Last week we were watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network and they happened to feature the Marietta Diner.  Now, anytime a local restaurant is featured on national TV we always make it a point to check it out and see what’s so special about it.  I really REALLY hate going out to the burbs for anything, but I figured I’d make an exception.  The Marietta Diner is owned by a Greek guy and half of the menu is Greek so that made it much more interesting than the typical diner.  It was a lot further out in Marietta than I thought, and once we got there there were tons of people waiting outside.  The cake/pie counter looked very promising, but we didn’t get a chance to try any of them because we were so full!  The portions were huge!  Too bad the food was a little disappointing.  Not terrible.  Not bad.  Just disappointing.  I guess I figured it would be spectacular since it was on TV, but it was just regular diner food.  Maybe my expectations were too high or maybe it was just what we ordered, but I’m not really motivated to drive out to Marietta again for a return visit.  The cool thing is that it’s open 24 hours.

I can’t remember the name of this… but it was the special featured on TV

Crabmeat Melt with Onion Rings

Grafitti off of Euclid

Barack, Charlotte, Samantha

Britney

We had a couple of friends in town from Florida for the 4th of July weekend.  We decided to hit the mountain bike trails for the 4th of July and headed over to Yellow River mountain bike trail near Stone Mountain, GA.  It was a lovely day for biking!

Yesterday was day 2 of not having a car.  I biked to my dentist appointment about a mile away on Peachtree Street.  Not bad at all!  In the past the only places I’ve biked in the city was to Piedmont Park or to the Virginia Highlands.  This is the first time I’ve biked on a busier road.  I do wish we had bike lanes though.

Later that morning, I walked just a few blocks south of my neighborhood to get my car at Midtown Tire (if you’re looking for a repair shop they’re good people) located on Ponce de Leon.  I know Ponce is WAAAAAY shady, but I figured I’d be okay since I’m just crossing to the other side of the street to get to the shop.  Nonetheless, I prepared for this.  I put on my darkest pair of sunglasses so I wouldn’t have to make eye contact with the crazies.  I put on long pants so I wouldn’t be mistaken for a hooker and a plain black shirt to not call attention to myself.  I put on athletic shoes just in case I had to make a run for it.  I even had my fanny pack on, although a stylish one, so that my wallet wouldn’t get snatched.

So I’m walking down Charles Allen in my nice little neighborhood and the absolute SPLIT SECOND I get on to the intersection of Charles Allen and Ponce I see this crackhead coming toward me.  He mumbles something and I tell him I don’t have any cash on me.  He mumbles something again and I notice he already has cash in his hand.  Then he says it again, even louder… “Suck my —- for 5 dollars???”.  I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO INSULTED IN MY WHOLE LIFE!!!!  Probably against my better judgement I started cursing him out on the street, which in turn probably made ME look like I belonged on Ponce.  “Are you f#(*$%&#(*&$% crazy???  I’m not a prostitute you nasty bum!!! #)($*#)$*)#*$!!!!”

I made it across the street in one piece and HAPPILY drove my car back home.  I’m never doing that ever again.  I will walk everywhere in Midtown, but I’m not touching Ponce de Leon Ave!!!  It’s crazy how just one block up you’re in a really nice neighborhood, but you get to Ponce and it’s like day and night.

Sorry… no pictures for this post… I was too busy watching out for my own safety!!!!!

For a looong time I’ve been thinking about how I should be using my car less because of its toll on the environment, the issue of obesity in America, political issues like offshore drilling, and simply because it’s just plain dumb for me to be driving to the places I’ve been driving to.  I have zero excuses for driving as much as I do.  It’s just become a bad habit.  I live in the heart of the city where many things I need are within a mile or less.

Sunday night, Mike and I were getting ready to pick up some dinner (around the corner). We jumped in my car and as it started moving forward we heard this painfully loud, terrible screeching noise like metal scraping metal.  My trusty car was sick for the first time and had to be taken in.

So this week, I’ve had to rely on walking and biking for everything I needed to do.  Yesterday, I walked over to Gilbert’s Meditteranean Cafe for their lunch specials.  I love this place.  They have one of the best weekday lunch deals ever and everything is crazy delicious.

Lovely open air dining area with a nice people watching view of Piedmont & 10th.

Cute decor in the friendly and cozy dining area.

Pick 3 combo for $8.99 - Caprese Salad, Babaganoush with Pita, Lemon Chicken Sandwich.

Later that afternoon, I walked to Trader Joe’s on Monroe & 8th to pick up groceries for dinner.  I broke a little sweat, but it was pretty painless!  Their recyclable bags make it easy for you to throw your purchases over your shoulder and carry home.  By the end of the day I felt really good about walking everywhere.  I think I’ll do this more often and pretend like I don’t have a car.  Too bad it took my car being screwed up for me to FINALLY start doing this.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

I wish I got to dance with Matt while he was in Atlanta, but unfortunately I didn’t know about him until recently.  I have no idea what it is about this video that makes it so emotional.  I don’t know if he was even trying to be deep in making this or just out having fun.  Anyhow, it is the 3rd video I have ever watched that has made me cry (ET… when he’s covered in white powder and everyone’s chasing him… being the 1st & The Land Before Time… when Little Foot’s mom dies and he has to go on the journey alone… being the 2nd).  I’m not sure if it’s the music that gets me or the fact that his funny dancing makes it seem like the entire world right now can take itself too seriously and we have long forgotten to have a little fun with each other.  The other part that gets to me about this, is remembering how easy it used to be for me to just pick up and leave and travel all over the place on a whim.  It’s been too long… I think I need to get out of the country more.

We’ve been working on turning our guestroom into more of an office, so I sold all the big pieces of furniture on Craigslist and the rest of it will be gone during our upcoming neighborhood yard sale.  Now that all the walls are bare, I’ve been obsessing over how I want to redecorate.  I finally got around to purchasing the first piece for the room - a reprint of a painting I was eyeing at the Virginia Highland Summerfest.

It’s called “Look at Me” by Atlanta artist Timothy Boyd.  You can check out his Etsy shop at www.waterbears.etsy.com.

One of the things I love/hate about living in Atlanta is we actually have four seasons.  When I lived in Hawaii the weather forecast each day of the year was a joke.  The temperature rarely fluctuated more than 1 degree… you could guarantee that every single day was going to be sunny with a gentle breeze… if it rained it was always just a nice sprinkly rain… and there was always at least 1 rainbow in the sky each day.  The forecast usually looked like this or better:

So, in Atlanta for once I have gotten to see the seasons change.  When we first moved into our condo one of the first things Mike bought for it was this gnome.  His name’s Jim (that was the name on the box) and he sits under a tree in our little garden.  At first I was mad because I didn’t want one of those yards with all kinds of tacky decorations… but Jim eventually got me to smile at the change of seasons for a minute instead of curse not having sunshine year round.  Today being the first day of summer, my photo series of Jim is now complete!

Jim in the Fall

Jim in the Winter

Jim in the Spring

Jim in the Summer

Mike and I decided to be really adventurous this time and try something completely new unlike anything we’ve ever eaten before.  Where did we go?  The Cottage Ethiopian Cuisine! I’m sure everyone who lives in metro Atlanta has passed this place hundreds of times since it’s on Piedmont Ave.  I always thought it looked like an old Burger King… and that’s because it was!  There’s also live music on certain nights.  The food wasn’t bad… I’d eat here again!  It was a very cool experience.  I also didn’t feel fat after eating it… which is usually a good thing!

If you can get over the fact that it’s in an old Burger King, the inside is a lot better than you’d expect.

The menu is very vegetarian friendly… not that I’m a vegetarian… I’ve tried and there’s absolutely no way it’s going to happen.

No spoons or forks.  You scoop up the food with the rolls of spongey bread they give you.

I’m guilty of being a seafood snob in Atlanta since this is the first time I’ve ever been landlocked, but I have to say I really love going to Six Feet Under in Grant Park.  I’m always a fan of laid back restaurants where you don’t have to dress up.  The location across from the historic Oakland Cemetery is pretty cool too.  Oh!  And their mixed drinks are excellent.  The Tombstone Tea (kinda like a Long Island) and the Blueberry Vodka Lemonade are my favorites!  They’ll get you screwed up pretty fast too without even realizing it.

This picture kinda sucks because of the lighting inside… plus I’m a crappy photographer.
If you have a chance you should definitely sit on the rooftop… it’s a much better view.

Another terrible photograph…

Some graffiti I saw while walking back to my car