I didn't puke!

My bachelorette party was this past weekend. Jayme and Kate came in from the west coast and Lori, Petrika, and Melissa threw me a kick-ass party! It was a great weekend - we shopped, went to World of Coke, and ate and drank lots. I laughed a lot and remember most of it. But pictorial evidence always helps:


World of Coke lobby


Jayme, Kate, me


Jayme and me with the Happiness Factory kisses


Coke art




Kate in the tasting room


This one's going to be good!


Oops wrong!


Free cokes!


Getting ready for the 4-D movie


Only about half the food that we ultimately scarfed down at the end of the night, including the best cupcakes ever


Melissa and a game/accessories for the night


1st shot of many


Petrika and me


Petrika and Lori guessing




Presents!


My bouquet


Lori caught it!


Alex and Anchi


Lounging


From Petrika


The most awesome shirt ever


Me and Jayme


All the girls


Piling into the car


1st stop - the fire station. Don't ask.


Why won't they let us in???


Apparently I had something very important to tell Kate


Entertainment at the Jungle










No more shots please


Josh cooking us breakfast the next morning


Hungover!

Glad she was mine

My grandmother passed away a week ago. She was an amazing woman. Not only was she the kindest person I've ever known, she was the most magnetic - she was married 4 times and proposed to at last twice as many! One of my aunts suggested writing a letter to send with her. My letter was about how she's an inspiration to me in how to live your life. She had an amazing capacity to forgive, something I definitely need to work on. She also truly loved unconditionally and always looked on the bright side - even when she couldn't get out of bed for the cancer, she'd answer "How are you feeling?" with her standard "Terrific!" Her happiness and positivity were boundless and I'll always think of that when I think of her.

Recession Specials

In the wake of all the layoffs, etc. I'm starting my Recession Specials Atlanta and Beyond list! Here's to living well and saving money doing it. My intention is for this list to keep expanding, so if you know of any more tips, please send them to me and I'll add them to the list!

Food and Beer

East Atlanta
Blue Frog Cantina, EAV - $1 tacos on Mondays and Tuesdays
La Casita, EAV - $1 tacos on Wednesdays
Thai and Sushi, EAV - $1 sushi Mondays and Tuesdays
Morelli's Ice Cream - a free scoop Monday through Thursday noon - 3pm for the month of May

Highlands
Pozole, Highlands - $2 margaritas and $2 tacos Wednesdays
Noche, Highlands - $10 all you can eat tapas on Mondays
Osteria, Highlands - $1 PRB on Mondays with Karma Card
Hand in Hand, Highlands - $1 PRB and $1 tacos on Sundays, 1/2 price dinner entrees on Mondays, and $2 burgers for lunch and dinner on Tuesdays

Inman Park
Shaun's - $12 salad, pasta, and gelato dinner on Sundays 5pm - 9pm

Decatur
Corner Pub, Decatur - 1/2 price entrees Mondays

Emory-ish
Thaicoon & Sushi Bar, Briarcliff - $1 sushi Mondays and Tuesdays

Midtown
Park Tavern, Midtown - When it rains they pour, as they say, and draft beer is $1
Shout, Midtown - All you can eat Pizza and Salad for $10 on Sundays
Dogwood, Midtown - All you can eat mussels and a glass of sauvignon blanc for $20, Tuesday-Friday
Steamhouse Lounge, Midtown - $1 beer night on Tuesdays

Buckhead
Prime, Lenox Mall - Half Price Steaks from 5:00 - 6:15pm every day
Lola, Buckhead - Any pizza or pasta and a glass of wine or beer for $12 on Sundays and Mondays
Via, Buckhead - Unlimited pizza and salad for $10 on Sundays, 1/2 price dinner menu on Mondays, and $2 draft beer and 1/2 price pizzas on Wednesdays

Vinings
Canoe - (Now, this isn't necessarily a cheap meal, but when you look at Canoe's regular prices, it's a bargain for sure.) $30 Local Yokel dinner - three-course fixed price meal of local ingredients; add $10 for wine pairings - available every night

Online
Restaurant.com - $25 gift certificates for $10 PLUS just google "Restaurant.com discount code" to find an additional 50-80% off depending on the time of the month (more off towards end of the month or around holidays)

Experiences
High Museum - On the first Saturday of each month from 10am to 12pm, Fulton County residents get free admission.

Cable
Call Comcast and ask them to stop sending you the Channel Guide magazine - you'll save $4 on your bill every month

Prescriptions
Transfer a prescription (which can mean dropping off a new prescription at CVS, then promptly calling Walgreens 2 hours later to transfer it there) to Walgreens and use the following coupon to get a $25 gift card. Publix often honors these as well if a gift card there would suit you better.



Groceries
For things you buy on a regular basis, go to the web site to see if any coupons are offered there. There's usually a limit on how many times you can print it, but if you're sneaky/lucky and have a scanner, you can print it as many times as you like. Some regulars for me are:
Yo Plus yogurt
Bertolli Meals

Clothes
Any places that you shop regularly - sign up for the email lists. H & M, for instance, sends me a coupon about once a month.

General deals
Two of my all-time favorite web sites:
The Bargainist
Brad's Deals - The web site is decent, but the real deals are on the daily newsletter, so sign up for that bad boy.

It's raining clues!

Jayme and Heather threw me a great wedding shower on Sunday! Since it was in Philadelphia, and since I live in Atlanta, they decided to have everyone mail me the presents and just give me clues at the shower to guess what they had gotten me.

Admittedly, I was a little nervous about this game, but everyone did a really great job with their hints and helped me guess as well.

Some highlights:
A soft pretzel tray!!!
Mom's candy poem
Shari Trivia (some of which I didn't even know the answers to)
Hangman by Tina
Natalie and Leah loving on each other
Finding out my friend Laura is pregnant - congrats Laura and Patrick!

Lots of pictures:


Heather's palm tree cookies


Jayme and Mom


The fruit basket thing that had mine and Josh's names on it


Jayme prepping


Marley in tropical garb as well


Mom getting festive


Tropical food


Plus soft pretzels!!!


Holly with Natalie and Leah, who seemed to like her just fine


Cousins


Tina telling me my fortune


Aunt Stevie reading her poem


Cynthia acting out her gift


Linda and Andrea - guess, guess!


Aunt Ilene representing


Me and Syd and her super-cute heart


HS girls! Heather, Tina, me, Holly, Heather G., and Court


Cute


Me and the ladies


Aw


Natalie helping us with the leftovers


See, pretzels are so good, it doesn't even matter if they're wrapped in plastic

And a few other pics from the weekend:

Louie loving his toys


Sleepy puppy


And just because this is amazing - found it in the mall parking lot. God bless.