Welcome to part 2 of my weekend adventures in Athens, GA! Miss part 1? See that first. 
After our long training run on Saturday, we enjoyed a lunch feast at Lauren’s house! She set out a huge spread of stuff for us to snack on — I love lunches like this.
We had brie, grapes, cheddar cheese, and apples:
Plus smoked salmon, crackers, salami, pita bread, regular bread, carrots, and hummus.
So good — I enjoyed some of everything. We also had some amazing unpictured chicken white bean soup that Lauren had leftover — I’ll be sharing the recipe soon!
After our late lunch, we headed into Athens to do a little shopping and to see more of the University of Georgia campus.
It reminded me a lot of Chapel Hill and UNC! Here we are with the UGA arch — the symbol of their school. Basically their version of the UNC well!
As you can tell, it was rather cold out.
We came back to Lauren’s before dinner to change and for a special celebration — Sunday was Libby’s birthday! Lauren made a cookie fruit pie for the occasion — basically a sugar cookie base, topped with homemade cream cheese frosting and sliced up fruit. Simple and VERY delicious.
I love that she got animal print candles.
Happy Birthday, Libby! We <3 you.
We were thinking of going to Last Resort for dinner (which we hear is amazing), but a bunch of you recommended The Grit, which is an all-vegetarian restaurant and also supposed to be delicious. Since Libby is vegetarian and it was her birthday dinner, we decided that was the perfect choice.
We had to wait awhile for a table and ended up going around the corner for a drink before coming back just as our table was ready. I loved the ambiance in the restaurant — funky and fun.
I started with the pumpkin curry soup — delicious and perfect for a cold night.
And for my entree, I had the Golden Bowl — tofu with veggies and brown rice. It was good but not amazing — if I went again I would get something else because the other girls liked their dishes more.
The girls and I were all so sad to leave yesterday morning! Lauren whipped us up a nice breakfast — Baked Oatmeal — before we hit the road.
Doesn’t this look delicious?! It was.
Stay tuned — I’ll be sharing the recipe this week so all of you can enjoy it, too!
I will leave you with a photo of the giant peach water tower we passed while driving through South Carolina yesterday. So cute!
Happy Monday.
—
p.s. For my older adult readers — one of my nutrition professors at UNC started a blog (it’s great!) called 3 Square Meals — A Nutrition Blog for Successful Aging. Check it out! I also co-wrote an article with her for it: Amp Up the Calories and Protein in Your Diet. (But my favorite post is her recent one entitled “Who Inspired Me?” Very touching!)
Your grad school friends are awesome
Truth.
That baked oatmeal looks so awesome!!! Mmmm.
Looks like a totally fun weekend!!!!
Good luck in school this week -glad to see you work hard, but play harder
Obvi
Looks like an awesome trip! What a fun experience, I love visiting college campuses, there are so many beautiful ones! That baked oatmeal and sugar cookie cake looks delicious, can’t wait for the oatmeal recipe.
Hmmm that baked oatmeal looks great
Love your weekend. I read the blog you suggested to amp up the calories for older adults. I think I will pass on that one for a bit longer being as nothing wrong with my appetite yet. It surely was a cold one this weekend so windy Saturday and many trees down. The baked oatmeal looks so divine, I guess that will be my next item to test. Love it.
Looks like so much fun!! I love the big peach in Gaffney, SC!! I remember passing it as a child.
Glad you got the spend time in the best state ever!! 
hehe!
Thank you for the pictures – I miss UGA a lot! I used to work in one of the buildings you pictured!
I am so sad you didn’t have the greatest meal at the Grit – it is my favorite restaurant in Athens – their grilled cheese is amazing as is their black bean chili nachos!
My friends got the grilled cheese (and one got the chili dog) and both were apparently amazing! I was jealous
Such a fun trip! I love visiting Athens. Good call with Grit. Sorry you missed going to Last Resort. The food there is delicious!
Awww I miss Georgia!
What a fun weekend! The baked oatmeal looks like perfection!
Looks like a great trip!
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing your weekend with us 
Thanks for reading.
This makes me want to visit Georgia!
I was just down in Athens in December visiting my Grandparents & went to the Grit. We sat at that very same table – I thought it looked familiar! Love that restaurant!
Fun!
Looks like a super trip, Anne. Enjoyed it through your camera lens! And love that oatmeal! Hope the legs felt OK after the 10-miler!
They actually felt great!
mmmm – can’t wait to read this baked oatmeal recipe! Looks yummy!
Those kind of lunches are the best! A little bit of everything