Festivus for the Rest of Us!

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...hahahaha. Okay so I wanted to go ahead and thank everyone for my birthday wishes! I had such a great weekend and I don't feel so bad about 26 anymore...Since Ryals and I have been dating, we have decided to have a "festivus" 4-day long celebration for our birthdays. I did the same thing for him and so he followed suit this past week!

Thursday night we did dinner at our favorite place, Lobster Bar, and I am obsessed! Ryals had a nice Buckhead Life gift card, so I was pumped we go to use that. They are doing a great special right now for a 3 course dinner for $49.

Friday my family came into town. We did some shopping and then headed to Kevin Rathbun Steak for a wonderful time down in Inman Park. I don't spend a lot of time in that area of town, but I think we should all start! We ended up sitting on their patio and it was a beautiful night. Man, I'm realizing that we did a lot of eating this weekend!

Saturday was literally the worst weather I have seen in a while! I couldn't believe it either, because we had been planning for MONTHS to go to Chastain Park Ampitheatre to see one of our favorite bands, Hall & Oates! They sing lots of songs that you would know, like this song and this song and they are just a great 80's band! So pretty much all day Saturday was a big confusion with whether or not we were actually going to brave the outdoor concert setting or not. Well, it got to be around 4:30 and we decided sure let's go sit out in the rain and brave it. So I went to Publix and packed us a little picnic and we were on our way! Well, we got there and it was raining so we put up our umbrellas and donned our rain boots, but it didn't last long. Our seats were the BEST in the house. We ended up dancing in the aisles and stayed until the very end! It was wonderful - I had a blast!





Sunday we did lunch and opened presents! My parents got me an R. Wood butter dish (so cute - my collections is almost complete), some clothes and a really adorable dress from Heery's (don't worry - I'll be wearing it to one of Meredith's wedding events fo' sho). Ryals surprised me with a new watch! Here it is:



He also got me a really sweet Columbia women's fishing shirt (so fratty!) in the color watermelon, some candy and some new tupperware (haha-I know it is random but it is something that I am using with my new diet). He is such a good present-giver!

Monday night was the final night of Festivus. All of the girls, their men and then a few others went to Verde up in Brookhaven for some Mexican cuisine to celebrate me and Wesley's birthdays! I had such a great time and it was a great way to get everyone together!

That's it! Hope 27 is just as good!

Exciting!

I think I have told a few of you, but the big event for commercial designers around the world is called NEOCON. It happens every year in the middle of June in Chicago. Basically designers from all over the world come to the Mart in Chicago to see all the new products that manufacturers are unveiling for that specific year. It is fabulous - touring showrooms all day, hanging out in Chicago and getting wined and dined by all the manufacturer's reps.

Every year, our firm selects 4 designers to go. The firm pays for everything and even gives you a couple hundred dollars worth of spending money to play with. The decision on who is selected to go is based on seniority and contribution to the firm. Well...this year I get to go! It is from June 12th - 16th. Another perk of the trip is that the reps who call on us here at work daily (who sell carpet, wallcovering, furniture, etc.) will be taking us out every night to some really great restaurants in Chicago and then out afterwards. Yay!

http://www.neocon.com/

Braves Win!!!

I had such a good time last night with all the girls (and guys) at the Braves Game! The weather was PERFECT and the pollen actually didn't bother me at all (shocking). So glad we had such a large group that went (and that we were all able to sit together). If you had a chance to check out The Hill's blog, you will see that Ryals and I were quite enthrusiastic about the FOOT LONG hot dogs! Ha - I tell you what, there is nothing better than hot dogs and beer at a baseball game! AND, to reference Jill's most recent blog, hot dogs and Bud Select are on the "eat this" list for ball parks. See pictures below!

We had great seats - thank you Ryals for getting them for us!



"Buy me some HOT DOGS, some BEER and some CRACKER JACKS..."



So glad the Wages joined us! I know Brian is an avid Braves fan!



The Hills and the Griffins!



Ryals' brother James and Kelsey joined us too!



Picture's not so good (thanks a lot, iPhone), but you can see we had some entertainment from the drunk redneck in front of us. He began cheering and waving a white towel around all by himself. A fan a few rows down got sick of it, grabbed his towel and told him to shutup. Moments later, the ENTIRE crowd starting chanting "Give the Towel Back, Give the Towel Back" and revived drunko's antics! Drunko grabbed a nearby blanket from an ususpecting toddler and begin rallying again!



Braves Win!!! The new DIGITAL Coca Cola bottle began shooting fireworks to celebrate. What a great night in a great city!

Splash of Color

I think most of you know this, but I went to Rome this weekend for Easter. It was just me - my brother was on call at Grady Hospital all weekend and Ryals had to go to Blakely to see his family. I ended up getting to Rome in time for drinks and dinner on Friday night at the only decent restaurant in Rome, LaScala (delicious little Italian place).

Saturday we didn't have any plans so my mom and I went SHOPPING. One of the new shopping attractions in Rome is TJ Maxx, so of course we had to make a trip. I rarely ever go to TJ Maxx in Atlanta because it is so...well, Ghetto Fabulous. Anyways, I went to look for purses, shoes and clothes, but saw NOTHING in that category (I don't do well in big stores like that because it overwhelms me). But when I got to the back of the store, the Home Department was wonderful! I found so many adorable things that I wanted. The bad thing is, I don't have a house...which makes me jealous when I see everyone else's cute houses and furniture. Lately, I have just been wanting to redecorate! So the only thing I bought from the home department was a great pottery piece that looks just like my R. Wood ocean colored dishes. It was $16.99 and looks like it could have sold for $60 or more. I bought a bird's nest fern to plan in it that I am going to attempt to raise in our little Buckhead apartment.

Okay so enough of my blabbering, here are the pieces I loved...



I fell in love with this pair of lamps. They weren't quite a match to my bedding so I had to pass on them, but at $39.99 a piece, I think they are a steal!



This little guy made me so happy! Also $39.99



This chocolate brown and green towel would be so cute in any bathroom. And I love that it is only $6.99!



Such a cute orange bench - I would love to have this piece in my kitchen, pulled up to my breakfast table with some cute throw pillows or cushions.



I came very close to purchasing these babies, but then I remembered that I already have dining room chairs. I think that they could work as side chairs as well.



Same thing in greenish-blue.



I love love LOVED this little barrel accent table. I pictured it in a very neutral, modern living space with splashes of aqua blue and chocolate brown, maybe even yellow. I really wanted to buy it, but once again I have nowhere to put it!

Check it out in this room scene I found on another blog!





I thought the shape and detail of this table was really unique. Maybe not so much on the red color, but at $59.99 you could always paint it yourself to be the color that you wanted! I was imagining it in white or brown.

Okay so now I have decorating fever...
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

April Fools!!

Okay so I was going to Google something to include in my post and when I clicked on Google, it actually said Topeka! So I was like WTH what does that mean...please read below.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/different-kind-of-company-name.html

I thought that was really interesting! Could you imagine if you had lived in TOPEKA your whole life and then all of a sudden you lived in GOOGLE? Weird.

Anyways, on to the real stuff. So I have been following a diet called The Flat Belly Diet for the past 3-4 months and I wanted to share some of the aspects of the plan with you. I am by no means overweight (or at least I don't think I am, you may beg to differ - ha), but definitely in need of toning up and feeling better about my overall body image. The diet was developed by two women (one being the editor of Prevention magazine) and I feel that it is geared towards women in general. The overall premise of the diet is that you eat 4 small meals a day (each meal equaling around 400 calories). The kicker is this - each meal needs to contain what they call a MUFA (mono unsaturated fatty acid). Some examples of MUFA's include: nuts/peanut butters, DARK CHOCOLATE (my fav), oils, avocados, etc. These are "good" fats that serve to fight against the "bad" fat in your body. They also make each meal very enjoyable, since most of these foods are foods that I find delicious! In addition to the meal structure, the diet recommends drinking lots of water (I drink two Nalgene bottles or more a day) and following an exercise routine.

My typical day of food would read something like this:

Breakfast - Greek yogurt with 1/2 cub of raspberries and 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips (MUFA)

Lunch - Whole wheat wrap with one laughing cow wedge, 4 ounces of roast beef and black olive tapenade (MUFA)

Snack - Luna Bar with 1 cup of skim milk and macadamia nuts (MUFA) mixed with raisins.

Dinner - Chicken Piccata (recipe below) with a spinach salad.

Most of you know, I am ALWAYS hungry (remember Carl?). The good thing about this diet is that it keeps me full throughout the day. I would like to include my favorite (and Ryals' favorite) Flat Belly recipe below. I have made it twice in the past week and a half and it is definitely a boyfriend favorite!

Chicken Piccata
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken tenders
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons capers, minced freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Lay the tenders on a work surface. With a smooth scaloppine pounder or a rolling pin covered in plastic wrap, flatten to 1/4" thickness. Dredge the cutlets lightly in the flour. 2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the skillet and heat until sizzling. Place the chicken in the skillet. Cook for 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned and cooked through. 3. Add the lemon juice, parsley, and capers. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Season to taste with the pepper. Serve the chicken with the pan juices.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO