Hearth Pizza ~ Restaurant of the Month Club!

I hope everyone has had a nice week!  Today is my Friday, woo hoo!!  Julia and I will be out of commission this weekend since we will be at Tybee Island celebrating the wedding of our older brother and his beautiful fiance :-)

This week has been busy with fitting in the gym after work, going to see the Hunger Games, and then dinner last night.  But I wouldn't trade being busy and surrounded by friends for anything! 

At the beginning of this year, a group of friends and I started "Restaurant of the Month Club" ~ basically we choose a different/new to us restaurant to have dinner at.  We have done Iberian Pig in Decatur and Verde in Brookhaven, and last night we dined at Hearth Pizza in Sandy Springs.

I sipped on Peroni beer which always brings back fond memories of a family trip we took to Sorrento, Italy.

And devoured a Ring of Fire pizza! 

don't judge me, I went for a run first :-)

Toppings:

Garlic Chili Oil, Chorizo Salami, Sliced Cherry Peppers, Mushrooms & Cilantro

The food was tasty and the service was good.  You can choose a small pizza (about 8 inches) or a large pizza (12 inches).  The prices are reasonable, Peroni on draft was only $3.

My only gripe is that Hearth does not split checks of 6 or more people.  Bring cash if you're dining with a large group. 

I'm looking forward to next months restaurant.  Have a great week & weekend!

~Elizabeth  

Capitol Couture..... The Hunger Games

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I finally saw the Hunger Games last night, it was amazing!  I have read all 3 books and I think the movie was a great adaptation of the book.  My favorite part was the Capitol fashion, the colors were bright and the outfits were ridiculous.  Don't judge me, but I'm kind of a fan of all the bright colors!!

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Can you believe that's Elizabeth Banks??! 

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The make-up is impressive.  Do you think the bright colored eye shadows will start a new trend?  Mostly likely not, I'll stick to the bright colored nail polish ;-)

Happy Hunger Games ~ May the odds be ever in your favor!

~Elizabeth

What I'm Loving Friday... Beach edition!

Happy Friday! 

I have Spring fever bad! I am so ready for a trip to the beach and weather that allows me to wear cute sundresses and flip flops!

Cute outfit!  I just bought an almost identical dress from TJ Maxx last week - I love the yellow jewelry!

I would love to go to a beach where the water is crystal clear!

Love the glitter bikini ~ now if only my stomach looked like that ;-)

Comfy & chic bikini cover-up!

I hope to be doing this in a week!

And drinking this...



Have a great weekend!

~Elizabeth

Homemade Hawaiian Pizza

A goal of mine is to eat in more often, mostly because I want to eat better but it will also save me money!  A popular spot for the BF and I is Fellini's - the pizza and salad are great and they have a wonderful patio!  We typically spend about $20 for dinner, this homemade version cost me $26 but provided us with 3 meals and leftover salad for lunch during the week.

I bought all the ingredients from my neighborhood Trader Joe's.

Pizza dough

Traditional Marinara sauce

Mozzeralla Cheese

Ham

Fresh Pineapple

The dough is very elastic, so just spread it to your desired size.  I made ours the size of a cookie sheet.



Spread on a thin layer of marinara sauce.

Sprinkle on your diced up pinneapple and ham.

Cover with a layer of cheese.



Cook the pizza for 20 - 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the pizza is cooking, prepare a side salad. 

Iceberg Lettuce

Peppers - red, orange, and yellow

Cucumber

Red Onion

Tomatoe

Mozzarella Cheese

Italian or Caesar Dressing

Red Pepper Flakes

Enjoy your salad with a slice or two of pizza!



This past weekend in Atlanta it felt like summertime.  The weather was perfect ~ 80 degrees and the sun was out.  The BF and I enjoyed time at the pool and park.  Of course this meant a game!  I let him win ;-) 

What are your favorite homemade versions of restaurant food?

~Elizabeth

Photography Class Update

Happy First Day of Spring!!!

Today I wanted to give you an update on my photography class.  It has been 7 weeks now and I have learned a ton!  From aperture to shutter speed to ISO to composition - there are so many different elements involved in taking a good picture.  It was a bit overwhelming at first but it's all starting to make sense.  Here are some of the pictures I took this weekend.

 

I also got a big surprise in the mail on Saturday...a new camera bag!!! I'm absolutely in love with it!  My hubby got it for me for Valentine's Day but since it was custom made by Darby at Darby Mack Designs I had to wait patiently for it.  It was definitely wortht the wait! 

I can't wait for my brother's wedding - it's going to be the perfect place for me to try out all of the techniques I've learned over the past 7 weeks!  Check back with us in April to see some pictures of the wedding!

~Julia



Doggie Bow Tie Tutorial

If you've been reading our blog, you probably know that our older brother, Ben, is getting married this month in Tybee Island.  The festivities are less than 2 weeks away and we could not be more excited!!

The wedding party includes Ben & Trish's dog, Pupper's - he will be their ring bearer.  Pupper's need to look well dressed and match the color scheme, so what better way than to use leftover fabric from one of the bridesmaid dresses!

To start, I googled bow tie tutorials and found great instructions at A Lemon Squeezy Home.  I adapted her instructions to fit a dog! 

Cut out:

Two 3" x 8.5" pieces of your accent fabric

One 3" x 8.5" piece of fleece or felt

One piece of 2.5" x 4.5" piece of accent fabric

One 3" x 13" piece of accent fabric

Layer the 2 pieces of accent fabric and fleece (3" x 8.5") together. The accent fabric should be shiny side facing each other and then the fleece behind that.

Sew together leaving a 2.5" gap so that you can turn the fabric right side out.  While the fabric is still inside out, clip the corners - this will allow the fabric to lay more flat.

Once the fabric is right side out, run a warm iron over it.

Fold in each end side to the middle and run a stitch across to connect the pieces.  You will end up with a ring of fabric.

Lay back down flat and fold in half long-wise.  Run a small stitch, about 2 inches wide, along the middle of the fabric.

 

Open up the fabric.  Now you have the main part of your bow tie. 

To create the middle part of the bow tie we'll use the 2.5" x 4.5" piece of accent fabric.
Fold over the ends and iron flat.  Then fold over the long wise ends.

Wrap the fabric tightly around the center of the bowtie and stitch together in the back.

To make the part that goes around the neck, use the 3" x 13" accent fabric piece and use the same folding over technique that we just did. Instead of stitching the fabric together, I used iron-on adhesive tape.  This helps make the fabric more durable and requires less noticeable seams.  I cut my tape in half so that it would fit.

Now run the piece through the bowtie center strap. 

To attach the bow tie around the neck of your dog or kid, use a hook and bar.  Measure around the neck and add the hook & bars where necessary.  I added two bars in case Pupper's wants it loose or tighter.

 

There you go, you've made a Bow Tie!! 
I can't wait to see how Pupper's looks in it!

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Do you have any creative uses for leftover fabric?

Happy Monday!
~Elizabeth