Marryin' Martello: The Bridal Shower

This is my favorite picture of Marion and Bobby. It was taken YEARS before they started dating!

This past weekend we celebrated our dear friend, Marion, at a ladies' bridal luncheon held here in Atlanta. The eight bridesmaids hosted the shower in my building's club room, and while my condo building may have strict rules with respect to parking, signing in, etc., the club room itself is actually quite spacious and perfectly fit our needs.

We drew our inspiration for Marion's shower from the lovely flowers that have started popping up in manicured yards and farmer's markets alike. Mixing these beautiful flowers with silver and glass serving pieces made for an elegant brunch, if I do say so myself.

Our friend Beth (and her fiance, Cameron - must give credit where credit is due!) came up with the most clever hashtag - Marryin' Martello - which played upon Marion's name and her new last name. She had the phrase printed onto some frosted plastic cups which turned out beautifully! She carried the floral design featured on the cups to the DIY mimosa bar, where we served chilled prosecco, fresh berries, and carafes filled with a variety of juices.

We kept the food simple yet elegant, keeping in mind that ladies prefer to lightly lunch at events like this and are not looking to chow down on mounds of sausage and bacon. I prepared a light apple, pecan, and feta cheese spring salad to provide a touch of green to the table. I whipped up some homemade honey apple dressing to go with it and added some pan-cooked bacon to give the salad a touch of meat without being too heavy. I also dove into the world of cheese grits, borrowing a recipe from the one and only Southern Living. This grits casserole can be prepared the night before, which is a necessary quality when your time is so precious the day of an event. I'd also like to give a special shout out to my mother, who prepared her world-famous cheese straws and shipped them to Atlanta for the shower. They were a huge hit!

Beth took over the main entree, preparing two breakfast casseroles that were absolutely delicious! The red peppers and the fresh rosemary added beautiful color, texture, and taste to the casseroles as well, a far cry from my own breakfast casseroles which always turn out looking like a brown mass of baked cheese. To round out the food offerings, Callie prepared an adorable biscuit bar with three different spreads, as well as fruit skewers and yogurt parfaits in mini dessert shot glasses.

We pre-set the tables with glass plates and silverware, adorning each plate with a cornflower blue napkin and favor bags filled with homemade heart-shaped sugar cookies prepared by another hostess, Sophie. Callie's grandmother made some beautiful runners for each table, which were topped with bud vases brimming with vibrant, fresh flowers. Callie herself arranged the flowers gracing the food table, which were absolutely breathtaking!

After lunch we all gathered around to watch Marion open her gifts. I definitely made a mental note of the items that I liked! Before we knew it, the shower was over and all that remained was to clean up and distribute the flowers. We all had a great time throwing this party for our sweet, lovely friend, and we are looking forward to her wedding this summer!

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring is finally starting to show its colors here in Atlanta, and the entire city is giddy with excitement. For me, Spring means nighttime walks around the neighborhood, sundresses, and al fresco dining. Now if only I had a sweet Brittany Spaniel to soak up the Springtime sunshine with...I guess visiting this one in a few weeks (and Bella, not pictured) will have to tide me over until we get our own dog...

I partook in a walk just last week, new camera in tow, and was able to capture some of the beautiful flowers and houses that grace old-school Buckhead. 

The arrival of Spring also means that its time for every one's favorite activity - Spring cleaning! I have loved organizing and purging things since I was a child. Seriously. I would stay up until all hours of the night organizing my room and my parents would wake up the next morning to find trash bags filled with items for Goodwill sitting outside of my bedroom door. There is nothing that I love more than to come home to a clean, organized house! My poor ginger probably didn't know this about me when he popped the question, but he is slowly coming around to the "everything has a place" philosophy (the purging philosophy, not so much).

What better way to show off a clean house and celebrate Spring than to decorate for Easter! Though our space is small, I have tried to incorporate thoughtful touches in each room without bordering on kitschy.

No holiday is complete without a jar of festive peanut M&Ms

I found this cute three-pot topiary display at Home Goods

We won this adorable little rooster painting at my family's annual Chinese Christmas Party

I picked up this tin sign from Festivity Boutique in Atlanta 

I haven't quite mastered the art of tablescaping. My mom could tablescape in her sleep. 

Matt actually picked out this bunny dish from Pottery Barn a few years ago...

Mother sent us some whimsical Easter Egg lights to add a touch of fun to the living room 

Happy Spring! 

Birthday Beers in Asheville

I'm finally coming getting back into the swing of things since our long weekend in Asheville, where we celebrated Matt's return from Australia (he really needed a vacation from his vacation) and more importantly my 27th birthday! This city is just a 3.5 hour drive from Atlanta - a perfect getaway! We hit the road on Thursday, my actual birthday, and arrived in Asheville just after lunch. We spent the next three days sipping beers, dodging the misty rain, and enjoying some incredible food. In no particular order, here are some of the highlights from our trip!

1. Beer, beer, and more beer. Asheville is known for its plethora of craft breweries, and when the supply is high, the prices are low. You could get a craft beer for $4! We visited a lot of breweries during our trip, but my favorites were definitely Wicked Weed, Twin Leaf Brewery, and Hi-Wire Brewing.

Best Beer - Rosemary IPA from Twin Leaf -- If you love rosemary and are looking for a beer to pair with a nice meat and cheese plate, then this one is for you!

Best Atmosphere - Twin Leaf -- They have pretzels for sale (perfect for beer munchies), shuffleboard, life-sized Jenga, and a host of other board games to entertain everyone in your party.

Best Flight - Wicked Weed -- You get to pick 6 beers from their generous selection and it is served in a neat wooden-handled carrying thingy.

Best Brewery to Watch Soccer - Hi-Wire Brewing -- We couldn't believe our eyes when we walked into Hi-Wire...an Arsenal flag! We had searched high and low for a place to watch our EPL game on Saturday and had come up empty until now. We returned on Saturday and watched the Gunners defeat West Ham, all while enjoying lunch from the deli attached to Ben's Tune Up next door. We closed out our visit to Hi-Wire with a quick game of Mario Kart...I lost.

2. I (naturally) did a ton of research before our trip on the must-try restaurants in Asheville, and let me tell you, the restaurant scene here does not disappoint. We hit up Curate, a tapas restaurant in downtown Asheville recommended by literally everyone, for my birthday dinner. Maybe it was the beer flights and bottle of champagne (bad combo) that we had before dinner, or maybe it was because we have been to some really good tapas restaurants in Atlanta (hello, Barcelona Wine Bar and Iberian Pig), but we left Curate thinking that the tapas were really good, but not REALLY REALLY good. The next time we head to Asheville, I definitely want to try Curate again...this time with a clear mind and empty belly.

We paced ourselves a little better post-birthday celebration and ventured over to Rhubarb for dinner the next night, which like Curate, is led by a chef currently vying for the James Beard Award for the Southeast Region. Listen to me closely - if you ever go to Asheville, then you MUST make a reservation at Rhubarb. I am not being hyperbolic when I say that this was one of the best meals that I have ever eaten. We split the pork meatballs appetizer which was crispy and porky and delicious. Matt continued to ride on the pork train and ordered pork osso buco -- I think I had to pry the clean pork bone out of his hand as we left the restaurant. However, those dishes can't hold a candle to my entree, the shining star of the evening, goat cheese gnudi (think gnocchi but made out of goat cheese). This dish was meat free and I did not miss a thing. The gnudi, so rich in flavor, was perfectly complimented by all of its vegetarian friends who wanted in on the action - shallots, mushrooms, butter beans, spinach, pumpkin seeds. You will feel like the guy from Austin Powers who screams, "Get in my belly!".

We typically played lunch by ear, but I definitely suggest that visitors who are fans of taqueria joints try out White Duck Taco Shop. This meal saved us from some pretty nasty hangovers after the birthday extravaganza the night before.

3. I saved a special place in this trip re-cap for French Broad Chocolate Lounge, also located in downtown Asheville. Remember the out of this world gnudi that I mentioned above and that you are probably still salivating about? Well, we followed up that amazing meal with a trip to the FBCL, and I honestly thought I had died and gone to heaven. This place is worth the wait, with its homemade ice creams, decadent hot chocolates (which is one of my all time favorite things), and chocolaty cakes/brownies/cookies. I ordered a salted caramel hot chocolate and Matt got a salted caramel ice cream scoop and a piece of chocolate cake. If you are looking for a blog on how to eat healthy, then you have come to the wrong place!

4. We went back and forth on whether we wanted to spend the money to visit the Biltmore, the most famous (and really only) attraction in Asheville. At the end of the day, we decided that we couldn't come all this way and not visit the one thing that everyone will ask if you visited or not, so we trekked out there on our last (and most beautiful) day in Asheville. Though it might have been the quickest $126 we have ever spent on a tour, visiting the Biltmore was definitely a memorable experience. (P.S. - Don't be a cheapo and opt out of the audio guide, which is just a few dollars more. There are no signs to read as you tour through the house, so you really will have no idea what you are looking at or hear any of the interesting stories about the rooms and people who lived there if you don't get the guide). They didn't allow pictures to be taken inside (I borrowed the ones below), but my favorite rooms in the house were the swimming pool and the main dining room. There was also a neat exhibition going on where they had placed actual costumes from Downton Abbey (next to stills from the scenes in which the actors wore them) throughout the rooms of the Biltmore - definitely worth seeing if you are a fan of the show.

We drove over to the Biltmore Village to grab a quick bite after our tour. It is a shame that the shops here are so commercial, otherwise this could be a nice place to stroll around. We went to Moe's BBQ (I know, we have one in Atlanta) which never disappoints. 

5. Last but not least, I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my husband in a new, yet relaxing, city and celebrating my birthday. He surprised me with flowers and a bottle of champagne (one of my other favorite things), which we enjoyed on the patio of our hotel before dinner. We also ventured over to a dueling piano bar to close out my birthday celebrations. Since we were practically the only ones in there, the players obliged us with all of our requests (Walking in Memphis, Good Golly Miss Molly, Tom Petty) and even sang Happy Birthday to me as we made our exit. 

Thank for a great visit, Asheville!

Here are a few more misc. pictures from the trip...enjoy!