Friday Favorites.

At the end of the day today, a coworker remarked that this was a long short week. Even though we were off on Monday, it seemed like it took Friday an awfully long time to get here.

• Travel + Leisure took a trip to the Mississippi Delta and gave shoutouts to some places very near and dear to my heart – the Southern Foodways Alliance and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture – in the process.
• Gone Girl was easily my favorite book of 2012, and now David Fincher is in talks to direct the film adaptation. Pretty. Freakin’. Stoked.
• What does your font choice say about you? I’m do love me some American Typewriter which means I am drowning in nostalgia, so no shock there.
• Leave it to Mashable to compile the best GIFs and pics of President Obama’s second inauguration.
• Jack Kerouac was pretty much a total babe, as evidenced by his Naval Reserve enlistment photo. More like, the only people for me are the fine ones, amirite?

I’m planning to hit the Atlanta Beltline for a 6 mile run tomorrow morning, and then hopefully I’ll be laying low the rest of the weekend. Any big plans for you, or are you planning on a chill weekend as well?

A Weekend in Highlands.

Rather than stay in Atlanta, this year we decided to spend Christmas in Highlands, North Carolina with my family in a house I found on VRBO. How cute is this joint?

This morning we woke up and went for a hike on nearby Whiteside Mountain.

It’s a moderate 2-mile loop trail up and down the mountain, but factor in the fact that you are walking on one giant icicle, and it feels like much more.

The views from the top were worth the somewhat precarious climb.

Plus, I love any photo op that involves a yoga pose with a craggy backdrop.

Going up & down a mountain while trying not to slip on ice works up an appetite. We headed to the downtown area for a late lunch at The Ugly Dog Public House. All the waitress had to say was “local IPA on draft” and I was good to go.

The burgers were alright, but the star of the show were these amazing bleu cheese kettle chips. Just look at that grease!

On the way back to the house, we stopped by Bridal Veil Falls where giant icicles were falling left and right and dramatically smashing on the ground. I’m pretty sure this day has been the most I have lived on the edge all month.

After a delicious chicken curry pot pie from Paul’s Pot Pies in Marietta, we are now all fireside with a book (or Kindle) and a glass of red wine (or scotch).

The forecast is calling for rain for the last few days of our trip. I’m envisioning lots of time spent in pants with an elastic waistband, curled up on the couch finally reading Gone Girl.