Adventures in the ATL

September 12, 2016September 12, 2016 / beautyatbeard / Leave a comment

This past weekend The Beard and I headed down to Atlanta for the Atlanta Salsa Festival. I had purchased our passes with their early bird special last November so we had been looking forward to it for awhile!

After a little bit of your average pre-trip frantic prep we made it to the airport and decided to start the flight off right with Starbucks. I have a very common name, and have been fortunate enough to not encounter many misspellings, but this barista took it to a whole other level. If you’re confused, this is their version of “Jessica.”

Our flight went smooth and we settled in on the Marta Train for an hour ride to the end of line. Our hotel had a shuttle that, according to their website, only needed 5 minutes notice to come pick us up. We exited the train and called the hotel at 3:47 and were told the shuttle was in route, but it was rush hour and would take a bit longer than usual. We found a shaded bench, because it’s Atlanta and sweltering, and sat down to relax for a bit.Fast forward 45 minutes and there is no shuttle to be found. We called the hotel once more and are told they are on their way, traffic is bad, blah blah blah. At this point a group of dancers had converged next to the curb, all here for the conference and waiting on the shuttle. We called once more and receive a different story for the delay but were assured it was on it’s way. At this point it is 5:15pm. We decided enough was enough and called an Uber. This was my first time using Uber, as I don’t have much need where I live currently, and let me tell you, we loved it! Our driver picked us up in 5 minutes and we were at the hotel in 10! Shout out to Fazle our Driver!

After we checked in we decided to grab a bite to eat, opting for a restaurant at another hotel near by. Little did we know that a local university’s football team would be arriving, and attending the Alumni Party at the restaurant. Nothing like trying to enjoy a flatbread pizza and salad with your love while having fifty year olds, who peaked in college and are clinging to the good ‘ole days, drunkenly shouting in your ear for the majority of your dining experience. At least the food was good! Isn’t he handsome?!

We headed back to the hotel and nothing sounded better than a nice relaxing soak in the tub. Only problem was, we were missing the tub stopper. We called down to the front desk and were told they would send one up. After thirty minutes had passed with no tub stopper and no bath I decided I was going downstairs. The Beard always finds it amusing when I get riled up, and of course aggs me on to go get them!

Set Scene: I walk up to the receptionist in the lobby.
Me: Hi, I called over 30 minutes ago about a stopper for my bath tub and I have not received it.
Receptionist: I’m so sorry! I think he is looking for it. Actually, that’s him right here.
*Pan over to man, leaning against the desk.
Receptionist: Did you find the tub stopper?
Maintenance Man: I am looking.
Receptionist: Right now?
Maintenance Man: Yes. *Continues to lean against the desk.
Me: Well, I think it’s safe to say we can eliminate the lobby as its location. *My sarcasm takes on a life of it’s own when I am frustrated.
Maintenance Man: I will bring to you. *Starts walking off
Me: Oh no. I will go with you. *Follows him down the hallway
Maintenance Man: *Walking, repeatedly looking over his shoulder* No, I bring to you.
Me: I will wait right outside this door. *It was marked private and I wasn’t that enraged at this point to follow him into the employee only section.

I proceed to wait another fifteen minutes before he reappeared with the plug. He had to come install it, as he wasn’t sure which screw it would need and an hour later I could finally take my bath. I pushed the plug down, turned on the water and immediately realized it wasn’t getting hot. The Beard tested the temperature on the sink and found it to be scalding. So what does one do now? Ice bucket time. We started filling the tub from the sink and after it was about halfway full the hot water returned to the shower lines and it was finally bath time! I don’t have any proof, but I feel like the maintenance man might also drive the shuttle….

We cleaned up and decided to head downstairs for the dance social, that according to their facebook event was scheduled to start at 8pm only to be told that they were still setting stuff up and it would be more like 9:30ish before the performances started. While I appreciate all the hard work people put into these performances, they just really aren’t my thing so we opted to go back to our room and wait them out while watching The Big Bang Theory.

We headed back down stairs around 10:30pm thinking the performances might be close to wrapping up. Turns out we severely under estimated the amount of performances and they didn’t finish up until after midnight! So it was around 12:30am before we finally had a chance to hit the dance floor! I know lots of dancers are perfectly fine staying up all night dancing, but that is not my typical Friday evening. We like to snuggle up with a pint of ice cream and watch the Blacklist!

Saturday we spent the day taking various workshops and had a lot of fun! We learned some awesome Casino routines, brushed up on our Bachata and even learned some cool lifts! Afterwards we went to the pool where the Beard was kind enough to act as my personal raft and whisk me around the water.

From there we scheduled another Uber and headed to our favorite restaurant from our last trip to Atlanta, Alma Cocina. Our driver Winston was awesome, and we convinced him to take his wife there whenever he was in need of brownie points!

Allow me to present our Chicken Mole, smoked green beans on a bed of smashed plantains and hibiscus sorbet with a coconut cream sauce and shaved coconut. SO GOOD!

We got in more dancing Saturday evening and headed to the airport on Sunday.

In case you’re ever wondering if carrying your knitting around with you provides other uses, you are correct. I present exhibit A: Instant Pillow!

Despite the crazy time delays and coordination issues, we did have a wonderful weekend together! As always, I’m looking forward to more adventures with this amazing man!

Dancing in the Windy City

August 2, 2016 / beautyatbeard / Leave a comment

Last week we hit the open roads, or more accurately the semi-clear I-65N, up to Chicago for the Taste of Kizomba weekend. While I’ve been to Chicago on many occasions I’ve never had the pleasure of checking out their social dance scene. I drove up with my friend Jen for a girl’s weekend of food, dancing and a little exploring and we managed to accomplish all three. In case you’re wondering, The Beard was working, and yes I did bring him back presents!

We stayed in this charming Airbnb that was about 10 minutes, depending on traffic, away from our dance studio. Everything about this place was cozy. I’m talking sink into all the furniture, binge on chips and chocolate, never want to leave cozy. However, we had things to do and healthier foods to eat so off we went.

As you may know by now, I’m a foodie. The best part about traveling is experiencing the local cuisine and our first night there we headed to Cuba 312. Let me just say, these were hands down the best yucca fries I have ever tasted! Looking at them now is making my stomach rumble. Also, I haven’t eaten breakfast yet but I don’t think that has anything to do with it.

When it comes to dresses I’m a fan. I wear one almost every day to work and love wearing them for salsa dancing. However, when it comes to dancing Kizomba, I’ve found that pants are far easier and less revealing. So this weekend I decided to rock some new jumpsuits for the dance socials and they were cute and comfy! I mean, when you look dressed up and yet feel like you’re in pajamas, it’s a win-win folks!

Saturday morning we headed to Lincoln Park and explored a little bit before heading to the dance workshops. It was so hot, we were a sweaty mess by the time we were finished, but totally worth it.

This jump was actually higher than I had calculated so there was some genuine fear here.

This is a blue herring.

A little Lily Pond oasis.

Dance workshop selfies! Me, Jen & Jessie!

We stopped at this cool place called Bow Truss Coffee Roasters to get The Beard his coffee gifts. I try and bring him back coffee beans from where ever I travel without him.

I also made my own Beard Stick Figure so he could be in some of our photos!

We had dinner at a place called Knife & Tine and if I’m ever back in Chicago I will be hitting them up again. To start, the restaurant was absolutely gorgeous. I wanted to be that instagrammer wondering around taking pictures of everything, everyone and their food! However, I contained myself to just my table. Behold, pork belly with onions, candied apples and a cornbread cupcake. I cleaned my plate!

Sunday we stopped for the required Chicago pizza. Below is a garlic artichoke pizza that was divine. We also became the nicest people ever as we turned our car into a pizza delivery vehicle and brought The Beard and others their very own Chicago Pizzas on our way home.

All in all it was a fun weekend. In case you were wondering, yes I did make a video for you! I used some Kizomba music so you can get a taste for yourself!

Nature, Naps and What We Ate

July 19, 2016 / beautyatbeard / Leave a comment

This past weekend we basically ate a lot of food and napped, which is exactly my kind of weekend. We had dinner plans for Friday evening, but found ourselves hungry mid-afternoon and decided to pre-game dinner with a little BBQ! Now, I’m a bit of a BBQ snob, in that my standards are pretty high! This brisket was on point and as I type this I’m craving another platter of meat!

As they say, the best way to stay cool in this heat is with a cone of meat!

On the way to our second dinner, and yes we are practically hobbits minus the height, The Beard was reading instructions from his friend saying the restaurant was super colorful and we couldn’t miss it. I made the offhanded comment that the building was probably lime green and orange. Feel free to soak in that feeling of awe and amazement right now. It’s ok. I’m amaze myself.

I don’t have any shots of our food, as I wasn’t really impressed. I’ve heard several people say good things about this place, so maybe they were just having an off night with the crowd during our visit. So while waiting for our check, tom foolery ensued. If you’re thinking, “Is that Star Lord shooting a tortilla chip into tiny pieces?” then you are correct.

Saturday we got up and headed out for a couple’s massage The Beard had nicely arranged. Sorry, no pictures of that!

From there we headed to the Market District to pick up ingredients for a new recipe we were dying to try out. This recipe was for orange ginger- beef stir fry with a homemade marinade from ZenBelly Cookbook. Now this is not an advertisement, just what we were making for dinner. However, it’s a great book so if you’re looking to add to your collection check it out. Zenbelly Cookbook

We spotted a food truck in the parking lot and since this was more of an organic type market we decided to check it out. Neither of us do well with fried food although it sure is yummy. I ordered a chicken and pickled veggie lettuce wrap and The Beard opted for a spicy carne asade wrap.

Here The Beard is modeling my latest hiking t-shirt design and his food. If you want to check out any of our hiking shirts you can find them here. Trail Magic

Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures while we were preparing dinner, I don’t know what I was thinking! However, I did manage to take a snapshot before stuffing my face with this deliciousness.

Sunday was a “Make something out of the ingredients in the fridge” day. That turned into lettuce wraps with mayo, turkey, bacon, mushrooms and onions. That was so good I ended up picking up more ingredients to actually make them on purpose!

We also installed my new pot rack, courtesy of The Beard’s parents for my birthday. Of course this now means I need to thoroughly clean out my cabinets, which then means I need to clean out my storage cabinet in the garage so I can then relocate things from my inside cabinets. It’s amazing the domino effect that ensues by simply hanging a pot on the wall! But for now it is what it is, because just thinking about it makes me want to take a nap!

I’ve also been knitting a lot lately. Apparently I have a schedule and mid-summer I start knitting feverishly with Christmas gifts in mind, at least according to The Beard. I don’t have shots of all the recent items, but let’s just say I’m really into hats right now. I also created this draw string cowl for hiking and I’m pretty impressed with it! You can wear it as a cowl to keep your neck warm or you can pull the draw strings at one end and wear it as a slouchy beanie. I made this with wool-ease yarn so it is machine washable making it perfect for the trail. Once again I have the perfect model!

The weather was nice although pretty humid. However, I’ll take that any day for sunsets like this! Yes, The Beard was driving while I was snapping away!

To end on a random note, when I was a little girl my sister and I would take our mickey mouse fishing poles, bobbers included, and fish in the puddles in our driveway. We hadn’t yet made the connection that fish didn’t just magically appear in any body of water. My mother was happy we were playing and not fighting, as sisters tend to do, so she never dashed our hopes of catching a big one! Last week I came home and despite the lack of puddles I found a crawfish in my driveway! We have had a lot of rain recently so I’m wondering if he was washed downhill to surprise me. Either way, my patience paid off and I finally caught something in my driveway!