Burger Bar to Haute Dog Bar
Well, summer is off to a great start (knock on wood)! This weekend was totally relaxing and packed with awesome food. Our neighborhood seems so peaceful and I feel happier than I have in weeks. Matt just finished his first week of his internship, so he was pretty much content just resting and eating all weekend.
Friday night, we headed to Decatur for dinner. LOVE this area! I could definitely see myself here as a 30-something.
We grabbed a beer at the Brick Store Pub, a place we had actually visited when we were here for a wedding 3 summers ago, and that was recommended by tons of friends and commenters. The bar was just the way I remembered it, but the area seemed packed with even more neat restaurants than before.
I had a Belgian Tripel and a sample of special bacon that was shared by the man next to me:)
For dinner, we checked out Farm Burger right across the square. It seems farm-fresh, casual, self-serve restaurants with urban vibes are big here! And I love it because you get the atmosphere and flavor, but not the price. Two burgers, fries, and a farmhouse ale was $25!
My burger was topped with Georgia peaches, arugula, and a generous serving of warm goat cheese. The sweet potato fries were def above average.
It seems I became addicted to the self-serve yogurt place with by-the-weight toppings bar too! It’s just so hard to walk by and not split one.
Saturday included ‘simple decadence’ at Belly General Store. The olive oil bagels are something special and Matt and I couldn’t resist this huge peanut butter cookie after lunch.
I also checked out a gym to potentially join for the summer. Surprisingly, there aren’t too many gyms in the area. Perhaps because people seem very active in Atlanta, especially since the weather is warm so many months out of the year? I’m more of a gym person though, so I’ll probably end up joining next week.
I wanted to check out another part of the city, so we ventured over to the West Side and decided to grab a bite to eat at the JCT Kitchen bar.
I was really hoping to catch some of the live music on the awesome patio, but it started to rain:) So we got cozy in the bar and I had a glass of malbec.
I’ve been eating non-stop, so I went with a salad. I was a bit disappointed in the portion, but the flavor was awesome – it consisted of county ham, spicy peanuts, blue cheese, cracker jacks, and an apple vinaigrette over arugula.
Matt shared his shrimp and grits, which was also delicious, but small. Who puts a piece of bread in the middle of grits? Wish there had just been more grits!
Today has been rainy, but I managed to run outside and work on wedding stuff. I had planned on a trip to the grocery store for dinner supplies, but when I realized that both Matt and I will be traveling this week, I suggested we use part of our grocery budget to grab dinner out again:) We haven’t been buying many groceries over these transition weeks, so we’ve been reallocating the funds so that we can eat out on weekends. Despite all the food we’ve eaten this weekend, we really do keep a tight budget each month and then supplement when we want to do something extra.
Anyway, we decided to check out the neighborhood hot dog bar – HD1. It’s yet another simple, industrial space serving inexpensive haute dogs with unique toppings.
I tried a Fieldroast veggie dog with sweet pepper relish, fried green tomatoes, sweet pickle, and bbq sauce. This was delightful! And the bun was toasted!
Matt had a traditional dog with pulled pork and slaw and his was equally as good.
And we got complementary waffle fries because our server left the tomatoes off my dog at first. I never thought I’d love a hot dog restaurant, but I do! Next time, I’ve got to try the carrot dog and the peanut butter bread pudding.
This weekend was a blast, but we’ll probably have to calm down with the eating out, at least for a week or two. We’re traveling four weekends this summer, so we actually only have a handful of weekends together in Atlanta. I’m going to attempt to find a balance between trying all of the neat places that people have recommended and making sure my bank account doesn’t take a hit. I’m also fitting in extra walking to make more room in my body!
And bringing my comforter from home was definitely a good choice! I’m sleeping so much better with an extra pillow and a real blanket. After this weekend, the ATL feels a bit more like home:)
Read MoreProtest
Does the monotony of everyday life ever make you feel like a boring person? I’m not very spontaneous anymore because the self discipline that comes with being an adult has taken over. I once read that self discipline is a limited resource… Since graduation I feel like, as an adult, I’m supposed to just work, exercise, eat healthy meals, and save money during the week. I think the thing I miss most about college is the feeling that the only thing I’m really supposed to be doing is learning.
Anyway, I got home from work and decided to protest being an adult. I skipped my workout, ate cookies that arrived in the mail (thanks to Matt’s mom!!), fell asleep on the couch at 5 o’clock, avoided my to-do list with five episodes of House Hunters, and ate cereal for dinner.
Sometimes, ya just want to feel like a college kid!
I called Matt and asked him to pick up a movie.
Fourth on the Fifth
Sorry for the day-late recap of the 4th. I’m still running around, trying to get at least a little bit organized before we leave for our 10-day trip. I had another interview today and two more tomorrow, so I’ve had to spend timing preparing for those rather than unpacking.
The holiday was perfectly relaxing though, and it was nice to get away from boxes and furniture assembly for a day. No one in the family really wanted the stress of packing up everything for a weekend trip, so we met in Virginia for a hike and picnic. We did a nice four mile loop around the lake and then set up shop in a picnic shelter. Despite the sunny skies, there were rolls of thunder, so the swimming area was actually closed for most of the afternoon. We passed the time with a family game of charades.
Though I was on a roll at the beginning, the others pulled ahead and I tied [my] Matt for third place.
Luckily, there was still a prize for third place! We took home the Mother Earth Endless River Kolsch, but haven’t opened it yet.
I was pretty sweaty and sticky, so I braved the dark, cold showers and changed into a dress. You can see who got the ghostly skin in the family:)
Given that the past couple of days have been hectic, I was exempted from contributing a dish to the picnic. My mom and sister did all of the work and the food was awesome.
The usual suspects made an appearance – pasta and fruit salads,
lots of Great Harvest breads with cheeses and hummus,
and smoked salmon.
Dessert was Great Harvest Savannah bars and cookies (this plate times three). My favorite course of the day!
The fireworks in Durham were rained out and we were pretty tired from the day, so we just spent the evening working on some furniture assembly. One day I’ll show you a picture. For now, it’s time for bed yet again.
Read MoreDark, Stormy, Nutty
I love this whole having time on the weekends thing. I think I’m still recovering from being booked during the month of May. Despite the chilly weather, Friday even was nice and relaxed. I met Matt downtown afterwork and we grabbed a drink at the Intercontinental Hotel. We had planned on sitting outside on the water at one of the new Seaport restaurants, but decided it was too cold and windy.
I still enjoyed a nautical drink – a pineapple twist on a traditional dark and stormy. Also, the spiced nuts were wonderful and we accidentally finished off this martini glass before dinner.
Once home, we warmed up with a Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout. It was fabulous and made me miss coffee because the flavor was pretty prominent. Definitely going on the top beer list.
Matt whipped up some fannetastic black bean burgers on Thursday night, so we just had to throw them on the skillet with a slice o bleu.
We got cozy on the couch beach chairs with Mad Men and called it a night. But not before eating one of these morsels from the freezer. Man, the consistency of these is just so perfect.
Today has been all moving prep with spinning and groceries in between. But I’m about to take a break to go out to dinner!
Read MoreIced
I spent my afternoon baking! I was in charge of dessert for an end-of-year party tomorrow night. I know I much prefer homemade dessert, so I figured everyone else would too.
I was kind of dreading coming home and dirtying up the kitchen, but as soon as I got started, I was reminded of how much I enjoy baking! Although, I do not do well around endless amounts of dough…
I mixed up the dough and then let it chill while I went to spinning. It was an hour-long class and it was really tough today…but felt good in the end.
I used a simple sugar cookie recipe from the Joy of Baking, and the end result was just how I like ‘em. Moist, thick, and nearly raw on the inside…
But they looked a little plain…
I was a little sloppy with the bag, but I smoothed these over with a spoon after I was finished.
And of course, I sampled two. And then went back for another. Success.
I’m off to bed and I have back to back gatherings tomorrow! See ya.
Read More
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?