Shmorgishborg

My hotel isn't exactly located in the hippest of locations. To paint you a picture, I'm surrounding by a field, a gas station and a rehabiliation center... so it's not like I'm surrounded by all the cool restaurants Athens has to offer. However, I have ventured out to some awesome places downtown and one of my favorites was Last Resort Grill. It's literally a shmorgishborg (yep, had to google that word to see how it was spelled) of all different kinds of food. Please look at the menu and then plan your trip to Athens. Mainly to see me, but then we can go to LRG. :)

We started with Fried Green Tomatoes and it was my first FGT experience. I am hooked. Next task, see the movie.

The Chicken Carbonara was suggested to me and it didn't disappoint. I took leftovers home with me... definitely ate them about 30 minutes after walking in the door.

You can't really see this picture very well but Meredith got the U-10 scallops. I didn't sneak a bite but I think Meredith enjoyed her meal. Although, we filled up on FGT, salads and a bottle of wine before our meals got there so we both barely finished our meals (until I got back to the hotel, of course).

Welp, here's yet ANOTHER great place to eat in Athens. I've gotta say... I'm impressed, Athens. I was recently asked 'of all the cities you've traveled to, which has the best food?' and I couldn't really answer. However, I'm going to be paying attention and blogging about every great place I eat and let you know which city has the best food.

Stay tuned! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Party People!

Well, it's 7pm and I'm blogging about my St. Patty's Day experience so it's safe to say I'm not in college and I don't have any friends near me. Although, I will say my St. Patty's experience this year has been great. I mean, it's not green pitchers on Froggy's front porch or green beers with my family while skiing in Utah, but it has been fun!

I started the day by buying mini cupcakes and fun headbands for the staff at River Club! I think it's safe to say they enjoyed it :)

 From left to right: Lindsey, Leah, Leigh, Ashley and Saad -- too bad you can't see my crown that says Irish Princess ;)

Yummy treats from Publix! They have the BEST baked goods!

This afternoon we went downtown to distribute flyers that advertised our Zero Down special we're having. On our way, we got distracted....

 PUPPIES!!!

 This little guy loved Ashley...

 ... I don't know how much he loved me though. 

Leah wanted to take him home :)

One of the places we take our flyers to is a cute little boutique. So, we dropped off our flyers and then did a little harmless browsing..... and buying :-/

 Welcome to Entourage!

It's such a cute boutique - thank goodness this was the only damage. 

 This was Broad St. and it was packed with bars, restaurants and boutiques!

This is the famous Arch in Athens. You can't really see it that well but trust me, it's there. 

On our way to drop off flyers, we saw some of the cutest little shops. I will definitely be visiting these stores when I'm back next week:

 I've been to Private Gallery in Destin, Birmingham and now Athens!

We didn't actually walk in Encore (and they don't have a website) but I will be back!

Cute dresses from Encore

 Heery's

Heery's was very cute, but too expensive. There was a tank top for $300... umm, that's half my rent. 

And finally, one of my favorites from Louisville - Pitaya!

Okay, okay.. I know there's a LOT of pictures of boutiques but I promise, we were working. And when all that hard work was over (promptly at 5pm of course) we found a place to sit outside and have a GREEN beer. 

Mmm, light $2 beer with green food coloring. Sitting outside on a patio with beer is always a good choice - thanks Mellow Mushroom!

Don't be confused, this isn't dessert... it's bruschetta with a balsamic glaze. The two broads with me didn't like these so I ate most of them - yummmm-o!

Welp, that pretty much sums up my St. Patty's Day. Like I said, it wasn't a crazy college style St. Patty's Day, but it was pretty fun for being a grown up :)

Repeat Offender

In one of my first blogs from Athens, I promised I would go back to Chops & Hops before too long. I upheld my blog promise and went back on Sunday. To my surprise, they changed up their menu so I was able to try some their new stuff! Of course, it didn't disappoint. Ch ch ch check it ouuuut:

Club Salad: Romaine, Avocado Ranch, Smoked Bacon, Turkey, Tomato, Cheddar and Focaccia Croutons

Pork Chops with bourbon pecan glaze, garlic spinach and goat cheese mashed potatoes. YUM!

Just looking at these pictures again has my mouth watering... it's safe to say I'll be back to C&H before no time. Happy Hump Day!

Rainy Day...

I don't know how the weather is where you are but it is super gloomy in Athens, GA today. It's hard to have motivation to even wake up when the weather is like this. I was searching through one of my favorite sites today (Pinterest) and I found some rainy day pictures that made me feel better about the gloom.

What a gentleman :)

These look even better since I decided to give up sweets for Lent!

Now this is just precious.

And I just decided what I'm having for dinner - yumm-o!

Hope the weather is better wherever you are, but if it's not, try to enjoy this rainy day!

Music Monday!

My good friend, Trista, introduced me to one of my favorite bands when we first lived together in 2009. My musical world has not been the same since she brought Grace Potter & The Nocturnals in my life! I was hooked from the start and I've followed Grace Potter along the way and have seen how much her band has grown and it's phenomenal. Check out some of these photos and then do yourself a favor and buy their new CD... AMAZE BALLS!

I guess I have to go shopping soon to snag this skirt from Express so I can look just like Grace :)

 I love finding new music and spreading the love so check out GPN if you haven't and give me new tunes to check out! Happy Monday People!

Weekend Trip to ATL!

One of the perks of my job is that sometimes I'm near people I know and can go visit. And this time I'm only an hour from SHANNY SPRINGBREAK!

Shannon knows how to entertain me... take me shopping, feed me and if it's sunny, lay out and gossip about nonsense. Ohh and lots of wine. All of these things happened this weekend and it was amazing. I've gotten old... fast. I love relaxing and catching up far more than going out and getting crazy.... I know, I know.. how lame, right?! Well, it's the new Leigh so get used to it.

Buckhead Saloon

Fried Goat Cheese Salad - YUM!

So glad I got to see Shanny and have a girls weekend (plus Matt)! Love you Shanny and I'm so lucky to be able to see you NEXT weekend as well!!

Fantastic Find!

Shannon has this ring and I decided to copy her... it's on sale at Kohls.com and I can't wait to get it in the mail! It's only $12 and it was originally $30... SWIPE! (That's for Shan)

Sterling Silver Love Ring

I had an amazing weekend in Hotlanta and I'll update my blog with my visit with Shanny soon! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! When the weather is beautiful like it was this weekend, it forces me to say: Suck it, Maine. 

How to Keep in Touch with Amazing People

I travel a lot, hence the name Travel Broad. It's been hard to keep in touch with people I care about (and that's even including my parents and sister... I know, I know... I'm a terrible person). I talked to my sister for two hours a few weeks ago and if I could have, I would have talked forever. And every time I hear from one of my good girlfriends, I could talk for hours as well. I miss everyone... a lot.

I came across this article entitled Staying In Touch and it has some great ideas to stay in touch with your friends and family:


• Start a long-distance book club with a friend. Mail each other books you’ve read, with your thoughts, insights, and analyses written in the margins. (Hey.. we started a book club so I'm off to a good start!)

 • When you send a letter or a card to a friend who’s notoriously bad at responding, try including a blank, stamped postcard, addressed to you. Even the laziest writer will find it easy to scratch out a response and drop the postcard in the mail.

 • When all the critics assemble their year-end best-of lists, compile your own top-10 lineups of books to read, movies to see, and music to hear, then trade lists with a group of people whose taste you appreciate.

• Share a lazy Sunday morning. Simulate the experience of hanging out at a café together: Brew a fresh pot of coffee, toast a bagel, and settle in for some good conversation―and caffeine―over the telephone.

 • Start a clothing swap with a same-size friend and mail wardrobe pieces that you know you’d both like back and forth.

 • Go to the movies “together.” Each person sees the same film in her respective town on the same evening. Chat about it on the telephone afterward.

 • Ritualize your visits with good friends so that scheduling problems and procrastination never cause you to miss a meeting. Choose one day a year and plan to get together on that day, every year, no matter where each of you is currently stationed.

 • When keeping in touch with a large group of friends, from summer-camp pals to sorority sisters, set up a rotating schedule: Assign each person a month of the year to write a single letter to the rest of the group, photocopy it, and mail it to everyone.

Hope this helps you think of creative ways to keep in touch with family and friends who might be far away :)

The Search for the Perfect Luggage

I've been traveling hard for a solid 6 months and it's official... my luggage is shot.

So, I did a little researching and then some shopping and I found the bag for me! I was looking for a suitcase that would be able to handle at least 2 weeks worth of clothes. 

I was thinking of going to a department store to look for a great bag that would last... I was thinking I should probably spend at least $200 to get a great bag that could handle the wear and tear that accompanies my lifestyle. Then I did some research and almost everyone said to go to TJ Maxx... so that's where I went! And boy am I glad I did! 

This is my new beautiful Samsonite bag! I looked it up online and I would have paid $200 for it in a department store but I got it for $100 at the Maxx! Ohhh I love you Maxx :)

Ru San's - Athens

When I found out there was a Ru San's here in Athens, I thought, surely it's not the same as one of my favorite restaurants in Nashville!

My thought was wrong - they have a couple of Ru San's in Atlanta and a few sprinkled throughout Georgia and then one in Nashville. Although, I have to say, even though it was "technically" the same restaurant, it wasn't nearly as good as the Ru San's in Nashville. I thought about the possibility that maybe it's because I miss Nashville so much.... and don't get me wrong, I miss Nashville more than anyone could know. But that did not factor into how disappointing my meal was. Even though it wasn't up to Nashville standards, I do have some pretty cool looking pictures. This is a lesson, even though the pictures of the food are pretty doesn't mean it won't taste like garbage.

Miso Soup

California Roll

Wasabi Tuna

See? Looks like it would taste amazing. Yeaaah, I wasn't a big fan. It's definitely mediocre sushi for a cheap price - they have some rolls that are only a dollar! If I were in college, I'd probably eat there no matter how it tasted.