Things that go bump

This morning as we were about to head to work, we heard a THUD, stopping us dead in our tracks. The sound was unmistakable.

Our suspicions were confirmed when we saw a tiny gray bird lying motionless on our balcony's love seat. The little guy had flown head-on into one of our windows.

Upon closer investigation, our tiny feathered friend was still breathing, thankfully, but it appeared he was bleeding from his head.

Oh my gosh, what do we do, we wondered. We watched and we fretted and we wondered some more. Absolutely heart-broken and stunned, we felt powerless. How can we help this beautiful creature?

Crazy thoughts entered our minds. What if we take the bird to the vet? What if he is in a lot of pain? What if the bird has a concussion? Do we need to put it out of its misery? Will we be conducting a funeral?

In the end, we left the bird alone. We hoped and we prayed he would recover and live to fly another day.

So imagine our excitement and glee when we discovered a tiny little fluffy feather lying in the spot where the bird had laid this morning -- just a small reminder of the fragility of life and the power of positive thought.

Another superfun adventure

This past Sunday, MN and I went to the Taste of Atlanta. Let me start by saying we are by no means "foodies," but we love love love to eat, so an opportunity to sample fares from 80+ restaurants, quite a few of which we've been wanting to check out, was right up our alley. We prioritized our ticket allotment prior to arrival, but found it in our best interest to wander and take in the sights and scents in order to immerse ourselves in the experience. (Sidenote: Something I've been focusing my energy on lately has been to be in the moment, regardless of whether it's a fabulous moment or a not so fabulous moment. Life is the here and now, and I'm striving to embrace it.)

Our first sample was a Louisiana crab melt and unfortunately, it left quite a bit to be desired.


Our next venture was completely out of our familiar zone: duck confit salad.


If you don't know what confit means, you may not want to look it up if you're even remotely thinking of having it. I'm sure I'll be working off that small portion for about a week. So what does duck taste like, you ask? For me, it tasted like … no, not chicken, but turkey. Pretty good, but definitely not worth the calories, especially when we still planned to sample chicken 'n dumplins and ice cream!


Mmmm, Mary Mac's chicken 'n dumplins

We spent the afternoon tasting and commenting about which restaurants we would definitely be checking out and which samples were not worth the ticket. We also watched a cooking demonstration by Carla from "Top Chef New York - hootie hoo! She was very entertaining and we enjoyed her very much.


Here are some other things we tried and our impressions:

Chicken tikka masala rice bowl: MN really liked this


Black truffle lobster mac and cheese ball: Not nearly as amazing as it sounded


Chicken and waffles: Disappointing (you know what they say about expectations)


Kobe beef burger: Decent, but not outstanding

Butter chicken masala with rice: MN's favorite

Lobster bisque - MN liked, Lucky not so much


Red velvet mini cupcake: Thumbs-down on this particular bakery


Spare ribs & coleslaw: Lucky's co-fave




Chocolate chocolate chip ice cream: Yummy!

Brownie sandwiched between chocolate chip cookies: Again, not as good as it sounds


Low country grits: Very tasty


The Taste of Atlanta was worth the price of admission, and we'll definitely be attending next year's event.



We love and miss y'all very much - the girlz

Don't get me started

If I had a dollar for each time I've heard the phrase, "I know, right?" I'd probably have $37.00 dollars in my pocket. And each time I hear it, I wonder, What does the question mean?

Someone makes a statement, such as: "Life is beautiful," and another replies with, "I know, right?"

So how does one respond? "Yes, yes it does," or "Right, 'cuz that's what I just said. Weren't you listening?"

Funny thing is, I've heard it so much lately, I've started saying it myself.

Today, a co-worker said to me, "I love Cap'n Crunch cereal," and I responded by saying, "I know, right?"

What? What am I even saying???

I know - makes no damn sense!

Anyway.

We picked apples at an orchard this weekend, which was loads of fun, especially for me, because I got a chance to climb trees again, just like I did in my youth.






I'm such a treehugger.


The fruits of our labor: 1/2 peck of apples.

Back at the market, we wandered the aisles, sampled some apple varieties, and tried some boiled peanuts. For me, it was my first and last boiled peanut. They're yucky.


Check out this display of fried pies!

We had a marvelous time at Reece Family Orchard. Next year, we'll be sure to visit in September when the season is in full swing.

Finally, we have one last image to share with you. This is a shot of a recent spectacular sunrise, which we witnessed from our balcony.


I know, right?

As always, we're sending lots of love and hugs across the miles...the girlz