Deep Fried Happiness

Last weekend, Ak and I braved the insanity that is the N.C. State Fair in search of some artery-clogging, deep-fried amazingness. The Fair boasted record-breaking attendance everyday, so we will definitely NOT be attempting the Fair on a weekend again, ever.

Ham biscuit #2 -- delish!


Deep fried mac & cheese. Winner winner, chicken dinner.

Deep fried everything.

Seriously, everything!


The famed Krispy Kreme burger!


Proof that he ate it! (He claims it was delicious.)

We went through a petting zoo, and Ak fed goats, cows, camels and a llama.

Court feeding Mr. Camel.

Our dog, the pig

Just dropping a quick note in here to share a video of our dog being adorable. I know, everyone thinks their pet/child/elderly transient is particularly adorable, but if you don't find her adorable, perhaps you'll find her disturbing! She makes the weirdest noises whilst she's grooming her paw/chewing her fingernails (I know they're claws and not fingernails, stop correcting me). So we caught the elusive Flame-pig on tape and thought we'd share it with the whole wide world. What do you think?

A Week at St. Somewhere

We've been accused of being slack bloggers -- this is not an unfair statement. That's really all I've got on that. Now, onto pictures of our recent beach trip! We spent the first week in July at Ocean Isle with a bunch of friends, old and new, and two dogs.

Our home for the week, St. Somewhere.

"I've gotta fly to St. Somewhere, I'm close to bodily harm..."

Where we spent our evenings.

Where we spent our late evenings and wee morning hours.

Best part -- early a.m. dog walks.

Flame didn't care for the way the ocean kept chasing her.

Happy puppy!

The gang, heading down to the beach for a late night walk.

Our Kitchen is Finally Complete

So after a little blood, a lot of sweat, and a handful of tears (hey, I'm sensitive, alright?), our kitchen appears to finally be finished! Thanks largely to Ikea, our kitchen now looks awesome, and I'm not ashamed to say that it was all because of me. Or, rather, because my wife has good taste and I know how to mount blinds to the wall. So I guess I could share some of the credit.

But behold! Gaze at the beauty that is the red kitchen! Note the kickass red lampshade chandelier!

Marvel at the crumby lighting as it's still very sunny outside!

Revel in the gloriousness that is the white pull-down shades over all of the windows!

Truly, this is a place of beauty and of peace. We're super excited about how the kitchen has turned out, and hope that you've enjoyed humoring me talking on and on about it.

--Ak out

Garden Drama

For Tina and Mike -- what's eating my garden??

Okra Transplant! (And other garden updates)

So I'll try to keep this quick & to the point as to avoid boring people who honestly don't give a flying fig about our garden:

1) We transplanted okra seedlings into our garden today! They didn't have the broadest of root structures, so some of them wound up kind of laying down, but I suspect we'll get a few survivors out of the ordeal...

from this

to this

So that's exciting!

2) I'm pretty sure one of our cucumber patches contains absolutely no cucumber, but our tomatoes are doing terrific!

3) Our basil plants are looking a little worse for wear in some spots

I'm beginning to wonder if they caught a disease because I pinched them back too roughly (I should've probably pruned them with shears instead of pinching off the top with my fingers, I think)

But I guess we'll see -- this year is a big learning experience for us, so hopefully we'll come away from it more prepared for next year!

--Ak out

Two Shameless Plugs

So, as the title says, this post will contain two shameless plugs:

1. Ak and I just signed up for the Race for the Cure, a 5k which will take place June 12 in downtown Raleigh. We're running with my former colleague Danielle, who lost her mother in 2006 to breast cancer. Click here to donate.
2. I'm excited to announce my new blog project. This blog is designed to be the "business-and-occasionally-personal" side of me rather than the Becks' day in the life. It's mostly an experiment in personal branding and social media, but would love for you to check it out if you're so inclined and offer an opinion.

That's all for now -- will offer more shameless plugs soon I'm sure!