Cold Front

Well we made it to WEDNESDAY! Which is reason enough for me to celebrate...

Can we please talk about how COLD it is here in Atlanta? I was talking to one of my vendors in PA and she said they were just a few degrees colder than us!! Although, she got snow earlier this week...if I'm gonna have cold, I might as well have SNOW?! Amiright? :)

So my window in my bedroom doesn't close all the way. My landlord's reaction when I called to request a maintenance appointment? "Sarah, these buildings are 88 years old. My recommendation is to ducktape around the windows where you feel a draft coming in." Um, WHAT? Man needs to understand I can't live this way!! And our power bill is going to skyrocket! So annoying. Then, this morning, my roommate closed her door...then couldn't open it. Like the knob got stock and it won't even turn now. Our place is falling apart. And my measley little tool kit isn't going to be able to fix these things. So, I'm sure you're wondering, but I most certainly did duck tape my window last night because I knew this cold air was coming....and, I thought it worked but then again I may have just convinced myself it worked so I could sleep better. I probably wouldn't have made it through the night if it weren't for the electric blanket Harleigh and I cuddled up into!

I am going to try to go to Zumba tonight at the Brookhaven gym, but traffic gets so backed up IDK if I will make it to the 7pm class.... And if there's anything I know about the Brookhaven location, you can't get any freakin' cardio equipment until like 7:30. You honestly have to stand around and wait for someone to wrap up their workout. Every. Single. Time. I usually go to Urban Active's old location if I wanna do any cardio or weights bc there tend to be less people and/or more machines open.

Does anyone have any recipes they want to share that are a) healthy and b) made in a crockpot? It is certainly time to start putting that thing to work!

Wild on the Rocks - Otters and Old Fashioneds

Zoo Atlanta is marketing more and more to the young professional crowd in ATL. Steve and I went to check out their “Wild on the Rocks” event last Thursday, themed “Otters and Old-Fashioneds”.

At first, walking into the zoo after regular hours seemed odd--especially because most of the animals weren’t out for observation. Towards the back of the zoo we could hear a rumbling—the sound of folks chattering, music creeping through the trees and, as we got closer, the clanking of ice cubes being dropped into glasses.

The evening began with the otter presentation, which we weren’t able to see much of because of the limited viewing area. The zoo keeper (is that the appropriate term?) seemed very knowledgeable on the otter and was able to take questions from the crowd.

We grabbed a (very unreasonably priced) domestic beer and headed towards another open exhibit—the sun bear. Not so amusing, but cute to watch snooze. 

My favorite part of the evening—the orangutan exhibit! Oh man, were these guys fun to watch. The zookeeper shared with us some awesome facts about how smart they are! The big tree in the center of the exhibit is actually a huge computer that assists their studies on their cognitive behavior. The 3 year old, Remy, is said to be AS SMART as a 50 year old gorilla a few exhibits down!

As we were leaving, we were lucky enough to catch some elephants (my fave!) wander around their area. It was cool not having to wait for a front row view of one of my favorite creatures!

All in all, it was a cool way to spend the evening. The event in September is “Rhinos and Winos” so I invited some of the girls to attend with me—hopefully they will serve something OTHER than Cupcake wine (ew!)

Pedicure Pity Party

Sometimes the only thing a girl needs is a pedicure and a friend with a good ear you can bend.

Jackie and I met up for lunch at the Dunwoody Nail Talk and Tan so I could do just that. For the price, they are definitely my favorite spot for a quick mani/pedi.

I kid you not, I pick OPI's "Cajun Shrimp" EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Not on purpose, just because! Today I realize, that's my color. That's it. Finally. I have settled on a go-to. See how pretty?

Do you have any fave shades?

Pup-n-Cuts - A Review

Today, Harleigh had her first groomer's experience. In all her 22 months of living, she's only been bathed by the hands of her loving mother and had her nails done at the vet...so this was going to be an experience for sure.

Pup-n-Cuts, located only a mile from my house at 2573 Apple Valley Rd, was recommended to me by a friend so I took his word for it and booked her an appointment. They were able to get her in with a day's notice, so that was really convenient. Harleigh and I arrived at Pup-n-Cuts at 8:25 a.m. and I let Harleigh sniff around the yard.

From the outside, there's not much. Apparently they are having a hard time keeping grass alive in the front yard--doesn't have much curb appeal. Especially in such a lively growing area like Brookhaven, you'd expect a little more "oomph" from the street. When a member of the staff arrived at 8:40 (note 10 minutes after said appointment time/open for business) they mentioned something about wondering where the receptionist was. OK--strike one. I get that it's 10 minutes, but I was going in late to work to make sure I got there at 8:30 for her check-in time. Just made me feel like my time wasn't appreciated/respected. The inside (the lobby at least) seemed clean and well kept. As a new customer, I would have appreciated a tour but didn't have much time left to get to work. Inside, they didn't say much--just had me sign a form which they hurried me through to sign so I didn't get to read the whole thing. That was annoying since THEY were late to begin with, not me! Harleigh is a scaredy cat--especially of men. The two techs there were both men, so I knew she'd be hesitant to go back with them. Harls was on a pinch collar and the tech kept pulling it to get her to come to him. I didn't love that, so of course I intervened and tried to get her to warm up to him. I was able to walk her back and say bye. I felt like a mama dropping her kid off at pre-k or something (as I know that is happening in some schools today!).

She was done by lunch time, so I swung by to pick her up and she was of course just fine. She was smelling good and pretty as ever--although not looking very different. My receipt was a simple credit card receipt, nothing with the services performed. I couldn't tell you if they gave her a cut or not, but she sure did smell good and her nails were nice and trimmed! I would have enjoyed a cute little bandana that screams "I am cute and clean!" to share with you all here on the blog/insta/fb but they didn't do anything special like that. I guess I'm that customer that needs that extra bit to return, so I'll keep shopping around for a neighborhood groomer for my princess. Any recommendations fellow dog owners?

Finally Friday!

The work week coming back from vacation is always SO hard. This week has seemed to drag on! Can I get an AMEN?!

Last night Steve and I accompanied his mom to dinner and a movie. We went to Davio's for dinner--delicious! I loved their reserve cabernet so try a glass if you ever dine with them. It will taste great with probably anything--his moma and I both order the chicken, but Steve got the braised ribs which literally melted off his fork. After dinner we went upstairs to AMC at Phipps to see "Restless Heart". Thank goodness for recliner chairs because that was a LONG movie! Probably 2 hr 15 min...and then add on 20 min of previews. LONG. But I will say, it was an interesting moving. My growing up in a Southern Baptist church and now being a part of a non-denominational congregation, it has been quite a learning experience growing in Steve and I's spiritual relationship. I am learning more about the Catholic faith at every mass, in every discussion we have, etc. I'm keeping an open-mind and open-heart to learn more about the faith in which he was raised.

So it's finally Friday and I'm so excited about my plans for the weekend! Tonight Steve and I are going to have some alone time wandering around Decatur. Some friends of ours highly recommended a farm-to-table restaurant called The Pinewood that I think we're going to check out. Do you have a favorite spot in Decatur we should check out tonight?