The weekend is almost upon us… I can feel it already!  I’m moving in 2 weeks, so I feel like this is the last weekend that officially belongs to me… before I am consumed with packing tape and bubble wrap… and couldn’t be more excited. Luckily, there’s lots of fun stuff going on in Atlanta:

1. Food Blogger Bake Sale: Saturday 04/15 at Phipps Plaza

Our girl Wendy A.K.A. @ATL_Events gave us the heads up on this – all your favorite food bloggers including will be baking some tasty treats for cash…all to benefit Save Our Strength – an organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger.  So come on by Phipps and pick up some delicious baked goods or please consider donating directly to the cause!   As little as $1 can help to provide a hungry child with 10 healthy meals. Click here to donate!

2. Dunwoody Beer Festival: Saturday 05/14 at the Perimeter Mall parking lot

Hops for Hope! This is one of my FAVORITE annual events…and not just because it benefits Camp Twin Lakes. It’s a fabulous day of beer sampling, hopefully sunny weather, and fun.  Insider Tip: consider taking Marta to the event!

3. Tim Meadows at Dad’s Garage 05/13 and 05/14

Get your tickets HERE!

oooooooh...it's a Lady!

4. Brett Dennen at the Variety Playhouse

Up-and-comer Brett Dennen lays some sweet sweet tunes tomorrow, Friday 05/13 (Click HERE for tix!)

Of course, I have a special affinity for gingers, but this guy has something special.  He’s been on tour with the likes of Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Dave Matthews and O.A.R…so catch him solo at the VP tonight!

5. Every Saturday through December: the Peachtree Road Farmer’s Market. (April – September 8:30 AM – noon, September – December 9:00 AM – noon) L.O.V.E. Check out my post (here) or their website (here) for more information if you’re not already clued in, but it’s a fab market.

Plus: Saturday you can see a chef demo by David Sweeney (creator of Dynamic Dish…RIP)
and Live with the Hidden Springs Honey Bee Hive

(Bonus: you may even see my girl Adrienne there – she often works there as a volunteer and tomorrow is her BIRTHDAY)

Happy Birthday, A! I love you!

It’s Thursday, people. One more day.  YOU CAN DO IT.

xx, L

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Allow me to introduce you to one of my new favorite Texans, Kendra Scott.

She’s an Austin-based jewelry designer + retailer who I’ve recently become obsessed with.  Please see how gorgeous her designs are… 

She specializes in colorful cuff bracelets, cocktail rings, bib necklaces, chandelier earrings + bridal jewelry.

If Kendra sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen her stuff featured in InStyle, Lucky, Real Simple, Allure, People, Martha Stewart Weddings or US Weekly – just to name of few of the publications she’s been in thanks to her celebrity clientele.  (I believe that I’ve also seen her on Gilt Groupe before…)

She has her only retail store on South Congress in Austin, and (fun fact), it was recently voted one of the “Top Ten Places to Work in Central Texas.”  When I was visiting Austin last weekend, I stopped by her boutique with my girlfriends to check it out.

Here’s a peek inside:

It’s a really energizing space + makes you want to spend lots of $$$.  (Go w/ your girls…)

Anyway, one of the coolest things about her store is that there’s a color bar for you to design your very own customized jewelry.  You can also do this online on her website, but I thought it was so much fun to do it live when you could actually hold the various settings + stones up to you.  After much consideration, I selected a pair of teardrop earring settings + iolite quartz stones for my creation.  Within ten minutes, one of the colorists put them together for me + I was able to wear them right out of the store! 

Soooooooo…what do you think?!

my customized earrings

If you have a classic solid color dress to wear but you still want to make a statement, check out Kendra Scott Jewelry online.  Her stuff is so amazing - I want it ALL.  (Just another reason to love Texas, if you ask me…)

xx, L

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…I had a nice weekend.  It was dreary, rainy + cold, but it had its perks. 

I saw Ryan Bingham for a sold out show at The Loft on Friday + he definitely fell into the “even better in concert” drop box for live performances.  Smoking + drinking on stage didn’t affect his perfectly raspy voice in the least, in fact it made it even richer.

The new Anthropologie was a warm + welcomed escape from the cold on Saturday.  If you haven’t been to the Howell Mill location yet, you need to check it out.  The store is just great + there’s something that I can’t quite put my finger on about the dressing rooms that makes me want to try on the entire store.

Slick + I chowed down on some “gator bites” at Six Feet Under on Saturday afternoon.  Kinda tasted like chicken…don’t be a’feared.

And then we fell in love with this handsome little guy at the Atlanta Humane Society.  We aren’t in the market for a furry friend right now, but this pup (Charlie Bucket) stole our hearts.  Adopt him!

Feeling brave enough to take on a potential tornado, we warded off cabin fever by spending a few hours at the Georgia World Congress Center for the 2011 Atlanta International Auto Show.  This Camaro caught our eye, but the Lotus stole the show in my opinion.

I went with LK + some lovely ladies to see Red Riding Hood on Sunday. 

I went in with seriously low expectations + ended up actually pretty pleased with the film.  Although that wasn’t the general consensus of the group, I think keeping your expectations low is oftentimes the best way to approach things.  Just sayin’…

We drew the weekend to a close at Mellow Mushroom in Sandy Springs for dinner.  Couldn’t have imagined a better way to end it.  MM truly is “happiness as expressed in pizza…”  Will always love my Pizza Sundays!

Slick did some shopping at Richards Variety Store + picked me up a Lite Brite (never had one as a kid) which kept me busy until I hit the hay.  (It’s certainly not an iPad 2, but it will do for now…)

It wasn’t the craziest weekend we’ve ever had, but it was super relaxing + now I’m rested for the excitement ahead. 

So, bring it.

xx, L

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My little brother is a bit of a budding foodie.

brother pictured left (dragon eyes...) w/ his adorable gfriend.

Michael lives in Oklahoma, which doesn’t exactly provide him with the most creative culinary scene, but he makes do.  He also watches quite a bit of the Food Network + Travel Channel and recently saw one of the two (can’t remember…) cover Spread: The Restaurant in San Diego.

Michael thought that this was totally up my alley (+ he was v. right), so he e-mailed me a link to Spread’s site the next day.  I’m not lying when I say that this place makes me want to pack up + move in with Ron Burgundy in sunny Californ-i-a!

Okay, so check it: Spread’s mission is to stimulate + challenge the culinary imagination of their diners by working with and serving only locally grown, organic ingredients.  They specialize in the rarest fruits, vegetables and edible flowers + strive to constantly create new and exciting menu items and tastes.  Sounds fun.

The restaurant does regular meals, private events, catering + offers signature seasonal couture spreads! 

Their sensational spreads are all listed online here: SPREAD ‘EM! + include descriptions, ingredients list, nutritional facts + all ship within three days of your order being placed.

Here are six that look pretty freaking awesome to me:

No. 30: White Chocolate Blueberry Peanut Spread
No. 32: Cinnamon & Silver Goji Berry Peanut Spread
No 55: Butterscotch Almond Spread
No. 73: White Chocolate Inflused w/ Pretzels Peanut Spread
No. 113: Chocolate Curry Peanut Spread
No. 137: Rose Salted Basil Peanut Spread

I think that this might even be something that catches Captain Kurt’s attention…

…or maybe not. 

Spread’s spreads look so decadently delicious to me + I think they’d be a fantastic little surprise for a foodie friend!  Check ‘em out. 

xx, L

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On my way to Kansas City, I was reading the most recent issue of Delta Sky, a magazine I actually really love + think is very well done, when I came across an article about Chocomize.

This business is brilliant – and I’m not the only one who thinks so…  It’s been featured in The Oprah Magazine, USA Today, Brides, The New York Times, etc.  Chocomize’s list of supporters goes on and on and on.  The concept is simple + delicious:  You design.  They create.  They ship right to your doorstep – the most creative chocolate bars you can imagine!

And it arrives in nice packaging, too!

Here’s the Q+DD on Chocomize:

Choose your favorite chocolate base and from more than 100 types of fruit, nuts, herbs + candies to create your very own personalized chocolate bars.  Our Belgian chocolate bars are handmade to order with only the finest ingredients!  More than 30 billion custom chocolate combinations are possible.  You decide which one is perfect for you.  It’s easy, fun + simply delicious.  Also, great for bulk chocolate gifts, corporate gifts and chocolate wedding favors!

This is SO perfect for me as I view candy within the same terms that I also view creative accessorizing - MORE IS MORE!  And, I love gummy bears in chocolate + that isn’t always easy to find…  Believe me.

Just think!  You could make Beef Jerky Chocolate Bars:

Or an Obama Bar:

The possibilities are endless!  You use their simple Creation Station to choose your chocolate + select your toppings and order away!  Viola!

Folks:  Don’t forget that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, too.  Personally, I’d much rather receive customized Chocomize chocolate over a generic heart-shaped box of old standbys.

Visit Chocomize: http://www.chocomize.com/

I’m just sayin’…Chocomize is REALLY awesome.  Dark Chocolate + 23 Karat Gold Flakes (+ Gummy Bears?), well, don’t mind if I do!  If they are putting beef + herbs into their chocolate, I seriously doubt anyone’s judging! 

xx, L

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