Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Get Your Girl Scout Cookies at Six Metro Area Simon Malls

Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta has once again teamed up with Simon Malls throughout the metro area this cookie season to offer customers an even easier way to purchase Girl Scout cookies.

Beginning Friday, February 17 – Sunday, March 11, Girl Scout troops will be hosting Girl Scout Cookie booths between the hours of 4 – 7 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Saturdays and 12 – 6 p.m. on Sundays at the following six Simon properties in Georgia: Gwinnett Place, Lenox Square, Mall of Georgia, Northlake Mall, Phipps Plaza and Town Center at Cobb.

“We are thrilled to welcome Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta back to our malls for the fourth year,” said Carol Cox, director of marketing and business development at Mall of Georgia. “The on-mall cookie program has been incredibly successful the last three years – we received tremendous positive feedback from our shoppers who appreciated the accessibility of Girl Scout cookies in the malls. We are excited to work with local Girl Scouts again this year to provide convenient and highly trafficked areas for their sales.”

 
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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Renowned 80-Year-Old Artist to Exhibit in Lawrenceville

“First Light” is an oil on canvas, ©Robert Christie – all rights reserved.

Legendary artist Robert Christie will greet patrons at the opening reception of his one-man show from 5 to 7 p.m., January 24 at the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse in Lawrenceville, Ga.

The exhibit runs through Apr. 10, 2012, and is open to the public weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Robert Christie has become one of the best-known dog and sporting artists in the South. A graduate of Pratt Institute where he studied illustration, Christie concentrated his post-graduate study of portrait painting at Pratt and at The Art Students League, both in N.Y.

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Eight Shopping Tips for Dining At Home in a Dine-Out World

Remember all those tips saying you should cook rather than eat out? Well the USDA says we might just be wrong about that in the near future. A recent study by the government agency estimated the price gap between eating at home and dining out will narrow even further in 2012. Grocery prices are expected to rise 3 percent to 4 percent, while menu prices will likely go up 2 percent to 3 percent.

That doesn’t mean you have to resort to the McDonald’s Dollar Menu, however. It’s still cheaper to eat at home, but amateur chefs will have to cut even more corners this year. Here are a few tips on dining at home frugally in a dine-out world.

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Holiday Gingerbread Houses Become Eco-Friendly Creations

When 11-year-old Aubrey Gehle found out she won first place overall in the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center’s 2nd Annual Sustainable Gingerbread House Competition, she compared the overwhelming feeling to Christmas morning.

“This is my Christmas right here!” Gehle said.  “I am just so surprised because I’ve never won such a big award before.”

As part of its December Green Holiday Program, the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center hosted the Sustainable Gingerbread House Contest and Exhibit. Architects of all ages crafted environmentally friendly houses out of edible materials that highlighted sustainability and green building design. Bird seed, dog biscuits and peanut butter were a few materials used to create at least three sustainable building elements, such as solar panels, rain barrels, green roofs or windmills.

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Gwinnett Cooperative Extension Service Hosts Annual Plant Sale

Blueberries, raspberries, figs, crape myrtles, and much more are available from the Cooperative Extension Service. During the winter months, walk your landscape and decide where you could place some delicious blueberries, crape myrtles, figs, etc. Each of our plants are locally grown and are strong and healthy. We have information about each of the plants offered in our office to assist you with planting.

We are accepting pre-paid orders from now through March 16, 2012. The pickup date is March 29, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds. All orders should be pre-paid with cash or check only.

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Gwinnet Medical Center Dietician Offers Holiday Dieting Tips

The holiday season is here, and with it comes all the usual temptations – rich desserts, creamy casseroles and buttery rolls. From holiday parties and client gifts to family dinners, sweet and savory treats are everywhere. It’s hard to not indulge and avoid the delicious food.

However, the experts say there are healthy ways to indulge and even heart healthy choices can be a part of the holidays.

According to Registered Dietician Amy Tella of Gwinnett Medical Center (GMC) — Lawrenceville, “there are some tips to incorporate into your diet, that won’t sacrifice health. However, it’s important to realize that trying to lose weight during the holidays may be self-defeating.”Tella encourages weight maintenance rather than the all-or-nothing mindset.

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Healthy Holiday Side Dishes

❯❯ Cranberry Relish
Servings 16
12oz bag fresh cranberries
1/8 tsp ground cloves or cinnamon
30 grapes cut into halves
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp powdered sugar substitute
½ cup chopped pecans

In food processor coarsely chop cranberries and stir in grap halves, spice, vanilla, sugar substitute and pecans.  Mix well.  Chill until ready to use, up to 24 hours.

Each serving: 42 calories; 1 protein; 2 g fat; 5 g carb

❯❯ Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Almonds
8 Servings
Kosher Salt
3 lbs green beans, trimmed of stem end
½ cup skin on almonds
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, sliced thin
1 Tbsp fresh thyme chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

 
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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Olive Garden Opens in Snellville

Olive Garden opens its newest restaurant at 1565 Scenic Highway in Snellville on Monday, Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. – creating 165 new jobs. The Olive Garden in Snellville is the newest restaurant in the family of more than 750 local restaurants committed to providing every guest with a genuine Italian dining experience.

“Snellville has been one of Gwinnett County’s fastest growing cities making it the ideal location for Olive Garden,” said Dan Kiernan, executive vice president of operations for Olive Garden.

The 7,441 square-foot restaurant can host up to 246 guests and features a design that is inspired by traditional farmhouses found in Tuscany, Italy. Olive Garden design teams traveled to Italy to work with Italian architects Fabio and Lucia Zingarelli and the result is a restaurant design that recreates the warmth and simple beauty of a Tuscan farmhouse.

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Your Kids Can Cook!

College is supposed to be a place of higher learning that prepares young people for the challenges of taking on a greater role as an adult in a civilized society. While there is no doubt the value of the degrees earned in those hallowed halls, one mom has a striking complaint about it all.

“How can you consider yourself educated and sophisticated if you don’t know how to cook a decent meal?” asked Hollis Ledbetter, author of OMG! I’m In College and I Never Learned to Cook (www.omgcookbooks.com). “Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for higher education for the purposes of being able to earn a living and contribute to the world around them, but I’ve never seen a college course titled ‘How to buy groceries, cook dinner and do your own laundry!’”

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

Go Green with Gingerbread!

Green Gingerbread Houses – is there such a thing? Who doesn’t love making adorable gingerbread houses with the family or looking at the intricate works of professional gingerbread house architects?

“Imagine building your dream house with all the sustainable features possible. Only, instead of standard building materials, it would be made out of gingerbread,” said Jason West, director of development at the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center (GEHC).

As part of its December Green Holiday Program, the GEHC will host its second annual Sustainable Gingerbread House Contest and Exhibit. Designers will create environmentally friendly houses out of edible materials that highlight sustainability and green building design.

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