I will make this very simple + quick so that you can get back to checking your Fantasy baseball stats.  And, I’ll use lots of pictures.   Seriously, though, I’d like to help plan your third date with that special someone, so please allow me two minutes of your time…

My rule of thumb is that the first date is always for weekday or Sunday night drinks.  Apres Diem, TAP, the bar @ JCT Kitchen and Top Flr are my suggestions for that.  Drinks only.  Food complicates the first date, you have the potential to get something stuck in your teeth (heaven forbid!) and you want to be able to escape quickly after that second drink if the date is less than ideal.  Let’s be realistic, folks, time IS money.  Also, if you are a serial dater, it’s much easier on the wallet than shelling out for a dinner when the date stinks.  Date #2 is a weekday or Sunday night dinner.  Anywhere reliable is fine, but don’t do tapas.  It’s too much decision-making too early into the relationship.  If things go well, the third date should be upgraded to a weekend and should include more than just dinner.  Which brings me to…(drum roll plz.)…FUNTIME BOWL!

guaranteed to impress or your money back.

You don’t have to drop a wad of cash to do well on this date, boys.  Obviously know your audience, but I personally think that the third date should be a fun one where you can kind of let loose and get out from behind a bar or dinner table.  Take your date to Taqueria del Sol or Pancho’s – anything on Buford or Cheshire Bridge will do (again know your audience) and afterwards head on over to Funtime.

Slick + I went with some of his coworkers + my brother when he was in town recently.  Although we were with a big group, I kept thinking that it really seemed like a fun place for a date night*.  Unlike 300 (which is super far away) or Midtown Bowl (which is fun, but always packed during the evenings), Funtime is right up Buford Hwy and never too slammed. 

*Note for you super-competitive guys: Let your date win once or twice.  I always have to remember this when I play with Slick.

he talks a big game...

Check out Funtime on a Friday or Saturday night after 8:00 p.m. for Cosmic Bowling: black lights, music, glow lanes, etc.  It’s really fun!  Promise. 

Also, Funtime offers more than just bowling.  Please witness from our recent visit:

air hockey

arcade games

beer

(Just here to help, guys.)  Best of luck to you!  And, you’re welcome.

xx, L

Funtime Bowling
3285 Buford Highway
Atlanta, GA  30329
404.636.7548
www.funtimebowl.com

The tone was set early by the totally rad 80’s mix compiled by one Elizabeth Ceaser (of Phliz fame) which included every memorable song from the years 1979 to 1991. We enjoyed Blow Pops and Pop Rocks (ok no Pop Rocks, but that would have been awesome.  Where do you find them, anyway?) as we jammed out to Liz’s mix

(Photobomb: Lumpy)

Ted: 80's Cowboy.

Strike a pose there's nothing to it: Vogue.

Ellen: So Strong! (PS I'd like to buy a vowel...)

If only we had any idea what was waiting for us at Sweetwater…

There were fanny packs, taffeta...

dance offs...

...complete with break dancing...

Amazing makeup

and lots of 80's love

Sidebar: I just don't know who I love more: Liz for putting this outfit together or Phil for wearing it...

Demon eyes courtesy of my iPhone

Miami Vice Joe

He mowed 200 yards to save my white suede outfit!

It was a GREAT night and my friends Jason and Lila, two of the organizers of this amazing party, told me they raised a HUGE chunk of change for the Elliott Galloway Scholarship Fund…nice work!

Bonus: Our Electric Ladyland SAVE FERRIS coozies came in quite handy the next day as we recovered poolside, trust.

Electric Ladyland, THANKS for a great night! We can’t wait for next year!

xx, L

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Apparently, I spend WAY too much money at CVS, because as I was checking out my reciept appeared with an attached coupon for $7.50 free CVS $$$ for being such a good shopper. “Hey, Big Spennnnderrr!”  Instead of saving it for a rainy day, I turned right around and picked up some mascara I’d been eyeing only three hot minutes earlier.  In order to take advantage of the entire $7.50 credit, I also threw in the first pack of gum I spotted that was within an arms reach.

Wrigley's 5 Gum

I consider myself to be sort of a gum aficionado.  After years of research and serious contemplation, Orbitz sweet mint flavor + Trident Layers (generally) are my personal favorites. 

This was my first experience with 5 gum. 

I’m pretty sure that it was designed for boys.  The pack of gum is the size of a money clip, and could easily slip into a guy’s back pocket.  You don’t pop the gum out of a crinkly foil wrapper or pull it out of a chunky pack, but instead 5 gum has sort of a fancy paper clasp that, when opened, reveals neatly lined up gum – like a pack of cards.  Its sleek black packaging with masculine designs reminds me of an Affliction t-shirt.

what's up? you from around here?

Boys:  Purchase this gum, throw on your overly-designed graphic tee + totally rad shades, slather on some hair gel + spike up that faux hawk (don’t forget your Axe deoderant), move straight to Dallas (do not pass go or collect $200), but DO watch this video:  http://www.30kmillionaires.com/

Or not.  The flavor that I picked up is called “Solstice.”  The first couple of pieces initially tasted a little bit like mint, and then more like peanut butter.  I couldn’t decide if that was awesome or gross, so I kept chewing.  Just now – half a pack in – I noticed the expiration date for the gum: 10/20/09.  Thanks, CVS.

Ick.  Orbitz fo’ life, yo.

xx, L

Expert Tips for Looking Good in Photos:  Watch the video here!

Nowadays, everyone and their grandmother has a camera phone and a Facebook account.  To maintain my sanity, I’ve learned to combat my inability to get to my Facebook page ASAP to see how I look in a string of photos I’ve been tagged in from a fuzzy night out, by learning how to line up on the same side of the photo every time and strategically jumping into my high school cheerleading pose – ala Barney Stinson – whenever I see someone digging around in their purse for a camera.  (That was a v. long sentence.  Thank you.)

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

Exhibit E

It takes effort, people! (I mean, not all of us are as lucky at JHol to look the exact same in every photo…EVERY time.)

jhol 1

jhol 2

jhol 3

jhol 4

So thank you, Daily Candy, for helping everyone out! 

xx, L

I’ve eaten a pretty impressive amount of red meat since this whole burger boutique trend started when Flip Burger opened, and frankly I’m done. 

I know where to find my three favorite burgers in town: Bocado, Holeman + Finch and Farmburger.  I’ve tried the best, and I really don’t need to try anything else.  Burgers are so over.  SHOW ME SOMETHING NEW FOR THE LOVE OF LADY GAGA!!

How did the nail finally get hammered into the velvet-lined coffin of my burger boutique experiences?  Simply, I visited Yeah! Burger, Shaun Doty’s newest venture, on Friday.

@ yeah! burger...

My friends, Nick + Todd, were in town from Kentucky, and we met for lunch on Friday afternoon with a colleague friend of ours from work.  I insisted on trying Yeah! Burger, and wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.  So, we all drove to Howell Mill, parked in the White Provisions parking deck and stood in an insanely long line (approx. 30 minutes) to order what turned out to be pretty mediocre food. 

To me, the line was long not because there were a ton of people there hoping to try out the new restaurant (which there actually were), but rather because they only had ONE person taking everyone’s orders at the register.  Should have thought that one through, Mr. Doty.  It’s a workday, we are in suits and it’s 95 degrees outside!!  Doesn’t make for happy customers, does it?  Moving on…

The menu was simple and straightforward, which I appreciate, encouraging you to customize your burg w/ your preference of patty, bun, toppings and sauce.  Yeah! has a number of organic, gluten-free and farm fresh items on their menu: gluten-free white buns + french fries, organic chopped/ sliced or grilled Vidalia onions, cage-free fried eggs, nitrate-free bacon, organic Muir Glen ketchup, etc. 

Everyone I was with ordered simple beef burgers and fries.  Jen’s is pictured above.  I ordered the bison burger w/ pimento cheese, whole wheat bun, lettuce, dill pickles and honey mustard – which is pictured below.

Todd got the fried pickles, and although he didn’t finish them, he said that they were quite good – which led us into a discussion about how anything fried tastes “quite good.”  We were hard-pressed to brainstorm what would not taste good fried.

The consensus was soap.

So listen, I ate everything, but I wasn’t impressed.  The burger was blah – the pimento cheese, especially, did not taste housemade.  It was runny.  The fries, usually the item to draw me in, were kind of a let down, too.  I appreciate the farm-friendliness of the restaurant, but it seemed a little contrived when I found myself flipping through the brochure of the farm that supplies the restaurant, which was displayed for our reading pleasure while we were waiting in the horrendously long line to order.

That being said, here are five reasons why you might want to try Yeah! Burger:

1 – You are gluten-intolerant.  They have a lot of gluten-free options for you here - more so than I’ve seen at other restaurants in Atlanta.

2 – You want a burger on a Sunday afternoon, but don’t want to drive to Decatur to hit up Farmburger.  Holeman + Finch burgers aren’t available on Sundays after 3:00 p.m., and Bocado isn’t open.  If Decatur is too far for you to travel for burger bliss, Yeah! Burger is conveniently located on Howell Mill + 14th Street.

3 – You have two hours to eat lunch during the week OR just enjoy waiting in really, really long lines…  (No, clearly I am not over it.)

4 – You want to try one of their Concretes: Vanilla soft-serve ice cream blended at high speed with your favorite mix-ins – hot fudge, cookies + cream, peanut butter cups, chopped peanuts, peanut brittle, Heath candy bar, chocolate almond bark or chocolate espresso beans.  Sounds like a fancy McFlurry - yummmmmmm!  FYI: They start at $6.00.

5 – Howell Mill is happening.  WESTSIDE!

I really don’t want to detract readers from this restaurant merely because I’m so over the whole burger thing, but I just had to say that the burgs @ Yeah! were far from the best I’ve had in Atlanta – and I will never willingly stand in that long line again.

Bye, bye burgers – it’s time to go…

xx, L

Yeah! Burger
1168 Howell Mill Road, Suite E
Atlanta, GA  30318
404.496.4393
www.yeahburger.com

not really my thing

I’m much more of a SYTYCD person…

love! love nigel lythgoe!!

However, I’d like to officially congratulate Lee Dewyze for winning American Idol on Wednesday!

you did it, man

Lee was Slick’s pick from the very beginning, so needless to say he was v. excited for him. 

yessssssss!

Here’s Lee singing one of my favorite songs, “Hallelujah.”  He’s pretty incredible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te42ioevqnI

Congrats again, Lee! Plz don’t be a complete sellout – you seem pretty cool.

xx, L

Here’s the Q+DD:

evidently Medieval Times is INSIDE of the mall - not quite as sexy as anticipated, but we rolled with it.

the boys supported the blue knight b/c blue is for boys...

...and since there was not a hot pink knight, the ladies opted for the yellow one.

we drank massive Medieval beers (then promptly shattered the glasses in the back of my car afterwards by accident or because we are tough. you decide.)

mr. b and slick were still able to rock their faux-hawks even with their Medieval crowns on. we creatively renamed the hairdo: crown-hawk. you're welcome, Vidal Sassoon.

lindsay ate with her hands...

...and so did lauren. (surprisingly, the food was kind of really good. quote me and i'll come after you.)

the show was pretty cool. jousting is intense.

so intense, in fact, slick got a little Medieval-y stressed out.

we were a pretty rowdy group - yelling at/ for the knights, drinking enormous beers and throwing our crowns around...

MAN DOWN!

our serf, ron, was pretty rad. he filled us in on all the juicy Medieval gossip.

we got to meet the king (we = total VIPs)...

...and finished off the night with a Medieval DANCE PARTY. that's right.

Medieval Times is a seriously fun date.  We used the Groupon, but still I think that it’s pretty economical for food and a show at only $49.95 per person (regular price).  Currently, they are running a special for $34.95, which is even better.  If you register online, you can get a free feast (they offer a vegetarian feast, too) + tournament for your birthday! 

P.S. On Saturday, someone in the crowd was there for his bachelor party!  We all got a kick out of that…

Here’s the link to the Medieval Times Atlanta Castle: http://www.medievaltimes.com/atlanta.aspx

xx, L

Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament
5900 Sugarloaf Parkway
Lawrenceville, GA  30043
866.731.9313
www.medievaltimes.com

Rumor has it that Turner Field oversold their “standing room only” tickets and ultimately had to turn away folks.  I bet there were a number of upset suburbanites who fought Atlanta traffic in hopes of seeing the Braves blowout.  Guess they didn’t expect the weather to be as gorgeous as it’s been over the past week…  Whatever the case, I didn’t attend the game nor did I watch it on TV.  Instead, I spent the evening w/ David Sedaris and finished up his latest book.

brilliant.

I may not have been interested in the game last night, but I AM VERY interested in a new food item @ Turner Field: “The Hammer.” 

namesake

In honor of baseball legend Hank Aaron, the hammer is a southern fried chicken breast sandwich on toasted waffles w/ apple-smoked bacon, fried onions, pepper jack cheese and pecan maple mayonnaise. 

only in Atlanta...

Ummmmm amazing!!  Sounds messy + absolutely delightful!  (Food like this makes me fall in love with Atlanta all over again.)  Did anyone get one??  I’m dying to know what people thought about it.

Someone needs to submit it ASAP: http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

Go Braves!

xx, L

Yadda yadda yadda…

However, I recognize that there are times in which cooking is necessary and a smart girl always has a few tricks in her arsenal. For instance, last week was The Ginger’s birthday and and excellent excuse for my famous cupcakes!

Plus, making cupcakes is a RIOT:

Funfetti!

I’m hesitant to give away all my tricks of the trade, but doctoring up a cake mix is pretty darn simple. If I can do it, you can, too! (If you’re a super cook, you can just skip this post, because I’m going to write it r.e.a.l.l.y. simple for the culinarily challenged…like myself.)

Here’s what you need:

2 boxes yellow cake mix (I like Duncan Heins)
6 eggs
2 sticks (unsalted) butter
2 packages vanilla pudding mix
1 tub of milk chocolate frosting
1 tub of vanilla frosting
2c sour cream
Coarsely ground sea salt
Vanilla extract
Spatula
Muffin tins
Muffin cups
Hand-held mixer (I know, I couldn’t believe I had one, either!)

Suggested accoutrements:
Some type of round candy: I like the salted caramel balls by Choxie…found at Target…IF you can manage NOT to eat them all before you ice and decorate your cupcakes
Black and white sprinkles (separate)
Teeny tiny funnel

Ok, then it’s easy-squeezy. I do this in 2 batches.

1. Combine 1 box of cake mix, 1 stick of softened butter, 3 eggs, 1 package of pudding mix, 1c sour cream and a dash of vanilla extract, mix well and fill the muffin cups in your muffin tins about 3/4 full

(The box says it will make 24 cupcakes, but what they don’t mention that they will be weeny cupcakes. Fill ‘em fuller and each recipe will only make about 18 or so. Particularly if you, um, “taste” the batter. A lot. Don’t judge me.)

2. Bake according to the instructions on the box.

3. Repeat and let all cupcakes cool on cooking racks (I can’t believe I had these, either.) You’ll have about 32 nice, big cupcakes.

4. While the cupcakes are baking/cooling, spoon your chocolate and vanilla icing into two separate bowls. To each: add a tablespoon or so vanilla extract and a few grinds of sea salt. Make sure you taste along the way, so it doesn’t get too vanilla-y or, yuck, too salty. But ton’t be shy, either. The salt is perfect for cutting the supersweet frosting (Thanks to Cari of Sugar Sugar for the tip!)

5. Once the cupcakes have cooled, ice 1/2 with chocolate and 1/2 with vanilla. Then I decorate like this:

• 6 chocolate frosting with white chocolate round candy on top
• 6 chocolate frosting with white sprinkles JUST in the middle of the cupcake (use the funnel)
• 6 vanilla frosting with chocolate round candy on top
• 6 vanilla frosting with chocolate sprinkles on top

Then I arranged them in my double-decker cupcake caddy (also found at Target) and voilà!

BONUS: You’ll have about 8 extra cupcakes. Throw a couple of those bad boys in some Tupperware and a nice little note and BAM! Perfect “just because” gifty-gift for doormen, fabulous coworkers, neighbors, etc. Luckily I had some hot pink sprinkles on hand, perfect for Kindredly’s birthday last week!

I may not be a domestic goddess…
…but, as DK says, “fake it till you make it!”

xx, LK

1. Last night Doc Hollywood and I FINALLY saw the Da Vinci exhibit at the High. It’s closing weekend, and I am officially suggesting you rush over there to view it before it’s gone.

In the interest of full disclosure, the collection is small and the Good Doctor was expecting a bit more sculpture, but I was absolutely fascinated by the early drawings and sketches. Even the teeny tiny ones were drawn with such meticulous detail, it really was, well, genius. DH’s favorite was a spectacular silver piece but I suspect his real favorite part was his entertaining creative narration:

"I am telling you! The red M&Ms taste much better than the brown ones!"

We were only slightly more mature than my last visit to the High. If you haven’t seen this post, I am begging you to do so.

We finished our night at One Midtown Kitchen: mussels, duck, ravioli and a fantastic SUPER TUSCAN (which is so much cooler than meritage just by name alone, yeah?). Now that? Is a perfect LK kind of night.

2. I know I am always looking for creative excuses for my punctuality problem, but last night, I didn’t need to fabricate anything because 85 was a nightmare due to Zebra Traffic. That’s right: a ZEBRA on the loose in downtown Atlanta. A ZEBRA, y’all.
3. Slick informed Linds and me that that today is the anniversary of the first day Mr. Rogers was nationally televised.
As you know, it is also Slick’s birthday. That is a truly remarkable coincidence. Happy birthday, Slick!

4. LuckyFest is right around the corner. 03/13/10.

More details to come, but use promo code “kraselsky” (no caps) for 20% off your ticket. They are $10 right now, but you know the drill. They increase leading up to the event and will eventually be $30.

ShamROCK it out, yo.

5. Atlanta Magazine’s Best of Atlanta Party (Benefiting Camp Twin Lakes!) is MONDAY. Um, It’s only my 2nd favorite CTL event of the year! Lindsay, Christine, and I will be hostessing the VIP lounge from 7-8p, but before and after we will be swilling delicious wine and cocktails, checking out the silent auction, and sampling the tasty vittles offered by Holeman and Finch, Sublime Donuts, Craft + Craftbar, BLT Steak, and other fabulous restaurants (for a complete list of participating bars and restaurants click here.)

Atlanta Magazine’s Best of Atlanta Party
Monday, February 22
6:00 p.m. VIP/Early Admission
$125 per person online
7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. General Admission
$60 per person online, $70 per person at the door

Click here for tickets.

OK! That’s about it. Happy Friday, everyone! I hope we all get out early!
xx, L