new worlds...

although my world right now is all about delta students, new teachers, building relationships, and our vegetable garden... over in atlanta, a close friend's world has just been altered irrevocably in an incredible way.

on tuesday anne gave birth to little, beautiful alice.

she and her honey blog here, which is where i stole these two photos. honestly, i didn't think i'd ever, EVER miss atlanta when we left, until my dear friend esta had twins. then all i could think about was how much i want to know the little ones in these super formative times, and how i'm missing parts of their lives (and will most likely miss more since atlanta probably won't be our home ever again.) and now, instead of holding this precious little one, i have to be satisfied with seeing her grow on the interweb.

with that said, THANK GOODNESS for the internet...otherwise i'd have to wait WEEKS to see alice's sweet smile.

anyway, all this is to say that i'm OVERJOYED for anne and her honey..but a little sad that i'm not there to help support and celebrate them right now. but mostly overjoyed that new life has been brought into the world and that two wonderful parents are here to nurture it!

on that note, do you live away from dear friends? how do you stay connected?

springtime sno....

last weekend the delta had a break in the dreary, bleak skies and had two and a half days of sunshine.  there's no way I could have anticipated how positively a little vitamin D would have on my mood...my outlook...my personality. i was more optimistic, more energetic, and just generally more fun to be around.
maybe this had something to do with the fact that we went on walks by the bayou, played yard games with friends by a lake, and drove with the windows down...but no matter.

this week has been pretty dreary, by contrast, BUT the sunshine of the weekend was just enough to tell me that spring IS on it's way. (that and the fact that the daffodils have started blooming in the yard!)
then i got an email from my friend anne today. anne lives in atlanta and reminded me of the fun we used to have in the summer walking from my teeny apartment in the highlands to the orlegian snocone stand on ponce that was only open one day a week for a few hours. in fact, i walked there so many times only to find it was closed..which ruined my day. what made her think of it was today's scoutmob deal (atlanta's answer to the groupon).

apparently in atlanta there's a place where you can get snocones ALL year long! inside a building! with air conditioning!

in the 'sip new orleans style snocone stands don't start appearing until after spring break or Easter and last until Labor Day. and even then you have to stand out in the hot sun waiting for someone to take your order. this revelation made my mouth water and made me looooong for spring even more. thank goodness it's on it's way.

what makes you excited for the beginning of spring?

LOTS to report!

so friends, we're finally IN Singapore! i'd be lying if i said it was a loooooong trip (we traveled for 26 hours or something crazy to get here.. and we landed in Tokyo for two hours so now we can say we've been to Japan) but it's totally worth it to be with our family on the other side of the world. we can definitely tell that we're RIGHT at the equator because it's HOT,also the smells are stronger here than anywhere else I've been, and we've been spending every waking minute with our four nieces or walking around the city, so i haven't had much time to blog, BUT i wanted to tell you that we're HERE! and it's WONDERFUL!
also...really quick i wanted to share my mom's calligraphy.. she did this for me since we're throwing one of my dearest, prettiest friends an engagement shower in July. Isn't this FANTASTIC?



i know.
anyway, ta-ta for now... we're off to the singapore bird park!

pomp and circumstance!

i'm taking a quick break from packing (packing peanuts and liquor boxes are EVERYWHERE) to share some photos of graduation weekend (courtesy of the fab photographer kc ramsey) AND our graduation soiree Monday night at antico pizza (courtesy of my mom's camera)
by the way...our family + k&p+ delicious pizza + crazy chef = loads of fun

first, k & p's graduation pot luck. you can see the MOST DELICIOUS homemade krystal burgers in the above photo. i got the recipe... can you stand it? and below is my mom and her new best friend... anne.

and now, actual graduation. here's a photo of all of the emory grads...



yes, that IS the gover-nator..


now here's antico: we RSVP'd for the family table in the back and brought lots of wine and champagne (it's a celebration, right?) if you don't, you end up sitting wherever you can find a spot and it's a byob kind of place. if you haven't been... GO. and if you want some company, let me know in the next 9 days and i'll meet you there.










here's my dad with HIS new best friend.. the chef.

promise i'll be back soon with more stuff, but first we've got to pack, move to the delta, find a place to temp. live, then come back to ATL so we can FLY TO SINGAPORE!

can it be last weekend again? please?

oh i wish this weekend was going to be like last weekend.... i spent the whole time playing and not thinking about the future or jobs or thesis.. it was heaven.

here's the rundown:
saturday morning, boone and i went to a birthday brunch for friend. both the company and the food were wonderful. there was even a family band concert, and you haven't lived until you've heard jen sing. seriously.

then, my mama came into town...we went to my fav grocery store in all of atl (it's busy, crazy, has every fruit or veg in the world, and is full of smells)

then we had dinner at this thai place that has the best massaman curry in the U.S. i swear.i would drink the sauce instead of water if i could get away with it.

that night we watched my third ever episode of the wire, which was, by all accounts, bad ass. why have i never seen this before? we slept in the next day until boone left for his (very important and far-away) conference. boone's absence, my friends, was the one and only drawback of last weekend...

after morning coffee, my mom and i went to my church together, and afterward had a happy lunch at alon's then juked around atlanta until our feet hurt.

monday, we visited every fabric store on the westside and drooled over mustard colored mohair waaaaay out of our price range, and stumbled on sam flax, a paper/art supply store that rivals paper source AND binders (sorry paper source devotees). we ate divine pizza for lunch and then came home early to crash and watch harry potter and the half blood prince in our pjs.

doesn't that sound so perfect? instead of that, this weekend my nose HAS to be to the grindstone so that I can actually graduate on time..we do get to go to a salman rushdie lecture (he's so cool) moderated by christopher hitchens (he's not so cool) but i hope we also get an hour or two for the wire or a visit or two in with friends.

what are you doing this weekend?

photo from a blog that no longer exists?

atlanta blog love...

so i found fab atlanta photographer's lara rossignol's new blog via sfgirlbybay. design, food, fun, famous people...you know you want to check it out.

dear ryan...

ryan,
it. was. wonderful. thanks for a great last show.

Great day, hooray!

i officially joined my church this morning...i was a little worried that they weren't going to vote me in, but somehow i eeked by (this is a joke, my church welcomes everyone). anyway, it feels so good to have a faith-home that i really really trust and of which I feel thankful to be a part.

so the deal is that all of the new members write and participate in the service in some way (praying, singing, playing an instrument, serving communion) i'm not a big "talker in public" so i offered to design the bulletin cover based on the songs and verses incorporated into the service. we chose Psalm 139 "if I rise to the heavens you are there.." and the gospel tune "I'll Fly away" and here's what I came up with...

anyway, it has been a great day.

advocacy and rememberance through beautiful quiltwork...

gayle white at the AJC reported that kenneth cole (hello? the big fashion designer?) is coming to speak at the opening of Emory's "Quilt on the Quad" exhibit on December 1, which happens to World AIDS Day.

And, for that matter, so am i. (I don't get "speak" as much as remember victims of the virus by calling their names at the ceremony.)

This is the annual event where the university remembers victims of AIDS and raises awareness of the disease by displaying some of the panels from the AIDS Memorial quilt.
Cole is speaking because he's an Emory alum AND because he's chairman of the world’s largest HIV/AIDS research organization, so i'm definitely excited to be a part of it.

Anyway, if you can't make it to the opening event, you should definitely check out the quilt... i saw it last year and was really moved. here are two beautiful panels..

photos from the NYT .

What does a not wedding look like?

like this...








now, i've never been to a bridal expo...and i'm pretty sure i NEVER want to go to one.

the thing is... Boone and i were excited to go to the notwedding over at opera on sunday because we thought it'd be a NOTbridalexpo.

turns out it was pretty much a bridal expo on a smaller scale but A LOT more edgy and cool. also.. there was dancing and drinking.

had my honey not had a stomach bug all weekend, we probably would have danced a ton more (we love to dance!) but as it was, we watched the ceremony, wandered around, got our photo taken in the photobooth, and i ate a dessert (or two).

all in all, we didn't get any totally new wedding ideas (I mean, we're going to get married outside in the middle of nowhere) BUT it was fun and cool and we were both glad we went. thanks for the opportunity, snippet and ink!

oh, and the "ceremony" band, jacob's reverie was pretty rad...

I'm going to the not wedding!

So, I LUCKILY and RANDOMLY won a VIP ticket to the Atlanta notwedding event at opera this sunday from kathryn over at snippet and ink (THANKS kathryn!!) and i'm super excited about it! Boone and I are both going to see a fake wedding with lots of ATL vendors and steal some fun ideas for our own shindig/ceremony.
i can't seem to do it justice, so here's what the folks over at notwedding blog had to say about it:
***********
taking the plunge? or know someone who is? check out the not wedding ($10) today's answer to the wedding show. on november 16th, hand-picked atlanta wedding vendors will be under one roof for a really big fake wedding. the event will feature hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, vendors, dancing, a dessert reception and a ceremony complete with a "not" bride and "not" groom. this is one event you do "not" want to miss. opera atlanta event center. 1150B peachtree street. at 14th. 404.874.3006. www.thenotwedding.com
So, no, we are not really getting married on the 16th because, yes, we actually already ARE married. Hence the "not" in NotWedding.

But, trust us, you will "not" be disappointed.

**********
if this sounds like fun to you (and if it doesn't, you obviously don't know anything about fun) and if you see someone looking super cool with a bearded hottie next to her in the "vip box" well, that's obvi me. ;)

and..... I only hope that our engagement photos look just as cool and fun as their fake ones.

Vote.

so i voted yesterday... it only took 4 hours. we were completely wrapped around the outside and inside of the atlanta government building and I promise it felt like i was there the whole day.



but every minute was worth it. i like to think that it was one hour for every year for Barack Obama's first term in office.

and the whole time I was singing this song from Atlanta Ron Clark Academy in my head. it's probably the most wonderful thing i've ever heard/seen. click on the photo and give yourself something to sing while waiting in line on election day.



video from youtube, photo from design crush

Generally speaking...

I love a general store.


so this store/deli is right up the street from my little apartment and i LOVE it. I just sort of saunter by and peek in the windows whenever I get a chance... they sell fab sandwiches and fancy bottled drinks, funky furniture, seeds and feed, knickknacks, and cupcakes (which are apparently not as delish as advertised according to the folks at the chocolate and peanut butter gallery).


anyway, i just can't get over how cool and laid back it is in there, but how perfectly selected all the decor and other objects for sale are... somehow it's natural and vintage without feeling overdone or put-on. i guess it could all be leftover from the original owners when it was a neighborhood drugstore.





i think the best part is that it reminds me of my favorite store in the MS delta where I did teach for america.... Miss Del's General store. the motto was "feed, seed, and stuff you need," so obviously it smelled like fertilizer and wet dirt (two scents I really like) and sold hilarious cards, beautiful jewelry, books by southern authors and antiques. anyway, it's nice to have a reminder of a place i loved so much just down the street in ATL.


if you visit the VA highlands neighborhood of ATL, or Clarksdale, MS check these places out.

great photos of Belly from the chocolate peanut butter gallery.

dangerous atlanta?

wow! Mcsweeney's does Atlanta.... how could I not get excited about Mcsweeney's (the wonderful, hilarious, graphically astute publishing co. of author Dave Eggers) Internet Tendency posting about my town? that's right, y'all... obviously i am excited. anyway, have a little read...it's pretty darn funny.

D A N G E R O U S A T L A N T A .

BY NEAL POLLACK

and while you're at it, peruse their innovative packaging for their quarterly literary journal and hilariously quirky t-shirts....it's all pretty fab
.

Save the date...

come support Atlanta's cool crafters and the indie craft experience's Kraftwork at Young Blood Gallery and Boutique on 11/15/08. I know I''l be there.