Last weekend, I flew down to Atlanta to celebrate both my mom’s birthday and my sister’s birthday. We went to Birmingham on Saturday and had a big family fish fry. Fried tilapia, catfish, shrimp, hush puppies, french fries, baked beans, cole slaw and homemade lemonade. Yum!  I forgot to take any pictures because I was too busy eating and talking to my cousins.  Next day, we had a luncheon for my mom and uncle who are twins to celebrate their 60th birthday. Above is a picture of my parents. It was a great weekend.

Saturday was a very hot day, so it was good time to venture over to Carroll Gardens to Brooklyn Farmacy, a new soda fountain that makes egg creams, milkshakes, ice cream sodas and more. I ordered a Black and White Soda and it was delicious. Brooklyn Farmacy also sells local food like Early Bird Granola. If my waistline could afford it, I would go there everyday.

Yesterday, I attended Cooks for The Cure event at the Roger Smith Hotel. Sponsored by KitchenAid, it was a great way to end the weekend with leisurely lobster and mussel eating. Thanks to Jessica Randazza for organizing!

It’s hot. I’m melting. Eating ice cream helps. I will be attending these events below.

July 13: Blogging While Brown Meetup I am organizing this event, and it will be at Houndstooth Pub in Midtown.

July 31: The Great Hot Dog Cookoff

August 4: Media Bistro Career Circus

August 6-7: BlogHer

I love french toast, waffles and pancakes, but I also crave a salty side like bacon or ham to compliment the sweet. Instead of frying up some bacon, I dabbed a little bacon marmalade on my french toast and it was delicious! Problem solved.

BTW, I will be attending UnFancy Food on Sunday at the Bell House and Fancy Food Show on Monday at Javits. Monday, I will also be hosting “Video Builds The Cooking Star” at Shooting Kitchen. This event is a video clinic for anyone-not just food bloggers- who always wanted to have a professional video of them doing a cooking demo. The event is sponsored by the Sears Chef Challenge.

Spent Memorial Day weekend mostly in Northern Virginia with an afternoon in our nation’s capital. My boyfriend’s mom and aunt went on a shopping spree at a farmer’s market in Occoquan, Virginia. Swiss chard, green beans, strawberries, carrots, radishes, lettuce and potatoes was just some of the stuff they got.  They also bought blackberry pie and lemon cheese pie from Mom’s Apple Pie. Both pies were delicious.

Sunday, we went to the Woodrow Wilson House which is the only presidential museum in DC. The house is pretty big and filled with historical artifacts. Then we had pizza at Pizzeria Paradiso. Monday, I ate breakfast at Vienna Inn which is famous for its chili dogs. I didn’t have chili dogs because it was 9:30AM.

This picture is the delicious Meat Hook sloppy joe that Tom Mylan bought to Liza de Guia’s spring potluck on Monday. It was yummy!

Bacon Marmalade and More: The Brooklyn Lyceum is having a Spring Food and Craft Fair on May 1st and 2nd.

Bulls on Parade: Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market is having a food truck parade on Sunday May 2nd.

Faggity Haggity: The Miss Fag Hag contest is May 2nd at Comix. I will be there not competing, but wearing something fabulous.

The Original Foxy Brown: Pam Grier will be reading her new memoir Foxy, My Life in Three Acts on Tuesday at Barnes and Noble Tribeca on Tuesday, May 4. I am reading the book now and l love it.

Saturday night, I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful salon in a tenement building in the Lower East Side. It was hosted by Les Salonnaires. Dinner was provided by Kara Masi of Ted and Amy Supper Club. There was a ramp soup, an asparagus salad, and pasta cabonara and a delicious lemon semifreddo for dessert.

There was amazing delicious bread made by Amatullah Jabriel, of Sweet Spice and Honey.

After dinner, there was a performance by Harpist Pamela Martinez who is also the lead singer of Teletextile. There was a trio of “naked cherubs” in the background while she played.

This photo was taken on my block. Who abandoned the stuff animals?

Hester Street Fair opens this weekend. Now people in Manhattan will not have trek across a bridge to enjoy artisan food and overpriced vintage.

Cupcake Eating Contest at Ivy Bakery. I’m judging and will make sure that every crumb is eaten.

The Lascivious Biddies are playing Monday at Rockwood Music Hall on Monday. Wish I could see them, but have a prior engagement. You go for me!

Bonus: I was quoted in a Mashable article, Eight Social Media Strategies To Engage Multicultural Consumers.

With tonight being my last night here at SXSW, I wanted to go see some bands.  First, I checked on Foursquare and Twitter to see where some of my friends were at, but my gut told me to strike out on my own in the hopes of something supercool. I did an IRL “StumbleUpon” when I read on a flyer that Miz Metro would be playing at midnight at the place called Club 115.  I saw Miz Metro speak last fall at a 140Conf Meetup. At the Meetup, she talked about how she is using twitter to grow her fan base as a artist.

So I was there catching Miz Metro performance when two of my friends showed up. Let me preface this by saying that I didn’t check in on Foursquare, so this was complete serendipity. Chris Sullivan (AKA Shockwave) and Jen Dunlap (AKA Funlap) walked in. I met their friend DJO. who also makes kimchi and he knows Cathy Erway who is a friend of mine. We were on a panel together on Saturday for TechMunch Austin.[It's a freaking small world!]  DJO is the dj for The Beatards. They are bringing back the Brooklyn Old Skool hip hop energy with new school lyrics and beats.  They are like the Beastie Boys for this century.  Tonight was the first time I heard them and I love it! Shockwave get onstage and did a little something.

I had a fun time partying with friends that I don’t see that often in NYC.  It was the perfect button to this week here in Austin.