Happy Birthday Mom!

This past weekend the three sisters (and a boyfriend) traveled from North Carolina's three largest cities to the country cottage that we like to call home to celebrate our dear Mother's birthday.


We decided to try something new for my Mom's birthday dinner: divvy up the meal. I had appetizer and dessert. Gin & Jeff had the main course. Lu, the salad. My Dad, the naan bread- his specialty. It worked perfectly. I used an appetizer recipe from Al, and it was quite tasty. A fig spread on top of toasted cheese bread with apple and slices of Pecorino Romano cheese. Yum. Holler if you want the recipe.



We had cake, presents and games afterwards.

Yum. Hope you had a great birthday, Mama!

pictures by the lovely lucy clement. but you should've known that because my little point & shoot can't make pics look this good.

Still here...

I've just been busy enjoying the lovely days of summer and taking it all in. Hope you're doing the same!

Weekend Update

Gin, Al, Cat & I had a last minute girls weekend in Raleigh. Al drove up to Charlotte and I got to meet this little guy! Aunt Carrie loves Toby!


We had a delightful weekend relaxing, catching up, going to the farmers market, making a dinner with fresh veggies and playing with sweet, little Toby!

Success

I'm going to measure the success of a dinner party by the amount of dishes in the kitchen afterwards! Ahh, I just love having people over. Last night I had a Taco Thursday at my house and it was a great time. I'm so blessed to have community here in Charlotte.

So...

This news just in.

Vacation, Day Seven: Everywhere

Left NYC early in the morning to drive along the East Coast. My car did great the whole trip and I passed through/visited 12 states in a week. Whew!

I made it to Raleigh to see sweet baby Anna and got to visit with her proud parents, Erin & Dave. She was so little, and it was quite special to hold this little darling.



Aunt Carrie & Anna :)

After I left the hospital, I went to see Ginna in Raleigh, then Lucy in Greensboro and finally, my Dad & Mom in Oak Ridge. What a fun vacation!!

Vacation, Day Six: New York City

By the time day 6 of vacation rolled around, I was exhausted. It was still pretty hot outside, and with all my friends working, I decided to go to the MoMA. Here are a few pieces I saw:

Interior with a Violin Case

Henri Matisse

The Kitchen

Pablo Picasso

Wasp and Pear

Gerald Murphy

Christina's World

Andrew Wyeth

Stenographic Figure

Jackson Pollock

Chief

Franz Kline

Gaea

Lee Krasner

Map

Jasper Johns

Gold Marilyn Monroe

Andy Warhol

Campbell's Soup Cans

Andy Warhol

There was a special exhibit by Bruce Nauman, a sound sculpture of voices saying the days of the week in different order. It was an interesting concept and I enjoyed its simplicity.

After the MoMA, I went to visit with a couple good friends, enjoyed the big city lights and picked up bagels to bring home.

Vacation, Day Five: New York City

It's been a few days since I've been able to post, mainly because my computer wouldn't upload the pictures, but also because it's been a crazy busy week. Tuesday was a really fun day in the City, except that it.was.so.hot. I'm not even kidding. 103 degrees. I mostly walked everywhere because it's just fun to see old sights, and talk to Allison for hours at a time... but this heat made me remember why summers in the City are often miserable.

On this day, I had to move my car from the East Village, where I was staying, because they were cleaning the streets. So I drove up to the UES to relive a typical morning.

Went to my deli and the guy still remembered what I liked.


Walked around the reservoir.

Went to my old building and saw a couple doormen.

Then I met up with my Charlotte roomie, Caitlin! She's here for the summer so it was great to catch up. We went to a yummy noodle place in Union Square then walked back to Fishs Eddy (yes, be jealous).

I then went back to the UES and saw Miriam (and Chris & Ollie)! She had a lovely spread of cheese, crackers and fruit and we chatted for a long while about married life and recent events. What a dear friend!

After I left, I stopped into the Barnes & Noble near my old apartment to see Alex McCord from NY Housewives, as she was doing a book signing. So that was my celebrity sighting. Except that I think I also saw the little Asian guy in Oceans 11 waking around in Grand Central.

Made my way to Times Square...

...to hang out with Pamela!!! They're painting their apartment, hence the roller & cap. It was a great way to end the day, just being together with good friends.

Vacation, Day Four: Boston & Long Island

We left Maine and headed to Boston... Cheers!

To have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with Tam's cousin and his boyfriend, who is the GM of the restaurant.

I was so full, but they made us get a cheesecake.

We stopped into a Vineyard Vines store. I'm going to get this for my Dad for Christmas.

Boston library:

Back to Long Island. What a fun trip it was, Tam!

I then traveled to Huntington and had my favorite meal. I also begged the guys in there to franchise down to North Carolina.

Then drove out to Lloyd Harbor, across the causeway and it brought back so many memories. I couldn't wait to see the boys!

There they are! Nicholas & Alec, my little loves! I was their nanny for almost 2 years. When I got there Nicholas was 1 and Alec was 5 months. Now they're 6 and 5, respectively.

Nicholas was so excited to read to me, and show me all of his artwork. He's so smart!

Me with the boys- I love them so!

Haha, Alec took this when we were all being goofy.

It was so great to see them- what a special part of my trip! I then headed back to the City and it was quite fun to drive my own car in the concrete jungle.

Vacation, Day Three: Maine

Happy 4th!

Vacation, Day Two: Long Island & Maine

A tradition: morning bagels at Sea Cliff Bagel Cafe with my good friend Tammy.

We made it to Maine! For dinner we went to this really cool outdoor restaurant:

Lobsters are everywhere.

And they wear silly bands.

When in Maine... eat a lobster.

But you'll be full afterwards.

So sit back, listen to the band and chat with the locals.


Then take a walk on the boardwalk, and jump for joy because you're in Maine.

More lobster.
And then we went to the L.L. Bean flagship store at Midnight because it's open 24 hours.