Setting off the Alarm - oops

Yesterday was Day 1 of dog sitting for the cutie, Mabel, Stephen's pup.  He's out of town for the weekend and I get dog duty.  I grew up with a dog in the house, the best dog in the world, Baren, and I used to dog sit for an old boss all the time, so I know how to take care of a dog.  But for what ever reason I was really nervous about watching Mabel.  Maybe because she hasn't had tons of time to get to know me and trust me or maybe because Stephen and I are so new, but I don't want to mess anything up.

I was also nervous about setting off the house alarm.  It's not hard - there are 5 buttons to push to disarm and 6 to push to arm.  Everything went great getting into the house.  Then it was time to leave.  I put Mabel away, set the alarm and left the house, all good.  Then I realized my keys were in the house.  Back in I went, causing Mabel to cry and I couldn't find my keys.  Remember how I said there are 5 buttons to push to disarm... yeah, I only hit 4.  The alarm went off.  I'm such an idiot.  HA.  The nice man at the security company called and we had a laugh.  Now I'm even more nervous.  It's not hard, I should be able to do this.

Last night was also the last game of the Magic v Hawks series and I went with Micah.  We had seats in the Suite on Friday night and last night we were in the lower level.  As we were walking into the stadium I joked that we'd be on the KISS CAM.  He didn't believe me.  Well what the heck do you think happened - we were on the freaking KISS CAM!!  I turned bright red and put my head down, he laughed, smiled and shook his head no and then hugged me.  My DREAM of being on the big screen came true, and I'm with a friend.  I've been getting texts all night and day from people who saw us.  Hilarious.  I can't wait for work to find out.

Grilled Cheese and The Fighter

Last night was a stormy night in the South so I didn't have too many plans other than to stay inside and hope the tornadoes didn't come my way.  My heart goes out to everyone in Tuscaloosa after last night's storm.  If you haven't seen the video of the tornado, go check it out.  We knew these storms were heading to Georgia so we were a little nervous.

candid shot, had to be sneaky, sorry for the bad lighting :)

The night started with making dinner - Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup.  Doesn't sound new, I make it all the time with two slices of Kraft American cheese and some Campbell's Soup, the easiest meal next to a bowl of cereal in my house.  But this was different, Stephen was cooking and added his own touch.  We had the V-8 Tomato Soup - why didn't I know about this before?!?!  I've converted from my traditional soup in a can, I won't go back.  Then our sandwiches had not one, not two, but three cheeses and BACON!  

Dinner was so simple, and SO delicious.  This was our second package of bacon this week... not sure how I feel about that.  

Then we headed off to watch The Fighter with friends.  After all of the Oscar hype a few months ago, I knew the movie would be good but I wasn't expecting how great Christian Bale was going to be playing Dicky Eklund.  There were times I forgot who was acting.  And then the interview at the end of the film with the actual brothers - Dicky was so similar to Christian's character it was frightening.  He was well deserving of that Oscar.  Amy Adams was also great in the film, such a dramatic change from her usual roles.  I highly recommend the movie to anyone who hasn't seen it already.  The boxing scenes are tough to watch at times, but the acting is spectacular. 

This morning I read that the mother of the real Micky and Dicky, Alice Ward, who was played by Melissa Leo, passed away last night.  Very sad news, especially after just watching the movie.  She was survived by 9 children and if their family is anything like in the film, she was loved by all of them.  

Midway Pub

Last night was game 5 of the Magic vs Hawks Playoff series and being a fan of both teams I had to go out to watch the game.  (Free cable at my house is officially gone - no more Today Show in the morning with breakfast)

The usual two, Micah and Jessica, and I decided, after MUCH discussion, to head to The Midway Pub in East Atlanta Village.  I love heading out to parts of town that I'm not very familiar with and I was a bit nervous about EAV.  I'm not sure why it makes me nervous, maybe because it's more "hipster" than I am used to?  But hipsters don't scare me, I can take on most of the hipster guys... I'll have to think about that more.  I should have learned by now that my friends know what they're talking about, we had a great time.

The bar has a HUGE patio (no TVs outside) and it's pretty spacious indoors as well.  The service was HORRIBLE, but I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and blame it on being a Tuesday night with trivia and not having their "A team" on staff that night.  We had a beer cheese appetizer, it was to die for, and I had a turkey burger for dinner.  I'd just finished a run before heading out and the beer cheese pretty much cancelled out my hard work so I opted for the healthy burger with a side of green beans.  

The Magic crushed the Hawks so the series heads back to Atlanta tomorrow night.  Fingers crossed for tickets!!

Six Feet Under

Last night I had packed with plans and didn't really know where I was going to fit my new thing of the day.  Luckily where we decided to go to dinner was new to me and just perfect!

I had to hit up my all-time favorite store, Anthropologie, while it was still Friends and Family time to get some new clothes - success!  I'm not sure what it is these days, but the maxi dresses are long enough for me!  I can't help but to buy them!!

This is my new one from last night.  I can't wait to wear it.  It's going to be the perfect weekend dress, the perfect dress for work with a cardigan and the perfect going out dress to dress up with jewelry.  LOVE IT.

Then it was off to Ikea to look around.  I got some new bowls and curtains for my living room.  I know what I'll be doing one night this week.  I'd like to have my apartment 100% ready when my parents come up in July.  Not much more to go, but still have some furniture shopping to do.  I really want this dresser.  I don't have a linen closet so all of my towels and blankets are still in two boxes by my bathroom - not pretty.  I could have not bought the dress and bought the dresser... but I can't wear the dresser out!  I also need to make sure I know where I can put it.  I love that it's red!  All of my other furniture is black, but I have a lot of color in my bedroom so I don't think it will be a problem.

After we finished our shopping it was time for Official Date #2 with Stephen.  Now, let's be honest, he and I have spent a lot of time together the past two weeks and it's been great, but last night counts as our official second date.  It was perfect.  We went to Six Feet Under on 11th Street.  The Green Roof of the restaurant has one of the best views of the Atlanta skyline.  You can see Buckhead, Atlantic Station, Midtown and Downtown.  We got there at sunset so we saw the sun go down and the lights come on.  Beautiful.  I'll be bringing my dad and step mom when they're in town.  I had the shrimp boil - delish.  So much food, but I had some help.

This isn't a picture I took last night, but it gives you an idea...

Well, that was my evening.  Shopping and taking in the Atlanta skyline for the first time from Six Feet Under on a second date.  There will be a lot more with Stephen in the future...

Happy Easter!

This past weekend was a blast - it seems to be a pretty common trend these past few weeks.

Friday was a half day at work and I took full advantage of the time off to get some sleep.  I haven't napped for that long in years.  Then it was off to the Magic vs Hawks game for the NBA Playoffs.  What a great game!  The score was so close in the 4th Quarter and the Hawks didn't secure the win until a crazy 3-point play with 4 seconds left on the clock.  The arena went nuts.  Then it was out with some friends late Friday night.

Saturday was a planned don't-get-out-of-bed day.  There was yummy food all day and lots of laying around listening to music.  Then we bounced from BBQ to BBQ all over town.  It's nice when you get to meet new people and enjoy good food.

Sunday was Easter Sunday and I'm a holiday orphan here in Atlanta.  My family is so far away I don't have family time for most holidays so I have to rely on friends to take me in.  I went with Stephen to a big Easter lunch at his best friend's house.  I also met his mom and grandma at the house.  Crazy that it happened already, but they are wonderful and it was such a great day.  I met so many people and each and every one was wonderfully sweet.  We watched the Braves game and then the Hawks game and played some cards then it was time to head home.

I don't think I could have packed more fun into 2.5 days.  I'm a pretty lucky lady.  Starting this weekend my weeks are going to get busy with friends and family events.  I can't wait!

The Help

I read this book a few months ago and I couldn't put it down.  What a fabulous story.  Today I saw the movie preview for the first time and I'm overly excited for it to come out!  I really hope they stay close to the book in the film and I don' think that should be hard to do.  The casting is amazing - the actors look so much like how I pictured the women in the book, I love it.

If you haven't already, run to the store and grab the book.  I can't wait for the movie!  Check out the trailer.

New beers - yum

I love Taco Mac.  I love all the new and different beers I get to try when I go there.  For those of you who don't know, Taco Mac has one of the most extensive beer lists in Atlanta and it changes every day from location to location.  If you are a member of the Brewniversity they keep track of the different beers you've tried and when you hit certain numbers you get prizes.  I'm up to 49 beers - since Dec 2009.  I don't have the regular beers like Coors Light on my list, so I'm sure the number should be higher.  I'm pretty impressed with myself.  Last night I added two new beers.

The first was the Coney Island Albino Python made by the Shmaltz Brewing Comany.  It is a white lager brewed with ginger, orange peel and crushed fennel seed.  Very unique, but very delicious.  I like lighter beers most days and this one definitely hit the spot.

The second beer I tried was the Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier.  YUM!  I've never seen this one in the stores, but if I do, it's mine, all mine.  You can definitely taste the blackberries in the beer and the aroma is delightful.  It almost tastes like a breakfast cereal bar, according to Daniel.  I agree with him.

That's the bonus of Taco Mac, you get to try new beers every time you go and every now and then you hit the jackpot and find one or two that will stick with you.  I hope to find these at the liquor store soon.

Just a flick of the wrist

Yesterday after work I met some friends at Piedmont Park.  We wanted to hang out, but enjoy the wonderful evening weather and throw a ball or two around.  We had a soccer ball, a frisbee and a football. I'm good with the first two, but throwing a football has never been a skill of mine.  I can't seem to get the spiral.  So the evening became "get Katie to throw a perfect spiral night".  Awesome, because I'm so good with taking criticism from friends.  Especially when it's about something that I can't do well.  I was pretty nervous.  THEN I GOT IT.  Whoo hoo! I learned to throw a spiral.  It's a completely different motion than what I do when hitting a volleyball, so it took some concentration.

Some days, it's the little things that make me happy.  I was also complimented on my accurate and fast frisbee skills.  The early Saturday morning frisbee games last year seem to have paid off.

Why are weekends so short?

This past weekend was beyond wonderful.  Not a single moment was I unhappy, or stressed or bored, it was just fantastic.

Friday night was pretty stormy so a few of us went to a friends house and played a dirty version of the game Apples to Apples, Cards Against Humanity.  It was hilarious.  It's not a game for those who are afraid of being politically incorrect or those who are afraid of some pretty graphic terms.  There were several moments where we laughed until we cried at some of the phrases or groupings of words.  I'd played Apples to Apples before and loved it, CAH takes it to another level.  Love it.

Saturday morning was pretty hectic while I was getting ready for the big, pre Dogwood Festival BBQ we were having at my house.  Me and my two neighbors hosted the event and it was a huge success.  The house is pretty much perfect for large outdoor gatherings.  We had time in the backyard and then moved to the front yard and continued to enjoy the weather.  I'm pretty lucky that I spend all day, 5 days a week, with so many great people and then we all still want to see each other on the weekends too.  It was also a chance for Stephen to meet a huge group of my friends and everything went well, but I wasn't worried.  It was our first big BBQ at the house and I love how easy it was.  I can't wait to do it again.

Sunday was spend recovering from Saturday which meant sleeping in until noon before I started all of my "chores".  I got all the must-do stuff done pretty quickly then went back to the Dogwood Festival to actually get to see some of the art.  Because the weather was so nice it was PACKED.  I didn't buy anything because the prices are pretty steep, but it was fun to look around and people watch.

The weekend finished watching some hockey and eating ice cream and drinking some beer.  Pretty spectacular.

I can't wait to see what this weekend has in store for me.

Top Flr

Let me start by saying - I love this place.  I drive by this place every day on my way to work because it's at the end of my street.  I've been dying to go since I moved in to my apartment in January.  It always looks like it has a good group of people inside and it looks like a cool vibe.  I was 100% correct on both AND the food is amazing.

We started with an appetizer of mussels and a side of their mac n cheese.  A direct quote from my date, "the mussels are divine."  Yes, I gave him crap for saying that the rest of the date, but he was right.

And the mac n cheese - definitely a top 3 in the city.   Then it was time for our main courses.  I had the Pan Seared Halibut and Stephen had the Duck Confit Pizza.  Now in all honesty, I don't think we could have made a bad decision, but both entrees we selected were delicious.  I wanted dinner to last all night the food was so good.

The place was packed and service not the best, but I'll give the place a pass because the food was so amazing and I was with great company.  We each had a drink before we got our table and we had another with dinner.  The wine list is pretty expensive, but worth it.

If you've made it to the end of this post, then you know I was on a date with a new guy, Stephen.  We met Friday at the Braves tailgate, he's friends with my friend, Micah.  We hung out a few times before our date when I was sick, but last night was the official First Date.  It went very well, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

What's the big deal?

I'm pretty lucky, my apartment is in a walkable part of town and it allows me to get out and do things without having to worry about parking or driving home after drinking.  I won't live in Midtown forever, so while I'm here I plan to do as much walking and exploring as I can fit into my few years.

On these walks, I often pass a pretty large Starbucks with a nice patio.  The inside and patio of the coffee shop are always full, no matter what time of day I walk or drive by.  It made me curious - what do these people do in Starbucks that makes it so much fun.  Maybe I'm just late to the game, but I've never been one to pack up my computer or a book and head to Starbucks in the chance that I'll get one of their comfortable chairs to sit in for an hour or two.  I don't see the benefits to that.  I love my couch at home, why would I leave?  And at my home I have wine.

So last night I tried it out.  After my run (after only a few weeks I can definitely run longer than I could before) I showered, ate dinner and then packed up my stuff and walked to Starbucks.  Like I suspected it was packed and I had to sit at a weird, uncomfortable high top table until a chair or table opened up.  Eventually I did get one of the giant chairs by the window which was nice, but it didn't beat my oversized chair at home.  I stayed for an hour reading my book and downloading a new one to my Kindle.  It wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be but if people are going there to meet other people or to be scene, it's the wrong place.

Things I noticed:
1. 90% of people in Starbucks are on their computers.  80% of those people are on Facebook.
2. Nobody talks to the person sitting next to them, even though they are sharing the same table and electrical outlet.
3. The music was so loud that even people on cell phones (I was one of them for a little bit) were difficult to hear - thank goodness.
4.  As soon as your coffee is done, it's weird to just sit there reading/working.  I had to leave as soon as I was finished.
5.  The patio would have been nice with a dog or a friend - but there are so many other more interesting places than Starbucks in Midtown
6.  Speaking of electrical outlets, there must have been one every 5 feet

I Scream for Ice Cream!!!

Yesterday Ben & Jerry's was giving out FREE ICE CREAM CONES until 8:00pm.  If you know me, you'll know that there is not an ice cream that I enjoy more than B&J.  They were even the focus of an entire semester of work in college.  I love me some Half Baked.  My good friend, Jessica, and I decided we'd head over after we each got home from work and grabbed a little dinner.  We headed over around 7:15.  This is what we saw...

The longest line for ice cream that I've ever seen. It was a block long.  Now we really wanted some ice cream, but we didn't want to stand in line for that long.  So off we were to the nearest Cold Stone.  We pull in - IT'S CLOSED!  WTF.  We could have easily headed home, but we wanted some ice cream so we turned to Yelp to help us out.  The nearest place that showed up was Jake's Ice Cream, so off we went.  A few detours and wrong turns later we arrived to the CUTEST PLACE!

It turns out the building is a co-op and there are quite a few businesses that operate out of the one location, Jakes was the only one that was still open.  Also inside was a cooking class studio, lunch place, a giant living room area with chairs and sofas, games and books.  We were so very excited we stumbled upon this little gem of a place.  Believe me, we were definitely on streets we've never been on before, yet it wasn't too far from home.  I got a strawberry shortcake ice cream waffle cone and Jessica got an amazing chocolate mixture and we sat outside and took it all in.  We also signed up for information from the cooking class, I'll post about that if we end up going.

Sometimes what you really want doesn't happen - but make the best of it and find something better!

I'm back!

I know, I know.  I've not posted in a few days but it's been crazy busy at work and I was sick this weekend so nothing really got done at all.  I'll update as much as I can on the days that I missed. 


Last Wednesday was our Dinner Club night with a Mexican theme.  YUMMY!  I brought an Apple Enchilada Dessert.  Basically, and apple pie in tortillas instead of pie crust.  

The ingredients were pretty easy, see above.  You probably have most of that in your pantry right now.  It was one of the easiest desserts I've ever made.  I got a lot of compliments on them and I'm pretty proud of how they turned out.  

• 1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling
• 6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
2. Spoon fruit evenly onto all tortillas, sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down on lightly greased 8x8 baking pan.
3. Bring margarine, sugars and water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
4. Pour sauce evenly over tortillas; sprinkle with extra cinnamon on top if desired. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
5. Makes 6 large tortillas; may be cut in half to serve 12.

My house smelled wonderful for days, too.  

Thursday night I went out with a few friends to see a new band at a venue I've never been to.  It was pretty fun.  Good music, not who I would normally listen to, but I had a great time.  

Friday was a big day, so big that I took a half day off of work to fit all of the fun in.  Friday was Opening Day for the Braves.  My friend's friends set up a HUGE tailgate, 13 kegs this year, and it's a party. This year was year 4 or 5 of The Big Bang.  There seemed to be some confusion on how many years it had been going on.  I guess that happens with 10+ kegs at one event.  The Braves won Friday night, the only game of the series.  It was a blast.  It's always fun to meet new people and go to a Braves game.  Maybe it's because I grew up in a city that didn't have a professional baseball team, but I don't take the Braves for granted.  I love going to games and I'll go any night I have tickets.  GO BRAVES!

Saturday morning is when things went downhill.  I woke up and wasn't feeling 100% right and by the end of the night I was feeling pretty bad.  I went to the drive-in with Jessica and Micah and I slept through the second movie I was so tired and cold, even though it was 80 degrees outside.  

The rest of the weekend I was sick, in an apartment without AC.  I even missed work on Monday which I haven't done in a very long time.  I'm feeling better today, not 100%, but I'm back at work and PRAYING that I'll have AC when I get home today.

Sorry for the long post!

Back to High School

I'm still struggling with how to keep motivated to run 4x a week.  I want to run, I know I'll feel better when I'm done, but some days I can't get myself off the couch.  One problem I was having was with the music I was listening to.  I have some good, upbeat stuff, but I don't want to get bored.  So, I went back to my club volleyball days in high school and thought about what I would use to pump myself up before games.  One CD came to mind - Booty Mix 2.

It's full of '90s classics and just what I needed.  I bought Booty Mix 2 and it's sister, Booty Mix 3 on Amazon.com and they were delivered yesterday.  I made a new playlist for my iphone and I hit the road.  Check out the songs:

1. Shake A Lil' Somethin' - 2 Live Crew
2. Hear What I Hear - Kilo
3. Scarred - Luke
4. Heiny Heiny - 95 South
5. Give It All You Got - Afro-rican
6. Tootsie Roll - 69 Boyz
7. 2 Much Booty (In The Pants) - Soundmaster T
8. Can't Stop The Rock - D.J. Kizzy Rock
9. Get Retarded - K.J. & Da Fellas
10. Dickey Ride - Southern Playas
11. Run Forest Run - Get Some Crew
12. Bass Mechanic - M.C.A.D.E.
13. Booty Bounce - Goon Sqwad
14. Work It Out - M.C. Shy-D
15. Shake Watcha Mama Gave Ya - Poison Clan



My favorites being Scarred, 2 Much Booty and Run Forest Run.  I need to really work on the playlist to make sure those 3 songs play when I'm approaching the 2 mile mark and I'm getting tired.

Technically, this isn't a 'new thing' for me - but I haven't had the CD since 1998 - so there should be a 10 year plus caveat.

A weekend without rain!

We finally got a break from the rain this last weekend and it looked like the entire city was celebrating.  The parks were packed and even with the cooler air, the sundresses we out.

Friday night I went out "early, so I can get home early." Famous last words.  We were out until 3:00am.  It was such a great night it was totally worth the hangover in the morning.  We started at Ormsby's then came back to my place, destroyed my kitchen in a few short minutes with shots and beers.  We then walked to RiRa.  It was my first time walking to RiRa and it wasn't that bad!  It was also my first time at RiRa for more than one drink.  Normally I head there when I'm so far gone that I can only make it one drink and I send myself home.

Saturday was a day of recovery.  I hit up two different BBQs and only drank one beer all day.  My body couldn't take it.  I didn't go out that night and stayed in to watch Love and Other Drugs.  Good movie, lots of topless scenes and lots of sex.  But a good story.  I recommend it.

Sunday was even prettier than Saturday so I spent as much of it outside as possible.  Dinner was at a rooftop BBQ at my neighbor's fiancee's condo.  It was the perfect way to end the weekend.  I'd never been in any of the high rise condos around my place, but this one was pretty awesome.

Dip 'n Dab

All set up and ready to go!

Last night I headed to painting studio, Dip 'n Dab, with the one and only Kristen O.  Dip 'n Dab is one of a few different places around town that make painting fun (Sips 'n Swirls, Cork & Canvas are the other ones I know of).  It works like this: you pick a night to go paint based on their picture from their calendar.  You show up with a bottle of wine, some food and get ready to get messy (we accomplished all 3 last night).  Then the instructor walks you though each step of the painting while you sip on your wine and try to keep up.

Halfway finished.  Drying break.

We chose to paint the wheat field, or field of dreams, I can't remember.  I was really nervous going into it, but it wasn't that bad.  We actually did everything in the picture above (except for the clouds) with a plastic knife.  Like spreading peanut butter!  The next step was to put in the grass.  Not as great as I wanted it to be, but I'm not repulsed by my painting, so I'll keep it.  

The finished product

I told Kristen, one day, when I'm super rich and have a huge house I'm going to have one room dedicated to all of my paintings.  Future husband - get excited.

tada!