Loaded to the Gills

"Wrightsville Beach is a classic. The birds fly free. The people kick back. The wind blows steady. The worries fade away. Here, everything's all right." - Our State magazine

This past weekend, my friend Jen and I had the best time in Wrightsville Beach. The locals were nice and the weather beautiful. We set up our lounge chairs and sunned away.

For lunch on Saturday, we walked the beach to head to Neptune's (King Neptune Restaurant). While under new management, it's the oldest restaurant in Wrightsville Beach. We ordered the Shrimp Po' Boy. I ordered mine half shrimp / half oysters, and it was good. 

We called it a beach day around five and made our way to our hotel to get ready for dinner and dancing. We took a dip in the pool while our homemade cocktail chilled. We made Skinny Girl margaritas with the following easy recipe: one can diet frozen limeade + 12 oz. tequila + 24 oz. Diet Sprite + one Corona Light = perfection with umbrella straws. We enjoyed lots of chatting, and I jumped on the bed dancing to Katy Perry's Firework. We engaged in lots of singing until our cab arrived to take us out and about for the evening.

We started the night with the highly recommended Tower 7 (Baja Mexican). Wow. They have killer... a lot of things... The Prickly Pear and Pomeritas, queso, fish tacos, burritos and tobacco onions. This restaurant was great, and I can't wait to be back. Then it was onward to the beach bar, Palm Room, for a jam band and the dancing portion of the evening.

We continued our sunning on Sunday after breakfast at Causeway Cafe. We did a little shopping at Redix, and I can't wait to be back there either. They had a really pretty Carolina blue and white nautical tunic that I'm still thinking about (by a new brand to me, Mahi Gold). I'm pretty certain it will take me two more visits to hit up the rest of the stops on my Wrightsville Beach checklist. On our way out, Jen and I stopped by Robert's Market to pick-up his famous chicken salad (and pimento cheese) to bring back to our guys. I also supported a little boy named Hank by purchasing a seashell magnet he made. The beach life is quite the treat, and I could not agree more that Wrightsville Beach is an absolute classic. 

Sailin' on the Quote Boat - Enjoy it.

Mr. Bentley Bandana

Check out his modeling debut here. More to come!

Just Noodling Around

Yesterday evening was spent noodling around the pool with my friend Kat. We had the last hour all to ourselves, and it was lovely. We enjoyed a really nice summer white wine from Trader Joe's, Alamos' Torrontes (Argentina | 2011 | $10) that I highly, highly recommend.

Dad's Day Recap

Last Sunday I spent the day at the pool (surprise!) with my parents and Hank. It was quite relaxing. Before heading to the pool, I hosted lunch in honor of Dad's Day. I think the lunch hit was an easy little appetizer from Trader Joe's, Mushrooms Marinated with Garlic. They're found in a jar, so you just drain a little of the juice and voila, instant success.

We enjoyed a delicious Sunday cocktail, homemade Sangria. I went with a Sangria recipe by Emeril Lagasse, and I'd make it again. By night we headed over to Hank's family's house for dinner, and we had the best banana pudding. If banana pudding does not have the above peaks forming in the meringue, then I truly believe it is a banana pudding impostor. 

Happy Father's Day!

I love you!

Mercier Beaucoup

My friend Maura gifted me a very cool present for my birthday this year... A stationary subscription to Mercier Beaucoup. I'd never even heard of such, but it is a very fresh idea. 

Each month brings three unique greeting cards from boutique print shops. June's stationary selections included: What to Pack by Small Adventures, Father's Day BBQ by Hello! Lucky and Mexican Beer by Smock. These cards are undeniably cute. (Thanks again, Maura!)

Remember when...

That's Hank and I at Niagara Falls our junior year in college. We had so much fun! We went through the caves behind the falls, took a boat ride on the Maid of the Mist and thought we were so cool to be having a legal drink at a restaurant in Canada (as their drinking age is 18).

Summer Lately

In between eating pretzels and playing at the pool, we've been...

Enjoying the beginnings of summer! We had our first barbecue of the season at a lovely work picnic (top). We spent a Saturday afternoon at a "Can Party"(bottom-right). This was to celebrate canned craft ales outdoors with live music, food trucks and lots of koozies. Hank spent a week in Canada for work, and he ended his trip at the beautiful Niagara Falls. Per usual, we've been enjoying the occasional Mexican & margaritas. Cheers to this season!

Bentley's Photo Shoot

Bentley and I had a little fun on Wednesday morning. I took Bentley to a photo shoot! Bentley will be featured in the pet aspects of the catalog and web for Johnny T-shirt. 

Bentley got to model some of their new (and very nice) gear. He even went home with a really great "prize pack" including a new Carolina collar and leash, dog treats with Carolina blue icing & white sprinkles and an awesome painted metal bucket by Magnolia Lane. 

A Taste of Paris & Rome

A couple of Friday nights ago, Hank and I had a French and Italian themed date night (in step with the theme of our honeymoon to Paris and Rome). I finally found and got to wear the style of dress I've been in search of since a trip to Greece and Turkey back in 2010.

We enjoyed dinner at Coquette - a true French brasserie. We dined on steak tartare, escargots, steak frites and beef bourguignon. It's no surprise that Hank ordered the beef bourguignon (braised short rib, mushrooms, pearl onions, buttered noodles), because it was the better dish. For dessert, we had a little Italian delight that was Henry's Gelato. While nothing beats the real thing, this was a nice take on the tastes of Paris & Rome.

These.

Current Snack of Choice: Snyder's Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzel Pieces

Summer Delights

Dinner last night was quite tasty thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow. Gwyneth's cookbook, My Father's Daughter, truly is great. I'm excited to work my way through her delicious recipes this summer. Last night we enjoyed a summer salad with greens, fresh mozzarella, balsamic vinaigrette and the kicker... Oven Roasted Tomatoes. I sliced vine ripe tomatoes horizontally and placed them on a pan with olive oil & sea salt. The tomatoes roasted at 275 degrees for three hours - the longer in the oven the better. They were the heart of this salad.



Along with the salad, I paired a Butternut Squash Soup. It was my first time working with a butternut squash, and I cannot believe the flavor. The soup only consists of butternut squash, vidalia onions, garlic, salt, pepper, curry powder and vegetable stock. The exciting part to me is that this soup is so healthy but so good. We enjoyed a summer theme with a shark on our wine bottle, mermaids and turtles... It's a sip of wine, it's summertime.


Need the Butternut Squash Soup recipe? Email mrsloveslife[at]gmail[dot]com.

Tank

Honestly, this made me laugh out loud...

I went inside to drop Bentley off at Doggie Daycare this morning and a list of superlatives caught my eye. I was reading to see if Bentley got one and of course he did:

Most Indestructible

There were so many sweet ones, but of course we have the unstoppable tank.



... Bentley says no I'm not, I'm sweet ; )