{memorial day weekend funsies}

I know Memorial Day was sooo two weeks ago, but I never got to share all of the fun adventures we had that weekend. Some dear friends and family came into town to celebrate the holiday. It was so much fun to have them here---we hardly slept!

We started the weekend with a trip to Turner Field for Jesse’s and my first Braves game. We had a blast! Our friends are true Braves fans so it was no wonder that they were able to find some awesome ticket deals. We purchased the family ticket plan which came out to $82 a couple and included parking, a $10 gas card, a souvenir brochure book, hotdog, large drink, and excellent seats in the most shaded part of the park. What a steal! It was a particularly hot day so it was nice to be out of the sun.

 

 

 

During the game the section next to us initiated the wave and after a few trial and errors, they got the entire stadium involved. It must’ve created some magic because one of the Braves hit a home run and everyone in the stadium won a free Moe’s burrito! So fun!

At some point Home Depot sponsored a tool run which was tons of fun to watch (probably not as fun for the guys in costume). Baseball games are always fun to watch but my favorite moments are the mini games, kiss cams, and trivia spots.

 

What a great game! We are happy that we got to share that first with our friends.

 

After the game we went home, changed, then headed back out for a yummy dinner at Yardhouse. The weather was so nice that we sat out on the patio. Yardhouse is very cool; I’ve been there a few times and have always had a great experience. My first visit to Yardhouse was in LA---they had the best happy hours. The one in Atlanta is fairly new and located over in Atlantic Station. They are a taphouse so you can expect a wide beer selection. They also have some specialty cocktails which are delish---my favorite is the Pineapple Express. The boys each decided to go for the yard glass which is awkward to drink out of. Let’s play a game shall we?

Haha. That was fun.

 

 

On Sunday another one of our friends joined us and we spent the day out in the yard playing cornhole and enjoying a few cool drinks. It made for such a relaxing afternoon.

 

 

That evening, Jesse’s sister and her husband arrived and our group was complete! We went out to find some food---which was incredibly difficult to locate. We learned that despite the fact it was a holiday weekend, things still close early on Sundays in A-town. Boo! It kind of foiled our plan for a fun food crawl. It was okay in the end as we ended up at Felinis Pizza. We couldn’t complain, the pizza was great and the beer even better! It was a very chill evening and the perfect opportunity for everyone to chat and get to know each other.

Remember how I said that I love to make brunch for our overnight guests? Monday I woke up early and went all out on brunch. I was hoping that everyone would stay asleep a little longer so I could surprise them, but they decided to be early birds and come down to watch the magic happen. I felt like I was taunting them as I put stuff out on the table. The good smells wafting out of the kitchen didn’t help either. Everyone seemed to dig in happily when it was all finished and returned for seconds of their favorites. I was so distracted by the goodness going into my belly that I forgot to take pictures of everyone eating. I’m sure they didn’t mind.

Oh what a fun weekend! Nothing is better than spending time with the people nearest and dearest to you.

{a-town eats: 5 seasons prado}

{5 seasons prado}

A few weeks ago Jesse and I had a hot date night and decided to check out 5 Seasons Prado. 5 Seasons is actually a local craft brewery with some pretty excellent brews. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals and have added it to our list of favorite places.

In summary:

  

Atmosphere:

{open layout}

{perfect for large parties}

It was raining pretty hard the night we visited, but luckily 5 seasons was so warm inside that we completely forgot about the crummy weather. Despite having such an open layout, the lighting and table placements allow for intimacy amongst smaller parties such as ours. I loved all the wood accents and stone details. I imagine this would be a great place for a private party or rehearsal dinner. They had a few games playing on their smaller screens---yet they stay away from the whole sports bar feel. They also had a large projection screen which implies to me that they might have some big events from time to time.

Service: Our waitress was M.I.A. for most of the night. We had to know everything we wanted every time we saw her as it was likely we wouldn’t see her again for a long while. I have strong feelings about this. I hate when they hover over you and barely let you enjoy your conversation, but I also can’t stand when you never see them at all. I worked in this industry in college and no matter how busy it got, there was always a way to make every table feel taken care of (outside of crazy needy patrons). It didn’t take very long to receive our starters, but the food took awhile. Luckily, it was well worth the wait.

Food:

{i will return just for this}

{so good}

{i needed some “mussel” to lift this plate…hehe}

For his main course, Jesse got the Georgia Organic Grass Fed Burger w/Natural Cut Fries & I got Beer Cheese Soup for my starter and Beer Braised PEI Mussels for my entrée. We both split a Housemade Spent Grain Bread Boule which was very reasonably priced. From the bites I stole, I thought Jesse’s burger was amazing. Those who say they can’t understand the hype about organic meat have never had this burger. It was cooked perfectly and seasoned just right. Jesse thoroughly enjoyed it and reminded me that I did not order it sooo…nananana boo boo. My beer cheese soup was soooo good. It had a nice and smooth texture, with earthy flavors and a surprising kick. I ate every spoonful but resisted licking the bowl (not too ladylike). The mussels were pretty good; not the best I’ve ever had. The portion I received was so hearty I was stuffed before I could finish. They also added bread and corn so it felt more like a meal (despite the fact that it was on the small plates menu). I love when restaurants don’t skimp on portions…it makes me want to go back because I know I won’t have to order ten things off the menu in order to make a full meal. We didn’t order any dessert (I could barely move by the time we got to the end of our meal), but next time we will have to save room. I did try a glass of their cheapest cabernet which was very good, and Jesse got a few of their brews which he thought were rather good.  

Moola: All the food prices are very reasonable. We had a groupon now deal which cut our bill down some. If I ordered everything I wanted off the menu, our final tab may have been a bit ridiculous and Jesse would have had to roll me out of the restaurant. I would say it was in the upper mid-range. The drink prices also fell in the reasonable range. No need to shell out $15 to quench your thirst.

Additional Notes:

{Enjoying my vino}

The drink menu had good variety. I was very pleased with the wine selection.

I think we’ll be back again sooner than later…I now have a craving for the beer cheese soup.

{a-town adventures: crate & barrel re-opening featuring richard blais!}

{it’s Richard Blais}

Hello friends!

Miss me? I know it has been a million and one years since I’ve updated this precious little blog, but never fear, I’m back! I have been working on some great new recipes and posts for all of you…as well as some other fun surprises!

A few weeks ago I received an email from Crate & Barrel about their store re-opening in Buckhead and while I usually just glance at these messages (they typically just announce sales and discounts), for some reason I decided to read this one all the way through. To my surprise it announced that one of my favorites of the Top Chefs---Richard Blais---was going to be at the first day of the grand re-opening, sampling inspirations from the menu of his new (not-yet open) restaurant, The Spence. I don’t know how many of you are Top Chef fans, but it’s one of my absolute favorite shows. I just love how creative the chefs are in each of the challenges. They inspire me to get crazy in the kitchen and challenge myself. I could not miss this! I grabbed my hubster and we headed on over to Crate & Barrel early Saturday morning. We browsed a bit and furnished our dream house---Crate & Barrel is certainly our style---until finally we could meet the man of the hour. Rather, until I could completely embarrass myself in front of Mr. Blais. I wasn’t going to share this story, but what the heck…it’s kind of funny.

Jesse and I were hanging out by the rugs when I turned to see Richard Blais walking towards the back of the store. I ignored the fact that he looked like he was searching for something and let my brain gush into a starstruck hyper drive. Mind you, I have never been starstruck in my life---not that I meet many celebrities on a daily basis. Why? Oh why now? My wonderful husband witnessed the whole episode by the way and makes sure to remind me regularly of how I embarrassed him (even though he had no idea who the man was). Anyway, all at once the following thoughts ran through my head in no particular order: That’s Richard Blais! Is he leaving? I haven’t met him yet. I want him to notice me. What do I do? And all that resulted was an exploded “HI!” ----OMG! Whaaaaaaattttt? HI??? Immediately after it came out of my mouth I completed regretted it, especially after he looked at me with the most puzzled face I’ve ever seen. And what did I do, I ran into the rugs and hid. Yep, I hid from Richard Blais.

{hiding from Richard Blais…notice the traumatized look on my face}

I wish this story ended here, but of course it doesn’t. In typical Katie fashion, I thought I could salvage my first impression with this famed chef. He actually was not leaving the store, just walking away for a minute. He returned to the spot where he was greeting fans and we actually could not avoid him as the good food was at his table. I grabbed a very reluctant Jesse and we walked over, waited our turn, and then introduced ourselves. I mentioned the embarrassing moment, which he remembered---how wonderful…ack---and I told him I ran and hid because “I was searching for Narnia” Whaaaaattt???? Why was I spewing all this word vomit?!!!! He of course, did not get it, so I quickly switched subjects and started talking super fast about how great his food was, got him to take a picture with us, then at the first moment that he turned away, I ran…again!!! How pleasant. Well at least it made for a great story. I just hope that the next time I meet someone this awesome, I remember to take some Pepto.

At the end of the day, we had tons of fun, ate extremely well, and found several inspirations for our future home.

{maybe the storm was a premonition}

{look at all the beautiful green}

{i want one of everything…haha if only}

{our compromise couch…sleek for me, plush for jesse}

{these pillows were so soft}

{caught you!}

{enjoying some falafel}

{duvet anyone?}

{jesse’s favorite bar set-up, so sleek and practical}

{i love farmhouse tables}

{more fabric choices than you could imagine}

{so many options, we may need a bigger house…haha}

{jesse’s favorite rug…but how do you clean it?}

Do any of you have an awesome celebrity encounter story? Please share! I’d be happy to post!

So long for now!

The Mrs.