Around Athens

Attention all four legged friends and the people they own—Athens, GA is a very dog friendly city! Perhaps it’s the memories of penny pitches, fake ID’s or unhealthy food at your disposal any time of day…. but I love college towns. Especially college towns in the summer time when it’s not insanely packed and you can get a chance to walk around and check it out. A majority of restaurants/bars on Broad Street in Athens have patios right along the sidewalk where you can sit with your pooch. I guess I wouldn’t expect less seeing how University of Georgia’s mascot is UGA, the bulldog.

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While looking for restaurants where I could bring Lincoln, I saw a few  places but when I looked at their menu, nothing popped out at me especially not at the prices they were offering. I read about De Palma’s and didn’t get a chance to check out their menu beforehand. When we stopped by there to check it out, we saw they had a lot of tables open on the patio with very reasonable prices.

We sat outside and thank god the patio was covered began the clouds were rolling in.

After sniffing out the patio, DePalma’s was Lincoln approved

We ordered right away since we were hungry and got some wine. A perfect way to spend a Friday afternoon.

We got some fresh bread out to us before we got our meal. There is nothing like fresh bread and olive oil!

Lincoln got a whiff of the bread right as the server brought it out. He wasn’t pawing at me or anything but you could tell he was intrigued.

Since it was June in Georgia and we were sitting outside, pasta or pizza was the last thing on my mind. I ordered the Insalata Cecilia-grilled shrimp, scallops, pineapple & tomatoes with feta over field greens with jalapeño–citrus vinaigrette

My mom and dad got a medium pizza with pepperoni and green peppers. As you can see, there is only half here. They brought it out that way. The reason being because my mom, Lincoln and I sat outside while my dad sat inside at the bar. No bad blood or anything, he was just hot. So was I but I had a fur baby to deal with. I guess he had prime seating location since he waved over the server when he saw them bringing out the pizza. So they gave him half and then brought out the remainder to my mom. This is how my family rolls. I tried a sliver of the pizza and wasn’t too impressed. The pizza was bogged down with sauce and make it soggy plus the sauce was very sweet.

Lincoln began to pout once he realized he wasn’t getting any food and wouldn’t respond to me when I called his name. So I did what any good dog mama would do and fed him a few pieces of pepperoni from the pizza. His admiration for me set in right away until yet again he realized he wasn’t getting anymore.

Torrential rain hit just as we were leaving so we walked Broad Street trying to find a patio to sit in until it passed. We ended up in the stairwell of a bar and watched the rain….and watched….and watched. 15 minutes later it finally started to let up and I saw something with the letters “YOG” I gave my mom my dog and bolted over there in hopes that it was fro yo.

Indeed it was fro yo, it was Yoguri.

I dug this location since it was a historic building just sooped up. However, I soon found it wasn’t my beloved self serve kind of place, it was a traditional fro yo kind of joint. Boo. It reminded me of a Pinkberry knockoff and I’m not a huge fan of the Pinkberry. But once I saw the fro yo, I had it on the brain and needed to get something there. I ordered the small green tea with blackberries and strawberries.

Ok, so they hooked up with the strawberries and blackberries but I definitely didn’t want all of that. When I have a fro yo craving, I want a little portion and craving gone, which is why I dig the self serve places. This SMALL portion cost $5.30. Mind you, it tasted wonderful but I could get a meal for that much (at a seedy place or the supermarket deli, not Ruth Chris of course)

I hope I get to go back to Athens one day…..with Lincoln of course!

If you went to college, did you go to a small or big school? I went to WVU, it has around 25,000 people when I went and the fact that it was voted #1 party school may have swayed my vote to go there just a little.

Sugargate

Oi vey, I am in desperate need of a sugar detox. I feel like all I’ve been doing is eating and  can feel the sugar floating through my veins and going straight to my hips and butt. Because I need to gain weight there. Why oh why can’t some doctor come up with a non profit organization to take fat from my body and pump it into the starving children of Africa? I would totally volunteer my butt for that.

I think it started on Saturday night when my niece had a friend over for a sleepover and they made brownies. Making brownies is their tradition whenever they have a sleepover at each others house. A tradition I am all for…..except when they brought me a brownie at midnight.

Usually this would be ok but I had one two brownies before so I was brownied out….so I thought. I didn’t want to hurt their feelings and not eat the brownie so brownie went a-bye-bye.

Other than there has been petit fours from Taylor’s Bakery

Fro Yo from Huddles

This was one of the funkiest creations I’ve made yet. Strawberry Lemonade and Tart fro yo with Fruity Pebbles, mini M&M’s and coconut. So yeah, pretty much every flavor imaginable. Huddles was a cute place but they really need to work on their feng shui.  When there is a line of people waiting to get their fro yo on, finally do, then have to wait for people to mosey along the toppings line and then for people to pay at the one cashier on duty (even though there are three other people working there), it does not jive well. Especially when you are looking for frozen yogurt, not soupy yogurt. Talk about a fro yo fail!

Many visits to the Bucks

And trips to local coffee shops such as my new love, Monon Coffee Company

When we went in I was overtaken with it’s modern and bright décor. Plus there were no hipsters which is always a plus since it looks like it could be a hipster haven. But then again, it was pretty early and I don’t think hipsters wake up until 10am. They have the same drinks you will find anywhere else but also had some obscure sounding ones such as the Mona Lisa and Con Panna.

  I asked the barista what the Mona Lisa was and once he told me, I was on it like white on rice. Turns out it is a latte with honey and cinnamon. Hmmm….I always put cinnamon in my coffee but honey? I’ve never had honey in coffee only tea so why not give it a shot?

 Sigh, I really need to stop getting my calories from drinks. Half and half has been creeping it’s way back into my life and that’s not good for anyone.Why have I never had the idea to combine cinnamon and honey before? Maybe if I did, I could have a drink named after me. However, if I did have a drink named after me I think it would have to have more ingredients or something snazzier than just cinnamon and honey. Maybe cinnamon, honey and tabasco because I am saucy? Anywho, this was a great place to stop by. There was only one barista working there and he took his time with making the drink but if you give me pleasant conversation and a drink made with love, I will definitely support your business!  

On Sunday, we went to the pool for a few hours. I worked on my tan plus made my way through The Girl Who Played With Fire (which I can’t put down!!)  so it was a win win situation.

I heart the peaceful time before the unruly children come out to play.Later we went to go see The Hangover 2, it was hilarious but basically the same plot as the first one. I actually found this one to be funnier though. I really don’t know what they would do without Zach G because he makes the movie (both times)

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Then I started to think about last Memorial Day weekend and what I was doing. I couldn’t think of how I spent it last year but should have remembered because it was me against the mountain.

Thank God no bruises like that this year, only a blistering headache from my lovely niece. She is a terror and I can only hope she calms down in the years to come because if not, it’s going to be one hell of a bumpy ride.

Oh well, at least she is cute.

Sugar-love it or leave it? Do you actively watch your sugar intake or say screw it?

My body is NOT a wonderland

John Mayer can go suck it. After the food and booze fest for the past four days, my body feels like anything but a wonderland.

I love coming into town and seeing friends but unfortunately it entails going out for food and drinks. Now I love food and drinks but the past four days have done me in. I am at the point if I hear the word beer I start to feel nauseous and gag a bit. There has been no mention of vegetables or fruit and water has only been drunk in between beers. I’ve been in fried fatty food heaven and it hasn’t been worth the way I’m feeling right about now.  I even went to Ross to buy a few flowy dresses since I feel like a heffer in pants plus who wants to wear pants when it’s 90 + degrees out? I feel bloated, tired, cranky and moody as all hell and I need to have my body feeling like the semi-wonderland it once was as opposed to the garbage disposal of crap it’s been recently.

Even Lincoln is eating worse than normal. He has been getting his Polish ham on like no other dog in town.

And what the hell is up with me having more of a social life in South Florida than in Charlotte? Something is wrong with that! And let’s not even start about how I’ve met more guys in the past week than I have in the past few months in Charlotte. I can’t wait to move out of that city.

Blogger meet ups rock my world and  I met up with Natalie from Will Jog For Food. I’m so stoked she wanted to meet up! I love her blog because not only does she posts recipes, travel adventures and workouts, she has reviews of restaurants in the South Florida area. Perfect for me since I’m originally from here and want to find new places to check out while I visit the parentals. She recently posted a review of Brother Tuckers in Pompano Beach and I thought it looked like a fun place so we met up for dinner on Thursday night.

I like their menu because they didn’t have a lot of variety, which is perfect for someone like me who flip flops on what to order (she saw this first hand when I kept reaching for a menu, deciding on something different every few minutes) I finally settled on the tuna burger with a side of pasta salad.

Absolutely delicious! This place was unique, it’s a pub but it is a complete hole in the wall. I’ve been to many hole in the wall places before but this one was for real since you can either walk in from the front entrance on the street or through the back entrance. The back entrance is funky since you have to walk through the kitchen to get to the dining room. When she told me this, I thought that was a little odd but it was cool seeing the staff at work and how they cook everything. Plus it’s right there in the open with people walking through so it has to be clean right?

Natalie and I

It was so great to meet her and now know one more person in South Florida!

Its been so hot here the past week, fro yo has been on my mind constantly (and 7-11 slurpees since we don’t have 7-11 in Charlotte. Add yet another reason to the list of why I can’t wait to move) I found a fro yo place a few minutes away from my parents—16 Handles.

I tend to go with fruity, tart fro yo however, I saw something I couldn’t pass up

RED VELVET FRO YO (yes, totally deserves all caps)

I’ve been reading about red velvet fro yo for the past year and was a little sad I’ve never tried it.  This was the perfect opportunity to try it out, topped with some coconut and almonds.

Gripe-I hate when people complain about the prices at self serve fro yo places. Why don’t they just practice some self control instead of filling their entire container? I got this portion for $2 and some change and it hit the spot. Moderation, people, moderation.

Half priced frapps having been helping me either. I took a chance on once I’ve never tried-Toffee Nut frapp and it was absolutely disgusting. I will be sticking with Coconut Mocha or Caramel Light in the future.

As for getting back on track? I can’t wait for some veggies like these to make an appearance again in my life. It’s been way too long since we’ve shared some quality time.

Hope everyone had a fun weekend—tell me something exciting about me!

Anyone else sad about it being the last day of half priced fraps? I am at Starbucks enjoying my last one—coconut crème-yummay!

Behind the times

Hello all! My trip plans were delayed for one day due to my lack of sleep on Friday night. I finally got some rest early Saturday morning but woke up late and decided to leave for Florida today. I was dragging for the first few hours Saturday morning and went to the gym to wake up. I did 25 minutes walking on the treadmill with an incline ranging from -3 to 6, did lower body strength training then a cool down of 5 minutes on the elliptical. Unfortunately, it didn’t help me too much in the waking up department.

I met up with some friends to see Something Borrowed in the afternoon which was perfect since the movie theater was near Dean & Deluca.

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I needed a major dose of java so I got an iced coffee and went around the store trying out their free samples. I could dine off of their free samples alone since they offer bruschetta, creamy artichoke dip, hot raspberry preserves over cream cheese and other goodies.

Something Borrowed was cute. As always, the book was better and there were a few changes in the movie but I enjoyed it. And I now have a crush on John Krasinski, unlike others who fell in love with him on The Office. I am behind the times what can I say?

Another way I’m behind the times? In regards to books. I found these two titles at the library today and am excited to read them, especially since I’ll be putting in some beach time this next week!

Which one should I read first??

Fro-yo was enjoyed right after the movie. I got the mini at Pinkberry since their fro-yo seems to be more expensive that other places. I am all about the self serve fro-yo places that allow you to choose the size, adds ins and weigh it for price as opposed to a set size

After running some errands, I stopped by Harris Teeter to pick up something to eat. I went to the Harris Teeter referred to as the Taj MaTeeter by many since it’s the mothership and has just about everything there—sub station, pasta bar, pizza stone, hot bar, olive bar, Starbucks, etc. I was in complete overload of what to get to eat! I started talking with the sub girl about how I had no clue what to get and she told me since she loved my girl earrings and liked my fashion sense, I could get any of the six inch subs for $3.49, works for me!

I went with the chicken breast sub because it is heaven on a roll and little Lincoln got to enjoy some of the chicken since she hooked me up!

I’m not a huge movie girl but after seeing the previews in the theater, I cannot wait to see these two movies this summer

Friends With Benefits

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Crazy Stupid Love

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All I need in life is a little Ryan Gosling, homeboy just keeps getting better with age!

Any movies you’re looking forward to seeing this summer?

Bark for Life

I like dogs and hate cancer so on Saturday, Lincoln and I woke up early to do the American Cancer Society Bark for Life walk. The walk was being held to raise money for cancer and until the day of, I wasn’t sure if it was for doggie cancer or human cancer but regardless, raising money for any kind of cancer is a good thing. You could register as part of team or individually, which I did since I didn’t know anyone else who was doing it.

We were one of the first ones to arrive, which gave us a lot of time to check our the different sponsors and vendors plus get some swag!

My first time trying Cake Batter fro yo–amazing!

You can bet your sweet butt, I stuffed as many as I could in my purse then took a couple of trips to my car to drop off!

Soon, the area filled up with all kinds of dogs

There were big dogs

…..and small dogs

….and even dressed up dogs!

I thought of my favorite dachshund Basil when I saw these dolled up pups

Lincoln wasn’t doing too well with the outrageous number of dogs and people there, he can be a bit skiddish at times

But once I grabbed him in my arms and carried him around like a baby he was fin

Dog has me wrapped around his finger paw I tell you.

Soon, we were off walking, the walk was a 1.57 mile walk around Uptown Charlotte starting across the street from Bank of America stadium

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When I took this picture, I had to stop myself from laughing. All the dogs were going crazy sniffing everything in sight. I pictures one of e dogs finding a human hand or foot and cue in the Law and Order music–it reminded of a situation that would kick off an episode. Anyone else? No? Just me? Ok.

It was the perfect day for a walk! There were a lot of bitches for Lincoln to hit on, sights to see such as the Carolina Panthers practice field, skyline of Uptown Charlotte and Bank of America Stadium, where the Panthers play when they decide to show up.