Atlanta Antique Auction

J and I were invited to an auction on Friday night. I was excited, but slightly terrified. I googled the auction to no avail. I could find minimal media presence. I was nervous as we pulled outside the warehouse to park. It was dark, and in a questionable area of town. 

From the moment I stepped in the door, my perception changed. It was a huge 30,000 square foot warehouse buzzing with people. A man stood serving tacos and hotdogs. A few feet closer in, two you g women served beer and wine from behind an antique bar. 

J and I found our neighbor, Gabe, who promptly welcomed us with open arms and took us an on a tour. He showed us the ropes, pointing us on the way of the wine and auction registration.

Beautiful antiques started being sold for pennies on the dollar! Swept up by the excitement of the auction and energy in the room, I bid on a shelf. A shelf is basically one shelf on a cart. I found myself paying $48.00 (decimal is correct!) on 47 pieces of silver plate (some even over copper!), pewter and brass.

I hit the holy grail! Thoughts of Craig's List resell and financing our upcoming trip to Bordeaux danced through my head.

My favorite piece was a small silver plated dish with a 'B' monogrammed on the center.

I spent the rest of the weekend polishing away. Below you can see before and after. I found a wonderful way to clean silver. Boil water in a large pot. Once it comes to a boil, remove from the stove. Place aluminum foil on the bottom of the pot. Insert silver piece and add Baking Soda. The mixture with smell like sulfur and work like a charm!

I can say, without a doubt, we will be returning. Perhaps to even purchase some bigger ticket items!

Sweet Auburn Curb Market of Atlanta, Georgia

Always one to support local, as an artist, J and I love shopping at Farmer's Markets. We used this article  on the top ten markets from Metro Atlanta to narrow down our options and start exploring the new city. Our first stop was an indoor market called Sweet Auburn Curb Marketing. The market was huge and much more commercialized than most of the farmer markets I've been too. It also has the most convenient store hours, as well as ample parking. The market will even validate your parking inside so you can forgo the $5 parking charge on the way out. 

They had a plethora of lunch options. We chose a taco restaurant, but the variety even include a place called Afro Dish, which appeared to serve Ox Tail! 

The main reason we went to the farmer's market was to pick up fish at well below grocery store pricing. Fortunately, we found J and I's favorite fish, Red Snapper.  My youngest sister, E, also picked up some shucked oysters while we were there. The oysters were huge and well worth it! 

The market had a variety of meats, as you would assume. They even had pig ears and turkey legs for sale. There were not quite as many vegetable vendors as you would have thought, but still plenty to chose from. A few even had their own branding of spices and pickled onions, etc. We found one called Wild Bill, which E and I immediately purchased for my father, Bill. 

All in all, a great trip. I am certain we will return, but am looking forward to exploring some of the more mom and pop-ish farmer markets in the future. I would encourage you to try Sweet Auburn Curb Market -- even if you are an Alabama fan have a little trouble getting over the name. :) 

Biking in Atlanta

I have not always been the biggest health nut. Okay, maybe the anesthetist of the biggest health nut. I enjoy dining out. I enjoy wine. However, in Atlanta, working out is unavoidable. Everywhere you do people are running, dog walking, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, biking, climbing. You name it, they do it.   I initially kicked off my exercise regimen with Zumba!. It was great, but the 5:30 am mornings got old quickly. The package (we bought the DVD kit available at Bed, Bath and Beyond) included Zumba! sticks and a meal plan. The meals were great. Filling and a different pace for us. However, we still weren't getting to enjoy Atlanta. Thus spurred the purchase of a hybrid bike.

Our first stop was Atlanta Cycling. They carry a bike brand called Trek. I was familiar with this brand because as a child, my "big girl" bike was a Jazz Cherry Bomb by Trek. Always a deal seeker I was bummed when the entry level bike cost $600 and the saleswoman was unable to budge. My plan was to buy a bike, a Saris Bones 2 bike car rack, biking glasses, water bottle holder and a kickstand. The total put us at $825. I wasn't ready to commit. The store was unable to even give us the slightest discount or throw in the kickstand or bottle holder for free. The saleswoman was wonderfully knowledgeable, but not empowered enough to bargain with us. She offered to bring a water bottle holder from home if we made the purchase. We liked her and the bike, but ultimately walked to shop around a bit more.

The next day, we visited another bike store in Little 5 Points called Outback Bikes. The store was staffed with granola employees. They were hippies who knew their stuff.  Outback features Specialized bikes. For the longest time, I didn't realize that was the brand name and kept wondering what it was that was specialized about the bikes. The bike started at $50 less than the Trek. Plus it was pink and black. Very chic. The salesman knocked another 10% off the bike immediately, plus 15% off the bike rack and threw in a kickstand for free. I later ended up removing the water bottle holder from one of my old bikes for my new bike. The total for everything was roughly $600. Sold. The Specialized Vita was mine.

I did a little reach about the Trek and Specialized brands. This is what I came up with: It's the difference between a Toyota Camery and a Honda Accord. It really just boils down to personal preference.

J was pleased with this store as well. He rides a Specialized Rockhopper. It's nice to be able to service both our bikes in the same place. His bike is a mountain bike and mine is a hybrid, but we haven't had any issues keeping up with each other yet. I just don't do the same off roading he does. He also does better with the traction going up hill than I do with my skinny hybrid tires. My bike though, it perfect for my needs. I am able to carry if up and down the 3 flights of stairs to our apartment without issue. I an also lift it onto the bike rack on the back of the car. 

Our newest adventure has been exploring the Path Foundation bike paths. It's a great way to see Atlanta. You'd never imagine how much greenery there is in the middle of our vast city.

We have fun exploring and talking about the new trails we find. We have definitely developed some good and bad recommendations. I am still working up the muscles to go up large hills, but the point is that you try and it gets easier as you practice and build muscle. Our further ride has been just over 5 miles. This is such a challenge for me. Being from Savannah, I am used to flat paths rather than the rolling hills of Atlanta. Needless to say, my beach cruiser (that was perfectly suited for Virginia Beach) is now for sale. 

Stay tuned for more posts about our biking adventures. Which paths to take, and which to skip.