[who needs Mickey D’s when you can make your own double stack?]

[Stella & Dot outfit of the week:: J. Crew Chambray Button-up // Plum Old Navy Skinnies // Toms Wedges // Pegasus Necklace // Linda Studs // Arrow Ring // Bracelet Stack]

[new doggy door mat]

[winter sunset view from our bedroom]

[girl scout cookies save the day]

[Sunday afternoon along the Chattahoochee]

Hallelujah for some spring weather! It may not be here to stay, but I’ll take it for now. It’s amazing how much happier nice weather can make you feel. We took full advantage of it this wknd with drinks on the patio at one of our local restaurants and a 3-ish mile walk along the Chattahoochee River (our new favorite outdoor place). I think we were the only people in Smyrna who didn’t know about these river trails. The rest of the weekend was pretty low-key, but we did squeeze in a double date at 5 Seasons Brewing. Dinner with friends is one of my most favorite ways to spend an evening. And in Atlanta, there is certainly no shortage of places to do just that. We’ve been to 5 Seasons several times (they have a cool rooftop deck overlooking part of the ATL skyline), and last night Craig tried something he’d never had — an antelope patty melt! WEIRD (at least to me).

Here’s looking forward to warmer weather that will hopefully stick around in the coming weeks! I’m off to eat more thin mints.

[my 1st trip to the gun range]

[#snowpocalypse part 2 breakfast of champions]

[Stella & Dot outfit of the week:: red Old Navy skinnies // cream GAP sweater // Mae Necklace // Crazy Hearts Scarf]

[Valentine’s s’mores]

[Taqueria on a beautiful Saturday afternoon]

[“Mad Men”-esque bar at Ink & Elm]

[Sunday afternoon @ the Chattahoochee River]

Last week consisted of yet another “snowpocalypse” in Atlanta. Despite the grim forecasts, it ended up not being too bad, thanks to early preparation this time around.  We did get another 2 days off work, but I have to say… it’s pretty boring having snow days when your husband works from home and can’t play outside or go do anything fun. I did make myself some delicious chocolate chip pancakes one morning, though, so there’s that… And I got to shoot a handgun for the first time ever! It was a little scary getting used to the loud noise in the range and the kickback of the gun, but I’m really glad we went. I’m now ready to fight off any zombies who come my way.

We didn’t do anything terribly exciting over the weekend, but it was such a great one. This was the first time ever that we’ve not gone out to dinner for Valentine’s. We kept it low-key with fondue,  s’mores, and several episodes of Scandal — and I’m pretty sure it was one of our favorite V-Day dinners yet. The rest of the weekend was spent being sort of lazy and watching tv (which I rarely ever do on weekends), having dinner at Slice & Pint over in Emory Village with some friends (and drinks at Ink & Elm — a must-visit), and checking out one of the trails along the Chattahoochee River for the first time. How have we lived over here for 4 years and never been to these great trails?? They were PACKED to the brim yesterday, but it was a lot of fun. Coco was a trooper and made it 1.25 miles… with her tongue hanging about 2 feet out of her mouth, but she made it nonetheless. We wrapped up the day with a last-minute trip to the Smyrna Beer Market for a tasting. Weekends like this one are some of my favorites — nothing super extraordinary on the agenda, but all things that make me happy.

[house = painted]

[Friday night cocktails + dessert @ Rosebud]

[mom’s weekend visit called for mimosas]

[girls day with our moms]

[The Book of Mormon @ The Fox]

[Sunday afternoon in the park]

Last Mon-Thurs sort of needed a do-over. I got some sort of stomach bug and we had to cancel our plans to go to the gun range, I was home sick for a couple days, and I missed a dear friend’s going away dinner before she moved last weekend. But enough boo-hooing. 🙂 I’m all better now, and we got to spend the weekend with my mom, who came up for a quick little visit from Florida.

My SIL, her mom, my mom, and I had tickets to see “The Book of Mormon” at the Fox Theatre on Saturday. It’s gotten rave reviews from everyone I know who has seen it — and while the subject matter (or at least the way they present it) is somewhat controversial, I think we all went in knowing that the show itself wasn’t something to take too seriously. There were of course some parts that made me cringe a little, but again… it’s just a show. The singing and dancing were really entertaining, we laughed a lot, and we had a great girls afternoon together. While mom was here, we tried 2 restaurants we hadn’t been to (Mali Thai in the Highlands and Ecco in Midtown), my chef brother cooked up a most delicious brunch for us, and we ended mom’s trip with a trip to the Silver Skillet. Nothing beats a good diner breakfast. It was a wonderful end to a not-so-stellar week. Here’s hoping that #snowpocalypse2 doesn’t really materialize this week!

[celebrating the bday boy @ Bocado with 1/2 price burgers]

[Stella & Dot outfit of the week:: cream Old Navy sweater // green Old Navy skinnies //  taupe Tom’s Wedges // Sutton Necklace – stone // Florence Stackable Rings // Renegade Cluster Bracelet // Eden Bangle]

[Day 1 of #snowpocalypse2014]

[Coco’s first snow was a huge hit]

[Day 2 of #snowpocalypse2014]

[lunch special @ breadwinner cafe]

[Valentine’s goodies won from Natty Michelle Paperie]

[drinks at the St. Regis]

[Super Bowl Sunday]

Well, I think we all know what most of last week consisted of here in Atlanta. A little bit of snow that turned into a lot of ice, thousands of people stranded on interstates, and mass hysteria around the city. I am beyond thankful that I made it home in just 3.5 hours (when it usually takes just 25 minutes), because despite how that may sound, I was among the lucky that day when the disaster began. It’s amazing to me that our city was so unprepared for this, but I’m equally as amazed at how quickly the snow turned into sheets of ice on every road throughout Atlanta, thus making it absolutely impossible to drive on. Throw thousands upon thousands upon thousands of cars (and terrified/anxious drivers) into the mix, and you have a disaster. Traffic in Atlanta has a bad reputation for a reason, and I don’t think any amount of preparedness would have made this nightmare much better. One thing I think we’re all certain of is that we’re doomed if “The Walking Dead” ever becomes a reality in this city.

Once I made it home safely, I remained there for 2 solid days. I was warm and comfy in my house (albeit a bit lonely after my one house guest was finally able to get home to his family), and I’m so thankful that I wasn’t one of the many who were stranded in their cars overnight on the side of the interstate, alone and scared. Yet despite the mass chaos, there were so many stories of how truly good people are. So many bloggers and reporters have already recounted these stories, but it truly warmed my heart to see so many people opening their homes and businesses to house complete strangers overnight and other people walking miles in the snow and ice to hand out water, food and blankets to those stuck in miles of gridlock traffic for 10+ hours. It’s incredible how quickly people jumped in to rescue others or just lend a helping hand to push someone up a slippery hill. Stories like these were the bright light in an otherwise dark few days around here.

Friday through Sunday were a much-welcomed relief with nice weather and nowhere in particular to be, unless we wanted to. We went out on the town for a bit to celebrate one of our friends who is moving back to Nashville, and on Sunday, we hosted a Super Bowl party for about 20 friends. Despite the pretty boring game, we had a great time with lots of food and baby entertainment.

On another note, here are some extra pretties for your eyes today — some of the most unbelievably gorgeous places in the world. Happy Monday!