Back Down South

Drink This – The Vida Encantada

VidaEncantada

The Drink: Jamie has created some amazing drinks over the years but this one is by far my favorite. He was looking for a cocktail that had tequila and these Mole bitters when he found one that surprised him that also included maraschino liquor. “I wasn’t crazy about it when I first made it so I made some changes – less maraschino, add agave and Angostura. For a while it wasn’t perfect but a good friend of mine suggested I add citrus. Once I added lemon, the drink was born. The Vida Encantada.”

Stir all ingredients in a glass with ice.
Strain in a rocks glass over a large cube – we used a Neat Ice Kit to create sexy clear ice.
Garnish with Luxardo cherries and a lemon peel on a pick.

The Glass: Rocks glass from Nashville’s Woodland Wine Merchant.

Drink This – Left Hand Cocktail

Takeover

Jamie came to Atlanta a few weeks ago to join me in fulfilling our high school dreams with a Dashboard Confessional and Third Eye Blind concert. We found ourselves with an open afternoon and figured there was only one way to successfully fill the time: Drink This Takeover! 

LeftHandCocktail

The Drink: We’re starting with a cocktail neither of us had ever had: the Left Hand Cocktail – found in The PDT Cocktail Book. We knew there was no way we wouldn’t love this drink. Bourbon, Campari, Sweet Vermouth and Mole bitters (which we are always looking for new ways to use). Sam Ross combined his favorite classics (and ours, too), Italy’s Negroni and America’s Manhattan, into one drink and named the result after Lefty, an Italian-American character from the movie Donnie Brasco.

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled coupe.
Garnish with 3 brandied cherries on a pick.

The Glass: Coupe from The Boston Shaker.

John Rich

JohnRichPhotographed by Jess Marie (LadyFLASHBACK)

We only had the pleasure of spending 1 evening around John Rich of Oakleaf & Acorn but the man left an impact. Mark and I enjoyed a dinner with him, his brother and Micah of The Old Try. He was the kind of guy who you wanted telling the stories around the table – and he told good ones. He talked a lot about his kids, not in a “please stop talking about your kids that I’ve never met” way, but in a way that we wanted to hear more. In a way that made you smile because you knew how good of a father he was, and that’s always a joy to be around. My heart is so heavy and I only met the man once. That says a damn lot.

Micah has made this print in honor of John who passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday. All of the profits will go to the Rich family who are in our prayers. If you’re the prayin’ kind, send some their way.

IMG_6551-copy-_1 2

The Meloys

meloy004 Photographed in Atlanta, GA at Better Half
  
Raised in:
Him: Marietta, Georgia
Her: Alajuela, Costa Rica
 
Lives in:
Atlanta, Georgia
 
Current favorite item on the Better Half Menu:
Him: How could I not say the pasta?!  I owe my whole life to this one single dish, which I made for Cristina on our first date.
Her: Also the pasta.
 
Describe the restaurant in one word:
Him: Dynamic.
Her: Life.
  
Now would ya look at that:
Zach and Cristina Meloy, the couple behind Atlanta’s Better Half and PushStart Kitchen supper club.
 

On him…

On her…

  • “Just what fits a growing belly!”

Jason

Corn 150-2Photographed in Jonesborough, TN

Raised in:
Erwin, Tennessee

Lives in:
Charleston, South Carolina

Favorite detail about your Southern wedding:
My favorite detail about my southern wedding was my Bride, she was beautiful in her dress and her hair and makeup was awesome. She danced, we drank, and there were no regrets on not having enough fun. I also loved the way we could mix the everyday farm/barn materials with the elegant suit and formal dress without anyone questioning or thinking it was odd. Being able to “suit-up” and still sit on a bail of hay, sip moonshine from a Mason jar, and stand on the top of a beautiful hilltop over-looking the Appalachian mountains while getting married isn’t a themed wedding here, its just a Southern Wedding at its best.

Now would ya look at that:
Jason on his wedding day.

Maggie Mathews

maggiemathewsart 026Photographed in Atlanta, GA

Raised in:
Vinings, Georgia

Lives in:
Atlanta, Georgia

What most inspires your art:
I’m inspired by so many things but mostly the energy felt when being by the water, and all things that remind me of that. I’m also very inspired by color itself.

Favorite project you’re currently working on:
I’m working on a new project that I don’t want to give too many details about just yet but is sure to be a favorite. All I’m going to say is that it involves giving back to my dear old friend the Chattahoochee River and I’m very excited to see where it goes.

Now would ya look at that:
Meet Maggie Mathews, an amazing Atlanta-based artist. I had the privilege of photographing her and her studio for this great piece on The Love List that you should definitely go read!

Eureka

N+N-389Photographed in Eureka Springs, AR by Christian Gideon

Raised in:
Spring and Tomball, Texas

Live in:
The booming metropolis of Jasper, Georgia

Favorite thing about our first visit to Eureka Springs, Arkansas:
Above all else, Caroline’s cousin’s wedding! It was awesome to see the famous Thorncrown Chapel – it’s so beautiful and impressive. The town itself is an odd one with it’s haunted hotels and quirky shops. As for the few places we visited, The Ozark Mountain Taproom was our favorite (go figure). It had a good selection of Arkansas beers and just about every one we tried was delicious!

Now would ya look at that:

On Caroline…

On Mark…

Back Down South Shop

IMG_2755-2-2Photographed in Eureka Springs, AR
Hudson Sutler Oahu Commuter Duffel (on sale for $85)

We’ve been Hudson Sutler fans since the minute we discovered them. And as you’ve seen here before, we’ve also been Huckberry fans since the minute we discovered them.

I recently chatted with Grant Hewitt, the man beehind Hudson Sutler, and we thought it would be fun to collaborate with a little travel series this summer on Back Down South. Mark and I use their bags on the regular, and I’m traveling quite a bit this summer around the South and beyond. I wanted to photograph their Weekender duffels taking trips with me. This idea grew into one of my favorite oppurtunites I’ve had to date: curating a shop on Huckberry.

Over the next few months, I’ll be adding products to the shop (stay tuned on Instagram, FB, Twitter), as well as photographing some of my favorite ones that go on the trips with me. The shop is filled with items that I think are perfect for summer travels and adventures, so click the image below to check it out and do some shopping!

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Special thanks to Hudson Sutler and Huckberry for providing some products for us to use on our travels.

ATL to NOLA to TX

A few weeks ago my best friend Tig said “goodbye” to Atlanta and packed her bags for Texas. Though I hate to see her leave Georgia, I can’t be upset about someone moving back to the Homeland. I jumped at the oppurtunity to road trip with her to Houston and as we planned the drive she casually mentioned that she’d never been to New Orleans before. In my opinion, a night is all you need, so we made a stop. Road trips are a wonderful way to see things you might not normally encounter. However, if you want your road trip to be a success, then you need to make sure that your car is up to the job. An old colleague of mine recently found some great Salina used cars online at conklincars.com if you are considering upgrading your own car. It’s important to have a reliable vehicle to go on a road trip. You don’t want to break down in an unfamiliar area! If you need to purchase a new vehicle for the road trip, make sure that you’ve added this vehicle to your insurance policy. Of course, if you wanted to find the cheapest insurance for your car trip, you could always consider looking online. That should save you some money whilst you’re traveling. For more cost-cutting ideas, it might be worth reading this article here. Hopefully, that will help more people to have more money for traveling. Road trips can be expensive, so it might be worth trying out some of those ideas. For now though, here are some highlights from our trip.

IMG_2155 We went straight from the highway to Erin Rose Bar for beers and – well – killer po’ boys!

IMG_2161IMG_2159IMG_2165IMG_2331IMG_2178IMG_2184IMG_2185IMG_2232The Carousel Bar in Hotel Monteleone was a must for me. Sure, touristy, but it’s an institution. I had to have a Vieux Carré in the bar where it was created. For me, it was a bit like checking off “Champagne at The Plaza.”

IMG_2238IMG_2241 We picked Kingfish for dinner and were so happy we did (thanks to Patrick King for recommending it via Twitter). We had an epic 4 hour meal and savoured every bite and sip. Add this place to your NOLA list.

IMG_2243IMG_2338 Onward to Texas! While on the road (and before refueling our bellies at The Chimes in Baton Rouge), one of us mentioned how we wished we’d have time that weekend to go to an Astros game. A few minutes later, Tig’s brother texted her “‘game tonight, roof open, 70 degrees.” Could we get there in time? We sure could. What better way to welcome Tig back to Houston than driving straight to the ballpark for some ‘Stros, overpriced beers and nachos in the Crawford Boxes.

IMG_2340IMG_2346IMG_2349 Texas forever.

Special thanks to Sam Hunt for providing our soundtrack for 90% of the drive.
Thanks to the Undisclosed Podcast for filling the other 10%.

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