Favorite Things Tea Party at the Ritz Carlton!

Favorite Things Tea Party at the Ritz Carlton!
It's no secret that I am a sucker for a good tea party. It's the little girl in me. So when my darling anglophile friend Alyson invited me to a tea party in honor of the new royal baby, how could I resist?? And when I found out it was high tea at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead, well, you kind of pull out all the stops to make that kind of affair come to life. Babysitter? CHECK. Good friends? CHECK. Awesome dress from my stylist sister? CHECK CHECK CHECK. Oh, and perhaps a little frou-frou head gear, a la Blair Waldorf. Checkedy check. Gang's all here!

To amplify the fun of high tea, Alyson decided to make this a "favorite things" party, where you bring a gift for each person at the party that is one of your favorite things. $5 limit. You know, one of those fun items that you love picking up at Target, even though you don't really need it. And so everyone goes home with a new favorite thing! It's super fun and girly. LIKE HIGH TEA IN HONOR OF A BABY PRINCESS. I hope that little Princess Charlotte knows that she is being partied for around the world. She's a little angel from Heaven. Loving babies is a relatively new thing for me. Since having my own, you know. And a baby princess?! Well, that's just all the more reason to celebrate babiessssss. Princess babbbiieeesssss.

We three. Wait - four!!

She's the raddest of them all. Look at those pearls. That fascinator. The woman the legend.

Aw macaroons make pregnant friends happy.

I'll have them all, thanks.

How gorgeous is that arm.

I want to put that on my head and be coronated.

With Kate, the gang's all here!

That's my lipstick. I'm officially a grown up.

Pinkies Out!
Okay so tea time. It was decadent. It was fancy. It was fruity. Tasty. Ruffled and spritzed and I might have sipped with my pinkies out. I blame the head gear. And I applaud sweet Alyson, because this girl really knows how to celebrate the great joys of life. And how about Janelle? Is there a hotter pregnant chick around? Well, I know a lot of preggos lately, so I can't choose favorites, but oh Janelle! What a babe, inside and out. The Ritz put on a delicious tea, complete with champagne and strawberries riddled in a bit of Grand Marnier. Yeah, I might have left tea time a little toasted. Those Brits really know how to make imbibing a gallant afternoon affair. The old-fashioned dining room was finished with oak and burgundy leather and crystal chandeliers - all things that make a tea party feel positively princessy. Which was occasion-appropriate, if you know what I mean.

The other great tea times of my life include that time at Fortnum & Mason in London, that time I surprised my sister at The Plaza in New York, that time I was surprised at Alice's Teacup in New York, the time I was ripe with pregnancy at Dr. Bombay's in Atlanta and that time I celebrated Downton Abbey's new season with my insane family.

The 2 Reasons Why You Should Run The Color Run!

The 2 Reasons Why You Should Run The Color Run!
It really shouldn't take all that much convincing. You google "the color run" and you come up with a zillion photos of peppy-looking people, pummeled with pink paint and cheesing up a storm with their besties. Who doesn't want to be one of those positively joyous souls? Happy? Laughing? PINK??! That's a good way to Saturday right there. But in case you need a bit of convincing, I've got a few reasons for you to sign up for The Color Run:

1. It truly is the happiest 5K on the planet. Well, to me anyway.
I'm not a 5K junkie, so I can't really say it's the best one ON THE PLANET (because ya know, its a big planet), but this one was seriously the most fun I've ever had at a 5K. I found myself leaping like a gazelle through the rainbow haze of powdered paint. LIKE A GAZELLE. Or like a bullfrog. There was some leaping happening. It was just so fun and happy and the music was SO POSITIVE and I found myself thinking, "why am I not running this happy all the time?!" That Color Run. They know what they're doing.

2. It's easy. Like, really really easy.
This is not a competitive race. It's not even close to the realm of competitive. Did they even time us? I don't think so. The "running a 5K" part is kind of just the action that strings together all the fun shenanigans happening. COLOR STATIONS. FLASH MOB. COORDINATED DANCING. PICTURE WITH UNICORN. These are the important moments. And the running part is just to get you from FLASH MOB to BLUE PAINT STATION to, you know, PICTURE WITH UNICORN. In other words, I saw 70-year old women walking this race. In tutus. And they were doing a fine job of it.

I was going to make a third option, but there is no need for a third option. Because, I mean, I've really said it all. THIS RACE IS FUN AND EASY. Oh, and unicorns. There's your number 3. UNICORNSSSSS.

Pregame.

Ready to shine.

Gosh these cuties.

See? Told you.

UNI. Now all we need is a pegacorn appearance for my life to be complete.

They might have given us some paint of our own.

My love. He shines bright like a diamond.

Sweet V in all her glory.

I might have choked a little bit. A little bit, yeah.

The happy is contagious. WE CAUGHT IT.

This one is my absolute fave. My sister and my niece, having all kinds of silly fun. PRECIOUS MOMENTS.

Gotta find time to communicate. Amidst the paint powder. And yellow faces. And - wait, MY SISTER IS PHOTOBOMBING. What exactly is she doing??

Tired little girl. But she's got hair that won't quit.

All photos courtesy of the talented Josh Hale

We ran this race last weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway with friends and family and it was seriously so so fun. And silly. And wonderful! My nieces and nephews even joined the fun and ran parts of the race with us (strolled the rest of the time, oh, the joys of being a child!) They really loved the color stations. And who wouldn't? It was like being in a Barney video or something. It was completely worth getting up early for - next time around, LET'S ALL RUN THIS THING. And by run, of course I mean eat cotton candy and prance with unicorns under a sky of rainbow powder paint.

Exploring Atlanta's Krog Street Market & the Beltline.

Exploring Atlanta's Krog Street Market & the Beltline.
We took advantage of last weekend's heavenly spring weather and trekked into the city for some fun. Stevie and I (over) packed our gigantic SUV with every imaginable baby-wrangling item and met our dear friends Elliot and Lena (and their perfect baby daughter) for lunch at Krog Street Market, followed by a stroll down the ever-expanding Beltline trail. We tried not to overly-matchmake our kiddos. We sort of failed.

Map.
Krog Street Market is the newest addition to Atlanta's Inman Park community. Set in a 1920's warehouse, this market houses a bevy of specialty shops and restaurants in an open-tavern environment. Situated on Krog Street across from an entrance to Atlanta's Beltline, this location boasts yet another reason to believe, nay, know, that Atlanta is indeed becoming more and more stupendous with each development.

These two. Twinning.

THAT BRAMBLEBERRY CRISP. A fetching choice.

They're in love. The just don't know it yet.

Mmm.
We ate some killer barbeque from G.C. Barbeque (get the brisket! And the mac and cheese! THEY'VE WON AWARDS) and downed the most delicious canned beer of my life from Hop City - the famously refreshing Hell or High Watermelon by 21st Amendment. Other delicious treats found in the Market? The scrumptious, 2-ingredient chocolate bars from Xocolatl (the Trinidad Single Origin has been on my mind ever since I tasted it) and of course, Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, providing a winning array of flavors that can only make you leave feeling like you haven't possibly tasted enough. Stevie was so giddy to be out and about that he had ice cream twice - once at Jeni's and again at Jake's across the street. That man seriously loves his cow's milk. It's a point of contention.

All I could think was, "I wish I had brought my blades!" And also, "THAT DOG IS ENORMOUS."

The cutest mother-daughter duo there ever was.

The brotastic toothy smiles happening here. Flawless.

Maybe he will drink from this bottle? No. Just no.

Moment.
There were all kinds of hilarious, happy moments throughout the day. But at one point I might have lost my phone. Okay, I definitely lost my phone. But as we 6 lounged along the Beltline and watched our babies roll around on the attempting-to-turn-green grass (well, on the waterproof outdoor blanket that protected our children from the grass) and I realized I had lost my phone, a brave sense of "who cares?" washed over me. So calmly. So serenely. I think I was drunk on some preeminent springtime pollen or something. And then when we turned on the Find my iPhone app and actually located it (still at the last restaurant along our string of stops), I was simply on a high. BEST DAY EVER. I misplaced my iPhone, didn't lose my mind over it, and literally found it ten minutes later at a random restaurant! Bless. What a grand, wondrous day. What a marvelous community, this Atlanta town. WHAT A WONDERFUL MATCH FOR MY BABY SON. Okay, too far. I understand that I've gone too far.

But really - too much?

What is too much?

Conquered.
It was the happiest day. Frisbee on the lawn, strolling with the babes, imbibing with old friends, munching on savory treats, and most exciting of all, doing something new in our old stomping grounds. It's not often that something takes us by surprise in our home city. But these two developments, the Krog Street Market and Beltline, I am all in favor of their harmonious presence in Atlanta. Next time, I'm gonna bring my roller blades and leave everyone in the DUST.