Baxter Bark Twice

Do as I say, never as I do

Where’s my penthouse?

Posted by AllieB on December 28, 2011

There is a lot of money floating around in Russia, and this guy’s got a bulk of it. Dmitry Rybolovlev, a fertilizer kingpin – obviously, just purchased the most expensive apartment in New York City for his daughter, a freshman in college. There are a few things worthy of note regarding this exorbitant acquisition:

  1. If you are a freshman in college in NYC, or even in the general ballpark of that age, it would behoove you to make friends with Mr. Fertilizer’s offspring. 2 words: house party. (Jordan, I’m looking at you.)
  2. Mr. Crap is ranked as the world’s 93rd richest person, worth approximately $9.5 billion as of March this year. That makes my head hurt.
  3. He is also in the process of getting divorced. Well, hellooooo Mr. Smelly {head toss, shoulder dip}

Check out pics/floor plan here. I want to go to there.

That’ll do.

Did you have a nice Christmas? I did. It was lurvely. My sisters were home for nine full days, so we got in lots of QT. My favorite new things include: my express electric kettle – it boils water in like under a minute!! Given the amount of Easy Mac tea I consume, this is a real luxury. I am also obsessed with my new Pierre Deux “Eau de le Maison” candle. It is the best smelling candle I have ever smelled, so you can imagine my dismay when I realized that Pierre Deux has closed. Ever resourceful, I did done some research and found the maker of this candle: Seda France. I also love my new DvF luggage – I never saw myself as a glamorous traveler, but this stuff is a real game changer – as well as my new home goods. Notably missing from my new possessions: a penthouse.

As we’ve learned, I am no good at reviewing movies, but I do have to acknowledge Girl with a Dragon Tattoo: it is awesome. It is very long, but unless you consume a (movie sized) medium diet coke AND a (brought from home) can of La Croix, you should be okay. Rooney Mara is excellent at encapsulating Lisbeth Salander’s rage/intelligence, and Daniel Craig is exactly who I always pictured to play Mikael Blomkvist. Even if you haven’t read the books, you need to see it. BBT says: two thumbs way up.

Uno mas shout out: Antica Posta. My whole fam went on Christmas Eve, and we enjoyed what was probably one of my top three meals of 2011. From the arugula salad (so fresh with LOTS of parmesean) to my roast chicken entree (a seasonal special – bursting with flavor) and my side of pasta (a carbonara of sorts with a gemelli noodle – I should note this is not a “side” so much as a $13 appetizer option…I wanted leftovers…) – it was awesome. Plus the bar area is very cool with double-height vaulted ceilings and cozy club chairs. Huge fan. I’d like to say I’ll be going back soon, but, while the food is not unreasonable, the wine list kinda is, and that’s what gets me. BBT says: have someone take you in the very near future.

I realize this whole post is kind of apropos of nothing, but ya gotta grease the wheels before you get back on the bike…or something, I just made that up.

HAPPY ENGAGEMENT TO SISSY AND BILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are no words that could do my happiness justice. It’s just…yay.

I don’t put boys on BBT, so here’s a pic of me and Sissy. Mash.

 Oh, and if you don’t have a lot going on in the workplace this week, take some time to appreciate this 35 picture retrospective of B Spears. Amazing. That “Hit Me Baby One More Time” video was to me what Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video was to pop culture in general…

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , | 6 Comments »

Winning > Losing

Posted by AllieB on December 21, 2011

This is seriously getting pretty weird – I just keep winning things?? I’m concerned I’m going to get accustomed to this, causing my previously bottomed-out expectations to start rising – how unhealthy would that be. And Sister just reminded me of the $100 I won in Newnan last Thanksgiving…it’s becoming something of a pattern, and it’s not good. This time it was this beautimous pair of earrings by the very talented Mary Kelly Clary of give a penny.designs via the High Museum Wine Auction Giveaway.

I’m thrilled – those just scream ALLIE. They’re the “Gold Laura” and they are nice and big which is perfect for my opposite-of-small domepiece.

I’ve decided that a fun thing to do will be “A Year in a Review: Baxter Bark Twice.” You know, top posts, most remarkable and/or memorable events…as well as the worst posts and the least interesting things – it’s going to be a very comprehensive round-up. I’m not going to do it today because I am simply too busy, but BOLO. This epiphany of a year-end review came to me not via all of the other publications doing year-end wrap-ups, but by way of good food and friends at Mosaic. I know, I’ve said horrible things about Mosaic in the past (and on my spreadsheet), but on a gross Tuesday night when they have half-off wine and their sliders taste like a gift from the culinary gods, I’m okay with it. Granted, Danielle had to basically order our food directly from the chef as the servers were no where to be found, but I guess ya can’t win ’em all.

Merry Christmas! Love, Le Boof, H&H Home, and BBT…

Pinned Image

..and The Duchess. How glorious do both she and her hair look?! I can’t wait to hear about what William gives her for Christmas. I’m thinking maybe a full-length chinchilla coat plus a million dollar donation to her favorite charity..? I think that sounds perfect – she’s a fashion maven with excellent taste and a heart of gold.

Posted in Arbitrary | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

My picture is on Perez Hilton

Posted by AllieB on December 16, 2011

Earlier today I received an email from my friend Allison aka Pal that included a teeny confession she’d previously neglected to share:

So like a year ago I wrote a half-serious email to Perez Hilton about Allie’s blog and that he should read it and hire her. I was just bored at work. And I included a picture. And now we’re on Perez Hilton.

Say what? I go to the site – one I honestly do not frequent – and sure enough:

Here, see for yourself.

There are like 97 other pictures of the two of us I would have chosen over this one….but whatevs. That was a great night: Basil’s patio with ABE the V and Paxton…we sure did laugh a lot, and that was the first time I had the life-changing grits AND the first time I tried vinho verde – a very tasty Portuguese varietal that I later wrote about here…but I digress. We actually look pretty normal compared to the other people – the other people who took the time to send Perez a photo professing their undying love and affection. Good grief. I tried to post a comment with a link to BBT, but it hasn’t shown up yet…may as well try to get some new readers out of this HUMILIATION.

Oh, and after their incident in the dressing room at Barney’s Co-op the other weekend, Allison sent Sloane Crosley an FB message, and now they’re writing back and forth. And the mother of the girl who writes Suri’s Burn Book has been reading BBT this week, too. The writer lives in Atlanta, btw – maybe she and I should meet for coffee and talk about the blogosphere? I am whelmed.

**3.5 years later, BBT says: I really love this. And that’s a great pic! My 15 minutes came and went so quickly <overcome with nostalgia, sighs deeply, returns to day job>

Posted in Arbitrary, Really? | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

Ask and you shall receive

Posted by AllieB on December 15, 2011

As seems to be the case with all my surveys, the results of my poll on Tuesday were unremarkable. Turns out there are stupid questions (well, we already knew that (this is one of my favorite posts)), and apparently I keep asking them.

1. I read BBT because…

  • 22.7% – it has relevant or interesting information
  • 43.5% – it is funny
  • 7.4% – it is fun to make fun of Allie
  • 22.7% – I like to be distracted during the work day
  • 2.6% – Allie pesters me about reading it
  • 1.3% – I might stop reading if she asks me anymore stupid questions

Ok? I don’t know what I expected to glean from that question, but I’m glad to know that less than half of you read this because you think it’s funny.

2. What would you like to see more of on BBT?

  • 17.7% – boy/girl surveys
  • 14.6% – Atlanta restaurants/deals
  • 19.6% – personal anecdotes
  • 12.3% – celeb stuff
  • 17.3% – goings-on around Atlanta
  • 18.6% – new sites that I should check out

So, basically…this data helps me not at all. I should have made it so you could only choose one answer, and I also should have allowed it to show how many people took it. Fail on both counts. I will try to focus more on personal anecdotes, less on celeb stuff, and stay about the same with the other stuff.

3. I am a boy/girl:

  • 28.6% – boy
  • 71.4% – girl

I honestly do believe that more than 30% of my readers are male, but I also believe that they are less inclined to participate in my boneheaded polls. So…fair enough.

I have two sites of interest to share with you today – the perk is that both of these require about 2 seconds of your time to appreciate:

The first is a simple photo blog that makes me laugh outloud. Walk. Too Big For Stroller

The second is a mind-blowing fact blog about Apple and the rest of the world: Things Apple Is Worth More Than (spoiler alert: all of the illegal drugs in the world…)

My friends and I adopted a family for our third year in a row this Christmas, and I think this year was our best yet. I must say – and this is not because no one offered but because Christmas is a crazy time of year – I did do all of the shopping by myself, and I did a pretty awesome job. It’s for a family of three: a single father and two sons, and the gifts are exactly what they asked for. I’m proud of us for participating for three years straight. Between Lindsay’s magazine-worthy holiday decor and the cheer of wrapping gifts for this family (and the Stouffer’s mac n cheese), last night got me more in the Christmas spirit than anything else yet this year. ‘Tis the season!

New sites to check out? BOOM. Personal anecdote? Nailed it.

Ok – this may or may not be real. It is a “petite retriever” and I can’t tell what kind of hybrid it is, but his name is Rigoletto and he is a PERMANENT PUPPY. He tops out at 20 lbs. I must have him.

More pics of Rigo and other hybrids here.

Posted in Arbitrary | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

It’s like a survey, almost, except not

Posted by AllieB on December 13, 2011

Imitation, they say, is the highest form of flattery…so today I bring you a poll pertaining to BBT. I am actually interested to know the answers to the questions, so as to better please my faithful readers, so I’d really appreciate you taking the 3 seconds to answer the Q’s. You don’t even have to leave the page to do it, just click on your answers and voilà! You’re done. (Credit: Blayne @ This Photographer’s Life)

THANK YOU!!! Really, by helping me and you're also helping you - I strive to improve BBT with each and every post; your answers will help me do just that.

And now, for today’s montage: an homage to my besties:

Happy engagement to Kirk & Tina!

Happy Birthday, JTOMM!!! (This pic is from a St. Patty’s Day of yore and has nothing to do with your birthday, but I always just really liked it…)

And here, as promised, is your teacup kitten :) SOCKS WOMAN!

Posted in Arbitrary | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

Next Page »