There are so many things I have to be obsessed with this week I don't even know how I'm going to narrow it down to just my normal #fridayfive. It was kind of an epic week.
Last week I took my biannual blog & social media break to spend a full week in Cape May with the family & celebrate my birthday! It was so nice to really unplug. It takes a few days for sure but once I do find that shore zen I really enter my happy place. And we were so lucky... the weather was amazing!
Don't get me wrong I love to constantly talk to you & my clients in the salon but every once in a while it's so important for me to shut up, chill out & recharge so I can come back energized & really give it my all!
So besides the obvious - the beach, my birthday & my social media detox - there were some other things I experienced in Cape May that I was obsessed with this week.
TIME WITH FAMILY
I'm so lucky to have a family that I like so much that we can even spend a full week together all under one roof. I'm not gonna lie... by the end the of the week I may have had a mini meltdown or two but 99% of the time was amazing. And it really is the perfect opportunity to spend quality time with the kids before they go to camp & school starts... which is also really special. I'll never forget my early morning alone time with Samantha on the beach... yes... she had me down there by 9:30 every morning!
PETER SHIELDS INN
Every summer my parents take the kids for one night so that my siblings & I can go for a night out all together without children. It's super rare that the four of us are together in the same place without children so we tend to take full advantage of the situation. Each year we like to try a different restaurant & Peter Shields was the only one on every critic's list that we still hadn't been to. Was it pricey... yes... but was it equally amazing... absolutely!
I also kind of crack up at our checkerboard effect accidental matching outfits. Someone else my be embarrassed but you know I love a little coordination.
EBBITT ROOM RICOTTA DOUGHNUTS
These delicious ricotta fried balls are also drizzled in orange zest & caramel sauce & happened to make Oprah's favorite things list for the summer. I mean if they're good enough for Oprah then they're good enough for me lol. I'd been to the Virginia Hotel a million times & have no idea how I hadn't heard of these before my clients started telling me they read about them in the Oprah magazine. And I even got to grill one of the waiters who got to meet Oprah & Gayle during their visit.
PEACE PIE & PRETTY TASTY CUPCAKES
Two of the other things I gorged myself on down the shore were Peace Pie ice cream sandwiches which are quite possibly the best things I have ever eaten & Pretty Tasty cupcakes. We have the perfect bakery at home to deal with my niece's food allergies but when we're away & trying to celebrate my birthday it can be a little tricky. So when we found this completely nut free cupcake shop we went wild & pretty much tried them all!
WEST END GARAGE
Everyone knows the Washington Street mall but most people don't venture further out to the West End Garage... which is pretty much thirty or so vendors all under one roof with a little cafe to boot. We can... and often do spend hours in here finding the cutest things!
So there you have it... I had quite the amazing week in Cape May & plan on spending the rest of August soaking up every last ounce of summer I can!
Cheers - Hal