Sunday Happenings

We're enjoying a nice and relaxing weekend catching up with friends and doing some brunching!
Met some friends for brunch yesterday morning at South City Kitchen, one of our faves. And went to Tree House for brunch this morning with my friend Heather.
Snuck in a few Pure Barre classes and catching up on a little work this afternoon.

Something I think I want to try this year for my "Sunday Happenings" posts is to focus on a few specific topics to focus on such as: 
fitness, funny, food, faith, family and photography (perhaps a photo of the week?).

I can't promise I'll always stick to these topics but thought it might be a fun idea!

Fitness
A new year often comes with goals about health.
And I'm hoping to keep up my commitment to Pure Barre in 2017. It's something I've really enjoyed not only seeing the results but it just makes me feel better overall.

Be on the lookout for some tips for your first PB class I'll be sharing on the blog soon!

Funny
Have you seen these pictures of poor George W trying to put on a poncho during last week's inauguration? I lost it watching this hilarious video where the whole scene unfolded.


Faith
Been jamming out to this on the way to work each morning. Absolutely love this worship song!
Our church does a worship evening every so often and it's always incredible. There was one we went to last year that they handed out a North Point CD called HEAR and it's amazing.

Here is one of my favorites!

Photography
I am terrible at keeping any sort of plant alive. My sweet mother-in-law bought us an orchid several months ago for our home and I was pleased to find out it requires a little water about once a week to stay alive, thought I could handle that.

Well I think I remember about once a month to actually put some water in the vase. I made a comment last night that I was shocked it was still alive, and Houston admitted that he's been watering it once a week for me which I thought was the absolute cutest.

I had to take a picture of our beautiful orchid that is only alive because my sweet husband waters it for me because I never remember! Isn't he the best??


Happy Sunday, friends!
xox, A

2016 Favorite Atlanta Restaurants

One of my favorite bloggers, Luisa from Peaches to Pearls, is here in Atlanta and she recently posted her favorite restaurants from 2016 and I thought that was a fun idea!

A few of Luisa's top choices have definitely made their way onto our list this past year, especially her #1 choice of Colletta at Avalon in Alpharetta - AH-mazing. Also Bartaco and Smokebelly BBQ would be on our list of top Atlanta restaurants.

Here are our favorite Atlanta restaurants of 2016:


1KEPT
Hands down our favorite restaurant this year has been 1KEPT. If we've had friends or family in town, it's our go-to dinner option. It was tough to find the first time we went
(you park behind the building off of Peachtree)
and is around the corner from us so it's also a great date night spot for us.

We love the atmosphere and the food is tough to beat!

They have some delicious cocktails or sometimes we'll bring a bottle of wine to share.
A lot of Atlanta restaurants will let you bring your own wine and just charge you a corkage fee
(we typically call ahead to be sure it's okay) and typically saves us money on our bill.

As far as appetizers, a few of our favorites include the pimento cheese board, deviled eggs, meatballs and black truffle popcorn. Their flatbreads are also easy to share for an appetizer.

Houston and I used to play rock, paper, scissors for who got to order the Chicken Schnitzel for dinner and whoever lost would just eat the other's chicken. So we gave up, and now we both just order it.
Seriously you won't regret ordering it!
Don't get me wrong they have other amazing dishes, but I'm yet to find one I'd rather order over the chicken.

We typically don't order dessert when we're out, but we had an awesome waiter there one night who earned our trust quickly with his recommendations and he talked us into the pecan pie, and I think we've gotten it every time since.

So there are our top 10 for 2016. What are some of your favorites we should try?
xox, A

My Favorite Blogs to Read

Happy New Year! Each new year brings a great time to reflect and plan for the coming year.
One thing I'd like to focus on this year with my blog is to be more defined in the topics I write about and really find my niche when it comes to blogging.

There are several bloggers I really look up to and find inspiration from.
There are so many blogs that I love reading or following on their social channels,
so I wanted to share a few of my favorites!

Images from respective bloggers Instagram profile pictures:
@juliahengel
@carly
@ashleybrookedesigns
@emilyschuman

Julia from Gal to Glam
Julia Engel from Gal Meets Glam is one of my favorite bloggers to follow on social media. She and her husband take all these fabulous trips and I love getting to see where they go! They recently moved to Charleston which is one of my favorite southern cities and I think she's just so classy, I love her style and she's a blogger I really look up to!

I even had the chance to get to meet Julia in person a few weeks ago when she and her husband came to Atlanta for the day.

Meeting Julia in Atlanta
Gal Meets Glam Blog
Gal Meets Glam Instagram

Carly from The College Prepster
The College Prepster was the first blog I really started following on a regular basis back in college.
I appreciate how open and honest Carly is on her social channels and through her blog. She has great style, advice and is about my age so easy to relate to.

We share a love for Lilly Pulitzer, dogs, fitness and we both started our blogs while we were in college. I would love to get to meet Carly one day!

The College Prepster Blog
The College Prepster Instagram

Ashley from ABD Designs Blog
I discovered Ashley on social media a few years ago with the adorable mugs she designs! She makes many other precious products that I wish I could buy ALL OF THE THINGS! She just came out with these adorable workout tanks and I just can't wait to buy one. Her ABD shop has the perfect girly gift ideas for friends, coworkers, your mom, sister, etc.

I had the opportunity to meet Ashley over Christmas and she's so joyful, generous and down to earth!

My first ABD Mug that I keep at work and admire each day!
Houston gave this to me for Christmas a few years ago.
Ashley Brooke Designs Blog
Ashley Brooke Designs Instagram

Emily from Cupcakes & Cashmere
My sister, Betsy introduced me to Emily Schuman from Cupcakes & Cashmere several years ago. I think Emily has the cutest ideas and I love her book my mom gave me a few years ago about styling, receipes and hosting ideas.

Cupcakes & Cashmere Blog
Cupcakes & Cashmere Instagram

I have more of my favorite blogs listed on the right side of my blog under "Favorite Blogs."
Do you have any favorite bloggers you keep up with?

xox, A