Labor Day Weekend

Soooo!  How was everybody's weekend?  I look forward to holiday weekends with great anticipation. Lately, the question has become "where can I GO?"  This last weekend, the answer to that question was Atlanta.  The Kate who has been previously mentioned on this blog recently relocated, and this lovely holiday weekend felt like just the right time to pop in.  Now, first, before I go one bit further, I must make something clear.  Brother Andrew (Kate's other half) loves food at least as much as I do.  It would follow that a description of a holiday weekend spent in his presence will include lots and lots of food.  Prepare yourself.

I left a little later than I anticipated (exhausted from the previous evening spent in the stimulating company of nine of the people I love best in the world, also known as my babies), so I didn't get up to Atlanta (well, Alpharetta, actually) until mid-afternoon.  Andrew and Kate were out doing some prep work on our new church there, so we didn't hook up until near dinner time.  (Fitting.  First things first, let's eat.)  Andrew's sister Sarah and her family were visiting at the same time, so we decided to go out for sushi.  (I was so totally good with this.  Andrew and Sarah are the owners of three more of my favorite people, also known as Cason, Lily and Parker.)

Ok, I have to come clean here.  I like sushi.  Love it, actually.  But I guess I tend to see sushi as more of the sort of thing you eat with a crowd - lots of people order lots of rolls, and with sushi, variety is good.  It follows, being I tend to fly solo quite a bit, that I don't go out for sushi much.  Therefore, sitting in a nice sushi restaurant with a bunch of old pros, I felt a little bit out of my depth.  Even Parker handled his trainer chopsticks with ease, while I bumbled through with my fork.  Suddenly my long-time prideful determination to remain true to my utensil heritage felt a little misguided.  No matter; open eyes and closed mouth work wonders when out of one's depth.  I learned much.  And I ate well.  Something magical about rice, seaweed and raw fish - the sum is so much greater than its parts.

See the volcano one in the top right corner of the middle plate?  Seriously good, people.

Cason and Parker and the kid plate.  When I was a kid we ate burgers and chicken nuggets.  Just saying.

Lovely Lily

Look at those mad chopstick skills...

We called it a pretty early night; after a bowlful of snickerdoodle ice cream we all turned in.  Why?  We needed to get up early so we could hit the Buckhead Bakery for breakfast.  (This is going to get embarrassing pretty quickly, I can tell.)  You see, I went to Atlanta with a deep need to experience a cronut before I came home.  (To the uninitiated, a cronut is a cross between a croissant and a donut. Yeah. I know.)  But before we did the cronut thing (Buckhead Bakery calls theirs a doissant; same difference) we of course had to eat a "real" breakfast, which, in my case, consisted of smoked salmon benedict served over potato blini.  It was better than Andrew's corned beef hash, which was saying something.  Oh, and I had to establish myself as undefeated tic-tac-toe champion, much to Cason's chagrin.  (Thank goodness for "the trick".)  The verdict on the cronuts/doissants?  I would be totally ok eating one every day for quite a long while.  (Croissant, deep-fried, filled with vanilla pastry cream and frosted - do the math!)

Yo Cas! Who's yo momma?

After doing some set-up work at the church, Kate, Andrew and I spent the rest of the day in a pretty relaxed fashion.  I would like to go on the record right now and say that I love my brother-in-law.  There are not many dudes who would be willing to haul wife and sister around to the tune of pedicures and outlet malls, or I miss my guess.  He did both and was a terrific sport about the whole thing.  He even put up with lame Varsity hotdogs when we got hungry (and yes, they were really, really lame).  Sitting in the pedicure chair, enjoying the spectacle of my brother getting smeared with green and pink goo, I gained a whole new appreciation for his coolness.

She is not as relaxed as she looks...

Oh, and he makes a mean green smoothie.

Being in Atlanta over the weekend also provided a terrific opportunity to attend service at our newest satellite church, which just opened.  I will go on the record and say that I absolutely loved it.  The church I attend every week at home is truly the most wonderful in the world, but it is very big.  This was an entirely different experience.  Even though the exact same message was preached, there was an intimacy and closeness that was unlike anything I've experienced in a church service setting, and somehow, those words found their way into my heart in an entirely new way.  I left feeling refreshed, recharged, ready to make great strides in my walk with the Lord.  And that, my friends, is what church is all about!

We three decided to forgo Taco Mac with the gang in favor of Vinnie's and by golly, am I glad we did.  We ate some pretty decent Italian food, but more importantly, we met Mr. Rich, (BAH!) who was one of those waiters that make dining less a meal and more an experience.  Kate and I instantly fell in love; I think we were pretty much ready to adopt him as our grandpa on the spot.  We left with promises to see him in church and every intention to visit him on a regular basis.  (BAH!)

So the next morning, what's on the agenda?  Breakfast!  (I love hanging out with us.)  Original House of Pancakes, where the apple pancakes and omelets are huge, with prices to match.  I finally experienced a real apple pancake.  It was...fine, I guess.  I like buttermilk pancakes better.  

Look who we found!

You should have bought me that chandelier, Sarah!

That's my girl!

After breakfast, we cruised around town; we hit the Ferrari dealership (for some reason,we don't have a lot of those in my town), Dick's Sporting Goods (I am now motivated to work out like a maniac and probably do some hard-core camping), the mattress store to pick out a guest room bed.  It was really cool to get to know the area a bit; I found all sorts of things I want to do on future trips.  (Plus, I discovered that there is some decent white-water rapids a couple of hours north.  Get ready.)  My time was quickly waning; I had a long drive ahead of me and didn't want to leave too late, so we had to decide what to do.  After much discussion, we decided to head downtown for the last of our time together.  We hit a juice bar (where Katie discovered that she does NOT like kale, celery, apple and ginger juice) and wandered Centennial Park, savoring the sunshine, the sights and sounds of families playing catch on the lawn and squealing kids in the water fountains.

It was time to wrap up the weekend, and what better way to do it than by enjoying one last meal together?  Now, this trip was especially fun for me, because for as much as Andrew and I both love food, we are drawn to completely different things. K & A tend to eat in more large-scale, trendy places than I do.  Think sushi bars, cavernous Italian restaurants and sophisticated steakhouses.  Me, I gravitate towards the nerdy places, with tattooed and pierced servers, quirky decor and hand-written menus containing whatever whim struck the chef-proprietor that day.  I really loved experiencing dining out from a different perspective, trying some places and things I wouldn't normally try, and broadening my horizons.  The country girl spent some time in the city, and was the better for it.  But I couldn't leave without dragging Andrew and Kate through more of a Carrie experience, so we went to Wisteria in Inman Park for dinner.  It was pretty darn tasty, all that soul food.  Oh, and the six desserts were magnificent.  (That was NOT my idea.  Then again, I didn't discourage anybody, either.)

Yep, six desserts.

Like I said.

 Fully satiated and probably in need of a serious juice cleanse, I knew it was time to hit the road.  For the first time, we parted ways; I drove south and they drove north.  (I envied them their quick 30-minute drive home.)  What a great weekend, though.  I spent three days with two people that I love very much, resting and relaxing and enjoying each other's company.  I headed home rejuvenated and ready to face the madhouse that is life this season, grateful for the wonderful family God has blessed me with, and with every intention of returning.

I love my sister.  What more is there to say?