Ready for Spring
7 INEXPENSiVE WAYS TO SPRUCE UP YOUR SPRiNG WARDROBE SPRiNG AWAKENiNG THiNGS AREN’T GOiNG TO BE DiFFERENT THiS YEAR. CAN YOU HANDLE iT?
7 INEXPENSiVE WAYS TO SPRUCE UP YOUR Spring WARDROBE
by Mikey Rox
Spring is in the air, and as you prepare to welcome warmer, longer days, a peek into your closet might spark the desire to refresh your wardrobe. Consider these tips on how to update without breaking the bank.
1. Stalk consignment shops
Now is as good a time as ever to let go of any hangups you have about wearing used clothing. If you don’t have a lot of cash to ring in spring with a new wardrobe, you could acore what you need for less at consignment shops or thrift stores. The number of quality items people have discarded may surprise you. Consignment shops and thrift store inventories can change daily because these retailers constantly receive new stuff. Since there’s usually only one of each item, you’ll need to stop by regularly and grab whatever catches your eye.
Chances are your friends are in a similar dilemma. If none of you can afford to update your spring wardrobe, have a clothing swap party and update your clothes without spending a dime. This party isn’t only for those in your close circle. Tell your friends to invite their friends, coworkers, neighbors and family; the more people attending, the greater the odds of scoring fab fashions and unloading your old stuff. With some simple alterations and a trip to the dry cleaners you’ll have new ’fits. After the party, original owners can take their unclaimed clothes home, or the group might agree to donate the leftover pile to charity.
2. Host a spring wardrobe swap party
3. Buy clothes from overseas
If U.S retail store prices exceed the budget, buy directly from overseas retailers. I recently browsed eBay for sweaters, polo shirts, pants and sweaters, and found an enormous selection of seemingly quality items at unbelievable prices from sellers based in China. Since you can’t touch and feel these items
before buying, I recommend buying one and testing the quality before ordering a lot. But from my observation, many sellers received positive feedback from buyers.
4. Cash in those credit card rewards
If you have a rewards credit card, you might have reward points waiting to be redeemed. Some people save their points for something special, such as a trip or a high-ticket item. But if you don’t have specific plans for your rewards, redeem points for cash back or a gift card to a retail store. Visit your credit card’s website to review your point balance and redeem your rewards.
5. Hunt for coupons codes and discounts
Some retailers practically give away clothes. The worst thing you can do is purchase new spring attire as soon as the season hits the racks. Give it a few weeks or a month, and many retailers will discount the clothes, and then offer bonus coupons that can be combined with already discounted prices for additional savings. Sometimes you have to join a retailer’s email club to receive exclusive discounts sent directly to your inbox.
You might be surprised by the number of unadvertised discounts offered by retail stores. If you don’t know about these discounts, you’re leaving money on the table. No matter where you shop, ask the sales associate about military or student discounts at checkout, if you or the person with whom you’re shopping qualifies for these categories. Also, some retailers have partnerships with AAA and offer customers a discount if they can show a valid AAA membership card.
7. Splurge with your tax refund
6. Take the initiative with discounts
Spring time is also tax refund time, and if you’re getting a big fat check from the federal or state government, there’s nothing wrong with having a little fun and putting some of this cash toward a bigger, better spring wardrobe. Sure, there’s plenty of responsible uses for this cash, such as paying off debt, opening a retirement account, or feeding your savings account. But if you’ve been responsible with your cash all year, and if you can’t remember the last time you splurged on something for yourself, there’s nothing wrong with saving most of your refund but spending a little, too.
Spring Awakening Things
aren’t going to be different this year. Can you handle it?
by Scott King
“Everything comes and goes, marked by lovers and styles of clothes.” -Joni Mitchell, “Down To You”
I’ve been wearing the same clothes since the ’90s. I dropped the scowl in 2003, but, yup, jeans, T-shirt, fake skateboarding sneakers. Okay, ready, let’s go.
Change is the only constant in the universe. So why does it seem that the more things change, the more they stay the same?
Because they do.
are so far flung across the globe and the country, I only see them on the Internet. I see them taking the same beautiful hikes they were taking a couple years ago. But now, there’s a layer of wrinkle on their faces. It’s the same human, it’s the same soul, just with a little extra baggage.
We are eternal. We are also temporal. Every revolution revolves back to the same square one.
It is no sign of weakness, or slack in ambition, to see the shape of your life as circular as opposed to linear.
Much like with any plague, moving on from Covid has turned out not to be a finite or discrete event. Outside of VJ Day, the line between different epochs and eras of history and culture are blurred. Except in movies and in the narrative of your life that you tell upon reflection, change happens so slowly and by degrees that you barely notice.
For example, some of my friends
“All that lives, lives forever. Only the shell, the perishable passes away. The spirit is without end. Eternal. Deathless.” -The Bhagavad Gita
Kind of like my apartment.
I’ve been in Atlanta for 12 years, and I’ve lived in a grand total of two apartments. I know people who, in that same period of time, would have lived in at least 10.
I’ve lived in the cushy center of Midtown now for nine years. I’ve seen the seasons come and go. Again and again and again and again. I know when a certain tree is going to leaf. I know that the ginkgo down the street is going to give us some Pleasantville empowerment realness for a full two weeks. I plan the selfies carefully.
It’s not boring. It’s grounded. Kind of like social circles.
If you don’t stand there, they will.
This is not a bad thing. Gay life goes on. You can hang on or you can move on, but rest assured, it will be there. Somewhere. The gas tank of the life force is always full.
I find this fact both empowering and humbling. Joyous and boring. Kind of like the ginkgo tree. It is beautiful. It is intoxicating. It is portentous. It is also ordinary.
Have you ever watched the ground shift beneath your feet? Metaphorically? I have.
Summer of 2020. I won’t judge your judgment of me, I’ll just tell you the truth. I ventured back out to the clubs late summer 2020. With my mask. And my ambivalence. What I found was that the young people - those people in their 20s (I won’t be so trite as to label them generationally) - they had taken our place. My friends had moved to Seattle or San Francisco or to the suburbs. They weren’t on 10th Street anymore. This was a new batch of replacement gays.
The quotidian makes me humble. And content. I want to want, but I also want to cherish. To stay still. To walk among the provocative ginkgos like a gluten-free buddha.
I want self-improvement, but with humility. With reasonable expectations. With praxis.
They looked like us. They dressed like us. They didn’t talk like us and they couldn’t make eye contact, but I recognized them as our myopic and entitled replacements.
This spring, I want everything to be beautiful, and I also want to complain about the pollen. Lovers, birthday parties, challenges and triumphs. They are all sequels. And this, my friends, is a blessing.
“Blessing” means more life. Not new life, like reincarnation promises us, but more life. More of the same. Different every day. New. Fresh. Eternal. Just like last year. Just like spring.
Peach Scene @
WUSSY MAG - RUPAUL GIRLS
PHOTOS BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD
Peach Scene @
Peach Scene @
MIDTOWN MOON KARAOAKE
PHOTOS BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD
Peach Scene @
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HAPPY SPRING TIME, PEACHES!
This week is all about pushing yourself to be a better you. Spring is a time for renewal and whether that means finally hitting the gym that much harder or cleaning your apartment/condo since it's much overdo, we got you.
Put in the headphones, get this playlist and make sure to get busy because we got the beats and you've got the passion. Fuel your day with these hard hitting hits, remixes and new music from artists you might not know.
BARS
3 Bulldo g s 893 Peachtree S t NE
4 Fr iend s 736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
6 My Sister’s Room66 12 th S t NE 7 X Midtown 990 Piedmont Ave NE
BARS not on map
2 Blake's 227 10 th S t NE 1 FUTURE ATLANTA 50 Lower Alabama St. SW Suite
Dini
ng
10th& P iedmon t 991 Piedmont Ave NE
Camp ag nolo 980 Piedmont Ave NE
G’s M id t o w n 219 10 th S t NE
Henr y ’s 132 10 th S t NE
L a H acienda 900 Monroe Dr NE
Guac y Margys 502 Amsterdam Ave NE
Peach Scene @ SNAPS
BARS & CLUBS
MIDTOWN
BLAKE’S ON THE PARK blakesontheparkatlanta.com
227 10th St NE
BULLDOGS
893 Peachtree St NE
FRIENDS NEIGHBORHOOD BAR friendsonponce-atl. com
736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
MY SISTER’S ROOM mysistersroom.com 66 12th St NE
X MIDTOWN fb.com/XMidtownX 990 Piedmont Ave NE
THE T
modeltatlanta.com 465 Boulevard SE
CHESHIRE
HERETIC hereticatlanta.com 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road
BJ ROOSTERS bjroosters.com 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
868 Joseph E. Boone Blvd NW 840ATL 840 Joseph E. Boone Blvd NW ANSLEY
MIDTOWN MOON 1492 Piedmont Ave NE
FELIX’S 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
THE HIDEAWAY 1544 Piedmont Ave NE
MIXX mixxatlanta.com 1492 Piedmont Ave NE
OSCAR’S oscarsatlanta.com 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
WOOFS woofsatlanta.com 494 Plasters Ave NE
EAST ATLANTA, GRANT PARK & EDGEWOOD
MARY’S marysatlanta.com 1287 Glenwood Ave SE
SISTER LOUISA’S CHURCH sisterlouisaschurch.com 466 Edgewood Ave SE
DINING
MIDTOWN
10TH & PIEDMONT 10thandpiedmont. com
991 Piedmont Ave NE
G’S gsmidtown.com 219 10th St NE
HENRY’S henrysatl.com 132 10th St NE
LA HACIENDA lahaciendamidtown. com
900 Monroe Dr NE
DEKALB
LIPS ATLANTA atldragshow.com 3011 Buford Hwy NE
RETAIL
MIDTOWN
BARKING LEATHER AFTER DARK barkingleather.com 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
CHESHIRE SOUTHERN NIGHTS VIDEO 2205 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE ANSLEY BOY NEXT DOOR MENSWEAR boynextdoormenswear.com 1447 Piedmont Ave NE
GCB & PLEASURES brushstrokesatlanta. com 1510-D Piedmont Ave. NE
FITNESS
URBAN BODY FITNESS urbanbody tness.com 500 Amsterdam Ave N
CHESHIRE GRAVITEE FITNESS graviteeatl.com 2201 Faulkner Rd NE
SPAS/BATHS ADULT
FLEX SPA exspas.com
76 4th St NW
CHESHIRE
March 2nd - March 8th
New Girl Trivia NIght @ Guac Y Margys (Beltline) | March 2nd (7 - 9 PM)
Can you believe New Girl premiered over 10 years ago?! Let's celebrate with a trivia night all about New Girl!
Who's that girl? It's Jess! Can you believe New Girl premiered over10 years ago?! Let's celebrate with a trivia night all about New Girl!
A ticket reserves your seat and gets you 2 tacos and 1 Margarita! We are selling a limited number of early bird tickets so grab one (or 6) while they're still available.
Teams of 1-6 welcome, 21+ only
Turn in your team name at 6:45 and trivia starts right at 7:00.
Amen! It's A Drag Show @ Church on Edgewood | March 3rd (11 PM)
Let the Church say AMEN!
AMEN - Edgewood's premiere drag show since 2017 - is BACK! Every 1st and 3rd Thursdays, come out to Sister Louisa's Church to experience this amazing show!
Featuring:
Cookie D'Lite
Drew Friday
Yutoya Avaze Leon & TAYLOR ALXNDR
w/ SZN ALXNDR as DJ & ARIES ALXNDR
Manhole! An All Drag King Show @ Noni's | March 4th (9:30 PM)
Come out and join the cast as they flaunt and strut for you, leaving you thirsting for more.
Performances by:
TJ Maxxx (NYC)
Phylaxxis (ATHENS)
Jarvis Hammer (ATL) plus Deacon Slanders (ATL)
Hosted by Mr. Elle Aye (ATL)
Doors & music at 9:30PM
Show at 10:30PM
18+
$5 cover - Cash, Cash App, & Venmo accepted DJ sets by TAYLOR ALXNDR all night.
DILF Atlanta "Hardcore @ Heretic | March 4th (10 PM)
MEN'S JOCK/UNDERWEAR PARTY! GO HARDER at DILF Atlanta in March...Go "HARDCORE!"
DUDES, DADDIES, DISCREET, DUNNO...DILF is for ALL MEN!
FEATURING MUSIC BY: DJ JAMES ANTHONY of New York
The HOTTEST & BIGGEST "JOCK PARTY" in the Country is back in ATLANTA and at the HERETIC! ENCOURAGED to WEAR:
*JOCKS
*HARNESS
*GEAR
*LEATHER
*A Clothes Check will be Available so you can get down to your underwear! Not Required though.
Alanta Brunch Festival @ Atlantic Station | March 5th (12 Noon)
Atlanta Wine Festivals and Atlanta Beer Festivals presents Atlanta Brunch Festival
Atlantic Station
Saturday, March 5, 2022 - 12pm-4pm, Early Entry 11am
Celebrating brunch with brunch bites from great Atlanta restaurants, mimosas, bloody marys, Brunch Punch, beer, and wine. Live Music with Davis and the Love and DJ Qtip
Tickets:
Bottomless Drinks Tickets (includes all drinks 12pm-3:45pm, Food costs extra)
$45 Advance, $50 after Feb. 25, $60 day of event
Early Entry Tickets (includes unlimited drinks, early entry at 11am, 4 food tickets for any restaurant tent)
$65 advance, $70 after Feb. 25, $80 day of event
Tickets are now on sale
Questions: kari@atlantabeerfestivals.com
The Masquerade presents...
Aurelio Voltaire: Halfway to Dragoncon @ Masquerade | March 5th (8 PM)
Saturday, March 5th, 2022
Hell at The Masquerade
Aurelio Voltaire
8:00 PM Doors
$20 ADV / All Ages
Tickets available @ The Masquerade Box Office
Steve Martin & Martin Short- You Wont Believe What They Look Like Today
@ The Fox Theatre | March 6th (7:30 PM)
Steve Martin and Martin Short’s “You Won’t Believe What They Look Like Today!” is a show where jokes come rapid-fire pace with little set-up & big punch lines! Featuring Jeff Babko and The Steep Canyon Rangers!!
They're coming to the Fox Theatre March 6, 2022!
Tickets NOW!
foxtheatre.org/MartinMartin22
PALS Drag Queen Bingo - Somewhere That's Green @ LIPS Atlanta | March 8th (7:30 PM)
Join Bubba, Erica, and the rest of the motley crew as we bring back PALS Drag Queen Bingo! PRESENTED BY TITO’S HANDMADE VODKA
Tickets are $20 for 7 games with $1,100 cash to the winners. Tickets available online at link above.
Hostesses Bubba D. Licious and Erica Lee and our special guest performers will get you festive as they call bingo, put on a show, and help us raise money for PALS!
We are abiding by safety requirements from the City of Brookhaven and the State of Georgia as well as following recommendations from the Center for Disease Control to ensure our guests, performers, staff, and volunteers all remain safe during the event. We appreciate your support and we look forward to seeing all of you at Drag Queen Bingo in the future!
ARIES: This week is all about decisions decisions. On the one hand you have the decision that you WANT to make and on the other; the one you NEED to make. So which do you plan on taking? Time's running out.
TAURUS: This week is about your past, present and future. Because your life up until now is shaped by your past doesn't mean it DEFINES you. SO how can you make the now shape your future?
GEMINI: You are going to be either reminded or given true love's kiss this week. This could be metaphorically or physically but you are going to really feel the difference when you understand what true love is. You need to be reminded.
CANCER: There have been a few instances this ewek where love might come knocking but you need to be willing to open the door. If you decide that this is not for you, fine... but can you at leaast take a chance to see?
LEO: Small changes all add up. Take a step back and see what little life changes you can make to better yourself the most. If you can add up some small changes then you might be able to realize the big changes that can happen when you set your mind to it!
VIRGO: Postivity is surrounding you this week, and that is exactly what you need! Because of the stress in your life, you need people who are going to lift you up and support you. You are truly feeling the love and you cant imagine it any other way.
LIBRA: You're going to love this week because it is ALL about balance. You dont have to think too much about it, all you have to do is merely think about how you can balance out someone's energy or needs in the moment!
SCORPIO: This week a development in your relationship may lead you to more happiness than you expected. If you are not in a relationship, think again. It's going to be with a friend if that's the case and the AH-HA moment will occur
SAGGITARIUS: You are on the road! To success that is. You have the plan and the resources to get the job done. So, what is it that is making you so nervous to just get the job done? Why are you deterring from the task at hand? You hate it when people do that, right?
CAPRICORN: This week, the only way that you are going to succeed is if and when you decide to lean into the idea of failing. Failing is a term we made up, remember that. The action of trying something and not getting the desired result? It's called experimentation. Rethink.
AQUARIUS: This week you might be needing to look internally and decide for yourself how you are going to proceed. Not as in with life, but in terms of your thinking. Allow yourself to be introspective in your thought process.
PISCES: This week might be a relationship of some sort coming after you. It might be a friendship, so dont get crazy over it... because the person might. So, how can you manage telling them that they need to tone it down without sounding like a bitch?
Peach Scene @
BARKING LEATHER CIGAR SOCIAL
Dear Peach,
With Covid still rearing it’s ugly head, I am wondering if it is smart to really do Spring Break this year. A group of friends wants to travel and do it together but I am nervous about potentially getting stuck somewhere because of restrictions or whatever. What do you think is the best way to handle this?
Honestly, I don't know what to say in this situation. Because Covid has come and gone according to news sources so many times I don't know that there is an answer that anyone will feel comfortable with.
You have to make the choice for YOU, and no-one else. Understand obviously that others may support you or not in your choices and that is something you will have to deal with after the vacation. While Spring Break is something that a lot of people (especially people in the education industry) look forward to, there is the off chance that you can still catch COVID… even vaccinated.
So the question is this instead: Do you go on Spring Break and catch Covid and deal with the repercussions or stay home and stay as safe as possible while missing out on potential fun? The choice is ultimately yours, but know that we are still dealing with the pandemic.
