Wanderlust Wednesday: Atlanta

I never thought I'd say this, but i REALLY am beginning to love Atlanta. Prior to this summer, i was NEVER fond of it. Not even in the slightest. I don't know if it's the traffic, or that it's the *annoyingly close* part of the drive from Florida to Nashville (are we there yetttttttttt), i was always dismissive of Hotlanta. But after going for a friend's wedding in September (the first time i truly spent time there), I started to fall for it's charm.

Atlanta is an interesting mix - but definitely a town with great shopping, boutiques, and amazing restaurants!

We recently returned for our anniversary weekend and stayed at Le Meridian Atlanta Perimeter Hotel, which is a Starwood Hotel. It's very modern/boutique feeling, and is right between ALOFT and W hotels. So it's pretty nice.

in LOVE with this quote about travel. too long to tattoo on my arm?

Since it was our anniversary we got a suite, but I would be perfectly happy with the standard room. The beds were like floating clouds and they had FANTASTIC room service.

just a small feast.

Dinner:
We had dinner at 4th and Swift in the Historic Fourth Ward Park area, and it was DELICIOUS. On top of the fact that the decor was just awesome. The crowd was mixed, from older couples on double dates (the kind of people who order a few bottles of wine!) to girls nights, other couples our age - great variety. The place was buzzing with conversation and smelled of great food. I had the veggie dish, where you get to select four different vegetables they offer (there were about 7 or 8 to choose from) - all were divine.

I should have taken more photos inside because it was cool. Modern industrial look - exposed wood, brick and edison bulbs. You get my drift.

Brunch:
West Egg Cafe was a delight from our trip in September. Named after the area of town that Nick Caraway lived in The Great Gatsby (another reason to love), and they serve brunch all day. SOLD! I had the Black Bean Cakes and Eggs, and shared Banana Bread French Toast with Matt. Delicious. They have a lot of fun options, and the classics! Also the space is very bright an open, so it's nice for any time of day.

they also have a photo booth. Enjoy the top photo of us not knowing it was starting :)

Shopping:
Atlanta is pretty spread out, but there is great shopping everywhere. There is one in particular called Atlantic Station which is an outdoor shopping area, compete with a West Elm, H&M, BCBG, LOFT, Gap, etc. There are also some restaurants, coffee shops and a movie theater. It is a great spot to grab a coffee on a nice day and window shop, or actually shop :) Also, they offer a shuttle to Ikea (not worth it in my opinion if you're actually going to buy, because Ikea has free parking!) if you're interested. We didn't take the shuttle, but we did manage to find a few things.

first timer.

Now we're officially looking for reasons to go back. Luckily for us, it's only about 4 hours of drive time! Atlanta is surprisingly winning its way into my heart. Do you love or hate the ATL? Any other restaurant suggestions?

xo