Orchids and terrariums

When I went to the Botanical Gardens last week, they were selling "gently used orchids."

We totally cleaned up.

Excuse the blurriness of these pictures.  Lighting was bad, and my camera is a point and shoot.

Now I'm feeling like Nero Wolfe.

I also did a terrarium tutorial for a friend last week.  

We might have gone a little overboard.

Once you get started with terrariums, its hard to stop!  And this time of year the fancy succulents are appearing in Southern garden stores (though if you live in California, apparently they grow like moss - plentiful and underfoot year-round).

Shalom, ya'll!

We celebrated Passover earlier this week.  Passover is the Jewish holy day commemorating the story of Exodus, in which ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.  If your first introduction to Passover was through this Rugrats episode, you're not alone.  My first Seder was with Alex's family in 2008 and I have to say, I kind of loved it!  Then again, with kugel, charoset, and lamb on the menu, and in the timeless words of Alex's Bubby, what's not to like?

Above is our Seder plate, featuring the bitter herbs (ground horseradish. Horseradish >>onions.  If you make it, you will cry), a scorched egg, parsley, scorched lamb shankbone, and charoset.  For an explanation on the Seder plate, wiki.

Here's Alex acting as the zayde and reading from the haggadah.  After (in no particular order) much reading, the asking of the four questions, the recitation of the plagues, eating of bitter herbs, and breaking of the Afikomen, we commenced eating.

Blurry matzoh

Matzoh ball soup with a fried matzoh ball (inspired by Matzoh Ball Gumbo)

Gefilte fish with horseradish.

Atlanta brisket, with glazed carrots, noodle kugel, and potato kugel.

Brisket.

Dessert.  coconut macaroons and matzoh crunch.

Needless to say, by the end we were filled with both remembrance of the Exodus and a lot of food.

What better way to end the evening than bachi ball?

Botanical Gardens

Last week I paid a visit to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  Situated at the North-end of Piedmont Park, the Botanical Gardens afford scenic views of the city skyline amid a well-maintained natural setting.

See the skyscraper?

There were creatures both living...

 and not.

My grandmother has one of these.  See?

The orchids were pretty fantastic.

So was whatever this plant is -->

The weather was beautiful, and the company enjoyable.

Especially this one.

Invitations are out!

Many thanks to Nathan & Anna Bond at Rifle Paper Co. for doing such an amazing job!

Watershed Tuesdays: Fried Chicken

Photo from Watershed website

The Watershed Restaurant is yet another of those places you'll find in Atlanta (it's technically in Decatur).  You know type: organically grown, local food, Southern style, all housed in a converted gas station.  Despite the many shared qualities between it and other Atlanta establishments, the Watershed distinguishes itself from the pack.  Why, you ask? Because its good.  Really good.

We went for the famed fried chicken, which you can only get Tuesday nights (a very clever ploy to turn what is otherwise a slow night into a must-do).  Watershed's fried chicken was given its own NYTimes review back in 2005 and sometime in 2009, the chef Scott Peacock gave Martha Stewart a cooking lesson.

Enough talk.  Let's get to the chicken.

 Finger. Licking. Good.

Served with 2 angel biscuits, perfectly cooked green beans in butter sauce, and creamy mashed potatoes, with butter and honey on the side for the biscuits.

Everything was perfect, just how you'd want it to be.  The breading was crispy and flavorful and clung to the meat instead of sliding off.  The meat was uniformly juicy and tender.  The flavor was surprisingly clean, given they fry these babies in lard flavored with country ham, and just the right amount of salt (the salt & pepper also on the honey plate were superfluous).  

Watershed was definitely worth the trip!  The food was great and the ambiance was pleasing too.

After dinner we took a stroll around downtown Decatur.

I don't think I'll ever get used to how beautiful April is in Atlanta.  

But the caterpillars dangling from every tree are something I can do without!

philosophy update

I've been derelict in my blogging duties. Instead I've been happily reading and writing on the history of philosophy. This semester has been a lot of Husserl, Rawls, and Adorno. This post is really just an apology and a promise to blog something more substantial in the near future. As soon as I'm done with course work I'm itching to write about all the things that have been occupying my free head space for the past few months: The Bad Brains punk, Mark Twain's travel writing, the Czech architect Adolph Loos, and Bellini's painting St. Francis in the Desert... oh and more greasy food. -Al

Photog blog love /// A detour into girly

Now that most of the major vendors are booked for our wedding, I can start focusing on the little details.  The internet is full of inspiring blogs, but lately I've really been jonesing on that of my friend Melissa Williamson.  I've known Melissa since bid day at UNC, when we were paired up with the same temporary big-sorority-sis (totally gross I know).  Melissa rocks, and so does her photography.

A bride-to-be herself, her eye for fun wedding details is extraordinary.  Her two latest posts have really stimulated my new-found yen for sparkly things and pretty updos.

property of Melissa Williamson Photo

property of Melissa Williamson Photo

Gah, seriously!?!?!  Totally gorgeous!  My inner girl, who my inner tomboy usually quashes, is making a serious play for dominance right now.  

PS.  This blog will be back to its normal greasy food-obsessed self later this week - look out for a post on fried chicken!