((B)) :-! ((D)) :* :X

HAVE A REAL WING-DING IN ATLANTA, GUYS!!! :-d

((8)) 8-} ((y)) :p =-o

Oh, yes, iceeu2, I JUST saw your message about your GD's sleepover. That must have been a hoot! My GD had a friend sleep over while she was here ... what a wonderful time they (we) had. Don't we just love these kids to pieces?????????????????? :-d And I'm sure you ARE one cool Granny! My sweet granddaughter took my face in her hands, and said "Granny, don't lose any more pounds! You are perfect just as you are." I'm still trying not to melt away ........ ;;)

Hey everyone, have a fantastic time tomorrow at your GTG. You sure will all be in my thoughts. Eat, drink and be merry!!! And take photos, please!

What is GTG?

Hello Softato GTG means a get together which occasionally happens when a group of people on Fodors live within a same area. The usually meet at a restaurant and enjoy drinks, a meal, getting acquainted in person and have a real fun time.

A big THANK YOU to OWJ and I2 for arranging a great GTG!!!

It was just great meeting fellow Fodorites! Looking forward to the next one :-)

starsville,details. details please, LOL!! Inquiring minds want to know!
I sure thought of all of you today.

Hello!
Just walked in from our gathering at Maggiano's. It was swimmingly...food was great, Budbrew smooth and tasty (a big thank you, Budman!!), the poem Tiff sent us was a hit and *everyone* sooo nice! As OWJ2 said, it was a group of great, fun people and made for a really nice afternoon. Starrsville made an icebreaker but we were too busy yapping like old friends to really play--ooops :)

The one thing I would change is instead of sitting down at the table as people arrived is to try to have time/place where everyone could mix and mingle first. I didn't think meeting up at the bar would work b/c I worried about how we would recognize eachother. In retrospect, our handy dandy nametags would've been the clue. OWJ2 and I sat in the middle of the long table and found it hard to talk to the people at the far ends--imagine that those at opposite ends didn't really get to meet. Oh, well...stuff to remember for the next time.

There were 17 who RSVPed yes at the final headcount and everyone came. That was my worry--would anyone show or would I look like a lonely psycho searching for friends?? Turns out I had nothing to worry about!

Iceeu2's DH was the official photog, so guess she'll post them when she gets home tomorrow....And Tiff--I used your generous first round money towards the corkage fee and gave the rest to our very hardworking waiter. Hope that was ok!

Thanks to the editors for supplying us w/luggage tags which I know we'll be proud to use!

To all that came--a big thank you! I loved meeting you and hope to see you guys again soon!
OWJ

And Icee!! You are the best cohost ever!! Thanks for suggesting Maggiano's. It was yuuuumy! I think everyone went home with full, happy bellies.

Now all we need is the Bonniebroad workout and diet plan :D

[Re-posting my message from the Europe board]
Hello, everyone! A big thanks to OWJ and Iceeu2 for organizing the GTG. Ryan and I had a great time and really enjoyed meeting you all! :)

Hey! how did you get luggage tags?

I'm soooooo jealous. Glad you guys had a great time. did everyone look the way you imagined?

Hey MelissaH, I want one of those Fodor's luggage tags too, LOL!! Sounds like everyone had a fantastic time.

Iceeu2 scored the luggage tags. She wrote the editors about some busy trolls and mentioned we were having a GTG. Someone wrote back and voila'! Pretty cool, eh?

I don't know if everyone looked the way I pictured them but doubt I provided the visual they expected either. I will say that everyone was just as nice as I expected, maybe even better in person!!

I've been thinking of you guys all day and hoping you were having a wonderful time. Wish I could have been there. Joan

What a wonderful afternoon! I loved meeting everyone and talking in person. Must admit I had wondered whether or not we would have as much to **say** as we write---turns out we had just as much or more. Everyone was lovely!

LoveItaly, really wish you'd been there. Starrsville made up a &quot;quiz&quot; icebreaker for us that consisted of clues to match with fodorites' screen names. For instance, one was &quot;loves Paris&quot;---I put Scarlett <i>and</i>Ira down for that, although there were many possibles. Anyway, one of the clues was &quot;considers LoveItaly a friend.&quot; I thought about that one and decided that it could probably apply to anyone on this message board, including me.

Could not believe how many connections I found with Sue---I'll say hi to Mimi for you at our next garden club meeting!

Anyway, loved meeting you all, and <i>many, many</i> thanks to OWJ and iceeu for arranging this. If anyone is up to a long drive south, I'd be happy to have a GTG at my house in our tiny town next time.

Aaaah......for those of you who have never done a GTG before, now you know why it's so addicting! Every time I go to one in my town, the world becomes that much smaller. There's really only 2 degrees of separation between us, ya know!
;)

P.S. Many, many thanks also to Budman and Tiff for their generous contributions to our GTG. Budman, the Cabernet was outstanding, and I LOVE the label---beautiful! I actually wanted to take the bottle home and use it outdoors with one of those thingies that replace the cork with an iron stopper/ candelabra, but after asking for the bottle I forgot and left it in my haste to get to my next engagement. I feverently hope the next GTG will be the lucky recipient of some of your &quot;brew.&quot;

Tiff very generously sent money for the first round, and we used it for the corkage fee so we could enjoy Budman's wine at lunch. Thank you both!

Oh kswl, I too wish I could have been with all of you yesterday. You sure were all in my thoughts and heart. And what a nice thing to say. Thank you. The feelings are returned, believe me. Happy Sunday to all of you.

I'd like to add my thanks to both OWJ and iceeu2 for hosting the ATL GTG, to Budman((b))for the Budbrew (I had the Syrah - delicious!) and to Tiff for helping to sponsor us!

The food was wonderful and plentiful! LoveItaly, we had appetizers of huge Stuffed Mushrooms and Fried Calimari (the ONLY calimari I've ever enjoyed!--not tough as my past experiences).

Ceasar Salad and Spinach/Bacon Salad.

Lasagne Marinara, Eggplant Parmiangino, Roasted Chicken with Spinach and Chicken Rotini. (did I leave anything out?)

Then for dessert: Apple Frittata (is that right?) with ice cream and Tiramasu YUM to both!

Coffee with desert.

I was the only one who had a Mai Tai (trying to bring back memories as I was making new ones!)

Several enjoyed the wine.((d))

The service was impecable, the spirit warm, and the food delicious!((Y))
My fav were the mushrooms and the eggplant!


Belle

Oh Belle, you are making me drool, LOL. The food sounds fantastic!! I will have to &quot;force OWJ &amp; OWJ2&quot; to go there the next time I am in Atlanta. I have said before but I will say again that every meal I had in Atlanta was fabulous. I do like to eat, including calamri when it is prepared properly. I am glad you got to experience some good calamari. Mangia!!