Dine Out

Monday, September 9, 2013

September is Hunger Action Month, which mean our whole organization goes ga ga for orange. Our official Go Orange day was on Sunday, and along with many other orange initiatives, many television networks changed their logo to orange for the day (including one of my faves - Bravo). Dine Out for No Kid Hungry is also during the month of September. This is where thousands of restaurants across the country run promotions where a portion of the money goes back to No Kid Hungry. To kick start our weekend, Allison and I ran to a couple participating restaurants to thank them for their participating.

Ted's Montana Grill is one of our biggest Dine Out supporters, and their R&D chef, Chris Raucci, is so awesome! He's always down to help out Share Our Strength in any way possible. 

On Friday night, Adam and I decided to use one of our gift cards and have date night! We love a good date night, and having a gift card to splurge at BLT Steak sounded like a great idea to us. They're also a Dine Out restaurant, so win-win-win. The food was amazing and I could definitely eat there once a week if I had the means. The sides were some of the best I've had... we split grilled asparagus (always a must for me), macaroni and cheese with bacon and truffle oil (hello, heaven) and parmesan gnocchi (carb-o-rama). YUM.

Since we were already Downtown, we decided to stop by Cafe Intermezzo for a drink to top off the night. We haven't been since they moved locations, and since it was so nice outside we were able to people watch from a table on the patio.

Check out this handsome date! (I've resorted to sneak attack pictures, since he hates posing for them.)

On Saturday, we lounged for a bit pretty much all day until I insisted we get up and do something. Adam made me a badass headboard for our guest room, but in true Baker fashion we hadn't got around to staining it. So, that was Saturday's project!

We painted the headboard a color called Reflection, which is what we thought we used in the guest bathroom until I made Adam do a quick touch up in the guest bathroom and it dried a completely different color. (Whoops. Wonder how long it will take for us to fix that?)

Then we sanded it and wiped it down with black tea (hey, not our idea but I guess it works?). And this morning, I "painted" on a mixture of steel wool and vinegar. We're still not done, but here's a progress picture.


Saturday night we had grown up plans - and by grown up plans I mean we made plans two weeks in advance. Crazy, huh? Anyway, we went out to dinner with Dominica, Erik and Dominica's parents - fun little triple date! They told us stories of this place Moderna that was a delicious mexican restaurant that turns into a Miami Vice club after 10pm. Oh, were they right! Food was good and the people watching got real good (especially when we realized our waitress was actually a transvestite). Sadly, I got no pictures of the night, but it was so fun!

On Sunday, Adam finally took me to the gun range. We've been talking about going for a long time, and I finally decided we had to do it. We have two guns in the house and I think it's probably smart if I know how to use them, if the situation arises. I was fine until we had to put on the "ears and eyes" (read: big earmuff things and protective glasses) and walked into the actual shooting range. It was so loud and the tension is really high in there, and I think I also felt pretty claustrophobic with the "eyes and ears" on. Adam later said he could tell I got really freaked out and was so proud of me for sticking it out. (In reality, I'm way too stubborn to let myself back out of something just because I'm scared.)

A helpful young man came over and showed me how to hold the gun properly...for a girl. (By the way, he looked super familiar, but I didn't feel like trying to do the six degrees of separation with earmuffs on and shots firing in the background.) The first gun I shot was a 22 and it was my jam. I felt totally comfortable with it, even though I don't even think I got a bullet on the target for the first couple rounds. Then, Adam brought out his 9mm (yeah, like the rap songs). This is the gun that is in our house that I would actually have to use if someone came into the house. After shooting it the first time, I just about lost it. It was a lot more powerful than my good ole 22! I kept having to take deep breaths and I was sweating... and then Adam would come up behind me and say "calm down, you're shaking." I finally talked myself into it and got a couple shots in before I handed that bad boy over to Adam.

Either way, Adam took a picture of me and I look like a badass, even if I definitely wasn't one.

After all that, I really needed a drink. Instead, we went over to Erik's to watch the Falcons lose. Then we came home and decided to have that necessary drink and watch Orange is the New Black. (Does anyone else watch that show? Adam and I love it!)

Today, Allison and I went to Quality Wine & Spirits Annual Trade Show. It's basically the one time a year the distributor showcases all of their suppliers (wine and booze, holla!). Since they're one of our sponsors, we were able to attend. We weren't quite sure who we would run into, but the moment we walked in I saw Randall from my stomping ground - Marietta Wine Market.

We thought it would be hard spotting chefs without their "gear" on, but we had no trouble finding Ryan Smith. He used to be the chef at Empire State South, but just resigned to open Staplehouse in early 2014. The story behind Staplehouse is pretty amazing, and I recommend everyone go check it out... Team Hidi.


Ok, I'm sick of typing and Orange is the New Black is on. Peace out!



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