Browse

our directory of women-owned businesses

Archive for February, 2010

11 Ways To Be Single on Valentine’s Day

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Single, taken, or “it’s complicated”… regardless of your relationship status, Valentine’s Day can frankly be very obnoxious. If you’re with someone, you’re pressured to partake in extravagant displays of lovey-dovey cuteitude against your will. If you’re single, it’s even worse. You’re brutally reminded that those millions of cheesy greeting cards with kissing puppies on the front simply aren’t meant for you. Of course Valentine’s Day isn’t all bad, but it can be tough to go solo on a day when the rest of the world seems madly in love. In an effort to give single gals out there some solace, here’s a smattering of ideas from women (and two men) on what to do on February 14th if you’re single.

  • Get all your single girlfriends together for a fun-filled night of vino and good music… that’s what I’d do. Oh and shopping too (hell make an entire day of it)! -Phaedra, Taken, Los Angles [A Very CRAVE V-Day]
  • Two words: Southern. Comfort. Now you have advice from lady AND gentleman – Corbin, Taken, Washington DC [Best "Drink Your Sorrows Away" V-Day]
  • Celebrate the Chinese New Year! -Jocelyn, Single, Woodinvile [Best V-Day Replacement Holiday]
  • I heard the trick is to not make Valentine’s Day about loving a person you are in a relationship with, but to make it about loving all the people you love. If it isn’t about one person than it can be less disappointing when you spread out the love! – Courtney, Single, Santa Clara [Sweetest V-Day Idea]
  • Remember that it’s easier to be single on Valentine’s Day than stuck in a relationship that’s going nowhere fast. -Mike, Divorced, London [Best V-Day Reality Check]
  • This might be an LA only thing…but going to Disneyland with friends is awesome, as is going to Amoeba Records by yourself. – Natasha, Single, Los Angeles [Most LA V-Day]
  • Offer to babysit for your friends with kids! -Deborah, Taken, Woodinville [Most Charitable V-Day Idea]
  • I loved my single Valentines the best! Having a dinner party (with yummy cocktails) is fun with your single friends, or taking a little trip somewhere- the ocean, a cabin, a movie- with a few friends is wonderful! Just celebrating the people you love is what it’s all about! – Carly, Taken, Camano Island [Best Girlfriends V-Day]
  • If I were single on VDAY I’d go to Vegas for sure. But that’s just me… – Ashley, Taken, Los Angeles [Best V-Day for Ladies on the Prowl]
  • It’s two weeks away…. whose to say you will be single? Also… I hear having a bonfire is great fun… and if things go awry, a fireman comes over to visit – Adrienne, Single, Santa Fe [Hottest V-Day Idea]
  • Valentine’s Day is just another day…I would go to brunch and buy yourself some flowers. – Jess, Taken, San Diego [Best "Celebrate Yourself" V-Day Idea]

So there you have it. Booze, babysitting, brunch or bonfires – whatever you do, you definitely do not need a beau to enjoy your Valentine’s Day this year. Have fun!

Atlanta’s Best Coffee Shops

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

CRAVE-ing an escape from the winter cold?  There’s no better cure than a steaming mug of coffee or hot chocolate.  We’ve complied a list of our favorite urban spots, so go ahead–indulge, and sip your chills away!

Cafe Intermezzo
Voted Best Coffee in Best of Citysearch Atlanta 2009, this European coffeehouse will transport you straight to the streets of nineteenth century Vienna.  Now with three locations (Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Airport), Café Intermezzo offers over 100 tortes, tarts, cakes, pies and cheesecakes in addition to some of the most sip-worthy coffee in the city.

Octane Coffee Bar & Lounge
Recently named one of Bon Appetit Magazine‘s top ten boutique coffee shops in the country, this popular West Midtown indie coffeehouse and lounge is a hot work/play spot for Georgia Tech students and intown hipsters alike.  The coffee is strong and rich, and regulars swear by the three-country house blend, made with beans from Sumatra, Kenya, and Ethiopia.  In addition to serving up great coffee and some of the city’s best grilled cheese (a CRAVE staff favorite!), Octane also hosts live music, art openings, DJs and more.

San Francisco Coffee Roasting
Long-time local favorite San Francisco Coffee Roasting roasts all of its coffee on site, creating a unique java experience. Whether you prefer the smoothly floral Bourbon Santos from Brazil or the six-beaned San Francisco espresso, this coffeehouse is the place to order a cuppa joe brewed from beans grown in the Americas, Indonesia and the Pacific basin. The Atlanta-based San Francisco Coffee Roasting has three locations, in Virginia-Highland, Poncey Highland and Candler Park.

Java Vino
This unique concept coffeehouse is the result of a partnership between former IT consultant Steve Franklin and Nicaraguan native Heddy Kuhl, whose family has been in the coffee business since 1883.   Java Vino is a great spot for studying, working or just hanging out.  In addition to dozens of specialty coffees, teas and wines, Java Vino offers a full menu of breakfast items, sandwiches, soups, salads, killer cheeseplates, small plates and yummy-lious desserts.

Joe’s East Atlanta Coffee Shop
Located in East Atlanta Village’s, Joe’s has become one of the city’s most popular hangouts. It’s not hard to see why: from the comfy couches to the cozy fireplace to the savory java, Joe’s is a perfect little haven that begs you to take a load off and stay a while. With a variety of espressos, lattes and cappuccinos, their range of selections rivals that of many major coffee chains. They also offer soy milk, chai tea, hot cocoa and several flavors of fruit smoothies.

Noon Midtown
The brainchild of featured CRAVE entrepreness Katie Birmingham, Noon Midtown is Atlanta’s hottest new lunch spot. Serving up creative and tasty soup, sandwiches and salads, this new delicious find is just what Midtown needed. The hot chocolate–complete with homemade marshmallows–is heaven in a cup!

Cacao
If it is hot chocolate you are CRAVE-ing, Cacao Atlanta is the place to go.  Owner and pioneer Kristen Hard–the country’s first female artisinal bar-to-bean maker–has grown her operation from handcrafting chocolates in a small rented kitchen to its current 3,000 square foot Inman Park laboratoire and boutqiue.  The South’s only bean-to-bar chocolate maker infuses each and every creation with love and passion, and its Our Old World- New World aesthetic will transport you to a French apothecary in one bite and the charming South in the next.

Rachel Ray, I’m not…

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

I don’t know if any of you are “culinaryily challenged,” but I sure am. I am obsessed with the Food Channel but don’t cook anything I ever see prepared on there. There is something soothing and brain numbing about watching them create, compete, build absurdly shaped cakes, and whip up mystery ingredients I have never heard of.

How about that Rachel Ray gal? She rocks it every night in less than 30 minutes. The big difference is when I go to my pantry or fridge I don’t conveniently have all the spices and sauces placed by the elves so my 30 minute meal turns into a frustrated 80 minute search for cumin, and a trip to the grocery store. (Consequently, I leave the grocery store with everything BUT cumin and swing through the drive-through window before returning home.)

When I do cook I seem to have portion control issues. I grew up in a big family so I assume spaghetti noodles come in “single serving” bags only. Needless to say, I have a lot of leftovers and anyone who reheats spaghetti noodles knows, they aren’t too tasty.

My Mom is an amazing cook and she knows how to put on a party with picture perfect hors d’oeuvres, now SHE could have her own Food Network show. I think I was busy outside shooting hoop when she was whipping up chef lessons. So the pressure to live up to that is huge. She would bring heaping scrumptious cupcakes to my class parties… with every child’s name monogrammed on them. I am lucky if I can pull off a drive by drop off of Oreos for the school Valentines Day party!

My southern Mother-in-Law once tried to help me out by buying me a southern cookbook. Every dang recipe started with “make a rue”…have you ever tried to make a rue? Well, it’s a special little concoction of flour and butter that you have to try not to burn. I never made a single recipe from that book!

I will have to say I have the “sipping” part of this sip/savor category down pat. Never met a cocktail I didn’t like and they seem to be MUCH easier to make. Although I recently tried a signature cocktail recipe and it actually called for pear sorbet…my Coors Light generally does not come with ice cream and- huge surprise- I didn’t have any pear sorbet in my freezer (unlike Rachel) so I skipped the garnish, the vodka tasted fine without it!

If your idea of comfort food is a large bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos and you don’t own a food processor…you are not alone. Rachel rocks…me, not so much!

* a weekly humor post by Lynn Edwards