Weekend Wrap-up

Friday was a go-go-go kind of day. We had not one, but two doctors' appointments. My check-up was first and then Britton's appointment was across town...actually, it was not a "real" pediatrician's appointment but just a visit to the nurse for the second round of the flu vaccine. Luckily, Daddy was able to come with us and comfort our boy. I cannot stand watching Britton get shots (I have to look away and stick my fingers in my ears). Thinking of him being in pain for one moment probably hurts me far worse than it hurts my baby. Britton is always such a brave little boy when he gets his shots, but they also totally wipe him out. After just a tiny wail at the initial prick and then a few snifffles our boy is out like a light. Although, it was super early for dinner when we got out of the appointment, we decided to take full advantage of Britton's nap and go ahead and head out for supper. Knowing that nap time could end as quickly as it began, we decided to go with a super casual restaurant with a lively atmosphere just in case our boy decided to wake-up screaming and demanding to be let out of his carrier. We headed to the Poncey-Highland neighborhood to try out HD1 (aka Haute Doggery) . This is a fairly new restaurant opened by Richard Blais (the spiky haired chef that gained noteriety on two seasons of Bravo's Top Chef). Chef Blais has helmed numerous restaurants for quite a number of years, and Bubba and I have had the pleasure at dining at all of them . While he was chef at the now defunct Home Restaurant and Bar we were personally invited back to the kitchen for a tour and to meet Chef Blais. This was right in the middle of his first stint on Top Chef, and he was so friendly and down to earth. HD1 is by far the most casual concept of all of Blais' restaurants...basically it's a "bumped up" hotdog stand. It takes the hotdog and turns it on its "tail" with some of the funkiest combinations you could ever imagine.

For example, take the Chicken Apple sausage dog with herbed creme fraiche, walnuts and sour grape relish or the Kenturkey dog with bacon, mornay, tomato-pimento marmelade and parmegiano. My personal favorite was the Merquez dog with lamb sausage, currants, minted cucumber relish and Labne yougurt. After stuffing ourselves with these strange but delicious hotdog concoctions, waffle fries, and African spiced boiled peanuts, we were beyond stuffed. It was just a fun, casual dining experience, and Britton slept through the entire meal...propped up on top of the long picnic table, nonetheless.

 After dinner, we decided to take our chances and headed to one of our favorite after dinner spots, The Chocolate Bar, in downtown Decatur, Ga. Britton was wide awake by now, but we figured that it was still so early that there would only be a few other patrons. Bubba and I have probably been to The Chocolate Bar a dozen times, but this was Britton's first visit. (Um, I stand corrected. Bubba just informed me that this was Britton's 2nd visit to The Chocolate Bar. The first time he came was when he was just a few weeks old, but I still can't remember that visit for the life of me...let's chalk it up to "New Mommy Brain").

 It is such a fun place to grab an after-dinner cocktail and dessert. It has a warm, romantic atmosphere and a scrumptious menu of unusual and decadent martinis. Not to mention one of best spots to grab a box of delicious handcrafted chocolates...to take home for a snack if they can last the car ride home;)

We were so full from our hot dog extravaganaza that we opted for a couple of "dessert" cocktails instead of one of their over-the-top delicious chocolate desserts. The Red Velvet Cake Martini for me, and a Pecan Pie Martini for Bubba. So yummy!!!

After a quick trip to RedBox to pick up the movie, Water for Elephants, we headed home and settled in for a cozy night on the couch.

Saturday brought football, football and more football. Unfortunately, the Georgia game was not on the TV so Bubba listened to the game on the radio. I prefer to watch my games so I took a long nap:) We won big, but we also had an easy opponent. The real heart-stopping game of the day was the Alabama/LSU game that evening. Now, it's obvious that Alabama is my home state and a huge majority of my family and friends attended Alabama. I, however, am neither an Alabama nor Auburn fan...if I had to chose I probably lean more towards Auburn, but only slightly. Nah...I really don't care for either one. I'm a Georgia Bulldog through and through. Nevertheless, this was a game not to be missed. We also had a "Dawg" in the fight for the South Carolina/Arkansas game and pulled hard for the Razorbacks...anticpating that this might set up Georgia as champions in the Eastern Division of the SEC. Well, Arkansas pulled it out and Bama didn't. There were some SAD folks in Alabama that night!!

* A big thanks to Chapters of our Life and Baby Wild[e] Etsy boutique  for the $35 gift certificate I won yesterday. WOW...I never win anything!!! I can't wait to buy Britton a few adorable gifts:)