What to do on a Thursday night?

So, it's a Thursday night in Macon, what to do? Well, Thursdays are pretty happening here lately BUT we have a very special Maconite coming to town tomorrow night. If you are not familiar with Robert McDuffie then do so NOW. He is hosting a free concert at The Grand Opera House tomorrow night. Here is his official website: http://www.robertmcduffie.com/ .

Now, perhaps you have heard of these famous violins that were made in the 1700's and are worth several millions are dollars. Does that maybe sound familiar? McDuffie, and his investment group, are in essence "leasing" one of these violins. You can read more about that transaction on his website. McDuffie is also a Grammy nominated artist. Impressed yet? If not I don't know what will impress you.

How about the fact that he is doing a free concert with his Mercer University McDuffie Center for Strings? This is an AMAZING opportunity to catch some phenomenal music at no cost. I am actually taking the day off from work so that I can take my children to this event. You can check it out here with this link: http://www.thegrandmacon.com/mcduffie/.

Even if you are not a classical music fan, this is really something not to be missed. McDuffie's concerts usually sell out quickly so the chance to go to something like this - and for FREE- I just cannot even stress to yall how excited I am about this. If I hear one more person complain about a so called lack of culture in this town I might really just have to scream at them- "Did you go to the free McDuffie Center for Strings concert?!" Yeah. No complaining allowed after this.

A Lil Bit of Catching Up to Do: Macon Arts, Weaver's Weekend and Bravo!

Wow! So much to catch yall up on...

Of course yall know I am a super busy lil lady. A few weeks ago I got the chance to visit the Women's Health Institute and be a live model for Dysport- a newer version of Botox- as well the the Venus Freeze treatment. I am very happy with the results thus far, but check out my Make It Work Molly for more information. That same evening I went to a meeting for the Macon Art's Alliance "Taste of the Arts" committee. Not sure if I can announce the theme BUT I will say it was sort of my suggestion and so of course I love it. We have a kick ass committee and it will be an event you do NOT want to miss.

Last weekend was Weaver's Weekend- an event which pays tribute to a young man who was my age and was senselessly killed while we were in college. Of course as per usual here of late we went to dinner at downtown grill beforehand, and then also made a stop at Roasted afterwards. It was a fantastic night and I saw all kinds of people- it was kind of like a mini high school reunion. It's always a fun night when I can see people like Nichole Mitchell and Rachel Phillips (of Signature Salon and Jack and Darcy- check them out if you haven't) and Tiffany Davidson. Props to Adam Dukes and Stephen Adams for putting together a fabulous event.

I swear I feel as though I am forgetting something...

I did also briefly attend the Bravo! Wine tasting event at Off the Vine, which was my first time going in since they changed the name and premise of the business. I really enjoyed the selection they had as well as the company! If you are looking for something to do in Middle Georgia this is a great group to be a part of- you can let me know if you are interested or call Betsy Fitzgerald at 301-5465. Oh, let me explain... Bravo! is the social club for The Grand Opera House. There are all kinds of benefits to joining, aside from the awesome company ;)

This past weekend was the best though. I had two play dates set up for my kids with friends. Again, I choose to not go in to a lot of detail about my children's activities for safety purposes but I can say that anytime with my kids trumps any other event I go to. The lesson here? Going out is great and all, but the best time spent are the "less eventful" times- the ones in which the real memories are made with my babies. :)

What To Do When You Have a Corporate Visitor? Hmmmm

So, this week I have someone from corporate visiting me. What to do? Well of course we have to work during the day (um, yes, I do actually do this) so the only thing we can really do out and about during the beginning of the week is to eat. It's pretty much practically my favorite thing to do anyway. So of course the first lunch place we go to is Fountain of Juice- we went to the one in Mercer Village because it's so close to the tv station where I work. Yummy yummy yummers. I do love me some FOJ. Imagine me as the Cookie Monster with my smoothies OH AND GUESS WHAT they now have a smoothie card! Woot woot!

I do love going to Mercer Village anyway. They have Jittery Joe's, Margaritas, Ingleside Village Pizza, Francar's, Rodeo Beach- by the way I am still rather ticked off that all of this gets built after I leave Mercer. WTF. All I need now is a more complete Barnes and Noble (or an independent book store) and some women's fashion retail and I can camp out permanently. Well, maybe semi-permanently. Yall know what I mean. Anyways....

So last night we went to what is quickly becoming a regular spot of mine, downtown grill and of course it was amazing as always. Richard was even nice enough to experiment and make this off the wall drink we had read about. Perhaps it's one of the reasons he was was name Best Bartender in the Telegraph's "Best of the Best"? I'm thinking so.

While there we ran in to all kinds of people, Catherine and Brian Aplin, James and Jodi Palmer- Jodi made sure to ask me if we were also taking Kara to Tic Toc Room, which is where I believe we may go tonight.

Today we made sure to hit up The Rookery for lunch- Leilani and Wayne were SO welcoming and of course the food was amazing as always. And I got to introduce my co worker to Karla and Zelma Redding (she's a big Otis fan). I just love showing off my town :) Any suggestions of where else to go?

Catching Up: Bragg Jam, The Georgia Children's Museum, Downtown Grill and More

WOW- so much to catch yall up on! So last weekend I had my babies- yay! I heard about the Bragg Jam kid's event so of course I took my lil ones down there. I'm not sure they enjoyed the band so much but they did enjoy seeing the pets that were brought down. (No- we did not take any home.) We ended up making our way up the street to the Georgia Children's Museum, where we have a membership. My lil ones always have a blast there and this time was no different. The next day we went to the pool, and just kind of hung out and had some quiet time. Time with my babies is probably something I will not talk about often on this blog, not because I do not have fun with them because I do- but for their safety I will only reference events I go to with them vaguely and only well after the event.

We also checked out Centenary Church- it is very different from any church I have gone to and they take pride in that. I plan on going again, because I have always enjoyed checking out other forms of worship. And I was impressed by their varied song selection and laid back atmosphere.

This past week was rather full also! Every now and then I do need to go and check out the boutiques around town in person- I am sure yall are aware of my fashion blog www.makeitworkmolly.com - so it is necessary that I do research occasionally. There are great sales everywhere but this time I went in Rumor Boutique, fab'rik, Ginger Michelle, and Envie Boutique. You see, I have been on a specific mission lately: Operation Find the Perfect LWD for Tori's White Party. My friend Tori has a white party for her birthday party every year, and of course I've been trying to find just the right white dress. I have plenty already but I really wanted to find another one with the right look (for specifics see the blog I will write later for Make It Work Molly). I believe I have found the winner but I still may need yalls help to vote.

This weekend included lots of First Friday activities. Straight after work I headed to meet the group at downtown grill- we were not there long before we got our marching orders from one person in the group to move along. (I am not saying these were bad marching orders- in fact they were very good as it resulted in a lot of fun.) Next we headed to the First Friday exhibit at The Gallery at Macon Arts Alliance: "Size Matters". This is a collection of large works featuring Thomas Sanders, Joe Adams, Eric O'Dell, Laura Dewberry Surace and Jeffrey Surace. I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit and frankly if you haven't gone- you need to go asap. There is something for everyone- whether you prefer abstracts (Joe Adams and Thomas Sanders) or realism (Eric O'Dell).

Next door we went to the viewing party for Oh Brides Magazine. This group of ladies are always super fun to me- Shondra, Jeralyn, and Amy I always love to see yall! For any of my friends with wedding needs THESE ladies are sure to help you out!

From here the next stop was The Rookery- where we ran in to Roger Riddle and everyone from Roasted. I gotta say, first about The Rookery I can remember when this place was super sketchy and it was scary to go to the bathroom there much less even THINK about touching the food. Now- oh my gosh they have the best burgers and chicken salad. YUM. Oh and the bathrooms are not scary anymore either lol.

From here we ended the night back where we started- at downtown grill. As always the food was amazing. It always is. I can seriously go from getting a filet to sea scallops and it's freaking perfect. The wine selection is amazing and so is the service. I could really go on and on but I love going someplace where everyone knows you and you are treated like a good friend. Of course, I have worked in many restaurants so I am lucky that this generally happens at most places but I can honestly say I have witness this at downtown grill for everyone. (It's a habit- to watch at restaurants.)

As for yesterday? Not a whole lot happening actually, just an easy day of antiquing at Payne City Antique Mall, a trip to Fresh Market, and more antiquing along Ingleside. Later on a visit with friends David and Stephen and a movie (which did make me cry- Simon Birch- if you have't seen it you need to). And for today... not too much going on. Obviously catching up on my blogging (watch out on Make It Work Molly for an interview with Susannah Maddux of Goods PR), doing a lil work for my real job, and trying to relax. Oh, we did make it to church at St. Paul's Episcopal on College Street as well as lunch at Dolce Vita- by the way... it was amazing (got the Classic- egg, cheese, and bacon in flatbread as well as a cheese biscuit).

So, maybe now I can start to relax? Eh... probably not ;) Yall know me better than that! Til next time...