Shoppers flooded Ambient + Studio in Atlanta for the Indie Craft Experience Holiday Sale Spectacular on Nov. 21, 2009. AJC/Jamie Gumbrecht

Let’s think for a second about the experience of holiday shopping — the exhausting, stressful, maddening lengths we go to land a good deal or satisfy a list of friends and family who will (surely?) love us no matter what we give them.

Some people will never bat an eye at a line out the door or a pile-up of parents atop an electronic hamster. The thrill of a good deal is enough to keep them happy. (I’m looking at you, Rana.) But I don’t think I’m alone when I say I have no patience for shopping around, even for an awesome deal, if it makes me a cranky mess who can’t get the lyrics to “Jingle Bell Rock” out of her head. This is supposed to be a fun time of year!

How do I combat this? When I’m back in Michigan, I shop with my sisters and mom, who is particularly quick with the jokes and unfailing in her devotion to the gods of the Good Deal. …

Continue reading How do you have fun while holiday shopping? »

Last week, AJC editor Monica Richardson explained to us why she loves the sport of bull riding. Today, she gives us a look at what happened when she saw it at Gwinnett Arena this weekend:

Richardson

The competition opens like a concert: an explosion of fire and smoke on the dirt makes way for cowboys, who come out to the field for a splashy introduction. The fresh smell of bull fills the arena as they show off after the cowboys. The bull, you see, is the other athlete that takes the field. The bulls are generally named for their personality. At this competition, there’s Fired Up, Slim Chance, Red Ears, Gray Spot, Poker Face and many others.

After the introductions,  it’s two hours of nothing but bull-riding.

The event Friday and Saturday night had quite a crowd. Not exactly a sell-out, but it drew people of all ages. Sara Broun, spokeswoman for Professional Bull Riders Inc. said 18,000 people were expected over the three-day event that ends Sunday.

One after the other, the …

Continue reading Review: Professional Bull Riders at Gwinnett Arena »

Rhodes Hall welcomes its Old World Santa in December.

Today’s stop on our Atlanta historic home tour is Rhodes Hall, an unmistakable building on Peachtree Street among office buildings, gas stations and roadways.

So far, we’ve seen Bulloch Hall, the Martin Luther King Jr. Birth Home, Margaret Mitchell House and Swan House. Rhodes Hall’s Old World Santa events begin next month, but there are others, too, like the 15-minute weddings on Valentine’s Day.

Rhodes Hall

History: “The Castle on Peachtree” was the home of furniture magnate Amos Rhodes and his wife, Amanda. They moved into the home, designed by architect Willis F. Denny II, in 1904. As other old Atlanta homes along the city’s most famous street were torn down, Rhodes Hall was donated to the state with the requirement that it be used to preserve history. It once housed the state archives, and is now the offices of The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, and is available for tours, weddings and other …

Continue reading Atlanta’s historic home tours: Rhodes Hall »

It’s quite a year for indie book stores in Little Five Points. Charis Books and More recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, and A Cappella Books, its neighbor across Moreland, turns 20 on Dec. 1.

Frank Reiss inside A Cappella Books in 2005. AJC file photo

A Cappella will celebrate with an ongoing 20 percent-off sale on used books, and two days of author events on Dec. 5-6 at Opal Gallery.

What kind of events? Two days of superstar local authors gushing about a book and author that influenced them. It’s not the usual reading or cocktail gathering, but it is the perfect way for the store to celebrate.

“If there’s something that’s defined us, what we’ve been about for 20 years, it’s been people who just really, really love books and get unreasonably passionate about it,” owner Frank Reiss said.

The lineup is tremendously fun, with names that readers of many ages and interests will recognize: Laurel Snyder, Hollis Gillespie, Jack Wilkinson and Jessica Handler are all on the …

Continue reading A Cappella Books’ 20th anniversary hopefully won’t be last »

I see the same complaints over and over in the blog comments: we don’t know where to go to meet people, to have fun with visitors or spend an afternoon alone.

It’s time we help each other out.

So here’s My Scene, a new Inside Access feature to help us get a diverse and personal look at what’s fun around Atlanta. Every other Friday, I’ll feature a local reader’s opinions about the best of what metro Atlanta has to offer. Give these ideas a try and let us know in the comments how it goes!

And if you or someone you know has something to say about where to have fun in Atlanta, contact me at jgumbrecht@ajc.com — your scene might be the one we feature next.

And now, our first Scene subject.

This is Becky. You might spot her having fun at the ICE Atlanta Holiday Shopping Spectacular this Saturday.

Name: Becky Striepe

Age: 30

Neighborhood: Edgewood

By day: Indie Crafter at glueandglitter.com and freelance writer

By night: Vegan cook

Most memorably fun time out in Atlanta: Drunken …

Continue reading My Scene: Becky Striepe, Glue and Glitter crafter and writer »

Swan House at the Atlanta History Center has several holiday events. AJC file photo

We continue our tour of Atlanta area historic homes today with Swan House, another home that, like the Margaret Mitchell House, is managed by the Atlanta History Center. My colleague, Howard Pousner, explained that even before going on the tour, this home always caught his eye. It’s easy to see why.

You can see the other homes we’ve visited so far in the History category.

Swan House

History: One of Atlanta’s favorite residences, it was designed by celebrated Atlanta architect Philip Trammel Shutze, who adapted Italian and English classical styles in this 1928 mansion for Emily and Edward Inman, heir to a cotton brokerage fortune.

Highlights:

• The two-story home’s tone of classical symmetry and elegance is well established by the curved, free-standing staircase that dominates the central hallway.
• The Inmans loved birds. Heir to a cotton brokerage fortune, Edward Inman collected representations …

Continue reading Atlanta’s historic home tours: Swan House »

Local cowboy Sean Willingham attempts to ride Simpson & Dennis' Tighty Whitey during the first round of the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals. Photo by Andy Watson.

I knew it was something special when the classiest, best-dressed woman in the newsroom approached and asked, just shy of begging, if she could write something for this blog — about bull riding.

So here it is, rodeo fans, from AJCer Monica Richardson, everything you need to know about the Professional Bull Riders at Gwinnett Arena this weekend:

Richardson

It’s the most exciting 8 seconds in sports.

Yeh, that’s right, I said it … sports. Bull riding is indeed a SPORT! I added in the italics and capital letters for extreme emphasis on that point to all you nay-sayers.

Hand wrapped, re-wrapped, gloved and anchored tightly into position with a bull rope, the other hand free to whip the air, a rider gets on the bull hoping to avoid eating dirt for 8 seconds…

Those hold-your-breath moments can seem like hours …

Continue reading Professional Bull Riders at Gwinnett Arena November 20-22 »

This week's Access Point was a bronzed glove worn by Johnny Sain during Game 1 of the 1948 World Series. It's at the Atlnata Braves Museum. AJC/Jamie Gumbrecht

Did you make a guess at this week’s Access Point photo game? A few commenters were in the ballpark (Pun!) when they correctly guessed it was at Turner Field. It’s actually inside the Braves Museum and Hall of Fame inside the park gates. It’s pitcher John Sain’s glove and ball from Game 1 of the 1948 World Series, when the Boston Brave pitched a shutout against the Cleveland Indians.

There are many balls and gloves in the museum — and jerseys, World Series rings, photos and even a train car –  but this one stands out. The museum received it after Sain’s death, bronzed like baby booties you want to hold forever in one time.

It would be easy to miss among all the red and blue, but even easier to miss some of the story behind it. There’s only so much room on an information card. (Here’s a short piece from when I went on …

Continue reading Access Points 16: 1948 Sain glove at Atlanta Braves Museum »

Visitors check out the bed of Margaret Mitchell in her apartment. Three-quarters beds like this were popular in small apartments of that day. Atlanta History Center photo.

Our journey to the area’s historical homes has so far taken AJCer Howard Pousner and me to Bulloch Hall in Roswell and the Martin Luther King Jr. Birth Home on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta.

For the next stop, Howard checked in on the Margaret Mitchell House on Peachtree Street in Atlanta.

Margaret Mitchell House

History: “The Dump,” as Mitchell referred to this tiny, sweet apartment, is where the author composed most of “Gone With the Wind” from 1926 to 1929.

Highlights:

• After the Atlanta History Center made some changes to the Mitchell House tour this summer, guests now enter the building through the rear Crescent Avenue entrance, just as Mitchell did when she lived in Apartment No. 1.
  

  Margaret Mitchell House

• The sunny corner where the would-be author, recovering from a foot injury, typed away on a used 1923 …

Continue reading Atlanta’s historic home tours: Margaret Mitchell House »

Books: Author Peter Manseau discusses “Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter” for the MJCCA Book Festival, noon, MJCCA-Zaban Park, Dunwoody.

Food: Gluten-free holiday dessert cooking class, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Oakhurst Community Garden, Decatur.

For kids: Toddler Thursdays, 11 a.m., High Museum of Art, Atlanta. Read more from Field Trips With Sue.

Music: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performs selections by Wynton Marsalis, 8 p.m., Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta.

Movies: Showing of the horror film “Blood Beach,” 7:25 p.m., Venture Cinemas 12, Duluth. FREE.

Sports: Atlanta Thrashers vs. Boston Bruins, 7 p.m., Philips Arena, Atlanta.

Stage: “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” opens, 7:30 p.m., Fox Theatre, Atlanta.  See photos and video.

Got an event, venue, restaurant or performance in and around Atlanta? Add it to the AccessAtlanta.com calendar.

For instant updates, follow @insideaccess on Twitter.

Continue reading To do list: November 19 »