Tuesday Tunes: Loosin' Up the Ears for Lolla

What's better than thousands of sweaty people jumping around for twelve hours to blaring music?  Nothing!!  We're heading to Lollapalooza in Chicago this weekend, and I could not be more excited!!! Here are some of the tunes I'm most looking forward to hearing.  Turn them on throughout the weekend if you want to have a piece of the fun.  Since I'm double excited, it's double the fun with ten songs instead of five.

1) I Won't Be Found by The Tallest Man on Earth

2) Right Thing To Do by Sbtrkt (ft. Jessie Ware)

3) Take a Walk by Passion Pit

4) Lost in my Mind by The Head and the Heart

5) Stars by Fun.

6) Thinking About You by Frank Ocean

7) Shake It Out by Florence + the Machine

 8) Simple Song by The Shins

9) Only You by Kaskade (ft. Tiesto and Haley)

Last but not least, love of my life...

10 (A) Silhouettes by Avicii

...and because it never gets old
10 (B) Levels by Avicii (Skrillex remix)

Weekend Snapshots: The Bess Wedding

Westport, MA

This weekend we traveled around New England for the nuptials of Jess + Ben.  The entire weekend was incredible, to say the least. We stopped in Boston to see the Goods, roamed Newport with the Weiss', took in the beautiful sites of Westport and Falls River, and most importantly got to see one of our beloved sushigirls marry the man of her dreams!  There were so many smiles, moments of laughter and love...

Our stop in Newport...

  

...a night out in Westport {never dull}

Time for some wedding fun...

WE LOVE YOU JPP!

Just an Old Sweet Song, Keeps Georgia on my Mind

The Haynes/Mitchell clan traveled down to St. Simons, GA this past weekend to take part in the typical Memorial day activities:  boating, beach, booze and BBQ.  It was one of the best vacations I've had in awhile.  Suffice it to say, its three days later and I'm still suffering from some serious post-Georgia depression.  We did so much but at the same time it felt so relaxing.  Here's synopsis of the highlights.  (If you want to just get the visual, you can skip to the bottom)

Food:

We spent a good bit of our meals at the house.  Kath was taking full advantage of her new kitchen and Big T was grill master, Laura and I acted as sous chefs. Below are some of the delicious recipes that made an appearance at our dining room table.  When we weren't all wearing our chef's hats, we bee-lined to Barbara Jeans for the best pumpkin and jalapeno corn bread in the world, went to the 4th of May Cafe for their pecan waffles, satisfied our sweet tooth at St. Simons Sweet Shop, had breakfast and lunch at The Lodge, and an amazing BBQ event at Rainbow Island (also the site of the impending Anderton/Haynes nuptials (!!!!)).  

Recipes:

Burnt Broccoli 

Challah French Toast Casserole

Crispy Edamame (Nom, Nom, Nom)

Egg Casserole (I didn't eat this one because there was bacon in it, but it looked yummy.  Dish can be made without the piggies)

Grilled Asparagus

Mexican Salad (This is just a variation. It's the first thing my mom ever made my dad, so it's been around in the familia a long time)

Activities:

Our mornings started out at the gorgeous Cloisters on Sea Island, zumba-ing with the ole' folks, taking yoga classes, going for runs, and getting leg massages by weird pulsating machines.  Our days were filled with: a dolphin watching tour, walking through Redfern Village, hitting up my favorite store Duchman's, going to East Beach, kayaking through the marsh, a night out at Ziggy's, drinking vino around the fire pit, a family beer pong tournament (I dominated - thank you IU), hanging with Hillya, games of Scrabble, hammock lounging, laying out by the pool, and sitting outside watching our special visitor, Tropical Storm Beryl.

The best part of all was just spending quality time with the most important people in the world to me, in one of the best places! Hope you guys all had an equally amazing Memorial Day weekend, remembering all those who have defended our country.  If you find yourself in St. Simons one of these days a) let me know, I will join you, and b) you should definitely check out all the places above.

xo

Clockwise from top: Thura & Matthew getting ready to boat, Momma and G-Momma dolphin gazing, pit stop for some candy in Redfern Village, the rents on Rainbow Island, kayaking through the marsh, me and sissy on Sea Island 

 double rainbow, rainbow island BBQ, old school Mercedes, late night camp fire, Georgia sunset in our backyard

lounging on the hammock, soon-to-be Andertons at the location of the party, sistas grabbing italian ice, me and Gma

Turkey Tales

Last week it was back to HOT-lanta for family, fun, friends, football and food.  I won't bore you with every detail of the five days but here are some highlights.

It's always hard to find a restaurant that offers a lot of healthy vegetarian variety, especially in a city that is known for its fried chicken and Waffle House greasy goodness, but I found TWO! When I got in on Wednesday I met Meryl and Joel at R. Thomas, which describes itself as "funky burger joint with a little healthy California flair", and funky and full of flair it is.  Greeted at the entrance with cages of tropical parrots, the twenty-four hour restaurant itself is a covered patio with lush gardens and bright colors.  I only had time for coffee at my first stop of the trip, yes I went twice, and opted for the Blue Moon latte, no it did not contain the beer.  They had ordered the quinoa bowl and flax seed chips, both of which looked delicious.  The second time around I got the omelet as well as the privilege of seeing the real R. Thomas and dining with some flying birds.  My only complaint is that I didn't know about this restaurant during high school as I chowed down late night on beignets next door at Huey's.  The second treasure I found was Top Flr in Midtown, located on the quaint Myrtle street a few blocks from Piedmont Park.  The restaurant offers a chique and romantic interior, a delectable tofu entree, and tasty sides (burnt mac n' cheese and shaved brussel sprouts were my favorites). 

Another highlight of the trip was taking a class at Pure Barre Buckhead with my sister.  The pure barre technique is a recent phenomenon in the exercise community, combining weights and ballet bar with quick isometric movements, its popularity has risen because its low-impact, tones and creates a lean look.  Though the company has yet to open a studio in Manhattan, there are several studios that provide a similar work out like Physique 57 and Bar Method. I felt awesome after one class, it flew by and was a great workout.  My friend Jess has been taking Physique 57 classes for a while and I think I might have to join in from now on!

Beyond a doubt the best part was spending time with family and friends.  It's always great to catch up with old friends, and this time around we got to spend quality time with ones we hadn't seen in years.  We took a trip up to the our family friend's lake house in Gainsville, which is a nice escape when my idea of nature is limited to a twenty block radius known as Central Park.  To sum up my trip, I am thankful for: my mom's cooking and loving heart, my dad's cheesy jokes and Cosby sweaters, passing sobriety tests, my siblings (everything about them), CatchPhrase, slipping on leaves, having a sister equally as klutzy as me and having matching scars, Jake Gyllenhall but not his new dirty movie, trivia at TJ's, SEC football, HUE leggings, Target, cognac and fireplaces, SoundHound and satellite radio, Jenny, deers and having an amazing place to call home.  Things I'm not thankful for:  6 a.m. flights.  I. am. beat.

Before:                                                                  After:

Hope ya'll had an equally wonderful Thanksgiving!!