Girl Drink Drunk
The cocktail trend has really run the gamut the past couple of years from pomegranate everything to the floating lychee garnish to scores of drinks that end in “tini” to the recent “south of the border” influx on bar menus (personally, I think people just like saying words like Caipirinha and Mojito, they just roll off the tongue).
Cocktail consumption goes in stages – with a noticeable divide running between the pre and post college imbibing style. And as there’s an increase in salary and social functions where you can’t act like an arsehole anymore (weddings, work events, holidays with significant other’s family) one has to be a bit more circumspect.
No Place Like Home
This year, the idea of travel has been seriously tweaked. With words like staycation added into everyday vernacular, the notion of stepping out and exploring your own city is becoming common practice. I have always thought there’s merit to that, down economy or not, I just love the idea of wandering around your own city streets. When we travel we often do things we wouldn’t normally do in our everyday life, but this doesn’t have to be limited to travel that takes us far from home.
It’s fair to say that I have mixed feelings about B&Bs. On one hand, I’ve seen my share of exquisite looking accommodations; on the other hand, my friend’s anniversary B&B stay replete with an Egyptian-themed room (think pyramid and sphinx wallpaper) sounded so funny it made me NEVER want to book a stay. But more commonly, the average B&B boasts plaid and toile décor, homemade quilts, cedar chests, breakfast casseroles, chatty innkeepers, and liquor you bootlegged in. No thanks.
Enter Stonehurst Place, an eclectic mix of eco-chic meets clean European lines sprinkled with southern charm. It is Atlanta’s only EarthCraft house and my kind of B&B (if we’re being technical, it’s actually called a boutique inn). The original house was built in 1896 by George Hinman for his wife Cara Farnsworth Hinman, then renovated in 2007 when Barb Shadomy purchased it and transformed it in to what it is today.
The One Before the One
When I began dating the man who was to become my husband I had this relationship epiphany; I call it “the one before the one.”
When I think about all the boys (boys, yes, in the truest sense of the word) I had dated before meeting my husband, I realized how much time, energy and emotion I had wasted on these ones before the ONE.
But, I am in good company – this has happened to just about every one I know and it goes a little something like this…
My Goodies
I’m reading this book called Not Buying It by Judith Levine. It’s been on my list of reads for about as long as it’s been published (two years) and I’m enjoying it immensely (your local library is a wonderful thing). It’s pretty fitting to be reading now, with the current state of the economy and the average American’s debt level hovering in the stratosphere. I’m completely fascinated by this work. It was written just after Saddam Hussein was found in that spider hole (circa 2003), and it blows my mind how relevant it is to what’s happening right now.
Jammin’ on the One
I am usually no good with these sorts of things – recipe exchanges. Well, if we’re being totally honest, recipes and exchanges that involve spontaneity. I’m good with things that involve advance notice of in-law visits or making something sweet concocted with peppermint extract during the month of December – I can handle that sort of preparation.
My twin sister is a funny little thing. We’re very similar in some ways, but opposites in a lot more ways. She’s very willy-nilly and I love her for it – willy-nilly doesn’t really come into mind when people describe me, so I’ve heard.
Carrot Cake & Wine
There’s a really great Stereophonics song called Carrot Cake & Wine. My interpretation of that song is that a big chunk of life is about finding that sliver of something you’re passionate about, and a quiet place to savor it.
I’ve always liked the sentiment behind the song and I see the analogy reflected in so much of life. And so it seemed the perfect combination for the season – the deep red of the wine, the muted ivory of the icing, and cheery freckles of spices and lovely orange carrots for the cupcakes. So, here’s to all the bites of carrot (cup)cake(s) and sips of wine you can handle.
The Sunshine in my Mind
So…here we are. I must admit this is all a little surreal. I’ve wanted to do a website for ages and have had some form of it in my mind for about that long. It’s taken me a bit to get here…an almost 6 year stint as a producer at CNN, a senior publicist for a boutique public relations firm in Atlanta, and freelance writing around all that.
