Dîner en Blanc ATL

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This past weekend, the hubs and I had the pleasure of attending "Diner en Blanc" here in Atlanta.  The event "Diner en Blanc" is an all white dinner party that happens in different cities all over the world.  I won't go through the back story on it, and there is a back story...but all I can say is the night was magical!  I have to admit, it is a hard ticket to get--but if you get the chance, you should definitely go if it makes it to your city!  To read up on the history of "Diner en Blanc", go HERE.

P.S. The dress I'm wearing, I'd bought over a year ago.  I just knew there would be some all white event that I'd be able to wear it to, and I couldn't have picked a better event!  Unfortunately, it's sold out, but I've found an identical one in the color "slate" HERE.

Enjoy your week!

White Oak

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So this past weekend, Atlanta Downtown Restaurant Week kicked off.  I had found out about it on Facebook, and immediately knew that we would participate in it on our weekly date night.  After quickly checking the website, me and hubs decided on White Oak Kitchen.  The Yelp reviews were good and the hipster-ish name drew me in.

We were out and about on Saturday fairly early for a brewery tour, so we arrived for a slightly earlier-than-usual-for-a-Saturday-night dinner, which is why it may look a little empty in my photos.  I have to say, I love the decor.  It has all of these wood accents (of course) and has a huge wall of tall windows.  All of the natural light gives the place such a nice vibe, not to mention, it's perfect for taking food pictures.

During Atlanta Downtown Restaurant Week, participating restaurants put together a special prix-fixe menu at a fixed price that includes 3 or 4 courses.  The price is always a steal for what you're getting and it's such a great way for diners to become aquainted with the restaurant and it's food!  That is really the purpose of "restaurant weeks" in general--to get people inside these restaurants to discover or re-discover their offerings.

Because, I'm no bonafide restaurant critic, I will quickly let you know what we ordered.  I ordered the watermelon salad, chicken, and of course, the chocolate pot de créme.  Hubs ordered the tomato salad, pork, and the same dessert.  We both added the accompanying wine pairings as well.  We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals.  From the salads (hub's salad was the winner), to the entrées (tie), down to the dessert (same).  The wine pairings, also, perfectly complimented each course. 

I also would like to mention that the service was impeccable, including the sommelier!

So, if you live in the Atlanta area or are visiting, go have dinner at White Oak Kitchen, or drinks even at their beautiful but cozy bar.  I also recommend you try as many other restaurants as you can during ADRW, that's what me and the hubs plan to do!

White Oak Kitchen
270 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA 30303

The Weekend + Princi

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This past Saturday, the hubs and I went on a date night and decided to have dinner at Princi.  It's a fairly new restaurant in Midtown (Atlanta).  We've walked past it a few times, because we tend to hangout in the Midtown area, and we've always took note on how quaint it looked, especially the patio.

I won't go into full "food critic" mode, but I just thought I'd share that we really enjoyed our time there.  The food was great, and the ambiance couldn't be beat.  I had the Chicken Piccata and the hubs had Branzino.

If you happen to be in Midtown, Atlanta.  I suggest you give Princi a try!

EAT :: Chick-a-Biddy

First off, how can you not like a name like "Chick-a-Biddy"??!  Second, you'll like it even more after you've had the food!

A few days ago, a friend and I decided to meet up for a late lunch.  Because it was a nice day, we decided to head over to Atlantic Station, since it always provides such a nice atmosphere as well as after-lunch shopping.  We decided to eat at a place we hadn't tried before and settled on Chick-a-Biddy.  Chick-a-Biddy and it's sister restaurant, Bantam & Biddy are the brain child of two known Atlanta chefs, Shaun Doty (of "Yeah! Burger" and former owner/head chef of "Shaun's", what was an excellent restaurant) and Lance Gummere.

Chick-a-biddy boasts that it only serves "farm fresh chicken", but it also has a lot of other items on the menu as well.  My friend chose the fried chicken with mac-n-cheese and sweet potato fries.  I, however,  decided on the piri piri chicken with mac-n-cheese and sauteed Brussels sprouts.  Let me tell you, all of it was good....but those Brussels sprouts were thee best Brussels sprouts I'd ever had in life.  The mac-n-cheese looks sort of "regular", but it was really good as well.  Last, the chicken was flavorful and I liked the piri piri spices.  My friend said that her fried chicken was winning as well.

The only negative--I do not go to restaurants to be served wine in stemless glasses!  Even though, it's a casual restaurant, I just have something against drinking out of stemless wine glasses when I'm out on the town.

I didn't get any photos of the restaurants interior because we decided to eat on the patio.  The patio is really nice and is in a good spot for people watching. The inside decor is really cute, and reminds me of places in Miami.  It has a very modern styling with a white & orange color scheme.

I look forward to going back and trying some of the other menu items.  If you're ever in Atlanta, go hang out in Atlantic Station and definitely give Chick-a-Biddy a try!

EAT :: Cupcakes!

They just make people happy, no?

If you're in Atlanta--go get your happy on at CamiCakes.

GO :: Georgia Wine Country

So now that the countdown begins on our move from my beloved Atlanta, hubs and I decided there are some things that any resident of Atlanta should go/see/do at some point.  Since our time here has now been cut short, we're going to be checking some things off of that list.

Something I've always wanted to do, but just had never gotten around to it is go check out Georgia's "wine country".  Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of north Georgia and stretching all the way over as far as Savannah, this "wine country" is home to a significant number of vineyards.  We visited two vineyards in Dahlonega, Georgia which were Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery and Frogtown Cellars.  Wolf Mountain is one of the more popular vineyards.  They have gorgeous grounds and a cafe with amazing food.  Maybe because this was a holiday weekend, Wolf Mountain was wayyyyy too crowded for us.  It detracted from the ambiance a bit, so we moved on rather quickly.  We decided to hit up Frogtown and it was quite a treat.  They were busier than usual too, but it was a bit more manageable.  So we spent the rest of the afternoon, noshing on small plates and partaking in some wine tasting.  It was just so nice.  I really do cherish moments like these with my husband, as we don't get "alone time" as much as would like.  The backdrop of the mountains along with the beautiful scenery of the vineyard below gave us the perfect casual but romantic atmosphere.

We really liked a some of the wines that we'd tasted and left with a few bottles.  It was a great day. *smile*

And yes, I'm wearing those pants again--and, no, I don't care how that looks.  They are my faves. *chuckle*

By the way, check out this movie called "Sideways".  It came out in 2004 and won an Oscar.  It's a funny, quirky film that we enjoyed.  We happened to watch it a couple weeks ago, and that is what gave us the nudge to make this quick little roadtrip.  We're actually planning a trip to California wine country, too!

Chevron

So, did everyone have a great weekend?  I sure did!  There was a lot going on in Atlanta this past weekend.  There were a couple festivals going on, One Music Fest (which I didn't make it to) and the Atlanta Arts Festival in Piedmont Park.  Hubs and I opted to get out for a few hours and check out the arts festival.  I had been debating for a while about going to the music festival, but as much as I love music, I know that my attention span isn't long enough to have me sitting out in the hot sun for hours and hours and hours, amidst a big crowd.  As I get older, I realize that comfort has become a big deal to me, especially when it comes to activities that are suppose to be "fun". haha

I finally pulled out this chevron print dress that I'd gotten from Forever 21 months ago in the spring.  I'd just never gotten around to wearing it.  I decided to dress it down with white Converse, as I knew we would be walking around for awhile.  Last, I grabbed my denim button-up, that I never leave home without and called it a day.

By the way, the weather was PERFECT.  It's starting to cool down slightly, so the highs were barely touching 80 degrees both days.  That made for a perfect temperature to be out and about outdoors.

Did any of you do anything fun?  Holla back!

*NikG*

GO :: Georgia Aquarium

This past weekend, hubs suggested we take the kids to the Georgia Aquarium here in Atlanta.  It's supposedly "state of the art" and we still had not been.  So we went!  It was really nice, I have to say.  We started off with the live dolphin show, Dolphin Tales, which the boys thoroughly enjoyed.  I have no pictures of that, as they asked that no photographs be taken as it could distract the animals, etc.  After that, we went through all of the exhibits.  There are several.  There are even exhibits where you can even touch some of the sea life.  I touched a stingray!  We even pit stopped in their restaurant, Cafe Aquaria, which was nicer than I would have expected. 

Just a few pics...

Sea Dragon.  How cute is that?!

I definitely think if you live in the Atlanta area or are visiting, it's a must see!

*NikG*

Weekend Snaps

Hope everyone had an amazing Labor Day weekend like I did!  I actually was out and about a bit more than I had planned, and I'm not complaining.  Although, I did spend the whole day Monday recuperating.  A girl can't do it like she use to, ya'll.  Of course, I attended the International Day Party organized by my friend DJ Salah Ananse, and I had such a great time!  On Sunday, I attended House In The Park which is always an amazing time.  Such great music, vibes and energy!  It rained on our heads, but that didn't slow down the party one bit.  Later that night, I hung out with some of my girls for a birthday celebration at Buckhead Bottle Bar & Bistro.  It was all the way live.

So here are some pics from the day party.  I started taking pictures early, but once I got into my groove the camera was put away!

I also posted a few pictures from the other excursions on my Instagram, in case you want to take a looksee.

Have a great day!

*NikG*

DO :: Int'l Day Party This Saturday!

Check check check it out! Day party Saturday, Aug 31, 2-8pm at The Sound Table! Featuring an international music set and international guest DJs! There will be House, Reggae, Haitian, and African music played!  Organized by DJ Salah Ananse and hosted by yours truly, Suze Sadler & Eddie Dupont. I would love to meet some of my Atlanta area readers!  Come on out!

*NikG*

EAT :: Cruzado ATL

So, I've been in the process of clearing out photos off of my SD cards, and I've come across a lot of photos that I had intentions of using in blog posts but had forgotten all about!  I will try to get them on the blog over time.

First up, here are some photos taken in June at Cruzado.  Cruzado is this cute and quaint little Cuban (mostly)/Latin/Caribbean restaurant tucked away in a residential neighborhood in Midtown Atlanta, with really yummy food.  What really made me like it was just the vibe of the atmosphere/neighborhood.  Let me be honest, I use to live within walking distance of this location when I first moved to Atlanta, so I am a bit partial.  Midtown is the shizzz!

Anyway, we had decided to try it out during their 1 Year Anniversary celebration.  We chilled out on the patio, tried a few tapas and drank a bunch of mojitos and caipirinhas.  The drinks were perfect, and the dishes I did try were great, and like I mentioned, the laid back, "neighborhood joint" atmosphere couldn't be beat.  Prices were great too--nothing outrageous.

Next door to the dining room, they also have a hookah bar for more lounging if that's your thing.   You could also take a quick stroll a few blocks away to Piedmont Park after your meal to walk off all of that Latin-y goodness.

Patio

Pork stuffed plantains

Chicken empanadas--definitely a HIGHLIGHT of the tapas.

Definitely check it out if you're ever in the neighborhood!

xoxo, *NikG*

Weekend Mentions

Hey all!  Hope everyone had an awesome weekend/St. Patrick's Day!  

My weekend was pretty chill.  The highlight was being able to have a "date night" with the hubs on Saturday.  We decided to give a new (to us) restaurant a try and were very happy with our choice.  The restaurant is named "Coast" and it's a seafood restaurant and raw bar with a nice little beach-y feel in the heart of Buckhead.

Photos courtesy of Google.com

They have indoor and outdoor seating.  Of course, this being the first weekend of the year with 70+ degree weather--we chose the patio!  

Drinks were great and the food was even better.  We started out with appetizers--I had fried calamari and hubs had peel & eat shrimp.  I forgot to take pictures of those because I was too busy chowing down.

For the main course, I had the Boston Lemon Sole entree.  I'd never had that type of fish (sole) before, and I'm glad I decided to try something new.  It was full of flavor.

Hubs opted for the skirt steak with shrimp.  Let's just say, my fork kept finding it's way over to his plate throughout our dinner.  You can't go wrong with a "surf & turf" kind of meal.

The ambiance was nice and they had live music on the patio as well.  We will definitely be back.  If you're ever in the area--give it a try!

Happy Monday!

Weekend Mentions

So, as you already know, me and the hubs had a quick little date night on Saturday.  We decided to give a new (to us) restaurant a try.  We dined at Aqua Blue in Alpharetta (a suburb of ATL) and can I tell you, the food was AWESOME.

The ambiance was nice, and my cocktail was perfect.  I wish I could give you the name of it, but I forgot and they don't have their cocktail menu on the website.  Anyway, it was some kind of Basil, Lime martini that was absolutely fabulous.

I'm not going to go through our full meal, because I didn't take pictures of all of it.  I will tell you about MY dish, which happened to be the "special" of the night.  It was a pan seared duck breast with some kind of apple chutney, along with green beans and mashed potatoes.  And if that wasn't enough, they topped the whole thing with shrimp.  I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Have I mentioned, I've never met a duck dish that I didn't like?  I tend to order it often.

Hubs had a couple sushi rolls, which were delicious as well.

Instead of desert, we opted for French press coffee while continuing to chat.  All in all, I was one happy camper.

If you're ever in Alpharetta--go!

Link Up

This past Saturday, I got the chance to connect with an old (new) friend.  I say "old (new)" because she is someone I stumbled upon during the Myspace years.  I use to devour pictures of her and her friends' eclectic, earthy and fabulous Brooklyn style.  This was before I transitioned to natural hair, and all of them had natural hair which was additional inspiration for me to take the plunge.  Anyway, over the years, we've been social media friends and finally met up this weekend.  She happened to be here in Atlanta and wanted to film me for a video project she is working on for a website she will be launching soon!  I will be sure to let you guys know when that happens.  It is always great to meet another kindred spirit!

Introducing Michi!  If you want to be inspired by cool fashion and a warm spirit, follow this girl!

We met up at one of my favorite coffee shops that I frequent weekly.  So the night began with coffee and ended with cocktails and laughter.  I took her to one of my favorite rooftop lounges found at the restaurant, Cafe Circa.  

 
Can you believe the picture below of our drinks were actually shots?  Yes, the bartender decided to make us shots the size of real drinks.  We had to call it a night after that. haha

Looking forward to sharing with you all the finished product!

Weekend Mentions

This past Saturday, me and the fam decided to head out to the Dekalb International Food & Music Festival.  The weather was perfect!  It really was a diverse affair, all types of food from Jamaican to Ethiopian to Puerto Rican to Chinese...and of course, Bahamian.  We got our Bahamian food itch satisfied, and all was well with the world.

So what kind of fun did all of you get into this past weekend?

This post is part of :

Pumpkin Patch 2012

So this past weekend, we made our yearly jaunt to the pumpkin patch (last years post here).  Max had been begging us for weeks now.  There are several pumpkin patches on the outskirts of Atlanta, but we usually go to Yule Forest.  They offer most of the usuals, i.e. hayride, petting zoo, pumpkins (of course).  They also have bounce houses and things of that nature for the smaller kids.  I can't wait until our boys get a bit bigger so that we can go to another pumpkin patch in the area that has a huge 4 acre corn maze!  In due time...

So what did you guys do over the weekend?

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{ATL} Old Fourth Ward Park

Happy Monday!

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A few snaps--Birthday Celebration

Happy Friday everyone!!  I was planning on posting today (because I'm challenging myself to post more often), but couldn't really decide to what to post.  So today, I'm being lazy and will just share with you a few snaps of a birthday dinner for one of my besties.  She usually has bigger affairs, but this time opted for a nice intimate dinner with some of her favorite people. :)  Anyway, we had dinner at Sotto Sotto, a really quaint Italian restaurant in Inman Park (a nice trendy neighborhood in Atlanta).  The food was dee-lish.

A great time was had by all.

Have a great weekend!

What's Upper?

Hey ya'll!  Sorry I haven't been very blog-ilicious lately.  I just haven't been that motivated!  And because this isn't my "job" and I don't make any (real) money from this--I purposely try not to force it.  I want to remain organic with it and blog when I really get the urge or have something to share.  Anyways....

So how was everyone's Memorial Day weekend?  Mine was great.  Great meaning VERY chill.  Went to one backyard barbecue and the rest of the time just hung out with my little family.  I did try a new restaurant in my 'hood for the first time, and was pretty pleased.  It's called Doc Chey's Noodle House (the Grant Park location).  I guess it's like an "Asian fusion" kind of spot, i.e. you'll find some Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese offerings on the menu.  I had a spicy basil noodle Thai dish with shrimp and the hubs had spice Szechuan chicken with brown rice (he's on a health kick. lol).  Anyway, everything was muy delicioso and we'll definitely make this one of our regular spots.  Plus, kids eat free on the weekends!  Can't beat that!  They have a lovely patio by the way.

The shrimp were buried under the noodles.

Szechuan chicken & brown rice

That face says it all on how he feels about my camera in his face.

The baby is huge. lol

Until next time...

More Weekend Mentions...

This weekend was pretty low key for me.  Sunday, me and the fam were out and about and had a really nice outdoor lunch at one of my fave "kinda' restaurants" called F2O (Fresh to Order).  There are several of these around town.  I say "kinda" because the food and interior is what I consider as full restaurant quality, but it's one of those places that you place your order at the counter, they give you a number, you go seat yourself, and they bring your food out to you, and that's it.  Anyway, they have one of the best salmon paninis and their wild mushroom soup is to die for.  Obviously that's my plate you see.  And just a quick shot of my boys! Please disregard Cruz's milk mouth.

Lastly, I was wondering if any of you have tried Target's little "gourmet" frozen pizzas they sell by Archer Farms?  Well, I tried the spinach & goat cheese as you can see.  They are usually sold out in my local store, actually.  I have a fetish for goat cheese which is why I went with this one, but they have other varieties.  I have to say, this pizza was pretty darn good, especially for a $3.99 pizza.  The only thing I would change are the "disks" of goat cheese--it makes it look factory made. lol  They should try making it look more like dollops instead.  I'll definitely keep one or two of these in the freezer for quick fixes in the future.

Well, hope you all had great weekends!  What did you do?