Recent Amazon Favorites


It's the LAST DAY OF MAY. I'm not sure about y'all, but this has been the loooongest week for me. I always struggle with the shorter ones. It doesn't help that I did things on TWO school nights this week, with the whole Memorial Day/Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday, then we went to a Braves game AND had Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday. I am going to sleep all weekend.

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Here are some of my recent Amazon purchases that I've been loving!

THESE SHEETS - Lindsay recommended them after my coffee date post and holy. cow. we've only slept on them a few times, but they're so soft and they sleep so much cooler than our other ones. I'm absolutely going to be buying a new set to be our actual second set of sheets. 

THIS SWIMSUIT - The top is a little too big, but that's what happens when you have to order the top & bottom in the same size. It's also not so big to think the smaller size would have fit. HOWEVER. it's super cute and very much in my budget. 

THESE HAIRBRUSHES - I have zero explanation for why I've avoided the Wet Brush until now, but holy cow these are a game changer. My hair gets super tangled because I'm always riding with the windows down and top off and apparently a very fitful sleeper. These brushes don't yank at the tangles in my hair, they just gently work them out. It's amazing.

Also, back in December I swapped out my old Kindle for the Waterproof Paper White, which I've been carrying everywhere with me now that I don't have to worry about a spilled beer or someone doing a cannonball into the pool and destroying it. I haven't been brave enough to actually take it on a float with me yet, but I'm sure we'll get there this summer.

Also, I've been using these sweatproof, SkullCandy bluetooth headphones and my water proof speaker from JBL everywhere I go. Are we noticing a trend? I'm always on the water and worried about dropping things in it.

Have y'all come across any cool finds lately? I'm in the market for a new purse, and I think I want to go the backpack route. I'm worried about it looking like a diaper bag (even though I have almost bought a diaper bag several times because THEY HAVE THE BEST POCKETS) So send me any recommendations you have there! I literally carried the same cross body, fringe bag I bought at the Goodwill for 6 years, until it finally fell apart. So I'm apparently very bag loyal... 

My Favorite Dog Friendly Marietta Square Spots

I've seen a bunch of posts about "dog friendly spots in your neighborhood" and I don't feel like they're doing justice to all of the pup friendly places. So I've put together my own! Here are my favorite places to take Albus on the Marietta Square, in no particular order.

Marietta Pizza Company // this was our go-to for the longest time. It's the first (dog friendly) place we come to as we hit the Square. They sell by the slice all the time (not just at lunch, like a lot of pizza places) so it's super easy to walk up for a slice, salad, and a couple of beers. They have a ton of different options, their salad portions are big enough to share, the staff is great, I've honestly never had a bad experience there. Fun fact: they also deliver and the day I bought my house, we had moved in the mattress and box springs (just set straight on the floor) and like, four lawn chairs. We had no food, but plenty of booze in the fridge, so we called up to order pizza. Apparently we sounded like we needed sustenance because the kid who delivered our bacon pizza also brought us a giant handful of saltine crackers. There are pictures of this somewhere, I just can't find them. ANYWAYS. I love the Pizza Company, they have a good mix of local brews, unique brews, and your run of the mill beers too. Something for everyone!

Hemmingway's // Hemmingway's has a really cool patio situation, it's set up in the alley between their block of the Square and the next block. The vibe here is very laid back, they have live music on the weekends, and you have to go down into a kind of scary, but really cool basement to use the restroom. One time, we had Albus with us, and the kid at the table next to us was TERRIFIED. His mom explained that he was scared of dogs. So I had Albus come sit on the other side, but when the kid saw how calm Albus was, he gradually warmed up to him, and by the end of the night was tossing him treats for high fives. I still consider this one of my greatest accomplishments.


WR Social House // TRY THE FRIED GREEN TOMATOES. TRUST ME. I am a big fan of the Social House. They've recently come under new ownership, but have kept roughly the same menu. Their bartenders are really creative and come up with some cool cocktails. The last time I was there, I had a cucumber infused vodka water, y'all it was so good and refreshing. ALSO, they have giant umbrellas on their patio, so it's very easy to anchor the dog's leash. This is a thing I'm *always* looking for in a dog friendly place, because they're rarely allowed to come inside.

Their Saturday brunch menu is fantastic, over the holidays they did the whole Christmas themed inside and made this monkey bread that was INCREDIBLE. Plus, they have mimosa & bloody mary specials.

Taqueria Tsunami // They've been working on the sidewalks around the Square, and recently re-did the one in front of Tsunami, I haven't been since then, but even before it was awesome. Taqueria Tsunami does an Asian/Mexican fusion, and their menu is great. I love the edamame, their margarita selection, and the fact that I can get tater tots with queso as a side, because I have the pallet of an 8-year-old. Fun story: once I was there with some friends and actually ordered the exact same thing as their daughter, who was in second grade at the time. #OnBrand

Their patio wraps around the side of the building, but on Tuesdays in the summer, the Australian Bakery next door "hosts" a bluegrass jam session. Which is exactly what it sounds like, a bunch of bluegrass musicians out on the patio just jamming. Usually when people snag one of these patio tables on bluegrass night, they stay for a while.
albus and little bear at glover park brewery

Glover Park Brewery // If you didn't see this one coming, you clearly don't follow me (or Albus) on instagram. This place opened up in September of 2018, so it's still relatively new and growing. They have a huuuuge back patio with several sturdy tables to anchor the pups to. They have different food trucks every night, music on Fridays, and a jazz jam session on Sundays. On Wednesdays they have Singo! We haven't won yet, but I'm pretty sure if I just keep going that we will, statistically, win.

They're closed on Mondays & Tuesdays, but open the rest of the week. They even have their own dogs at the brewery instagram. If you're ever on the Square and looking to grab a beer, Albus & I will ALWAYS walk up to meet you.
albus tries to drink my beer at Johnnie MacCracken's

Johnnie MacCracken's // Before Glover Park opened, this was our go-to beer drinking with the pup location. They pride themselves on being a dive bar, so you have to expect the dive bar things with this place, they're very authentic. They have two sides, one is non-smoking and kid friendly, the patio on the sidewalk is all part of this. There are rails to tie the pups to up there. There's also a beer garden out behind the bar, but it's on the smoking allowed, 21+ side. Their menu is good, Irish Pub food, and they have a VERY extensive beer list.

I do want to warn you, that in addition to the whole smoking allowed side, they're very favorable to their regulars. It gets pretty wild on Friday and Saturday nights, but it's a great little beer garden in the afternoon.
albus goes to see the marietta square market trolley car

Marietta Square Market // Dogs are only allowed on the patio here, which is normally a "duh" thing but, since it's a food hall sort of place, I feel like maybe I need to say that first. It's a place where you'll need two humans so that someone can go in and get the food. However, the food here is awesome. I am a little biased, since my boyfriend is the kitchen manager for Forno Vero. You should definitely go see him, try the crostini, they're amazing. They also have the anchor bar, so you should pop by for a cocktail or two. Their cocktails are well thought out and really tasty.

I've had a little bit of every place in there, and I recommend you do the same thing. You can get everything from burgers to lobster rolls to crepes to Thai street food. It's so good you guys.

Cool Beans Coffee Roasters // I love Cool Beans. These folks love coffee. They travel the world to bring you the best coffee beans, and they don't make you feel like an idiot if you don't know what you want. It's affordable, always smells divine, and they have this huuuge patio space out back. It backs up to Hemmingway's and the Marietta Welcome Center/Museum. PLUS your dogs are allowed to go INSIDE.

I'm thinking of continuing this series, maybe doing individual posts on our extra favorites *cough* breweries *cough* Would y'all be into something like that? I'm obviously going to call the series "Can I Bring Albus?" so that when I write my memoir, I have an outline for it...

Have you been to any of my favorite haunts? Also, do you have any tips for taking pictures of a black dog? Poor guy always blends into the background.

Just Because You Don't Experience Something, Doesn't Mean It's Not Real

So, the other day I was mindlessly scrolling facebook, instead of working. I came across a post someone shared in one of those "groups" you're never really sure how you ended up in? It was about Danielle Steele and her eighty bajillion novels, sleeping 4 hours and working TWENTY HOURS A DAY, and how she thinks burnout is a myth. The person who shared the article prefaced it with "What do you think? Is burnout just a millennial...." then I rage blacked out because the easiest way to push me over the edge is to blame anything on us as a generation. I didn't read the article, because I wasn't going to give traffic to some clickbait shit that made me mad. So here we are, halfway through Mental Health Awareness month, and we're saying this documented and studied form of stress, depression, and anxiety is a "millennial affliction"

this blog is about burnout, so here are some flowers to make it better.
This made me mad, so in true "millennial fashion" I'm going to blog about it. Just because you, Danielle Steele, don't experience something, doesn't make it a made up thing. I don't suffer from multiple personality disorder, but that doesn't mean it's not real. I've never experienced Postpartum Depression, but that doesn't mean it's not real. If you've made it through your career and you've never experienced burnout or impostor syndrome, that is GREAT for you. Really, kudos, congratulations! That doesn't give you the right to belittle someone else's experience, let alone something that nearly an entire generation of people are suffering from. 

This may be a "millennial affliction" because we're hyper aware of the way things are, thanks to our good friend the Internet. We're living in a 24 hour news cycle of just bad stuff all the time, then we're told that our opinions don't matter. That we're entitled, lazy, oversensitive, dramatic, have no work ethic, etc. We're told that we can't buy houses because we eat avocado toast. Blatantly ignoring the crippling student loan debt and wage stagnancy we're trapped under. Asking to be paid better, have affordable health care, that's just our entitlement talking. We're a generation of grown ass people and anytime we express any kind of emotion, be it passion or anger, it's our entitlement. This paragraph took a turn I wasn't expecting. I JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT THIS OKAY. 

We are sensitive, overall, as a generation. That's not a weakness. Empathy is not a weakness. Wanting to make the world a better place is not a character flaw. So if you're suffering from burnout, because I know I have, don't let the muggles get you down. Wanting to be able to clock out, and enjoy your life is not a flaw. This is something every generation has struggled with, we've just put words to it. If saying "hey, this isn't how this should be" is entitlement, then fine. We're entitled. It's not our fault, we were raised to believe we could do anything we set our minds to. 

This is a very stream of consciousness post. I rage-typed some stuff and deleted it, you know since the Internet is forever. I just feel like we have enough to deal with right now, let's not add some bullshit narrative on top of it. Don't say "oh millennials are killing restaurants" and then ALSO say "you're entitled if you think that you should be able to afford to spend money on cable bills or eating out at restaurants as a twenty something. You have to work 40 years to be comfortable" You can't have it both ways, sorry. 

In summary: your feeling of exhaustion, depression, anxiety from overworking and overstressing yourself is valid. Take whatever kind of break you can. If you don't feel valued or appreciated at work, and you can move to a different job, by all means, DO IT. Let them call us entitled. Let them call us lazy. We're out here doing our best and that's all we can do. If you made it this far, thanks for reading my typical millennial rant. I appreciate ya. 

May Coffee Date

So, the last week, I had the most "lame grown up" dream ever. In my dream. Cobb county had announced a sweeping road resurfacing project and actively ignored the giant potholes by our house. I woke up mad as hell, then realized it was a dream and was mad for several other reasons. If that isn't the most lame, grown up thing to have nightmares about, I honestly don't know what is. I'm having a little writer's block, so I thought we'd have a little coffee date. My coffee is still a little too hot because I have this Mammoth tumbler and it almost works too well.
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If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that downloading the library's ebook app has really enabled me to read more than I could have imagined, and that I'm already up to 14 books this year (14.5 if you count the one I'm reading now...) I set myself a goodreads challenge of 30 books, but I'm thinking I might surpass that, should I change my goal or just see how far over it I can go? Right now I'm working my way through another Hercule Poirot novel. I think I just might read all of them... 

If we were having coffee, I would ask for advice on a new ceiling fan. The one in our master bedroom has two speeds: fast enough to where you think the room might take flight and off. There's no in between. We need the fan because we got a Nest thermostat for Christmas and I take it as a challenge to get as many leaf days in a row as possible. I'm a monster. Oh and also so that we're saving money and energy or whatever.. Anyways, what we're looking for is something sleek and relatively small, because we have a small bedroom. But I'm also not trying to spend more than $100. Coincidentally, every ceiling fan I like seems to be $169. 

If we were having coffee, I would ask if you've tried the Naturday yet. I don't care that it's a Natty, it is DELICIOUS. It tastes like straight strawberry lemonade, but it's a beer! It's perfect for sitting by the pool or on the back porch. SUPER refreshing. So good guys. Plus, I bought a 30 pack at Kroger for $18, I mean, you can't beat that. 

If we were having coffee, I would tell you how much I love our new storm door. It's amazing how much brighter the living room is with what essentially amounts to another window. It took us longer to install it than we thought, and the promise of  "oops free installation" was false (we may have put the hinge on backwards the first time & didn't realize it until we had mounted it to the door frame and couldn't open it.......) but it's awesome. And we can slide the little glass pane up to let the breeze in. I love it! 

If we were having coffee, I would also ask for sheet suggestions. We have white sheets right now and I just don't see that going well for us. Albus likes to run outside and then immediately jump into the bed, so I don't know how much longer we'll be able to wash the mud out of them without the stain sticking around. Also are there such thing as cooling sheets? I sleep REAL hot, I bought these magic cooling gel pillows, which was a good start. 

What would you tell me if we were having coffee?