Atlanta

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I spent the last few days in Atlanta, celebrating the wedding of one of my husband's best friends. I had been into the city briefly before, but was never given carte blanche to explore at my leisure and whim.

This time, I got exactly that.

We stayed at the Highland Inn, a 1920s boutique hotel in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta. The wedding reception was held here, and we were surprised by how interesting the hotel was. Every room was different, and the basement contained an old school bar and a quaint ballroom.

The neighborhood we stayed in reminded me of Chicago's old Wicker Park (you know, before it became a bunch of stroller-pushing yoga moms), as it is very eccentric and offers a lot of creativity. 

One of my favorite stops we stumbled upon was Paris on Ponce, a collection of chic boutiques all housed in an old warehouse. I was intrigued based on the exterior (above), and the moment we walked inside, I was sold.

The interior contained everything from vintage industrial to mid century furniture, tiny trinkets to large artwork, etc. I can't leave out this well-dressed woman, who quite literally "lost her head."

Paris on Ponce also contains a gorgeous, red-bathed event space, which reminds me of Delphine's Club from 1920s London (I first saw this on the show Mr. Selfridge, but here's a fun article about the fabulous woman and her club). 

Can I get married all over again and do it here? Pretty please with a red cherry on top?

We also enjoyed walking on the BeltLine, a running/walking trail that will eventually connect the parks in Atlanta, forming a visual 'beltline' around the city. I love the concept, but it was also plain old easy to get around on foot and catch some great sights using this walkway.

The wedding reception, itself, fit in with its surroundings. In case you need proof...

Another exciting stop was Stone Mountain. We hadn't heard of it until my husband's friend mentioned it the day we were leaving, so we decided to fit it in. It featured the world's largest baas relief, and a huge, granite mountain that took 30+ minutes, some serious shoes, and a bit of sweat to summit.

Oh, and skyline views of Atlanta.

After Stone Mountain, we headed to an area called "Little 5 Points," which reminded me of Chicago's 6 corners, but again, without the pugs and yoga pants (I'm not judging - I love both of those things).

The center of the area was filled with artists, musicians, and competing drum circles. After walking around a bit, we ducked into The Porter Beer Bar, which came highly recommended by our tablemates at the wedding reception the prior night.

The ambiance was wonderful but the food was to die for. 

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Have you been to Atlanta? What did I miss?
What's your favorite restaurant in your city?

A Short Chicago Getaway

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Life is good.

On Easter Sunday, I spent the day in West Michigan enjoying the sun and grilling some hand made burgers in my super impromptu tulle skirt purchase.

That night, I headed to Chicago. I had a client meeting in Evanston on Monday morning, and my husband was traveling for work himself, so I decided to make a short trip of it and catch up with a few people.

After my morning meeting, I headed to Lakeview where my girlfriend from High School lives. We walked to Uncommon Ground and had a pretty delicious lunch with a side of pomegranate mimosa. Or should I say... some pretty delicious pomegranate mimosas with a side of lunch.

Once we walked back to her apartment, it was time for her to head out and I made my way downtown. My oil light kept going off - like to the point that it was beeping every few minutes and driving me nuts - so I finally pulled over and grabbed some oil. Once I got to River North, I was "that girl" with her hood up, trying to fix her car. Sorry I'm not sorry.

Eventually, I walked to my old office. I met up with my aunt and chatted a bit and then went to visit my old department to catch up with a few people in the last few minutes of the day.

Afterward, I walked back with my girlfriend who works there to her loft in River North. Let's just say I have friends with good taste. Her loft is like a Restoration Hardware showroom.

Told ya...

We were pretty starving, but it was raining out, so instead of dealing with that, we opted to order in from Epic. But, then we realized we needed wine. So, despite not being willing to walk to a restaurant for dinner, we were totally down for a walk to Binny's. It did not disappoint, and neither did the food once it arrived.

Wine consumed pre-dinner = blurry dinner pic.

Once we polished off a bottle of wine and dug into the second, time sped up (as it tends to under those circumstances) and it was suddenly time for bed. My girlfriend had work the next morning, and I was looking at the drive back to Michigan followed by work, so we called it a night between 11 and midnight. I sleepily slipped off my jewelry and makeup and had a super deep sleep.

The next morning, I took some nespresso to the face and gathered my stuff. One great thing about short trips is that you never fully spread out your stuff, so it's easier to throw things back together and hit the road.

I love this dog! P.S. oil swishing is making my teeth whiter - see?!

I picked up the pup on my way back home and it was a joyous reunion! Nothing like a happy dog to make you excited about a drive home. We got home around noon, so I prepared some lunch and worked like a dog (ha) for the rest of the day, until I had done enough that I justified a long walk and sitting by the dock...

 

Did I mention life is good?

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Do you do short weekend trips? Where to?
• Thoughts on turning business trips into pleasure (don't read too much into that...)?

A Case for Detroit

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Pro tip for packing: If you're bringing another purse and you don't want to ruin it, fill it with some clothes (kind of like packing paper) before putting it in your suitcase.

On Friday, my husband and I headed to Detroit for a sports-themed weekend. Actually, we only had one sports item on the agenda, but it was the catalyst for this trip so we're calling it Pistons Weekend.

 

It was a super easy, short drive. Our travel karma must be intact, because we had an amazing room at the Crowne Plaza. Great views of the downtown city of Detroit as well as views of the river and Windsor, Canada on the other side.

After we got settled, we did some Yelping to find a dinner spot. I had initially planned to eat at The Jefferson House in the hotel, but since we managed to get into town and settled at the hotel fairly early, we figured why not explore something else?

We finally decided on London Chop House. It had great reviews, they were able to seat us quickly, and I love their crest, so it was already winning in my book. The ambiance here was fabulous - it reminds me of a speakeasy and felt very authentic (as opposed to the trendy places that are trying to recreate a speakeasy but really just end up being extremely pretentious... I won't name names).

First order of business on our mini vacation? Booze. We fawned over the wine list but in the end opted for Makers Mark Old Fashioneds. 

The meal was delicious - I had some short rib comfort food and my husband had the filet - and we had a nice and easy (if not slightly tipsy) walk home from the restaurant. 

The next morning, we headed to Honest John's in the Midtown area for some breakfast. We had heard good things about a revival in this area, so we thought we would try it out. It was fairly safe, but the bathroom graffiti was redonkulous.

If booze is the first order of business at dinner, coffee is clearly its breakfast equivalent. Remember what I said about lipstick?  At least I am consistent.

We both had an omelet with far too many hashbrowns, and it did the job.

We followed breakfast with some sightseeing from the car. Detroit is pretty mind blowing because it truly feels like luxury side by side with ruins. Like you are simultaneously seeing the before and after of a dystopian novel gone wrong. Some spots are extremely nice, beautiful, opulent, and well maintained. Other areas... not so much.

After a while, my husband had some work he needed to check in on, so we went to Grand Trunk Pub in search of a beer and free wifi. Turns out we picked the right place. Your first bloody or mimosa is $7, but then they're $1 each after that. Sure, bring me another. Why the heck not.

YES PLEASE

Clearly, after this, I was in need of a siesta. I konked out for an hour or two and eventually woke up to my husband telling me it was time to get ready for the game. Hard knock life.

I donned red and blue for the Piston's... and finally got a chance to wear this red blazer.

Because the Detroit area is so hit or miss, the Palace of Auburn Hills was moved to the suburbs (Auburn Hills). So, we had about 30 minutes of driving between us and the game. I grabbed some trusty Starbucks to help me pick back up after a groggy nap, and we hit the road.

We went to the Palace Grille, a restaurant on the premises that is actually quite nice, and then made our way to the seats. Our seats were awesome. We were behind the Pistons bench, so it was the players (and family members behind them), then the press row, then us. 

You can imagine, my husband was thrilled. I am typically not a sports fan, but I can honestly say that I loved this game. It makes such a difference to be up close, and it felt like we are in on the tension.

Another highlight? Look, mom! I'm on TV! We're in the top right, and I am wearing a red blazer.

After the game, we headed back to the hotel. We stopped into Urban Cellar, the hotel bar, for a glass of wine (me) while my husband took care of a bit more work. I figured, yes, I could go upstairs to bed, but isn't it more fun to drink a glass of wine next to your hard working husband?

Sunday morning, we were both pretty exhausted. We headed to The Hudson Cafe (kudos again to Yelp). It seemed like a good idea, but it was FREEZING COLD and I totally underestimated the length of the walk it would require (it took ten minutes but I told my husband it was "just around the block"), so we were not prepared for the cold.

Oh, well. You win some, you lose some. At least I rewarded myself with this brekkie.

Post-brunch, we made our way back to the hotel (I learned from our trip there and decided to actually jog the way back so I would stay warmer) and checked out. We hopped in the car, and headed home. Clearly, Siri knew we were close to Canada... because she converted our directions into km for the first bit of the trip!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Do you ever do mini weekend vacations? Where?
• Do you like sports or just endure them? Typically I am in the endure camp, but I truly enjoyed being this close to the game and it made me way more 'into it' than usual.