I went to Atlantic Station on Friday to go see the Incredible Hulk (not bad) and it also happened to be the grand opening of H&M in Atlanta.  There were tons of people walking around with huge H&M shopping bags packed full of goodies that I thought maybe I’d stop by and check it out.  I had been to the one in NYC a few years ago and it didn’t interest me much, but I figured I’d give it another try before the movie started.  Mike was still on his way to meet me there after work anyway.  That was… I was going to check H&M out until I saw the line!!!  I headed over to West Elm instead.

I’m not sure if the line was like this purely because of safety code OR if it was like this because H&M was trying to make it look like you were trying to get into an exclusive Miami club.  I once went down to South Beach for spring break in college with some friends.  We stood in line outside of this club for an hour as if it was something special and eventually got in only to find the place was practically empty.  How tricky of them to make us form a crowd outside by letting us in slowly just to hype it up!  The red carpet and velvet ropes here reminds me of the same thing.

I ended up checking out the store after watching the Hulk.  30 minutes before H&M was to close and no line!  Once again, I was underwhelmed but did come out with a couple of very inexpensive accessories… plumeria barrettes that remind me of Hawaii and ice blue, flat bead necklace.

(I took this from Flickr since I don’t have my own personal photo of him - This picture was taken by Sher Pruitt and originally posted in an artilce by Jim Farmer on the Southern Voice website www.southernvoice.com/2006/4-28/arts/feature/baton.cfm)

I first saw Baton Bob one day when I was driving down Ponce de Leon with Mike and he said “Did you just see that man in a tutu?!  He had bells on his boots, was blowing a whistle, and twirling a baton!!”  I looked in the rear view mirror just in time to catch a glimpse of him marching down the street.  I’ve seen some pretty crazy things on Ponce.  Crack addicts, hookers, bums and more!  Often times I’ll see people talking loudly to themselves.  Mike always tells me maybe they have a bluetooth earpiece on and I just don’t know it… but yeah right!

So back to Baton Bob.  A few months later I saw a feature about him on national TV… and thought OMG!!!  That’s the guy we saw!  After hearing his story, I found out he’s not a typical Ponce crackhead after all.  He was actually a quite sane, very cool guy and apparently was somewhat of an icon in Atlanta.  Basically he started twirling a baton to make people smile after he was going through a depression after 9/11.

Since then, I’ve seen him 3 other times.  The second time, I saw him marching up Charles Allen, again in ballerina outfit.  A third time, I saw him in a bumble bee costume while I was eating outside at Park Tavern at Piedmont Park.  The fourth time, walking down 10th Street on Cinco de Mayo wearing a sombrero and red feather boa.  I’ve been dying to get a picture with him, but have never been at the right place at the right time WITH a camera on me.

Anyway, I haven’t seen him in a while and hope to run into him again soon!  I love you Baton Bob!

I’m a fan of DSW… but ONLY the one on Lenox Road in Buckhead.  Why?  They’re the only one in Atlanta that has a designer discount section (in the back, right corner).  I always find the most unbelievable bargains here.

Check out the Stella McCartney’s I recently got.  Original price was $645.  DSW price was $399.94.  Oh…. but wait!  On top of that it was 80% off the DSW price!  Unbelievable yah!?  And they’re very comfy!  So my $645 shoes came out to be $80!  It’s not a one time thing either… I find bargains like that there all the time.

I couldn’t take a decent picture because Stink kept getting in the way…

Midtown Art Cinema is probably my favorite place to watch a movie in Atlanta.  It’s a little more low-key than say, Atlantic Station and has more of a local type feel.  It’s also where all of the indie films show in town which is another reason I like to go.

So this time I went and checked out the movie Surfwise, a documentary about a Stanford educated doctor who decided to drop everything to travel around the country, live out of his camper with his wife and nine kids, and just surf.  I’d probably give the movie a 7 out of 10.  One part when the son was singing a story about his scarred relationship with his dad was kind of corny and painful to watch and other parts I wish they went more in detail with the story… but overall the movie was pretty good.

In a backwards way the movie reminds me of how I ended up in Atlanta.  Basically, before I moved to Atlanta in 2005 I was in Hawaii living a ridiculous lifestyle to some and I thought maybe I’d get my shit together.. go to grad school on the mainland.. make more money.. be more successful.. buy a house.. blah blah blah… all the things you’re supposed to do.  What I realized after I got here and accomplished almost all of it.. is who the hell cares?  I had the time of my life living on my brother’s couch and being a beach bum.  I could practically fit all of my belongings into 2 suitcases.  Yes, I worked… but that was never a priority for me at the time.  I eventually got my own studio that had absolutely nothing in it, but gave in to mainland society’s idea that I needed more.  Looking back.. I was living in extreme simplicity to get by, but also living some of the happiest days of my life.  It’s still something I struggle with these days, the urge to go back, but we’ll see!  I’ll have to convince Mike… it would be twice as good this time around with him there with me!  One of the old Hawaiians told me before I left that the islands would never stop calling me back…=P

But yeah!  Go watch a movie at the Midtown Art Cinema!

Hands down, my favorite place to eat sushi in Atlanta is RuSan’s on Piedmont & Monroe in Midtown despite all the mixed reviews on Citysearch and other sites.  Some people think it’s too loud or has terrible presentation, but I love it.  It’s the only one in town that’s affordable and has a fun, crazy atmosphere and the menu is huge (although a little overwhelming).  I’m tired of the retardedly pretentious sushi joints here where I end up spending almost $100 on my own meal.  Every time I’ve been to RuSan’s they’ve always been so nice.. and sometimes they even take sake shots with my friends and me… very cool!  It’s a great place for a celebration or to take a bunch of people.  My favorite is to get them to do the “orange peel” trick for out of towners… if you don’t know you should definitely look into it… teeheeehee.

The Fuyuyama Maki

Sushi Pizza

I’ve never been much of a BBQ fan, but Fat Matt’s Rib Shack definitely changed that.  I’ve been here probably at least 20 times and never get tired of it.  It’s a great little mom and pop place that usually has a line going out the door as soon as it opens.  Another cool thing is that every night there’s a blues band that performs.  It’s definitely a great place to take out of towners for a local flare… YUM!

Full slab of ribs and bbq sauce (I shared with Mike)

With baked beans and brunswick stew!

One of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta is the Flying Biscuit.  I like to go to the one on Piedmont Ave & 10th Street since I can just walk there.  I love the organic oatmeal pancakes with peaches on top… mMmMM!  I usually end up loving everything I order from the Flying Biscuit.  They’re mainly known for their (all day) breakfasts, but I’ve been here for the dinner menu once and it was pretty damn good!  I have no idea why the dinner crowd is so sparse.  The weekend wait for breakfast can also be long, but then again I don’t mind since that corner tends to be a really good people watching spot!

“The High Flyer” An organic oatmeal pancake with warn peach compote, 2 eggs, and a sausage

…and also served with a flying biscuit (I added the gravy), and your choice of moon dusted potatoes, creamy dreamy grits, or a side salad of field greens.  Yum!!!

Mike and I checked out the Virginia Highland’s annual Summerfest yesterday.  The temp was in the mid 90’s and humidity almost unbearable, but we still had a good time.  There was your typical festival food, free wine tasting, entertainment, beer, and a large artist market.  The art I enjoyed the most was by Atlanta artist Timothy Boyd… the particular piece I wanted was already sold, but I’ll probably end up buying a reproduction of the print.  Summerfest is definitely worth going to if you’ve never been.

Along Virginia Ave

Art vendor

Gyros?

This picture cracks me up.  It’s so weirdly sexual…

But I decided to go for a gyro wrap anyway… not bad!

Mike ate this thing… I think it’s a chicken kabob

This past Friday, I treated myself to some self sympathy shopping after a hellish day that had to do with the stupid downtown Atlanta DMV.  To make myself feel better I visited one of my most favorite Atlanta stores, Victory Vintage Home in Decatur.  I ended up scoring some awesome vases that looked really good in the condo.

The yellow planter was 50% off.  I splurged a little bit on the white vase.  I want to kick myself for not remembering the name of the local Atlanta artist who made it… it’s so cute with the craspedia (billy buttons) I got from the Dekalb Farmers Market!  Hopefully I can find out the next time I go back.

These 2 vases were on sale for $5 each (previously $20!)  I used one as a toothbrush holder.  The other holds a hydrangea stem from our yard.

Random Atlanta photo for today…