Book of Days

What a great spring break!

I begin with my trip to Atlanta. That's right, I, not my husband, not my kids, went to Atlanta with my Mom. We stayed with my little sister, Ginny, and her husband, Neal. You may remember our last visit with them here, for the U2 concert.

Almost 48 hours of shopping, walking, great food, and great company. Ahhhh! Feels glorious!

We started with a drive by the Atlanta Temple, to see the progress.



Cliff and I were married there 18 years ago. It's more beautiful than ever. But not quite open yet.



We dined on the Chopped Salad with chicken at the Corner Bakery that night. My sister, Meredith, said this salad was "life changing" and we had to try it. My mom says, "I guess when you get older, it takes more to change your life." I agree. It was good, but not life changing. Sorry, Meredith.

The view from their highrise condo is breathtaking.







We woke Tuesday morning ready to shop. We started with IKEA, of course. Although, Neal thought we were crazy to eat at IKEA with hundreds of fabulous restaurants in Atlanta, we did it anyway. And all I can say is, it was good. If you are ever at IKEA for breakfast, try the breakfast casserole. Ginny is convinced it is filled with "IKEA crack" so that you will keep coming back. Ha ha maybe so.

After breakfast, we spent hours following the arrowed aisles, touching everything, calling each other over to see each new deal we found. I physically got weary by the time we reached the downstairs. With a potty break and some water, I was good to go for another few hours. That's when I ran into Jessica with her kids in the framing section. What are the odds, I tell you??!! Anyway, we started out with 2 tarp bags, and ended with 2 shopping carts and a flat bed cart.



I have 2 new IKEA converts.



Now they get it.

After IKEA, we headed to the Dekalb Farmers Market. One word. Amazing. Next time I go I will be more prepared with ingredient lists, and a cooler. The freshest produce, spices, nuts, flowers, meat, seafood, and cheese you've ever seen! And such good prices! The spices are just plain cheap!

My sister told me they don't allow any photography and I was having a cow. I asked one of the staff in the floral section and she said it was true, but allowed me to take 1 picture. I wish I had been more prepared. I took a pictures of the flowers.



I also snuck a picture of my lunch before anyone could see me, but I wish I had gotten a picture of Mom's sweet potato, goat cheese, and pecan (or walnut) casserole and tomato basil soup, and Ginny's lamb samosa.



We all sampled each other's food and it was all delicious! I highly recommend you check out this place if you ever have the chance, and you'll definitely want to eat there. Plus, the bakery case is equally amazing as the hot bar and salad bar.

Later, we checked out H&M (disappointing), ZGallery and West Elm (not at all disppointing).





Unfortunately, by then I was pretty much out of money so I did alot of window shopping.

I returned home Wednesday, just to re-pack my bag and head to Chattanooga with the family. We hadn't been in a while, but we still enjoyed the regulars.






Everyone touched the sting rays...







Samantha even got to let one eat off of her hand. In this shot you can see the food sitting on top of her hand ...



Then he eats it.



And CJ thought this was pretty cool...





And look who is taller than the penguins...



This penguin swam up and and was just staring at CJ. It was really amusing.



We found Nemo...



And lots of other beautiful creatures...








Cj said "I want some salad!"


We also checked out the Imax about the Ultimate Wave in Tahiti, and then went to the Creative Discovery Museum. I only got a few pictures there.


It shocked me that CJ knew what to do in a kayak. Go figure!



And this last picture echoes all of our feelings about the week...




Count down to Prom...6 days. I better go finish the dress! Don't worry I am almost done!