Shifting Focus

I find that my focus bounces from topic to topic every few weeks. For instances, only a couple weeks ago I was uber obsessed with restocking my closet with a few new pieces, getting rid of the old and evaluating what still needs a match. This stretched over a two week period, and then – Boom! – that’s it. I am satisfied and on to the next.

My new focus is our housing crisis. Our home in Georgia has yet to sell, and our lease is up on our rental in Minneapolis. So my mind whirls and whirls until I find a solution. And then I want instant gratification. My solution is for us to buy a “starter home”  at a lower price using a FHA loan (to not tie up our cash since we will now have two homes). Here are the advantages I see: 1) our mortgage payment would be equivalent to monthly rent; 2) the property can become rental property when we purchase a larger home; 3) this gives us some time to continue to research where we want to live permanently; and 4) if we need to sell it, homes are more likely to move at this price point.

I formulate this plan on Friday, and then spent the weekend trolling neighborhoods and looking for homes. My conculsion after two days on the hunt and numerous open houses is to stay in Northeast since it is the area of Minneapolis we know best.  And the last open house on Sunday afternoon proved to be my favorite. http://msp.themlsonline.com/search/3676412.html

It has great bones and is immaculate inside.  With a few modern touches, I think it could be a great home for us … considering the circumstances.

And since this is where my mind is, I spent a little time on HGTV online tonight. Here is a link to some inspirational interior design videos. http://www.hgtv.com/100-half-day-designs/package/index.html

I’ll keep you posted.

A little of this, a little of that

As mentioned in the last post, Jeff and I are turning over a new leaf with our eating habits, especially before the wedding. What’s that really mean?

Negative = less eating out. Positive = more money in the bank. Negative = hard work finding innovative and healthy meals. Positive = shedding a few pounds!  Jeff has lost 10+ pounds since we started! And, I’ve lost a few. 

Since we are not as likely to eat out these days, my passion for food revolves a lot more around cooking it and other products from the grocery store. Here are a few of my favorite things …

1) Sabra Hummus …  It is the best hummus I’ve tasted because of the smooth texture and stronger flavors. The roasted red pepper is my favorite. While I think it has a little more fat and calories than other brands, the taste is worth it for me. I love it as a dip for raw vegetables. If anyone has something better or feedback on its nutritional facts, please share.

2) Breyers Pure Fruit Frozen Bars … They are juicy, and the pomegranate combo flavors very smooth and not too tart.

3) New meatless recipe: Mexican Pizza … It is very simple to make and most ingredients are ones you have on hand.

• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 T coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 C black beans (15 oz), rinsed and drained
• 1t ground cumin
• 1 prebaked pizza crust (16 oz) – I bought Boboli thin wheat crust
• 1/3 C salsa – I bought Jack’s brand, blackbean and corn salsa flavor
• 1 C shredded reduced-fat Monteerey Jack cheese (4 oz)
• 1/2 C shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (2 oz)
• 1 can sliced black olives (2.5 oz), drained
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 C chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 425 F. In a food processor or blender, combine the garlic and cilantro and pulse until chopped. Add the beans and cumin and process until pureed. (I had to add some taco sauce for a little juice in the blender.) Spread evenly over the pizza crust. Spread the salsa over the top. Scatter with the cheese, olives, pepper and chives. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

After baking, I topped it with lettuce and chopped tomato and drizzled taco sauce over each slice before serving. This one is a keeper!

4) Last weekend at our neighborhood party, the food was catered by Artisan Foods located in Roswell in the historic district. Owners Hoyt and Sauyri live in our neighborhood, and as always, the food was amazing!

5) My invitations for the wedding came in yesterday, and I picked them up at The Chandlery in Roswell. While the store is more of a boutique with unique gifts, their invitation department is simple the best because of a women named Suzanne Feeney. She has been doing wedding planning and invitations for years. She is to the point, and you want to listen to every word she says. And, she is more than willing to lend a hand. Exactly what you need when planning a wedding. I would recommend every bride to work with her, whether on invitations or the whole thing. Thank you, Suzanne, for your help!

6) Last thing, Jeff and I tasted the food for the wedding today. It was perfect. We are using Fabulous Creations. But, that’s an another blog post.

That’s it for this time around!

Catching Up on ATL and its Food

The past month has been a whirlwind. Since the beginning of June, I have been in Las Vegas, New York, Denver, and Kansas. That doesn’t leave much room for trying new food places in Atlanta, so I made up for it this weekend.

Over the holiday weekend, my mom was in town to help with wedding plans. I think we ate out nearly every meal … not so good for the figure, but it was important to have my mom try all of the places we plan to incorporate into our wedding weekend. And, we did a little cake tasting too.

Here’s a look at our weekend.

Thursday

Classic Cheesecakes and Cakes (Buckhead). Mark Lotti, owner of this well-known cake establishment, was perfect. And, so are his cakes. We sampled at least six cheesecakes and four pound cakes. And the best part, we took home the extras, and the pound cake kept getting better and better each day. Coconut pound cake might not be right for a fall wedding, but I am thinking it might be O-So-Good!

Greenwood’s (Roswell). For dinner, it was Greenwood’s on Green Street in Roswell. Among the three of us, we had meatloaf, cheese grits and shrimp, and pot roast.

Friday

I am not proud of this eating day. It was a little of this, a little of that. And, all of it was not so great for us!

Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast. (I couldn’t resist, and I didn’t know we were going to be so bad all weekend.)

Salad at the food court at Perimeter Mall for lunch. And, cannoli. (It was my mom’s first time. Unfortunately, it was at the mall food court.)

On Friday night, we stayed in so we could have leftovers from Greenwood’s and cake from Mark! But then, we went to a movie and had popcorn and soda. Oops!

Saturday 

Cereal and fruit for breakfast. Points for being healthy!

Artisan Foods (Roswell) was our lunch stop.  About two months ago, I met our neighbors (Hoyt and Sayuri) up the street and discovered they own Artisan Foods. Saturday was my first time visiting their shop, and I am so glad I did. I now hope they will be willing to do Sunday brunch at our house during the wedding weekend!!! Their breads are absolutely amazing and wonderful and delicious and scrumptious and … do I need to say more!?

Swallow at the Hollow (Roswell) for dinner. As always, very good.

Sunday

More points for breakfast at home.

Cake was for lunch. We had a cake tasting at Pretty Cakes by Meg. She puts wonderful, unique fillings between cake layers. We had white cake with a really nice white chocolate filling and strawberry glaze filling. Delicious! I wanted to go back for more and more and more.

For dinner, Pure Taqueria (Alpharetta). After dinner, we swore we were not going to eat another meal out. (I am hoping Pure will cater the Welcome Celebration for the wedding. What a great kick-off!)

Monday

We really tried to stick to our no more meals out, but this was our last chance for dining. We ended up with a late lunch at Nine, located on Canton Street in Roswell. This was my first time, and I will be going back – for sure! We had a very yummy chicken salad sandwich, fresh fruit, and tomato basil soup. And of course, dessert!

I hope this weekend of eating out made up for my lack of writing over the past month!

Blue Plate Roadside Cafe and a few Other Findings

Here are a few random ATL and Georgia findings that I don’t know much about, but they caught my attention. Not all are food related.

And, let me know if you’ve had any experience with any of these places! I want to here your stories.

Blue Plate Roadside Cafe (5920 Roswell Rd NE, Sandy Springs, GA) – According to the Atlanta Journal Constitute, it is a casual diner serving classic Americana – fried green tomatoes, over-sized salads, sliders, and blue plates of shrimp and grits … desserts like chocolate cake and fruit cobblers. Sounds good to me!

To find wineries in North Georgia, check out www.georgiawine.com. How are the Georgia wineries? I can only imagine that they are very beautiful!

For fun t-shirts by an Alpharetta-based company,  check out www.snorgtees.com. Look for slogans like, “#2 is #1, if you’re a pencil.” and “That’s What She Said.”

I saw an ad for T. Lynn Jewelry in the AJC this past spring. The part that caught my eye was, “Custom Made Jewelry.” Unfortunately, the web site listed in the ad no longer exists (www.tlynnjewelers.com). Anybody know anything about this store?

Lastly, I saw an ad for Pike Nursery, advertising free workshops and events. For schedule and locations, it directed me to their web site: www.pikenursery.com. I did a quick look. The site is actually really good. 

If you know more about these places, send me your experiences!

Green Street is Grrrreat & Quick Cooking Tip

Over Memorial Day Weekend, Jeff and I made a trip to Green Street in Roswell to try Swallow at the Hollow for ourselves. It is as good as everyone says, maybe better, and we didn’t even stay for the live music! It was probably the best BBQ pork I’ve ever had.  And since Swallow at the Hollow was so good on Friday night, we went to Greenwood’s the next day for lunch! (Same owners.)

Greenwood’s was also wonderful, but probably a little heavy for lunch. Jeff had meatloaf, and I had a chicken pot pie. I couldn’t eat another bite when I was done, which is always a good sign! We have a date to go back and try the fried chicken and homemade pie! We sat on the porch. The whole experience was very Southern and really calming and peaceful.

(I can’t find a Web site for Greenwood’s. Odd. Just Google it to find reviews and such. Or, it’s right across the street from Swallow at the Hollow.)

So, I found a quick cooking tip in a the Publix (grocery store) monthly magazine that is worth sharing. It is a list of substitutes for alcoholic beverages found in recipes.

• 1 T bourbon or sherry = 1 T apple or orange juice
• 1 T coffee liqueur or chocolate liqueur = .5 t chocolate extract or .5 t instant coffee in 2.5 t water
• 1 T Grand Marnier or citrus liqueur = 2.5 t orange juice plus .5 t orange extract
• .25 C white wine = .25 C chicken broth in savory recipes OR .25 C apple or white grape juice in dessert recipes
• .25 C red wine = .25 C beef broth in savory recipes OR .25 C cranberry juice in desserts

Happy eating and cooking!

From The Alpheretta-Roswell Revue & News

Another list … 2008 Restaurant Awards, The Alpharetta-Roswell Revue & News – May 22, 2008

• Best Appetizer / Salad – 5 Seasons North
• Best Fast Casual Entree – FieldGood
• Best Fine Dining Entree – Tuscany Italian Restaurant
• Best Dessert – FieldGood
• Best Presentation – FieldGood
• People’s Choice Award – Dee Thai Restaurant

What this list says to me … Where is this FieldGood place? I need to try it! And, the people always know best. I will be trying Dee Thai Restaurant too.

Also this week, I found an ad from Vinings Inn. It caught my attention because it was advertising a very specific Four Course Dinner event, and it also introduced their Twilight Menu. It told me when to be there and why. I liked that!

Alive After 5

I am trying to create new posts on Thursdays, for me and anyone else who may read these regularly. So, you can see this is post is coming a bit later than I would like, but Jeff and my “outing” was on Thursday night this past week and then we left Saturday for Ojai, California. So, I am just now getting to this.

But, that also means a week of great food in California! 

We went to Alive After Five, a neighborhood gathering located on the historic Canton Street in Roswell. It happens every third Thursday of the month, running from April to October. In summary, all the shops, galleries and cafes stay open late, until around 9 p.m. There is live music, and local associations and non-profit mingling about. And, an added bonus … the restaurants serve their drinks in plastic cups so you can stand outside and enjoy the festivities with friends.

This was a first for Jeff and me, and we met a couple friends, Tracy and Bob who also live in Roswell, at Pastis. And then, there was their friends, Tom and Jason, who seemed to have 10 more friends. And, they all know Ali, the bartender at Pastis. We spent most of our time drinking beer from plastic cups and “meeting the neighborhood” from the entry of Pastis.

The highlights on the night … 1) spending time with Bob and Tracy 2) experiencing Alive After Five for the first time 3) eating amazing calamari from Pastis!

Also, it is yet to be determined, but another highlight … you might just see Bob, Tracy and I smiling in the local newspaper this week!

On to Ojai …

Classic … And Far From!

Officially, my second post.

Last Friday, I had a hair appointment at Soda Salon, a great hair place that is the “perfect mix of historic beauty and modern functionality and comfort” (according to their Web site – they’ve said it so perfectly). It is located in historic Roswell and conveniently, it is in walking distance from Jeff and my house (introduce Jeff – the fiance). The salon is great. If you are in the Atlanta area, you really should at least take a peak at their Web site … but, the point of my blog is the classic tale of gossip at the salon and how it led me to some excellent eating spots this past weekend. (I am only going to tell you about one though … suspense).

Lindsey, my petite little stylist, was telling me her favorite local restaurants, and among her top choices (and ones that Jeff and I have not tried yet) were Flying Biscuit (claiming it may be better than J. Christopher’s which is right next door and already a favorite of mine … humm, we’ll see), Oak Street Cafe, Fickle Pickle, and Pure.  And by their descriptions and her recommendations, three of them were better suited for breakfast or lunch, so that left Pure, a Mexican place about 10 minutes north of our house. 

So, it was margaritas and guacamole! … But to be honest, I didn’t get my hopes up very quickly because everyone likes their Mexican just a little different. (And, that’s worth an entire separate post.) And besides, we were in North Atlanta. (I don’t technically know what North Atlanta is, but here I am referring to north of the Perimeter, or I-285 loop.) A part of me wondered how much atmosphere can a little Mexican place have in this area. In all seriousness, it could have been in a strip mall.

The Atmosphere.

Turns out that Pure Taqueria (the official name) is far from classic! It is a fun, contemporary restaurant located in an old garage or filling station. The atmosphere is full of energy, and the decor is modern mixed with elements from the past …  Probably 1920s, when the garage was built. Jeff also made the comment that there were lots of beautiful people …

The Server.

Our server was fantastic. Jeff instantly made friends when he tried to order fried rice, thinking that’s what rice is called at Asian and Mexican restaurants. (Seriously?!) So the server offered Jeff a wasabi margarita for his next round, and to top off the night, he showed up wearing an Asian (sumo wrestler, maybe?) Halloween mask. What are the odds?! Great service, amazing attitude!

The Food.

Round 1: Guac! and house margaritas. Huge bowl of guac. Fresh chucks of avocado with a kick of lime (and some spice) with each bite. Delicious! Margaritas = Average. But, that was our fault for ordering house margaritas!

Round 2: Fish tacos and chicken enchiladas. (Pure uses authentic Spanish names for the entrees, just a little something that makes the menu fun and unique.) The food was so amazing that I ate as much as I possibly could, until I just could not have one more bite.

My summary.

So delicious that I found myself wanting my friends who live in Denver and Kansas City and New York to be in Atlanta so that I could share it with them right that moment. So, I texted my friend Jo to let her know of our discovery … I think it went something like this “I found a Mexican place that you would dance on the tables for! Amazing guac. Way hip. Way Jo! The name is Pure.”

Did I mention they offer complimentary valet?

 

 

Who am I? Why this blog?

Recently engaged and very new to Atlanta, I am eager to discover everything the South has to offer. Especially, the amazing food … My food exploration will include Atlanta as well as any place worth sharing along the way. I’ll get to all that in my second post because I want to give you a little background on how I got here (to creating a blog).

So, Who am I? Why this blog?

Almost three years ago, I moved to Denver from Kansas and began working for a start-up technology company, Efficient Forms, with probably 15 employees total. I was hired to do sales. (Note: I had no sales experience, and it was cold calling, nonetheless.) Tech company. Start-up. Denver. All pretty normal.

Here is the twist for me. I came from a marketing organization for the insurance industry … sales environment … 150 employees … average age around 28 … my job was to give away Corvettes and Harleys, help plan reward trips and employee events, produce a monthly magazine, and other really fun and amazing things. It was B2B marketing, and my target audience was insurance agents. (One more note: I was young, loved my job, and a bit naive … and maybe a little arrogant too.)

My new job and environment was shocking. So shocking that it took me well over a year to adjust to the change. BTW, I am back in marketing, and I am getting to the point so stick with me …

Last summer, the tech company decided to launch a product for consumers – high school seniors to be exact. (Check out CollegeZapps.com!) Everything I learned about marketing over the previous five years went out the door, and the past year has been an “experience.” Let me introduce just a few of the things that I have learned and I am still learning and will continue to learn: blogs … MySpace … Facebook … YouTube … MyYearbook.com … what’s next?!

BTW, I am not that old. I am still in my twenties … So, technically, I should have probably known a little more about all of this. But, I had this “opinion” about people my age who had a blog or spent time on MySpace. Seriously?

What I have come to realize is I was really the one who was totally in the dark. The tech people who I work with and who I originally had such a hard time figuring out … well, they are different than me, and they are wonderfully different. They have opened my eyes to a really great, new techy world. They have introduced me to things (like blogs) that I need for my job, that allow me to understand my new target audience (and my younger sister), and to things that I would have probably never explored myself. And for the long-run, all of this is the key to Generation Next who I will be working and communicating with very soon in the workplace.

Seriously, where was I for the past six years (okay, five years because I have come a long way in the past year)?!

So from here on out, there will be very little techy talk. I’d much rather share about my favorite place to eat breakfast on Saturday morning (with very little Atlanta knowledge, how about J. Christopher’s in Roswell – hello tummy!) or the amazing seared scallops I had last weekend at Barnsley Gardens Resort in Adairsville, Georgia. And, in case you were wondering, I love everything from donuts, onion rings, and beer to shopping at Whole Foods and striving to eat my recommended daily fruits and veggies. 

P.S. Thank you, Chris Kasten, for your patience with me and for being so hip. (Is “hip” really the right thing to say with Generation Next? In this case, I really don’t care. I think you are hip.)