Tis the Season...

Well not really. It's actually a little premature, but who's complaining?!? Being lazy today channel surfing I stumbled upon my first showing of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation for the year. I freaking love that movie. It rivals Home Alone for my favorite Christmas movie. It makes me want to fast forward through Halloween and Thanksgiving and get to Christmas already. Uncle Eddies of the world, I salute you...

Best Lunch Break Ever

I had the pleasure of spending my lunch break today with Lauren and baby Bailey. I was only about an hour late getting back to work. Oops! I have no self control when it comes to babies wanting to snuggle with me. Apparently my lap was a very comfortable place to relax. Though I probably shouldn't flatter myself as I think a baby her age likes anyone who will hold them... near their mommy that is. Can't wait until I see her and Lauren again!

Happy One Month Anniversary to Us!

Today, Oct. 19th, marks Jimmy and I's one month wedding anniversary. It's barely a significant milestone, but any excuse to share some of my favorite wedding pictures and reminisce about the wedding is worth a blog post to me.

Our wedding was everything I could have ever hoped for and more. I couldn't be more thankful to my parents. And everyone who lended a hand to help pull everything together, I'll never forget. I'm so excited to now be a part of two wonderful families. Can't wait to spend every other month like this last month, happy and so in love with Jimmy.

2009 Beerfest

This past Saturday we attended the 2009 Beerfest in Wilmington with Brittany, Mike, other friends from Castle Branch, Jake, Brandon, everyone was there! What is Beerfest you ask? Well, you get a small glass with the price of your admission and you take that small glass to the 50 beer vendors from around the world and sample beers for 4 straight hours. I got a taste of pumpkin beer, my favorite this time of year, and every other beer you can think of. It was as great as it sounds!



5pm was way too early to end all the fun, so we continued the good times at Adam and Beverly's place. A late dinner, just Jimmy and I, at our local Mexican place at about 9pm and it was time to call it a night.

24 Hours in Chapel Hill

Saturday morning Jimmy, Malloy and I got up and drove to Chapel Hill for a fun weekend of Carolina football and friends. First up was a great tailgate with Jake and friends, Ali and Jimmy near the stadium and my old freshman dorm

Next up was of course the football game and Carolina won. Yay! Let the games continue...

Ali and Sarah graciously hosted us at their place for post game festivities and then we all went to dinner at Los Pos where Lindsey met up with us - sadly sans Nick, though we still had a great time catching up. Though more shenanigans was probably not necessary, Eric got into town just after dinner from VA Beach, so we had to take him out for a few more.

The boys, Jimmy, Eric, Jake and Matt, got up super early to head via the Amtrak to Charlotte for the Panthers vs. Redskins game. Sadly the Redskins lost, but I am sure Jimmy and Eric had fun with Jake and Matt regardless.

Deviled Fish Cakes with Spicy Lemon Mayo

Months ago Jimmy, Mike and my boss Brett slayed a citation 6ft wahoo and multiple mahi mahi. Since then I've had a freezer full of fish and I've lately run out of ideas to prepare it. I know, woe is me, right? Anyways, I came across this recipe in our local paper, made it tonight for dinner and thought it was really good. As you can imagine, it takes a lot like a crabcake. Yum Yum.

Cakes:

1 stick unsalted butter

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery

1 diced green bell pepper
1 large garlic clove minced

1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 lb fish (we used mahi)

1/2 teaspoon worcestershire
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup breadcrumbs
2 large eggs lightly beaten

1 dash Cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons dried mustard

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Dash of salt

Sauce:
1/4 cup mayo

2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 lemon juiced

2 teaspoons Old Bay
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

*Mix all ingredients mixed together until smooth

To prepare the cakes:

1. Heat half the stick of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Then add the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic and thyme. Saute approximately 5 mins.
   
2. Next, gently combine the fish and worcestershire into the skillet. Break up the fish to later pat into cakes, cooking throughout.
   
3. Remove from heat, mix in bowl with cheese, 1/2 bread crumbs, 2 eggs, Cayenne pepper, dry mustard, basil and salt.
4. Pat the fish mixture into cakes. Allow to chill for at least 30 mins.
   
5. Heat the remaining butter in the skillet on medium heat. While the skillet is heating, coat the cakes with the remaining bread crumbs.
   
6. Cook cakes approximately 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
   
7. Serve with a dollop of the sauce
   

World Welcome Bailey

I've turned a major corner in life. One of my best friends from childhood has become a mommy. Little Bailey was born at 12:30pm today. She weighs 8 lbs 1 oz. I got to the hospital just in time to hold her and attempt to give her a bottle. Yay! Congrats to Lauren, Josh and Reagan!

Welcome Home Malloy

Very lucky for Jimmy and I, my family agreed to watch Malloy for us while we were away on our honeymoon. We felt great knowing he was in good hands and not in some concrete kennel. To get him home we had to take a quick trip today to Chapel Hill where he was staying with Ali for the last leg of his trip. Below is a pic of he and Jimmy swimming in the Atlantic once we got him back to Carolina Beach...

Honeymoon -Till the End

Friday, Day 6: We had already returned the Nitro the night before, but so loved Trunk Bay that we decided to take a taxi there for the day on Friday. With a cooler full of Presidente beers, towels from the Westin and our snorkeling equipment we were set for the day. Another trip to Margarita Phils and complete with another doze of those lethal margaritas and Friday was done.


Saturday, Day 7: Saturday we slept in then utilized the facilities at the Westin - switching from ocean to pool all day long. I desperately tried to drag out Twilight so I wouldn't run out of something to read before we left. I failed. Saturday night we did a pre-Jimmy's birthday dinner at a fancy placed called Paradiso. Our waiter's mom owns a local real estate company in Carolina Beach. Small world. Next up was a bar called Tap Room where they served none other than Highland Games brewed in Asheville, NC. Every Saturday this bar has a beerbong tournament and though the locals tried to hog the table, I entered Jimmy and I in a game. It was close, but we lost.

Sunday, Day 8: JIMMY'S BIRTHDAY!! Sunday Jimmy did what Jimmy loves most about even the most generic Sunday - watching football. The Skins lost which was a bummer, but I think still being in St. John helped him put it in the past and enjoy the rest of the day. Sunday night we went back to our favorite restaurant in St. John, Rhumb Lines, for live music and a great meal. Below is what Jimmy thinks about the Skins loosing and him turning 29 all in one day.


Monday, Day 8: We ended our trip in St. John with breakfast burritos at Jakes in Cruz Bay and a couple mimosas while waiting for the ferry to St. Thomas. For old times sake, we had to take a mimosa for the road as well. Though it was hard to say goodbye to the beautiful beaches and fun atmosphere in St. John, we were also excited to be on our way home. But first... Puerto Rico! Our scheduled connection flight out of Puerto Rico was cancelled, a change we knew about in advance, and so we made arrangements for the night at a cool boutique hotel called the San Juan Water and Beach Club. It was part South Beach, part Hollywood. We took advantage of the free happy hour at the rooftop bar at the hotel then headed to Old San Juan for dinner.


An early flight out Tuesday morning and we were home to Carolina Beach by late afternoon. Such an amazing trip. To cap off this marathon series of posts, a few closing shots of where we stayed...

Honeymoon in St. John - Days 4 and 5

Wednesday, Day 4: First thing we went to the local car rental place at the Westin coincidentally called O'Connors Jeep Rentals. Unfortunately they were out of Jeeps, no love for the newlywed O'Connors, so we got stuck with a Dodge Nitro. Next, we got snorkeling equipment. After stopping off for breakfast at a great little place called Baked in the Sun and getting sandwiches from a locally famous deli called Deli Grotto for a later lunch, we took off traveling clockwise around the island checking out the various beaches. First stop was Cinnamon Bay where my parents once stayed with a native named Victor who owned land there - it was a work for a place to stay situation - and also the place where Ali stayed on her trip to St. John with UNC. Next up was Trunk Bay where Danny and Marisol tied the knot. Maybe the only better way to get married, in our opinion, than the way we did it, might have been a wedding in Trunk Bay. Man was it beautiful. We spent a good amount of time snorkeling the beautiful reefs there, complete with an underwater snorkeling trail - very cool - got a little sun, then heading back to the Westin. That night we decided to have appetizers and drinks at a few places to get our fill for dinner. First up was the Beach Cafe, open air, right on the beach in Cruz Bay and great happy hour drink specials. Finally, we went to a Mexican place called Margarita Phil's for awesome nachos and way humongous margaritas. Very good, but enough to do us in for the night.


Thursday, Day 5: We kept the ole Nitro for one more day and decided to use it to explore more of St. John and ultimately do a hike down to Reef Bay. Everyone kept telling us to go with the USVI Park and hike down to Reef Bay, but then get a ferry back to Cruz Bay versus hiking back up the Reef Bay Trail, but we weren't scared. In the woods we saw giant spiders, giant hermit crabs (not like the ones you get at Wings and then they die the next day) and a couple deer. The trail also consisted of a couple sites of sugar mill ruins, the biggest and most intact being at the bottom of the trail. After checking out Reef Bay, we decided to trek over to Gentile Bay. There we collected an obscene amount of sea glass and waded in the water with a couple juvenile black tip sharks. Walking back up the trail started out easy, but towards the top we could definitely tell why locals urge tourists to just take the ferry. It would have been very hard for someone not in good shape. Despite being sweaty and nasty we drove to the Eastern side of the island to check out Coral Bay. Famous Skinny Legs bar and restaurant was closed, but Island Blues was open and had great fish and chips with Mahi and burgers. Coral Bay was pretty cool, but maybe too many goats and donkeys for my taste. After much needed showers we ventured into Cruz Bay again, this time hungry for Cafe Roma, known for their pizzas. It may sound like a heart attack waiting to happen, but the pizza we got was amazing - homemade meatballs, pineapple, onions and green peppers. Mmm Mmm. I think we just went home again after dinner which makes us seem kinda lame. There were definitely after dinner drinks at a few local bars on most nights, but nothing too crazy and , at least for me, nothing more memorable than our delicious dinners.