love affair

I am a Birmingham transplant. I can't claim this city as my home town but it is now my home. Sure, there are days when I wish I had the many varied restaurant choices that Atlanta has to offer. The aquarium would be a great afternoon trip for a chilly winter play date. And you can't argue that the shopping in Atlanta is only surpassed by New York or Chicago. But I am madly in love with Birmingham. I love that it takes me 10 minutes tops to get downtown. Or that the longest I have been stuck in traffic is 20 minutes on highway 280 (this is a dream trip by ATL standards). Strangers nod and wave at each other, your door will always be held for you and every child you meet will you call you ma'am. Recently I have been introduced to two new Birmingham attractions that have made my heart swell even more for this town. The Railroad Park is our new favorite play spot. I am amazed that this 19 acre slice of heaven is in our city. There is plenty of green space for a picnic or to let the little ones run free-and a wonderful toddler friendly gated playground. You can grab lunch at the dining car and watch the trains pass by. If you haven't been to experience this park it should be moved to the top of your to do list.

The next thing I have just been introduced to-last night. One of my mom friends set up a mom's night out for our playgroup at a new place in Cahaba Heights called Urban Green. This is by far the coolest thing going on in Birmingham right now. It originally started as a Consignment shop but then the owners decided to add a t-shirt bar to the store called Green Tees. Basically they have all sorts of fabric scraps, vintage buttons and jewelry, and so many other trinkets and embellishments. You take these items and design a shirt, headband, scarf, dress, guest towel-whatever you can think of with their material. Once you have laid out your design they pin it together and then send it off for someone to do the dirty work. Basically you design whatever your heart can dream up and they take your design to a professional to complete the sewing or whatever is needed to complete your item. I could literally go back every day. Ok, maybe every week. But either way it is the most creative, fun, entertaining thing I've done on a Friday night in a long time. I'm kicking myself that I didn't come up with this idea ;) So, grab a bottle of wine and some girlfriends and go create something. I'll post pictures of the shirts I made as soon as I get them back.

What are y'all enjoying this weekend?