J'AIME LA CRÊPES

As a part of Khristopher's birthday celebration, we surprised him by planning a small birthday dinner celebration at another, "now favorite" spot in Lafayette Village called Simply Crêpes!  Yes, we are creatures of habit.  But hey, we like what we like.  Now with Khris, I realize that I have a hard time of actually keeping the surprise a surprise, but "Operation Khris Birthday Dinner With Friends" went off successfully without a hitch.  

True to its name, every entree is prepared with a crêpe.  At first glance at the menu, you're not sure of what you're about to experience.  But as our full stomachs and smiling faces proved, empty plates and clean palates are sure to be your result.  

After we all noshed on the Baked Cinnamon Crêpe Chips, the guest of honor dined on the Chicken Tarragon Crêpe, I savored the Thai Style Crêpe, while one of our friends tried the Crespalla Florentine Crêpe (all pictured below).  J'aime la crêpes!

SWEETIE PIE

Lafayette Village, located in North Raleigh, is a quaint, beautifully aesthetic outdoor retail space that resembles various places of European influence.  The one shop that we stumbled across recently was the Upper Crust Pie and Bakery.  We are always on the hunt for amazing desserts and boy oh boy, do we have the place to fill your sweet spot, and certainly ours.  From bombleberry pies and smores brownies, to strawberry lemonade bars and vanilla mocha cupcakes, there is an endless selection of sweet tooth fillers.

The extremely friendly staff is totally committed to making sure that you enjoy both your cuisine and experience.  So warm and motherly was the owner, a retired nurse of 40 years, that we even let her rock our daughter to sleep while we dined on the Carolina Burger (pictured below) and Chicken Salad Sandwich.  As we stuffed our faces, we occasionally looked up to see her interaction with our sweet little one - a scene that a commercial or movie trailer couldn't have depicted better.

In other words, Upper Crust Pie and Bakery is a must do, must have and must taste!  We were so in awe of the dessert offering that we hung around for another hour or so after dinner and sampled four different decadent delights (can you say overboard?)

HIGHER LEARNING

When I first came to know of Wake Forest University back in high school, the lingering question that puzzled me was why it was located in Winston-Salem and not Wake Forest. After a little research, I realized that the school, then known as Wake Forest College, moved to its current location in the 1950’s, thus making the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary the inheritors of one of the south’s most beautiful campuses. Taking a morning stroll through the campus recently, I fell in love with the lush berber-like grass,  the bubbling stone fountains, the classic symmetrical colonial structures, and the jolly beds of sun-flowers. 

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what are pictures of words worth? This graffiti-heavy abandoned building that we stumbled across in Wake Forest comes to life with intricate inspection. Each carefully spray-painted phrase has inspiration embedded in it. Each wall has its own journey encapsulated in color against a background of red brick and mortar.  Even the rusted metal support beams scream for an audience to tell its story to. Shattered glass, ripped wall openings and faded wood all bellow that there was once life here. If you look a little closer, you’ll see that there still is. You may even hear it…

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DINNER PARTY

Amongst all the busyness of life, there are times when you just need to take a step back, reflect and enjoy great fellowship with friends. On a beautiful summer evening, we gathered together to celebrate our dear friend's birthday. We knew we would be in for a great treat, but had no idea just how spectacular and "holy" the night would be!

From the scrumptious dinner prepared by her husband turned chef to the evening activity of designing and painting wine glasses outside on the veranda to the perfectly theme suited dinner table decorated with gorgeous cutlery, fresh flowers and name plates to the crowd favorite, surprise birthday serenade given by her sweetheart.  This night was certainly one in which we all wished we could "bottle up".  I'm not even sure the few photos below will capture the essence of this night but at least it will be a small glimpse into the storybook event...