Summer Highlights: Part 1

I have so many pictures saved up on my computer, so I decided a highlights feature was the best way to get caught up. We've had a great summer so far, with plenty of socializing, wining and dining, and a few sporty endeavors. Everyone in Chicago agrees that summer is the best time of year to live in this bustling city, so we always do our best to make the most of it!

Ok, this could have happened in any season, but we bought a new couch!
It's a nice custom one, and we adore it.

This cute couple is Chelsi and Sean, and they are in the midst of renovating an
awesome house. They're doing most of  the work themselves, and it's amazing
what they've already accomplished. Oh, and they're getting married soon, too.
So they're busy!! This was at their housewarming party in June.

More from the housewarming party

We went to Blackbird for my birthday.
It was Joe's surprise to me, and it was nothing short of perfect!

We bought a bike rack for our car, and have been getting
out on our bikes a lot more.  Great exercise, AND entertainment!

Back in the spring, we went on a mini-roadtrip to Three Floyds.
Delicious food, rockin beer, and some swag for the road!

Our friend Henry was visiting for a weekend,
and a ton of beer was consumed in the course of that weekend.

Another sporty thing-- I ran my first 10k!
I ran with my friends Megan and Ellen, and it was so much fun.
We ran at a decent pace, and I'm pretty sure I'll run more 10k races in the future.

Three sweaty, but very cute, girls on the ride home.

A few more beach highlights

I have so many pictures and events that I want to post on here, but I can't go on without one more post about our beach vacation in North Carolina. No matter where I live, I was born a California girl, to parents from both coasts. I think there is a little saltwater and sand in my blood! I love the beach more each time we get away, and love to fantasize about one day living near the ocean. It's been a couple weeks since we got home, so this post is a nice way to reminisce about what a lovely vacation it was.

We spent an afternoon in Beaufort, a tiny and charming coastal town.

Historical boat recreations

There were lots of yachts in the harbor,
and we pretended we'd get one for ourselves one day.

The suuuuuper old cemetery in Beaufort

Captain Joe

Beaufort and Wilmington were full of beautiful old houses like this.

Lunch and a drink at Front Street Brewery in Wilmington.

Oysters at Dock Street Oyster Bar in Wilmington.

Crab Legs.... YUM!!

This is better than being at work.

Fresh clams for dinner!

What I would do to be back there right now...
Wrightsville Beach

I guess now it's time to start looking forward to our next adventure... three weeks until we venture west for a South Dakota family reunion!

Battleship Carolina

We spent the last two days of our North Carolina vacation in Wilmington, and didn't really have an agenda for what we planned to do. When we saw the giant Battleship Carolina across the river, we knew we had to go investigate. It's a battleship from WWII that has been carefully restored, and $12 gets you admission to explore the ins and outs of a beast of a ship.

I was worried it would be pretty cheesy, but this ended up being a really unique experience. We got to climb deep into the ship, and experienced the day to day living of soldiers (sailors?) on the ship. I learned that it must have been hot and sweaty at all times, and that there was no privacy or comfy bunks to return to at the end of a long day. It really makes you appreciate what our grandfather's generation did to protect our freedom. If you're ever in the area, it's a site I'd recommend visiting!

How would you feel about having surgery here?

Obviously, I pose in the kitchen.

Bunks stacked four high... not my ideal living situation!

The view towards the front of the ship.

Captain Joe!

I could totally handle one of these guns, right?

Escape to the Beach!

We've had a good streak going for the last year and a half-- every six months or so we've taken off for a beach vacation. This time around was North Carolina, where we met my relatives at a great beach house in the South Outer Banks. We spent four days with them on Emerald Isle, and had one of the best beach vacations in my recent memory. I love the beaches around North Carolina. They're unpretentious, and not too crowded. The seafood is fresh and the beer is cold. There are lovely dunes leading up to most of the beaches, and the water is just the right temperature for splashing around. 

Undocumented highlights of the trip include renting a boat and cruising around the sound, playing bocce on the beach, lots of splashing in the waves, and the two days at the end of the trip that we spent in Wilmington, NC. I lugged my new camera on the trip and had fun taking pictures with it, but I also learned that our old point and shoot still has a place in our home, for documenting the dirty/wet/impromptu parts of our life when the big camera isn't around. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the trip...

It was so steamy outside! This was the first night, and I had just brought my camera outside.
 It had been in the cool air conditioning all day, and was super fogged up. I like it anyway!

Taking a break to enjoy the A.C.

My uncle is a chef, so it's good to have him around!
This was from Shrimp & Grits night. SO GOOD!

Cocktails on the front porch.

My grandma is the best!

Dinner the night Joe and I cooked. Seared scallops, steamed clams, crab cakes,
 and strawberry and spinach salad. It was a perfect summer dinner, and so very beachy.

I really really really like fresh seafood.

Not a bad backyard view.

Turns out I have too many pictures to contain in one post! 

So this is part 1: Emerald Isle. 

I'll be back in a day or two with the next installment of the trip!