Me-Time Monday: Kure Beach Pier

I beat the Monday blues by making time for ME on Mondays. I mostly kick start my day and week by heading to the beach for a walk or even, sometimes, a yoga practice. There is something quite special in being able to begin my week in connection with nature, and especially, out/in/near the water. Today, I LOVE Mondays!!! :-)

Great Restaurant in Southport!

In Southport and hungry? Check this place out! The food is fabulous and it's right next to the water. Eat some great food, grab a few brews, and enjoy the scenery!

Happy Halloween!

Stand Up Paddle (SUP) Boarding

For an awesome SUP experience, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND Wrightsville SUP.

You can read about my 1st ever SUP lesson HERE. I'm a SUP'er!!!

Yay for Beach Yoga!

Sharing my beach yoga adventure from this morning. Read the post HERE which is found on my yoga blog, Adventures on the Mat.

All that... and a Bag of Toys!!

Saturday, April 10th, 2010. Can I even tell you how super duper excited I was when I found out Bag of Toys was playing the main stage at the Azalea Festival??!! There was NO WAY I was going to miss these guys! I mean, c'mon, I've been listening to BOT since I discovered them... umm... maybe 4 years ago?

The History. If memory serves me correctly, I came across BOT while surfing the pages of Myspace. That must have been it because I can't imagine having found out about them any other way, especially due to the fact that I was living in a little itty bitty town in Texas... many, many, many, many, many miles away from that big blue beautiful ocean that I like to call home. I was far away from anything that reminded me of sand, sun and surf. Oh, boo hoo... but then one day the groovy sounds of BOT were streaming through my computer and into my happy little ears. Oh, heaven! I could close my eyes and imagine myself being back in San Diego, or any tropical place where I could sink my toes into the warm, wet sand... where I could hear the waves crashing upon the shore... where I could feel the warmth of the sun kissing my face and palm trees swaying in the breeze... a place where I could chill with friends and enjoy a cold brew or maybe even a frozen margarita with extra salt, pease. How wonderful does that sound?! Yes, I am an island girl... for sure!!! Anything that could take me there, even in my mind, while living in the depths of the country and trees of Texas... well, dear ones, that was just pure and instant love for me!

And here we are today which finds me living on the opposite coast of San Diego and here in the beautiful beaches of Wilmington, North Carolina. I'm totally digging the vibe out here people. And for those friends that never had the opportunity to visit me while I was living in San Diego... yeah, you totally missed out. But hey, new adventures on a new coast abound... come on out and let's play! Summer is upon us which means lots of fun to be had and live music galore!!! Oh, I digress... back to BOT adventures. After becoming a fan on Facebook, I would stalk, er I mean keep up (haha!!) with the band through their posts. I tried so hard and wanted so much to see these guys perform live because I KNEW it would be a fabulous and groovy time. I remember traveling to San Diego once and checking out their concert schedule to see if they'd be playing SD while I was there. Nope no plans and the closest gig was, I think, 6 or 8 hours away. Bummer. Of course, not long after that visit they started to book gigs in SD. I started to put hopes of ever seeing these guys on the back burner and then wouldn't you know it I saw a post on FB about them moving to Wilmington. What?! Did I read that right? By the way, I'm still confused as to whether the WHOLE band moved out here to Wilmington or just one or a couple. I tell you what, it doesn't matter because I saw the post for their gig at Azalea Festival...talk about doing a happy dance and screaming for joy!! I was ecstatic!!

We think in terms of life happening in linear events, but I tell you all things happen at once and when they should!! I used to hope that BOT would travel and play in Texas. What better place for me to see them for the first time than in my new beach-y hometown of Wilmington!! The concert? Amazing, rocking, absolute fun... happy, happy, happy! I've said it before and I'll say it again... People, if you aren't having fun... well, then, you just ain't living!! Get out there, get in it and do the things that make you happy and bring joy into your life... no matter how big or small. When I found out BOT was playing Azalea festival there was NO WAY I was not going to find myself standing there listening and enjoying them LIVE. Live your life as a grand adventure and may happy surprises such as mine greet you always!!

Bag of Toys... Great job last night!! Thanks for the awesome playing and I definitely look forward to seeing you guys again soon!

Rock On!

Dixie Grill

Dixie Grill * 116 Market Street * Wilmington, NC

I wish the website was a decent one... it's not really much to look at so there's no point in listing it here. But who cares? It's the food that is quite fabulous at this joint!! I've been about 3 times now for breakfast & lunch... never been disappointed. Should you ever come to visit me, let's hit this place up for a definite yum factor!!

Riverfront Farmer's Market

Photos from my trip to the Riverfront Farmer's Market this past Saturday. Enjoy!!

View of the Cape Fear River

Another view of the Cape Fear River looking towards Battleship North Carolina

Dinner made with the vegetables I bought!! They were delicious!!!

A Quiet Evening with Lila

Sometimes a nice, quiet evening spent on the balcony with Lila, reading a good book, and enjoying a glass of wine and the cool breeze is the perfect way to end the day....

Thanks for the flowers, Mom & Dad!!!

Pretty, aren't they? :)

I do love fresh flowers...they just brighten up the place and add that nice spot of color!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for pretty-ing up my pad!!

Love you!!

Morning Walks

I am enjoying SO much the morning walks that Lila and I go on. There are so many different parks, not to mention the beach as an option, that we can choose from. Today, we ventured back to one of my (our) favorite spots - Snows Cut Park. I love this park because it runs along the river. What a beautiful way to enjoy a walk in nature... amongst the trees and seeing my piscean home... the water!!

Lunch at Dockside

Had lunch today with my brother at Dockside Restaurant in Wrightsville. What a neat little place! We sat outside with the boat parking right behind me! How cool is that? I really enjoyed this restaurant. The atmosphere was casual and relaxing and the food, at least, my meal was delicious. I had the crab cake sandwich with a side of tomatoes and cucumbers. Let me tell you, those cucumbers were yummy - so fresh and crispy!!!

I think a trip back is definitely in order!! I bet the evening view is something beautiful to see!!

Apartment Gardening

Unhappy with the offering of tomatoes that I would see at the grocery stores (they just never looked fresh), I decided to buy this little plant and see if I could have any luck growing my own. I remember last summer there were a few times I would watch over my friends', Lee & Cindy's, house & gardens when they would be away. They had some tomatoes growing, the cute little ones, and let me tell you... those were the freshest and just about the best tasting tomatoes I've ever had. I remember standing out there watering the plants, plucking one off the vine just to see how it would taste... and what a surprise!! It was like a taste explosion in my mouth!! Yum!! I remember plucking and plucking and popping them in my mouth...at the same time, looking behind me as if one of them would be standing there to catch me eating their tomatoes!! :) Not that they would care, but I somehow felt like a little tomato-stealer! You remember that feeling like when you were a child and you were doing something you weren't supposed to be doing? How it felt like at any moment someone was going to catch you in the act and you'd be totally busted? Yup, that was my childhood moment of stuffing my mouth full of their garden tomatoes when I was only supposed to be watering them! Mom should be proud...at least I was eating my veggies!!! Hee hee!

So, here I am with my roma tomato plant, and lo and behold, when I went out on the balcony yesterday to check on my little guy... what do I see but a little baby tomato!!! Oh, how exciting!! And this morning he had 2 little friends that decided to come out and enjoy the sun, too!! There are other herbs in the plant, as well - cilantro, dill, parsley, basil. That's how I roll when it comes to gardening... apartment style!! Hehe!

Lila, wanna go to the beach?

7 a.m. and the alarm goes off. Really? Already? Too early!! 30 more minutes of sleep, Lila, okay? Lay my head back on the pillow...out like a light!! Open my eyes, grab my phone to check the time. Oops! Make that 45 minutes of sleep. Then there they are... those precious beady brown eyes staring at me with the fullest expression of, "But Mommy you promised we'd go to the beach this morning." Okay, I'm up! After all, a promise is a promise, right? Slowly dragging myself out of bed with my eyes still halfway shut I ask myself, "Are you really trying to get up and go to the beach early this morning? Sleep sounds so much nicer!"

Gather up Lila's "going out" bag and make for the door. But wait! I hear Rufus, the 110 pound great dane (who is still a pup, by the way!), bouncing down the stairs. Sorry, Lila, let's wait and let Rufus get downstairs first so we don't do the excited pee pee thing outside our front door. You can say Hi to Rufus later, okay? Out the door, in the truck, it's a gorgeous morning and we're on our way to the beach at Fort Fisher for a morning stroll!! Windows rolled down, cool morning air rushing in to wake me up, and I'm forgetting that I even hesitated about going to the beach this morning.

Walking Lila is more appropriately called... walking Mommy. Yup, my 50 pounds of love is a serious puller. So, getting out and walking, IN PUBLIC, is good practice for doggie and mommy! Gentle Leader works like a charm! Lila is finally getting used to it and she's doing amazingly well with the Gentle Leader. It's that thing around her muzzle. I promise it doesn't hurt her, at all. For once, Lila and I were able to enjoy our walk. Correction. I was able to enjoy our walk without having my arm feeling like it was about to get pulled out of its socket. But enough about this!!

We made it to the beach around 0830... there were so few people on the beach it was like having it ALL to ourselves! The sun shone bright with not a cloud in the sky sending its warmth to the earth and all below. Walking further along the beach, Lila and I came across a sea turtle nest. The sea turtles nest and hatch on the beaches from May through October. Truthfully, that's about all I know; however, I noticed in today's paper there is a talk being given this evening about the Sea Turtles of Pleasure Island. Perhaps I will go to learn more about this project and get involved. I had expressed to my brother when I first came here that I wanted to get involved with a volunteer project that involved the ocean. This could be opportunity presenting itself, yes?

Bare feet touching the sand... connecting to the earth... waves crashing... Lila and I enjoying a morning stroll in the blessing and beauty of nature. I can't think of a better way to start my day, can you?

Lila and I plopped down onto the sand for a short rest. Nothing better than stopping to enjoy the waves rolling in and crashing upon the shore. Oh look, it's the same 2 surfers I saw just the other morning. I remember watching them and saying to myself, "I think I'll learn to surf. Yeah, I can do that!" Peaceful, quiet with nothing but the sound of the brilliant ocean....and then it's gone. Uh-oh! Here comes the rolling of the tide... up to our feet... and Lila's up and backing away!! Yes, it is taking my beach doggie a little bit of time to get accustomed to the roar of the ocean and the water sliding up to her feet. I hope with each time we go she will become more accepting of it all. We shall see. :)

For now, the pleasure of strolling alongside the water with my sweet pup alongside of me is pure heaven!

Inspired Reading

I came across a blog tonight in the midst of an internet search and found the following quote to capture my attention.


I am one of the searchers.

"There are, I believe, millions of us. We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore life, hoping to uncover its ultimate secret. We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand. We like to walk along the beach, we are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power, its unceasing motion, its mystery and unspeakable beauty. We like forests and mountains, deserts and hidden rivers, and the lonely cities as well. Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter. To share our sadness with one we love is perhaps as great a joy as we can know - unless it be to share our laughter.

We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we love and want to be loved. We want to live in a relationship that will not impede our wandering, nor prevent our search, nor lock us in prison walls; that will take us for what little we have to give. We do not want to prove ourselves to another or compete for love.

For wanderers, dreamers, and lovers, for lonely men and women who dare to ask of life everything good and beautiful. It is for those who are too gentle to live among wolves.”

-James Kavanaugh

On the Boardwalk

...checking out the sights, smells and sounds of the boardwalk at carolina beach...