This has got to be one of the coolest showrooms in Atlanta, or anywhere for that matter! I always worry about tripping and falling into the mass of fragile eggs. You can imagine what it’s like in here when there are 10 other buyers shopping!! These eggs are hand blown and painted in Austria and...
I’ve been coming to the Americasmart for over 20 years. I started off staying in Downtown hotels and, about six years ago, decided to relocate to Midtown Atlanta. Although its a little less convenient getting to the convention center, it’s worth it to have great restaurants all within walking distance.
It’s a long day, but its always fun for Renee and I to begin our buying for the year. The Atlanta Gift Show has more than 6 million square feet of showrooms in 4 buildings which are all interconnected by bridges. It is an amazing and daunting show, if you can keep from getting lost....
Today we had a much needed, fun and easy day! In the morning we hit up a ceramic factory where we got to see them hand forming and hand painting beautiful Italian ceramic bowls, platters and other pieces. We also got to visit their store in Palermo which was beautiful. I bought a few pieces...
The Sicilian countryside is so varied. We drove through mountains and plains, along the coast, and through farmland. The soil changes from reddy brown to black as you get closer to the volcano. It was pretty clear, so we got a good view of Mt. Etna. I know it’s an active volcano, but it still...
I finally found them again……..my FAVORITE chili peppers! I have literally been searching for these peppers since the last time I came to Italy. They’re these little round red chili peppers in oil, that I put in everything. It’s probably been 5 years since my last jar ran out, so you can imagine my excitement...
My husband and mom would tell you, there are 2 things you never want to deprive me of; sleep and food. Yesterday, I was seriously in need of both, and “Cranky Megan” as my husband would say, made her first debut of the trip! It was pretty mild since I still don’t know everyone that...
Today, you’ll never guess what we tasted……. Olive Oil! No, I’m just kidding, we had vegetables in olive oil. Lots of them. In fact, we had so many vegetables in olive oil that I took almost 3 hours to go through all of them…
Today’s adventure began at the most amazing farm, Azienda Agricola Cavalli, in Pomerico. The property is almost 900 acres and they are almost completely self-sufficient. They make extra virgin olive oil from the Frantoio, Coratino and Lecchino olives grown on the property, a wide variety of cheeses including an incredible Moliterno IGP made from their...
Did someone say truffles? Um, yeah they did! I spent the day tasting 10 different truffle dishes, including Bruschetta with White Truffle, Buffalo Ricotta with Champignons and Truffle Cream, Spaghetti with Spicy Truffle Sauce, and Home Made Cavatelli with Seafood and Shaved Truffles.
While I love most things about winter – hot chocolate after sledding with the kids, a good book by the fire, the smell of homemade cinnamon raisin bread baking in the oven – the post-holiday let down of January can still feel cold and lonely. The presents have been unwrapped, the decorations are down, and...
So I just realized, that in my truffle-induced excitement yesterday, I completely forgot to mention our new companions!! Considering the jet lag and lost luggage situation, I was very impressed how they rallied for the truffle dinner last night! Everyone seems really nice and super excited about the trip, so I’m looking forward to getting...
