Have you heard?  Have you heard?  Emerald has been declared the official color of 2013! 

All Oz-lovers + munchkins rejoice! 

It just so happens that it’s my favorite color, too.  And, I’m so very excited to continue stocking up on my emerald!  Here are a few boards I’ve been using lately for inspiration…

So flattering, so regal, so 2013 – and heck – even Beyonce is on board the train to Emerald City!

Start thinking emerald ASAP.  The preview for the upcoming Oz The Great and Powerful will help to further the excitement!

This is definitely going to be the most gorgeous year yet!!

xx, L

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It’s that time again!  A time full of promise of new clothes, an extremely fancy dinner, an exotic vacation – the list is endless, y’all…  It’s a truly wonderful time of year!  It’s time to file your 2012 taxes.

Is there anything more exciting than getting a massive tax return and immediately redirecting it to something incredibly frivolous that you’ve had your eye on?  You earned it after all…  Well, you might as well get on it!

You may remember from last year that I said “adios, amigos” to the cattle call at HR Block and started using Josh Halpern at Siegel & Siegel, P.C., to handle my taxes.  He did such an excellent job; I’m running back to him again this year to get my taxes in early and off my lengthy To Do list.  Now all I have to do is wait for that glorious return… 

Here’s a little recap about Siegel & Siegel + Josh, the man with the plan:

Siegel & Siegel, P.C. is a small, family-owned firm that was started in the 1950′s by Abe Siegel.  All three of Abe’s sons became CPAs and all worked there (and still do).  Josh Halpern, my new CPA (um, do I sound fancy pants or what?!), is the newest addition to the group.  He started working there in 2007, and has been a CPA since 2009.  Josh is a Georgia Bulldog (which I don’t hold against him), an animal lover (which means he’s a great person/ they have puppy-Fridays every so often at work), and he’s just an all-around really awesome guy.

Siegel & Siegel provides accounting and tax services for individuals and small businesses. This includes compilations (another way of saying financial statements), as well as tax services.  Many of their business clients are service-oriented (doctors, lawyers, dentists, real estate folks), but they can also work on any small “closely-held” businesses.  Josh had no problem at all helping a little guy (girl) like me with my super-simple tax return, either.

Clients like Siegel & Siegel because of the personal attention they receive from the firm.   They don’t have young staff for partners to hand over their clients to ”to be worked-up” and then passed back for a quick check-over and a signature.  They do the work themselves, and they each know their clients issues/ business versus having to find the staff person who worked on that client (larger firms are like this) to inquire about what is going on.  They do not bill solely based on time, so they are happy to take calls and respond to e-mails.  (Even I know that this is very old school – and I appreciate it.)  Siegel & Siegel considers itself to be a “vintage firm.”  The kind where you receive the personal attention you deserve.

Siegel & Siegel’s office is located in Sandy Springs near Roswell Road and Hammond, close to Breadwinner Cafe.  Give Josh a call.   He’s a great guy (I absolutely vouch for him), and he will very thoughtfully walk you through your taxes.  I sincerely appreciated the care with which he explained everything to me, and the speed at which he prepared my return.  If you’re looking for some tax help this year, I highly recommend Siegel & Siegel.

P.S. Tell Josh that the Q+DD sent you!  We don’t get a kickback or anything (I can’t even imagine what it would be if we did…), but it would be nice to know that we were able to help out a really great, small business that we believe in!

xx, L

Siegel & Siegel, P.C. – Josh Halpern
140 Hammond Drive
Atlanta, Georgia 30328
404.252.6667 ext. 106
joshua@siegelcpa.com www.siegelcpa.com

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I am so excited to be included in Jezebel Magazine’s January Tweet Elite!

Here’s the golden tweet that grabbed Jezebel’s attention…

And that pie in a jar is SO deserving of all the recognition!  Murphy’s really knows what they are doing in the dessert department.

Murphy’s pie in a jar in all its decadent glory:

Deconstructed pie served in a jar.  Different pie each week.  $7.  It’s divine, y’all.

Thanks, Jezebel, for the excellent shout out! 

xx, L

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You guys…I am BACK!   A little over a week ago, I had the wedding weekend of my DREAMS.  I got to stand in a room filled with people I love and commit to the most amazing man I have ever met.  This was all made possible by my wonderful parents, my amazing sister and brother in law Brian, my incredible in-laws, my new brother in law Scott, all of our friends and family, and most importantly, Greg for asking me to marry him in the first place! 

But I have a few more thank yous and I apologize in advance for a long gushy post – but I simply cannot write ANYTHING without saying all of this first:

First, thank you to Christina Zubowicz and Magnolia Events and Planning.   (A special shout out to Tina Adams, as well.  You are exquisite.)  Christina became such a fixture in my life that I considered putting her in a bridesmaids’ gown and sending her down the aisle with my girls.  But instead, there she stood at my wedding, in her chic black suit, holding my train and keeping everyone and everything in line.   This past year, she has been there for me in ways I cannot even describe, from etiquette questions to style advice, she has everything covered perfectly.  She answered my questions before I even knew I had them.  Best of all – Christina helped me to assemble my own personal Dream Team of vendors and on the day of my wedding?  There was a “Magnolia” girl at every turn.  Christina, I cannot thank you enough for your flawless execution.

Next, I want to thank Bold American Events who were responsible for both décor and catering for both our rehearsal dinner and wedding.   I’m on the Bold Bandwagon.  Specifically, I want to thank Steve Bales.  Steve is a genius and I will never EVER get over the work he did during my wedding weekend.  He’s a visionary, an artist, and an amazing person and not only did he create a stunningly beautiful event, but one that truly reflected Greg and myself.  I am GRATEFUL that he was the one who brought our wedding weekend to life.   It seriously was better than my wildest dreams.   My chuppah is now my “happy place.”

Also from Bold, I want to thank Nicki Collins who was able to achieve not only a lovely wedding menu, but also one that was so personal to the two of us.  It’s hard to tell a story through food, but Nicki was able to do so.  It’s also hard to feed 300 people with delicious food – but you guys: Nicki, Chef Todd Annis and the Bold team nailed it. 

The Reichmans.  I think finding a photographer that suits your style is the hardest part, but when we met Jamie and Todd Reichman…I knew we had found “the one(s).”  They’re truly amazing artists and though I can’t show you a lot of their work now, please trust me when I tell you…AMAZING.   (UPDATE: Please check out their blog post for a sneak peek!  Click HERE!)  Also phenomenal is their work with cinematographer Jason Link.  Please check out our engagement video they made: https://vimeo.com/49953023  I cannot WAIT to see our wedding video.  The best part about Jamie and Todd, apart from their breathtaking work, is how much we adore them as people.  Not to get too sappy on you, but it was really special to share these moments of our lives with them because they have truly become our friends.

Also, they were able to capture this moment of pure Atlanta random awesomeness:

Jenny’s Paper, Ink.  Jenny Adair not only has the absolute BEST resources for everything paper-related (from a calligrapher that was able to match my custom invitation calligraphy perfectly to great sources for beautiful paperstock), but also the design expertise to create some seriously stunning custom work.  Jenny also has absolutely IMMACULATE taste and is a complete perfectionist. Her guidance on my paper suite was invaluable.

Custom die-cut menus, hand-calligraphered place cards

Rupert’s Orchestra.   They KILLED it.  They rocked out all night.  They learned the upbeat version of “All You Need is Love” for our first dance.  Per my dad’s request, made a medley of “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Be Young, Be Foolish, but Be Happy” for our daddy/daughter dance.  They didn’t even laugh at me when I requested they learn “Call me Maybe!” (they totally did it)  And at the end of our wedding, when our ENTIRE bridal party was belting their lungs out to “Don’t Stop Believing” in a circle around us will go down as one of the best moments of my entire life. 

Speaking of music, Sarah Paul and Amati Chamber Music set the mood for our ceremony beautifully.  We sat down together and crafted the music and she guided me to a perfect selection of classical and contemporary…all perfection.

 The CAKE.  The cake was amazing and a joint work of art by Nancy Short (formerly of the Flour Shoppe) and Eileen Carter of Eileen Carter Creations.   It was a magnificent 7-tier masterpiece with 3 flavors.  Basically, I came to them with a zillion ideas for this cake… and they didn’t make me choose anything.  Everything I could have ever wanted went into and onto that cake and I can’t think about it without breaking into a huge, face-splitting grin.

Thank you to the Good Food Truck who delighted all of our guests as they lined up for our sparkler exit with their famous “Poodle:” Hot dog with a French toast bun.  Topped with apple slaw and mustard.  Outrageous.

 Thank you to all the wonderful people at the Foundry at Puritan Mill – especially darling Wendy Collins and to everyone at the Buckhead Theatre, especially superawesome Kate Zimmer.   Novare Properties, I love you.  Obviously. 

My Glam Squad: HL Painter and Suzanna (hair and makeup – you can find them at Ambrosia Salon or at DryBar), Mandy Gispert and team (hair!) and Maquilla Farrar and team for makeup.

“Oh, my Lord and Taylor.”  Last but not least, thank you, thank you, thank you to my darling Daniel Jones of Muse Salon.  He’s a saint and a trip and not only did he do a 180 on my poor, overprocessed hair this last year, but he trucked it all the way to my bridal suite just to style me and make me feel like a princess on my big day.  Daniel, j’adore.

Daniel’s handiwork:

All-in-all, I can honestly tell you that I loved every single solitary moment of the planning and preparations and that I learned so much about myself, my new husband, my family and almost every person in my life.  It was an extremely eye-opening experience and I feel so incredibly grateful for all the months of work and attention that were poured into that one spectacular weekend. 

Now I’m married and the honeymoon is over (more on that later… and just in the literal sense – I am still super excited to be a “Sadie Lady” as my grandmother says!) I’m resuming everyday life… which I PROMISE means this blog, too!  Thanks for bearing with me. 

(I missed you guys!)

xx, L(C!)

P. S. For more pix: http://reichmanphotography.com/2012/10/25/puritan_mill_atlanta_wedding/

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My old favorite Atlanta celebrity, Baton Bob, mysteriously vanished from Midtown + surrounding areas a few years ago.  Piedmont Park just wasn’t the same…

Much to my extreme excitement, he’s officially BACK as of this summer!

The “Ambassador of Mirth” has returned to Atlanta to spread joy and happiness to all!  (His adoring street fans rejoice!)

Never heard of Baton Bob/moved to Atlanta during his hiatus??  Here’s the Q+DD on this legendary Atlanta fixture:

Baton Bob is known for his outrageous outfits, whistle blowing tweets, and baton twirling spins and throws.  Each weekend, Bob marches the streets of Midtown dressed in one of his over the top majorette outfits to the surprise of the mid-day brunch crowd at the Flying Biscuit, Gilbert’s, Caribou Coffee, Joe’s on Juniper, and our recent loss to the Midtown community, Outwrite Bookstore.  The self-proclaimed “Ambassador of Mirth,” Baton Bob gives his street audience a show they won’t soon forget.  If you hear a tweet of a whistle, you know Baton Bob is right around the corner to entertain you. (Midtown Patch)

So where did he go?  Midtown Patch got the exclusive scoop straight from the source!

Read here: WE MISSED YOU, BATON BOB!

BB awesomeness…

I’ve been a huge fan/supporter of Baton Bob’s ever since I moved to Atlanta in 2006, and I am just so beyond thrilled that he’s returned to the Dirty Dirty.  Welcome back, Bob!

BB + me in '06

See you around Midtown! 

xx, L

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