escape.

grooveshark is my bff at work. i never got into pandora and when i decided to try it, i learned it was blocked.*angry face*
it has found about 94% of the songs i've asked it to and i've been keeping a playlist infinity-long. here's a sample of what i'm listening to:

1. brand new heavies - never stop
2. kiley dean - make me a song
3. martin luther - daily bread
4. via audio - harder on me
5. erykah badu - turn me away (get munny)
6. lady antebellum - need you now
7. slakah the beatchild - enjoy yaself
8. frayne - weekend
9. cee lo - f*ck you
10. the tontons - atlas
11. yelawolf - speak her sex
12. elton john - bennie & the jets
13. kid cudi, bethany cosentino and rostam batmanglij - all summer
14. bone - for the love of money
15. priscilla renea - lovesick
16. lupe fiasco - i'm beamin
17. gyptian - hold yuh
18. the knux - f!re
19. wale - the trip (downtown)

my music is random like me :)

eats adventure

i promised some friends i'd report this, so...

in late july, during my 3-day staycation, i was up late watching tv. we all know that at 3am it's difficult to find quality programming. i ended up on pbs because of the food title "Get Delicious! Atlanta's Hidden Restaurant Treasures". uhh, yes please!

the host was a big burly dude with a long ZZ Top goatee, he looked like the epitome of all tasty food knowledge. *straight face* thou shalt not judge...so this guy knows what he's talking about. he led the show by tossing out his credentials. Jim Stacy, a self-proclaimed "foodie" owns and operates a corn dog/tamale cart and is the manager of the Starlight Drive-in. He took us to about 8 different places where he ate and critiqued and suggested the most popular things each restaurant had to offer.
this is the type of show i need in my life. i love when someone does the work for me and all i have to do is show up.
so i made a list of all of the places of interest and promised i'd take myself to lunch the following day. and please note that all of these places are wallet-friendly.

day1 - Carver's Country Kitchen

i arrived later than i had planned, around 2:40pm, since i had hella errands to run that day and the starvation i was feeling was slowly sending me into a depression. luckily they still had food available. the food is lined up in a window, and the specials change daily so there's no menu. Jim Stacy had suggested the fried chicken that was a Carver's staple, but they were all out. so i went for the country fried chicken (or was it steak?). naturally mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans go well together so i added them plus a biscuit and sweet tea to round it all out in the most southern way possible.

it was delicious! one might say that i felt so happy with my meal b/c of the starvation, but that's not the case. i was impressed. and the customer service matched. i ate there, oblivious to the fact that they close at 3 - my bad! but they assured me it was not a problem and told me to take my time.

disappointed about missing out on the chicken, i went for the other highly recommended coca cola cake. it was so good and moist, like somebody's grandma would make.

i will be back.

day2 - The Beautiful

i had been to The Beautiful before, but i didn't eat. it was roughly 5 years ago and at the time, the beautiful was a popular after hours spot. they've changed their hours, i'm guessing to keep the hooligans out, because business was most definitely booming.
anyway, i didn't wanna eat alone again and since i knew my sister was working from home, i invited her. (she's preggers right now, so she doesn't turn down food. she's usually all about low carbs, grilled chicken and salad. this is where we differ.)
Similar to Carver's, there's no menu and the food is on display. The Beautiful has a cafeteria feel in that there are people lined up ready to fix your plate and you're in a single file line with a tray. here, they offer more of the deep south (slave food, as i like to call it) - oxtails & neck bones are definitely available. i chose to keep it simple.

that's crab-stuffed flounder, mac n cheese and string beans with potatoes. i really like string beans. everything was good, but it wasn't great. it's funny that every time i see something labeled as "crab-stuffed" i go for it, yet 90% of the time i'm not into it.
and by funny, i mean irritating.
however, the mac n cheese was solid. even though i love it just like the average person, i rarely order it b/c i think people are really lazy about it. i CAN'T STAND mac n cheese that doesn't taste cheesy. <-- pet peave. all in all, it was cool. it was inexpensive. i'll probably try them again. been thinkin bout oxtails...:)

day3 - Ria's Bluebird

this idea actually came from an Atlanta Magazine article. in every issue they do restaurant reviews and this was maybe my 3rd time seeing it mentioned. they referred to it as an "atlanta staple" which apparently i can't resist. i try to read reviews on yelp.com before making decisions. i like to read 3 good and 3 bad and then proceed from there. a bad review won't keep me from going somewhere i wanna go, but it helps to lower my expectation. anyway, all signs pointed to 'yes'.

this time, i picked up my brother for a late brunch. i'm a good samaritan and figured he'd be good company.
he wasn't. but that's neither here nor there.
Ria's is one of those places that serves breakfast all day. i love breakfast, so i ordered a basic breakfast for lunch. we were sat at the bar, which i also like. i can see better or something.



do you see how regular my food looks? it had a taste to match. i've had more happiness on my plate at IHOP. but then again i love ihop, so perhaps the comparison is unfair. either way, booooo! the bacon tasted a bit like spiced leather boots, the eggs hadn't been seasoned and that ramekin of thin, runny syrup was sad. never again.

my bro ordered a steak quesadilla. it certainly looked better than my food, but i didn't taste it and having an incessantly-starving man review food is like having a rapist review coochie. can 1 really be better than another?

another low point is when i asked my server for more runny syrup, an additional charge showed up on my bill. really? that isht shoulda been free, but she still could have said something.

Ria's, i won't be back.

side hustle #14.

y'all know about my hobbies, right? graphic design, cooking, jewelry making, photography, writing,etc. well now i'm interested in sewing. i started a class last week and this is how i feel about it :

there's so much to learn, so many mistakes to be made and so many factors that go into making the perfect garment. and poking yourself with a quilting needle feels like a small death.

i sound like i'm complaining, but i'm actually quite thankful for the opportunity. the instructor is relatively inexpensive, compared to the large commercial classes offered at Jo Ann's Fabric. and she's really patient, which is good for me considering i'm a tard. i literally have a question a minute.

why am i sewing? well, i have a habit of coming up with great ideas in my mind, then i'll spend all my time searching online and malls for something that doesn't really exist. also, i'm tall and curvy. not everything that i fall in love with loves me back. it'll be nice to have tailor-made clothes. as i get older, i'm learning that i have expensive taste. i could literally save 90% by making things myself. so i'm going through frustration now, in order to eliminate it in the future. i hope & plan (& pray) to get good at this. i enjoy being self-sufficient where i can.

my instructor said she was impressed that i finished my skirt in the 1st class, since no one else has made that type of progress. i'm still trying to figure out if she's making that up.
i went back yesterday to add some Elle B flair to it (the vertical ruffle). had to make it fit my personality! i meant to take pictures of the process, but i was so overwhelmed it didn't happen. here's the finished product.

transforming trash.

my latest trip to the thrift store was a good one. (anytime i make a purchase i'm eager to wear/use/display, it's a good trip.) i don't usually have much luck at goodwill, i mainly use them for old school cameras for my dad's collection. but this time, something in the air told me i was gonna get lucky. and i did! when i found this gem, i actually spent a good 3 minutes laughing at it and turning it around and inside out trying to figure out what exactly it was and who would wear such a thing. well, apparently i would. seriously, on the hanger it looked like a hippie potato sack. i tried it on to be funny. though ample boobs are a gift and a curse, that day i felt gifted since this type of dress needs curves in order to define it (beyond a potato sack.)
it ties in the back and the bottom is elastic, so i can hike it up and slut it out or wear it to "meet the parents".
that night, i showed it to my sister - who's older, conservative and lives in a box. she looked at it like it was a freak show at the fair. it was then that i knew i'd picked a winner.
i'm pleased, but it's so very stylized, i fear i won't have a chance to wear it until the spring. *sad face*

i also found this cutie.no, i didn't buy it. but i laughed at it for a while. is this not an old school cell phone case - circa zack morris?? hilarious.

speaking of old cell phones, during my preparation for a garage sale, i found all my old ones. 2000 - 2008 -->
my 1st one, the ericsson, was given to me for christmas during my freshman year of college. i needed 2 hands to hold it because of the weight and it was prepaid. once i called my parents to tell them i'd made it back to school safely, it was pretty much done. ahh, the memories. and i had about 12 different snap-on cases for my nokia. who DIDN'T have that phone at some point? that was when Snake was the best game on a phone.
i feel old.
the one in the middle was cool because i could program the color the light would flash as well as the song that would play for a particular caller. i believe this was unprecedented at this time. so all 4 of my crushes had a song i'm too embarrassed to share and a flashing red light. regular people got blue. i never claimed to be normal.

me & my little muffin head

my new thing is projects. so when i decided to keep my niece overnight, i planned for us to make a bunch of stuff. she's 4 (and some change) and very impressionable. i want her to take on my creative spirit and do even more with it than i have. luckily, she's a genius too. so not a lot of coaching is needed. she watches me do it, then she finishes. this particular day's episode was "pizza and girl stuff".



her inner fat kid was working on overtime. she ate all of her slices and all of my crust.

like mint & chocolate: sweet harmony

the recessionista in me screams a little every time i hear of a worthwhile fashion collabo. more and more designers have started using their right brain along with the left, to offer more affordable options to the masses. *screaming* YESS!!!
some noteworthy partnerships:



Christian Siriano 4 Payless




Jimmy Choo 4 H&M (which isn't in atlanta because most chicks here just don't get it)




Miley Cyrus/Max Azria 4 Wal-Mart
this tank is great, i got mines for $3

dreams really do come true

jimmy choo shoes from $55 - $140. yesssssss.

exclusively at select H&M stores.

you're welcome.