atlanta: teaser.

I'm excited to share about our refreshing weekend trip to Atlanta, but this week is non-stop and I'm afraid it might take a few more days for me to be able to sit down and properly blog about it. Until then, here's a little teaser from the Braves game.

I hope you all are having a lovely week!

foolproof banana bread.

I'm still honing my baking skills. The last time I tried something a little bit complicated (chocolate cupcakes with Nutella icing), they didn't turn out and I ended up throwing a cupcake across the room. And then my dog ate it, and I worried that he would die from the chocolate. But he didn't.

There are a few recipes that I just can't seem to screw up, though. This banana bread recipe, for example, is so incredible forgiving. Last time I made it, I only used two bananas instead of four. I didn't have enough sugar so I added brown sugar to make up for it. I didn't have butter so I used margarine. I completely forgot the egg. And I threw in a ton of chocolate chips for good measure. As always, it turned out delicious. Next time you have some overripe bananas, don't throw them away. Make this.

frogger.

I met this little guy in my backyard yesterday. Isn't he the cutest? He patiently waited on the water hose while I filled up the watering pail, kept his cool when my cats sniffed him, and smiled when I poked my camera in his face. What a nice little dude.

This was after a lizard landed on my windshield and hitched a ride back to my house. But before I found a tiny snail riding on the cat's tail.

early bird.

via.

I've always been more of a night owl than a morning person. Getting up early for me is borderline torturous — there's nothing more painful than leaving a warm, snuggly bed before sunrise. One of the worst jobs I had, even though it paid good money and was easy, was nannying my senior year, because I had to get up before the sun.

But I will admit that the few times I've gotten up early (or stayed up really late) and watched the sunrise, it was amazing. Unless I'm out with friends having a late night, there's just not much to do once it gets dark, but there are hours in the morning that are totally wasted because I'm asleep. I want to start going to bed a little earlier and reclaim those morning hours. I want time to make coffee and eggs, enjoy it on the porch, walk my dog, and spend time with Todd (if I can get him out of bed) — all before even going to work.

Do you think it's possible to become a morning person if you're not one at all?

on not being lazy.

Today I worked out for the first time since before our wedding. Which was in November. I had such great motivation for so long that I didn't quite know what to do once I lost it, so I just stopped.

I lost about ten pounds for the wedding, and I've since gained it all back. I'm amazed I haven't gained more. It's been a fun life, eating and drinking whatever I please, plopping down on the couch whenever I get home. But it has to stop.

Something I realized when I was losing the weight is that it's really not that hard not to overindulge, to move around a bit every now and then. It actually feels pretty good. Better, in fact, than the opposite.

So here's to Jillian Michael's yoga workout DVD, running with my dog, walking the bridge, and riding my bike. I hope I'll be seeing a lot more of all of these things.

How do you stay motivated?

roots.

Some stories are just so much fun to write it doesn't even feel like work. For my article on Roots Ice Cream, a brand new Charleston company, I got to sample ice cream flavors like sweet tea, beet, hushpuppy brulee, strawberry cilantro, and "Coffee and Cigarettes" (coffee and tobacco).

If you're in Charleston, keep your eye out for them at local farmers markets and try the weirdest thing on the menu — and you won't be disappointed.

sangria.

 

Anybody know a good sangria recipe? Or just a good summery drink that can be made in bulk? We're planning a little cookout for tomorrow and I want to offer something tasty to drink. This prosecco sangria from Martha looks pretty amazing.

I also want mason jars and cute straws ... where can I get them? 

P.S. I just discovered that Design Sponge is a great resource for cocktail recipes, like the blood orange mojito and "Magic Juice."