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local updates and sandy musings from a local beach mom

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Friday Libations

Aug 3, 2018
1 min

Friday Libations

We've been buying peaches on repeat for the past few weeks. It seems that non of us can get enough and they are so delish right now! The other day I stopped at Tarheel Too in Kill Devil Hills before lunch. Read: I was hungry! I ended up buying more peaches even though I knew that our fruit bowl at home was filled to the top! Their selection of fresh produce has been amazing this Summer! So when it came time for our Friday Libations, I started thinking about peach cocktails th

Bucket List - August 2018 Report

Aug 1, 2018
3 min

Bucket List - August 2018 Report

THE AUGUST REPORT Check out our insider scoop on what's going on here on The Outer Banks in AUGUST! You won't want to miss any of these hot NEW events, businesses and experiences! Go ahead and add them all to your OBX Bucket List! HEALTH We’re in full soccer training mode at our house and our oldest has been running miles at a time to get ready for the upcoming season. He’s inspired all of us to break out our running shoes and we love the Brindley Beach Vacations Lighthouse 5

Five Things to Do with Kids on the Outer Banks When it is Raining!

Jul 23, 2018
1 min

Five Things to Do with Kids on the Outer Banks When it is Raining!

Rainy days at the beach can be such a bummer but if you have a rain plan, you might just end up having more fun than you dreamed! 1. Jumpmasters Trampoline Park! Our newest attraction is the perfect place for locals and visitors alike to take the kids while they try their hand at a ninja warrior course, jump on state of the art trampolines and play trampoline dodgeball! You can’t miss Jumpmasters Trampoline Park! 2. North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island! This aquarium has

BEACH TOY GIVEAWAY!

Jul 16, 2018
2 min

BEACH TOY GIVEAWAY!

When we adopted a local beach access and promised the local SurfRider Foundation that we would keep it clean, we knew we were making a tiny difference on the beach. We didn’t realize that this experience of cleaning up a beach access each week would have such an impact on our family! From the first beach clean that we participated in, we were shocked to see how much we were able to pick up in just a few short minutes. More surprising though was the amount of beach toys that w

The Rundown Cafe, Celebrating 25 Years and 25 Reasons Why You'll Love Them!

Jul 13, 2018
3 min

The Rundown Cafe, Celebrating 25 Years and 25 Reasons Why You'll Love Them!

When we first started our list for the Outer Banks Mom Approved program, we knew that The Rundown Cafe would be at the top! This invitation only partnership requires that a restaurant be locally owned and lovingly cater to families! I can honestly remember when we first moved here and I received my first paycheck. I had asked my then co-worker, Ryan, if he could recommend a great place to eat in Kitty Hawk for my husband and our son. He quickly suggested The Rundown Cafe and

Unplugged Outer Banks

Jul 6, 2018
4 min

Unplugged Outer Banks

When I was a kid we would go on vacation and come home to a full mailbox and a full voicemail on our home phone. It was mostly junk mail and voicemails reminding us about a doctors appointment or a haircut in the upcoming weeks. When I was a teenager and email and cell phones were more accessible, I vividly remember being on the Disney Cruise and trying to check my email for 50 cents per minute just to see if my best friends had emailed me anything "important.” News flash, th

Friday Libations

Jun 29, 2018
1 min

Friday Libations

These Frose slushies are perfect for the current heat wave we are experiencing and super easy to make! Believe it or not, there isn't any ice in this recipe! By using frozen watermelon, these are more of a slushie instead of a blended ice drink. First you take two cups of frozen watermelon chunks and a half a cup of frozen raspberries and blend them together. Pour a full bottle of your favorite Rose into the blender. Finally, add a tablespoon of honey and a tablespoon of lime

Bucket List - July 2018 Report

Jun 28, 2018
3 min

Bucket List - July 2018 Report

THE JULY REPORT Check out our insider scoop on what's going on here on The Outer Banks in JULY! You won't want to miss any of these hot NEW events, businesses and experiences! Go ahead and add them all to your OBX Bucket List! HEALTH Yoga on the Duck Town Green is back! Every Tuesday between now and September 4th you can enjoy a 45 minute yoga class outside on the beautifully landscaped town green! Sponsored by Village Realty and led by Village Yoga, this class is a must this

Bucket List - June 2018 Report

Jun 27, 2018
3 min

Bucket List - June 2018 Report

THE JUNE REPORT Check out our insider scoop on what's going on here on The Outer Banks in JUNE! You won't want to miss any of these hot NEW events, businesses and experiences! Go ahead and add them all to your OBX Bucket List HEALTH Sea Core is the best new workout on the beach. Angelique was the first to bring the Pilates Reformer to the beach and her expertise is unmatched. She is also offering multiple barre classes that will leave your legs and hiney feeling beach ready!

Bucket List - May 2018 Report

Jun 27, 2018
2 min

Bucket List - May 2018 Report

THE MAY REPORT Check out our insider scoop on what's going on here on The Outer Banks in May! You won't want to miss any of these hot NEW events, businesses and experiences! Go ahead and add them all to your OBX Bucket List! HEALTH With an amazing tribe of instructors and health advocates, OBX Hot Yoga is taking the sandbar by storm. We're so excited to have a new place in Nags Head to practice yoga and create new relationships in the process. Here, you can also enjoy an incr

Seasonal Saturdays

Jun 24, 2018
2 min

Seasonal Saturdays

Saturday’s on the Outer Banks are my favorite. Not because they are typically filled with family and friends or because I have a little more time “off” than the other days of the week, though those reasons are great in their own right! But because OBX Saturday’s are CHECK IN DAY! That means that 120,000+ people are coming to our beaches for a week of hard earned relaxation and priceless memories. I love people watching on the beach as families park their cars because they’re

Jumping into Fun!

Jun 21, 2018
3 min

Jumping into Fun!

Yesterday we had a first look at Jumpmasters Trampoline Park in Manteo. Since the announcement of the business a few months ago, my kids have been so excited! Truth be told, I’ve been super excited too! For me, it’s hard to find something that all of my kids are excited about because with a toddler, a kindergartener and a high-schooler, it’s usually a losing battle to find common ground. With Jumpmasters, we have a winner! I cannot wait to start planning playdates at the tram

Gratefulness on a Friday

Jun 15, 2018
2 min

Gratefulness on a Friday

When you live on the Outer Banks, there certainly isn't any shortage of things to be grateful for. Between the beautiful beaches, amazing weather and a truly simple lifestyle, I honestly think that I have it made most days. But the truth is that the first two weeks of June completely rock me to the core. Let me back up a little bit. For anyone that doesn't know, I am a wedding and portrait photographer here on the Outer Banks. I own a high-volume portrait company with one of

Nags Head Hammocks - Week of the Dad

Jun 14, 2018
2 min

Nags Head Hammocks - Week of the Dad

We’re carrying on "The Week of the Dad" here on the Outer Banks! I don’t know about you but sometimes it is so hard to think of a great gift for my husband for Father's Day. I can come up with tons of good ideas but I am always looking for a gift that is going to keep on giving and this year I found the PERFECT thing, a brand new Nags Head Hammock! Recently we put a deck onto the back of our home and we are absolutely loving the outdoor space. We anticipated buying deck furni

The Week of the Dad - The Weeping Radish

Jun 12, 2018
3 min

The Week of the Dad - The Weeping Radish

With Father’s Day just around the corner, we’re dubbing this the Week of the Dad here on the Outer Banks! So I surveyed the best Dad that I know, Mr. Outer Banks Dad himself. I asked him what he wanted to do the most for Father’s Day and his answers were simple; beach time, a great lunch somewhere that we’ve never been before and time to just relax at home. Done, done and done! Since we had a free Sunday, we invited some sweet friends and headed across the bridge to The Weepi

Sunshine Craft - Walking Sticks

Jun 4, 2018
2 min

Sunshine Craft - Walking Sticks

School is officially out for the Summer and Penny has turned to decorating the entire house with her creations. I absolutely love her creativity and her need to be constantly doing something but sometimes the art projects start to cover every inch of our home! I can't bring myself to throw much of anything away either so we're filling an obscene amount of wall space and plastic storage containers with her artwork! With a long Summer ahead of us, I'm using our time together to

Weekend Recap - Feel It Still

May 28, 2018
2 min

Weekend Recap - Feel It Still

When you live where people vacation, it’s hard to break away and actually take a vacation for yourself. We are so blessed to have beautiful beaches, warm waves and an abundance of sunshine to enjoy each and every day. But like any place, your day to day life seems to take over and the stress builds up and taking a vacation from vacationland is so needed. Here on the Outer Banks we have beaches to the North that are absolutely breathtaking and beaches to the South that make yo

Date Like You're on Vacation - The Lost Colony

May 25, 2018
2 min

Date Like You're on Vacation - The Lost Colony

Have you ever heard someone say that there isn’t anything to do on the Outer Banks? I hear it all the time, people get bored here! It’s kind of mind boggling to me because we truly have so much to do that sometimes I don’t know how we will fit it all in. Jason and I have recently been discussing just how amazing life on the Outer Banks is and how we need to sneak in more date nights to enjoy it all! So, I present to you the first page of our Summer series: Date Like You’re on

Nomination Day! Outer Banks Mom Spotlight!

May 17, 2018
1 min

Nomination Day! Outer Banks Mom Spotlight!

I have been having a great time with these Outer Banks Mom Spotlights. They have been read by so many people and I just love that real Outer Banks mamas are lifting up other Outer Banks mamas in the comments and via social media! I want to keep this series going on a regular basis so that we can feature hundreds of mamas that inspire us! I started getting teary eyed when I woke up this morning. My Penny girl graduates Pre-School today and she is completely ecstatic! I deci

Heather Sakers - Outer Banks Mom Spotlight

May 16, 2018
4 min

Heather Sakers - Outer Banks Mom Spotlight

We’re keeping this series rolling with day 3 of our Outer Banks Mom Spotlight! If you don’t already know her, then please allow me to introduce Heather Sakers! After our home-buying and HGTV experience, I developed a serious obsession with real estate. When I first met Heather Sakers, an incredibly successful Outer Banks real-estate agent, I started asking her questions and I haven’t stopped trying to obtain some of her knowledge since. Heather has been energetically making

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Highly caffeinated Ramblings from an Outer banks mom who prioritizes family, waves and laughter.