Dine Around the ATL

It was another big weekend around these parts.  Upon an (on-time) arrival back in the ATL from a day trip to Houston, I scooted north to meet dear bestie S at a fab spot in Buckhead called STG Trattoria.  It was her pre-birthday celebration and so she picked a fave (that she raves about) as our go to spot. 

The minute I walked into this unassuming spot, I just new I was in love.  The wine list is extensive and affordable.  The decor is rich and oozing of industrial elegance with old world charm.  The food is to.die.for.

The extensive list of small plates had us drooling.  We dined on fresh bruschetta, delish chicken sausage with salted watermelon and a field pea salad.  I sure do love small plate sharing!  The wine selections (both) were fab and completely affordable.  We trusted our server to wine (literally) and dine us.  She did an amazing job!  This wine, by Home Grown vineyards, is a Cali delight.  The wine was a rich but subtle pinot noir and the cork sports a cute little quote.  According to the waitress there are 5-10 different ones.  No, we did not try to collect them all in one night!

Next stop ... Saturday.  After a fun time celebrating the impending arrival of twins for college friend S and her beau K, Dear Hubs and I stopped off at our fave Holeman and Fitch.  This speak easy, prohibition style spot is a go to fave due to their awesome vibe and delish cocktails.  Dear Hubs is entrawled by the extensive collection of whiskey, rye and bourbon.  I swear ... that man never raves about anything food or drink related, but he raves here!  In addition to the cocktails, I could live on their fresh breads and lovely boutique cheeses.  Yum.  We dined on literally half the menu; from homemade hot dogs to pork belly buns ... every bite was perfectly scrumptious!  I even talked our sweet waiter, Pumps (yes, nickname) into letting me buy a loaf for Sunday Supper!

They print (and library stamp) their menu daily.  The cocktail card changes seasonally, so it is secured to cardboard with a laminating pocket cover.  I totally need to remember this for a rustic and fun menu card at parties!

My dashing date ... Dear Hubs

Between these two big nights out, two tennis matches, fun with baby B, a workout or two, home projects and such this weekend flew by.  After Sunday Supper with the fam around 9pm, I think I zoned out and actually fell asleep on the couch (watching a re-run of Golden Girls) out of pure exhaustion!  I think I felt about like our sweet Sheila, who I caught napping on Dear Hub's tennies this weekend.  Seriously ... how tired do you have to be to sleep on his big, ole' shoes!

Cheers to Monday!  Here we go again!

xoxo~b
   

Halloween .... finally

Well, I am a day delayed in posting this, but that's due to a day trip on the heels of the festive Monday Halloween we just spent.  Getting up at 5 am and racing to the airport is just cruel punishment after the boo fest of Monday evening, but somehow I managed to do it!

Monday was extra special as it was Baby B's very first Halloween.  I know, I'm sure I've mentioned that five times already.  Anywho, we definitely celebrated in style.  After sneaking out from the office a few minutes early, we gathered at home to dress the babe, costume the dogs, prep some party snacks and get dinner ready to go ... ALL before the trick or treat fun could begin!

Zsa Zsa and Pops conquered Halloween afternoon traffic to join us just in time for the partying to begin.  After prepping some yummy bbq chicken sliders for the big kids at the Halloween party, our entire crew; grandparents, baby, dogs and all, headed over to our friends M and S's house for a rambunctious, wild time for the littles. 

The littles (and the bigs) all had fun socializing and playing games.  Baby B was an adorable addition to the annual party crew with his precious pumpkin costume and the diva dogs proudly sported their matching bumble bee costumes.  We've learned to choose our battles and not require the antenna on the bees ... yellow and black frock is simply sufficient!

After the party, we headed back to our homestead to let our little pumpkin rest a bit before bedtime and we dined on Alessio's stromboli (yum!).  It was a crazy two hours with at least 100 trips to the front door where it was my civic duty to remind the costumed savages that they must say "Trick or Treat" and not just hold a bag out like a begger in order to partake in candy.  I guess my strategy worked because we ran through about 5 BIG bags of candy in the process!

Things wound down promptly at 9 and it couldn't have happened sooner.  Exhausted, Dear Hubs helped me begin gathering up our Halloween decor so that the house would be de-spooked come November 1.  That man knows me well.... he knew I'd have a hissy fit if that stuff stayed up too long.  Afterall, I have a quick Thanksgiving changeout and then it's onto Christmas!!!  (he's rolling his eyes right now if he reads this).

So happy fall ya'll!  Hope everyone celebrated a fab Halloween ... now onto being thankful!

Baby B - I just love this pic!!!

The girls and Baby B

The mummy game

The Fam

(cough... they are all going to kill me for posting this one :)!)

My diva dog bumble bees

Mummy D

Colby and his monster friend

Cute pumpkin

B and K

The fam

~charmed, b

Holiday Weekend

What a wonderful LONG weekend to kick off summer!  We have been on the go for so many weeks now that Dear Hubs and I were so looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home.  From celebrating bestie P's son C's 5th grade graduation on Friday to fun filled days at the pool, we spent many hours outside with friends and family soaking up the sunshine and enjoying the company!  We took a break from the sun long enough to finish up a few odds and ends prepping for Baby B's arrival and also enjoyed hitting the movies for one last popcorn filled fest before baby arrives!

The diva dogs were in full on patriotic gear this weekend, thanks to a trip to the groomers on Friday!  These two actually posed without much intervention and I thought this pic was just presh!

Give the Dog a Bone

A few weeks ago, you had the pleasure of being introduced to the Diva Dog dynamic duo.  These two are a riot and keep me on my toes.  Most recently, Miss Sheila (the older of the two) has had some health problems and so being true to their name ... we are now on a specific vet ordered diva dog diet of rice, carrots and chicken.  Yes, I think my dogs officially eat better than me at this point!

Given the current pampering of these two fur babies, I thought why not try my hand at some healthy dog treats.  So, with a good excuse to use up the milk in the fridge and a reason to pull out my cookie cutter collection ... I whipped up these nutty treats for the diva dogs in a snap!  These are so very easy to make and I'm pretty sure if left unattended they would be gone in a few minutes!  This recipe is great because it doesn't include some crazy preservatives (so it should be eaten in 5-7 days after making them) and it makes a large batch of over 24 medium size treats. 

My well loved cookie cutters, including a dog bone of course!

Peanut Dog Treats
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.  Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and in a separate bowl, combine the milk and peanut butter.  
3.  Stir the peanut butter and milk until smooth.
4.  Gradually add the liquids to the dry ingredients.
5.  Knead dough by-hand and roll-out on floured surface to desired thickness. Cut-out treats.
6.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Cool before storing.

Colby checking out his treat

Sheila thinks it's pretty great, too

Wrapped a few for doggy friends Henry and Cooper

 ~charmed b

Meet the Diva Dogs

The Diva Dogs:  Sheila (left) and Colby (right)

It's a travesty, according to my Bestie S, that I haven't introduced my diva dogs to the blogosphere.  I tend to agree.  I'm the proud mama of two furry babies, Sheila and Colby.  These two Cavelier King Charles Spaniels are the epitome of diva dogs.  They sit on the couch, think I should hang off the edge of the bed while they enjoy the middle of "my side" and expect tasty treats on a constant basis.  These two have taken over my life since they joined my household a few years ago and turned me into the ultimate "dog person".  If you ask Zsa Zsa and my dear dad, Pops, they would never believe that I would be a dog person .... I attempted picking up our family maltese once as a child and did so with paper towels.  I can't explain it, but I must say I've come a long way, baby! 

Now, the diva dogs who rule the house and I have developed an affinity for my doggy photo shoots to capture these two for holidays, or any occassion for that matter.  They have costumes for special events, coats for the cold winters and any other ridiculous attire imaginable.  What can I say, they look so darn cute all dolled up!  Dear Hubs typically gets called in for reinforcements when I embark on these photo shoots and always begrudgingly says "I can't believe I'm doing this" when I start barking orders of how he is to hold a treat above the camera to get them to stare!



Some photo shoots go well... some don't.  This is their attempt to boycott the Christmas ribbon shoot!

Christmas Elves under the tree

Bumble Bees for Halloween



So now that you have met them, get ready for their adventures.  I've got a few cute things to share!

~charmed b