NC coastal tour

from Google Maps

Things have been slow on my blog lately because I was traveling. Several trips with a few generous friends combined to form a tour of the North Carolina coast; the map above shows the trip I took from July 3 to 13. 

I will post more in depth about some of the things I did--I have already posted on my Lake Waccamaw nature walk (here) and first time at Britt's Donuts (here). Below I hit a few highlights. 

We attended a special Independence Day celebration at Lake Waccamaw. The McNeill family has been reading the Declaration of Independence on July 4 for 57 years! 

We spotted alligators at Lake Waccamaw. 

We took in a beautiful sunset in Wrightsville Beach with Lauren's family, including Mommy Jo, who just turned 90 years old. 

I tried Britt's doughnuts for the first time! 

I also lugged two coolers along and did my best to eat healthy with a vacation splurge here and there. 

We visited the turtle hospital in Topsail on likely its most popular day of the year. 

I sent postcards to my family and wished I had thought of it sooner so I could send them from each of my stops. 

We stayed at a house with a cat who snuggled up to Hillary. I love cats, but she does not, so I had to capture it.

We strolled theBeaufort waterfront, always lovely. This house was decked out, and I want to move in. 

I enjoyed my trip, and I'm so thankful for friends who invited me to join them at the coast! 

FIVE on Friday

I had a fabulous weekend with my friend Jessica, who visited from out of town last weekend. For this five on Friday, here are a few places we went and loved:

not one of my five, but walking around the Capitol is a must for me

ONE | Sushi Blues. One of my favorite sushi restaurants in town, it was the perfect place for us to enjoy sushi, catch up, and watch basketball.

TWO | Los Tres Vaqueros. I don't care what anyone says, this is my favorite Mexican place. Of course we had certain ones in college we frequented, but I always missed the food at Los Tres.

THREE | Lilly's pizza. The pizza was delicious, and we managed to get a table, thanks to nice ladies who shared with us. My favorite at Lilly's is the Hawaiian Punch, with pineapple, ham, mandarin oranges, cinnamon, and ricotta cheese.

FOUR | Foundation. I had read about this place and how you have to know where you are going to find it. It's true. The staff was friendly and helpful, and a portion of their menu came from a 1939 recipe book, right up my alley. I chose the South Side and was very pleased!

FIVE | Beasley's. I'd been putting this one off for a while, thinking there was no way it'd live up to the Southern Living hype. It was good!!! I prefer collards with vinegar and pepper rather than bechamel (I'm not that fancy), but I recommend the fried chicken and the Ashe County macaroni and cheese.

It looks like we attempted to eat our way through Raleigh last weekend. Thank you, Jessica and Allison, for going on these adventures with me!

What are your favorite places to eat in your hometown? Where would you take a friend who's visiting from out of town?

You can link up for Five on Friday, too, at any of these blogs:

The Good Life Blog

Carolina Charm

A.Liz Adventures

Hello! Happiness

simple green smoothie

After the holiday eating and being sick, I was eager to make smoothies with the strawberries and spinach that I'd picked up at the farmers market.

Simple Green Smoothie:

1 banana

2 handfuls baby spinach (approximately 3/4 cup packed baby spinach)

8 medium sized strawberries 

two handfuls of ice

3/4 cup orange juice

I typically start with the softest ingredients on the bottom and place the heavier, denser ingredients in the middle, with ice on the top, and liquid in last. 

This recipe made two servings. 

I went a little heavy on the orange juice. I usually throw in whatever I have on hand for smoothies; some of my other favorites ingredients are: blueberries, plain greek yogurt, almond milk, peanut butter, and oats.

I got this Tervis tumbler in my stocking. You can never have enough Tervis tumblers, and, well, we already had all of the other ECU designs. 

Do you drink smoothies? What are your favorite ingredients? 

sunset flights and fall foliage

My dad and I took these photos on a Sunday afternoon a month or so ago, and I can't believe I forgot to post them! I thought it was prime time for viewing fall foliage, but surprisingly, most everything looked green from up in the air. Maybe that was the collards. 

We hopped over to Wayne Executive Jetport in Goldsboro and got fuel. The airport manager is absolutely the nicest man in aviation, and I recommend stopping by if you fly. 

I hate that these photos are on a delay, but what better time to post them than the 110th anniversary of the first flight? 

fair flashback

I enjoyed the fair 22 years ago. I was a little more interested in the rides then than I am now.  For several years, mom dressed us in overalls and tucked a card into our front pockets with our address and phone number.  I also remember her saying that if we got lost, we should find a police officer or go to the Red Cross building.  I don't remember being excited about fair food then, but I have always liked to see the bunnies!

I enjoyed the fair 19 years ago.  I love the stickers!  Of course, there are more stickers during a Presidential election year, but I think more vendors used to give out stickers, too.  It seemed like there were more giveaways to enter back then.  Mom would bring a sheet of address labels so she didn't have to fill out a card each time.  Or was that at the Southern Women's Show?  I thought about bringing address labels with me this time, then forgot.  I wished I had when Allison entered a raffle to win a horse.  We could have bought 20 tickets and stuck on labels!

He still carries ducks around like that, by the way, except now they're dead.

I enjoyed the fair last week.  

North Carolina grows sweet potatoes year round.  They are both healthy and delicious!

I think the highest price I saw a beef cow sold for was $25,000.  I didn't get a good picture of that one.  

My favorite fair foods are Al's french fries--definitely a hand me down from my parents--and fried Reese's and Oreos.  This year, I came home after 3.5 hours at the fair and felt hungry.  I've never been thrilled by a ham biscuit or barbecue sandwich from the fair, but I'd like to find a good protein option.  And don't say to eat a turkey leg!  The corn looked and smelled tempting this year, too, so I will think about adding that to my list next year.

Do you go to the NC state fair?  Dixie Classic fair?  other fairs?
What are your favorite things to do at the fair?  Favorite foods?

peaches and deer

The farmers market had plenty of peaches last week.  We ate lunch at the seafood restaurant while we were there, and it was great!  I will go there again and would recommend eating there to turn your produce buying trip into a real outing.

I enjoy eating a peach right by itself, but we had a few more than I could eat that way before they go bad.  My parents and grandparents go crazy over homemade ice cream in the summer, especially peach ice cream.  But of course I had to put a healthier twist on that.  I had seen some peach frozen yogurt recipes on Pinterest, so I looked up and adapted one of the recipes for the amount I wanted to make and the ingredients I had on hand.  

One fresh diced peach + Greek yogurt + sugar + milk + vanilla = peach frozen yogurt.

I spied some deer in the backyard while preparing the frozen yogurt.

After about 15 minutes in the ice cream maker, it was done.  

I think I'll be sticking to the froyo place down the road that I like . . . This frozen yogurt had nothing on real homemade peach ice cream.  Maybe the hand me down recipe is best after all.

Any good recipes for frozen yogurt?  Ideas for what to do with peaches?