One of my favorite things about Black Pelican Seafood in Kitty Hawk, second only to the amazing food, is the atmosphere. Black Pelican has so many awesome ghost stories entwined into the walls of the restaurant and the history in the photographs that adorn the walls is incredible. As a matter of fact, the building was originally the Kitty Hawk Lifesaving Station. As if that wasn't enough history to make the building interesting, it's also thought to have been the scene of a m

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

If you happened to catch our Community Contributor Post from THE Kellie Flock over a year ago, then you know that the beach is an amazing place for the growth and development of a child. At any age, the shore provides "auditory, vestibular, proprioceptive, and tactile stimulation like no other,” as Kellie puts it! But, with all of that goodness there is tons of room for fear and anxiety and hopefully a little curiosity too! I know that my own children have had moments where

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

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

We’re celebrating the incredible Mom’s here on the Outer Banks and day two of our Outer Banks Mom Spotlight series is shining on the beautiful and incredibly intelligent Cori Riddle! The Outer Banks community was fortunate enough to have Cori make Southern Shores her home in 1998 and over the past 20 years she has truly blessed this community with her big heart and willingness to help others! When her youngest was still just a toddler she served on the board for the Dare Coun

I'm convinced that life on the Outer Banks is the best way to raise a family. We seem to have found this perfect pocket of beautiful beaches meets rustic farmland and I know that I'm not the only one that feels incredibly blessed to live here. Over the weekend we had incredible weather and managed to sneak in a beach day on Saturday and on Sunday we headed to Point Harbor to pick strawberries. I'm telling you, we've got the best of both worlds here on the Outer Banks! Strawbe

My neighbors and I have this on-going group text about the NBC television show This Is Us. We all watch it and then discuss it usually with a plethora of cry face emoji’s and lengthened nooooo’s! We have also discussed how this show makes just about everyone on planet earth ugly cry with the exception of me. Seriously, I haven’t shed a tear since the first season when they lose one of their triplets and then adopt Randall. That episode had my cheeks tear streaked for sure! Bu

We're one week (and change) into the New Year! A full week! 1/52nd of the way through 2018! If that doesn't shock you and show you just how fast time flies then I don't know what will. I'm still over here trying to set my goals for 2018. Business goals and weight and cardio training... yep sure! I'm there with all of you... I've set goals on how to deep clean my house top to bottom in 14 days... Goals on the exact number of times that I can get the entire family to chu

Here on the Outer Banks our kiddos are gifted with a full two weeks off of school for their Winter holiday break. Don't get me wrong, I really do love having the kids home for a long break and I really love getting to stay in cozy sweatpants a little bit longer each morning but with limited indoor activities here on the beach going stir-crazy is a given. Insert crafting. My little Penny is super creative and she honestly is happier and better behaved when she has a creative o

I don’t know about you guys but I have been in the mood to break out my Christmas decor since we walked in the door from Trick or Treating on Halloween. I’m just ready! Usually I don’t even think about Christmas decorations until Thanksgiving passes but I am seeing so many more friends and family members decorating early this year so I know I'm not alone in this! I’m feeling like maybe it’s the current state of the universe that has made us all so ready for the joy that the h