Life Lately

{top, left} Hank and I had a great time at a Crab Out - endless crabs and Corona Light

{top, right} Bentley continues to love life, snoozin' and lots of treats (when he is good)

{bottom, left} I scored a new private reserve wine cellar that someone actually tossed

{bottom, right} I finally said goodbye to my blue hand chair that I've had for 10 years

Lantern (Now I feel I have truly eaten.)

Wow. This restaurant blew my mind and is definitely one of my top five favorites. Lantern was named by Gourmet as one of America's top 50 restaurants and has won many awards. 

We made reservations for 8 p.m. in the main dining area, but we scored a table in the back bar so we were quite happy. The bar area is dark, lit by lanterns and has a very cool vibe. 

We enjoyed delicious cocktails including Hibiscus Petal (hibiscus-infused vodka, fresh lime juice and Thai basil) and Junebug (Pimm's, fresh ginger & lemon soda and cucumber). As for appetizers, we had crispy local okra with Indian spices and hot tomato chutney along with a crab cake special. 

The main event was fireworks. Hank had a barbecued local pork chop, and I had the sea scallop special. I was especially obsessed with my dish. The scallops were perfect, the leeks with ham were innovative and the jasmine rice was a great compliment to the amazing broth - just look at it! Then there was dessert... We indulged on a bruleed local fig sundae with creme fraiche ice cream, pistachio cream, spiced red wine caramel and toasted pistachios. There are no words. I feel lucky to have a restaurant the caliber of Lantern so close to home.

Celebration

This is me, and on Tuesday, Aug. 14, I found out I landed an exciting new job!

This brought on lots of celebrating. I enjoyed pretty flowers, balloons and sweet treats. 

Hank and I had a fantastic dinner at Lantern that Tuesday night (and it needs its own post). 

Peachy Keen

Oh the lake - I could have stayed all week. We did a bit of treasure hunting on Saturday morning, and my Dad scored a vintage ice cream maker for $5. My Mom went to pick up fresh peaches while we were out so we united our finds to make homemade peach ice cream.

We came to the lake on this particular weekend for one of my favorite annual events - the George T. "Buck" Wilson Memorial Pig Pickin' that I've mentioned before here. This family tradition is always a fun one, and this weekend at the lake could not have been prettier.

OBX

Last weekend I enjoyed a beach vacation at Nag's Head with three other girls. It was fun! We caught the end of the opening ceremony of the olympics on Friday night and had spirit cups and dips to go along with it. Saturday was spent at the beach. Nag's Head is beautiful with ample free beach parking and lots of beach areas that aren't crowded. We attempted to fly kites, squealed at crabs and shot scenes for our music video - which is to come. 

We also played at the pool on Saturday and did some shopping too. I purchased the neatest homemade candle at Seagreen Gallery that's in a vintage glass bottle - the scent is rose geranium, and it is fantastic. We had fun getting ready for Saturday night, and we ran into Guy Fieri upon our arrival at Basnight's for dinner. He was in Nag's Head for the week for a family reunion, and he was quite nice. After dinner, we danced the night away in our VIP area (that I created by making a blockade of chairs). We lunched at Sam and Omies on Sunday and that was the delightful end to a lovely beach weekend. I can't wait to go back!