Sips and Strokes

Here's what you do, Tuesday July 17, 2012.

Wanna get in touch with your inner painter?  Here's what you do.  Do a painting class at Sips and Strokes.  It's our star event for Tuesday.  Go to the Druid Hills location from 7 - 9.  They actually have several locations, so you can pick and choose.  Bring some red zinfandel, some gruyere and port salut cheese, a fresh baguette, and some grapes from Whole Foods on Briarcliff.  They'll start you off by giving you an easel and canvas, paint and brushes.  Then, as you get down with your wine and cheese, they'll teach you how to paint.

When I went, we painted boots.  Mine didn't quite turn out like the sample painting they based the lesson on.  But, that's part of the fun!

Spend an hour painting, drinking wine, and having a little cheese at Sips and Strokes.  They provide all the art equipment.  You provide dinner.

Here's what you do:

First: Breakfast.  Today, have some oatmeal.  Steel cut oatmeal from Alton Brown's recipe, to be exact. Alton is an Atlanta local, you know?  His highly informative shows on the food network get us in touch with our inner chemist/chef.  According to Wikipedia:

"Steel-cut oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into pieces. They are commonly used in Scotland and Ireland to makeporridge, whereas rolled oats are used in England, other English-speaking countries, and Scandinavia. They are sometimes named after the grade of cut, e.g.pinhead oats; steel-cut oats from Ireland are sometimes called Irish oats."

By all accounts, a healthy breakfast, round it out with fresh blueberries and raspberries, and a cup of hot Twinings Irish breakfast tea.  Dress the tea with milk and sugar to taste.  ($ - $5 per person)

Second:  Catch up on your reading.  I've just been given Atlas Shrugged.  Never read it before.  I think the summer of 2012 is the time.   Time to dance the dance with John Galt.  I'll provide a review when I'm done ($ - $10 at Amazon).  BTW, don't read at home.  Get out into Atlanta somewhere.  One good place is Aurora Coffee in Virginia Highland.  Get a frappuccino and start to shrug  ($ - $5 per person).

Third: Late lunch at Muss & Turner.  Take a little drive over to this Vinings deli.  It's been gaining in popularity since its opening a few years back.  Try the "basic beef" roast beef sandwich, or the Funky Chicken.  If you're in the mood for a little law breaking, take a walk through the refrigerator door at the back of the restaurant.  That'll take you to M&T's speak easy, a bar in the back that knows how to keep its secrets.  Have a bourbon - Elijah Craig 18 on the rocks, and enjoy your lunch.  ($ - $10 per person, $20 if you speak easy).

Fourth: Nap.  That's right.  The famous Here's What You Do nap.  Follow the perfect bed rules, and enjoy.

Fifth: Shopping at Whole Foods.  Gotta get ready for Sips and Strokes.  Head on over to Whole Foods in Sandy Springs.  Grab some grapes.  Grab some gruyere and port salut, and a fresh baguette.  Grab some red zinfandel too, maybe something from Rancho Zabaco, and bottle of FIJI water.  Don't forget to bring a knife for the cheese, and a cork screw if you got a corked wine. ($ - $40)

Finally: Get your paint on.  Head on over to Sips and Strokes for your 7 - 9 lesson.  ($ - $25 per person)

Book Keeping

For Two People:

Breakfast: $10
Reading at Aurora: $10 + $10 (if you buy the book)
Lunch: $20, $40 if you drink
Nap: $Free
Whole Foods: $40
Sips and Strokes: $50

Total: $190

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