: Landlocked Mermaid, KappaPrep, Misadventures of a Newlywed, Tickled Pink and Green, Well I Do Declare, Some Like It Southern

ok, so it's not eight, sorry ;)

belugas and birthdays

2009-01-27T16:32:00.002-05:00

Cary and I spent this past Saturday afternoon being tourists in our own city. We had not yet been to the Georgia Aquarium and the special Titanic exhibit is closing at the end of the month so we finally made time to go. The Titanic exhibit was very well done. There are actual artifacts that have been discovered in the wreckage, stories of passengers, and replicas of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class rooms. very, very cool and interesting, and also tragic.

The other highlights for us were the two enormous aquariums - one with three Beluga whales and a second with Whale Sharks and tons of other sea life. The Whale Shark tank is so large that people scuba in it! While we were walking through the see-through tunnel a group swam over us. It was so strange.

Saturday night we went out in Atlantic Station with our friend C for his birthday. We had dinner at Geisha House (as an aside, I was not impressed with the food there. It seemed kind of, well, generic and over-done to me. Like they're trying too hard. But our waitress was awesome.) Then we went bowling at Ten Pin Alley, which is literally next door. This is the poshest bowling alley I've ever been to - really it was a hip lounge with some bowling lanes thrown in. I rarely go bowling but it was a really fun night. Even if I did break my thumbnail so low that it hurts now ;(

A few quick things...

2009-01-15T11:50:00.002-05:00

- Today marks the end of my second week of boot camp class at the gym. What better way to knock off those holiday pounds and jump-start my new year's resolutions? I'm more sore than I've been in quite awhile, which tells me that this is working.

- I'm back to reviewing tons of documents for work - I swear I should have gone to law school instead of getting a CPA. At least attorneys are paid well to do this kind of work!

- I may be late to the party with this, but today I finally signed up with lastFM so I can tell it what kind of music I like and get recommendations and such. I love it! Listening to great music makes the aforementioned tedious work MUCH more pleasant!

- The nice FedEx man delivered our new laptop today. Cary and I finally broke down and bought a new computer for home so we no longer need to have conference calls at work, both looking at our respective computers!

- Finally, I hate to complain about the weather but I'll just mention that the high today is only supposed to be in the mid-30s! I really thought I left this kind of brutal cold behind when I left Washington DC...

Have a wonderful Thursday!

some inspiration for the new year

2009-01-13T17:51:00.002-05:00

Every breath is a 2nd chance.
To give your bad mood a makeover. To stop checking your 401k balance.
To wean yourself from Wolf Blitzer.
To remember the cloth grocery bags instead of leaving them in the car. To break out of an old holding pattern. To cultivate compassion from the inside out.
To shrink your elastic waistband. To become a dog person.
To read yourself around the world if you can't afford a ticket. To bail yourself out of debt.
To talk face to face instead of on Facebook.
To change the plot of your life story.
To do a somersault - how long has it been?
To give wings to your grounded dreams.

i found this quote/saying a few weeks ago and have been carrying it around in my planner. maybe it's a little cheesy for some but i love the idea behind it. it also goes well with my yoga teacher's recent teachings that every day is a new opportunity to start over. good to remember in the resolution frenzy that is the new year.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-06T16:45:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and NYE! It has been quite the whirlwind for us since about September. I love the holidays and seeing family and friends was just amazing but honestly, I'm ready for a big dose of normal! So far, I'm off to a great start - the past weekend Cary and I stayed in, made dinner, watched movies and took a long bike ride to explore more of Atlanta. Boring, normal - just what I needed!

Holiday Weekend Fun

2008-12-15T16:47:00.003-05:00

Saturday morning I went to my power yoga class. Earlier in the year, I was really good about going to yoga and I was going at least three times a week. Lately however, I've really fallen off the bandwagon. Rather than going all out (as I usually do) I decided to start out small and just commit to going every Saturday. I've been pretty consistent except for the weekends that we're out of town (or have guests). I love starting my weekend off with a good yoga class - it puts me in the best mood and gets rid of any lingering work-week stress. When I got home, Cary was hard at work raking leaves so I got to work cleaning up our house and vacuuming up puppy hair. The fun of owning a home... ;)

Saturday afternoon, our good friends, the Murphys came over for our second annual holiday dinner along with their adorable baby C. We had a great time talking and catching up, the guys watched football and we were all endlessly entertained by C who is just the sweetest, happiest baby. They stayed the night since they live almost an hour away from us. Sunday morning we decided to try the brunch at Atkins Park. No of us had ever eaten there as it's mostly known as a bar. The food was pretty good - not as good as Murphy's but a MUCH shorter wait, which means a lot when you're standing outside with a baby and it's 40-degrees and windy!

Cary and I spent the rest of Sunday finishing up Christmas shopping. We're pretty much finished now, just waiting on a few packages to arrive. I try to do most of my shopping online as I don't deal very well with the crowded craziness of the mall this time of year! Just four more days of work and then a much-needed week off! Despite the 8 hour drive, I'm really looking forward to being home in Richmond for the holidays and spending time with family and friends. Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday!

2008-12-09T15:25:00.004-05:00

I would like to wish my beautiful, smart and sweet little sister a very happy birthday today!! I hope you have a wonderful day and I can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

Holiday Discounts

2008-12-01T14:10:00.002-05:00

I'm sure your in box is full of discount codes and sales but I thought I'd pass these along in case anyone needs another excuse to shop ;) Happy holiday shopping!

Sara Langley Designs is offering free shipping now through December 19. Enter code FREESHIP at checkout.

Get 20% off any Bliss or Remede product through December 3 at Bliss Spa. Enter code 128911 at checkout.

Also at Bliss through December 2, get free shipping and 2 free tubes of body butter with the code 118915.

A. Tierney is offering free shipping and free gift wrap on all orders until December 25th.

Today only World Market is taking 20% off all online orders and has free shipping on orders over $50. There is no code so I assume that the discount applies when you checkout.

Polo Factory Outlets is giving $25 off every $150 you spend now though December 24.

Today only Pottery Barn has free shipping and free monogramming on selected items.

Owning a home is a lot of work!

2008-11-20T12:54:00.004-05:00

There's been a lot of work going on around the Politics to Peaches house. Much of it is not very exciting, ie ordering a new mattress, organizing (my favorite!) and preparing for Thanksgiving. We are hosting both of our immediate families for Thanksgiving this year so it was crucial that we do something with our empty dining room, which is what we've been up to the last few weeks. We just finished up the painting last week and put the room back together and hung pictures this past weekend. I know everyone is just dying to see pictures so here goes....

The pictures came out a little dark, but the walls are a deep navy blue. We're thinking of adding chair rail and/or some sort of paneling or wainscoting to the bottom half of the walls - any suggestions? This is a whole new world for me!
Here's a better shot of the table and the rug we bought. I just love the furniture - thanks to my wonderful grandparents for so generously giving it to us! I still need to find curtains for this room but that will probably wait until after Thanksgiving.

Shop for a Cause

2008-10-09T17:50:00.008-04:00

I really like A. Tierney for their cute, fun accessories and frequent sales! I wanted to share a few cute items they have now. First in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, A. Tierney is donating 20% of the sales from all "Think Pink" products to the Komen Foundation. This 'Boat and Tote' style bag is perfect for running errands or just heading out for a day of fun at the park. Besides, everyone can always use another tote bag, right? They also have pendants. I'm not sure I would wear this around my neck but it would be cute as key chain or hanging off of your bag with a cute, preppy ribbon. Unrelated to breast cancer awareness, but in the spirit of the season - more political wear! Again, not sure I'd wear this as a necklace but I think they are cute.

Happy Weekend!

Rockumentary

2008-10-09T17:23:00.003-04:00

A friend sent me a link to the rockumentary 'Call and Response' today. (http://www.callandresponse.com/)
This documentary was made entirely through donations of time and money and 100% of the ticket sales go to organizations working to end the slave trade around the world. After looking at the website and reading a bit about the project, I'm definitely interested in going one night next week. The film opens today in Atlanta (Landmark Theatre in Midtown and LeFont in Sandy Springs) and nationally tomorrow. My friend has already seen it and highly recommends it. In her words:
"This film is an eye opening picture of how slavery still exists in our world and how we can do something about it. You can buy your tickets online even if the film is not out in your city yet."

I wanted to pass this along as I did not realize the extent of human trafficking worldwide and I think this is an important cause.

Our trip to the Carribean

2008-10-07T13:54:00.012-04:00

Here are a few pictures from our recent vacation. We went on a cruise with Cary's family - parents, siblings, and husband/wife ( I hate the word 'spouse' so I avoid using it at all costs. It's just a quirk I have. Anyhoo...)

Carved watermelon greeting us the first day. I'd love to learn how to sculpt fruits and vegetables like the staff did - imagine how much fun that would be for parties!

The beach in Haiti. Unfortunately we got rained out of the exciting zip line excursion we had planned but we had a great time exploring the beaches and swimming.

Our next stop was Ocho Rios, Jamaica where we spent the day kayaking and climbing Dunn's River Falls. We all assumed that climbing a waterfall meant hiking alongside a waterfall, but no. We climbed up the rocks in the rushing water. A little scary, especially for someone like me who is not that coordinated and is afraid of heights, but it was really fun and we all agreed it was the best excursion of the trip. Alas, I don't have pictures of this because I was not about to try climbing over slippery rocks with my camera in tow.

Our third stop was Grand Cayman where Cary and I spent the morning boating, playing with stingrays on a sandbar, and snorkeling. The pictures from this day are on a waterproof disposable camera so I will post if I can - and if any are decent. Our guides gave us a mini lesson on stingrays, their habits, where to touch them, and where to avoid! Once I got over my fear, They were amazing - they are very friendly animals and we were able to touch them and feed them. I hope the pictures of this are decent - how did we live before the instant gratification of digital cameras??

The men, looking quite polished.

Us on one of the formal nights. Ignore my ghost-white face. I think the flash was a little close. I actually did mange to get a tiny bit of a tan during the week ;)

And finally, on the last night of the cruise, we celebrated the twins' big 3-0!

This is everyone, with our fantastic servers, just after they presented Cary and Peyton with birthday desserts and sang to them. All in all, a very fun trip and a fantastic opportunity to get to know my new family even better!

A bit of Paris comes to Atlanta

2008-09-10T18:17:00.005-04:00

I got so caught up in the anti-wedding article I forgot what I meant to blog about!

Sunday, we had tickets to Bark at the Park, which is a special Braves game for dogs and their owners. (There I go with the dog obsession again...) Because of the heat (Pugs don't tolerate heat and humidity very well) and me still not feeling fantastic after last week's oral surgery (don't worry, it's nothing major) we decided against the baseball game. Instead we visited the High museum to see the last weekend of the special exhibit The Louvre and the Ancient World. The Louvre and the High are doing a series of special exhibits that bring exhibits from Paris to Atlanta. It is really interesting because many of the pieces of art have never left the Louvre. My favorite part of the exhibit was the collection of busts by Jean-Antoine Houdon. His famous busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Voltaire, and Rousseau were just amazing to see up close. Not being artistic myself, it fascinates me that he was able to carve such realistic-looking sculptures from marble. Some of them look like they could speak at any second! I highly recommend this series of exhibits to anyone visiting Atlanta. The next one is The Louvre and the Masterpiece and it starts October 12.

I don't understand people like this...

2008-09-08T12:29:00.002-04:00

I just read this obnoxious article in The Washington Post and now I'm annoyed with myself for wasting 5 minutes of my life reading it. Seriously, I understand that some people don't want a "Big Wedding". Fine. If you want a simple, no-frills wedding, go to the courthouse and get married. Or, if you want a trashy, no-frills wedding, go Brittney-style and elope in Vegas. Just because a huge wedding industry exists, does not mean that anyone is required to have a gown, flowers, a cake, or a big reception with fancy food. And now, I will step down off my soapbox....

My preppy pug is ready for fall, are you?

2008-09-03T17:17:00.003-04:00

I must apologize that I've become "that person" who is obsessed with their dog. I can't help it. After spending time with two other fantastic dogs this past weekend, I'm ready to add another member to the Chandler family. (who just may have golden fur and end up weighing 70+ pounds!)

Happy Labor Day!

2008-08-28T18:14:00.006-04:00

We just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Labor Day weekend. Enjoy these last few official days of summer. Here in 'Hotlanta' it will feel like summer for quite a while longer but there's no denying that fall is on its way. Last night was the first night of college football, stores are putting out Halloween decorations and I'm feeling the need to buy new school supplies (well, I guess it would have to be office supplies) - I love fall ;)
We're headed to Charlottesville for the first football game of the season and to visit friends who recently moved there! I don't know if other people feel this way about their college town, but for me, Charlottesville always feels like home and I absolutely love going back. Even if it will make me feel old to see the signs welcoming the class of 2012.
Anyway, happy weekend to all and safe travels!

Home sweet home?

2008-08-06T13:21:00.004-04:00

After nearly a year (for Cary at least), we're finally settling down in Atlanta! It's funny how things work out - the whole time our condo was on the market, we casually looked at houses without much success. Everything was either way out of our price range or just not what/where we wanted. Somehow, just one week after closing the sale in DC we looked at this house And it was perfect ;) We put in an offer that evening (with the help of the best real estate agent ever!)

Just a few weeks from now we'll be ready for guests ;)

I've been tagged!

2008-07-28T14:43:00.002-04:00

I've been tagged by the lovely and always optimistic Kappa Prep at Manicures and Monograms! Here are the rules

*Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

*Share 5 songs you are embarrassed to admit to others that you like and tell why.

*Tag 5 random people at the end of post and include links to their blogs.

*Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

This was a really hard first tag so forgive me if it's not that great....

1. I Can't Wait to See you Again - Miley Cyrus. wow, I can't believe I just admitted to that! What can I say, the song is catchy - even if I don't agree with her choice of magazine poses/publicity....

2. Glamorous - Fergie. Again, it's a catchy song. I just can't help but sing along when I'm alone in my car. ( I'd never subject a friend to that!)

3. Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy - Big & Rich. At my wedding, the husband of one of my good friends requested this song. At the time I was furious because it was definitely on my "do not play" list. However, I now think about my wedding and smile any time I hear this song.

4. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper. Practically required soundtrack for sorority slide shows. Always reminds me of fun times at the sorority house and getting ready to go out with the girls.

5. Devil Went Down to Georgia - Another sorority flashback, there are alternate words that I always sing when I hear this song. It's especially embarrassing when other people are around.

It seems like every blog I read has already done this so if you haven't yet, join in!

busy, busy, busy

2008-07-09T17:01:00.003-04:00

So given my lack of posts lately, you may think nothing much has been going on here in Atlanta. Quite the opposite though, here's a quick run-down of the excitement (haha) in our life.

1. I finally got a project at work - I've billed more hours in the past 2 1/2 weeks than I have in the past 2 months. good for my utilization, bad for my sanity

2. It's mid-year review time at work so in addition to working until 10 PM, I also have to re-assess my goals for the year and figure out how to get moving on them before the end of the year.

3. We finally got a contract on our condo in DC!

4. So now I'm frantically trying to coordinate movers, plane tickets, moving supplies, etc.

5. The house hunt is in full swing now since we want to be in a house ASAP.

6. The husband and I joined the UVa alumni kickball team - one more commitment for Saturdays.

7. I ran the Peachtree on July 4th! It was only my second 10K and the weather was MUCH hotter than the previous race. But I survived and came in with a respectable time - and the coveted Peachtree Road Race t-shirt. I feel like a true Atlantan now ;)

8. We spent the rest of the holiday weekend at Lake Lanier with friends. It was a much-needed break filled with jet-skiing, swimming, bbq-ing, playing with the dogs, etc.

9. Friday, the husband and I are headed to Richmond for my grandparent's 65th anniversary! I feel incredibly lucky to have such amazing, healthy, inspiring grandparents. We're also celebrating my mom's birthday with a lovely brunch before we head back Sunday afternoon.

So that's life in a nutshell!

Chattanooga

2008-06-23T14:32:00.012-04:00

We spent last weekend in Chattanooga to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. I can't even believe it's been three years! Anyway, we stayed at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast downtown and spent the weekend relaxing and being tourists. There was also some delicious food and wine thrown in for good measure ;)
A few pictures of the fun....
The Stone Fort Inn, where we stayed.

View from the top of Lookout Mountain

This is me walking through "Fat Man's Squeeze". This is basically what Rock City is - a walking path through huge rocks and gardens. Part's of it are a bit cheesy but the view from the top is beautiful.

This is the Tennessee Aquarium. They have two buildings that look like this. One is the River Journey and the other is Ocean Journey. Both are great, although the ocean one is much shorter. Now maybe we'll actually visit the aquarium in our own town!

Happy Birthday Jackson!

2008-06-20T11:09:00.007-04:00

Yesterday was Jackson's 2nd birthday. Our little boy is no longer a puppy....

Here's Jackson checking out his "birthday carrot"!

And enjoying said carrot. The dog is a freak for carrots, we usually give him baby carrots but for his birthday we decided to get him the real deal.

And here's his birthday dinner, inspired by Lucy's yummy-looking birthday dinner!

And now, off to Chattanooga for the weekend!

Happy Anniversary to us!

2008-06-18T11:07:00.005-04:00

We made this last night to celebrate our 3rd anniversary

This was our first attempt cooking mussels at home and it was delicious! The recipe came from this very cute cookbook I found one day at Crate and Barrel.

If you like seafood, this is a great cookbook. Most of the recipes are simple and use fresh fish and vegetables - perfect for summer entertaining!

A low key weekend

2008-06-17T15:37:00.002-04:00

Last weekend was fun but pretty low-key. We managed to get up for the Saturday 9AM yoga class (for the second Saturday in a row!) and then checked out the Green Market in Piedmont Park. I have to say, I was a little disappointed in the Green Market. We got some great fresh pasta but I was looking for more veggies. There's nothing like buying fresh produce from the farmer who picked it that morning!

Let's see, what else? I finally bought new running shoes in preparation for the Peachtree 10K in July, which I may or may not survive. And then we spent most of Sunday at the pool. I will say, looking on the bright side of things, that's the one benefit to still renting an apartment here. I'm hoping to convince the husband that we should buy a house with a pool ;)

It's Official....

2008-06-10T15:23:00.002-04:00

There's no turning back now. After an interesting hour at the Department of Driver Services, we are now official residents of Georgia! Considering that just getting a driver's license took an hour, I'm not excited about the rest of the car registration process....

sleepy, spolied puppy

2008-05-29T09:09:00.003-04:00

i had to share these...

he's spoiled rotten and i can only blame myself (well, i guess i can blame cary too!)

2008-05-20T10:12:00.004-04:00

This past weekend was pretty low-key, but a nice change from being out of town, which it seems like we've done a lot lately. Saturday we met up with friends from college, Mr and Mrs I., for some yummy Thai food. After dinner, Mrs. I was kind enough to introduce me to Yoforia, which just may be my favorite new food!

I also purchased new golf clubs because the husband is convinced that "new technology" will help me be a better golfer. Well....on Sunday at the driving range I did hit the ball farther than I ever have in my life, so maybe he has a point. Just wait until I get a hole-in-one ;)

I'm a bad blogger....

2008-05-14T14:22:00.002-04:00

So I've been a bad blogger lately. It's not that nothing is going on, just nothing exciting enough to inspire me. But I'm making an effort today anyway....

The condo selling thing hasn't been going so well so we decided to rent it out, which necessitated a visit to DC to host an open house and ideally find a tenant. Well, we had some decent interest but nothing concrete, yet. There's also a potential buyer so we'll see how this all works out.

The best part of the weekend though was Saturday night when we met up with friends for the Baldini's birthday celebration. Margaritas, mexican, all you can drink warm beer (gross, are we in college?), a trip to my favorite wine bar and a late night falafel run - that pretty much sums up my night. It was fantastic to see everyone though. Happy Birthday to the Baldinis!

Sunday, my sister-in-law was generous enough to host pretty much our entire immediate family for a Mother's Day celebration. We had my parents and sister, Cary's parents, his twin brother and wife, and his sister's husband's parents and brother - whew! It was a great time, despite the cold rainy weather that kept us inside.

Then we took an early Monday flight back to Atlanta, which still doesn't feel like home but I definitely like the weather better!

"Did anyone beat a 1?..."

2008-04-11T09:37:00.005-04:00

So not often does a 19 handicapper shoot a birdie. Don't mistake, I am a 19 and have had my fair share of them.... and by "fair share" I mean probably 5 or 6 in the last six years. I played last weekend at Birdwood in Charlottesville, VA, along with TScott White, Jeff Hall and the illustrious Steven Evan Block. I did not shoot a birdie. Let me see if I can set the schene...

4th hole, downhill-downwind par-3, 151 yards with the pin up front. First up is Jeff Hall. Now, I couldn't put back spin on a golf ball if my life depended on it, this guy does on command! He'd have preferred a little less this day... in the drink. Next swung TScott White. A little directional retardation for a 7 handicapper left him wet as well. Steve had a nice swing, but aparently he isn't as long (with this golf clubs) as the rest of us. A few bounces on the bank and we're 3 for 3.

Up steps the high handicapper in the 4some to tee up his Nike "Mojo" recycled ball he bought, along with 11 others, for 14 bucks in the clubhouse before the round. A smooth 9-iron solicited a precurser from Jeff: "That's tracking". And it was. Two and a half feet left of the cup and a zip right made my Mojo disappear! What followed remains between the four of us (and some random dude who was hanging out in the woods by the cart path... weird). It was, I'll say, a most joyous occasion.

Later that night, we celebrated on my dime! Bane apparently had some other friends with aces that day...

...and poor Steven spent the rest of the weekend trying to figure out "how did he do that?"

Charlottesville!

2008-04-07T11:50:00.000-04:00

We spent the weekend in Charlottesville for the Virginia Gentleman's 55th Anniversary weekend. Being back in c-ville is always a good time, especially with lots of good friends around! Here's a shot of the current group with the alumni. If you can see the white-haired guy wearing a bowtie up front, that's Sam who was a founding member of the VGs!

I also did some shopping in the cute boutiques downtown while the guys were golfing. Something pretty big happened here - but I'll let Cary tell that story...

My little sis made a last-minute trip up from Richmond Saturday night to hang out with us. It was fantastic to see her, especially since we live so far apart now!

All in all, a great weekend. It definitely made me miss DC, C-ville, college, friends, etc. But it was also nice to fly in to Atlanta last night - it doesn't quite feel like home yet, but I'm working on it!

Chicago (sort of)

2008-03-11T22:46:00.000-04:00

I've been at training for work this week at the lovely Q Center. It's been awhile since I've eaten three meals a day from a buffet, carried my food on trays, and slept in a twin bed. I'm definitely looking forward to returing home to Atlanta tomorrow night (it's still so weird to say that!). Not to mention that while there is snow on the ground here, it's at least 65 degrees in atl.

Overall though, it's not been bad. If you ever get an opportunity to play WhirlyBall, give it a shot That was our social event last night and it's actually kind of fun.

Thank God for the Internet....

2008-03-06T13:39:00.000-05:00

So I've been pretty busy at work lately. Unfortunately I'm busy with document review, which can be the most mind-numbingly boring task ever. To the rescue....the miracles of the internet (or internets, if you're GW).

Here's what's keeping me sane today:

* http://alltop.com/ - a fun, quick way to see top stories on pretty much any topic you can imagine.

* This recipe for Nutella ice cream. Seriously dangerous. I'm going to try it the next time I have a free day at home (ha!) or more likely after we buy a house and have storage space for things like ice cream makers.

* The latest undergrad B-school rankings from BusinessWeek. Not only does this make me even more proud to be a Wahoo, it makes my resume look better!

* and of course, my faithful friends at jcrew and bluefly - because there's no work a little online shopping can't help!

Weekend

2008-03-03T10:23:00.000-05:00

So this weekend ended up being pretty fun - even if I did spent several hours Saturday and Sunday at work ;(

Friday we had dinner with a couple Cary works with. We went to Noche - a fun tapas restaurant in Virginia-Highlands. After an hour plus wait at the bar, we finally got a table but it was worth the wait. I love tapas- it's so fun and I like being able to taste dishes without having to commit to one. (plus the sangria, although Noche's wasn't the best)

Saturday and Sunday were mostly filled with work (me) and driving range (Cary). I also found this hilarious shirt for Jackson - any dog owners out there, check out the pet section at Target. The one at Atlantic Station had a ton of dog shirts for less than $2!

Spring in on it's way in Atlanta - the weekend was mid-60s and today in the 70s. As anyone who knows me can imagine, I'm very happy ;)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Welcome!

2008-02-25T15:48:00.000-05:00

We started this blog as a way to keep in touch with family and friends and share our adventures in Atlanta. While we're really excited about our new city, it's also sad to leave behind such great friends. We hope everyone enjoys reading what we're up to and that it inspires you to make a visit to hotlanta ;)

love,

yevonne, cary & jackson