empire state south

For Easter brunch we went to Empire State South with Megan and Adi.  Hugh Acheson of Five and Ten in Athens started this place as well.  I have been wanting to go for a while but we hardly ever get there.  So, when this chance came up, we made reservations immediately!

 Love the bocce court!!!  We had a lively game after brunch.  Brad and I took the early lead but Megan and Adi made a comeback.  Rematch!

Adi's yummy smoked trout with dill biscuit.  The food, service and ambience were marvelous!!

The weather was perfect for dining al fresco.  What a lovely Easter!!

stock the bar

Last Saturday we celebrated Megan and Adi with a Stock the Bar shower in Atlanta.  It was a blast!

 Corey and Liz have the best backyard!!  Perfect for parties.

 We even had a cornhole tournament with UGA and Furman boards.

 Adi's parents - Sela and Damir. 

 They had bride and groom rubber duckies floating in their backyward pond.  So cute!

All the food was from the different towns in which Megan and Adi have lived - Augusta, Athens, Greenville, Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago - and Bosnia, Adi's native country.  Liz made these cute markers for the food.

Part of our gift to the happy couple.  Brad passed down his secret recipe for Shingleritas and we gave them the ingredients in this cute beverage dispenser. 

 Adi with his guys - one half of the hosts for this lovely shower. 

 Have you ever heard of 'bros icing bros?'  This is something that Adi and his friends ran across in South Africa while there for the World Cup.  The basic premise is that you present someone slyly with a Smirnoff Ice and they must get on one knee and chug it immediately.  So, we decided to hide one in their present! 

 Adi was a trooper and chugged a hot green apple bite Smirnoff Ice on the deck. :)

 Cute invite!

 toasts!

 We went to dinner at Eclipse di Luna with the crew.  It was such a fun evening.  They didn't bring Adi a margarita glass so he just drank out of the pitcher.  Ha.  Doesn't he look like Scotty on Idol holding his microphone?

 Fun band!

 Megan and Corey hit the dance floor hard core.  LOVE it!



i'm back

Wow, things have been wild around the Shingler household!  I worked 19 straight days around Masters.  It is a fun week but takes lots of prep and long hours.  Of course, nothing else clowed down then either.  :)

Granny is back at Brandon Wilde but one of us still tries to get by to see her every day.  She seems to getting better and even went to church last Sunday!

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My grandmother (Mema) had a small event last week and was in the hospital for two days.  They still aren't exactly sure what happened but she is back home.  We stopped by to see her on the way back from Atlanta last weekend.

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My car had to go in the shop.  of course, it is almost paid off and it starts acting up.  It was a minor thing but being without a car is never fun!

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Brad has a new job!!!  He will start Monday with Vann Appraisals here in Augusta.  They are a private commercial appraisal firm.  He has wanted to get to that side for a while now and is really excited.  It will be tough for the first few months but I know this will be a great career for him.  Goodbye county job!

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Brad's Dad's birthday was Thursday so we had him and Debbie over for dinner.  We had Swiss chicken, honeyed cashew green beans, cheddar cheese rolls and cheesecake.  Yum!

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My friend Spencer from Kiawah is in town today playing the National (jealous) and we are going to meet up for drinks before he heads back this afternoon. 

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We went to Atlanta last weekend for Megan and Adi's stock the bar shower.  We spent the night and had a wonderful Easter brunch at Empire State South.  Pictures to follow!!

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I have been doing a lot of reading and cooking in my small windows of free time.  Book and recipe suggestions are coming soon!!