Summer Highlights
I meant to publish this post on Labor Day, but somehow it slipped through the cracks…
My summer quickly came to an end three weeks ago, but for many others, summer officially ended with Labor Day. I was blessed to be able to enjoy a summer off (well, aside from babysitting) and was able to do some neat things because of my flexibility! Here are the highlights from a fun-filled summer:
Being a bridesmaid in my friend’s wedding.
Celebrating Matt’s birthday while both sets of parents were visiting Atlanta.
Showering my sister with baby gifts.
Eating and relaxing in Colorado.
Summer Confessions
Six hours alone in the car yesterday left me with lots of thoughts about the summer…
-There were days when I stayed on the couch from 9 to 5
-Ever since I saw el giganto spider in the bathtub, I never showered in our sublet (I went to the gym)
-I’ve packed on a few pounds from glorious Atlanta restaurants and its not a good thing
-I only really cooked three time
-I got lonely in Atlanta when Matt was at work
-I only bought one clothing item, despite seeing a bazillion cute boutiques in the Virginia Highlands
-I watched four seasons of Say Yes To The Dress
-I got hooked on coffee again
-I spent 90% of my time this summer dreaming about a honeymoon
Last Moments in ATL
I was a little sad leaving Atlanta today, but Matt and I savored our last weekend together:
Saturday, we got lunch at a little restaurant in Midtown and knocked out some work at the coffee shop.
I just love how inexpensive the eats are down there. We shared this giant salad and a pizza for just $12!
As we were walking around Midtown, we saw a sign for an open house. And since I looove looking at real estate, we checked out some swanky new apartments.
The view was neat! If we end up returning to Atlanta, I sure hope I’m lucky enough to live in a place like this!
For dinner, we checked out one last restaurant that was one my list: South City Kitchen. As the name suggests, the restaurant serves southern food! I can’t get enough. The biscuits and corn bread hit the spot.
I ordered the Georgia trout with summer succotash, cane syrup, and a dusting of bacon. For once, Matt and I didn’t share, and I gobbled this down all by myself:) I don’t think there was an entree in all of Atlanta that I didn’t enjoy.
Of course, I tasted Matt’s and it may have been better than mine: the shrimp and mussel country captain with okra, roasted andouille, and curried-tomato broth.
We were so stuffed from dinner, that we resisted the urge to check out any area bars and made it a movie night (we ended up watching the Lady Gaga documentary on Netflix, which was very interesting!)
Sunday, we made one last visit to the awesome spinning class at Urban Body Fitness and got bagels from the tasty little shop around the corner.
I spent all afternoon packing and then we took a break at the Porter Beer Bar around the corner.
Why, oh why did we not visit this place earlier in the summer? Best selection of beer ever! I had two belgians that I had never tasted before and both were amazing!! The St. Bernardus Tokyo…
and the Kasteel Bier Rouge, which tasted JUST like cherry coke!
Dinner was planned around a fridge cleanse and ended with one last stop at the yogurt place down the street.
I just arrived back in Durham, and I’ve never been happier to be in my own space, surrounded by my own belongings! It’s been a great summer, but I’m really to resume life in Durham. Two weeks of summer left!
Read MoreRockpile Syrah & Southern Specialties
The summer is sizzlin’ down, so Matt’s company had an end-of-year celebration for the interns. Only most people were out of town, so a few of us had to eat all the food!!
The dinner was hosted by the Horseradish Grill in Buckhead, where every single thing I tasted was fabulous. Appetizers were fried green tomatoes with pecans, goat cheese, and remoulade as well as NC style pulled pork on a cornmeal pancake with slaw and bbq sauce.
Knowing that I’m into food and wine, my table let me pick the wine:) I narrowed it down to a few bold reds, and asked the server to recommend something:
The wine, oh the wine! One of the best and most unique reds I have ever tasted! Loved this so much – therefore drank way tooo much of it:)
Even the white drinkers at the table asked to switch to red after tasting this one.
I was obsessed.
We also tried another appetizer that sounded too good to be true – pimento cheese and grits fritters with country ham aioli and house made pickles!
Per usual, Matt and I shared entrees: the dry-rubbed pork chop with peach & pepper sauce, green beans, and corn mashed potatoes and…
the skate with andouille cheese grits in a lemon & butter dill sauce! Both were very impressive. The dry rub on the pork chop was perfect and the meat was very juicy. The skate was out of this world, and not to mention, huge!
The girls really wanted dessert, so we all shared some kind of caramel pound cake, the Kentucky oatmeal spice cake with homemade caramel ice cream,
and the southern pecan pie with vanilla ice cream (my favorite of the desserts). Drool.
What a heavenly experience! I also met some really cool people, so the whole night was simply a blast!!
Read MoreSpinal
We are back to: operation clean out the fridge! Matt is traveling for work all next week, so I decided to drive home on Monday. I’m pretty excited. I’ve missed Durham.
So yeah, meals are about as boring as can be: veggie burger on old cheddar garlic bread, corn, and baked beans. Still tasted pretty good though!
I opened something sweet to go along with this savory dinner: a little peach wine I bought the day we got engaged. Oh my goodness, this was even sweeter than I remember! Made me pucker just to sip it. The triangle area of NC isn’t ideal for grapes, so sweet wine is about the only thing around. It was so fun to drink this and think about our engagement though:)
I was surprisingly productive today: gym, honeymoon research, ceremony music and DJ research, dry cleaners, cleaned the apt, and peeked at bridesmaids dresses. I also took advantage of the complimentary chiropractic assessment offered through my gym. The guy did a couple of tests and asked me a bunch of questions, and I’ll go back tomorrow to learn if I have any issues. Is it just me or can any symptom be due to problems with the spine? I sure hope it’s true – I’d love to get rid of digestion issues and headaches! Anyone else out there see a chiropractor regularly?
Welcome to TBT!
I've created this blog because I'm in a bit of a quarter life crisis. Since graduating from college in 2008 and earning an advanced degree in school psychology in May, I still don't know what career path to follow. All I know is that time is moving way too fast and I find myself living only for the weekends. Bear with me as I attempt to reclaim my twenties by finding pleasure and balance in the work week and incorporating my passions of food, fashion, fitness, and fun into everyday life. 
She said what?