Well lots has happened in the past few weeks. I had a special visitor from the Netherlands come, so that was exciting:) We went to a concert one evening at the large amphitheater here in Atlanta and saw Parachute, Michelle Branch, and the Goo Goo Dolls all play...music was great! Visited the town of Decatur one day and I experienced my first New Orleans-style "Snow Ball" (http://www.neworleanssnoballcafe.com if you want to check it out) and it was quite tasty! Perfect for a hot summer summer afternoon.
The Goo Goo Dolls
The next weekend brought us to Battle Creek, MI for the Amy Yeast Memorial Tennis Tournament. We had gone a couple years ago, so it was great to be back and see everyone! There was even a mini Hawkeye tennis reunion, so it was fun to see some familiar faces. The whole Battle Creek crew is fabulous, and made the weekend fun filled with golf, tennis (of course), boat rides, dancing and drinks at the the riverfront bar, even a casino trip, and lots more.
Sunset over the lake
Hawkeyes!
Kathy Sue and Sara Dunn! Love them:)
New York City was calling the next weekend, but we barely made it because of bad weather all up the East coast. We were almost ready to go home and give up when we were able to get on to a delayed flight at the last minute...oh the joys of standby travel haha. But we did make it and had a great time visiting Bart's old roommate. Saturday featured a great ferry ride to a beach on the Jersey Shore (not quite like the tv show haha), and dinner at an amazing restaurant called Megu, thanks in part to its Restaurant Week prix fix menu;) Sunday was relaxing, although a bit competitive when it came to our intense game of mini golf at one of the Hudson River piers haha.
The Jersey Shore...you know it!
The ferry ride was like a mini boat tour of NYC!
Mini Golf
View of Manhattan from the apartment
Dinner at Megu
I got a few major crises out of the way when it came to getting locked out of my apartment one night and not being able to get back in until after midnight, and also having my car breakdown in my work parking lot...but no major damage done, just temporary frustration haha. I'm hoping I'll be in the clear for a little while now. Other new adventures included seeing the show "Guys and Dolls" at the historic Fox Theater...it was a lot of fun and what a beautiful building! Another night we got great 2nd row seats in the outfield for a Braves game, and otherwise enjoyed making some good dinners, touring Piedmont Park, and just relaxing:) If only I didn't have to work...so sad that I will never get another summer vacation! But welcome to the real world right;)
My next weekend was a joyful reunion of friends for miss Katy Schumacher's (now Heggen!) wedding to Danny. I was a little late getting in on Thursday, but was able to make the second half of the bachelorette festivities in downtown Des Moines. Friday we had a nail party (thanks Katy!), got the reception venue set up, and had the rehearsal and dinner, followed by drinks on a bar patio with the whole wedding party...I was amazed by how many neat little bars and restaurants there actually are in Des Moines! Super cute. Saturday was the big day, with big fun and celebration:) Katy looked beautiful and the whole wedding was so simple yet elegant...well done you two!! They got married at a small, old barn, with the reception at Zart, that had amazing food (lots of gluten-free too! They are so thoughtful:), and of course...quite the dance party! All in all it was a great weekend and I am so happy for the new couple:) Love you guys! And SO SO great to see everyone again, with Claire coming from Australia, Emma from New York, Shelby from California, Mar from Minnesota, Leah from Ohio, and me from Atlanta...yay yay yay...I miss you all already.
Getting ready
After the rehearsal in the Sculpture Park
Cocktail hour at Zart - reception venue
A toast!
Group pics in Waterworks Park
Wedding party at Simpson Barn - ceremony site
Danny and the girls! haha
Waiting for the couple outside:)
John, Emma, and Dad!
Now it is Labor Day weekend and I finally have some time to catch up a little. We got off of work early on Friday, so that just made my day...and landed me at the pool:) Can't complain about that! I met up with a few friends, and also fellow Hawkeye alums - Reed and Steph - to watch the Iowa football game on Saturday at the Brewhouse Cafe. They won by the way haha (but granted it was Tennessee Tech, so I would hope that would be the case!). I wandered around the neighborhood of Little Five Points a bit afterwards (where the Iowa bar was)...it has more of an eclectic vibe and was packed with people walking about, so fun to check out. Saturday night was more football with friends...it's definitely big here in the south! I also learned that Friday's during football season are official "wear your team colors to work" days haha. I guess I'll have to break out some black and gold! The rest of my weekend was spent being productive (yay!) around my apartment, so that I also had time to relax! I watched an entire movie for the first time since moving, with a friend from work - Cathy, and got to test out my new couch in the process...verdict = COMFY:) And if anyone hasn't seen it yet, "Just Go With It" is actually a really funny movie! Much better than I expected. Well that's it for now I guess! Til next time:)
Steph - newly moved to Atlanta!
Go Hawks!
