Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday, I turned the big 2-5! I am so blessed to have such loving friends and family. My birthday celebration, which has lasted a few days, has been so much fun!

I kicked off my birthday week with dinner on Saturday with a bunch of my close friends. We went to Tap in midtown and had a delicious dinner. My new friends, Stephen and Ali, gave me two beautiful scarves. And my friend, Tara, gave me a dazzling necklace. Everyone was in great spirits despite the rainy weather.

We ended dinner and walked across the street to Shout, where we had a drink, learned "the wobble", and met up with a few more people. Before long, we left Shout and endured the drizzle to end up at CosmoLava, getting a little lost along the way. We danced the night away and I had a fabulous time!

Sunday was a lazy day. My good friends, Sarah and Robert, hosted a Super Bowl party that night which was a lot of fun. I didn't really care about the game so much but I really enjoyed getting to see my friends again.

Monday, I went to my first bible study at my new church, Sardis United Methodist. I truly enjoyed the company of the women in the group and they are all incredibly supportive even though I was new. I look forward to growing in my faith along with this wonderful group.

On Tuesday, I met Ali at Hot Yoga. She did such a great job for it being her first time and even said she would come back and try it again, which is more than I did my first time. I have a love-hate relationship with hot yoga. When I do well, I love it and get a great sense of peace and accomplishment. But when I don't prepare enough and feel the overwhelming effects of the heat,

which is about 3 out of 5 times, I dislike it and debate ever going back. This Tuesday, I felt great.

Wednesday was my birthday day! Chaise, my friend and co-worker, brought in homemade chocolate chocolate cupcakes and a bunch of us went out to lunch to celebrate. The people that I work with really make my job a happy place to be. Everyone was coming over and wishing me happy birthday. After work, I met my boyfriend, sister, b-i-l, and nephew for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Alan brought me a beautiful bouquet of birthday flowers. The whole day was filled with happiness and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family who went out of their way to make me feel loved.

25 is going to be a great year!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I am having so much fun decorating my new home for Christmas. I have a real Fraiser Fir in my living room and my tiny aqua tree from years past. All the little hand-me-down decorations make it feel so warm and cozy.

I'm a Homeowner!!

HGTV makes it look so simple. You find three houses you like, you pick one, and by the end of commercial break it's yours. The actual home buying process is a little bit longer, a little bit more complicated, and a lot more emotionally draining.

In my path to home-ownership, I looked at a ton of places, varying from nice and out of my budget to just creepy, small, and unlivable. I put in offers on three different properties. Negotiated on prices. Got emotionally invested, heart-broken, super-excited and finally just relieved to have the keys. It is a process that I do not want to do for at least another 5 to 7 years.

But after all that, I finally have a place of my own. Somewhere that I can paint and hang my pictures without thinking what the landlord will care about it. I don't have to save big bags or boxes for the day my rent is up and I have to move. I can just settle and make it my home.

I have some big plans for my new place. I owe a huge thank you to my most amazing parents for helping me out this whole time and for giving up their weekend to help me paint and get everything set up before I move in. My aunt Cin surprised me on Saturday with paint brush in hand and even came back on Sunday to help pick up furniture. She is awesome!! My bf also pitched in bringing his box of tools and even went on a much needed caffeine run for us all. Greyson decided he wanted to help paint the wall with his face and then watched conveniently from my lap. It was a very busy weekend and a great way to kick-off my new adventure of being a homeowner.

My (potential) First Place!

Renting in Atlanta can be very expensive. So much so that when I worked out the numbers, I found that buying a place would actually be saving me money every month (not to mention build my equity and get me out of the rental rut).

I am super lucky to have my mom as my real estate agent. She and I have been looking all around my preferred areas of town trying to find my perfect first place. And we found it!!

After putting in offers on two other places that both didn't work out, I was about ready to throw in the towel and renew my lease with my current condo. My mom called me at work and said she found one that just came on the market and we need to go look at it on my lunch break.

Here is the tour:

(Front)

(Living Room)

(Dining Room)

(Kitchen)

(Guest Room)

(Master Bedroom)

The place is a two bedroom, two and a half bath townhouse/condo in my favorite area of town. It is a great blank slate that I am really looking forward to putting my design stamp on. I am currently under contract!! And scheduled to close in early November.

Mini Vacation

This past weekend, the BF and I went on a mini vacation up to Helen, Ga. We've both been so busy lately and it was nice to get away and just hang out, even if it was just for one night.

I left work on Friday and dropped the pup off at his pup-girlfriend's house and Alan picked me up straight from his work. We got up to Helen right around 7:30, which was nice to not have to find our way in the dark. Although it wasn't as mountainous as I was expecting North Georgia to be, the roads were definitely windy.


We stayed at a place called Bernie's. It is a quaint restaurant/B&B in a very old house. It has a lovely back porch looking onto a huge backyard/field. It is the kind of place where the proprietor wears all the hats: host, chef, etc. All the staff were very pleasant and helpful.

Arriving right around dinner time, we were hoping to eat at Bernie's restaurant but unfortunately it was completely full. So, we went to the Nacoochee Grill and had a wonderful dinner of duck tacos, shrimp and grits, and chipotle bbq. I also enjoyed a glass of the house wine, grown right around the corner at Habersham Vineyards. We ended the meal sharing dessert, a cheesecake filled chocolate mousse cake which put both of us into a food coma as soon as we got back to the B&B.

It was so nice to sleep in and wake up to the smell of bacon. After a delish breakfast of eggs, bacon, and blueberry waffles, we packed up and headed to Alpine Helen. We wasted a few hours walking around the kitschy little village waiting for the wineries to open up and ended up at a never-ending antique mall. The rooms were completely filled and the old house seemed to just keep going. The whole time we were looking around, we could hear the blue grass band on the front porch of the coffee house next door. It was very fitting.


After antiquing we ventured to a few different wineries, my favorite being Yonah Mountain Vineyards. The owners are a sweet couple from Atlanta who are living their dream of owning a vineyard. They really knew their stuff and kindly invited us to the wine festival coming up.

Alan indulged me and stopped at an organic soap store on our way out to town. We were lucky that the soaps we picked out actually smell nice because the store itself smelled so strongly that we really couldn't tell the difference between the soaps or the candles or the incense.

It was such a quick mini vacation, but I really had such a great time. The rest of the weekend was packed full, it was easy to appreciate the slow lifestyle of North Georgia even for just one night. Nice to visit once in awhile... but I do enjoy the busyness of the city and my normal life. More on the rest of the weekend later...

Best Date EVER!!!

My BF and I have been dating for just about one and a half years. I know that some couples get into a bit of a dating rut when they've been together for awhile and that everything can become routine. Dinner, Movies, Repeat. Alan, however, constantly makes me feel all the butterflies that I felt when we first started dating. He brings me flowers for no reason, he always opens the door for me, and he does hundreds of little things every day that make me feel like a princess.

This past weekend, he totally out did himself. At the beginning of the week, he told me that we were going to go on a date for Saturday but he wouldn't tell me what we were going to do. Anticipation built all week as he dropped hints and told me I had to wear jeans and closed toed shoes (which I gave a little bit of a stink about since it has been 1000 degrees outside) and I wondered what on earth we could be doing.

Saturday evening came, he picked me up and off we headed to dinner. We jointly picked a fusion Indian restaurant that happened to be right around the corner from our intended destination. After dinner, we got in the car and I was all nerves. I kept trying to guess where we could be going and Alan simply poo-pooed my every guess with a huge smile on his face.

We ended up parked outside a house... just a house. Nothing special about it. No markings, no signs. I quizzically looked at Alan. Maybe he got the address wrong. He simply smiled at me and we walked up to the door. Walking in the front door, I was immediately surrounded by a rainbow of colors. Vibrant blues, reds, greens and yellows were on the walls, ceiling, desk. It was all pieces of brightly colored glass.

We were at a glass forming studio!

The instructor greeted us and brought us to the back of the house where there was a huge shed and workshop area. He had a platter of cheeses and grapes laid out for us and my favorite beer (which Alan had called ahead and requested). I was beyond excited. Alan called me a kid in a candy store.

Our instructor went over the basics and showed us what we would be creating. It was really really hot out there and I was nervous about getting burnt or dropping the glass. He helped us both through the process of forming, heating, forming, and reheating the glass. We each made a flower and a paper weight.

It was by far the best date I have ever been on.

Me, heating the glass so it is malleable.

Me and the instructor, designing the glass flower.

Alan, picking out the colors to melt into his glass piece.

Alan and the instructor, creating his glass flower.

Alan's Flower

Alan's Paperweight

My Paperweight

My Flower

Summer Dinner Party

Last week, I had the urge to throw a dinner party. I never rarely entertain in my little condo, but the weather has been nice lately so I thought I would invite a few friends over so we could just relax and hang out. I live on the ground floor right off a courtyard that happens to have a grill which is very convenient. It was a relaxed evening with great food (if I do say so myself) and good company.

BF and Greyson waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive.

Chips and salsa, my staple appetizer.

Honey Chicken Kabobs, deeelish!

Grilled Corn on the Cobb with Old Bay.

When all (4) of my guests arrived, I got so excited to entertain and host that I completely forgot to take anymore pictures. Next time I throw a dinner party, I'll try to take more pictures than just of the food.