2008 Photo by Laura Fries

Hello Darlings!  Today is so very special – it’s Chomp and Stomp Day! Now, for my friends not in Atlanta, this is something akin to Christmas. It is Cabbagetown’s huge chili cookoff and blue grass festival.  There’s beer vendors, chili vendors, celebrity chefs and all kinds of adorable crafts to buy. Not to mention that everyone in Atlanta will be there.  I would say that it’s another event that makes Atlanta feel like Mayberry – like the pie off we just had in our neighborhood.

I will be there helping my dear friend, Lisa, at her booth. Word is that she is roasting a pig and will have brats and arepas to offer something other than chili.  Do you know what an arepa is?  Oh my goodness – Eric and I had one at a street festival in Manhattan years ago and I’ve been trying to find one ever since.  They are corn cakes filled with cheese and grilled – like a Venezuelan grilled cheese. Check this out – a restaurant devoted solely to arepas – its foodie heaven!

And our bestie Teague will be there, defending his Cabbage King crown.  Teague has been the king three years in a row. To win the crown, one must shred as much cabbage as possible in the alloted time. No one has beat our buddy.  We will be there en masse, screaming our lungs out for him. Go Teague!

Tomorrow will bring the wrap up of Chomp and Stomp as everyone hits their bottles of Pepto and aspirin.

Go, Teague!!!

xoxo, Patti

What could be more luxurious?

Breakfast in bed is a golden opportunity to show your love.  It doesn’t cost anything, but it can certainly start anyone’s day in the best possible way.  Accoutrements you might need include a tray, some big, heavy coffee mugs and big napkins (i.e – those Ikea tea towels for $.49).

What to serve for breakfast?  This is a great time to get creative. Use last night’s leftover pizza, homemade scones or whatever is laying about that seems good (this might be the time for that Halloween candy that didn’t get handed out).  Whatever might make your beloved smile.  It’s that easy.  Eric and I like english muffins (all those nooks and crannies!). They’re easy to make and that crunchy, butter-drenched goodness would happily wake anyone up.

If you feel you need to shop before you venture making breakfast in bed (not that you’re actually making the breakfast in bed, you are just bringing it to one very happy recipient). Here are some shopping ideas that would make the experience just that much nicer.

A gorgeous serving tray.  Some like a flat bottomed tray (like we use, in the photo above), or you might prefer the type that has legs, for all you tall folk. Like this one.  Here’s a whole website devoted to breakfast trays – how cool is that? You could get one that holds the newspaper so you all could snuggle in on a weekend morning.

Big coffee mugs. I seem to have a lot of luck finding great ones at Cost Plus World Market. These are my favorites:

These hold lots and lots of coffee

Here’s a link to those Ikea towels I swear by. For forty-nine cents each, you can have a whole flotilla of these. I use them for everything.

Another nice touch would be a single stem in a tiny vase. My knockout roses are still blooming like crazy, but I know that is going to be short lived. Plus, this would involve me going outside in pajamas to cut roses and the neighbors would look at me funny. So you might want to scrap that idea unless you already have some flowers inside.

The most important thing you can serve with your breakfast in bed is a sunny disposition.  I know a lot of you are not morning people, so I might be asking a lot. But if you are (like me), bring your tray into the room with a soft, gentle greeting – we don’t want our victim beloved jumping up with fists in the air because you startled them.

Just don’t be surprised if you both call in sick and declare a hooky day!

xoxo, Patti

Special Note:  One person I would not like to see having breakfast in bed, is Jack, father of our darling, Matt, who is in the hospital.  If you could send some great thoughts, prayers, karma his way, I would most appreciate it.  I would much rather that Jack is jumping up and making breakfast for the family.

Alack and alas, Halloween is over. Say goodbye til next year, Jack O’Laterns. But before we do, let me share some shots.  First, you have to see Eric’s finished costume:

Didn’t it turn out great!?

A couple of our trick or treaters:

Love that money hat!

Eric and I went to a couple of parties last night.  The first, over at The Fourth Ward, was a doozy.  The decorations were really fab.  Despite the fact that Mother Nature did not cooperate, what with rainy, very cold weather, we had a wonderful time.  The costumes were so creative, too!  Some pics for you all.

A creepy seer….her head floated in the crystal ball

There’s always room for cake….or not.

Somehow, the Geico dude fell in the dip. So sad.

Pretty streamers just make a party.
I have to have these – aren’t they cool?

Halloween is the time to hang those old family portraits
This one had super sticky ooze dripping from its mouth. I like that.

J -E- L- L- O !!

Bobbing for eyeballs

I think our host was whipping up a little something….

I have the exact same candy bowl! Minus the hand trying to escape.

He just lost his head over all the excitement

Bjork hangs with Paulie and Juno

Spy vs. Spy

Our great friends, Christy and James

Eric and me as the Minotaur and Medusa
Aren’t our babies sweet?

Chris, our host and the creator of all this mayhem

PeeWee and the Vampire
Halloween brings everyone together!

As much fun as this was, we had to leave to go back to our neighborhood party, hosted by Garry and Poppie.  Everyone looked amazing, but I was so beat I forgot to take photos! Uh oh. Hopefully someone took a bunch that I can borrow and post. Some highlights included our besties Crystal and Teague dressed as The Pie Queen of Adair Park and the Cabbage King, respectively.  Taruan and Chioke really stood out dressed spectacularly as The Ringmaster and Thomas Jefferson.  We ended the night by the fire outside and decided to change it up a bit.

Oh, Minotaur Fur! Cozy.

Cutest story of the night came from Tiffany and Ashley, our darling neighbors that live across the street from us.  They both came as bloody, zombie doctors.  They were looking to liven up their costumes with blood stains and didn’t have any red food coloring – the conversation went something like this:

Tiffany – “I said to Ashley, you know who will definitely have food coloring?”
Ashley – “Uh, Patti?”
Tiffany – “Yes! But lets see if we can make it ourselves. We have some red candies to top cupcakes with. We can melt them down with a little corn syrup and water.”
Ashley & Tiffany – “Patti would be so proud of us!”

And so I was. They looked great. So great that a spartan wanted an exam, so I pulled Tiffany out of there. We were both grateful. LOL.

From there, Eric and I took our leave. Walking home in the misty moonlight with our shadows reflecting on the sidewalk, the Minotaur and Medusa cuddled up and called it a night.

Hope your Halloween was special. Because you are special to me.

xoxo, Patti