Atlanta, GA!

So this past summer, Kyle & I took a 10 day trip to the south and road tripped around a few states. We flew out of the Atlantic City Airport to Atlanta, GA, where our trip began. We rented a car (a mini coop to be exact ;) ) and we toured around Atlanta for two nights. Two things: 1. traffic 2. JENI'S ICE CREAM. For those of you who know me, know how much I just LOVE ice cream. So much so that I am constantly on the search for the best in any area I go to. Jeni's has to be my favorite to date. I can't even explain how good it is but if ever you're around Atlanta, you MUST try it out. 

Here are my recommendations for Atlanta:

TO DO:

• Georgia Aquarium: I'm not even a huge fan of aquariums but we visited the largest one in the whole U.S. and it was worth it.
• Atlanta BeltLine: I always think one of the best way to explore a new city is on a bike. I'd recommend renting them and riding them on the belt line while admiring the views of the city.
• Centennial Park: We walked around Centennial Park right around the same time the Summer 2016 Olympics was ending, so it was pretty cool to see where the Olympics was held in 1996.

FOOD:

• Favorite Coffee: Octane (iced mocha, nitro iced coffee, or vanilla latte)
• Favorite Brunch: Ria's Bluebird (shrimp & grits and buttermilk pancakes w/ caramelized bananas)
• Farorite Bar: Ormsby's (full bocce court downstairs ;) )
• Favorite Dinner: Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q (everything plate & jalapeño cornbread w/ honey butter)
• Favorite Dessert: Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream (trio: dark chocolate, salted caramel, intelligentsia black espresso)
• Wildcard: Oyster Happy Hour at The Optimist (Chef's Choice 13 for $13)

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Weekend Weather = Ice Cream!

The weather this weekend is going to be BEAUTIFUlL. We've had, what feels like, the longest winter this year and I am ready for summer and the beach! All the ice cream shops around the area are opening up and it makes me SO excited! Because all the ice cream shops around the area have been closed all winter, I searched for ice cream shops every time I went to the city and came across some new favorites. I'm stoked to explore more this Spring/Summer and I'll make sure to compile a list of my favorites so you can also hit them up! 

In the meantime, I had this delicious goodness last weekend in Brooklyn, NY. The shop is called Van Leeuwin Artisan Ice Cream. They use fresh hormone-free milk and cream from local farms, which is always more appealing to me. I am so upset I didn't get to try their affogato but it's okay because I'll definitely be back there again. Read my tip here and give them a try! :)

Kyle's 23rd Birthday Weekend!

So this past weekend I went up to New York to celebrate Kyle's 23rd birthday (which is TOMORROW) early! Kyle and I are not really good with planning ahead of time and usually we spend about an hour asking each other "what do you want to do?" or "what now?" so most of what we ever do is spontaneous. Saturday was A LOT of walking. We ate brunch in the city, grabbed some good old La Colombe coffee, walked over the Manhattan bridge to Brooklyn, walked all around Brooklyn, grabbed dinner, ate ice cream, and spent the rest of the night watching How I Met Your Mother back at Kyle's apartment. Whew... I still have blisters. 

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FOOD (some of the yummy food I had this weekend that I definitely recommend if ever you're in the area):

• Union Republic (Jersey City, NJ) - try their Nose to Tail Ramen! My tip here. They even have a Foursquare deal for a free small drip coffee or agua frescos with purchase of $10 or more!
• Café Orlin (New York, NY) - ANYTHING. They have tons of delicious brunch options. Also they have this deal that includes your choice of eggs benedict, a small cup of orange juice, and a cup of either a cappuccino, latte, amareicano, or tea for only $16. My tip, here.
• La Colombe (New York, NY) - Their espressos are smooth, with so much flavor, which makes their iced latte to die for. They have locations in NY, Philly, D.C., and Chicago. Try them out, if there's one near you! My tip here applies to any of the locations. 
• The Halal Guys (New York, NY) - Combo Chicken & Gyro over rice! This is such a popular street food in NY and you MUST try it. They have different locations around the city and just recently opened up their first ever restaurant! It was the first time I tried them and I loved it. My biggest tip is that if you're in the city looking to try them out, look for their locations ahead of time! There's a lot phonies out there and they'll try to fool you saying that they're the real Halal Guys, but don't fall for it. My tip here.

A really cool feature that I love with Foursquare is that you can make lists ahead of time and save awesome places like these to, say for instance your "NY" list, and then you have an organized location to look up where you want to go when you do go to NY! :)

The Best Macarons!

If you're on a lookout for really good macarons, look no further than Laudurée! A French macaron is sweet and typically filled with flavored buttercream, ganache, or jam that is sandwiched between two merengue-based cookies. Normally I'm not a huge fan of them because most of the ones I've had are either too sweet for me or the consistency was not right. These are perfect - light, airy, and not too sweet. Laudurée bakeries were originally based in Paris, but they've expanded and there's two bakeries right in New York! If you ever happen to be in the city, give this place a visit and let me know what's your favorite flavors! I'm currently making my way through the different flavors :)

A Basketball-Filled Weekend

So this past weekend, I took the bus to NY and spent the weekend over there. One of Kyle's Christmas gifts for me were tickets to the Lakers vs. Nets Basketball game this past Sunday. I was SO excited for that! However, at the time when he bought the tickets, Kobe (my all-time favorite player) was not injured... and now he is so I didn't even get to watch him play. Ugh, it was such a heartbreaker not even seeing him in the stadium. Anyway, it's cutting down to the end of March Madness so we also watched the NCAA games on Friday and on Saturday. 

Once in a while Kyle and I try to eat someplace new and we LOVE to use Foursquare to check out the cool places to eat/do nearby. The stand-out food I ate this past weekend was on Friday at this BBQ joint in the city called Mighty Quinn's BBQ. They had the most amazing beef brisket sandwich I've ever had. Check out my tip HERE, and if you're ever pass by, be sure to give it a try!! YUM!

Kyle and I also tried being news anchors for a day... and it didn't turn out so well. We'd be horrible on TV but check out this quick video we made.