Pretty Party!

One of my favorite parties when I got married was the "Pretty Party" with mimosas, mint juleps and make-up the day of our wedding, given by my "fairy" Godmother as I call her because she is so special!  This past weekend I had the most fun being one of the host of a pretty party and all the girls had a wonderful time!

Carson's very special Mimosas are not just orange juice!  The mixture is so yummy!

Southern Brown Sugar Ham Biscuits, Chicken Salad, and Lemon Squares! 

Silver, Crystal and Beatriz Ball Platters are all available at Mears Etc Etc!

 Champagne Pasta Salad!

The Bridesmaides were so very pretty for the big event! The Bride, MOB and MOG were stunning!  Naomi and Co did a fantastic job on their hair!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

Opening Day!

Photos from the Opening Day of the 2011 North Carolina State Fair!  The essence of the fair is captured from candy apples to the guy who guesses your age!  There is a kid in us all!  When I was a little girl I wanted "the guy" to guess me older, now it is the opposite of course!  We all should take time to enjoy a beautiful North Carolina fall day at the fair! 

 

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

Fresh Shrimp!

My new favorite fall salad is the perfect match for fresh shrimp!  The granny smith apples with the Biltmore vinaigrette is so yummy. The recipe for the vinaigrette makes three bottles and is a perfect bread and butter gift in addition to anything from Mears!  I love the Biltmore, Our Table to Yours cookbook as I have mentioned before!

On our way out of town we have to stop at Atlantic Beach Seafood to fill up our cooler with fresh  flavor! Shopping local with the Willis family is a true pleasure!

My family was very happy to be introduced to their Crabmeat Casserole, which is the newest member of the AB Seafood family!  It was delicious!!  I highly recommend placing your order for crabmeat casserole and Thanksgiving oysters early!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen



Homecoming!

Homecoming at the Methodist Church I grew up in and still enjoy attending every chance I get is always special!  It is a great time to see friends and extended family! Fall in rural North Carolina is full of love, fields of cotton and the smell of peanuts!  Thanks to A&B Milling Company, we can enjoy  Aunt Ruby's peanuts all year long!

You can only imagine the cover dish spread on the beautiful tables below!  Such a nice day!

Mears Etc Etc is decorated for fall and before we know it, THANKSgiving will be here!!

You gotta love the "Gobblin while Wobblin" cocktail napkins at Mears!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

Sugar and Spice!

I love being Aunt Jen Jen! Today, I took my niece on her first Capital City shopping trip and we had a blast!  My favorite stop was Shutterbugs and my niece's favorite stop was Gigi's Cupcakes all on Oberlin Road!  Her treat for being so sweet was the princess cupcake to go with her princess crown she got for her great manners at school!

She picked out the cupcakes below for her "Gigi" and her Daddy for his birthday!

We should all take time to enjoy the sweetest moments in life!!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!
Jen Jen

Drive In!

When we return to the Coast, like many, my husband has a major craving upon his return! The famous shrimp burger from The Big Oak Drive-In!  This is a treat!  The Big Oak has been pleasing the local's and island guest since 1976!

Painting by  Marion Barnhill Grizer 

 Our favorite Big Oak Shrimp burger is loaded with their Shrimp burger hot sauce!!

I hope the photo above makes you pick up the phone and order your Shrimp burger hot sauce!!!!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

Steve Jobs - A Modern Day Eddison!

Steve Jobs leaves this world a better place not only because of his phenomenal contributions to technology, changing the way we live, work and play but also through his great advice to inspire us to be the best we can be. We all experience the critical "noise of others" during our life...it is our responsibility to ourselves not to listen to negative assumptions that stump the growth of creativity and most of all the positive energy we have the opportunity to pay forward each day...

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs

"Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is... for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle." Steve Jobs

Now a couple of my own thoughts while living in the real world among all the "noise"!! 

"Never listen to anyone sacrificing someone else for their own personal gain"  Jen Jen

"Life is hard but it does not discriminate, it happens to everyone, everyday" Jen Jen

"Repeating an assumption does not make it true" Jen Jen

"Cancer is not just of the body...there are many cancers in life which can leave a negative impact but ONLY if you let them" Jen Jen

Now go!!!!!
 Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

* My thoughts and prayers are with Steve Jobs immediate family as well as his Apple family..all experiencing great loss.  May we all remember Steve Job's advice from day to day as we choose to listen to our own "inner voice"!  We are all amazing creations with something positive to contribute!

Home Sweet Home!

Sunday was a beautiful day but the forecast lows in the 40's sounded the motherly instincts for the first pot of homemade vegetable soup!  Church, soup and a good movie made for the perfect fall afternoon at home!

Mom also got rave reviews for the Kraft Foods perfect fall Cranberry Stuffed pork chops which will be repeated this winter! The Tangy Chops is a recipe to share! You will love it!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

Fall Football and Food!

Another fun fall day at Carter Finley!  Even when we loose we win at tailgating!

Before pumpkins and leaves changing, apples are my favorite sign of fall!  My Mother found a great recipe in Carolina Living magazine!  The Hot Apple Pie dip was a huge hit!  

The next two tailgate tips are sure to warm you up!  A fun friend introduced me to the two old faithful dips below.  RedHot Wing dip and Jalapeno Corn dip! 

Both as spicy as our crazy friend who celebrates a birthday Monday!

Last but not least the eastern NC Barbecue brought the heat our Dear Wolfpack was missing on the field!  

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

A North Carolina Innovator!

I am so excited for Dr. Willis Martin of Martin Innovations!  We have followed his progress with his incredible inventions for years!  Dr. Martin has put in countless hours to improve the quality of patient care!  His hard work, care and concern will change the way Patients and Hospital employees interact with safety in mind for all! The Chair-A- Table and Zero Lift Exam Tables are amazing!  Check it out below!
If you are a Doctor or a Nurse or you have ever been a Patient then you can relate to the need in all Hospitals and Doctor Offices.  What a life changing blessing this invention will be to so many in need right now!

Congratulations to Martin Innovations for being a
2011 winner of The de Vinci Awards!

Martin Innovations
2555 Wendell Blvd
Wendell, NC 27591
Fax 919.829.8045
Phone 888.833.5173
Local 919.833.5173

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

First Fall Fire!

Nothing makes me warm up to fall like an outdoor fire!  I love this time of year in North Carolina when you can enjoy the lake by day and fall weather by night! As you know by now, life in North Carolina is awesome all year long!  This is the perfect fireplace to slow down, watch the leaves turn and let the fire burn! Looking forward to the next NC season! 

Everyone loves Smores!!

Spending quality time with dear friends is so important especially since we all live in the fast lane! 

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

Vote! Vote! Vote!

Today I am asking you to vote for Leslie Carter Beckham,  a Carolina Girl that deserves her "Big Break"!  Good Luck, Leslie!!!!!

Follow the link for Your Big Break and vote for Leslie Carter Beckham!! She is in the top 3!!

 Leslie Carter Beckham!! 

Leslie was born and raised in North Carolina! She not only has a beautiful voice but is also a SUPER nice person!  Let's all help this sweet "small town girl" get her Big Break!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

Leftovers!

The best part about the Shrimp and Grits dinner made with country ham is the "country" brunch leftovers I easily prepared for my husband!  Eggs, cheese grits with a side of country ham!  This is not his normal breakfast so he was super excited!

Leftovers do not have to be boring!  Everyone seems to love my homemade spaghetti sauce, so I always cook a large pot since it is a long process to make!  Extra sauce makes it easy to recreate the dish to share with friends later!  I like to prepare lasagna and baked ziti for the freezer.

I always add sauteed onions and garlic as well as top it off with basil to give it a burst of fresh flavor!  I love having fresh herbs on hand! I use the basil, mint and rosemary often!

Dinner is served!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

Another visit to Flavor, NC!

You might remember my post from May 26th sharing the UNC-TV news inviting us to visit Flavor, NC on Saturday mornings!  I have enjoyed all three episodes which you can view online.  Lisa Prince, our host was in Boone, NC in today's episode.  They shared a go to ingredient for Shrimp and Grits that I also love to use!  The ingredient is country ham!  The salty goodness of country ham naturally adds the perfect flavor!

I love that they were using NC country ham from Goodnight Brothers.   The Shrimp with Red Eye Gravy was shared by The Gamekeeper in Boone NC.   I learned so much from this episode such as an ingredient I would have never thought of using which is coffee!  This dish is a hit especially with local Bogue Sound Shrimp!

You can also order country ham from the Danl Boone Inn which is a wonderful stop while you are in Boone for family style comfort food!  I added mushrooms to the sauce and a little white wine and as always Texas Pete!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

Blueberries!!

I love North Carolina Blueberries and as they say we should eat them everyday!  I try to get my NC Blueberries in at breakfast on my cereal! My husband however has a sweet tooth, so dessert is on his mind this wet weekend not Blueberry nutrition.  I decided to make my Grandmother's Blueberry Cobbler!

 This is such an easy recipe!
1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of milk
1/2 stick of melted butter
Whisk ingredients together and pour into a greased baking dish and top with fresh blueberries! 
Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for an hour at 350 degrees.  
Top with fresh whipped cream!

NC Blueberries are perfect year around right out of the freezer!

Enjoy you Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen

Durham Downtown!

Earth Wind and Fire was in Durham on Sunday night at DPAC!  It was a perfect time to drop off our husbands for girls dinner while they had a blast from the past enjoying their era to "Groove tonight"!  We had a great dinner at Dos Perros!  I highly recommend it as well as check out Tyler's Taproom, voted one of America's 100 best beer bars.  All in the American Tobacco Historic District.

The last time I was at a Durham Bulls game was as a volunteer with Civitan years ago. Being in Durham made we want to make plans to attend a game! There is so much fun stuff going on Downtown!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen