Favorite Things In My Town

  Today I'm joining the link party over at Centsational Girl where you're invited to share favorite things about where you live!

  I'm originally from New Jersey and my husband's a native of Philadelphia.  Although we've lived in Georgia since 1998,  my family and I recently moved to the metro-Atlanta area in 2007.  Atlanta's a beautiful city.  It's clean and very diverse.  There's a lot to see and do.

Little Creek Horse Farm- Atlanta's only public horse farm.  You can enjoy access to the farm, pony rides and riding demonstrations.

 Cagle's Family Farm is just a short drive away from anyone living in the metro-Atlanta area!  They offer farm and dairy tours.  During the Fall, they have a giant maze and a pumpkin patch.

I love the zoo!  Zoo Atlanta is a great way to spend an afternoon.

Mountain Park Aquatic Center- so much more than I expected from a public pool!  It's a fantastic place to visit.

Turner Field- A great place for Baseball lovers. 

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The High Museum of Art- The special exhibits are amazing. 

Fox Theatre- A marvelous place for concerts and plays.  A beautiful building with a lot of Atlanta history.  I didn't see Larry The Cable Guy, although I hear he puts on a great show.  His show happened to be displayed on the marquee at the time of my visit.

Centennial Olympic Park, Located across from the Georgia Aquarium and the CNN Center.  My family enjoys walking through the park.  The Olympic Rings fountain is great fun during the summer as well as the ice-skating rink in the winter.  Overall, the park is a nice place to visit.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site

  The Center is a fantastic tribute to an amazing man.  You can visit Dr. King's birthplace as well as Ebenezer Baptist Church nearby.

Stone Mountain Park- I love bringing my children here.  We always enjoy ourselves.  The best part about Stone Mountain is the trek up the mountain.  Although I do not recommend walking up a steep mountain at night, in the rain!

  Winter activities include Snow Mountain.  It’s fun for those of us who don’t normally get to play in the snow.  There are lots of different activities from tubing to building snowmen!

 

  Atlanta is full of great places to eat.  Copeland's on Barrett Pkwy. never disappoints.  Their menu is delicious.  Their bananas foster cheesecake is to die for!

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Dekalb Farmers Market- was one of the reasons we moved to this area.  Food from everywhere!  I was blown away by the variety and prices found here: meat, seafood, deli, bakery, wine, groceries, flowers, and aisle after aisle of fresh produce.  This place is amazing!

Hope you enjoyed my tour!

PS. All photos are mine, except for the last one.

Coffee Ice Cream Recipe

There isn't anything better than homemade ice cream straight from your ice cream maker, well maybe!  So delicious, your taste-testers will assume you scooped it out of a container.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• Pinch of salt
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup whipping cream

Directions

In a saucepan, combine the sweetened condensed milk, whipping cream, evaporated milk, coffee and salt until well blended.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens.  Remove from the heat; cool completely. 

Pour mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker.  Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.  After ice cream is made, cover tightly and freeze until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Second Hand Table Makeover

  I picked up this table one Saturday from my local thrift store.  It was only $7, but in need of a makeover.

I didn't bother priming it first.  I just applied two coats of leftover paint.

  When I bought this table, I had no clue where I was going to put it, but for $7 I knew I had to have it.  Lucky for me it fits perfectly in my small hallway!

  

Cream Cheese Pound Cake With Strawberry Whipped Cream

  Growing up I always associated pound cake with funerals.  Sounds weird huh?!  Well, let me explain...  My father was an undertaker.  I was exposed to his work at many levels.  I grew up visiting my dad at work and offering a hand at funeral services.  A meal often followed the service, called a repast.  The church family often provided this meal for the family members.  The meal would usually consist of the main course, a beverage and dessert -pound cake!  My father would faithfully bring home leftover pound cake, for my siblings and myself to enjoy!

  This pound cake is delicious and moist.  It’s wonderful fresh out of the oven, and even better topped with strawberry whipped cream.  And so, this recipe is for my dad and the sweet church ladies who inspired me to cook.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 3 cups white sugar
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy.
3. Add eggs two at a time, beating well with each addition.  Add flour and beat well. Add vanilla and lemon juice.
4. Pour batter into bundt pan. Place in a cold oven( in other words, do not preheat your oven), and bake at 300 degrees for 90 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Strawberry Whipped Cream Recipe

• 1 C heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 C powdered sugar
• 6 large ripe strawberries, mashed

Whip cream with sugar until soft peaks form. Add berries and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. 

Makes about 2 cups of frosting.

recipe adapted from http://allrecipes.com/

Uprinting Giveaway Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Uprinting giveaway!  The winner is... Comment #4, Kelle!


True Random Integer Generator Min: Max: Result: 4 Powered by RANDOM.ORG


Congratulations Kelle!  I forwarded your email address to UPrinting.  A representative will be in touch with you by the end of next month.

UPrinting Giveaway

Do you send out a lot of personalized letters?  Does your small business or nonprofit organization need a printed letterhead?  If so, then this is the perfect giveaway for you!  Letterhead printing has so many great uses!

Recently, I was contacted by the generous folks at UPrinting.com and asked if I'd be interested in hosting a giveaway on my blog.  Of course I said yes!  Here are the details:

Prize Details:

500 piece Letterhead for One (1) winner

5.5” x 8.5"

70lb Offset

Front Only Printing

4 Business Days Print Turnaround Time

Free Shipping

*The giveaway does not include envelopes.
 *Restriction: Limited to US residents, 18 years and older 

To enter, simply leave a comment below telling me what you would use your letterhead for (ie: personal, business, etc.) That’s it!  Your comment earns you an entry.
 
*If you have already won the same print giveaway from UPrinting in the past six months, then you are not eligible to win.

You must be a follower of Don't Disturb This Groove to enter.  New followers may enter.  Just become a follower before entering this giveaway.

Email subscribers are eligible to win as well.  Just be sure to include your email address in your comment.

The giveaway will end Monday, August 15th. I will announce the winner on Tuesday, August 16th.  A winner will be selected using Random.org and contacted the day of the drawing by email.  Please be sure your email is available through your profile or leave it with your comment.  The winner has 24 hours to reply with the requested information.  An alternate winner will be selected if the original winner does not reply within the time frame!

 
Good Luck!

Disclaimer:  This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting.  No monetary compensation was given and I will receive letterhead printing service for hosting.  Letterhead design inspiration and envelope printing are also available.  Please visit UPrinting.com for more details.

Wood Banker's Chair

I’ve been on the hunt for a computer chair for our family room for months.

My patience paid off, when I found this banker's chair, at my favorite thrift store a few weeks ago.

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I love these chairs from Pottery Barn.  They look similar to the chair I found, but at a much bigger price tag- of course!

I was happy to pay the price marked on the sticker.

After a little cleaning and some stain, it’s perfect for our family room.  

  *I stained the chair without doing anything first.  No stripping, no sanding, nothing!  Although skipping these steps is not recommended, I had no issues with the surface being sticky.  After applying the stain with a rag, I left the chair in the garage overnight to dry.  I’m obviously not an expert.  My advice is to, "stain at your own risk"!

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