Cocktails & Canvas

I attended a Cocktails and Canvas session tonight at Village Place in Brookhaven with some office ladies. We had a blast drinking, chatting, and painting.

If you've never been to something like this- they provide the paint, canvas, brushes, etc. and you bring your own drinks. They teach you how to paint your picture, and then you can be as creative as you want. We all decided to go in a different direction, but we had a great time, that's the fun of it! I would recommend this to any group of ladies that wants to have a good time. They have 2 and 3 hour classes every night from 25 to 35 dollars. Tip: Use Code Canvas0610 for $5 dollars off.
Here's us with our final products! So much fun!!

Galla's Pizza

Quick post before we head out to the game...

Had a great morning doing the 5k walk for Diabetes for Cory's company in Grant Park! Now back at home getting ready for the Tech game and munching on some leftover Galla's Pizza from last night.Their Spinach and Artichoke Pizza is my absolute favorite!

Galla's is located right northeast of Brookhaven in Chamblee (4849 Peachtree, Chamblee). We typically don't eat in, but they have a cute little restaurant and patio that is usually pretty packed. While I was waiting to pick up our pie I noticed that they are about to open a new location in Dunwoody on the corner of Abernathy and Mt. Vernon.

Sorry for the short post! But this pizza is just too yummy...

Go Jackets!!

Brookhaven MARTA

Cory and I live within walking distance of the Brookhaven MARTA station. It's not super close (about half a mile), but very convenient when traveling to a braves game, tech game, or to the airport. But really that's about it. There's not much else that MARTA is really convenient for (for us) especially now that next Sunday, October 3rd, they will be raising the fare rate for weekly and monthly passes while cutting service 10% (goody...) read more about all the changes here. And it's only probably a matter of time until the recently raised one-way ticket rate from $1.75 to $2.00 also increases again. Anyways, for all of its shortcomings, we try to take MARTA as often as we can. Public transit really can positively impact our local economy, and we want to do all we can to support it and only hope that it improves over time and with more use.

I flew back to Atlanta today from Tampa, and rode MARTA home. As I was passing through station after station I started thinking about the potential development opportunity around MARTA stations. Most of these stations have huge surface parking lots which are prime candidates for mixed-use development. I know that this idea has been discussed with local politicians and developers around the Atlanta area. A few of these developments have already started or are being seriously discussed:

• Lindbergh Station: The prime example of a development around a MARTA station. In 2005 Lindbergh City Center was constructed with 2 office buildings, an apartment complex, condo complex, restaurants, bars, parking garages, and shopping (see photo above).

• Doraville Station: A wonderful opportunity for development. This station is easily accessible from I-285 and I-85 and has a 165 acre tract that is prime real estate. The site of the old GM plant, this industrial property is screaming for development. Rumors of a new stadium, arena, etc. as a potential use have gotten residents and the community excited about the possibilities of this land. Unfortunately it's at a stand-still as the most recent developer, New Street Properties (see plan above-click to enlarge), has backed out of the deal. Read more about that here. This development probably deserves it own blog post, so stay tuned as I learn more!

• Brookhaven Station: The most recent station that has been identified as prime property for a successful development. If you've ever visited this station, you know that it has a very large surface parking lot in the back (marta.com says 1,252 spaces) that is rarely ever even 10% filled. With the growth that Brookhaven has sustained over the past 5 years along with the cultural mix of residents, a development on this property looks promising. the Brookhaven Peachtree Community Alliance thought so too, and got the ARC (Atlanta Regional Commission) to sponsor a study of this area. The study was completed in 2006 and an overlay and design guidelines were adopted by the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners in late 2007. Because of the economy and lack of funding not much has happened (well nothing actually) on this site. But I do hope that somewhere behind the scenes that wheels are in motion to start this. I found the MARTA plan on the BPCA website (graphic above-click to enlarge). Not much news has been updated on this website (They killed a Walgreens that was supposed to go in at Colonial & Peachtree in 2008, but that's about it). I will keep you posted on any updates that I find out!

The Mercado

We carpooled today to work (trying to save the environment AKA our acura...), and on the way home Cory decided to take Buford Highway.  We've found its a mecca of cultural foods and shops.  We have been hesitant to try some places but want to explore it more.  So we decided to hit up this Mexican grocery that we've been meaning to try.  And since Cory wanted Nachos tonight, what better time to get our feet wet and hit up Mercado Del Pueblo.

At first glance, I admit, I was hesitant- I am not a fan of being out of my comfort zone and this was definitely out of my comfort zone. I speak zero Spanish, and Cory and I were both dressed in our work clothes and got some glances.(yes that is a pig head... and it's on sale...)

But really, it wasn't so horrible- mainly just very interesting.  Despite little English being spoken (Cory had to dust of his Spanish from high school) everyone was very nice and helpful.  This grocery store was the site of an old Publix (darn!) and still has the trademark teal and pink colors throughout. It also boasts a hair salon (packed!), jewelry counter, cell phone counter, bra/undies counter, and perfume counter among the typical deli, butcher, and bakery areas.

We walked around for a little while just checking everything out including the massive displays of queso (cheese)......and huge bins of jalapenos

We ended up picking out some great tortillas, cheese, mole, peppers, beans, and veggies for our nachos along with some mexican soft drinks and tres leche for dessert (total $17.17...pretty cheap!)
The cheese, mole, and tortillas were fresh and delicious. I haven't had any of the tres leche yet... Cory's munching on it now so I better wrap up!

Overall we were pleasantly surprised with this place. But not where I would EVER go for meat. They had all of the meat and fish just stacked all on top of each other with layers and layers of wax paper... plus it smelled like nastiness. BUT the veggies looked (and tasted) great and there are really a lot of unique items that you cannot find anywhere else. I would say its definitely worth a trip! Just don't hang out anywhere near the meat counter... adios!

Taste Of Brookhaven

We have been looking forward this event for awhile now. We have both been to "taste of" events before (Roswell, Alpharetta, Norcross, etc.) but never had to pay for it, so we didn't really know what to expect. The event featured "tastes" of local restaurants around Brookhaven and Buckhead. They also had live music which consisted of a guy playing guitar to a backing track and a silent auction with items donated by local artists and such.

The clientelle was interesting (and older). Lots of plastic surgery and leather skinned women in dresses that were too revealing (not in the good way). We expected more of a festival atmosphere and got more of a summer garden party vibe. Seating was limited and the wine line was long so we ended up standing up most of the time without anything to drink. I was quickly asking myself what we paid $30 for. Wading through the perfume and fake tan smell, we finally hit up some of the restaurant booths.

The first booth we hit was from Kaleidoscope. We were glad to see them make an appearance and they said they're still on schedule to open this fall. We were excited to see what they were making. They offered a pulled pork slider with a pickled coleslaw on top. They also offered a sliced beef tenderloin on a soft pita-like bread topped with a peaunt bbq sauce and fresh pickles.


We stopped by Eclipse di Luna's tent. I think this is technically located in Dunwoody but close enough. They had their chef making paella right in front of us. They also had sangria which was excellent. The paella was definitely authentic with mussels, calamari, sausage, chicken, and saffron rice.




This is from the Brookhaven Bistro which is located behind the health food store on Peachtree called Nut's 'n' Berries. We've always wanted to try it but the thought of eating somewhere healthy and attached to a place called Nuts 'n' Berries always scared me. This was actually our favorite booth. The offered a falafel on a pita wedge with a yogurt sauce and a salmon quesadilla. Both were very unique and I love falafel. Can't wait to try this place.
Finally, we stopped by the Sugar Shack. They had little cupcakes and cookies. Our favorite was the lemon cupcake and the plain old chocolate chip cookie. They win the award for the best presentation.

So all in all, the food was good (there was plenty more than shown here), atmosphere was a little too formal and the people a little too... "buckhead". Unfortunately, it was only a small "taste" of all these restaurants. All of their menus are excellent and expansive and I wish we could have tried a couple more dishes from each of the restaurants, but obviously resources were limited. I can't say that we'd go back next year. Maybe we'll wait until our skin gets a little more weathered and we can spend some money on nose jobs. I think we'll just stick to going to the real thing.

RodVRod...Experience #1

Two post Tuesday!

Cars... they are a mystery to me. I've never really taken an interest in them and/or how they work. And while Malory is often a know-it-all, this is an area where she falls short as well. So needless to say, when something goes wrong, I am at the mercy of the mechanic. Previously, Malory and I have taken our cars to places in Roswell. One that my dad recommends that is pricey but the mechanic has a sweet South African accent, and another that Malory's parents have always used. Both reliable, both do decent work. But they are far and we want to find a place around Brookhaven for some convenience. We've asked around for some recommendations and it seems that no one has dared any shops (besides dealerships) in the area so we were willing to blaze some trails here.

We found RodVRod from google. He (it's one guy who owns the shop named Rodrigo, hence the Rod in the RodVRod) got decent reviews from everyone who had tried him. His reviews were much more consistent than the Firestone and that shop in the BP gas station on Peachtree and Roxboro (according to one review you should never get your car worked on or even get gas there). It's located right behind Alex's Package store on Osborne. So, since my truck would barely start (much less make it to Roswell), we were desparate to try it. We took the truck there on a Friday afternoon, and he told us he would look at it first thing Saturday morning. Sure enough, about 9:30 on Saturday morning he called me to go over everything that was wrong and what it would cost. Everything sounded reasonable and I agreed to let him proceed. After I hung up with him, I googled what he said and it fell within the range people on forums and such had paid for the same replacement (not too serious, idle control valve needed replacement and 90k tune up). He said it should be done by the end of the day. He called and we picked it up before closing the same day. It was packed when I got there, everyone was waiting for their cars. He came in, I paid, and drove off within 5 minutes. The car felt great, I honestly say it hasn't run that well since I can remember (I think I missed my 60k tune up which may have been some of the problem).

So far, we had a good experience. Of course, our Acura TSX's A/C just went out so we're dropping it off this weekend.

RodVRod Experience #2 coming RIGHT UP!!!

Kaleidoscope

We walked by the new restaurant/pub Kaleidoscope in the Village Place shopping center on Dresden. Looks like they are making progress (on the bar at least!). Hopefully, we can still expect it to open this fall. See more pics on their facebook page.

Taste of Brookhaven: $10 off!

Sorry we have been MIA! We were vacationing in the lovely Tucson, AZ... eating great Mexican food and enjoying some scenic desert hiking! See photo of our Mexican Feast at Guadalajara Grill soooo yummy... I had the guaco-tacos and Cory had the tamale (pictured). They even hand-make your salsa right in front of you! But anyways... we are happy to be home.

I just got an email from the Brookhaven Art Alliance about the upcoming September 18th Taste of Brookhaven.

For those of you procrastinators out there- Use promo code TOB for $10 off your individual Taste of Brookhaven ticket, while supplies last. Tickets are originally $40 per person, buy online today at www.xorbia.com.

Home Improvement

Since we've bought our house in April, we've tried to do a couple of small home improvement projects -some planned, others accidents. Either way we have hit up all three major hardware stores in our area: Home Depot on Linbergh, Lowe's on Peachtree and the "General Hardware" store that's actually an Ace Hardware (but also owned by Handy Hardware in Dacula? Not sure who owns who there) so I figured I'd give a little shoutout to what I've experienced.

While I've always considered myself a Home Depot man (being from GA and Home Depot was the go to spot for my dad), I have to admit, Home Depot would be my last choice out of the three. While Home Depot and Lowe's are very similar in their selection and staff know-how, the couple experiences I had at the Linbergh location have been sub-par. The customer service has been lacking, and the parking and traffic are miserable there. I pulled up to their "loading zone" pull through to load some stuff in the rain and was blocked in on both sides as people ran in to grab stuff. Terrible. Other than that, it's just a little further away from us, so I don't go.

The Ace on Peachtree was an adventure to go in. They boast over 10,000 items (it's on their sign) and I wouldn't doubt it for a second. Their shelves are literally stacked with stuff, its overwhelming. I guess I've been trained in the big box hardware store mentality and enjoy the luxuries of large aisles and open spaces. I definitely felt a little claustrophobic in their jungle of nuts and bolts. So I looked for the plumbing aisle to get a water feed for the toilet I was replacing (this one was an accident) and did some weaving through the aisles to find it was in the back of the store. Their staff was a little standoff-ish and I had to search the store for someone who could help me because I had no idea if I needed steel, pvc, etc. After playing marco polo in the aisles with this dude, he informed me that he would be right with me and he was helping someone else. After getting tired of waiting, I started looking for what I needed on my phone. The employee's 15 min. lecture to the customer about PVC pipe or something sounded quite informative, but I grabbed what I needed and got out of there quite pleased that I didn't get my own lecture.

Lowes has won my heart. First off, it's so convenient to get to and I can pull my truck right up to the entrance to load and nobody tells me to move. Second, their employees, while not always as knowledgeable as the Ace, are always helpful whether it's pointing me to the exact thing I'm looking for or helping me load bricks and sod in my truck. I admit I don't really "shop around" when I'm looking for hardware or landscaping materials so I can't really say whether their prices are the best for that kind of stuff. I'd assume they are pretty comparable to Home Depot and even the Ace. But one thing I did shop around for was appliances (W&D and refrigerator) and Lowe's has beaten Home Depot both times (Ace doesn't carry appliances) with price and delivery time. Bottom line, it has become my go to hardware/outdoor store and I recommend it.

Recently, Malory has been going to Hasting's for flowers and gardening, but that's a different post...