One of the best days ever, to be continued by many, many more!!!

So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I also got the chance to visit the beach one last time before things got super crazy as the school year started again.  Pat and I made plans to run down to Carolina Beach for our first "just us" vacation in the two+ years we have been together.  I was so excited!  We began our trip by driving around Wilmington and managed to find the creek from Dawson's Creek-check that off Pat's bucket list!  We then went to our hotel and they were super sweet and allowed us to park even though our room wouldn't be ready for 4 more hours.  So, we got our stuff (we were already in our bathing suits) and parked it on the beach.

A little after that, friends of our who were actually heading out of Carolina beach stopped in to say hello AND to share with us, that our friends Robbie and Rachael had just gotten engaged that morning! We were so excited for them, but as I found out later, Pat was a little nervous at that point because he was actually planning on asking me to marry him that evening! However, he stuck to the plan and I am so glad he did!

After leaving the beach early in the afternoon, we checked in, took a dip in the pool, got some grub, and took a nap because we had been up since 5 that morning.

After napping, we then got ready to head out to dinner, but were so full from lunch we needed to kill some time.  So, we decided to head down to Fort Fisher.  The historic area was closed by the time we got there and the public beach was really full, so we decided to head down the overlook trail that said it was only about a mile long.

Let me tell you, it may have been a mile but it did not feel like it.  It took us an hour up and back and was full of many different types of terrain.  However, it was absolutely gorgeous and even with the horseflies, it was totally worth it!

 Look at these HUGE deer at the beach!

So after our trek, we had to reshower and get ready because we were super gross.  Then we went out to a tiki bar at the end of pier and listened to a band, watched the sun go down, had some drinks and enjoyed being together :)

We left before the bar closed at 10 (it was a Sunday) and walked back on the beach (great idea Pat) to our place.  The stars were amazing-I always think of my granddaddy when the stars are out.  It was the best day.

We found our access back to the road and Pat stopped to (I though) put his shoes on right by the gazebo.  However, then he stopped and started talking to me and I had no idea what was going on until he started reaching into his pocket, got down on one knee and proposed.  It was so dark that he couldn't see me nodding (couldn't talk because I was crying because I was so happy).  Of course I said yes to the best man I know! It was one of the best moments of my whole life! Pat had snuck in champagne and glasses into the room and we spent the next two hours calling our families to tell them our news.  Then, we had two more amazing days on the beach together!  Can't tell you all how happy I am-I'm the luckiest girl in the whole world!

 Here's where it all happened!

 Yummy donuts on our last day!

 There's my man!

Spotlight on....(two-fer today!)

Watt's Grocery in Durham, NC and Beasley's in Raleigh, NC

Just wanted to take a moment to highlight some amazing culinary experiences I've had. 

First, I wanted to talk about Watt's.  I've been hearing about Watt's for years and have had it on my "need to go eat here list" forever.  It is a little pricier for dinner, so I haven't had many opportunities to go during that time slot, but it has been on me that I haven't gone for brunch which is a totally reasonable price range.

Well, this year I came into a little extra money around March Madness time and so Pat and I decided that before going to see Louis Black (hilarious) at the DPAC, we would go for a nice dinner at Watt's Grocery.  Man, I will have to tell you that this has been one of the best meals that I have eaten in a restaurant at least in the last few years, if not my whole life.

Their menu is seasonal (they use local products-LOVE that), so I'm sure it's not the same now but I will try as best as I can to remember everything that was on each dish.

We started out with a pimento cheese and fried potato chip appetizer.  It wasn't the highlight of the meal (too much cheese and the chips were a little overdone) but I thought their approach was really cool.  They had the pepper relish (instead of traditional pimentos) on top of the cheese and it was both spicy and sweet. 

Here is my dinner: Lamb with goat cheese dumplings and fava beans.  Now, those who know me really well know that I do not eat "young foods" (lamb, veal) but it just sounded so good that Pat told me he would forgo the next opportunity to eat veal or lamb (he loves both) if I wanted to get this (the goat cheese dumplings just sounded so good).  It was AMAZING.  The combination of flavors with just a hint of mint was genius and the lamb was so tender it just melted in your mouth.  *Update he did pass up an opportunity to eat veal at one of the best steakhouses, so the universe has been balanced-such a good man. 

 Pat's dinner was a local steak with herbed butter, asparagus, and purple potatoes.  You barely really needed a knife to cut it because it was so perfectly cooked.  He said it was one of the best steaks he's ever had. 

 Here we are :)

 This may have been my favorite part of the whole meal and I'm DYING to make it myself.  Ginger is one of my favorite flavors.  I find it so warm and sweet and I'm just fascinated by its versatility in the kitchen (savory, sweet, alone, as a spice).  Like mushrooms, it's become one of those "deciding" elements on a menu- if it's present, there's a good possibility I will get it. 

At the beginning of our dinner I had a great ginger martini.  Then, at the end I could not resist this ginger pot de creme with a rhubarb relish and a fresh made ginger snap.  I can't even talk about it because it was just SO GOOD that it transcends words.  I'm dying to know how to make something this good, but I am a little worried that I will just eat the whole thing myself!

 Finally, I had an after dinner espresso martini. 

Fast forward to June and my friend Rachael (who shares my love for food/photographing food) took me to Beasley's in Raleigh. They are known for their chicken biscuits (complete with green tomatoes, honey, and mustard) and they make some amazing drinks (seen below).  We had been at the pool all day and this Dark and Stormier (ginger beer/rum) drink was just the ticket!  Thanks Rach for taking me here.  Best chicken biscuit ever!

Celebrations

Hello friends!

As I said in my last post, I have a lot of things to catch you up on.  The last few months were a whirlwind, but I am happy to report that this semester was much better than the last AND now it's O-V-E-R.

While I haven't had a lot of time to document my adventures on here, I have at least had a lot more time to cook and bake.  In the spirit of celebration, I'm going to highlight some of the foods prepared for holidays, birthdays, and other happy occasions from the last few months. 

More babies!

My friends Adam and Kasey and Amy and Steve had a joint baby shower this spring.  As my contribution to the party, I made these adorable little monkey cupcakes.  I used Ina Garten's chocolate cake recipe (and just shortened the baking time).  It was super cold that day so the icing turned out a little chunky, but I loved them all the same.  

Valentines Day

I had a lovely Valentines Day with my super wonderful boyfriend.  Our menu that night was beef stew with crusty bread (the best way into someone's heart is their stomach, right?) and freshly made cookies and cream ice cream with raspberry sauce.  

Here's the raspberry sauce through it's stages of creation:

Getting the seeds out is crucial!

Finally, I made Valentines cookie's for my honey.  I used the Cake Boss' recipe for his black and white cookies, but a different icing recipe.  They were very cakey and, from what I gather from the consumer, pretty good :)

Birthdays :)

For my honey's birthday, he requested that I make him dinner instead of going out.  We had steaks with hasselback potatoes (uh..yum! and SO easy) with roasted green beans.  He's a Boston native and loves a Boston Creme Pie Donuts, so I made him some Boston Creme Pie Cupcakes instead:

The batter was very airy (baking soda) and I will use the cake recipe for future fruit stuffed cupcakes because they weren't too sweet. 

Here's one of the finished products.

For my birthday, we went to Pops (one of my fav restaurants in downtown Durham) and I had the minestrone soup and pork scallopini with crazy good polenta in a mushroom tomato sauce.  So good.  My honey also knows me well and knew I wouldn't be craving cake for my birthday dessert, so we went to Local Yogurt afterwards.  It was my second visit that day, as my best friend Jenni took me during our break about 4 hours before :).  

Unfortunately, no pics of that meal, but later in the week my girls and I went to go see Wicked and we ate at L'uva in downtown Durham beforehand.  

I had the pork belly with white beans and artichoke hearts seen above.  So yummy-- I just can't thank everyone enough for such a wonderful week birthday week!  Also, thanks for getting me through this crazy year-much love to you all!

Alrighty, that's my update for now! Looking forward to more adventures this summer!  See you all!