The air is starting to have that certain chill in the mornings, promising fall is on the way. With fall comes a whole host of festivals and activities in the Atlanta area. Quite a few of those festivals are in the Perimeter area, and if you’re living in Glen Lake Apartments in Sandy Springs, you’re always close to the action.

Kicking off fall is Sandy Springs/Perimeter Restaurant Week. The variety and amount of restaurants participating is sure to whet your appetite. The only problem for the week will be deciding which bistro, steakhouse and more to attend. Restaurants will offer 2 and 3 course pix fixe menu. Each participating restaurant offers a meal for $15, $25 or $35 per person.

Just a sampling of the participating area favorite restaurants are Fleming’s, Food 101, Fuego Mundo, Ruth’s Chris, Wild Fire and The Flying Biscuit. All of the restaurants are located within five miles of Glen Lake, so lucky residents don’t have far to travel for a fantastic meal.

Visit the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Restaurant Week website to see all of the participating restaurants and the price level offered.

For residents of Intown Atlanta, there’s no better place to live – or to spend your money, for that matter. With the restaurants, the shopping and the events, you’re never lacking for a place to pull out the debit card.

The problem is, most Americans (and presumably those who live Intown) have less money to spend these days. According to the Equifax Personal Finance Blog, 55 percent of Americans have experienced a reduction in income. Earning more money may not be an option because of high unemployment rates. So if you want more money to spend on your favorite Intown activities, you’ll probably have to look at cutting back somewhere else.

The Equifax article, “How to Save Money at Home,” offers some good places to start. One idea is to contest your real estate taxes. With property prices (more…)

Now through August 8,  downtown Atlanta restaurants are offering great savings on meals.  When you dine out you can pay just $25 or $35 for a three-course meal. Get out of the kitchen and go downtown for Downtown Atlanta Restaurant week.  With 27 restaurants participating, you are sure to find something you want to try as well as an old favorite.

It is easy to participate, simply make a reservation at any of the participating restaurants. Each three-course meal includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert. Beverages, tax and gratuities are not included in the price of the meal.

The following restaurants will offer three-course meals for $25:

• Avanzare Steakhouse
• French American Brasserie
• Glenn’s Kitchen
• Legal Sea Foods
• Max Lager’s American Grill & Brewery
• Meehan’s Public House
• No! Mas Cantina
• Paschal’s Atlanta Downtown (more…)

How do you feel about the housing market? Are you still sitting on the fence?  Real estate agents, builders, politicians, your hair dresser – all tell you that NOW is a good time to buy – first because home prices were falling and interest rates were dropping. Then “now” was the best time to buy because there was a tax “credit” that you could pay back on your income taxes over the next several years. After that, “now” was the best time to buy because you could take advantage of foreclosures and short sales. Then, there was a true tax credit for both first-time buyers and long-term homeowners, but that has expired. And that gets us to now…

And NOW… mortgage rates are at a 50-year low. And some experts predict that home prices could go even lower – or at least not go higher in the short term. On the Equifax Personal Finance blog, Real Estate Expert Ilyce Glink argues that NOW really is a good time to buy because of those two factors. Your new home will cost less because prices are so low and because you won’t pay as much to finance it.

But if you really are planning to get off the fence NOW, you need to plan to stay in your home for awhile. Check out Ilyce’s post at Equifax to find out why before you buy your new home.

Looking for a break from your lunch routine? Well, thanks to the Midtown Alliance’s Summer Lunch Box Series, now  you can enjoy a delicious well priced meal along with entertainment. The summer series takes place on Wednesdays through July 28 in the Arts District Plaza at Peachtree and 15th streets right in the heart of Midtown Atlanta’s Midtown Mile. A different restaurant and entertainer will be featured each week.

Ahhh, and if you lived at 1010 Midtown you could walk to the Summer Lunch Box Series to mix and mingle, or just enjoy being outside during the Atlanta summertime. The Midtown Mile continues to be the center of where Midtown Atlanta lives, works and plays. The area of Peachtree Street that stretches from North Avenue to 15th Street is dubbed the Midtown Mile. Not only is it a major thoroughfare, but it is one of intown Atlanta’s most rapidly developing retail and residential developments.

Participating restaurants include Shout, F20, Little Azio, South City Kitchen, Nickiemoto’s, Ri Ra Irish Pub, Spice Market, Opera, Rising Roll, Evos, Livingston/Cafe Mims, Marlow’s Tavern and Gordon Biersch. Little Azio Pizza and Pasta will be serving lunch for $7 on Wednesday, May 19. Lunch choices include Asian chicken salad, Caesar salads, turkey panini or a lo cal hummus wrap.  with entertainment provided by Jay Memory.

Jay Memory is a  founding members of the beloved group Memory Dean. He has a new solo show that is creating quite a buzz and we hope you will come out for the Summer Lunch Box Series and make it one of your fondest memories from the Summer of 2010. For a complete line-up and more details, visit Midtown Atlanta.

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It seems that everywhere we look we see amazing deals on Atlanta Condos and Atlanta Real Estate Forum is showcasing many of these beautiful communities on video thanks to Atlanta’s Best New Homes TV.  If you are looking for a new home and want a fabulous deal, these are great sites to start with. Many condos are offering discounts on units from $25,000 to more than $100,000. Combine that with low FHA financing and the Federal housing tax credit for first time home buyers and it is a win-win all the way around.

Here are some of our favorites:

Castleberry Point

1010 Midtown

Gallery Buckhead

White Provision

Last week I had an amazing time at the 1010 Midtown Cocktail Hour Tweet Up. The event was filled with social media savvy Atlanta professionals who were there to network, tour condos and sample tasty morsels from restaurants close to this Atlanta live, work, play community.

Peachtree epitomizes the sights and sounds of the city and the stretch through midtown is my favorite. I was reminded of this pulling up to the 1010 Midtown building. After checking in with the concierge, I walked to the elevator which transported me to the 21st floor and the luxury of the condos in this building.

The 21st floor of the Atlanta high-rise contains the decorated models, each showcasing a different Atlanta decor store. Several restaurants of the 12th & Midtown development were set up in the models and the aroma of different foods wafted into the hallway. Standing on the balcony of a beautifully decorated condo, noshing on eggplant crostini from Noon and gazing over Peachtree at dusk made me feel on top of the world. (more…)

Sovereign, one of Atlanta’s most luxurious mixed-use towers located in the heart of Buckhead has recently announced that nearly 90% of its commercial real estate has been leased.

Developed by Regent Partners, the Sovereign building includes more than one-half million square feet of Class A office and retail space. Sovereign recently welcomed Buckhead Life Restaurant Group’s Bistro Niko, Asset Preservation Advisers, Crescent Wealth Management and the Law Firm of Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial to the building. The recent additions brought the Buckhead landmark’s total leased space to nearly 90%.

In addition to their commercial successes, Sovereign has also seen growth on its residential side, with the sale of two of the buildings exclusive luxury condos during the third quarter, including one of the Penthouse units.

In an time where the economic trend has been vacant buildings, unsold homes and Buckhead faces a historically high class A office vacancy rates, Sovereign has seen tremendous success. It’s this blogger’s hope that the trend will continue and we will see these levels of success throughout the rest of the metro-Atlanta area.

Buckhead’s Restaurant Eugene was recently named 2009 Restaurant of the Year by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Long since considered to be one of the southeast’s best dining spots, Restaurant Eugene is known for providing patrons with southern cuisine and a charming atmosphere.

Linton and Gina Hopkins opened the restaurant in the Spring of 2004 in the Aramore building in the Historic Peachtree Battle District. This nearby restaurant provides residents living in the luxury mixed-use development at the Astoria at the Aramore a fine dining experience  few steps outside of their door.

This is just one more great reason to live at the Astoria at the Aramore. These luxury condos starting in the low $300,000’s are located between Midtown and Buckhead, offering close proximity to fine dining and shopping. The (more…)

Finding the perfect dentist is like finding the perfect dress for a cocktail party, both can be very time consuming and often feel like hit or miss experiences. But it’s always worth the time and trouble in the end when you slip on the dress and you know that it is the one.

So if you are one of those people still hunting for the perfect dentist make sure to head over to The Astoira at the Aramore, a mixed-use development with retail, office, and luxury Atlanta condominiums, because that is where Dr. Didier Guillaume, DMD will be opening his practice Astoria Dentistry on November 2.

Dr. Guillaume specializes in complex, high-end restorative cosmetic and implant dentistry. He set up his practice in the Astoria because of all the amenities the space and location had to offer. In addition to the beautiful reception area and the friendly concierge, the relaxing and secluded pool (more…)