Foodie!

I've been wanting to do somewhat of a food review for awhile. While staying on a budget is very important for us, we've said splurging on one new restaurant a month is a wallet-friendly and yummy goal. Last Friday we headed to Mosaic in Buckhead for dinner. I had a Scoutmob for $25 off, so I thought it would be a great night to save, while getting an awesome meal.... eh, the saving, not so much, but the food was tasty!

We ate outside, which after 20 minutes in Atlanta, in June was probably a bad idea. Mosaic is a quaint little house turned into a restaurant on a side street off Peachtree. 

We started with drinks- beer for Michael and I had white sangria, yum!, and fried green tomatoes.The tomatoes were battered with the right amount of sweet and spice with goat cheese (my all time favorite ingredient in anything) and red pepper sauce. Very good!

For dinner, Michael had the filet mignon which came with veggies and potatoes and I had their weekly special which was shrimp and grits (my all time favorite meal). The shrimp and grits were interesting... I've had better and had worse. They were made with prawns, so the shrimp was gigantic, I am not sure I prefer that. The grits were neat though, they had a black bean sauce, which gave a neat kick and consistency... a mix of ingridents I have yet to try with my grits, but overall blended quite well. 

The filet was average. I mean I just don't have a lot to say about steak.I found it to be cooked well and the mashed potatoes were fantastic. The atmosphere of Mosaic is exactly what I prefer. The wait staff is laid back and wears whatever eclectic piece from their wardrobe they feel like (think Figo), there were outside speakers with acoustic music playing and it was everything you expect from a local, non-chain, summer night restaurant. What I didn't expect? The price! Maybe because I was sitting outside and not under some stuffy candle lit dinner, or maybe because we didn't over-indulge (hello, no salad, soup, dessert, multi-drinks or apps). but even with our $25 discount we spent about four times that. Yikes! Good thing we're only trying out new, extravagant restaurants once a month. 

(furry) bundle of joy!

We finally bailed on the rescue society we were going through for the pure bread spaniel (ok, they sort of bailed on us... whatever) and went down to Atlanta Pet Rescue and Adoption in Midtown Saturday morning. Given my obsession with any sort of spaniel, I saw a cocker and that is why we ended up there. Well, as fate would have it the cocker spaniel wasn't available right away and we fell in love with this little girl.

A lot of money in adoption fees and multiple PetsMart runs later, Molly is now our sweet little addition to the DePeters clan and we couldn't be happier! She is a 1.5 year old Pekingese mix and weighs about 19 pounds. She is pretty well trained already too! She knows commands, walks on a leash, stays well in her crate, is mostly house broken.... and we are working with the chewing issue. I am already such a softie and she melts my heart. I almost cried when leaving her this morning, then went home for lunch to check on her and I think that made it worse. Thank goodness for Michael, he makes me work on training her and not always giving in to her, just because her face is the cutest thing I have ever seen :)

Official!

About two months into our marriage and I'm officially a DePeters. I've been a little under the weather this week with sinus problems so I took the day yesterday to get some things done and take care of myself. Beyond finally getting some antibiotics, I went to the DMV to get my license changed.

For those un-married or who elected not to change their name, it is not an easy process. You have to get the paperwork from the state, go through social security, your bank, insurance providers, state DMV and basically anything and everything with your name on it (OK, I skipped some steps, passport, amex, but those will come). I also decided to change my middle name to Murray, to keep my maiden name, so that was an extra hassle. BUT after all the phone calls and waiting in line, I present to you, Mrs. Laura Murray DePeters!

Fun facts about being a DePeters- Michael's family name is Italian and was originally (DePetrio or DePetro I think) and when his ancestors came over from Italy they changed it to DePeters to Americanize it. There also aren't many DePeters running around either; most of them can likely be traced back to being a relative. Which is new to me! Murray is a pretty common last name. Easy to say, spell and recognize.

What else did I love about Murray? Everyone knew I was Irish (OK, I am also freckly and my brown hair does have a very red tint). Now, the popular guesses are French and Dutch (I guess when your Italian last name doesn't end in a vowel, that's what happens). People also really struggle at saying and spelling D-e-P-e-t-e-r-s. For the love of...., it is "peters" with a D in front. The best spelling I have gotten so far is, during a phone conversation with a client, I was giving them my email address and they said "whoa, whoa spell that and slow down," after spelling and speaking slowly this is what they got: depeferf. Can you even say that?? I know my voice is a little nasaly, but come on people.

So, those are my adventures so far! Guys are so lucky. After the proposal, they're done. But, it is fun, because everywhere I go to change the name, someone else says "you're a newlywed? congrats!" and we all know, I love to be recognized.

My love affair. With Auburn, Alabama

This weekend we went to Auburn, AL for one of Michael's friend's weddings. I was so excited to go because it is probably my favorite city in the world. People who go to Auburn know what I am talking about. It is a huge SEC school, packed with pride, in a teeny, cute town. And it epitomizes a Southern college town, which is probably what I love the most. The downtown area has so much character and even if one restaurant changes into a new shop, the area itself always looks the exact same. I'm obsessed. 

 I also love the flood of memories that come back the second I hit exit 51. For those of you who don't know, Michael and I were not college sweethearts. We actually didn't start dating until the last semester of college. My memories are filled with Leischuck hall, Skybar nights, my best girlfriends (DAG), RBD Library 4th floor, sorority formals and four years of football games and amphitheater tailgating. And of course my later memories of meeting who would turn into my husband, and his absolutely crazy, but wonderful friends who keep me laughing non-stop.

Ok, now that I've taken my trip down memory lane and shared one of the places most dear to my heart, what's new? We are trying to adopt a dog! We are picky (duh) so it is a slow process. I have horrible allergies and we want a dog who is already domesticated, since we aren't home during the day. So we're working with a society that tries to match a dog perfectly for us, and though it is a timely process, hopefully we end up with the perfect pup for us!

Michael really loves his new job. About a month ago he was offered a position with a new law firm in Atlantic Station and it has been such a great opportunity for him (and our future!) 

I've begun the name change process, which is daunting. I have gotten through social security and my main bank, but am dreading the DMV.... so who knows when I will have the same last name on everything. Plus I think I am secretly trying to hold on to my easy to say and spell maiden name!

Hope

Hope. such a short and sweet word that truly means a lot. A LOT. I have so many things in life to be thankful for, all of which bring me such great hope for the future.

My main squeeze, Marissa, recently got such wonderful news when out in Houston at MD Anderson, where here surgery was beyond successful. This re-affirms my hope and belief in prayer, medicine and people in general. Check out Marissa at http://maparks.blogspot.com/ 

More fun news. Michael and I are going to be an aunt and uncle! His sister and her husband, Marielle and Brian, are due in the fall. We're both first time uncle/aunt and very excited :)

In between all of the hectic things going on, there are so many beautiful, hopeful blessings hidden in people, opportunities and places. I am trying so hard to take a few moments out of every week and realize these hidden treasures, for I know I will be such a happier wife, sister, friend, daughter and co-worker to everyone!

Swing and a miss

I should have known this wasn't my week when I was called for jury duty Monday morning. No one goes to jury duty expecting to get put on a trial. They picked me. For a four-five day trial. Work has been a little crazy lately, so this sort of threw me into a tizzy trying to figure out how I would manage everything without access to my computer or my office for one week. Now that I am done with day two (hour 18) of the trial, I am invested emotionally and mentally in the outcome and think this whole thing is pretty cool (albeit, redundant and drawn out, but cool)!

So, after missing my massage on Monday night because I was stuck downtown at court and didn't get home until way later than usual I was feeling all out of sorts and I hate not being on my schedule. So, to put my little family back in a routine I decide to try out the new Crock Pot (that's a lie- I tried it once, it wasn't perfect, but a meal in the end) with a spaghetti meat sauce. I followed the directions in preparation perfectly and then put it on low before I left. 

      Directions: turn Crock Pot on low for 10-12 hours. 

Well, I get home after 9 hours to the not so sweet aroma of what I would compare to what it smells like when you're cleaning the kitchen oven, only not so severe. Burnt garlic to say the least. How is this possible?! I go and open the pot, and sure enough it is completely burnt to a crisp. Ugh. So, we head on to our favorite restaurant, El Azteca, and have a cheap, but wonderful (although our chips were more burnt than usual, what gives?) meal. 

Not sure when I will brave the Crock Pot again, but I am pretty bummed. It was my favorite kitchen registry item (because it claims to be so easy) and we are not getting along as well as I had hoped.

In new news- I am taking ideas for new hobbies. Michael seems to have lots and that makes me jealous. My current favorite hobbies (my TV shows) haven taken a summer hiatus, so I have more free time and well, let's be serious, TV is not a hobby anyways.

Blogging ain't easy

I am honestly shocked it has taken me this long to get on the blogging train. I'm a social media advocate, so I guess I just never had time or anything to discuss (warning: those things haven't changed.)

I'm not promising anything exciting or ground breaking, but I thought this would be a fun way to keep up with my family and friends far away.

What you probably can't expect: cute, wifey updates about our fantastic home, babies, cooking successes or my love of cleaning. I'm pretty un-domestic. I am messy, have a cookbook consisting of five recipes and when kids see me they run the other way. But, I am trying, and will hopefully share some of our funny adventures as an un-domestic, newly married couple along the way.   

What do I love? laughing, good food, tv and shopping (probably in that order.) Enjoy my favorite picture from Michael and I's wedding last month. I love it because it catches us in a sweet and very natural moment.