My Favorite Atlanta Restaurants Part 1... (3 are gluten free!!)

Here's a list of places that make me happy to live in Atlanta :) 1. The Sundial Restaurant

I LOVE the Sundial!  It's located at the top of the Westin in downtown Atlanta, and I've been going there since I was a child.  You can see all the way to Stone Mountain, which is such a treat for a little kid!

Recently I introduced Jimmy to the Sundial, and he loved it too.  There's something about sipping a White Russian while taking a 360° spin around the skyline that just says "Welcome to Atlanta!"

To be 100% honest, I've never eaten there... so perhaps this deserves the title of my favorite bar in Atlanta...

2. Watershed on Peachtree

Ever since 6th grade I've had a fairly fanatical obsession with The Indigo Girls.  Galileo had me at first listen, and the CDs have been staples in my car ever since.  When they opened Watershed here in Atlanta, I was desperate to go.  While I loved the Decatur location, I have to say that the new Peachtree location is much better.  It's closer to my house, and I love the design.  I've heard the fried chicken is out of this world, but I was delighted with my gluten free veggie plate as well.  The servers are wonderfully knowledgeable about which items are gluten free and which can be made gluten free, which is so refreshing.  Jimmy's taking me there for dinner tonight... lucky me!

3. Sophie's Uptown

Sophie's is a cute little cafe/bakery on Pharr Road.  They publish a gluten free menu every day that includes quiches, soups and even sandwiches.  I whole heartedly recommend the tomato soup (ask for an extra pack of Saltines).  The sandwich was good, but I'm not a huge fan of gluten free bread.  I have to say though, sometimes you just need a sandwich.  They also donate to homeless pets, which makes me feel good about eating there.

4. Houston's 

If you don't like Houston's you don't like Atlanta.  I'm serious.  Every time you go to Houston's you know what you're going to get.  Here's a list of the absolute best things at Houston's in case you live in a hole:  Spinach dip, French Dip, chicken fingers + fries + colesalw, salad with the chicken fingers on it (forget the name), crab cakes, vegetable plate, Hickory Burger, tortilla soup, grilled artichoke, bbq chicken.  FYI, I just asked Lindley (my bff) what her favorite things were at Houston's. She launched into a list that included the grilled chicken salad subbing in chicken fingers and the sleeper favorite smoked salmon, which nobody ever gets because you'd be a fool not to order the the spinach dip or artichoke heart.  Kids who were raised in Atlanta and went to Westminster love Houston's as much UGA grads like the Bulldogs.  It's a thing.  By the way... if you go there and tell them you are gluten free they will make you almost anything on the menu gluten free.... except the chicken fingers, which crushed a little piece of my soul.

5. Nuevo Loreado

Lindley and I love Mexican food more than anything.  When we lived together at UGA we would go to the La Parilla on Prince at least 5 times a week (sometimes twice a day if we just had to).  We would go to the drug store next door and buy gossip magazines.  Then we would go in to La Parilla and order two giant mugs of beer in the frostiest glasses you've ever seen.  We'd spend at least 45 minutes drinking our beers and eating bean dip before we ordered our taco salads (her's with no cheese... we were on weight watchers, of course).  The whole experience would take at least two hours, but the servers never said anything to us because we were probably their best customers.  Though we left Athens at least 15 lbs heavier, we also left with holes in our hearts that no frosty beer or taco salad could ever fill... not to say we haven't tried.  We've probably tried every mexican restaurant in the city, and we rate them all... though that's a different blog post for a different day.  Suffice it to say we like Nuevo Loreado the best.  They have the best salsa and the best taco salads.  I know some of you are jumping out of your chair because I didn't say Jalisco's, but give me a break... I like what I like.  The salsa at Jalisco's is a touch too hot, and I can't go in there wearing pajama pants and a sweat shirt because I'll run into like 30 people I know.  Last night Lindley and I went over to Nuevo Loreado, and I carried a little plastic bag of gluten free chips.  My Bud Light bottle was cold, but it was no frosty mug.  At the end of the day I say if you can't drive to Athens, you're best option is to hit up Nuevo Loreado.  As a side note, be careful wearing you're pajamas because you'll most likely see someone you know ;)

Tomorrow I'll work on finishing the list.  Have a great night everybody!

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Whatever happened with... (water bill, diet, wedding plans) and a new listing from Anne Powers!

There are so may things to tell you guys!!!

Last week, Glennis and I went to the Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.  This is one of our favorite conferences.  They always have great speakers, and the conferences are always held in really cool places.  (Remember last year when we went to San Diego, and the year before when we went to Seattle?)

Except this time it wasn't cool, it was HOT! :)

But there were tons of pools there :)

On Wednesday we went to the awards dinner, and I got an award called "Outstanding Social Media Savvy."

I was THRILLED!  Over the years Beacham has gotten a lot of awards for our magazine, our print marketing and our marketing package, but this is our first award for social media.

It means so much to me because I run the social media campaign here at Beacham, and I am really proud of what we've accomplished.  We have this blog, which was ranked #5 real estate blog in the world last year.  A few months ago we launched a new Beacham Blog, we have more fans on Facebook than any other real estate company in Atlanta, we are very active on Twitter, and we even have a new Pinterest account.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that people read THIS blog, and they remember what I talk about!  Every time it happens I do a double take.  Over the last few months I've run into people I haven't talked to in a year or so and they will say "what happened with your water bill," 0r "how is that diet going?"  A lot of times it happens when I'm introduced to someone for the first time.  I'll shake their hands and they say, "how are the wedding plans coming along?  I read about them on your blog?"  That happened to me a lot this past week in Arizona.  It made me realize two things... one, that people actually take the time to read the blog, and two, that I've left a lot of loose ends!

First thing's first... the water bill.

Read this story to see the initial story of what happened with my $9,000 water bill.  A few weeks later I wrote this post explaining that the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management replaced my water meter and wiped away everything but $800, which they said I still owed them.  I decided to wait a few months and collect a few bills.  Every bill I've gotten has been under $50, so I clearly had one of those bad water meters that are all over the city.  Now I just have to go back before the board, argue my case one more time and hope they erase the final $800 balance.  WSB actually interviewed me about the water issue last week, but my hair looked so horrendous I just cannot post it here.  I've  since stopped using leave-in conditioner. ;)

In a huge karmic joke, I actually walked over my water meter last night and the top was off just slightly.  It slipped off and my foot fell INTO the water meter hole.  It left three big scrapes on my leg, and it's all bruised today.  I guess the water department is out to get me one way or another!

Next loose end?

The Dukan Diet.  I started the Dukan Diet about a month ago for two reasons. I wanted to lose a few more pounds before the wedding, and I was also just having a lot of stomach pain.  I did the Dukan Diet for about 2 weeks and lost 4 lbs.  I guess that's not a huge amount of weight, but it was 3/4 of the weight I wanted to lose, so I would consider it fairly effective.

At the same time I started the Dukan Diet I also gave up gluten and dairy in hopes that it would help my stomach pain.  My friend Ginny also suggested I go see Dr. Tasneem Bhatia.  She is a holistic doctor here in Atlanta who was on Dr. Oz and went to Westminster.  I loved her!  When I went to see her I still had significant stomach pain even thought I had dropped the gluten and dairy.  I also had headaches and low energy, which was a result of all the meat I was eating.  She did a lot of test and got me all turned around.  She put me on a low acid diet, kept me off the gluten and dairy and got me some supplements.  I've kept the 4 lbs off and feel SO MUCH BETTER now.  If any of you are interested in holistic medicine I recommend her 150%!  She spent a lot of time with me and listened and really tried to figure out a way to help me.  Please email me if you have any specific questions about her.

And now a wedding update...

We did a food tasting, YUM!  The food at The Grand Bohemian is amazing.  I even liked the sea bass, and I don't even like fish!

And we picked out a save the date. We are so excited because it's orange, the best color ever.We picked out flowers :)  We decided to work with Flora in Asheville.  She is going to do a beautiful mix of succulents for me.  It was really fun talking to her.  She totally understood what I wanted.

And we will end with a house...

A few weeks ago I shot this house at 2128 Lucerne Lane.  Anne Powers has this house listed, and I loved it!

Isn't it pretty?  The kitchen is so wonderful.  it opens to the family room and breakfast area.  The whites and greens go together so well.  The master bedroom suite is also large and cozy with a huge master bath and fireplace.  The gazebo pictures show a large common area in the neighborhood.   To find out more about this house please visit beacham.com.

Talk to you guys soon!

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Jimmy and I are ENGAGED!!!

JIMMY AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!

I could not possibly be more excited.  I am so in love with him and cannot believe I am lucky enough to spend every single day with him for the rest of my life.  I know you guys don't know Jimmy as well as you know me, so I wanted to tell you a little bit about him...

Jimmy is the happiest person I've ever known.  Every single little thing I do is better when he is around.  He has the best attitude, and he just makes things more joyful.  He has this laugh that is my favorite sound.  It's so loud and infectious.  He makes me FUNNIER because I want to hear it.  He makes this really loud hoot and then doubles over and just starts laughing so much.  Sometimes, if it's really funny, he cries.  That's when I know he is happiest.  He once laughed so hard that he fell on the floor crying.  It's a trait he shares with the rest of his family.  I love being with all of them.  They are all just as happy as Jimmy, and when I am with them I laugh so hard that I cry too!

That's the main reasons I got to all the Phish shows with him.  I clearly LOVE Phish... but I was really more of a "go when they are near Atlanta" type girl.  Then I met Jimmy.  He travels to see them all the time.  This Summer will be his 100th show.  We have been to tons of shows together.  All my family and friends say, "you've heard them so many times, how can you possibly want to go anymore?"  I want to go to see Jimmy's face.  It just lights up...  He gets so excited and dances around and just loves it...  and that is my favorite time.  I love seeing him happy more than I love anything else.  I would gladly go to a hundred more shows if I got to see him that happy.

My other favorite thing about Jimmy is that he loves me the most in the world.  Sometimes when he looks at me it just makes my heart want to explode because I know how much he loves me without him even having to tell me... and I love him that much too... and now I get to be with him for the rest of my life.  He is the answer to all of my prayers.  I am the luckiest girl in the entire world... AND I KNOW IT!

Would you like to know how Jimmy proposed to me?

We went on a walk with our dog Charlotte.  We were on the trail at Westminster (where I went to high school) and Jimmy stopped at a bench.  I had no idea why he was stopping...  then he pulled this huge box out of his pocket.  He got down on one knee and said "I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.  Will you marry me?"  Then he opened the box and showed me the most amazing ring I've ever seen.

I said, "yes," and then I just looked at the ring and said, "is the for me?"  I think I was in shock! :)  The ring is so much bigger and so much more than anything I've ever dreamed of getting.  But you know the best part about it?  It's Jimmy's great great grandmother's ring.  I feel so honored that the Macauleys would trust me with something so important.  I will take such good care of it.  It is such a honor to be able to wear it.  A huge thank you to Jimmy's sisters and parents for helping him make such a great decision.

Jimmy and I went over to Murphy's after the proposal, and so many people we love came.  It was sort of an impromptu celebration, and it was perfect!  We had champagne  and toasts.  Then we went over to Atkins Park to meet up with some of our other friends.  Everyone was so happy for us, and we were so happy too!!  I felt like my face was going to fall off from smiling so much!

On Saturday we did the most appropriate thing EVER to celebrate: Jimmy Buffett!  It was such an amazing treat to have everyone with us.  We had members of my family and Jimmy's family, and Mac (basically Jimmy's brother) and some of his family there.  I couldn't have asked for anything better.

On Sunday we went to tell Ya.  Ya has worked for my family for 28 years (since I was born).  When we told her the good news her exact words were, "Praise Jesus," and "When are you having a baby?"  Some things never change.

After we saw Ya we went over to Jimmy's house.  We had dinner with Mac (who we love so much)... took the three remaining Jello shots from Jimmy Buffett...

... and watched Kenny Rogers on stage with Phish at Bonnaroo.  It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend.  Thank you so much to everyone who made it so special!  Thank you to our wonderful families and friends.  We loved getting all the Facebook posts and notes of love and encouragement.  This will be the most fun year of our lives, and I can't wait to share it with all of you.

-Blayne

P.S. One of the first things I did was change the name of my pinterest board.  DUH.

Meet the Parents + Prettiest Kitchen!!

First up? Thank you all so much for your heartfelt notes and comments about me keeping the blog!  I really do love this blog.  I think every blogger hits a mark when they begin to questions the reasons why they are writing.  Based on all the feedback I got, I am going to make a few changes, but keep blogging.  I really do appreciate the support.  It means so much to me that you guys care. :)

Next??

Jimmy's parents are coming to Atlanta this weekend to meet my parents!

That's a big deal!

Ever since the famed "Meet The Parents" movie series came out, this whole process had gotten a bad wrap (or is it bad rap?  I don't know).

Luckily, I adore each and every parent involved, and I am confident the process will go swimmingly.

I actually got a little preview of the meet at greet this Christmas when my dad and Missy met up with Jimmy's family for a quick coffee.  I was so pleased.  Everyone seemed to get along well.

This weekend they are meeting my mom for the first time.

I'm really excited about that actually.  I talk about her all the time, so it will be nice for them to finally meet her.  I asked Jimmy if he thought they would be surprised by how much we look alike...  yes, I know my face is fatter.  Mom has a very tiny head!!

We are planning a nice weekend for everybody.  Both of our moms love to walk, so we thought we could take them over to Westminster for a little stroll around campus.

Westminster is so pretty.  I am actually really looking forward to showing it to them.  I have been spending a lot more time over there now that Lindles and I are "training" for the Peachtree Road Race (i.e. taking the dogs for a walk until they get "too hot").

My dad is taking Jimmy's dad to play golf at the Atlanta Country Club, and then we are going over to have dinner at Dad and Missy's.  I am really looking forward to that as well.

That means the only thing I am responsible for is lunch at my house on Saturday.

FREAK OUT!  ...  Or at least I was this morning.

Last Spring when I shot my house for Decor Demon, it looked like this...

A year and  half later the house looks, well... lived in and "hom-ie."  I wish I could wiggle my nose and Bewitch my house back to "magazine ready."  Of course I can sweep and mop and put away... but you know what I really need?  FLOWERS!  Flowers make everything better!!  I can, of course, go BUY flowers, but I have no idea what to do with them when I get them home.  Flower arranging is an AMAZING TALENT.  Of course I thought of the best flower arranger I know, one of our top agents, Linda Williams.  She very generously offered to come over tomorrow and help me get the flowers together.  What a lifesaver!  I think she also understands that this is a really big deal to me.  It will also be the first time Jimmy's parents see my house... so it has to look it's best.  Obviously.

When I was on the phone with her I remembered to ask her about featuring her new listing (140 Churchill Drive) on the blog.  YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE IT.  It's one of the prettiest houses I've shot this year!  You have got to see the kitchen!

See?  I told you.  To see more pictures from this listing, please click here.

Thank you Linda for offering to help me since I have NO flower skillz.

Wish me luck this weekend!  Any advice?

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