A Little Chit Chat: Best Places to Shop in Atlanta, Express Lanes, Great Glasses Case

Yesterday I drove into Atlanta to return something to a store inside Lenox Square Mall in Buckhead. It was one of the most frustrating trips driving in that I think I’ve ever had. That’s the thing about Atlanta, you never know what to expect traffic-wise.

Interstate 285 (the beltway) was a parking lot so I exited off and tried to get Google maps to help me find another way. Instead, it took me backwards and tried to dump me back onto the interstate even further back than where I had been. Ugh. I did not have nice things to say to Google when I realized what it was doing. lol

Eventually, I decided to just drive by the seat of my pants and take the backroads that seemed to be headed in the general direction of downtown Atlanta and Lenox Square. That worked and I began seeing the tall office buildings in downtown Atlanta coming into view. Once I saw those, I knew where I was.

 

After arriving at Lenox Square, I entered into the mall parking lot the way I normally do which takes me around by the Marriott Hotel that’s actually attached to Lenox Square. I come in that way every time I go shopping at that mall, but this time was very different.

Everywhere I looked, there was a police car. I must have counted around 8-10 police cars surrounding the entrance to the hotel as I approached it. Once past the hotel, I saw more police cars and uniformed officers standing at various entrances into the parking garages. What the heck was going on? Who was staying at the Marriott?

Once I was parked, I Googled “Where are the Super Bowl teams staying in Atlanta?” There it was…the Los Angeles Rams were staying in the Marriott at Lenox Square. Wow, never knew security was so intense when a team was in town!

By the way, if you ever come to Atlanta to do some serious shopping in stores like Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Bvlgari, Fendi, Neiman Marcus, Dior, Van Clef & Arpels, Burberry, Sperry, David Yurman, Brooks Brothers, Ugg, Neiman Marcus, Michael Kors, Ted Baker, Tesla Motors and too many more to list, the Marriott would be the place to stay because all of those stores (plus many more) are inside Lenox Square. So you could walk right out of the Marriott into the mall.

Phipps Plaza is just across the street from Lenox Square and that’s where you’ll find Tiffany & Co., Bottega Veneta, Dior, another Fendi, Jack Rogers, another Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, another Prada, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Sur la Table, Tory Burch, Valentino, Versace etc… I wish they would build a nice pedestrian bridge over Peachtree Road connecting Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square…not sure why they haven’t done that.

Just two miles away is The Shops at Buckhead with Dior, Hermes, Todds, Diptique, Tom Ford, Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, etc… So all the high-end designer stores are located within two miles of each right in the heart of Buckhead. It would be easy to Uber to The Shops at Buckhead from the Marriott since it’s so close by. What a shopping trip weekend that would be, just don’t come during Super Bowl weekend!

The trip back home was fast since I took one of the new Express Lanes that just opened last year. I rarely use the Express Lanes, but it does come in handy on return afternoon trips home from Atlanta.

For additional ideas and tips of fun things to do and see while in the Atlanta area, check out this previous post: The Week I Took a Staycation.

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

 

Glasses Case I’m Loving

Several months back I went shopping online for a good eyeglass case. I wear two types of glasses: workstation glasses (for computer work and just wearing around the house, and regular progressive glasses that are great for when I leave the house and for driving.

It always seems like when I get into my car, I’m still wearing my workstation glasses, or when I sit down at my computer, I still have on my progressive lenses from when I was out running errands. To solve this problem, I try to carry whatever pair of glasses I’m not wearing with me in my purse, saves a lot of running back and forth down to the car or upstairs to my office.

I found these leather cases online with excellent reviews. I purchased one and loved it so much, I recently purchased a second one. They come in a ton of colors. These are the two I currently have below. I keep these two inside bags I use during the summer months.

One bag is a Tiffany blue color so the top case works well in that bag, although I think they may have another one that’s a closer match. The bottom case that’s black and pink is perfect inside two pink handbags I like to carry during the summer.

The quality of the leather is so nice! It’s heavy feeling, but soft and plush. Makes me wonder if they used the leftover leather scraps from making very expensive sofas to make them, because the leather feels very nice. These cases are also well-padded, so I feel like my glasses are safe inside them.

Leather Ice Glasses Cases, Fits Smaller Handbags

 

The other thing I really like about these cases that I’ve never seen on another glass case is this pocket on the back. I guess you could store a credit card or door/car key, but I use it to keep cleaning cloths for my glasses. I can’t stand smears/smudges on my glasses so I like having a cloth available to clean them when needed.

Leather Glass Case, has pocket for holding cleaning cloth

 

I just realized this evening, this case below is probably a better match for the bag I have that’s a Tiffany blue color, so I ordered it this evening. These cases have outstanding reviews and I can see why. They are excellent quality and I love the zipper on the end for easy access.

If you’re in need of a good leather glasses case, you’ll find these in a  ton of different colors here: Leather Glasses Case.

What are you up to this weekend? It was 63 degrees out when I was running errands and buying birdseed today! I love this little respite we’re seeing in the cold temps. I hope you are enjoying the same!

As mentioned earlier in this post, if you’re looking for some ideas on places to visit when in the Atlanta area, you’ll find quite a few suggestions in this previous post: The Week I Took a Staycation.

*If a post is sponsored or a product was provided at no charge, it will be stated in post. Some links may be affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. *



 Never miss a Between Naps on the Porch post! 

*Subscribe to have updates delivered to your Inbox. 



Comments

  1. My weekend has been great! I’ve been sipping root-beer floats. I’m going to blame you if I gain a pound or two. 😀

    • lol I went to the store yesterday and should have bought ice cream…now I want a Coke float!

      • I bought Moose Tracks ice cream at Publix this evening because White Christmas is gone until next Christmas. I pour coffee over mine.
        Love the eye glass cases with that little pocket on the rear.

  2. Barbara Haunton says

    What a contrast to the early sixties when I lived just past Buckhead. I got on Peachtree and drove straight to Lenox Square. All I had to do was pull into the (then) angled spaces. Shopping in Savannah was a huge comedown, but the houses and parties were spectacular—Johnny Mercer, Conrad Aiken, etc. Our apartment overlooked Monterey Square. Have you done a story on Savannah? We spent four days there in August visiting our old houses, schools, etc. So exciting now, but the shopping is still subpar.

  3. Well, this is timely. I had to get prescription glasses & sunglasses this past week (both cost me the equivalent of $350.00 total with upgraded lenses and Polaroid lenses in the sunglasses – gotta love the prices in Mexico.). I had a blood clot in one eye and the glasses are for driving & tv watching.

    So I’ll look into these cases as I see they ship to Mexico. I loved not having to wear glasses after cataract surgery having been blind as a bat since I was little. I do like those cases. Thank you!

    • Hope that blood clot is gone, Ginger!
      I keep trying to get back into contacts. I wore hard contact lenses my entire life and only had to start wearing glasses full time about 10 or so years ago, and I hate it. I have astigmatism in one eye, and they can’t get the contacts to work with that and the age-old problem of presbyopia. So I’m stuck in glasses for now. I’m going to try a different doctor. I was thinking maybe I could get contacts for driving/distance and just wear my workstation glasses when I’m at home.

      • No, it’s scarred behind the cornea. I hit my eye socket with the corner of the car door. Had a needle in my eye 3 times to get rid of the clot but it didn’t work. That’s just the breaks. Could be worse.

        I used to have astigmatism and myopia as well as later on, farsightedness but cataract surgery fixed it. It was like a miracle. Hated contacts so I know what you mean. In the mid-1950’s my mother spent the HUGE sum at the time of almost $100.00 for contacts for me. I hated them but was afraid to tell her so I acted like I was wearing them all the time.

        • Ouch! Wow, so sorry that happened. I’m going to be extra careful when closing car doors now. Never thought of anything like that and I’m always rushing…bad trait of mine.
          The only thing I didn’t like about contacts was when fuzz or cat hair got in my eyes behind them..felt like a boulder was under my contact. I took contacts really well when I started wearing them in college. Hated giving them up.

      • Susan, I wear gas permeable, bifocal contacts. They are great! I am very near sighted, astigmatism, and scar on my left retina so I can’t wear the monovision kind where one eye is for distance and the other is for close. Sometimes I have to wear reading glasses for teensy print. I love them but they are expensive ($800). However, this pair is about 6 years old, so broken down to a daily price that’s cheap!

        • Two different ophthalmologists tried me in those. What ends up happening is I end up with bad vision all the way around. They have to compromise my far away vision to help me see midrange. So I end up with bad distance vision and terrible vision trying to read anything at my desk. I’m extremely near-sighted, I can read the tiniest writing like an inscription inside a ring, unaided. I can easily thread needles, etc… Also, I have terrible astigmatism in my left eye. The last Ophthalmologist I saw who was connected with my eye doctor who was part of a large eye group in Atlanta just purely gave up on me and told me she had done all she could and there were no more contacts to try. I love hard lenses for the reason you mentioned, they last many, many years.
          I’m thinking of trying good ol Lenscrafters around the corner instead of some fancy eye group because they are the ones that told me about workstation glasses and they GREATLY improved my life. I would love to be back in contacts, even if it’s just when I’m not at home, which means I would definitely need reading glasses when out and about. Right now when I’m in the grocery store and I need to read the tiny print on a bottle or whatever, I just lift up my glasses and read, so that is super convenient. Roxanne, you are so lucky contacts still work for you! I have several friends who can still wear them. One has astigmatism and wears the Toric lenses that are especially for that, but mine is so bad, those don’t even help.

          • Mine are toric too. I ended up at an optometrist, not an ophthalmologist, who was so patient with me. He must have ordered 14 different pairs of lenses before we found a pair I could actually wear. If you can see to drive AND read the instrument panel in the car, you’ll know they are right. I don’t mind carrying some readers in my purse, there are so many cute ones out there! Good luck and keep us posted if you’re successful.

            • I tried a local doctor who must have ordered 10 pairs at least. I when I first visited him, he was so sure he could solve my problem…he was downright cocky about it. By the end, he was saying the same thing the Dr. I saw at the big practice said, that he couldn’t help me any further. That’s why I’ve been stuck in glasses all this time. I remember one pair of contacts had the various visions (or whatever you call it) all over the lens and supposedly your eye would eventually figure out where to look. That never worked. I had terrible distance and upclose vision. I can’t remember all the ones they tried me on, but it was everything that was available on the market. I bet I’ve spent $2-3,000 on contacts that are all sitting in my drawer in my bathroom. I may give Lenscrafters a shot at it since I’ve decided if I can just find contacts that will work for driving and seeing moderate distances when I’m out and about, I’ll sacrifice being able to see small writing and use readers when I’m out. Then I’ll just use my workstation glasses at home which meets all my needs when I’m home. I don’t think I’ll ever find contacts that will do everything I need.

              • Carol Norton says

                Two of my friends had cataract surgery at an ophthalmologist here in Nashville that can use the lens implant that reacts like your natural lens. It squeezes and stretches for near and far just like your natural one. It’s crazy expensive–10K an eye when they had it done a few years ago. However, neither of them have had to wear glasses again. For ANYthing! I would need a financial windfall to justify that expense, but it sure would be nice.

                • Wow, had no idea they had created a lens that could do that! If it would last forever, I would try to save up to afford it. It would be awful to get it and it not work right, though. Wonder what it’s called? I’d love to research that and read more about it…in case I do one day get cataracts and need to face that type thing.

  4. Enjoyed your staycation memories. Years ago I went with a colleague on a work related trip to Atlanta. We stayed in a hotel where Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh stayed when Gone With the Wind premiered. The movie theater was across the street and we toured it as well as Margaret Mitchell’s home. I can’t remember the hotel or theater name. Wish we’d had cell phones like we do now. If so I would have plenty of pictures or recordings. Have you ever been to those? It was a fun working trip.

    • Thanks, Mary! I’ve toured the apartment where Margaret Mitchell lived when she was writing much of Gone With the Wind. I’ve forgotten exactly where it’s located, I think probably on Peachtree Street. I remember it was red brick on the outside.
      I’ve attended shows at the Fox Theatre, but not in a while. I think that’s the theatre you were trying to remember. It’s beautiful inside! Was the hotel where you stayed, The Georgia Terrace? I’ve never stayed there but I attended a big Christmas party there once. So many beautiful old buildings in downtown Atlanta! I know, love that about cell phones!

      • Yes, the Fox Theater! It was beautiful inside. The hotel might have been the Georgia Terrace. It was right across the street from the theater and it had beautiful marble in the lobby.
        I thought the apartment where Margaret Mitchell was living while she wrote Gone With the Wind was interesting and so small. The kitchen was tiny. I didn’t remember whether it was an apartment or just a small house. Thanks for the info.

    • Carol Norton says

      The Georgian Terrace was the hotel where the celebs from the Gone With the Wind Premiere was held. But the premiere was at the old Lowe’s Grand, not the Fox. Whomever produced the movie owned theaters all over and they got first dibs–maybe only dibs. Lowe’s burned many years ago, but there’s isn’t a theater anywhere that can match the Fox, that’s for sure! It’s a fairytale experience to see the stars and clouds on the ceiling–just for starters. Many high school movie dates at both the Grand and Fox, back in the day.
      Margaret Mitchel called her little apartment The Dump. For good reason!

      • That’s right, I remember reading that the premiere was at Lowe’s Grand. Such a shame that it burned down. A lot of buildings sure seemed to burn down back then.
        lol Yes, it was not impressive at all when I toured it.

  5. Susan,
    we’re snowed in, so there isn’t many places I want to go this weekend, I will read a good book and drink hot cocoa instead and tomorrow in the night hours I’ll watch the Super Bowl. I only drove to the grocery store today and even though it’s only a 15-minute drive, it’s always a nightmare for me! Too many cars, too many people and ~sigh~ during winter also too much slush! Actually, I wanted snow for Christmas but of course we didn’t have a white Christmas, we have had a white January instead and it seems we’ll have a white February, too! Arghh!! So, I can imagine your frustration because of the trafic! (But, uh-oh, shhh… did you know, Google can hear you through your phone? lol)
    PS: Those glasses cases are funny and interesting! I like they have a pocket on the back! Such a great idea! But, don’t you wear your contacts, anymore?
    PPS: Holy Moly! You have a lot of luxurious boutiques in your area! That’s dangerous, isn’t it? 🙂
    Hugs to you and have a nice weekend!

    • That sounds like a good plan…stay at home and enjoy from inside.
      lol Well, if Google can hear me through my phone, there ears are burning for sure! Ha, ha! At one point, I thought about just turning about and going home, but the other side of the interstate looked just as awful and I was determined to accomplish the task I had set out to do if it took me all night. lol
      Yeah, it’s very dangerous living here. Every store imaginable is within 30 minutes of my home and some of my faves are only 3 miles away…like Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, etc…

  6. I had cataract surgery and they have a lens that will take care of astigmatism, it cost more but I guess it would be worth it if yours as bad as what mine was. Although I have to say I ended up having to have trifocals after the surgery and before I only had bifocals. Check and see it can’t hurt.

    • I don’t have cataracts yet, but sounds like the lens replacement doesn’t solve the issue of avoiding glasses altogether, which is what I’d love…or at least when I’m out driving or when I leave the house. Thanks, Robin!

  7. I can identify about the Atlanta traffic! I left NC yesterday at 11am to drive to Alabama to visit my friend Pam (www.everydayliving.me) and came through Atlanta at the worst traffic time! The Super Bowl crowds and the construction everywhere added to the problem. My visit with Pam was worth it, but I wasn’t so sure in the midst of the trip down! I love the leather eyeglasses cases, and will be ordering a couple of pairs. Your blog is a wealth of interesting information, and is one I always look forward to reading.

  8. Cyndi Raines says

    Those leather eye glass cases are too cute! Like the price too. We had spring like weather today, 47 which felt awesome after our sub zero vortex weather. A great day for my neices baby shower. Thankful for better temps over the next few days. Would love to see the historical side of Atlanta and the museum of Gone With the Wind! One day I would like to see Savannah as well, but in the spring as I can’t do heat and humidity. This northern girl likes it in the 70’s, or low 80’s. Lol

    • Gosh, 47 probably felt like a heat wave after the Polar Vortex thing. lol
      They actually moved the Gone With the Wind museum to a new location after Linda and I visited. It’s still in Marietta, just not sure where.
      Savannah is totally worth the trip, just do not go in June, July, August or September, especially July and August! You will be miserable anytime you’re outdoors. April and May would be good when all the flowers are blooming, especially the azaleas.

  9. Susan, have you tried the waze app? Waze is a GPS navigation for your phone. I find that it works better than Google maps.

    • You know, I have that on my phone…my son told me about it, but I didn’t realize it would do navigation. I will try that next time. Google Maps has led me astray so many times! Thanks for that reminder Madonna!

  10. I love your blog! Speaking of frustrating travel trips, have you ever tried the Waze app? Our son got us hooked on it. The app is free and it gives you real-time traffic updates so you can avoid traffic jams. It also gives turn-by-turn navigation. For example, this past November, we went to Washington. D.C. Waze took us around snarled rush hour traffic and we were thrilled. Waze also warns you about potholes, cars on the side of the road, and police up ahead. Try it!

    • Thanks, Terri! I have it on my phone, added it after my son told me about it, but keep forgetting to use it. I remember he mentioned it would notify you of potholes, wrecks and stuff in the road. So awesome that folks all pitch in to do that for each other! I definitely need to use it for traffic info because I would never have gotten on 285 if I had known how bad it was. I’m going to start using it. Thanks for that info, Terri!

  11. Deborah L. McDonough says

    Hi, Susan! These are the cutest glasses cases! I’ve been looking for a new case and I think these just might be it. I am looking forward to making it to Atlanta one of these days to do some shopping at Lenox Square. Thanks for always keeping me entertained!

  12. Susan, What a brave lady to drive anywhere in the Atlanta area during Superbowl Weekend. I can remember when shopping downtown at Rich’s and Davison’s was the big deal. We lived in Griffin, Athens (Go Dawgs) and then Auburn (War Eagle) When Lenox Square was built, wow! One of my fav shopping trips was when my husband, early in our marriage, booked a room at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead, we went somewhere for dinner Sat. night then enjoyed the wonderful (at that time in the mid 80’s) brunch. At Phipps plaza I bought a great gold lame jumpsuit for holiday parties …memories of when I could pull off wearing same, LOL! I have also stayed at the Georgian Terrace and if you are going to be in the Buckhead, Midtown or downtown areas it is a wonderful place to stay. The Fox theater is spectacular and worth viewing/attending an event. I have sat near the stage and up near the rafters and enjoyed it everytime for its beauty. I am so glad it was saved.

    • Actually, the traffic in Atlanta was bad at all, it was just on Interstate 285. It often bad there either due to wrecks on I-85 that back up 285 or construction, but this was especially bad. Probably a wreck if I had to guess.
      Oh, I’ve had brunch at the Ritz and it’s wonderful! I would love to stay there one night, just to experience it. That would be fun, book a room at the Ritz, then the next day Uber it over to Lenox or Phipps for some shopping. I would get in so much trouble if I had an entire weekend to shop. lol
      Yes, I love the Fox…it’s always such an experience to attend a production there. Elizabeth, have you ever visited The Shakespeare Tavern? I love going there for plays. It’s a very small place, very intimate, so you really feel like you see every nuance on stage. If I lived in Atlanta, I would have a yearly membership there and at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

  13. i’d like to know what kind of workstation glasses you wear 🙂

  14. I’m doing two things that don’t involve the Superbowl today. 🙂
    Costco and the beautiful Dunwoody dog park at Brook Run. I’m assuming they’ll both be quiet. 🙂

    Wendy

  15. Denise Marsden says

    Susan, My youngest moved to Atlanta almost 2 years ago to go to Georgia Tech for grad school. I’m forwarding this post because she doesn’t get around Atlanta very much so maybe this will help….Thanks for all the great info, as usual. Love you blogs.,.Keep them coming!

  16. Buckhead beats 5th Ave. Only thing missing is NYC.

    • Really? Interesting! I’ve only been to New York once and unfortunately, it was with a friend who was there for a work trip, so we didn’t get to see a lot of NY. I would love to go back and really see it, only when it’s not so cold. lol

    • Oh, you know the one thing we don’t have here is a Chanel. There are Chanel boutiques inside Saks at Phipps Plaza and inside Neiman Marcus at Lenox Square, but we don’t have a free-standing Chanel store. The one time I went into the Chanel in Neiman Marcus, it was a terrible experience so when I did buy a Chanel bag, I ordered it over the phone from the Madison Avenue store in New York. Wish we had an actual Chanel store here.

  17. Sandra D in Joliet says

    I spy Chihuly….love his glass sculptures and spheres.

  18. Did you not know the Super Bowl was playing in Atlanta this weekend? They predicted close to a million extra people were coming in. I never even had a thought as to going in that direction! You sure are adventurous!! lol lol

    • Traffic was great in Atlanta on Friday afternoon, it was just out on I-285 North end and I think that was due to either a wreck or construction. That area is notoriously slow because there’s always a wreck on spaghetti junction or I-85.

  19. After being -30.7, actual air temp., at our house, and driving to volunteer in -20 temps…..we LOVED the high temps of 35 and we went out both days for hours, just walking in the woods, looking for birds, but really, just being OUTSIDE in the fresh air was wonderful. I personally have no patience for traffic and found that online shopping has replaced my IN store shopping. What a change for me (especially considering I worked retail for years)! Great that you still go to bricks and mortar stores though, I would hate to see them go….sooooo, shop on! 🙂

  20. Atlanta is definitely on my “bucket wish list!!” I’m filing all your “references” in my travel folder! Trust me…I know your “Google friend”…mine is a “she” and…we have a “love/hate” relationship! I do NOT have that “innate” sense of direction..talk about dependent!! Fun read, always!! franki p.x. 65 degrees here today and last Wed…9 degrees…I prefer 65!! fmp

  21. Love your blog and all the shopping in Atlanta! Do you know of an Atlanta Home and/or Garden tour similar to Savannah’s? I’ve tried Googling it, but can’t seem to locate anything similar.

Leave a Reply to Deborah L. McDonough Cancel reply

*