Weekend Wind-Down #63

This past weekend, Missy and I, and a bunch of our co-workers, were in downtown Atlanta at the ATLANTA GIFT MART. Once again, we stayed over night at the trendy HYATT PLACE, and lazily took the shuttle van a couple blocks up the street to the cluster of buildings that make up "The Mart". At the main entrances to each building, people in various costumes handed out free swag in an effort to drive business to their showrooms:



Cameras were pretty much prohibited throughout the Mart, especially in the showrooms, but I managed to take a few photos here and there...Missy and I attended an entertaining and informative seminar about using "social media" as a marketing tool. The organizers grossly underestimated the number of people who would be interested in this subject, and many attendees (including us) were forced to sit on the floor:





Afterwards, we made our way to the top of BUILDING 2, and slowly made our way down, checking out each floor:





We took advantage of the free snacks and goodies to be had at most all of the showrooms...Missy stopped to enjoy a LOLLIPOP...and then a little CUPCAKE...and then a SKEWER OF FRESH FRUIT:







We rested by this cascading two floor-high fountain:





We sat in on a KNIFE DEMONSTRATION and learned the proper ways to sharpen and maintain knives, and the proper way to slice and dice vegetables:







We found more FREE CUPCAKES...and even more people wearing funny costumes:







FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - My family coming to visit!
RAOUL - The moment we came home from the Mart.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - Not feeling good this weekend.
RAOUL - Walking the Mart.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - The ice cream at Ryan's!
RAOUL - You and your dad laughing at the turd-shaped ice cream at Ryan's.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - "Come here, boy!"
RAOUL - "Go getcha self a switch"

WHICH WEEKEND WAS MORE DRAINING: ATHFEST, 4TH OF JULY, OR GIFT MART?
MISSY - Gift Mart.
RAOUL - Athfest.

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - The pasta with chick peas that Mom made.
RAOUL - Mexican dinner from La Parilla.

WORST MEAL OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - I can't think of any.
RAOUL - Breakfast at Hyatt Place.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Bunny bedding, a cookie, and carrots.
RAOUL - Soup, hummus, orange juice.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - I think I just mostly listened to Craftypod and Craftsanity.
RAOUL - Buffalo Daughter, Seefeel, Vampire Weekend, Abe Vigoda, The Arcade Fire, Motown mix cds, Mayer Hawthorne's "Hawthorne Radio" northern soul mixes on the Stones Throw podcast.