Totally made my morning.

Enjoy + happy, happy New Year! 

xx, L

To officially recognize the Festival of Lights, we’d like for you to please enjoy a brief someecard EXTRAVAGANZA:

AND, my personal favorite:

It’s time to light some candles, spin some dreidels, and eat some latkes, folks!  Most of all, have a very ”happy, happy, happy, happy H-A-N-U-K-K-A-H!” 

(Thank you, Adam Sandler, for giving us a cool song.  How about another?!)

xx, L

 Snippet of the email exchange:

FB: “The Modern Woman.  She eats Smart Ones?”

Linds: “Of course we do!  (Lean Cuisines, to be exact…)  I really loved this.  Thanks!  ”

Me: “I. Die.”

Linds: “and i thought i was the only one who used crayons at work…”

Me: “and pretended to type…”

Happy weekend to all you workin’ gals out there!

xx, L

I was off Monday and Tuesday and got to play house(almost)wife, I started a new j-o-b on Wednesday, and on Friday, my 3 best friends from HIGH SCHOOL traveled from near and far to visit the ATL for a little girls’ getaway.  

From left: Mary Bradley, Leslie, Lucy, and me. Baby Frank and Baby Drew are also present in this picture!

It was DIVINE.  We ate our way through the city (Noche – Murphy’s – JCT – Flying Biscuit) pausing only to shop, have our nails done, and laugh uncontrollably.

Things I learned:

1. We canNOT drink the volume of wine we used to… but that’s probably a good thing due to the fact that as our age advanced, so did the caliber and price tag of the wine we prefer.
2. Nobody can call you out on your own BS better than people who saw you through your braces and acne phase.
3. I am the last person in our friend group to be clued in on the easy and delicious dinnertime miracle – Santa Fe Soup.  I made it for Greg this evening and is is DELISH and totally easy and I thought I’d share it with you!

Ok so check it – this is all you need:

1lb ground sirloin
1 can white shoe peg corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 large onion
1 packet Ranch dressing mix
1 packet taco seasoning mix

Then you just:

1. Dice your onion and sauté it while you brown your meat and drain
2. Season the meat and onion with the ranch dressing and taco seasoning packets
3. Dump the rest of the ingredients in and bring to a boil
4. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.

D-O-N-E.  Mary Bradley told me to put a can of water in to stretch out the pot, which I will try next time – but it makes a HUGE pot of delicious and hearty soup as is.  Top it with a little sour cream and cheese and it’s AMAZING.

It’s also pretty healthy – I’d estimate it’s between 7-8 WW points before toppings.

Now back to my emotional hangover…miss you guys already!

Enjoy!

xx, L

Allow me to introduce you to the “Legginskirt” ™ by Jane Darling by ME.  Leggings.  With a skirt attached.  Seems simple but I had no idea how versatile they would be.  The spandex-y material is perfect – you can be active in them, lounge around in them, and still feel cute throwing on a pair of heels and going out to dinner in them!  Seriously.  I am in love.  I think I wore them almost every day in Italy.  They are PERFECT for travel.  Check it:

LK in JDBM in Italia!

Here’s the Q+DD on Jane Darling by ME:  Started by local Atlanta designers Marty Alterman and Emily Mak, JDBM is a line that was created out of necessity.   Marty was looking for a way to gracefully transition after she hit “a certain age” and wanted to show a little less skin and still be cute. She teamed up with her trusty alterations genius Emily and what happened next is magic:  Super. Flattering. Clothes. For. All!  

The line is NOT just Legginskirts™.  It’s jackets.  It’s shirts.  It’s dresses. It’s tunics.  It’s a line full of your go-to clothes.  Everything is slimming:  the shirts fit a little longer, the fabric is a little sturdier and more forgiving, there’s strategic ruching and ruffles and best of all – everything is very fresh.  No old lady clothes here, friends.  Check out a few pieces of the latest collection:

I am literally obsessed.  You can visit Jane Darling’s website by clicking HERE, stop by Shanghai Alterations in Sandy Springs or Beth Ann boutique in Buckhead or Fragile Gifts in Sandy Springs.

BETTER YET:  Stop by Fragile on THURSDAY November 17^th from 6:30 – 8:00PM for a JDBM trunk show! 6010 Sandy Springs Cir NE # C  Atlanta, GA 30328

Bonus: 10% of all orders done during the Trunk Show will be given to The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation! 

(Bonus bonus: You get to go to Fragile.  Which is an amazing place.  But that is another post for another day – probably after I register for spectacular home goods there!)

I am begging you to check out Jane Darling by ME.  At this time, I’d like to issue a preemptive “I told you so.”

I think I will.

I told you so.

xx, L

Jane Darling by ME

Here’s the Q:DD: Former Ecco chef Micah Willix, with partners Kenny Perlman (Season’s 52 and Houston’s) and Emily Streib Marcil (Capital Grille, Second Growth LLC) have teamed up to create a cozy little resto featuring an innovative “globally-inspired” menu.  To be honest, I’m not sure EXACLY what that means…but I’m sure one of us will let you know once we’ve been able to sit down for a meal there.  What I can tell you is this: of all the passed bites last night, there wasn’t one I tried only once!

The space is, of course, cozy and intimate and it appears that the menu is concise.  I’m looking forward to what Chef Micah has in store for us!

xx, L

Latitude Food and Drink
(770) 309-9463
Atlanta, GA
latitudeatlanta.com

marisa tomei

thomas everett scott

joe francis

Now this is getting kinda crazy, people!  Celebrities are crawling all over Midtown Atlanta filming this or that + they’ve fully invaded my humble ’hood.  (Rumor has it that the Kardashians are here, too.)  With the tax break allowing folks to film cheaply in our southern city, stars are flocking to the Dirty Dirty in hordes.  Marisa Tomei was incredibly cool to see – she’s gorgeous, Thomas Everett Scott was also impressive but I found it hard not to belt out singing “That Thing You Do!”, and Joe Francis – decidedly not cool.  (Isn’t he supposed to be in jail or something??)  Anyway, I’m getting used to Midtown stargazing + I’m ready for more.

Soooooo, here’s my OFFICIAL celebrities-in-Atlanta wishlist: 

betty white

aziz ansari

the entire cast of the real housewives of new jersey

dave chappelle (where HAS he been?!!)

meatloaf

ke$ha

ron burgundy

jared

That’s all for now.  Welcome to Atlanta, famous people!  I’m on the lookout for you… 

xx, L

 It’s really cute.  (Special thanks to Kev’s pops for getting me hooked on this one!)

Here’s the Q+DD on 2 Broke Girls:

Two young women waitressing at a greasy spoon diner strike up an unlikely friendship in the hopes of launching a successful business – if only they can raise the cash.  Sassy, streetwise Max works two jobs just to get by.  Sophisticated Caroline is an uptown trust fund princess who’s having a run of bad luck that forces her to reluctantly give waitressing a shot.

2 Broke Girls in action...

Catch it on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. EST on CBS.  It’s very entertaining + funny, and it’s the perfect amount of time: 30 minutes live/ about 24 minutes DVR-ed.  (I swear, I don’t know where my attention span has been these days…  Oh, right – I do.  It’s here.)

Enjoy! 

xx, L

Here’s a recap of my Music Midtown experience: 

the black keys

what's better than one funnel cake??

love.

I have a feeling that Music Midtown is here to stay, people! 

In the mood for some more music?  Well, you’re in LUCK.  One of my favorite bands, Austin-based Ghostland Observatory, will be in Atlanta preforming at the Masquerade on Wednesday, October 5!

ghostland observatory

I first saw Ghostland live at Austin City Limits Music Festival (’09) playing with the University of Texas Marching Band for a few songs.  It. was. INCREDIBLE!  Anyway, they are electro-rock-funk-ish or kinda elecro-dance-soul-rock: hard to put into a box, but they have a really great, unique sound + I can guarantee that they put on an awesome live show with lots of lasers and stuff. 

For iTunes research, check out these Ghostland albums: delete.delete.i.eat.meat and Robotique Majestique.  Codename: Rondo is their newest, but I like the previous two better.

If that’s not enough to convince you, GO’s lead singer has an impressive set of braids he rocks out on stage.  You’ll def want to check them out… They’re sorta mesmerizing.  (You can kinda see below.)

And, the show is at the Masquerade on North Ave.  Not only have I never been to that venue before, but also I usually drive faster down North when I pass it because it reminds me of a haunted house or something out of a bad episode of Law & Order. 

the masquerade

However, I just Sherlock Holmes-ed Wikipedia.com and while the Masquerade looks like a pile of sticks from the street, the venue actually has a lot of history + the inside of it seems fairly reasonable.

xx, L

The Masquerade
695 North Ave NE
Atlanta, GA  30308
404.577.8178
http://www.masqueradeatlanta.com/

zooey d is the new girl

New Girl is on FOX on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. EST.  Apparently, the premiere last week was really well received.  I just love her.  I hope it’s like (500) Days of Summer every Tuesday night!

There’s that dress again…

I just really feel like we should be friends.  I mean, I used to have bangs.  I used to listen to Death Cab + she’s married to the lead singer.  She & Him is super great and they’re on my regular iPod playlist rotation.  She was in Elf and it’s one of my top 5 favorite movies…  We both rock out in Anthro.  I think she’d like me. 

That’s all.  Until we’re BFFs, I guess I’m fine catching her on the small screen.  Watch New Girl tonight! 

xx, L