unabashedly uncorked: your daily dose of EPH!

New York Elsewhere // via landofthepine

interesting… 

99.87% of the time I love Raleigh. I adore living here, really. I love our neighborhood, our “places” that we have unearthed, I love our little home, and I love having family literally a stones throw from our front door. 

But sometimes- on the rare occasion-  I can’t help but want to heap all of our lifelong possessions into crates and boxes, rent the biggest Uhaul truck we can find, strap Lady Windsor into the fly seat, and make a break for the border. 

[the South Carolina border to be exact]

Because y’all- my body might reside in Raleigh. But this girl will always have Charleston etched deep into the core of her soul.

Most of the time, I’m absolutely fine being planted with my roots firmly in Raleigh. 

but today just isn’t one of them…

spanish moss and live oaks // November 2012 // photo credit to moi

barely a trace of a Southern winter storm

& just like that, it was gone

Sheepdog tracks // January 2013

[well- aside from the fact that my brother, sister-in-law (& co.), and Mom & Dad H all live within shouting distance]

is that we live in “Raleigh Proper” but we’re tucked right off into our own little corner of the city. We are close enough to scoot downtown in mere minutes but far enough away to sneak off to a outlying town for Sunday breakfast. 

Last weekend, with Momma and Daddy P in tow, we ventured to a small little cozy grill that could have literally been plucked from Anytown, USA. The minute we walked into the slamma-jammed restaurant, we felt at home. Families crowded the small-ish dining room, the line for food snaked clear into the adjoining convenience store (yes, seriously), and the mile-high stack of pastries was almost too much for Blake to handle. Not to mention that this place had almost a dozen flavors of homemade donuts that would make Krispy Kreme blush (New York Cheesecake, anyone?).

One of our favorite things to do is to get in the car and just drive. To explore other parts of the city, county, state. We haven’t gotten to do much of that lately and- to be honest- I’ve missed it. I love that a 20 minute drive east will dump you out in the middle of a tobacco farm. Thankfully Blake has a brilliant sense of direction because I can’t get you from Point A to Point B without taking a wrong turn or a detour. 

Who would have never guessed that this little Grill houses the tastiest buttermilk donut around and the only authentic corned beef hash I’ve seen down South. But I guess that’s the fun part of exploring- having the chance to uncover little “diamonds in the rough” that you wouldn’t have otherwise considered.

[Raleigh peeps- check out Main Street Grill in Wake Forest // family owned and opperated // photo via]

Yesterday was tough. I cut my loses early and fully exercised my rights [thank you, great job!] to a mental health day. 

But today- today has started on a much, much better note.

• An email from a dear college friend announcing the arrival of her sweet Baby Boy! A huge congratulations to the R family and their [now] family of 4. 
• My bro and Katie Rae closed on their new house this morning. Such exciting news for them— welcome to the homeowners club, kids! Even better? They are 5 minutes from the H house. Almost walking distance. I’ve mentioned before that I love having most of my collective group literally at arms length. Now, we just have to convince Mom and Dad P that Raleigh is a terrific place to call home… [presently- this plan is fully underway] 
• Speaking of having my family close- my sister in law [hereby known as Piper Claus] dropped off the world’s cutest Holiday cupcakes (below) as a surprise last night. That’s the great part about having family as almost neighbors; they can swing by in a pinch or show up with confections at the drop of a hat. [punny!] 

• I started my morning with a cupcake. And a white chocolate cranberry cookie. And I bit off the head of a gingerbread man. Have I mentioned how much my sweet tooth loves the Holidays? 

Not everyday can be exactly what you ask for. Often, you have to take the good with the bad. There are just some days that a smile and a laugh doesn’t make everything better. And that’s okay. Really it is. I’m learning to ask for help, to turn over control, and to reach out to someone greater than I am when I can’t be at the helm. Because, as I’ve heard quite often and is evident with this beautiful Tuesday, tomorrow is always a new day.

ho ho ho, y’all 

I’ve come to believe that half of the fun of being married [aside from the whole “waking up next to your best friend” part of course] is creating new traditions.

Over the past coupe of years, Blake and I have adopted a pre-Christmas celebration of our own. Tradition has it that after [regular season] college football ends and before the big guy and his reindeer descend our chimneys- the H’s cozy up and stow away for a nice dinner. Just the two of us. 

Our favorite spot for this pre Christmas shin-dig is a local legend. However, instead of calling ahead and reserving a table, we very much prefer to mosey up to the lounge (pictured below) for an early dinner, pull up a leather chair, and people watch while enjoying our meal. 

As over the top and “extra” as I am, I’ve come to realize that some things really are just way more fun when they are easy; low key. The food is great (try as I might, I will never master the art of a perfectly cooked rib-eye) and the atmosphere top notch. We will certainly be the youngest patrons in the room (always are) but that tends to makes for more enjoyable conversations. 

He’ll sip on a glass of bourbon (on the rocks) and I’ll have champagne. He’ll order the largest Prime Rib on the menu (22 ozs.) while I pick the Chateaubriand. We will attempt to finish our meals while debating the pecan pie for dessert (which we will pass on). As we leave, I’ll try to get him to take a picture with me in front of the tree. He [jokingly] will say that he ate too much for dinner. 

And so our evening will go. Little expectation, huge meaning; plenty of togetherness and a great amount of love. And to me, that’s what the Holidays are all about. 

photos via

I don’t know how I’ve gone this long without mentioning this… but last December, my brother and seester-in-law [and precious nephews] moved into our same zip code.

it’s 1.7 miles from front door to front door- you know- just for clarification purposes

I pass their humble abode most mornings on the way to work and most evenings on the way home. Unless I deter to HomeGoods for a brief shopping trip but that’s another story for another day.

Last night, I saw my MIL’s car sitting in the S’s driveway and decided to pop on by for a Hello! before my spin class. A quick visit and a muscle show from Nash later [3 year olds are just THE CUTEST!] I skipped off to class.

Family right around the corner— and the ability to swing by for absolutely no reason whatsoever— makes my heart so, so full.

oxo