*As anyone who has traveled through the nation’s busiest airport knows, “T as in Tango” refers to the Concourse T stop on the airport train.

This was supposed to be a simple road trip to Savannah; a mere 4 hours away from Atlanta.  Our goal was to leave about 8:00 a.m, but since I was wiped out from Christmas, I didn’t even finish packing until about 10:00 a.m.  We started loading the car about 11:00 a.m. and that was when our road trip comedy of errors began–our rental car was too small for our luggage.  What do we do?  Watch and see:

 

 

The vacation adventures continue in Amelia Island on American Beach when my husband has to use the bathroom; oh boy!

 

 

I hope that you had a good laugh.  Family–you gotta love ‘em!

 

*I finally wrote blog posts about our trip (the normal parts) to Savannah and Ameila Island. 

 

 

There’s a great new guest blogger on Funkidivagirl.com: I would like to introduce my 13 year old son, Captain Cuisine, of Captain Cuisine & The Gastro-teens.   Captain Cuisine is a real foodie; he loves to eat and he loves to eat well.  It is a (not so funny) joke in our house that he can always be counted on to order the most expensive thing on the menu.  Captain Cuisine appreciates a good meal and always has much to say about his dining experiences.  Everyone loves a critic!  

 

Flip Burger Boutique: A Classy Joint

By Captain Cuisine

 

A little bit past the Wal-Mart, right across the street from an auto repair shop is Flip Burger Boutique, the newest concept by Top Chef runner-up and Atlanta restaurant media darling, Richard Blais. Flip is a quasi-upscale burger joint located in Atlanta’s Howell Mill district. The menu features twists on regular beef burgers, most of them not containing beef at all. Many of Chef Blais’s previous ventures have been short-lived (definitely not because of food quality), but this one looks like it’s here to stay. The burgers are pricier than your average fare ($6.50-$11.00), but you get your money’s worth and maybe a bit more, considering the sophistication.

 

I arrived at the restaurant with my mother, father, and sister on a Saturday at 5:00. I instantly noticed that the atmosphere is very lively and family-friendly. Outside, there is a patio that will be very pleasant during warm months. As you walk inside, techno and new wave music greet you. The tunes may be slightly abrasive if you do not share those musical tastes, but they are not so loud that you cannot hear yourself talk (*cough* Two Urban Licks).  Along the full bar is an alternating pattern of framed mirrors and framed flat-screen TVs, culminating in a framed cutout of the kitchen.  Two long communal tables stand in the center of the diminutive restaurant while four person tables and ‘flipped’ booths lurk around the fringes.  The restaurant was not very crowded, most likely because of the restaurant’s ripe age of about two weeks.

 

 

The menu (which they had gotten that same day) makes you flip it around to look at different sections (Son-Gyver tip: If you’re dining for two at Flip Burger Boutique, place one menu vertically and one menu horizontally, covering all sides of the menu and causing minimal flipping). Our waiter was very well informed about the menu, and after he told us the special, he had a conversation with us, revealing his iced tea deprived childhood in the UK.  We learned that Chef Richard Blais has created over 30 unique burgers to put into rotation for the menu specials.

 

After a brief family meeting, we decided to get two milkshakes to share, an order of fries, an order of sweet potato tots, and our personal burgers.  Funkidivagirl decided to get the Codburger, Keyinfluencer chose the Shrimp Po Boyger, while Girly opted for the classic Flip burger. I was in a quandary, stuck in a seesaw of confusion, both Pâté Melt and Lamburger vying for my taste buds. Ultimately, I decided to be more adventurous and try the Pâté Melt.

 

Before our foodstuffs arrived, the masculine half of a couple seated next to us traded iPhone apps with my father, much to the irritation of their better halves. Fortunately, their banter could not continue for long, as the service was quick. First up was the milkshakes, frozen by liquid nitrogen, a chemical that causes rapid frostbite. Contrary to the pdf menu, the milkshakes are: Krispy Kreme, Sweet Tea (not available at time of review), Nutella-Burnt Marshmallow, and Pistachio-White Chocolate. We chose Krispy Kreme and NBM. The Nutella just tasted like a thick chocolate and while it was delicious, it paled in comparison to the Krispy Kreme. The milkshake tasted exactly like its no-frills namesake in liquid form. One milkshake is split into two 8 oz. glasses, so we were satisfied. However, only for the purposes of the review did we get two milkshakes, for they were pricy at $7.00. You can decide whether it’s worth it or not.

 

The next course was the fries and tots. The tots were good, but were way too salty and left me disappointed. The fries, however, were the best I have ever tasted. They were a rich orange color that intrigued me at first sight. Their life begins as fresh potatoes. They are then flash fried and frozen with liquid nitrogen. The frozen fries are deep fried in duck fat as needed. The end result is a french fry that is long and thick, but the inside flavor is smooth and consistent like a thinner fry. Partnering with the sides was blue cheese foam. The foam was created from blue cheese in the same dispenser as the Starbucks whipped cream. The foam had the same flavor as a normal blue cheese sauce, except that it was lighter and more whimsical. However, after about 20-30 minutes the foam got liquidy at the bottom, so savor it, but don’t take forever.

 

 

The burgers arrived in splendid fanfare. Everybody around us paused their conversations to sneak a peek at our food. The food was arranged beautifully with the top bun uncapped. Portions were not slider size, but you would not feel disgusting if you ate two; my party was fine thanks to the milkshake and fries. Taking a glance at the food across from me, I decided that I was going to exercise my food critic mooching abilities before I ate my own burger. I started with Girly’s burger to see what the bar was. It was high. Not the best pure beef burger I’ve had, but it wasn’t trying to be. It was good but did not need to be great for the purposes of this restaurant. It got its job done in the way it needed to.

 

Funkidivagirl opted out of the tartar sauce on her Codburger, and it was still delicious. It was a meaty, yet light cod filet. The malt vinegar kept me on my toes and kept it interesting. The Shrimp Po Boyger was the star of the evening. It was a patty of shrimp in a sort of crab cake form, but it was the old bay mayonnaise that set it off. It tasted exactly like a Po Boy. The surprising twist that seems to be a theme in these burgers was the fried lemon. Yes a fried lemon.

The Codburger

 

The Shrimp Po Boyger

 

My Pâté Melt made me want to grow a handlebar mustache, I felt so sophisticated. The pâté was not the kind that was a pasty spread. My waiter assuaged me and said that a pâté can refer to any blend of different meats. The meat was very hearty, unlike the other burgers. The mix of veal and pork was very intriguing and each bite was flavorful and unique. As you continued past the first delectable bite, it was a pleasure when you came across lingonberry sauce. Lingonberries are a type of berry that is grown in Scandinavia (or Ikea). They are similar to cranberries, packing the same super nutrients. It is commonly paired with game.

 

 

My only complaint about the burgers was that although they were delicious, special buns to suit the taste of the different burgers would be nice.  Overall the burgers were great.  They were not trying to be the heartiest burgers, just the most creative, and they got the job done.

 

After my meal, Chef Blais visited every table, talking with his patrons. When he stopped at ours he learned about my impending review and took me on a tour (“Buttering up the food critic,” he said).  He was very kind and showed me the giant vat of liquid nitrogen in the back; he also gave me information about the fries that I utilized in this blog post.  I believe that by making the rounds to the tables, this alone could sustain the restaurant, as he was very funny and actually started conversations with people.

 

 

After I thanked Chef Blais and returned to my seat, I decided to check out the bathroom. The bathroom was small but utilized the space very well, similar to the rest of the restaurant. The same mural that adorned the far wall of the outside room and the website was also in the bathroom. The bathroom was slightly bigger than gas-station size, but was very clean and sported a very cool sink that was extremely wide and flat.

 

Flip Burger Boutique is an amazingly creative mid-scale burger joint created by a great man in Chef Richard Blais. I definitely am going back to try the Lamburger, though the Breakfast Burger looks good and Keyinfluencer went a second time and recommended the rBQ. Although it had a few wet-behind-the-ears kinks to work out currently, with time Flip could be recognized as one of the best dining places in Atlanta.

 

Out of 5 Stars: 4.5; 4.7 if I wanted to be exact

*A special thanks to Chef Richard Blais for taking me on the tour of the restaurant.

 

*This blog post lead to a position on Atlanta INtown’s burger panel and the cover shot of the June 2009 issue.  Read all about it here.

Funki and oh-so-helpful organizing & life-hacking tips by yours truly.  Like McGyver, who could dismantle a bomb with a roll of duct tape, a toothpick and a nail file, I am Ma-Gyver, organizer of everything and life-hacker extraordinaire.  From time to time I will be bringing you my tips and tricks for keeping an orderly house and mind.  

 

In Part 1 of A Ma-Gyver Christmas I gave you some tips about being organized and stress-free during the holiday season.  I hope that you have had some time to implement a few of my organizational tips.   If not, maybe this post will inspire you to get ready and organized for next Christmas.  

Getting organized for next Christmas starts when you pack away your Christmas ornaments and decorations.  Most people are so tired from all the holiday celebrations, when they take down the decorations they just throw them into any box.  This is exactly how people end up buying boxes and boxes of lights each year that they don’t need; if you don’t clearly label your boxes, then you don’t really know what’s inside.  And I don’t just mean “Christmas Decorations” on the side of the box either; I type up a detailed list of what’s in that box and then I slip the list into a plastic sleeve and tape it to the box.   I buy those Rubbermaid red and green plastic tubs with lids to store all of my Christmas decorations; they are sturdy and easily identifiable.   If you look at this photo, you will see that some things on the list are highlighted; these are the decorations that I plan to use next year.   Because I change my color scheme each Christmas, I have many decorations and I don’t use them all every year.   By highlighting, I can tell at a glance if this particular tub holds the decorations that I need for this year.

 

Perhaps my best Ma-Gyver Christmas tool is my Christmas Report; this is the last tab in my Christmas Binder (I described the rest of the binder in Part 1).

 

Shortly after the new year I type up everything about the recent Christmas and try to be as detailed as possible.  First I write general notes about what we did on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and how I felt about it.  I comment on our Christmas card, where I bought it and how many I sent; I also attach a print-out of the address labels.   I write about our Christmas tree, where we bought it and how it looked, and I write about the decorations in great detail; I list how many ornaments were used as well as the color scheme of that year.  The report is pretty long; I write about how we honored our traditions, if we made any crafts, any activities we experienced, what I served for dinner and what I baked, and if we did any entertaining.  I think that most important section is Ideas & Notes for Next Year; here I list any decorating ideas, activities I wish to do or anything that I need to buy.  In early November when I open my binder, this is the section that I go to first.  Finally, I take photos of my Christmas tree and all the decorations outside and around the house; I attach them to the report along with any notes about what worked, what didn’t and what to try next year.

Are you ready to have a Ma-Gyver Christmas?  It’s not too late; if you start now, next Christmas will be a breeze!  All it takes is a little organizing now to be a lot less stressed next year.

 

This will be my last post for 2008 as I will be busy enjoying Christmas and the holiday break with my family, but look for a exciting guest blogger premiering this week on Funkidivagirl.com; I promise that you will love this guy!  If you are fiending for some funki reads while I’m gone, you can always check out the archives, The Best of Funkidivagirl.com or The 4 Real Housewives.  I have some great posts planned for 2009, so be sure to subscribe to Funkidivagirl.com via email or through a RSS reader like Google so that you don’t miss a thing.   Thanks for reading; I really appreciate your comments and community.  Have a merry Christmas, a happy New Year and as always,

keep it funki!

 

Every year my kids and I bake Christmas cookies that we cut out and decorate.  I have hunted high and low for an easy, but good recipe and a few years ago I discovered this one.  I found it best to make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight; then the next day we cut out, bake and decorate the cookies.  I use pre-made icing sometimes, but you can also make an easy icing by combining powered sugar with a little water and food coloring.

 

CHRISTMAS  COOKIE CUTTERS

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Mix the dry ingredients.  Add the butter.  Us a mixer at low speed until the mixture resembles cornmeal.  In a seperate bowl, beat the eggs and then add the sugar and lemon extract; beat thoroughly.  Blend the egg mixture into the flour mixture.  Chill the dough overnight.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut with floured cookie cutters.  Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes.

If you want to use colored sugar to decorate, put that on before baking.  Otherwise, use icing and other decorations after the cookie cools off.

 

I try not to get all Martha Stewart with my cookie decorations because I let the kids have fun decorating however they want to without any intervention or “suggestions” from me.  Here is a cookie that my daughter left for Santa last Christmas, 2007:

 

 

As you can see, we use all kinds of cookie cutters, not just Christmas shapes.  We got that that cookie cutter at Disney World, but Wiliams-Sonoma has some great ones.  Look at these fun Princess Cookie Cutters:

Or All Star Cookie Cutters:

So think outside the Christmas tree and angel shapes; go wild with your cookies!  Have fun!

 

One of the interesting things about growing up and becoming an adult is that you get to create your own holiday traditions.   Over the past 15 years my husband and I have created traditions for our own family and here are some of our favorites.

A week before Christmas I break out my Pottery Barn Christmas Reindeer dishes and we use these everyday through Christmas.  I just love these dishes; they are very pretty, but whimsical and fun too.  I got them the first year that they came out and have added to them over the years.  This year I got a new plastic set for my daughter and drinking glasses.   Every year we all scramble to get our favorite reindeer dish; I try to get Vixen and my son claims Donner or Dasher.

 

Another favorite tradition is that each family member gets their own ornament every year.  Sometimes we just pick out something we like, but most years we try to get something that is representative of that year.   For instance, over the years my son has gotten the following ornaments: a baseball (when he was on the T-ball league), a soccer ball (when he played soccer), a violin, a hot wheels car and Spongebob (his favorite show that year).   This year his ornament is an acoustic guitar because he learned to play this summer.  My daughter’s ornament is a violin because she just started taking lessons this year; I found her ornament at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Store.  Both kids are also sharing an ornament of a black hi-top Converse shoe because they both love Converse.  We found the Converse shoe at Urban Outfitters. This is my ornament because I took riding lessons this past fall; I found it (along with the guitar) on Amazon.

Sometimes in addition to our individual ornaments we also buy a family ornament to represent something the whole family shared; we have a beautiful Mouse Ears ornament from our first trip to Disney World and my son and I share a “Tower of Terror” ornament to celebrate (?) our terrifying ride together.  We always try to buy an ornament from our destination when we go on vacation.   Each year we have fun decorating the tree; as we unpack “our” ornaments we talk about them.  One year way into the future I will decorate the tree with my grandkids and tell them a story about each ornament.  However, my memory is already very bad so this year I also bought a beautiful notebook to write down all the ornaments along with the year and the owner. 

 

Our last tradition is fun, yet also practical; we buy new pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve.  This tradition was born out of my vanity–I wanted everyone to look good for photos on Christmas morning.  Here’s a photo of my daughter in 2006 dressed in the same pajamas as her My Twinn Doll:

 

And here’s the whole family last Christmas, 2007:

Sometimes it can be very hard to find cute pajamas.  This year I went to Nordstrom (my pajamas), Bloomingdale’s (my husband and daughter) and Gapkids (my son).  

Here are my husband’s:

My son’s:

And my pajamas:

I really like my pajamas; they are well made, comfy and very cute.  They are made by PJ Salvage and I will buy more pajamas by this brand in the future.  

 

This is my favorite time of the year and I really try to make Christmas special for my family and build memories; I think creating traditions is a big part of that.  Now that I have shared some of my family’s Christmas traditions, please share; what are your Christmas traditions?