Since I last posted, we've...

• tried some new recipes including one for roasted beets. YUM!

• (I) made some sample winter pillowcases for the quilt shop

• decorated for Christmas (don't worry, they aren't up anymore)

• had 2 inches of snow that shut the city down for a week. I haven't had any snow days since the ice storm in Spokane when I was in elementary school! It was pretty fun for the first few days until we got cabin fever and just wanted to go outside. We had a nice little adventure to the grocery store which took us forever to get to because of all the Georgia drivers.
  

• went to New Orleans for my birthday, Christmas, and New Years

• had some car troubles that forced us to rent this beaut. (Aka. Cloud the second)
  

Cirque du Soleil

Last Saturday was Damien's office party. For the celebration they took us to see Cirque du Soleil's performance of Ovo. It was absolutely fabulous!!!

Hand balancer (dragonfly)

We had VIP tickets that included free drinks and appetizers before the show started, third row seats right in the very front of the stage, and dessert during intermission.

Foot jugglers (ants)

Appetizers included orchids with chicken filling, lamb skewers, and crab and lobster nachos. For dessert they served brownies with caramelized bananas on top, strawberry smoothies, chocolate-dipped strawberries, and had small containers which you could fill up with candy for the second half of the show.

Acrosport (fleas)

The costumes and make-up were so elaborate and very creative. The performances were amazing. They had trapeze, acrosport, and trampoline artists along with foot jugglers, a contortionist, and a hand balancer. The acting and story were very clever. At one point they even pulled a few people from the audience to participate in the show!

Trampoline (grasshoppers)

If you ever get the chance to see Cirque du Soleil I would recommend going to see it. It was so entertaining and fun. Thank you Fast for such a nice treat, we felt like we were famous for the evening!

Contortionist (spider)

Sewing

I've finished a few sewing projects and thought I would share them with y'all.

I finally finished the baby girl quilt! It turned out so pretty. I am very happy with it. Two of my good friends here in Atlanta quilted it for me for free and they did a great job!

Front

On the single fabric blocks, I had them quilt the words that are on the fabric on the back of the quilt. (see below)


The back.


Working at the quilt shop is a great outlet for my creativity! I have the opportunity to make samples of various patterns for the shop, which I get to keep afterward. My first sample was this Oliver + S pajama pattern.


Isn't it the cutest little outfit you've ever seen? It's still on display at Intown Quilters!

Thanksgiving Atlanta Style

Thanksgiving was fabulous! We were invited over to one of Damien's co-worker's homes with a few other co-workers. They prepared two turkeys. One was deep fried and the other was smoked in a Green Egg. I had never seen a Green Egg before, but apparently you can cook, smoke, and BBQ in them. I want one now.

Deep frying a turkey is quite a process. First, you get a huge vat of oil and heat it. Once heated you strategically lower the turkey in it and cook it. You have to be extra careful not to burn yourself or have any incidences with the hot oil. Then you have to find somewhere to dispose of all that used oil (like the neighbor's back yard). This is what the set-up looks like.


While the turkeys were finishing up we sat out on the enclosed porch, had appetizers, drinks, and enjoyed the 75 degree weather. That's right, it was 75 degrees here on Thanksgiving. I love the weather here!

The smoked turkey was really good. I would like to eat that all the time. It had a really nice smoked flavor to it. The deep fried turkey didn't have any particular flavor (besides turkey), but it was nice and moist as well. Damien and I both ate way too much food, but it was delicious!

A Few Updates

We added a few more items to our apartment! Damien and I picked out some fabric and made curtains for some of our windows so we could have a little privacy.


The fabric has a paisley print on it. Here's the close-up.

My favorite addition is this beautiful piece of art. Damien took a trip to France, Belgium, and Italy right before we got engaged. While in Paris, he picked up this beautiful silk scarf. It has a detail of the famous Gustav Klimt painting "The Kiss" which I love. I refused to wear it because I didn't want to get it dirty and I wanted to be able to see the beautiful image on it. I decided I wanted it framed so we could all enjoy it. It turned out fabulous and is the perfect center piece!


Here is the full Klimt painting.