Last Minute Love Potion

Are you ladies and gents all ready for the day of romance tomorrow?! I am! I am SUCH a sucker for holidays. You should see the condo. It is decked out with pink and red and hearts abound! All in a tasteful, decor-chic style though, of course ;) Even when I was 100%-forever-single (and there was a long, long time of that, mind you), I loved Valentine's Day. It's hard to hate a day filled with X's and O's.

Just in case you are still looking for that perfect way to seal the deal (ha!) tomorrow, here's a fun idea, courtesy of the W Hotel in Buckhead:

Whiskey Blue at W Atlanta – Buckhead will be bringing romance to the rooftop with champagne specials, complimentary chocolate dipped strawberries and signature Valentine’s Day cocktails. Valid through February 14.

You can head to the W to grab this drink, but if you are already wrapped up with your special someone (wink, wink) and can't make it into town, the kind people at the W shared two very special drink recipes with me for you to make at home, too! Check them out below. And Slainte!

Oh wait. Next holiday, Katherine, next holiday :)

Candy Heart

In a Shaker Glass add:

1 ½ oz. Godiva Chocolate Liqueur or Baileys

1 ½ oz. Crème De Cacao

½ oz. Vodka

½ oz. Half and Half

Add ice shake well and strain in to a martini glass

Part 2 - In a shaker glass add:

1 ½ oz. Strawberry Puree

¾ oz. Fresh Sweet n Sour

¼ oz. Simple Syrup

2 ½ oz. Whip Cream

Add ice. Shake VERY well and slowly strain layer on top of the martini glass filled with the chocolate martini drink. Garnish with a strawberry half.

Love Potion #9

In a Shaker Glass add:

1 oz. Stoli Vanilla

½ oz. Watermelon Pucker

1 oz. Cranberry Juice

1 oz. Pineapple Juice

Add ice shake well and strain in to a Champagne flute about ¾ to the top.  Top with Champagne.  Garnish with a strawberry half.

Winner: Alvin Ailey Tickets!

Thank you so so much to all of you who entered to win the Alvin Ailey tickets! What a great turnout.

I am super excited to share with you the results of the giveaway ... I tallied up all the entries (people had a max of three each with both Twitter and Pinterest) and here are the results!

Congrats to our lucky winner, Mgentile89!! 

 
Mgentile, you have until this Monday at 9AM to email me with your full name so that we can put the pair of tickets at Will Call under your name for next Thursday's performance.

Note: If our winner doesn't send me a note, or if for some reason she is unable to attend the event (Thursday, February 16 at 7:30 PM), I will reselect from the other entries for a new winner. 

For the rest of you, thanks for playing! You can purchase tickets of your own for the show over at the Fabulous Fox ticket office on Ticketmaster. And don't forget to stay tuned here at Buckhead Betty, because I am going to have another fun giveaway coming up later this month :)

Happy Weekend!

Love is Like a New Planner

You guys. I am absolutely in love.

Even though for the past number of years, I have been forcing myself to switch into all e-land with my social scheduling, there has been a part of my soul (yes, my soul, I am that passionate about this) that has died a little bit each time I can't color in a day on my Blackberry with colored markers to designate a wedding, birthday or date night. The days of high school and college with planners full of handwritten notes, colors and stickers seem far too far away. Plus, I was having trouble with reminders on my Blackberry for myself like "buy a birthday card" (a week in advance so I could mail it), "Call Friend X," and "pay that bill."

A few weeks ago, I heard about these absolutely amazing planners that were available on this absolutely amazing-looking website. And because of said soul-dying, I decided right then and there to say "Happy Belated Birthday to Me" and I bought myself one.

O.M.G. It arrived. Even the box was a planner-girl's high. Perfectly wrapped and totally girly.

I selected a lovely teal/turquoise Life Planner with a kaliedoscope pattern from Erin Condren, a personalized stationery store that is the newest must-have for social planners like myself. One look at their Facebook page will show you how dedicated and in-love her fans are.

Before I show you its marvelous inside, let me first show you what also came in the box with this beauty:

Free labels, all personalized for me! Happy Birthday labels that I can stick on a box or a bag, and generic labels that would be perfect to add to a bottle of wine for a hostess gift. Adorable!

Hot tip: Erin Condren is on One King's Lane for one more day! Get labels or other EC items all of your own for a great price.

Ok, back to my planner...

 

These cheery pages are inside each planner regardless of your cover style. A.k.a. you better be okay with cheerful color (but who isn't?!)

 

One thing I love about the Life Planner is that it has these monthly pages along with the weekly views, which are broken out into morning, day and night.

Each of those weekly view pages has a Goals and To-Do column on the side for you to keep track of those little weekly things.

 

And of course, the planners have these amazing tabs to separate out each month! 

 

One user tip: While laminated tabs are on the Erin Condren line-up for 2013, the 2012 ones currently are not covered. Both the brand and most Facebook fans suggest using a certain size of Avery tabs, or simply covering each tab in clear packing tape. I did the latter, trimmed off the edges of extra tape on each one, and you can't even tell it's a handmade job. Promise :)

The back of the planner is almost as fun! It has sheets and sheets of little colored labels you can use on each day to designate events and other special things. After those is this great double-sided envelope (above left) to store loose papers, and a clear zipper pouch (right) as a catch-all for all sorts of other things (business cards, coins, etc.).

As you might expect, I sat down ASAP that night that this gorgeous planner arrived with a celebratory glass of wine and proceeded to fill it all out. And while I snapped all of these shots pre-pen-hitting-paper, I have been enjoying using my planner every. single. day. Already I have NOT forgotten (haha) to meet up for an evening appointment I had, to mail out a check that reserved my spot on a Bachelorette trip, and to do my taxes... ok fine, just because I didn't do them yet doesn't mean I forgot to do them ;)

Who are my fellow Erin Condren lovers out there? What is your favorite thing about her line?

What about those of you who haven't heard of her before? What do you think?

FREE Movie Screening Tonight, Hosted by Me!

Update 10:20AM: WOW I am so impressed with you all and in total shock, because all the tickets are gone already since my initial social media announcements yesterday! Thanks so much for your support, and see those of you who grabbed up tickets tonight! 
-------------------

I am back again today with another fun thing just for you, my fabulous readers!

I am SO excited to announce that 20th Century Fox has contacted me (me!) to host a movie screening tonight at Phipps! How fun!

It's free, and it's local, and hey, there are a few hot guys in it. Doesn't that make you want to come?! Plus, of course, you would get to hang out with me, so I feel like that is a win-win :) Given that the movie is all about explosions and the CIA, this actually could be a pretty good date night movie, too, so all you men readers out there are welcome to join, too, ha!

Tweet about it, share it on Facebook, email it around. The passes are first-come, first-served, and each person can download up to two admit-one passes. The info to get your passes is below, and I hope to see you there! 

 This Means War

20th Century Fox invites you to an advance screening of the upcoming film THIS MEANS WAR – starring Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy.

The world’s deadliest CIA operatives are inseparable partners and best friends until they fall for the same woman. Having once helped bring down entire enemy nations, they are now employing their incomparable skills and an endless array of high-tech gadgetry against their greatest nemesis ever – each other.

 Free passes to the screening are available via gofobo.com. Please feel free to share this invitation with colleagues, friends and family! 

THIS MEANS WAR SCREENING INFO

Tuesday, February 7 at 7:30PM 

AMC Phipps Plaza, 3500 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30326 

Each user may download up to 2 admit-one passes. 

Link to download passes: http://www.gofobo.com/rsvp 

Code: KIXATLLCQG 

Giveaway: Tickets to the Fox!

I am so excited to kick off this week -- I have such fun things to share with you! First up is an awesome GIVEAWAY, just for you!

Have you ever heard of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater?

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Rennie Harris Home. Photo by Paul Kolnik

 
This dance group is a historic troupe hailing straight from the hip streets of New York City. Y'all know I may be a Betty, but my blood runs deep with Northern Jersey blood, so I was immediately intrigued, especially since I do love a good musical performance. Here's a brief history:

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a now-fabled performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Led by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African-American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance. The Ailey company has gone on to perform for an estimated 23 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents -- as well as millions more through television broadcasts.

When I heard this historic group was coming here to town to perform at our own historic Fox Theater, I was really excited to be able to check them out!

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Kirven James Boyd. Photo by Andrew Eccles

I had the unique opportunity to interview one of the Company members to find out a little more about what makes up this awesome group. Hope Boykin is a three-time recipient of the American Dance Festival’s Young Tuition Scholarship, and she was a student and intern at The Ailey School. Hope joined the Company in 2000, and it looks like she has had the career of a lifetime over there.

Let's learn a little more ... and thanks to Hope for answering my questions!

What did you learn as a student at the Ailey school that you have put into practice since as a member of the Company? 

Well, from the point of view of a dancer, I have learned the great importance of embracing as much technique as I can. As a student in the school, I was exposed to so many different styles and techniques of dance; which allowed for a greater understanding and appreciation for what I would have to embrace as a member of the hardest working repertory company I know. But, if I were to share the most important lesson, I would have to say, having a relationship with the students in the school, and to set a good and true example is the most important lesson. I was treated with truth, love, and respect, and I try to give this back to the students. I was encouraged and motivated and some of the company members would often say, “…keep ‘Hope’ alive…” which made all the difference to me while I studied at the Ailey School. 

What was your favorite performance as both a dancer and an audience member, Ailey or beyond? What made those performances stand out in your memory? 

As an audience member, I recall, seeing a performance while I was a student in the school that I will never forget. Matthew Rushing was already a good friend of mine, and had gotten me a seat for that evening’s performance. Memoria, one of my favorite works of Mr. Ailey’s, was on the program, and I remember, the performance had already begun, as noticed Matthew running out to join me, warm-up clothes on and big hood over his head so he wouldn’t be recognized. I couldn’t imagine what he was doing in the audience. It turned out that one of the dancers performing in Memoria had a sudden injury, and Masazumi Chaya, Associate Artistic Director, would be stepping in at the last minute. I never thought I would have the chance to see him perform, and I was great. I’ll never forget it.

As a company member, I remember my first performance. There were so many dancers in the wings showing their support; the love was immeasurable. 

What would you say to a audience member that might be a newcomer to the dance world (cough like me cough)? 

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's
Hope Boykin.
Photo by Andrew Eccles.

This is an easy question. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is the best company to come to see if you have never seen dance before. My colleagues are the most proficient, artist/athletes that you will ever see on a stage. I am even amazed when I have the opportunity to watch from the audience, or even on the side of the stage in the wings, at the magic that is made. 

What can they expect at the performance, and what might help them follow along or enjoy the show even more? 

The biggest expectation the audience should have is to be changed in someway. There is nothing that I would want to explain, except to say to be prepared to see the company with fresh eyes, if you are a veteran Ailey-Goer, and for the soon to be veteran Ailey-Goer, expect to be moved.

Have you visited Atlanta before? 

Yes, Atlanta is one of our home stops on tour. There are only few cities that are mandatory stops for me and Atlanta is at the top of my list. 

Do you have downtime while you are on tour to sample the local cuisine and attractions? If so, what will be on your to-do list for Atlanta? 

I have several friends in the Atlanta area so I have most of my free minutes already scheduled with catching up, seeing how their kids have grown, and of course a short visit to Lenox Mall (LOL). 

Hooray, thanks Hope! Hearing her answers made me that much more excited to go and see the show.

Ok, now that you are up close and personal with the group that is the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, let's move on to the premiere event -- a set of tickets to the Company's opening night show at the Fox Theater!!

Details: A pair of tickets to the opening night of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater

Where: The Fabulous Fox Theater

When: Thursday, February 16 at 7:30 PM

How to Enter: You get one entry per response!

1. Leave a comment telling me who you would bring to the show if you won!

2. Follow me on Pinterest and leave a comment telling me you did so

3. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you did so

The giveaway will end Friday, February 10 at 10AM.

Good luck everyone! I can't wait to see one of you fabulous readers at the show! 


Disclosure: I was given a pair of complimentary tickets to the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.