Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails

Last night we tried a new restaurant in the historic district of Crabapple, which is the cutest, quaintest little part of town. We'd gotten the recommendation for Milton's from AmEx; since they haven't steered us wrong yet, we decided it was worth a shot.  We drove out there and arrived at this adorable old farmhouse that had been converted into this restaurant. 

Inside was a rustic, "home-y" feel, which makes sense because it was originally a farmhome. The 150-year old house has been preserved, and even the original fireplaces still exist, warming each room.

 

The people were friendly and welcoming as soon as we walked in the door, and even the valet people were incredibly nice, helping high-heeled women navigate the graveled entrance that led to the cobblestone walkway... Neither terrain is ideal for teetering around on heels, and they were more than happy to help everyone through it.  Everyone had personality, seemed happy to see us, and made us feel right at home.

 

 



Much of their produce from their on-site acre-large garden just out back, so it was truly "farm to table" dining. The website advised us that "Milton's features contemporary New Southern Cuisine that utilizes fresh, local ingredients to create regionally inspired comfort food with bold flavors that are artistically presented in a relaxed and friendly environment."

They weren't kiddin'. The food was southern, but with a few modern twists that made it flavorable and unique. I headed straight for the Shrimp & Grits, while Raja went for their most-ordered dish, the Sesame Crusted Mountain Trout. Both dishes were bold but balanced, and plated prettily, too!

Shrimp and Grits
red and yellow bell peppers, smoked bacon, mushrooms, scallions,
tomatoes, lemon butter sauce, cheddar stone-ground grits

 



 Sesame Crusted Mountain Trout
                    buttermilk mashed potatoes, asparagus, sweet potato shrimp fritters, red chile syrup

 

We both were incredibly happy with our meals, the service, and the entire experience. It's now risen to the top of Raja's favorite ATL restaurant list, and for good reason. Totally worth the 30-minute drive, and a place to which we will happily return. :)

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." -Walt Disney

A lot has changed in our lives since my last post... Excuse the gap in coverage here. :)  Since late November, we've done no less than the following:

-Accepted a new position for Raja. In Atlanta.
-Went on a vacation to Mexico
-Rented out our NYC apartment
-Bought a car
-Worked out a two-week notice
-Drove down to Atlanta
-Looked at houses, and picked our new home
-Bought said new home
-Moved into new home
-Began working remotely (well, I did anyway). Rjaa
-No less than four business trips between the two of us
-Hired a general contractor for a major home renovation process
-Hired an interior designer when we realized how clueless we were in home decor

Sooo... you can imagine that things have been hectic and crazy, but we are excited to be back in the South, loving being closer to family and friends, and grateful for the people that have helped us along the way during this crazy journey. :)

Right now, our lives are consumed by work and home projects.  We come home from work (well, I back away from my desk... Raja comes home, at least) and immediately tackle the craziness that is light fixture selection, hardwood replacement, ceiling fan research (it's going to be HOT down here!), re-acquainting ourselves with this crazy thing called carpet, and selecting paint colors that hopefully end up flowing beautifully together. 

It's madness right now, but we are looking forward to making our home. :)  Until we are done, feel free to enjoy the madness with us. :)

"Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres." -Spanish idiom

A few months back, my friend Erica turned 25. I met her a little over a year before her 25th birthday, in mid-June in 2011, when she was referred to me through work as a possible candidate. Since her move to NYC would cause her to leave a job behind in her hometown just outside Philly, she would be looking for a new position in our area as soon as her fit hit the pavement. It wasn't long after I interviewed her in my office that she was offered a position within our firm, and then quickly moved into a spot on my team. She and I clicked immediately, both inside and outside work, and she became one of the people I spend the most time with in NYC. When her 25th birthday rolled around, I spent a lot of time thinking about what to get her... Finally, I combined her love of cooking in her new apartment, her passion for Spain (she spent over a year studying in Seville), and my hope to give her something that could help her build happy memories with friends in NYC while encouraging her amazing love for travel. Enter... The Little Tapas Book.

 

We set a date a couple months in advance, where as many of our close friends as possible could come, and started picking Spanish recipes we wanted to make together. Through Erica, I've been fortunate enough to meet her adorable family, and one of her sisters even recently moved to NYC, bringing her husband along with her.  This worked out very nicely for us, as we pretty much have Selena to thank for all of these photos and Jake for almost all of the food. She's a natural with the camera, and he's a natural in the kitchen. Not only are they awesome company, but they're confident enough to take on the tasks that others are butchering. ;)

 

You may be wondering what Raja's contribution to all of this was. It was supposed to be the meatballs. (Thank you for stepping in, Jake.) Nope, Raja's contribution was giving our supposed-to-be-Spanish tapas party a Chilean flair by shamelessly promoting one of his work clients, the country of Chile.

 



We went with it and threw some Chilean wine into the mix.

In fact, we deviated quite a bit from our original stronghold on Spanish culture that night... In addition to Chilean olive oil and wine, our theme music was one of Erica's favorite Mexican serenaders, and our eventual playlist became a repeat of "Africa" by Toto. What can we say? :)

What WAS consistent throughout the entire night was sharing fabulous food with amazing friends.

 

 

I'm so happy that I can call this amazing group of people my friends and my family.

"Tell me with whom you walk and I will tell you who are you."



“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

If we've met, even once, you probably know that I am nothing if not a planner. 

I love being organized, having a plan, and tracking things. I can't even NOT do these things... It's just a natural tendency, and my mind subconsciously launches into planning mode at least a few times a day. I've found that if I plan ahead, I can make the most of each day or weekend, avoid inconvenience much of the time, deal with the unexpected if surprises pop up, and create order out of potential chaos. It just works for me, and most of the people in my life are kind enough to indulge my need to plan ahead and work around what's already in place.

Though I've been a natural planner much of my life, it wasn't until last year that I found a tool that seems to really support my infinite number of to-do lists, my need to make reservations weeks in advance, and my hope to spend as much time as possible with the people who make my world happy.

One day last year, I was interviewing a candidate for a potential job, and we were discussing her availability to complete the second phase of the interview process. She needed to check her calendar, so I nonchalantly sat back to let her rifle through her smartphone or notepad or whatever she needed to do. To my surprise, she whipped out a colorful binder with adorably tabbed monthly pages, perfectly propotioned grids for writing down the days' activities over each week, pre-labeled stickers, and the perfect platform for color-coding your life's events. I lost all composure, verbally requested a "pause" to the interview, and spent the next 5 minutes prowling through, what I learned was, her Erin Condren "Life Planner."

Life. Changing.

After we established the timeline for her next interview, I trotted back to my desk and entered the magical, virtual world of erincondren.com. I spent hours thinking about the personalized design/color scheme I wanted for my cover, days searching for THE perfect pens for all of my activities, and a couple of weeks waiting for my 2012 planner to arrive at my door.

I've used my planner consistently over the last 9 months, so much so that I knew 2013 would absolutely require another life planner, no questions asked. So a couple of weeks ago, I attempted to beat the end-of-year shipping delays, and I designed and ordered next year's version. 

After much anticipation, my new planner arrived Saturday! I'd been tracking the shipment city by city, and Raja was under strict orders to harrass the doorman if the package was not logged in as 'delivered' by Saturday afternoon. Each day at work, we've chatted about the planners, and a few first-time orders were made by friends who got sucked in to the excitement. Finally, Saturday, gleeful texts were exchanged with full-detail pictures of the inside, the outside, the happy little pagemarker, the adorable packaging... I mean, who knew how exciting a calendar could be?

I couldn't help but share some of the pictures online, since it's pretty much taken over my life for the past few weeks. There are so many more in-depth posts/videos about the planners; you can find just about any information you want by just doing some internet research, but here's a little glimpse of my very own. :)

“Good books don't give up all their secrets at once.” -Stephen King

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." -Mrs. de Winter