Stay Fabulous Blog

Stay Fabulous – Eat your veggies!

2012-02-24T12:15:00.001-05:00

We want to help you get in your nine servings of fruits and vegetables during the cold winter months. You might have noticed in your Stay Fabulous planner we invited you to try the champagne vinaigrette recipe from our August 2011 post. Here’s another great winter veggie recipe from one of our Fabulous reporters, Lisa Brantly! Root vegetables are currently in season, so this is a great opportunity to buy locally at one of our city’s farmers markets.

Roasted Root Vegetables
(Serves 8 - 10)

Ingredients:
8 - 12 carrots, peeled and trimmed
8 - 12 baby turnips, peeled or one large
6 - 8 fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and cut lengthwise in halves
1 or 2 large parsnips, peeled, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch-thick slices
1 or 2 medium onions, trimmed, peeled and halved, each half cut into quarters
1 or 2 large beets, peeled and cut into thick wedges
1 or 2 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and cut into thick wedges
1 celery root, trimmed and halved, halves cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices
1 whole head garlic, separated into cloves, unpeeled
2 or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, sage or thyme.
(Cut all of your vegetables approximately the same size in order for them to reach tenderness at the same time.)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Put all the vegetables and the herb sprigs in a large baking dish. Season well with salt and black pepper, drizzle generously with olive oil and toss them with your hands to coat them evenly
Put the baking dish in the preheated oven and cook, stirring the vegetables occasionally, until they are tender and golden brown, about 45 minutes.
You can serve the vegetables from the baking dish or transfer them to a platter to accompany a roasted main course.

If you set your oven to 400, the vegetables will cook faster, but you'll have to keep a close watch to make sure nothing burns. If you choose the higher temperature, just take out the vegetables that look cooked and let the others remain until they're done.

Learn Through the Stories of Others

2012-02-17T11:34:00.000-05:00

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – BB King

Many years ago, someone challenged me to set life goals – things that would prove worthy of pursuing for a lifetime. As I spent time drilling down on the challenge, one goal seemed to encompass all the others: I want to be a lifelong learner. BB King and I have something in common, although he has more talent!

When I think about how we learn, I find that most of my life lessons have come through (1) sharing life with other people who are also pursuing a path of knowledge; (2) reading. This year I’m into biographies. I just finished one called Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Sea Biscuit. What a story! Louie Zamperini was a bombardier in World War II and experienced some of the most amazing struggles I can imagine, but I won’t ruin the book for you by going into them here. Suffice it to say, it’s gripping and unforgettable. Recently my husband and I attended a benefit and memorial for Holocaust victims. The museum where part of the event was held had a cattle car similar to the ones the Nazis used to transport Jews to the camps. Our group got into the cattle car, and the docent asked us to imagine what it would have been like to have hundreds of people in there with us, with no bathroom facilities and no air. There was not a dry eye in our group, and we could not wait to step out of that car. Just the tiniest glimpse of the types of things Louie and other prisoners of war experienced. And yet, amazingly, the one thing that “broke” Louie for a period of time was an inability to forgive his captors. And that’s the real story – a story of forgiveness. What is more valuable in life than forgiveness? Forgiveness encompasses acceptance, love, and having a burden removed from our souls. So read Unbroken, if you have the chance, or other books that tell the story of people who have overcome, who have given until it hurt, who have made the world a better place because they lived. My hope is that through learning – and practicing what we learn – we can make the world a better place, too.

You can buy the hardcover book from Amazon, or purchase the book for your Kindle!

Stay Fabulous On Valentine’s Day – Start a Tradition!

2012-02-10T11:37:00.004-05:00

When I was a kid, Valentine’s Day was all about the shoe box decorating project and the anticipation of the Valentines that the other kids were going to give me. One year my box was pink satin with fur. I was in heaven. Then as a teenager, it was all about who I was dating and whether they were going to give me a Whitman’s Sampler! In my 20’s Valentine’s season was spent wondering if my new husband was even going to remember, and if he did, could he figure out what to give me. J

Then along came our daughter, Ciara. When she was about four years old, we decided to make a family tradition out of Valentine’s Day. We bought a Valentine’s tablecloth, which we placed on the den floor in front of our fireplace. We called this our Valentine’s picnic blanket. Then, we made heart-shaped homemade cupcakes (which took forever because Ciara wanted to spend the whole time eating the cupcake batter and then the chocolate icing J) When they were finally ready, we sat down on our picnic blanket, ate our cupcakes, and then came the very best part: Ciara got her first “V” Baby. A “V” Baby can only be born on Valentine’s Day and must be given a “V” name. You may have guessed it – this is a stuffed animal, of course. Over the years, we’ve had Vanessa, Valerie, Vince, Veronica, and her first year of college, Vandy! Yes, you read correctly, her first year of college. Now Ciara is in graduate school and we are still doing these Valentine’s picnics. She finds a way to be here in Atlanta every year – she hasn’t missed one yet! Various boyfriends have come and gone for her – she tells them if they want to see her on Valentine’s, they can come to the family party! Amazingly, we snapped a photo of our very first “Valentine’s Picnic” (below). Check out that nineties hair!

If you’d like to start a Valentine’s tradition like this with your small kids, here’s all you need:

Valentine’s Tablecloth (picnic blanket)
“V” Baby – you’d be surprised how many “V” names there are – over the years you may have to get creative if your kid loves this as much as ours did!
Homemade Valentine’s Cards – most years we all manage to make homemade cards for each other. If you run short, buy a cute one and “customize”!
Heart-Shaped Cupcake pans (Williams Sonoma usually has them)
Box of yellow cake mix
Chocolate Icing – We make Southern Living’s Perfect Chocolate Frosting

We’d love to hear about your Valentine’s traditions – please comment if you have a story or tradition to share!

Valentine’s Day Prep Course

2012-02-03T10:30:00.005-05:00

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, members of our team read the bestseller, The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman. If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything you can to show love for your husband/wife and yet it seems he/she is not seeing your efforts as good or loving, Gary Chapman’s bestseller The Five Love Languages will help to clear up the mystery! There’s also the Five Love Languages of Teens, which really helped me during our daughter’s teen years and even today as we are now parenting an adult – wow! Since my “love language” is Acts of Service, I tend to run around doing stuff for you. Our daughter’s love language is Quality Time. Quality Time is defined as specific, focused time spent talking, “hanging out” or doing an activity together. See the problem? If she was talking to me, I really was listening (I am the Queen of Multi-Tasking) but I was also making dinner, packing her lunch, throwing dirty, stinky sports uniforms in the wash, etc. She was “reading” all this buzzing around as not really loving her, not really wanting to spend time with her. Once I read Dr. Chapman’s book, I learned to carve out specific time most days to do NOTHING but whatever she wanted – take a walk together, sit on the sofa and drink hot tea and eat cookies, go to Starbucks and talk over lattes. Once I understood her, I was able to adjust the “actions” of love to fit her perceptions. And she didn’t really care so much about the “perfect” lunch or the folded laundry or eating dinner exactly on time! I highly recommend the original, which is for couples, and also the teen version. Both were game-changers for me!

Here are some other thoughts from our team members who read the book:

“This will be a book I read over and over again. It's kind of like a marriage/relationship check-up. Even if marriage/relationship seems fine, it's a great way to remind yourself how to keep your "emotional tank filled up"!! Once you figure out what love language you and your partner speak -- and it's usually not the same one -- then Dr. Chapman gives some specific ideas on how to best give and receive what you need for that long lasting love. Valentine's Day is a great time to read this to learn and/or remind you what makes a relationship continue to work. Great read!!”

“I think that the biggest benefit from reading this book is just thinking more about how you interact with your loved one, and also being conscious that your actions affect every aspect of your relationship. From doing the laundry, to sitting together at dinner, to giving each other a kiss goodbye, these actions all add up to the very real thing that is your relationship. It teaches you not to cruise through life assuming that what you’re doing is sufficient to keep your partner happy and feeling valued. It teaches you many ways to communicate with your partner – using their specific ‘Love Language’ and encourages you to build a stronger relationship. In a world where so many women’s magazines are teaching you 10 WAYS TO TRAP A MAN, it’s nice to have someone like Dr. Chapman encouraging you to build a real, true bond with the person you love!”

If you read the book, please let us know what you think! We look forward to your comments!

Time to Pump Up Your Vitamin C!

2012-01-27T17:22:00.003-05:00

Did you know it’s citrus season? This is a great time of year to buy grapefruits, oranges, clementines, and other citrus fruits! There are an endless number of benefits from eating these fruits – like vitamin C!

· Vitamin C can help protect your skin against sun damage and skin cancer, and can actually reverse some discoloration and wrinkles caused by sun exposure – how fabulous!

· Vitamin C protects against immune system deficiencies by increasing your white blood cell count – which helps keep you from catching colds during these frosty winter months.

· Did you know that the word "ascorbic," as in ascorbic acid (the name for vitamin C), means "no scurvy"? Eskimos hardly ever contracted scurvy – not because they ate lots of citrus fruits, but because they ate the majority of their meat raw! Other unusual foods that contain vitamin C? Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, snow peas and green peppers!

· Vitamin C has even been found to guard against cancer, strokes, even cardiovascular disease, as well as reducing the occurrence of asthma and hay fever.

· Because vitamin C is water-soluble, it needs to be replenished often. Water-soluble vitamins travel quickly through your bloodstream. And whatever your body doesn't utilize quickly is discarded. Since vitamin C doesn't hang around long in our bodies therefore, it needs to be replaced often – so be sure to eat your citrus!

As a Man Thinketh in His Heart

2012-01-20T10:33:00.000-05:00

“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” ~ Proverbs 23:7

Amazingly, sometimes I’m unaware of what I’m really thinking, what I’m really saying to myself, what voices I’m really listening to. So how do I develop a real awareness of my own thoughts? How do I master and control my thoughts, so that I act out of my principles and the things I want to believe in, rather than the regrets and heat of the moment?

A lot of it is semantics. but the traditional definition of “heart” is really the subconscious mind. This is the control room. It’s the thing running in the background of life. As a man thinks in his heart (how my subconscious has been programmed), so is he (because my subconscious mind is ME, and that is what dictates how I act, what I say...what results I get.)

My subconscious mind ‘pushes’ me according to how it is programmed. It will be programmed by whatever prevalent thoughts it receives. I can control those or not. My sub mind will still operate on what it is fed. REGARDLESS of what my logical mind says.

When I do things that I regret, it is usually because my sub mind is programming my actions and I may have let ‘weeds’ program it. When I focus my thoughts on constructive truths, I am programming light and truth into the control room of my heart…my subconscious mind.

The world wants to program my sub mind for me. I want to take charge and program myself instead of letting the weeds just grow willy-nilly. This is not about wishing good things to happen. I have to help them happen. Making things happen takes effort, and so often I do not program my mind with intentionality. And so, weeds grow. I want to learn to be careful how I hear and what I allow into my mind because untruth will program me just as much as real truth will.

Because our minds work this way, and because of the power of the seeds we are planting in our subconscious mind, we can begin to see the power of our associations. Am I letting the television with its negative messages into my mind? Are the books I’m reading positive and edifying to me? Am I massaging a negative thought over and over, replaying bad scenarios in my mind?

So the goal is to take control of what I’m putting into my sub mind and to order it to follow light and truth…not the junk from the world it has been receiving. Because of the world we live in, seeds of wrong thought will grow in the sub mind more quickly and easily than seeds of truth. This is why I want to guard my mind and feed my mind intentionally with the thoughts that bring joy, peace, and prosperity.

“You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal, play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth, play with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn’t reserve a plot for weeds.” – Dag Hammarskjold

The 30-day Proactivity Challenge

2012-01-16T09:08:00.000-05:00

Steven Covey, in his groundbreaking bestseller Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, gives this challenge: For 30 days work only on things you can influence (your Circle of Influence). Make small commitments and keep them. Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Try it in your marriage, in your family, in your job. Don’t make excuses for yourself or others. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from it. Don’t blame or accuse. Work on things you have control over. Work on you.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.”– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Look at the weaknesses of others with compassion, not accusation. The issue is your own chosen response to the situation and what you should be doing. If you start to think the problem is “out there” stop yourself. That thought is the problem.

People who exercise their freedom day after day will, little by little, expand that freedom. People who do not exercise their freedom will find that it withers until they are literally “being lived.” They are acting out the scripts written for them by parents, associates and society.

We are responsible (response-able) for our own effectiveness, our own happiness and ultimately for many of our circumstances.

Samuel Jackson observed: “The fountain of contentment must spring up in the mind, and he who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove.”

So take the Proactivity Challenge – let us know what happens! Expect great things!

Stay Fabulous – Stay Inspired

2012-01-09T10:07:00.000-05:00

I find that there is a huge gulf between information and inspiration. I also get frustrated with the deluge of information that is pushed at us daily. When you think about it, most of the time we make our poor choices with all the information in hand to make good choices. So what happens to us? We have enough information but not enough inspiration! I asked our reporters and staff to share what they do to stay inspired. Take a look:

“I absolutely love Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren. What a difference that book has made in so many lives. And remember the connection to Atlanta? When Ashley Smith was taken hostage by Brian Nichols after his killing rampage in the Fulton County Courthouse, she revealed to him that she had been struggling with a methamphetamine addiction and the last time she used meth was 36 hours before Nichols held a gun to her and entered her home. Nichols wanted her to use the drug with him, but she refused. Instead, she chose to read to him from the Bible and Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven Life. She eventually convinced Nichols to turn himself in peacefully.”

http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/en-US/Home/home.htm

“I start each day with a cup of coffee and my Bible. If you are interested in reading the Bible, may I suggest The Message? It’s written in modern-day language that’s very easy to understand. Start with the book of John. Once you finish John, if you are interested in more, the book of Proverbs is great for gaining wisdom and learning to make good decisions.”

http://www.christianbook.com/the-message-gospel-of-john/9781600060748/pd/060749/1271485731?event=1003MSG|14764|65298

“My husband and I receive things from www.simpletruths.com from time to time. I have taken some of the quotes and placed them in my 2012 calendar. I hope everyone can find at least one quote in here that will inspire them! Here’s an example: You've probably heard the 3 keys to making money in real estate...location, location, location. I'll now share the 3 keys to managing your attitude...reinforce, reinforce, reinforce. What are some of the secrets to staying positive? click here to watch this inspiring 3-minute movie from Zig Ziglar.”

“I wanted to include what I'm reading right now by Melody Beattie: Finding Your Way Home - A Soul Survival Kit. I highly recommend anything by Ms. Beattie.

‘Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow’.”

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4482.Melody_Beattie

“As readers of our blog know, we are trying to live healthier and eat more fresh fruits and veggies. One of my favorite books that inspires me is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. She tells the story of her family, who decided for one year they would only eat local food – whether it meant buying locally or raising it themselves. This book particularly appeals to me because growing up my family did many of these things – from planting and harvesting our own garden, to raising bees and gathering honey, to my grandfather and cousins raising livestock and hunting animals – which we helped butcher and process (really!). Once I went to college and began living on my own I got away from this tradition and am only recently getting back into gardening. It’s an inspiring book to read when you’re trying to keep to a diet of local, organic, or just plain REAL food! Not to mention it is absolutely fascinating.”
http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Vegetable-Miracle-Year-Food/dp/0060852569

Stay Fabulous Challenge: Minimize information overload and spend 10 minutes a day reading/meditating on something that inspires you! Get ready to make better choices and feel refreshed!

Get Your Nine

2012-01-03T11:44:00.000-05:00

Did you know that the FDA now recommends 9 servings of fruits/vegetables a day, up from 5 servings, which was their previous recommendation? What, you say? 9 Servings? How in the world can we get that many with our hectic, on-the-road lives?

Here’s some strategies from the Tiffany Alley Nine Team:

Eat Fresh: Check out your Life Tracker pages at the beginning of each month in your Tiffany Alley Stay Fabulous Calendar. There you will find locally grown, in-season produce suggestions. Plan some meals around what’s fresh and in season.

Start with the Veggies: In the U.S. we tend to think first about what meat we are going to prepare for each meal, and then add our vegetables around that. What if we turned that around? Instead of thinking about your meat first, think first about what whole, fresh, living vegetables/fruits you are planning to have at each meal, and then add a little protein (optimal is 4 ounces of protein for women, which is about the size of the top of your closed fist, and 6 ounces for men.)

Snack and Feel Good About It: While you’re preparing dinner at night, start by fixing a tray of cut-up vegetables with a little hummus or other dip. Snack while you work on the rest of the meal and feel good about it! Veggie tray suggestions: carrots, celery, strips of red/green/yellow pepper, broccoli, cucumbers, grape tomatoes.

Lunch in the Raw: Pack your lunch for the next day immediately after dinner and always include something raw: an apple, an orange, some leftover cut-up veggies, or even make a full salad.

Revamp desserts: Cut up apples or pears and heat some chocolate or caramel sauce in the microwave. Let everyone grab some fruit slices and lightly dip in the sauce.

Launch the Day with Bright Colors: Have you noticed how “beige” breakfast can be? What a way to start the day! Let’s change that up! Add fresh strawberries, blueberries or blackberries to your yogurt, cereal or oatmeal. Add peppers, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms to your eggs for a glorious omelet. Eat a half pink grapefruit with your toast. Make a fruit salad with oranges, berries, bananas – whatever is in season – and garnish with sliced almonds and some fruit dip.

Join the Tiffany Alley Nine Team: The TA Nine Team is a volunteer group of Tiffany Alley employees who share a common goal to “get our nine”. Email Stephanie@tiffanyalley.com to receive our monthly tips.

Getting a Fresh Clean Start!

2011-12-27T15:45:00.000-05:00

A new year is here and what’s a better way to celebrate than a fresh clean start? Below are a few tips to help you get and stay organized. Hopefully these will help you simplify and streamline your life!

Throw Out 10 Things

Make a commitment to yourself to throw out (or donate) 10 things each week. You can count anything you want – donating an old coat to Goodwill, trashing those old Chinese food menus, or recycling the mountain of newspapers you’ve got in your bin. Once you get the ball rolling, you’ll find it easier to keep up your momentum.

Stop Receiving Junk Mail

Did you know that paper takes up over one quarter of all landfill waste? Sometimes I feel like most of that is on my kitchen counter. However, you can stop the madness by going to https://www.dmachoice.org/. For $1, your name and address will be removed from prospective mailing lists, ending 75% of junk mail within about 90 days.

Get Rid of Unused Media

There are great places to donate books, magazines, DVDs, and CDs here in Atlanta – Goodwill, City of Refuge, Salvation Army, you can even bring in a stack of new magazines next time you find yourself going to the dentist! You can also support our troops by registering at http://booksforsoldiers.com/. Any deployed soldier, airman, sailor, Marine, or Coast Guardsman who has an APO or FPO address can go to the site to request books, magazines, DVDs, and even comic books! You can look for someone who has requested an item you want to get rid of, and send it to them using Media Mail rate which is fast and cheap!

You Can’t Keep It All!

Birthday cards, Christmas cards, Thank You notes, oh gosh! It’s sometimes so hard to throw away something a loved one took the time to send to you. I keep my favorite Christmas cards each year and store them in a box with our Christmas decorations. As I’m putting up the tree I take them out to admire them, and then when we’re ready to store everything away again, I add a few new ones and throw away some old ones. Another good idea is to make an album of favorites like you would for photos. You can also digitize them using your scanner and discard the hard copies.

Just Do It... and then Reward Yourself!

Now that you’ve spent all of this time organizing and boxing up items to send out or donate, do it! Throw a bag for the Salvation Army in the trunk and your box for Books for Soldiers in the seat and head out. Once you’ve dropped off your bag at the Salvation Army and shipped your box of books and DVDs, reward yourself! Grab a cup of coffee or tea and head back to relax in your clutter-free home. Ahh….

Get involved - Christmas in the City

2011-12-19T16:58:00.000-05:00

On the Sunday night before Christmas 33 people from Tiffany Alley drove down to City of Refuge, a shelter and retraining facility for under-privileged ladies and their children in Atlanta, just west of the Aquarium. We were participating in Christmas In the City, a wonderful program that allowed half of us to play with the children (11 and under), while the other half assisted the moms in picking two nice new gifts for each child, and then wrapping the presents to take home and put under the tree. Below is a little taste of what we got to experience.

Matt Alley -

I knew they’d be a handful, but I expected I would be able to connect with them, if only briefly. Because of nephews and friends’ kids I speak “little boy” pretty well, so a table full of pre-school boys didn’t seem too challenging.

The first two five-year-old’s sat down at my table and we began working on the ornaments they were building for mom. For a few minutes things went pretty well – Savion and Kentevious asked questions and told me things about their ornaments or their lives. “I know my Daddy’s name: it’s Randy Banks.” In a neighborhood where dads are almost universally absent this bit of knowledge was one boy’s introduction, announced proudly almost as soon as he sat down.

But soon the table filled and I had six five-year-olds, each needing almost full-time attention. One was telling me his paper cross wouldn’t stick to the ornament at the same time another boy was pulling on my sleeve shouting he had to go to the bathroom and a another was tipping over his third (yes, third) cup of lemonade onto the table, his chair, his lap. Before long I realized the ornaments weren’t getting made and the dinner wasn’t getting eaten – merely pushed around the plate and complained about. And mostly, I realized I wasn’t “making a difference.” These kids weren’t bonding with me, learning from me, laughing at me, or anything else I had hoped for.

Finally, we moved to the auditorium for the Christmas program. I sat the six boys down on the front row and sat on the floor in front of them, trying my best just to keep them in their seats and facing the stage. It wasn’t working. Before long Raymond hauled off and punched Jalind in the arm, then turned to me and yelled over the music, “He shot me the bird and called me the F-word.” He then cocked his fist, ready to let another one fly.

I reached up to him – I was still seated cross-legged on the concrete floor – and gently lifted him down onto my lap. I knew from working in the church nursery that this was going to produce wild squirming and an absolutely unquenchable determination to get out of my arms and back into the thick of things; it’s universal with young boys. But what came next absolutely floored me. Raymond turned into my body and threw his arms around my neck and shoulders. He buried his head in my chest and melted against me. He wasn’t wrestling, he wasn’t squirming, he wasn’t “taking me down,” like little boys generally want to do. He was hugging. He sat perfectly still like that for the next five minutes till the program ended, then hopped up and ran out with the rest of the boys.

I realized that “connecting” with Raymond didn’t involve reading a story to him, or helping him build a decent-looking craft, and certainly not making him sit in a chair and watch a program. It was all about sitting on the floor and hugging him tight, with no other agenda in sight.

Stay Fabulous this Christmas!

2011-12-12T16:55:00.000-05:00

As we all know, the hustle and bustle of the holidays, on top of our already busy lives filled with jobs, families, friends and social obligations, often leaves us with little time to worry about ourselves. Here are a few tips for Staying Fabulous this Christmas!

Take time out to plan ahead

Set aside specific days for shopping, baking, visiting friends and other activities. Plan your menus and then make your shopping list. That will help prevent last-minute scrambling to buy forgotten ingredients. It will also allow you to plan more nutritious meal options and find time for exercise.

Stick to your healthy eating habits

Don't let the holidays become a free-for-all. Overindulgence only adds to your stress and guilt. Have a healthy snack before holiday parties so that you don't go overboard on sweets, cheese or drinks. Healthy foods, especially those loaded with antioxidants, remove toxins from your body, which not only makes you feel better, but leaves you with glowing healthy skin.

Schedule sleep

The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Challenger space shuttle disaster, and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have all been attributed to human errors in which sleep-deprivation played a role. Hopefully you won’t have to worry about anything nearly this dramatic! However, it does demonstrate that no matter the task, you simply will not experience it fully without proper rest.

Stay active

Regular physical activity improves your muscle strength, boosts your endurance, helps you fall asleep faster and even sleep deeper. Exercise and physical activity deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and help your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. If you’re looking for fun activities you can do with your family to keep everyone active this holiday season, check out the previous post. You won’t feel too guilty about eating that Christmas cookie if you’re planning to go ice skating later!

Drink lots of water

Did you know that a mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page?! One easy way to be sure you’re drinking enough water is to carry your Tiffany Alley tumbler or water bottle with you and refill it often. Staying hydrated not only helps you focus on the task at hand, it makes you look better, too!

Though this is the season of giving, be sure to take care of yourself this holiday season! Keeping these tips in mind will keep you on the right track to Staying Fabulous!

Get active - Winter Fun in Atlanta!

2011-12-05T14:11:00.000-05:00

The Rink at Park Tavern

November 22 – February 14

http://www.parktavern.com/

Atlanta offers many fun ways to stay active during the winter months. This year Piedmont Park is getting involved by opening an ice skating rink! The 3,200-foot ice rink is located in the restaurant’s Garden Tent – which is heated and features gorgeous views of downtown Atlanta. Located at 500 10th St. N.E. in Midtown, the rink is open seven days a week with special 21-and-up sessions each night at 9. Another neat feature - the ice is created using harvested rainwater!

Park Tavern rink offers brand-new Bauer skates for rent to ages 4 and up. Skating sessions at the rink last 3 1/2 hours and cost $10, plus $5 for skate rental. Skaters are strongly encouraged to buy tickets in advance online; though Park Tavern will have a computer set up for impromptu skaters. You can even purchase private rink time for marriage proposals!

Garden Lights, Holiday Nights at Atlanta Botanical Garden

November 19 – January 7

http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org/

Atlanta Botanical Garden’s eccentric new holiday lights display features nearly 1 million LED lights incorporated throughout the garden. The event has been in the works for nearly a decade, waiting on a $55 million, two-phase expansion to be completed last year and for developing technology that would make the large-scale light display possible on low energy consumption. The garden’s 85 miles of LED light strings demand only 300 amps, close to the amount required to power two Atlanta homes a day on average!

The walking tour features a funky remake of Storza Woods viewed from the treetop height of the Kendeda Canopy Walk, crepe myrtle trees are wrapped in blues and greens, and the Great Lawn displays 150 fiberglass orbs in three sizes and 9-foot-tall spheres which change hues to the beat of classic holiday songs.

Food and beverages are available for purchase – including ‘Make Your Own S’mores’ kits that can be toasted over fire pits. Tickets are $18.95 for adults and $12.95 for kids over 3, and can be purchased online. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended.

Snow Mountain at Stone Mountain

November 1 – February 29

http://www.snowmountainpark.com/

Stone Mountain is again offering a chance to bundle up and enjoy a day in the snow right here in the sunny South! The park uses a closed loop system that borrows water from Stone Mountain Lake to create real snow despite the temperature. The event features a 400 foot tubing hill, and includes a snow play area for snow angels and snowball fights. Combo tickets can be purchased, which also admit you to the Stone Mountain Christmas event, which features a light show, several performances, and a visit with Santa!

Reservations are required, and tickets can be purchased online.

Cold Weather Veggies

2011-11-28T12:53:00.000-05:00

It might seem like during the cold winter months it’s an extra struggle to get in your 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. However, this is a great opportunity to try something new! There are lots of vegetables that are actually in season here in Georgia when it’s cold. Below are some recipes that you can use to get the most out of your winter veggies!

Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons butter
1/4 onion, diced (Currently in season!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, washed, trimmed, and cut in half (Currently in season!)
2 cups chicken stock

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, but not crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the skillet. Reserve the bacon. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease and stir in the olive oil, butter, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the onion softens and the garlic lightly browns, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in the balsamic vinegar and bring to a simmer; cook until the liquid has reduced by 1/3. Add the reserved bacon, the halved Brussels sprouts, and the chicken stock. Stir, then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the Brussels sprouts are tender, yet still slightly firm, about 10 minutes.

(Tip: If you’ve never worked with Brussels sprouts before, preparing them is easy. This is a great simple how-to video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI6vfcB_wYc.)

Spinach Quiche

(This recipe was originally contributed to our Breakfast Lunch & Dinner at Tiffany’s cookbook by our reporter Kris Bokelmann. You can find it on page 101 in your cookbook.)

1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

(Since spinach is currently in season in Georgia, you may choose to substitute 1 pound of fresh spinach. Cut off and discard the woody stems, and be sure to wash thoroughly. Steam until completely wilted, but still bright green – about 5 minutes. Allow to cool before adding to recipe.)

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese

3 eggs

2 T. flour

¼ t. salt

White pepper to taste

Pinch of nutmeg

½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

2 scallions, chopped

1 cup fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced (Currently in season!)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients. Lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Bake 45 minutes.

Do you have any particular favorite winter vegetable dishes? Share in the comments!

Get involved – Thanksgiving in Atlanta

2011-11-21T18:06:00.000-05:00

In observance of Thanksgiving, the offices of Tiffany Alley Reporting & Video will be closed on Thursday, November 24^th and Friday, November 25^th.

Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday; a time to reflect on all that we are grateful for - our family members (even the crazy ones J), our health, friendship, an easy commute, sunny days and fall leaves.

But what about the baser, more essential needs, such as food, water, or shelter? Over 13,000 individuals in Atlanta are homeless, and even more live below the poverty line. Fortunately, Atlanta offers many ways you can volunteer to assist those in need! There are several programs being held in Atlanta this Thanksgiving, and they all offer great opportunities to serve others.

Senior Citizens Service of Metro AtlantaTheir Meals on Wheels program needs volunteers to deliver meals to seniors on Thanksgiving and throughout the year – learn more at www.scsatl.org.

Atlanta Community Food Bank
ACFB will be serving dinner at three different times on Thanksgiving Day. You can reach them at 404-892-3333 to inquire about volunteer opportunities. Or, if you prefer, you can donate next time you’re shopping at Kroger by choosing the $1, $3, or $5 option from their Can Hunger program when you check out!

The Salvation Army
Their annual Feast for the Homeless is a massive undertaking, and offers many volunteer opportunities. Last year’s dinner consisted of 92 turkeys, 250 pounds each of mashed potatoes and yams, 100 pounds of collard greens, 100 pounds of dressing, 36 cans of cranberry sauce, 20 cakes and 120 pies! Call volunteer coordinator Sarah Clem at 404.486.2961 to volunteer.

Hosea Feed the Hungry & Homeless
This year’s event is being held at the Georgia World Congress Center, thanks to a donation from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the Atlanta Falcons. In addition to a free traditional Thanksgiving dinner, the event will also provide a phone center, a clothing center, a beauty and barber area, showers and entertainment. For more information on volunteer opportunities, call 404-755-3353. The event needs folks to volunteer on Thanksgiving Day, but also needs supplies and monetary donations.

Whether you’re volunteering at a soup kitchen, cooking dinner for your family, or just spending time with friends, we here at Tiffany Alley wish you all the best blessings this Thanksgiving. We’re truly thankful for you – our fabulous clients and co-workers!

Library of Congress Veterans History Project

2011-11-14T16:24:00.001-05:00

This past weekend the nation celebrated Veterans Day – a time to honor the men and women who fight for our country. Did you know the National Court Reporters Association is part of the The Library of Congress Veterans History Project? Since 2003, National Court Reporters Association members, who volunteer their services, have worked with National Court Reporters Foundation and the Library of Congress to record and transcribe the stories of U.S. war veterans, building a lasting legacy of their wartime experiences. Extending back to World War I, these recorded personal histories provide an in-depth and intimate look at the struggle and sacrifice that our veterans have given on behalf of America, and their stories chronicle the efforts they took to defend and preserve the freedoms we enjoy every day. In addition to audio- and video-recorded interviews, the project accepts memoirs, collections of original photographs and letters, diaries, maps, and other historical documents from World War I through current conflicts.

You can learn more about the project, find instructions for participating, and read a selection of the histories here: http://www.loc.gov/vets//

A Memorial To Carla Hardwick, Beloved Legal Secretary, Wife, Friend, Sister

2011-11-07T10:12:00.000-05:00

Many good things struck me about Carla – but three really stand out. Carla was delighted with life – big things, small things. It was fun to be around her because you picked up on her delight and rode the wave with her! She loved our annual cheesecake deliveries and was always the one to get a party started around things. I always felt welcome – more than welcome; I felt loved – whenever I visited Carla at PoGo or Adorno. Another thing that struck me about Carla – she was proactively nice. A lot of folks will be pleasant enough to “vendors”, but I never felt that way with Carla. She treated me as a friend and – no matter where she was – she was always trying to get business for me. I even joked with her that I needed to put her on my sales payroll. From the stories told at her memorial service, I see that I was not the only one. She was that way with everybody. Once you were under the “Carla wing” she went out of her way to advocate for you. Another thing about Carla – she was loyal. Whatever changes were happening around her, Carla was always steadfastly loyal. She took her friendships and work relationships very seriously. She kept in touch and was the glue that held so many people together. Thank you, Carla, for being a delightful, proactively nice, loyal friend. I will miss you.

-Tiffany Alley

I couldn’t begin to tell everyone of all the wonderful things Carla did for my family over the sixteen years she and I worked together. Members of my family particularly Judy, relied on Carla not me, for my whereabouts and schedule on a daily basis. Carla was the event planner even for all our workplace and family gatherings (which were many.) Everyone that had any contact with Carla always came away with a smile or laugh from Carla’s great wit and enormous sense of humor, even in difficult times. For instance when she learned of her condition she called Judy and opened up with, “I’m calling you because Jack will not discuss anything below the neck.” She constantly kept us all in stitches.

Carla’s imagination for creating fun in the workplace exhibited itself so many times. Like “Jack’s Angels”! Carla, Diane LaRoss and Stefanie Walke (Morrison) plotted to arrive at work with play toy guns and had someone take pictures of them posed as Charlie’s Angels did on the TV program with guns pointed in the air ready for action. I fell over when they presented them to me! I still have them.

Carla would organize our annual Mardi Gras party at my house in Stone Mountain for the Summer Associates (and everyone else in the firm.) This gave me a great insight into her and her husband Pat’s ability to pitch in when needed. The party was roaring when my son Greg said we were running out of ice or rum or something. Pat pops up and offers to go to his place of work and replenish. I was impressed until Carla whispers to me “Watch out if Greg goes with him.” Greg did and by the end of the night we learned the hard way that they got the needed supplies, but also got into the apple schnapps at his store, and really enjoyed the rest of the party. Carla said triumphantly, “I told you so.” What a wonderful pair Carla and Pat were. Thanks for all you’ve done for Carla, Pat.

You never appreciate someone fully until you don’t have them anymore. It will take me my lifetime to appreciate Carla and everything she was and did for us all.

-Jack Horne, Weissman Nowack Curry & Wilco

Carla was wonderful. She would bend over backwards to help you no matter what. Once you were friends you were always friends, no matter where you went or the distance between you. She was thoughtful, kind and generous without fail. She loved her family, her Pat and her cats. Carla touched everyone around her and I am better for knowing her.

-Genelle Viars, Bryan Cave

Carla was a woman who was level-headed and had good common sense. It took a lot to unsettle her. She also maintained a good sense of humor through all the years that I knew her. I did not know her well - was not a CLOSE friend, but we shared some laughs and complaints together on our rides home on MARTA (itself an excellent source of complaints). One of Carla's most memorable aspects was how well her jewelry always matched. I'm sort of a "throw it on regardless" person when it comes to jewelry, and her sense of taste in that regard always impressed me.

-Suzanne Shapiro, Bryan Cave

Carla was more than just a wonderful person, she was always so kind and considerate to us that we always welcomed seeing her at every opportunity. Her passing will not only leave a void in our lives, but in the hearts of all those who knew her. Carla will always remain within my heart. I am so thankful that I was given the privilege of being with Carla the last 3 days of her life and to be with her as she went to Heaven to be with her Mom and Dad. Good-bye my dear and loving friend, I love you.

-Vickie Alsabrook, Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial

One look at Carla's desk told you volumes about Carla. She kept that desk functionally organized but "happily cluttered" with pictures of the babies and children of just about anybody that she ever worked with and knew. Photos of new born babies, christening pictures, first day of school pictures and the annual Christmas Card pictures. Alongside those pictures were some of members of our team in less than appropriate mode. One particular picture I remember that Carla kept for years was one of a member of our group with Parrot on her head taken on an enormous document review assignment in Coconut Grove, FL. And if memory serves, on one of Carla's vacations she duplicated that photo with herself serving as the Parrot's perch. Never one to ever be left out of a joke or prank, Carla made sure she "had the photo to prove it."

-Carl Gebo, Gordon & Rees

Carla was my assigned mentor when I started at PoGo in 1996. One of the first things she said to me, which I thought was so funny, was as she held up a giant jar of Carmex, she said "Do you want some?" I didn't even know what it was but later learned that Carmex is a necessity in Georgia weather. Earlier on in our relationship, we had a small disagreement over something unimportant, and it resolved on its own. When I left PoGo 11 years later, she came up to my floor as I was packing and brought up the incident of 11 years earlier and made sure she apologized (I don't even know what for) and made sure before I left there, that we would remain friends. It was very important for Carla to maintain relationships with people she cared for. She made such an effort (something a lot of people just don't make time for). I will always treasure that about her and will remember to make an effort with my relationships and make sure people know how special they are to me.

-Rhonda L. Bowman, King & Spalding

Learning to relax….

2011-10-31T15:58:00.000-04:00

-Maureen Kreimer

It seems like our chosen profession is full of opportunities to practice stress, how to stress, how to worry, how to fret, traffic, deadlines.

Wonder what our grandmothers and great-grandmothers would think seeing us sailing down the road with our Satellite radios tuned to CNN, local traffic reports or you name it, seeing us interrupted as our Bluetooth automatically answers our cell phone, then three new text messages hit, or maybe one voice mail because you don’t have Bluetooth and you couldn’t reach your cellphone that just fell in the floor when you made the U-turn after you passed up your location.

I wanted to share some thoughts on practicing to let it all go. Did you know yoga means union? What a beautiful thought: learning to connect all of those scattered pieces of ourselves we spend the day giving/providing/expending to our families, clients and the world around us.

I signed up for yoga classes that are close to my home and also offer online videos of my teacher. I am not someone that just tries lots of new things. Who has the time, right? But I talked myself into it’s a now or never day one day a few weeks ago and it’s so worth it. Just a beginner’s class, now, not the hot 120-degrees, strenuous yoga, or the complicated I’ll never remember all of this yoga. This is just the learning the moves, some of the poses and, most importantly, learning to relax yoga. I have a wonderful teacher who asks everyone at the beginning of the class “what do you need today” and people speak up with various body parts that need some attention.

If you have never tried yoga before (maybe I’m the only one) there are a lot of YouTube choices to sample and wonderful videos to buy. Yoga offers so many ways to open up our shoulders and hip flexors, etc., and also just learn to listen to our own breath. The most wonderful, and at the same time so simple (why didn’t I know this already) teachings that have been given to me in my class time is how supported we are by the Earth, the Universe and that all is well. Just be still where you are and feel your feet, your body, your being connected to the ground, the earth. Let it support you. What a beautiful mantra that is: All is well.

I was at a deposition last week and tried something new. Before the depo started, I opened up a beautiful yoga video on YouTube. I have a special background on my computer’s desktop and I’ll toggle to it during a depo sometimes just to look at, but this was just what I needed that morning. Please remember to MUTE your laptop’s audio, or put your headphones on and enjoy the music. The one I chose that day was “Shiva Rea Yoga Shakti”. It lasts eight minutes. As I watched this instructor doing yoga on a narrow stretch of beach with the surf slowly coming in all around, I just felt the tension melt. What a great thing to do at lunch or before the deposition starts.

Another recommendation is http://www.quietmindcafe.com/simple-relaxation.html. This website has a few 7-minute relaxation videos that are actually on YouTube, but again, put on those headphones and enjoy.

Look for slide shows of beach scenes, etc, on the Internet through a travel agency’s website or a Bureau of Tourism. Or go to a favorite blog with beautiful photography. So many ideas out there. Isn’t technology wonderful?

I hope you’ll think about ways we can learn to relax and still get the job done we need to do for our clients. Namaste.

Goodbye from Katie

2011-10-24T09:32:00.000-04:00

To my Tiffany Alley Family,

After 3 amazing years I am sad to say goodbye. My fiancé, Nathan, and I have a great opportunity to move to Birmingham, AL and have decided to accept it. We are getting married on November 12th and will move immediately after we get back from our honeymoon. I feel so blessed to have had the chance to work with all of our staff, reporters and clients. Tiffany & Matt, I want to especially thank you for letting me come to work and do what I love every day. You have all made my experience at Tiffany Alley a wonderful one.

I will miss all of you!

Stay fabulous,

Katie

Fabulous Drink Recipes

2011-10-17T14:24:00.000-04:00

One of the ways we in the Tiffany Alley Nine Team like to get our daily dose of vegetables and fruits is by drinking them! Below are some fabulous recipes that you can use in your Tiffany Alley tumbler, water bottle, or mug!

Sassy Water

-Maureen Kreimer, Court Reporter

(You can mix this up each day by the pitcherful and enjoy – it’s very cleansing. Feel free to experiment and switch ingredients around.)

8 ½ cups water
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1medium cucumber (sliced thinly)

1 medium lemon (sliced thinly)
12 spearmint leaves

Combine everything and let it stand in the refrigerator overnight. Drink all of the water throughout the next day.

Tiffany’s Stay Fabulous Strawberry Banana Smoothie

(This smoothie has tons of Vitamin C, which is fabulous during the winter months, when you want to boost your immune system! Recipe makes one large smoothie)

½ cup *orange juice or other juice of your choice

½ cup lite *coconut milk or low-fat yogurt/kefir

1 tablespoon *protein powder

1 tablespoon *flax oil

1 to 1 ½ cups frozen strawberries, depending on how thick you like it

½ frozen *banana

Put all ingredients in the blender in this order, and blend until smooth – ENJOY!

*Oranges are in season during the winter months. I keep fresh oranges all winter to make my smoothies – it makes a big difference! If you’re in a hurry, you can substitute OJ from a carton

*I prefer lite coconut milk over yogurt in my smoothies because it gives a wonderful creamy taste with no added sugar. Available in the international Thai section in any grocery store.

*Flax oil has been called the “beauty oil” – great for your hair, skin and hormones. My favorite is Barleans Omega Swirl in strawberry banana flavor, available in the refrigerated section of most health food stores or at barleans.com. Always keep flax oil refrigerated, even before opening.

*My all-time favorite protein powder is Nutribiotic Vegan Rice Protein in the chocolate flavor. Available at many health food stores or at nutribiotic.com.

*I peel and cut my bananas in half and keep them in the freezer. They add a lot of sweetness and creaminess to smoothies.

Mulled Cider

(This recipe is perfect for cool fall days. Makes about 11 cups)

1 large orange

5 whole cloves

2 ¾ cups fresh orange juice

8 cups apple juice

(Recommended - either Mott’s Natural Fresh Pressed 100% Apple Juice, or Trader Joe’s All Natural Apple Juice.)

¼ cups raisins

2 cinnamon sticks

Peel the skin from the orange leaving the bitter white pith behind. Stick the cloves into the skin. Squeeze the juice from the orange and add to the 2 ¾ cups orange juice. Place all ingredients into a large nonreactive pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover and let stand at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Serve warm or cold. For serving at parties you can keep on low in a slow cooker once it has been boiled.

Tiffany’s Stay Fabulous Pomegranate-Acai Blueberry Smoothie

(This smoothie is very low glycemic with TONS of antioxidants! Makes one serving)

½ cup pomegranate or acai juice

½ cup lite coconut milk or low-fat yogurt/kefir

1 ½ cup frozen blueberries

1 tablespoon protein powder

1 tablespoon flax oil

Sweeten with *Agave Nectar or honey or ½ frozen banana – your choice

Put all ingredients in the blender, in this order, and blend until smooth.

*Agave nectar is a sweetener make exclusively from the agave plant. I call it God’s sugar – I LOVE it! It’s a liquid, works great to sweeten coffee, iced tea, smoothies, hot tea, etc. Best of all, it’s very low glycemic, so you never get the sugar high/crash cycle. Available at most health food stores/Whole Foods.

Celebrating 50 years of Breakfast at Tiffany’s!

2011-10-10T15:53:00.000-04:00

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the classic Breakfast At Tiffany’s. Academy Awards were awarded to the composer of the score, to Johnny Mercer for Moon River, Audrey Hepburn was nominated for her performance as Holly Golightly, and the screenwriter was nominated for his adaption of the book by Truman Capote.

The movie and Holly Golightly’s style are responsible for classic fashion looks – the little black dress, the trench coat and oversized glasses.

As you know if you’ve been with us for any length of time, we LOVE the connection with “Tiffany’s” – doing fun things with mugs, calendars, mouse pads, tote bags – you name it, we’ve done it!

Tell us about your Breakfast at Tiffany’s memories - what do you love about the film? The fashion, the story, the streets of Manhattan? How many times have you seen the movie? If you haven’t seen it - what do you love about Audrey? Let us know in the comments below. For all the folks who comment on this blog, we will have a drawing at the end of the month to win a free copy of the newly released 50^th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray of the film.

Are you dressing up as Holly Golightly or Audrey Hepburn for Halloween? Send us a picture for an extra-special treat!

Fabulous Tailgate Recipes

2011-10-03T13:19:00.000-04:00

The leaves are starting to change and there is a chill in the air that can only mean one thing – it’s football season! Whether you’re a fan of the undefeated Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Clemson Tigers, the #2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, the Georgia Bulldogs, or our city’s very own Atlanta Falcons, you’re sure to agree there is nothing quite like the experience of attending a football game! The stadium, the crowds, the team colors, and of course, the tailgates!!!

If your friends and family are planning a tailgate this year, you can find some fantastic recipes in your copy of Breakfast Lunch & Dinner at Tiffany’s. Below is a recipe from Tiffany (page 41 of the cookbook) that is a perfect addition to your tailgate. Try it out, and take a look at some of the other great tailgate recipes in the book – such as Cindy’s Easy Meatballs on page 31 or Julie’s Grandma K’s Protein Bars on page 119.

Layered Cocktail Dip

Bottom layer – mix well:

8 ounce cream cheese

¼ cup sour cream

2 T. mayo

Next layer

Can of crab meat

Small jar cocktail sauce (I like Trader Joe’s)

Next layer

Shredded mozzarella

Top with green bell pepper, red bell pepper, green onions

and tomatoes (chopped and artfully arranged)

So what’s your favorite tailgate recipe? Let us know in the comments below!

Get involved - City of Refuge

2011-09-26T14:14:00.000-04:00

Our company recently began volunteering with City of Refuge. This is an amazing organization that offers resources and life building tools to individuals who are homeless or working their way out of similar situations. What began as a street feeding program in the 1970’s has developed into a multi-tiered community outreach center. Their spotlessly-clean, beautiful facility currently provides a range of programs – feeding the homeless on the street, providing health care and even small surgeries in their clinic, and providing transitional housing and job training for homeless women and their children.

On September 10^th, Tiffany Alley team members made our first trip to City of Refuge to serve dinner to the ladies and children who live in the residential program, Eden Village. We spruced up the dining hall with colorful tablecloths and centerpieces (a big hit with the kids!), then served dinner and chatted with everyone.

Court reporter Lisa Brantly sets up the dining room.

It was a wonderful experience to be able to give to these individuals who are working so hard to put their lives back on track! As our videographer Terry Wetz said, “The kids were great! The fellowship with the rest of our team was a great way to get to know each other, away from work. I got a bigger blessing, by serving those who are less fortunate than me, than they did.”

Children who live at the City of Refuge pose while enjoying their meal.

Our Scheduling Coordinator, Julie Kohrs, had this to say about her experience:

“I had the privilege of being a plater. I was so lucky because I got to wear a hairnet J and work with Matt Alley, Stephanie Dickens and Linda Wetz. Damon prepared the food and was our leader in the kitchen.

It was an important role being a plater, but I did miss out a little on being able to talk to the residents that were eating dinner that night. I think that’s where we really are able to do what we’ve come to do…talk, listen, share, encourage and pray.

However, I was definitely the helper to Randy, my husband, during his piggyback ride and ‘Magic Shoe Game Show’ entertaining the children after dinner.

The more I learn about City of Refuge, the more impressed I am with the work being done there. I look forward to going back!

Videographer Randy Kohrs and Tiffany Alley give our new friends a lift!

If you’re interesting in getting involved with City of Refuge, you can learn more by visiting their website here .

Breakfast: it’s the most important meal of the day!

2011-09-19T10:06:00.000-04:00

We all know this is true, and yet many of us are so rushed in the morning that we don’t even bother to grab anything more than the necessary cup of coffee before we dive headlong into our challenging jobs. We wouldn’t expect our car to run without gas, so why do we expect our brain to perform without fuel? As part of our Nine Team initiative, Tiffany challenged us to get some of our fruits & veggies in first thing in the morning to fuel our bodies and our minds with good stuff right from the get-go. Though it was tough going at first, we quickly learned that each person brought some great ideas to the (breakfast) table. Below are a few of the tips and recipes that our Nine Team found worked for them!

These are really tips for people in a rush in the morning, people like me generally who don’t think they have time to fit in anything else for breakfast (I’m rushed because I don’t wake up early lol, but this applies to people in a real rush too).

Take a banana with you on the drive to work, eat it while you’re stuck in traffic, great snack gets you started on the 9 and makes traffic a little less boring

When you’re rushing around getting dressed and everything together in the morning, grab an apple, it’s portable, can be placed on a dresser when you need to, and helps make you more time efficient by eating while getting ready

Also, since I started P90X, my diet had to change even more – working on the 9 for the past few weeks definitely helped that transition, but it also caused me to cut out cereal as a staple breakfast choice (only allowed 1 serving carb per day). Now what I do is simply crack open 2-3 eggs, scramble ‘em up, add some hot sauce, then eat them with a whole grain English muffin (counts as ½ a carb serving).

I still eat the banana and/or apple in the morning. But if all I’m cooking is the eggs (no meats, nothing added to the eggs, etc.) the cooking time really is about the same as making a bowl of cereal. So for those who think they don’t have time in the morning, just bring it down to the very basics. If I, the slowest person in the morning *ever*, can make eggs for breakfast… anyone can!

-Jason Crysler, Scheduling Coordinator

My favorite breakfast:

Steamed spinach

Ezekiel English Muffin (broiled in the oven with a little bit of butter, xylitol, and cinnamon)

Chicken Apple Sausage (Wellshire Farms)

Heirloom Tomatoes with feta cheese

I'm allergic to eggs so getting protein for breakfast can be a challenge. If you're looking for a low-fat, good source of protein for breakfast, try Wellshire Farms Chicken Apple Sausage or Plainville Turkey Sage Sausage Links. Both available from Whole Foods. Surprisingly, eating steamed spinach for breakfast every morning is easy and delicious. I get the big 16-ounce tub from Whole Foods, their store brand 365 is really inexpensive and organic. For bread, you cannot beat the nutrition in Ezekiel bread, which is actually made from a recipe found in the book of Ezekiel in the Bible! The key, though, is sprouted grains. It's an acquired taste but I've come to love their sandwich bread, English muffins and bagels. Give it a chance! You see that I broil my Ezekiel English Muffin with butter and .... what? Xylitol? Xylitol is actually an all-natural sugar substitute. It tastes just like sugar but is low-glycemic. I spread my muffin with butter, then add a little xylitol and cinnamon. Delicious! And who doesn't love tomatoes, this time of year? This breakfast takes me about 8 minutes to make and keeps me running strong till lunch.

-Tiffany Alley

Smoothie – 1 C strawberries, 1 banana, 1.5 C spinach, I C low sugar orange juice, ice

3 egg whites scrambled with mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes and any other veggies I have around. Side of turkey or chicken sausage

Oatmeal (I like the oats and flax seed from Trader Joe’s) with fresh blueberries and walnuts

I love going to brunch at J. Christopher’s because they have a lot of healthy options. I always get my omelets made with egg whites and get a side of fruit with my meal

I also like brunch at The Flying Biscuit because they have many veggie options. They also serve turkey bacon and sausage!

-Katie Albright, Client Care Specialist

http://www.jchristophers.com/

http://www.flyingbiscuit.com/

I love to make egg whites with spinach and feta in the morning. If I don't have time for that, I'll grab a small Greek yogurt, throw in any fruit I have, apples, peaches, strawberries, bananas, toss a few walnuts on top and a little Agave nectar. I'm good to go.

Sometimes I'll juice my breakfast. Any fruits and vegetables together with a little ginger for some energy. That's something I can put in a travel mug and take it with me.

-Lisa Brantly, Court Reporter

How do you guys get your fruits and veggies in the morning? I’ve been cutting up bananas in my cereal and plan to start mixing up smoothies soon as well. Comment below and let us know your favorites!

Remembering 9/11

2011-09-12T11:11:00.000-04:00

When we talk about the 9/11 terrorist attacks we often repeat the phrase, “We Will Never Forget”. This picture above is of a tile on the ‘Tiles for America’ memorial which was erected on a chain-link fence on the corner of 7^th Avenue and 11^th Street in New York. It sits right outside of what was St. Vincent’s Hospital - one of the main triage centers after the World Trade Center attacks. In the days after 9/11 people all over the United States sent in tiles to be added to the fence, and eventually another ‘Tiles for America’ tribute was created at Ground Zero. A few weeks ago, in preparation for Hurricane Irene, the citizens in the area took the tiles down. Over the past week they have been busy putting them all back up in time for the 10^th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

We will never forget. True, it’s easier on the heart and soul to push our sadness to the back of our minds and hearts and get on with our daily lives. To embrace happiness and choose to look out the window to the bright sunshine and bustling city and know that life goes on and joy comes in the morning. However, on this anniversary we have chosen as a nation to reflect on these horrific memories and images and remember. To remember, in the words of our president, that there are those who would seek to harm our country. To remember, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, that a house divided against itself cannot stand. To remember that for every four individuals who choose to commit an act of terror there are forty who will choose to fight back to stop them. To remember our friends and family who have chosen to serve in our military to protect us from harm, even as we sit at our desks today. To choose - when we could just as easily pack up our tiles and our memories and our heartbreak - to remember.

At this anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, we asked some of our staff to contribute their remembrances and reflections upon the events. Those contributions are below.

A Life of Lasting Significance

-Tiffany Alley

One thing we learned on 9/11 is that “ordinary” does not mean insignificant. Aboard United Flight 93, ordinary passengers like Todd Beamer made a decisive choice: If they must die, they decided their deaths would mean something. Consider the amazing result: They saved the nation’s Capitol. In May Todd Beamer’s wife, Lisa, addressed 2011 graduates of Wheaton College, where she and her husband met as students. She shared a lot of things about what it was like to be plucked from obscurity into the national spotlight at the time of her husband’s heroic death. Then she said, “Ask yourself who is becoming whole again on your watch, what is being healed through your influence, how is God redeeming His creation through your life? Your good answers are surely the mark of significance, even in an ordinary life.”

In our ordinary lives, as we contemplate the 10^th anniversary of the indescribable attacks on our beloved country, I hope we are striving in new ways to have lives of lasting significance. Thank you to all the heroes like Todd Beamer who died that day, and thank you for all the heroes who have come after them – in Afghanistan, Iraq, and here at home. May we strive to be even a little bit worthy of their sacrifice.

Meeting a Boy for Drinks

-Karen Gifford, Court Reporter

I grew up in a suburb of NYC. I remember when the Twin Towers were completed when I was in high school. Some years later I worked at a law firm on Wall Street and commuted every day, along with my Dad, into and out of the World Trade Center on the PATH trains. While working on Wall Street I met a "boy" who asked me out. For our first date he took me for a drink at the World Trade Center. Of course the "boy" is Tim, my husband of 30 years.

We have been to the WTC site two times in the last 10 years. We watched today's Memorial Service and look forward to going back again, a place of so many memories for us.

Ten Years

-Julie Kohrs, Scheduling Coordinator

It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years.

I’ll never forget as I was on the phone with a friend from New Jersey that morning. She was the first to say – “A plane just crashed into the World Trade Building”. At that point, we kept talking but had turned on our sets and could not believe as the rest of the morning unfolded.

My story is not unusual as most of us were participating in normal life when someone called us and told us what was going on. We then sat glued to the TV watching all of this happen and wondering. My kids were at school and I couldn’t wait for them to get home. They were pretty young and not really that into current events but even they knew that this was serious stuff. The next few weeks were so full of sadness. So much lost, so much pain, and worry…would this be the end or the beginning of such events?

We hung our flag for the entire year and as a family folded it and stored it away on the one-year anniversary of 9/11.

As I reflect, I’m thankful for the heroes that did so much for our country that day – those heroic people on the planes and the clean-up of the aftermath. Countless hours and tears by so many.

I was so proud to be an American during that moment in time. It was amazing to see our country pull together.

May God bless all of the people who were directly touched by this tragic event as they remember their loved ones.

What it Means to Serve

This contribution comes from our Videographer David Taylor, whose son, Mike, serves in our Army. He shares this article and his son’s words on what it means to serve.

http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/sheep-307612-country-people.html

“The shepherds of America protect not only their sheep, but the entire world.”

A Changed World

-Maureen Kreimer, Court Reporter

It's incredible how much the world has changed in the last ten years since September 11's events unfolded. I was in Orlando, Florida, starting a week-long series of depositions in a products liability case. Taking my mother along for a couple of days of relaxation prior to starting work on Monday, we had gone to the National Seashore and Cape Canaveral enjoying the IMAX movie and feeling delighted at having explored some new places so connected with our Country.

I got up on Monday morning, headed down the block to the SunTrust Tower in downtown Orlando to begin a much-anticipated week. A videographer had flown down, mom and I having driven. So the day started. About 45 minutes into the deposition there was a knock on the door, which of course, rarely happens during a video deposition, no one tending to interrupt the proceedings unnecessarily. An attorney came in the room from the law firm loaning us the conference room space and said, "Something enormous has just happened. Planes have flown into the Twin Towers in New York. We are being instructed to evacuate our building. You are, of course, welcome to stay, but there will be no support staff for you."

We stayed off the record long enough for the attorneys to decide to take a conference room over at the hotel across the street and reconvene. The videographer and I packed up and started finding out details of where they wanted us to reconvene, not believing what we had just heard while everyone else was making phone calls to home, etc. We were back on the record within the hour and proceeded to finish the week of depositions - only being able to see TV at lunch or in the evenings. I couldn't wait for lunch each day to run back to my room and check in with mom and see what had been going on. The beautiful seashore where mom and I had just been the day before was now closed, as well as Cape Canaveral and Disneyworld in Orlando. It was all so surreal and as I have jokingly said over the years that if they give testimony in hell, one of us would be there to take it down. Now it seemed like these words could ring true. The closed captioners, I know, that were having to caption this event live on TV that morning, were doing so with tears streaming down their faces unable to believe what they were seeing played over and over on every network, captioned the news like they have continued to do so many times since. As events unfold on television now, that in the years past as we were all growing up weren't exposed to as we sat around our dinner tables with our parents catching up on the days's news. The day's news now impacts us in such a different way, and our prayers continually go out to those we love with sons and daughters who have placed themselves in harm's way for us. May we never take them for granted.

Here is a link to a website that is offering detox services to first responders that shines some hope for them with regard to the toxins they ingested on those terrible days following this event if anyone would like to read about the sauna services being offered on a trial and now funding they're seeking to try to offer as many first responders as possible cleansing sauna therapy sessions. This is important for their health and their families' peace of mind. http://www.nydetox.org/

Meet 'Matt in Production'!

2011-09-06T17:15:00.000-04:00

-Matt Brinkley

Hello Blog World! My name is Matt Brinkley and I have worked in the Production department here at Tiffany Alley Reporting & Video for a little over two years. If you have ever called the office with a question for Production, you would know me as “Matt in Production.”

I recently reached the joyous milestone of 30 years old. It was not something I was thrilled about but a surprise party (put together by my wonderful wife Karol) eased the pain and I have now accepted my new decade of life. I met Karol five years ago at Kennesaw State University where we were both in our Senior year. After two years of dating, we got married on the beach in Honduras where her Mom is from. We just recently celebrated our third wedding anniversary and have a spoiled dog named Maddux.

Since a very young age, I have had a passion for sports. Baseball, football and basketball were all sports that I could not watch or play enough of growing up. After graduating college in 2007, I spent a year with a sports newspaper called SCORE Atlanta. Then in 2008, I worked a full year with the Atlanta Braves as their Publications Trainee. I interviewed players and coaches and wrote articles for all team publications including the team program and game day handouts.

After my year as a trainee was up, I continued to work part-time with the Braves in the Press Box for game days (see picture below). When the team is in town on weekends, I will still go and help out for those Saturday and Sunday games.

In my free time, I enjoy reading, watching movies, playing basketball and traveling. Karol and I most recently spent a week in Puerto Rico where we fought off Tropical Storm Irene and enjoyed a couple of days of sun!

Since arriving here in the Production department in 2009, I have learned so much about the world of court reporting. The friends I have made in the office make the days easy regardless of the workload. Our job in Production is to take the transcripts, videos and exhibits from the reporters and get them ready to send to you.

A recent change that you may have noticed is how we are uploading exhibits on our repository at tiffanyalley.com. You will no longer have to sort through endless files if there are numerous exhibits because each job is now bundled into one file! If you look under a job in our repository, you will now see a file called “John Doe Exhibit Bundle”. Once this bundle is downloaded, you can easily access one or all of your exhibits. If you do not yet have a username and password then you really should call or email us and get set up for the repository. The 24-hour access to all of your job files is a great tool that not everyone takes advantage of.

I look forward to hearing from some of you!

-Matt (production@tiffanyalley.com)

Get involved – Volunteer in Atlanta!

2011-08-29T16:19:00.000-04:00

Crop Mob

http://www.cropmobatl.com/

http://www.facebook.com/CropMobAtlanta

http://twitter.com/#!/cropmobatl

Last week Tiffany gave you some tips for making delicious salads with the fresh veggies that are currently in season. This week we get in touch with the veggies themselves – through Crop Mob Atlanta!

Crop Mob is an amazing organization that brings together farmers, gardeners, and wannabe farmers to serve their community and the local food movement through working on organic gardens and area farms.

From Crop Mob’s website:

In the past farming was much more labor intensive. Activities like planting, harvesting, processing, and barn raising often required the collective effort of entire communities. This interdependence fostered strong communities. As farming became more mechanized and reliant on petroleum based inputs, it became a more independent and solitary career. Today in the industrial farming system a few people may manage hundreds or even thousands of acres.

While nationwide the number of farms and farmers has dwindled, right now there is a surge of new sustainable small farms. These farms are growing diversified crops on small acreage, using only low levels of mechanization, and without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers. This is a much more labor intensive way of farming that brings back the need for community participation.

Many crop mobbers are apprentices or interns on these sustainable farms. The need for community participation matches a desire for community among people interested in farming. The crop mob was conceived as a way of building the community necessary to practice this kind of agriculture and to put the power to muster this group in the hands of our future food producers.

These events, or ‘Mobs’ as they’re called, involve music, fellowship, and a shared meal. No money is exchanged, and farmers who receive help from Crop Mob are expected to work on further projects with the group. Folks of all skill levels can contribute – from newbies who have never planted a single seed, to experienced organic farmers. Mobbers can be anyone of any age and a large percentage of participants have zero farming experience. Besides planting, other tasks can include building small structures, repairing animal enclosures and general maintenance.

If you would like to contribute to the Atlanta local food community, learn more about organic farming, or just want to spend a fun day in the sunshine, check out the link below to sign up for September and October Mobs. Get Fit, Get Fabulous, and Get Involved!

http://www.cropmobgeorgia.com/mark-your-calendars-its-mob-time/

Eat More Salad

2011-08-22T15:23:00.000-04:00

-Tiffany Alley

The Chick-Fil-A cows are always telling you to “Eat More Chicken.” Well, in the Stay Fabulous blog, we are going to be encouraging you to “Eat More Salad!” There’s hardly anything as good for you as a salad made from fresh ingredients and eaten immediately. Salads can feel daunting if you’re not used to making them, but really they’re one of the quickest meals you can make.

Here are some “Eat More Salad Tips”:

· Keep all the ingredients for salad in a single clear plastic bin on your refrigerator shelf. This way, you can pull the entire bin out at once and everything you need is together.

· Keep deli turkey (no nitrites) in your meat drawer to top your salad, if it’s the main course. Leftover grilled chicken works great, too. Make sure to grill some extra to keep on hand.

· Make a super-easy homemade dressing. Your whole family will eat more salad with a good dressing on it.

· If you are making a side salad, eat it first – before your main course. This way, you will fill up on more salad and eat less of the more-fattening and usually less-good-for-you main course. Plus, raw vegetables are full of enzymes that help you digest protein more efficiently.

I’m writing this blog from home, so I just rummaged through my salad bin. Here’s what’s in it right now:

· Butter Lettuce

· Red Leaf Lettuce

· Broccoli

· Celery

· Red and Yellow Peppers

· Dried cranberries

· Sliced Almonds

· Goat Cheese

· Sunflower Seeds

· Radishes

· Carrots

· Tomatoes (we keep on counter – don’t refrigerate)

Matt and I just had a big salad for lunch, and I made fresh champagne vinaigrette – super easy! Here’s the recipe:

· ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

· 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar

· ¼ teaspoon sea salt

· ¼ teaspoon garlic pepper

· (can add 1 tablespoon minced shallot but if I don’t have it, the dressing is still good)

If you don’t have time to make your own dressing, Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar is a clean, delicious choice.

With the above ingredients, Matt and I made our lunch salad in about 10 minutes, start to finish - It was Fabulous!

So Stay Fit/Stay Fabulous by eating your salad! This is a perfect time of year to take advantage of all the freshly-harvested vegetables. Please comment and give us your favorite salads, dressings, or tips. We’d love to hear from you!

The Nine Team

2011-08-15T12:32:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago we started a fun new thing among our staff here at Tiffany Alley: The Nine Team. What’s the Nine Team, you ask? Well, we are encouraging each other to get nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Serving size is half a cup and must be either fresh or frozen, nothing from a can or package. We prefer for six or more of the servings to be veggies and only three or less to be fruit, because of the sugar content.

Here are a few of the results so far: Stephanie in Accounting says it’s now a habit to seek out fruits and vegetables rather than going with other options. At a recent lunch date with her husband, instead of getting a second slice of pizza, she ordered a salad. Plus she ordered the veggie pizza slice instead of pepperoni!

Julie in Scheduling says it’s causing her to order the steamed veggies side instead of French fries at restaurants. Especially at lunch, Julie has noticed that eating her veggies has caused her to feel more alert in the afternoons.

Katie in Client Care is making yummy smoothies every morning for breakfast and including fresh berries, bananas and even a handful of spinach (don’t worry you can’t taste it!)

Carolyn, one of our reporters who tends to eat out a lot because of time constraints, seeks out places with salads such as Moe’s or Chipotle. She orders the burrito bowl with lettuce, beans, tomatoes, green and red peppers, onions, mushrooms and cilantro, topped with fresh salsa. Yum!

Terry, our Video Technology Manager, works at night a lot on video shoots. Recently they brought in a big tray of cookies and a big tray of fruit. Because of the Nine Team, Terry ate the fruit! It’s small, daily victories like this that make a difference.

We are focused on what TO eat, and that helps us avoid things we shouldn’t eat. Rather than focusing on deprivation, we are focusing on nourishing our bodies with the best foods. We’re sharing meal ideas for breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks with each other. It’s really raised our awareness of what we’re eating and it’s already changing our habits.

Because our little group has had such a fabulous time with these concepts, we are opening the Nine Team doors to our clients. If you’d like to be a part of the Nine Team, let us know by emailing stephanie@tiffanyalley.com. We will have regular blog posts, meal ideas, recipes and tips to keep you on track! Stay Fit and Stay Fabulous by joining the Tiffany Alley Nine Team today!

August Events in Atlanta

2011-08-08T17:41:00.000-04:00

PGA Championship

August 4-18
http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship/2011/index.cfm

Northside commuters beware - Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek is hosting this year’s PGA Championship event! The city is expecting around 40,000 golfing enthusiasts a day. Players in the final major of the year will include Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Atlanta’s own Stewart Cink. This year is the 93rd PGA Championship, and it is the third time the event will be held at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Now that mobile devices are being allowed on the course, be sure to download the PGA iPhone or Android app before you head out! Tickets are currently still available, and military personnel with a valid military ID get in free.

BBQ, Blues & Bluegrass Festival
August 20, 4-10pm
http://www.decaturbbqfestival.com/

Decatur’s 11th Annual BBQ, Blues & Bluegrass Festival will be held in Harmony Park in Oakhurst, which is just south of downtown Decatur. This year barbecue will be presented by Community Q and Fox Brothers (one of my personal favorites!), and Bada Bing will be providing vegetarian options. There are several great (and local) musicians performing this year. Entry is free to $15, depending on your age. Kids under 10 get in free, and dogs are allowed! All proceeds from the festival will be invested directly into the Decatur community.

Summer Shade Festival
August 27-28
http://www.summershade.org/

What could be better during these dog days of summer than a cold drink and a shady tree?! Take a break from the heat in lovely and historic Grant Park. This year marks the 9th annual Summer Shade Festival. The event features an artist’s market, live performances, children’s events, and the daily Corks and Forks food and wine event featuring some of the top chefs in the city. There is also a 5K Run for the Park for the more exertion-minded, which will give runners (and walkers) a great tour of the Grant Park area. The festival is free, and you can pre-purchase tickets to the Corks and Forks event online.

Tiffany Alley: After 25 Years, Still Home-Grown & Independently-Owned

2011-08-01T17:41:00.000-04:00

-Matt Alley

Matt & Tiffany Alley

The email from one of our team members came in while Tiffany and I were on the road in May:

“I just talked to Nancy* in Augusta and she heard Tiffany Alley has been bought by Mega SuperSized Court Reporting Firm. Is this true???”

You could read her concern between the lines. Tiffany and I furrowed our collective brows and scratched our heads. This was news to us. I typed out a reply:

“Where did she hear this?”

The response was immediate:

“Well, Janet Smith down in Savannah heard it from somebody and passed it on to Nancy. So Nancy called us here in the office to see if it was true.”

And so it goes. We are so grateful that Nancy called us directly, rather than forwarding false information to other interested parties.

Ever since consolidation began in earnest in the court reporting profession, Tiffany Alley has been the subject of such rumors. We’re at a loss to explain how they get started, but we decided to send a little shout-out to any of you who may have heard such a rumor, or even just wondered to yourself if we would be the next in line to get gobbled up by InterGalactic Reporting and Depo Summary Service. Have we been bought by anyone? No. Are we about to enter into any purchase or merger arrangement? No. Are we remaining fully independent, answering only to our awesome clients and employees? Absolutely.

Our team is growing and we’re excited to be entering some new arenas over the next few months, all part of our Excellence Initiative: We want to provide our clients with the absolute best service available in North America in everything we do, and we are constantly working towards that goal. We have just moved our Atlanta office to a more centrally located space in Tower Place; last year we doubled the size of our Alpharetta office to 8000 sq. ft. to accommodate the explosion of demand for conference room and deposition suite facilities in north-Fulton. Our video department has tripled in size since April 2010, and we are in the process of trademarking a new product, exclusively available from Tiffany Alley.

So if you hear any speculation that we’ve become the next takeover victims in the court reporting field, please feel free to direct the person to this blog. For the past 25 years and hopefully the next 25, we are happy to remain your hometown, homegrown, independently-owned litigation support team for as long as you’ll have us!

*All names of reporters, firms and cities have been changed

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2011-07-25T17:40:00.000-04:00

-Cindy Zebrasky

What a great way for a family to have a FUN NIGHT OUT! Coolray Stadium, home of the Gwinnett Braves is really cool! Every home game is filled with not only great baseball --- but also fun contests, games, t-shirt giveaways, fireworks and special promotional giveaways on various nights.

This Saturday night, July 30th, enjoy the G-Braves hosting the Indianapolis Indians …if you are one of the first 2,000 fans you will get a Backpack presented by Georgia Power!

Every seat is a good seat … and they even have 4 plush recliner leather chairs behind home plate that 4 lucky fans get randomly chosen to sit in each game! WOW are they cool seats!

I was amazed that each person working there had a smile and was very friendly! And parking was great --- only $5 and only just a few minutes to get out after the game!

If you are looking for a fun night out with friends or the family --- I highly recommend giving the Triple A Gwinnett Braves a try! Ticket prices range from $8 - $40 and you can go online to http://www.gwinnettbraves.com/ to purchase them.

A side note --- unlike the Atlanta Braves you cannot bring in any food or drinks. No plastic cups or bottles or snacks. This is a bit of a downside, but the whole night will be well worth it. If you go on a weekend, stay for the FIREWORKS – they are fabulous!

Food for a Girl On the Go

2011-07-20T17:40:00.000-04:00

-Katie Albright

The food truck craze has hit Atlanta. As a self-proclaimed “foodie” I jumped on the opportunity to see what all the noise is about. I did some research online and found out that Atlanta has a food truck coalition. You can read all about it by visiting their website, http://www.atlantastreetfood.com/. Every day the trucks head out to different areas in Atlanta and spend the lunch and dinner hours whipping up good eats. I went to Food Truck Friday at Atlantic Station. They had 17 ½ Street blocked off to allow for a stage with musicians playing, tables with umbrellas and, of course, the food trucks! There were so many options; Yumbii, Texas Taco, Slider U, and Hail Caesar just to name a few. I decided to get an array of food and try it all. I started with Sliders then moved to a Shrimp Po Boy. I ended my meal with a fabulous popsicle from King of Pops. The food was delicious and very affordable. Many of the trucks even gave you the option to pay with a credit card.

I definitely recommend taking to the streets and trying one of the tasty meals prepared on the spot! The best way to find a food truck near you is to visit the site Roaming Hunger, http://roaminghunger.com/atl/. I also suggest “liking” them on Facebook or “following” them on Twitter. You will get updates about where they will be and when.

25 Years - All is Well

2011-07-11T17:39:00.000-04:00

-Tiffany Alley

25 years – where have they gone? I never imagined when I started doing depositions for one attorney – John Stivarius at Swift Currie McGhee and Hiers – that we would grow to over 100 depos a week and upwards of 400,000 pages of testimony a year! We’ve worked on landmark cases such as GM Side Saddle Fuel Tank, Anneewakee, Bishop Eddie Long, asbestos, breast implant, tobacco, and a little of everything else in between.

Along the way I’ve been blessed to work with some of the best people I’ve ever known. For example, our Office Manager, Christine, has been with us almost from the beginning. She has done it all – scheduling, accounting, production, errands, phones – she even brought me Tylenol PM one night when I couldn’t sleep! Christine is also our office “weather-woman” and is always warning our staff of impending weather emergencies. One night, around 2:00 a.m., our phone rings. “You’re sleeping – I knew it!” “What do you mean? Of course I’m sleeping. It’s 2:00 in the morning!” “Get up. Get up right now and get Matt and Ciara and go to your basement. There’s a tornado headed straight for your house!” I’m glad to say that we never got that tornado, but if we had, I think Christine might have saved our whole family!

In this journey I’ve had the privilege of working with the best and the brightest attorneys, assistants and paralegals in our state. And you know all those last-minute things that come up? How about this one: One night I’m having dinner with my family at Macaroni Grill. My cell phone rings. Frantic paralegal on the line. “Tiffany, we have depositions starting tomorrow in North Carolina going for the rest of the week. I just found out that no one got a reporter!” “Okay, let me get the information. Do you have the address and the time?” Oops, I can’t find a pen. But never fear. Remember Macaroni Grill has paper table cloths and the waiters write their names on your tablecloth with crayon? So I use an orange crayon and write a whole week’s worth of deposition information on the table cloth at Macaroni Grill! Imagine the waiter’s face when I ripped our table cloth off our table and requested a new one so we wouldn’t cover up valuable deposition information with spaghetti sauce! The day was saved, the reporter was dispatched, and all was well. Thank God.

Thank God - He does all things well. When I couldn’t have imagined this company, He could. When I didn’t know the next step, He knew. I don’t know what He has in His plan for the next 25 years, but I am happy to be along for the ride!

Here are Christine and Matt going for a spin in Matt’s first convertible in 1997!

Meet Our Accounting Coordinator

2011-07-05T17:39:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! I’m Stephanie Dickens. You probably know me best as the Accounting Coordinator, but I also happen to be our resident blogger! I thought I’d take a moment to tell you a little bit more about the girl behind the Bean Blog.

I met my husband Lee while attending Clemson University, and in 2005 we decided to move to the Atlanta area. I currently live in Roswell, GA with Lee and our two cats, Roxy & Snapjacks. I’m a sports fan, so I attend lots of Braves and Falcons games. I’m also a voracious reader - I never go anywhere without my Kindle or my iPad! Some of my favorite books are I’m a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson, Millroy the Magician by Paul Theroux, The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank, and Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl.

A little fun fact about me is I’m from a rural South Carolina town named Whitmire, and though I love living in the city and all of the awesome things Atlanta has to offer, I am still a bit of a country girl at heart. I grow my own vegetables just like my parents did when I was a kid, and we sometimes drive up to Etowah Valley to shoot skeet at the range. My husband likes to joke that you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl!

I’ve been with Tiffany & Matt right around a year now, and have loved it ever since I stepped foot into the office for my interview. It’s a warm friendly office environment where you feel like you’re making a meaningful contribution when you come to work each day.

I hope you guys are finding our blog entertaining! I have really enjoyed writing it so far, and especially love the contributions from our wonderful clients. If you’d like to share anything with us on our blog, you can always email me at stephanie@tiffanyalley.com – we love hearing from you!

Happy Independence Day!

2011-06-27T17:38:00.000-04:00

In observance of Independence Day, the offices of
Tiffany Alley Reporting & Video will be closed on Monday, July 4.

Independence Day weekend is home to the famous Peachtree Road Race! The event is the second-largest race in the US. There are over 50,000 runners, and hundreds of thousands of spectators. The Peachtree Road Race is made up of a 10k course starting on Peachtree Road at Lenox Square mall and ending at Piedmont Park. In addition to the 10k course, there is a wheelchair division as well as satellite races held for soldiers overseas. The picture above shows Tiffany (#90329) crossing the finish line in 2001!

What are you doing for the 4th? If you’re not a runner, there are lots of other relaxing events happening here in Atlanta. Lake Lanier is a popular destination, and there are several gorgeous beaches just a few hours away. I’ll be enjoying the sunshine on the beach, eating hamburgers, and enjoying our family tradition of watching Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest! Here are a few of the great events happening locally.

Lenox Square hosts the largest fireworks show in the Southeast! Their day-long event includes live music, a military flyover, and a “Kid Zone” with slides, an obstacle course and more. Be sure to catch their amazing fireworks extravaganza, starting at 9:40 PM.

Centennial Olympic Park will also feature live music and entertainment all afternoon. Kids can enjoy the Fountain of Rings, and there are face painting and arts & crafts events planned. The roof of the nearby Glen Hotel is a great spot to view their firework show, which is choreographed to music. Festivities begin at 4:30 PM, and the fireworks begin at 9:30 PM.

Atlanta Summer Festivals

2011-06-20T17:38:00.000-04:00

National Black Arts Festival
July 7-17
http://nbaf.org/

This is the nation's only Black Arts Festival and celebrates the contributions of people of African descent and their impact on world cultures. The ten-day festival features visual arts, film, music, dance and much more. Events are being held throughout the city - from jazz at the Georgia Aquarium, to a brunch and gallery tour with Atlanta artist Radcliffe Bailey at the High Museum, to a Children’s Village at Centennial Olympic Park. There is even a black-tie fundraising gala being held on July 16th at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead.

You can buy tickets through the website, and many events are free!

National Puppetry Festival
July 12-17
http://www.nationalpuppetryfestival.org/

2011 marks the 75th Anniversary of the premier puppetry event in the U.S. This year’s event will be held on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus. There are many puppet shows planned, as well as films, workshops, and teaching events.

The festival is only held every other year, so be sure to check out the website to purchase your day passes.

Asian Cultural Experience
July 23-24
http://www.asianculturalexperienceinga.com/

This festival, held at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, features a staggering number of events celebrating Asian traditions. Atlanta’s Asian communities will showcase their culture’s music, dancing, cuisine, fine art, fashion, and native crafts. Some of the featured activities are a traditional Lao wedding procession, an Asian tea ceremony, Thai boxing demonstrations, and the Performance Celebration, which features the music and dance of 15 countries.

Admission to the event is $12/day for adults and $8/day for students. Children under the age of 7 can participate for free!

We've Moved!

2011-06-13T17:37:00.000-04:00

As you may have already noticed on our invoices, our Atlanta office has moved! Our new Atlanta address is:

3348 Peachtree Road NE
Tower Place 200, Suite 700
Atlanta, GA 30326

You can take a look at our new space here. Any mailed correspondence you may have previously sent to our 400 Perimeter Center address will still be received; however, please change your records to reflect our new address going forward.

Thanks for the update. I took a look at the link to your new offices as well-really nice!

-Judi Lynn, Insley & Race

Looks very nice!
-Apryll Saunders, Miles Patterson Hansford Tallant

Congratulations on your move to such a beautiful new space. I look forward to continuing to work with you all for another 25 years.
-Karen Rudd, Ragsdale, Beals, Seigler, Patterson & Gray, LLP

We’re next door neighbors! We’re in Tower Place 100. Welcome to the neighborhood!
-Judy Ruhling, Goodman McGuffey Lindsey & Johnson, LLP

Wow - the new deposition suites look awesome! Congratulations!
-Lori Mussman, Fulcher Hagler

Yeah, yeah, you guys are right down the street from us!!!!! When is the open house????????
-Vickie C. Alsabrook, Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial, LLC

Very nice office space. Congratulations on your new space!!
-Winsome Harvey, Carlock Copeland & Stair

Go Braves!

2011-06-06T17:36:00.000-04:00

-Cheryl Murk, Bendin Sumrall & Ladner

When my kids stopped playing ball, I missed being around baseball so much. They wouldn’t let me be “team mom” so I joined the Braves as an usher in June 1999, originally assigned to the outfield. That’s the last time the Braves made it to the World Series. I returned in 2000 and was moved to Aisle 103 where I’ve worked ever since. I love working there – the fans in my section are awesome folks. At the beginning of every season, it’s like a big family reunion for me. Many of the season ticket holders have been there as long as I have. Turner Field hosted the All-Star Game in 2000. Besides playoffs, that was probably the most fun ever. I hope we can get it again someday.

I love the game of baseball. I love the crowds, the smell of popcorn and burgers and hot dogs on the grill; the sounds – the crack of bat meeting ball and the cheers from the crowd as the ball sails over the wall for a homerun. I love doing the homerun dance (started by me and a few other ushers years ago!) and sharing high fives with the fans in the stands. I love hearing the chant and seeing the fans doing the tomahawk chop in unison around the stadium. These are all things I miss from the end of every season until the start of the next season. I count the days until Spring Training and the new season begins.

I enjoyed watching baseball on TV with my dad. I guess he started it all for me. He was never able to come to a game in person. My dad was always proud to introduce me to his friends as his “daughter who works for the Atlanta Braves.” It was almost embarrassing, but he always said it with such pride, I just had to smile and be as gracious as possible.

I’ve done a little traveling to see the Braves on the road. I’ve visited ballparks in Colorado, Arizona (finally learned what “dry heat” means), Houston (I love visiting Houston!), Montreal (before the Expos moved to DC), DC (but haven’t seen their new ballpark yet), Citifield in New York, and I just got back from Angel Stadium in California. It’s lots of fun attending games out of town. I usually meet an usher and talk a little shop. I highly recommend traveling to different cities and enjoying a baseball game.

Last year when he retired, Bobby Cox said, “There’s nothing better than a baseball game.” I wholeheartedly agree! Go Braves!

Screen On the Green

2011-05-31T17:36:00.000-04:00

Looking for a fun (and free!) way to spend a Thursday evening in Atlanta? Piedmont Park is once again hosting Screen on the Green throughout the month of June. With some great new sponsors like Delta and Coca-Cola, the event is back this year and is featuring classic movies from several decades. MARTA is a convenient way to get to the park, but there is also some parking available around the area. All movies will start between 8:40pm and 8:55pm, or once it gets dark enough to see the screen. Pack up your picnic basket, bring a comfy blanket, and check the schedule below to see when your favorite classic movie is showing!

June 2            Back to the Future, 1985
June 9            Imitation of Life, 1959
June 16         Sixteen Candles, 1984
June 23         Viewers Choice - The Birds vs. Frankenstein
June 30         Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, 1971

Memorial Day

2011-05-23T17:35:00.000-04:00

In observance of Memorial Day, the offices of Tiffany Alley Reporting & Video will be closed on Monday, May 30.

Memorial Day Traditions and National Events

A National Moment of Remembrance takes place every year at 3 p.m. local time. The National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans wherever they are on Memorial Day to pause in an act of national unity for one minute to commemorate U.S. soldiers who died while in military service.

Another tradition is to fly the flag of the United States at half-mast from dawn until noon local time.

Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery each year with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Traditionally, the President or Vice President lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The National Memorial Day Concert takes place on the west lawn of the United States Capitol. The concert is broadcast on PBS and NPR from 8:00pm to 9:30pm (EST). Music is performed, and the event honors military men and women and their families.

Atlanta Spring Festivals

2011-05-16T17:34:00.000-04:00

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival

May 19-22
http://atlfoodandwinefestival.com/

This is a one-of-a-kind festival celebrating the food and drink of the South. Enjoy an amazing number of classes, cooking demonstrations and seminars on food, beer, wine and spirits. There is an offering for virtually any food or drink-related subject you may be interested in, from the perfect egg to lamb grilling techniques to a late-night food cart extravaganza! Sample some of the best food in the south at the tasting tents and street food carts.

Visit the website to buy tickets online, or volunteer to work at events. Tickets range from $50 for single events, to a $2,500 Connoisseur 3-day package which includes an opening night reception on Thursday and several exclusive events.

Atlanta Jazz Festival
May 28-30
http://atlantafestivals.com/

This is one of the largest FREE jazz festivals in the country! There will be artists performing in Piedmont Park on Saturday and Sunday, as well as an event at Chastain Amphitheatre on Monday, May 30. Piedmont Park will feature several professional jazz musicians, as well as a kid’s orchestra and the North Atlanta High School Jazz Band. For the night owls, Loews Atlanta hotel is hosting a Late Night Jazz Jam starting at 10pm on May 28.

Most events are free. As part of their ‘Go Green Jazz’ initiative you can visit the website to download their digital program guide. There’s even an iPhone app for the festival!

Decatur Arts Festival

May 28-29
http://decaturartsfestival.com/

There are events from May to June for this festival, but the main event will be on Memorial Day weekend. There are several readings in May, and exhibitions weekly until June 5. On Friday, May 27 the city’s shops and retailers are hosting an Art Walk, featuring numerous art openings and receptions throughout the city. During the main event there is an Artist’s Market in Decatur’s main square, as well as a Wacky Parade and a dance party. Visit the website to print out booth guides, and find out more about the offerings of the festival.

All events are free! Parking is sparse, but there is a MARTA stop in the middle of the square. There are lots of kid-friendly events as well.

Born on the Run

2011-05-09T17:32:00.000-04:00

-Valerie Almand, Court Reporter

I got interested in watching and identifying birds when we lived in another house that backed up onto a wooded area. From our deck I saw birds that I wasn't familiar with, and it made me want to learn more about them, so I bought a bird book and kept some binoculars close to the deck and started finding out more about the birds I was seeing. From that deck I saw the "standard" birds we normally see around Georgia, plus some that are a bit rarer: scarlet tanagers, indigo buntings, rose-breasted grosbeaks, pileated woodpeckers, and more.

That experience made me want to attract birds to my yard so I could see them regularly. I have numerous feeders, bird baths and nesting boxes now to draw a variety of birds close to my home. But I've learned that one type of bird, the nuthatch, needs no special nesting boxes or enticement to nest in the springtime. I have caught nuthatches making nests inside my garage and even inside my home when I've left the doors open -- inside backpacks and cloth shopping bags -- and I had to shoo them back outside.

In our previous home my husband and I even had the privilege of watching baby nuthatches immediately after they had hatched in a nest inside a box in our garage, while they were stretching out their tiny egg-cramped bodies for the first time. It was pretty amazing!

This spring I noticed nuthatches building a nest inside our garage in a sneaker. They laid what I thought were five eggs, and the parents took turns patiently sitting inside that sneaker, incubating the eggs, for weeks. Two days ago I walked out into the garage and heard the sound of baby birds squeaking from the area where the nest is. I peeked inside the shoe to see SIX baby birds inside it. I showed the babies to my son, and he discovered that when you whistled to them they'd pop their heads up and open their mouths, anticipating a feeding. So I took this video of them, all the while the father bird was fussing at me to go inside so he could feed them -- I quickly complied.

Anyway, I wanted to share this little video clip. We look forward to watching them grow and hope to see their first flights in the weeks to come. I hope everyone is enjoying their springtime as much as I am!

Memories of Mom

2011-05-06T17:31:00.000-04:00

In Celebration of Mother's Day, we are giving a special tribute to our moms. We invited our staff and clients to share a memory of their mother that they hold dear. Enjoy their contributions below!

The Power of Giving

My mother taught me the power of giving. When I was six years old, I earned my first dollar for chores. Mother gave me the dollar in dimes, counting them out into my little outstretched hand. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…Isn’t it amazing, God lets you keep nine dimes for yourself! But this last dime is His. It’s the most special and important of all the dimes because you have the privilege of giving it away.” Imagine my excitement when I put my very first dime in the collection plate that Sunday!

- Tiffany Alley

A True Female Warrior

When I think of my mom, I see a vision of a true female warrior – always ready to take up her sword and battle for “her vets.”

Working passionately for 30 years as an advocate for veterans who fought for their country all the way from the Korean to the Gulf Wars, my mom was adored by her patients because she listened to them, cried with them, comforted them, and sometimes had to be tough with them. She refused to let herself be limited by diplomacy, paperwork and red tape; she worked tirelessly to get them the recognition and benefits they deserved, even if it meant going head-to-head with her own government administration and I truly believe they begrudgingly respected her for that.

Growing up in a small town surrounded by farming communities, I remember seeing these servicemen and women, along with their families, showing their gratitude for her loyalty by tearfully, but proudly presenting Mom with chickens, eggs, garden-fresh vegetables, homemade preserves, etc. because it was all they had to offer.

Every summer Mom’s patients and their spouses looked forward to getting out of the usual hospital setting for their annual picnic in the park (which ended up escalating each summer from simple hot dogs and hamburgers to steaks, baked potatoes and salads). Because of her loyalty and devotion to them, they became very protective of my mom, and one summer in particular I remember Mom sneaking away from the group to go to the ladies room. As she was walking, she looked back and found to her dismay that all of her guys were walking along behind her (I had an image of this mother with all of her chicks following along!). Once she went in, they all went into formation outside the building and “guarded” the door while politely, but firmly, encouraging other patrons to wait until she was finished!!

Due to health issues, my mother had to retire in 2004, but if she had been able, I’m sure she would still be there defending her soldiers, fighting for them and being their true champion.

-Tonya Black, Sutherland

Guidance Passed Through LOVE

As an only child, I was very much doted on. I won’t say spoiled, but I’m sure I was. I am like my mom in many ways. Fortunately for me, but unfortunately for her, I have been able to see my grandchildren grown up. My oldest and middle child were 2 years and 3 months respectively when she died at the young age of 48. I still miss her and wish I had had her here for guidance in raising my three girls and get to see her grandchildren and her GREAT grandchildren grow up.

-Bevely Singleton, Doffermyre Shields Canfield & Knowles

A True Southern Lady

My Mom passed away in 1997 and I miss her every day. She was a true southern lady, who spoke softly but carried a big stick.

-Vickie Alsabrook, Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial

Navigating the Unexpected

I can thank my Mama for my excellent map-reading skills! All through my teenage years the two of us went on road trips together throughout the South. We would pack up our stuff and hit the road; she was the driver and I was the navigator. True, we occasionally got lost along the way when the navigator wasn’t paying proper attention, but we always took this in stride and decided we must be meant to see something we weren’t planning on! So it was really a two-for-one lesson – how to read a map, and how to handle the unexpected with a smile and a sense of adventure!

-Stephanie Dickens, Tiffany Alley Reporting & Video

Aging Joyfully

My little momma gave me the gift of loving my birthdays, and aging joyfully.

I remember walking in our front door one day when I was about 13 years old... my mother was 30 at the time, and she was standing in the middle of the living room, dressed in short shorts and bobby socks, just a whisper of a girl, holding onto a broom with her chin resting on the top of it, looking out the window at something... and I remember thinking... “Wow... wow... just… wow! My momma looks like the girls at my high school!!! She’s so pretty... I can hardly wait til I’m 30 and a woman.” Ever after that, when my girlfriends were anxiously waiting for 16 or 18 or 21, I was eagerly anticipating 30, knowing that when I reached it, I’d be a woman at last. And, oh, how I celebrated when I reached it!

Just about three years after I hit the magic, wonderful, amazing 30s... my little momma turned 50... and once again… there she was… and I remember looking at her and thinking... “Wow... wow... she’s such a fox... look at those legs!” So I started looking forward to 50... and it came and went, and, wow, 50 is so much younger than I ever imagined… and look… there is my sweet, lovely, little momma, showing me now that 76 is a thing of grace and beauty… (and lest I forget, my little Grandma showed me that 85, and then 105, were goals worthy of reaching, too).

I still love my birthdays… start telling people they’re coming months before they get here… and start counting myself a year older already just days after one has passed… thanks to my darlin’ little momma, the numbers don’t scare me… they are peaks to climb... clouds to soar over... goals to reach... thank you, darlin’ little momma...

-Vickie Raulin, Doffermyre Shields Canfield & Knowles

Congratulations Katie!

2011-05-02T17:30:00.000-04:00

Our Client Care Specialist, Katie Albright, recently got engaged to her now fiancé, Nate! Take a look at these gorgeous pictures from the proposal in Savannah.

Nate looks lovingly at Katie, while she admires her beautiful new ring!

It's Springtime in Atlanta

2011-04-25T17:30:00.000-04:00

Did you know that Atlanta has the largest tree coverage of any major city? It’s no wonder that spring transforms our city from grey to green. It’s the time of year that the flowers begin to bloom, leaves appear on the trees, and we crawl out of hibernation to enjoy the sunshine and beautiful weather! Maureen Kreimer, one of our court reporters, sent in this picture of her gorgeous roses that are blooming:

This weekend many of you celebrated Easter and Passover, and Atlanta offers a variety of ways to get the most out of your holiday.

Sunrise Service on Stone Mountain: The park offers 2 non-denominational services – one at the Memorial Hall Terrace and another at the summit of the mountain for the more adventurous among us. It is a beautiful place to get your Easter started before heading to the city for brunch.

Easter Brunch is an Atlanta institution! Whether it’s tea at the Botanical Gardens surrounded by flowers or a full-scale brunch at the Café at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead with their adorable petting zoo, your options are endless. We have a large Jewish population here in the city, and those of you who observe Passover may be interested to know that Alon’s Market & Bakery offers a special Passover menu, and Atlanta chain Rosa Mexicano offers a surprising take on Passover.

If you don’t celebrate Passover but do celebrate delicious Atlanta beverages without processed corn syrup, every year in March and April Atlanta-based Coca-Cola offers a large distribution of a Kosher version of their soda that is sweetened with cane sugar instead. Keep an eye out for the yellow caps which designate the OU Kosher-approved bottles.

Hopefully your Easter included a basket from the Easter Bunny, but if he skipped your house this year you can always enjoy some delicious jelly beans from Tiffany Alley!

What's Cooking at Tiffany Alley?

2011-04-18T17:27:00.000-04:00

Have you seen our fabulous new cookbook Breakfast Lunch & Dinner at Tiffany’s? This cookbook is a compilation of all our best recipes from our reporters, videographers and staff. We put this together as part of our celebration of our 25th anniversary. It’s been a labor of love and Tiffany and all of us are so excited to share this with you.

As soon as I found out we would be creating a Tiffany Alley cookbook I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one! As a cooking junkie, I find a new cookbook or recipe hard to resist. So, as soon as I was given my copy I prepared to test the recipes of my fellow co-workers.

I've never been much of a baker. I used to have a roommate who was a prolific baker, and I remember being intimidated by the precision required in the exacting mixing and measuring. I'm more of a 'throw it together and see how it turns out', 'just add more butter and garlic' kind of girl. However, looking longingly at Tiffany's Chicken Enchilada recipe and its endless possibilities for going off-book with toppings, I decided to push outside of my comfort zone and try something new. Easy Coffee Cake it was! Cindy's recipe (which can be found on page 27) was wonderfully simple, and required me to buy only a few ingredients that I didn't already have in my cabinet.

Well, aside from a brief stumble when I realized the recipe wanted me to use firm butter (where would I even buy butter that is determined and unwavering?) everything was super simple. A quick sidebar with Google helped me figure out what to do with the 'firm butter' bit of instruction. If you're ever making a recipe and come across a term you're unfamiliar with I highly recommend YouTube, where you can not only find the instructions, but someone happily willing to demonstrate the exact technique and give helpful hints as well! I assembled the recipe in less than 20 minutes, and it was making my kitchen smell delicious in no time!

The finished product:

I must admit, it was almost too lovely to eat. I stress the almost part of that sentence! It was just as delicious as it was pretty, and I recommend that you try it for a quick and delicious AM (or PM!) treat. What now? Hmm..., those Chicken Enchiladas are still patiently waiting!

Have you tried any of the recipes from Breakfast Lunch & Dinner at Tiffany’s? We would love to hear what you made, what you changed, how it turned out, and any other anecdotes about your experience using Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner at Tiffany’s. Shoot me an email at stephanie@tiffanyalley.com so we can share your adventures with the rest of the Tiffany Alley crew!

Happy Cooking!