belugas and birthdays

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...

- 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

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!

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

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!

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

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.