Leesburg, GA’s Phillip Phillips was the big winner of the night!  (Kev is totally obsessed with this guy and threatening to change his name to Kevin Kevins in honor of him… Oy.)

AND, former Idol contestant Ace Young proposed to Snellville’s own Diana DeGarmo (another former Idol) on the show!!  It was sooooooooo exciting to watch!  I still have chills!

Congrats Lady Di!! 

What a great night!  Let’s hear it for state pride, y’all!  Georgia!  Georgia!  Georgia!

And now I’m ready for this to dominate my DVR… 

= SYTYCD addict.  Don’t judge.

xx, L

Please tell me that you are watching this show.

I’ll brilliant.  I love it.  Thank you, HBO, for such extreme cleverness + awesomeness neatly wrapped up into a glorious 30 minutes.  I’m a big fan – HUGE! 

Please watch everyone.

xx, L

This is one of my favorite summer events, y’all! 

Not to be confused with the youth soapbox derby, Red Bull Soapbox Race is a national race for amateur drivers, which is fueled by creativity and competitive fun – not to mention the need for speed.  This unique non-motorized racing event challenges both experienced racers and amateurs alike to design and build outrageous, human-powered soapbox dream machines and compete against the clock in a downhill race. 

Did I catch your attention??  If so, click HERE to find out super-fun info about the event like what the cars typically look like, how many Red Bull Soapbox Races have been produced, entrance fees (spoiler alert: FREE!), how teams are chosen to participate, the rules, what the winners get, etc. 

Soooooo, mark your calendars for Saturday, June 9th at Piedmont Park.  Pits open at 10:00 a.m.  First race is 12:00 p.m.  You do not want to miss this awesomeness!

Here are some pictures from previous races…

CK + I were there in full force two years ago!  See you again this year!

Can’t. Even. Wait.  Visit Red Bull Soapbox USA for more info!

xx, L

Behold the two most impressive Food-Stuffed-Inside-Food contenders I’ve EVER witnessed anyone eat.  (Bold statement, I know.)

1 – The Nook’s Award Winning Shrimp & Grits Stuffed Burger: certified angus beef stuffed with sauteed shrimp and gouda cheese, topped with an andouille sausage-studded grit cake + a smoked tomato beurre blanc sauce.

Holy hamburger!!  I’m pretty sure that’s not fat free.

2 – The Nook’s Award Winning Southern Comfort Burger: certified angus beef patty stuffed with a ball of homemade fried bacon mac + cheese and topped with cheddar cheese and The Nook’s secret peach and Southern Comfort barbecue sauce.

Wait for it….  Wait for it….

BAMMMMMM!!  

You haven’t LIVED until you’ve seen these monsters in person.  Take my word for it.

Move over Totchos…

xx, L

The Nook
1144 Piedmont Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA  30309
404.745.9222
www.thenookatlanta.com

I am so excited about this! I wonder if they’ll let me set up a food plan? 

xx, L

LOVE a Monday night out!  I will definitely be there next week… 

More on my recent visit to adorable Cucina Asellina HERE.  And, I’ll see you there!

xx, L

I almost got in a car wreck on Howell Mill + 14th Street yesterday when I drove by the old West Egg space and spotted Lulu’s signature red motivational shopping bag plastered across the entire building!

OMG.  OMG.  OMG.  OMG.  OMG.

(I wonder if I can set up direct deposit each month for my paycheck with them to cover all the damage I am going to do there during slow workday lunches??)  Welcome to the WestSIDEEE, Lulu! 

xx, L

…is the point of a car wash?!?!

#whyGeorgiawhy #treesaredisgusting #ALLERGYATTACK #totallygrossedout #willthisEVERend #yellowisnotmycolor #pollenocalypse2012  :(

xx, L

Asellina is my ideal neighborhood restaurant.  A small, contemporary space with solid food and drinks, and a friendly wait staff.  Admittedly, it already had a big check mark in my mind before I even stepped foot inside.  Our delicious Friday night triple date, and later Caren West PR’s Grand Opening Fete, are what officially sealed the deal for me!

For our date night, we started off with Stuffed Cerignola Olives with roasted veal, parmigiano + semolina crust.  I don’t eat olives, but everyone else at the table devoured them.  They said things to me like, “Lindsay, these olives will make you love olives…”  Ultimately, I didn’t try them, but I’m building up the courage.  They were a huge, huge hit at our table.

We wanted to try as much as possible, so we went a teeny bit overboard with the rest of our appetizers – in fact, they almost fell off of the table at one point, so I tried to quickly capture them with a full table shot.  Everything was very good, and I recommend trying each of these items.  You could easily visit Asellina for drinks + apps ONLY and leave happy + full.  From front to back we had: Veal Meatballs with fresh tomato, mozzarella + basil/ Calamari Fritti with spicy tomato sauce + fresh majoram/ Ahi Tuna Tartare with robiola cheese, black truffle + spring onions/ and Burrata with tomato assaggi, fresh basil + olive oil.  We feasted.

But, we still had our eyes on the prize.  The pizzas + primis we ordered to share sounded totally divine – and they were.  One of the MVPs at our table was the Wild Mushroom Pizze with stracchio cheese + spring onion.  It’s pretty photogenic, too…

I really enjoyed the Four Cheese Pizze with sausage + artichokes. 

Even though we loved the pizzas, I would advise you not to skip over the pastas!  They were spectacular!  We shared the Pistachio Garganelli with hand-made sausage + wild mushrooms…

…and this dish.  This dish was AMAZING.  But, Asellina does not have an Atlanta menu on their website yet, so I am not 100% sure what it was.  I’m just sayin’ – we had a few drinks.  If you see this on someone’s table, ask them, or show this picture to your friendly server.  It was incredible.

The biggest surprise of the night was dessert.  Do not pass up dessert!  I don’t care how much you ate prior to it, EVERYONE knows that we have extra space in our stomachs for dessert.  It’s science, y’all…

The Citrus Panna Cotta was top notch.

People wept over the Tiramisu.  In fact, I heard “this is the best tiramisu I’ve had outside of Italy” from multiple folks at our table.

The Cannolis were also very tasty.

That’s about all I’ve got.  Final thoughts regarding Cucina Asellina are that it’s a great space, really excellent food, the drinks are a bit pricey for Atlanta ($12 cocktails), but overall I very much enjoy this place – and I especially like sitting on their outdoor patio facing Peachtree Street.  Midtown has become quite a fun area for people (+ movie star) watching these days!

Wishing you all many excellent meals at Cucina Asellina.  Bon appetit!

xx, L

Cucina Asellina
1075 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA  30309
404.793.0141
www.asellina.com

Hailed by Time Magazine as “the best musical of the decade,” Billy Elliot, written by acclaimed playwright and lyricist Lee Hall with music composed by Sir Elton John, is the triumphant and joyous journey of a boy as he chases his dream of becoming a ballet dancer despite his family’s disapproval and discouragement, and amidst the coal miners’ strike that has hampered the normalcy in Billy, his family, and their community’s lives.

Billy Elliot

I can’t wait to see it!!  My tickets are secured for next Tuesday…did you get yours?? 

TICKET INFO FOR BILLY ELLIOT AT THE FOX THEATRE HERE!  And, I’ll see you there! 

xx, L