I don’t consider myself to be very artistic or creative. In fact, I was a very late to use Instagram because I didn’t feel creative enough to use it, but sometimes I surprise myself and take photos that turn out kind of nice. These are the best/my favorite Instagram photos that I took last year. Not only are these somewhat artistic, but most of them just give you a little glimpse into my life. Some of them I may have already posted so I apologize if you’re seeing them again but I do hope you enjoy!

Snow falling outside of my kitchen window.

Snow in the back yard.

The perfect Valentine’s date night includes ice cream.

Wild onions in the spring time.

Coffee!

Enjoying a sunny day in the hammock.

A beautiful night out.

Flowers on the beach.

My furbabies.

I really enjoy exploring old, beautiful, and peaceful cemeteries.

My gifts reflect my lifestyle: cooking, clothes, reading, and coffee!

Nick made me a sign for my birthday!

I apologize for my absence lately. All of the commuting and work that school has required this semester is seriously running me ragged so we decided to take a break and visit the NC State fair this past weekend. I feel like if you’ve been to one fair, you’ve been to them all but I wanted to share a few of the highlights from our trip. Nick doesn’t care much for the fair because he doesn’t enjoy large crowds of people or the rides, but since our friends asked us to go with them, he made an exception. I think he had a good time.

This is a FRIED SNICKERS BAR! It was tastier than I like to admit (although the fried oreos were better).

There were mums everywhere, which was absolutely beautiful. So, of course it makes sense to have a tower of mums.

NCsquared at the State Fair!

My friend, Maria, and I are in the big chair.

I wanted to sit in this thing but then you have lost me because I’m so little and it is so big. Also, you’ll probably notice the hand sanitizer clipped to my belt. I’m a good little Public Health student 😉

“It’s so big!”

Not gonna lie, I love this photo of us.

Do you like going to state/county fairs? I remember going to our county fair a few times as a kid and a lot as a teenager, because there wasn’t anything else to do in my town so the fair was the place to be. I had a really good time at the fair this year.

Nikki’s outfit:
Sweater & Jeans: Banana Republic
Vest: Old Navy
Hat, Boots, & Sunnies: Target

Nick’s outfit:
I’m pretty sure everything is from Banana Republic (he works there!)
Sunnies: they’re prescription

We’ve been together for 11 years, but we’ve been married for 3 of them as of October 1. If you’ll allow me to get mushy for a moment, I’d like to say that I think I fell in love with Nick and first sight but it took me a while to realize it. Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without him. He’s the love of my life, my best friend, and my biggest support.  This past year has been really difficult for the two of us, with me being away and busy with school most of the time, and Nick has been there for me through all of the tears, laughs, long nights, and good times. So I love that I get to celebrate our life together with him on the first of this month.

On Sunday, we went for brunch at one of our favorite spots, Parker and Otis, a little restaurant and giftshop in the historic downtown area of Durham. We love that they use fresh, local ingredients. That’s very common in Durham, though; it’s very much a wonderful foodie town. Parker and Otis have so much wonderful stuff that it’s almost overwhelming. But you can go in and order a yummy breakfast or lunch (or in our case, brunch) and then browse through all of the candies, knick-knacks, cards, wine, and cooking paraphernalia while you wait.

They have lovely seating inside and out. Sunday was a bit gloomy as far as the clouds go, but it wasn’t too hot or humid so we were able to comfortably sit outside and enjoy our meal.

I got a grilled pimento cheese with bacon on sourdough bread. Their homemade cole slaw is the default side, and it’s delicious. If you’re not familiar with pimento cheese then you are missing out. It’s an indulgent spread made of various cheeses, mayonnaise, and pimentos. Everyone has their own recipe and most are very delicious. Parker and Otis’ pimento cheese is also very good!

Nick got a grilled banana, peanut butter, and bacon panini with a side of fresh fruit.

We had a visitor while we ate: this cute little guy!

Lots of scrumptious candies and food stuffs. And a coffee bar

I told Nick that I want to make a chandelier just like this. I mean, really, how amazing is this? I think it’s just beautiful!

Cook books galore! And plenty of pots and pans and other cooking utensils.

The area around Parker & Otis is very industrial because the majority of the buildings in the area were warehouses used for tobacco processing.

This is what I wore for our little outing. Can you think of anything more comfortable than these drapey pants? They looked great when I wore them out and were super comfortable when I got home and kicked off the wedges to sit at my computer and get some school work done.

That’s it for our little outing. I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the cool things Durham has to offer!

Shirt: Gap (old)
Cardigan: Old Navy
Pants:Old Navy
Wedges: American Eagle by Payless
Necklace: Hawthorne Collection (online)
Handbag: Franco Sarto via Ross

If there’s anything we enjoy more than air conditioning in the summer, it’s a yummy Food Truck Rodeo! Durham has delicious food trucks and, being the somewhat novice foodies that we are, we love most of them. This food truck rodeo was in Raleigh but many of the same trucks we know and love were there so it was completely worth it. It was a beautiful day for standing in line for greasy, melty food! Unfortunately, I let myself get too hungry so the only thing I could think of when we arrived was getting some food. And I ate it so fast that I didn’t get any photos. But I did get some photos of some of the best trucks.

Food truck rodeo crowd.

This is Only Burger (below) and it is AMAZING! It is one of the many restaurants that started out as a truck but was so good and so popular that they were able to -open a brick-and-mortar restaurant (that is conveniently located near our house!) which is also very popular. It’s my favorite burger, and the only one I request when we’re in the mood for burgers!

Only Burger… when only the best will do.

American Meltdown has yummy grilled cheese of all varieties.

American Meltdown Gourmet Melts

The Parlour Ice Cream (truck below) is the best ice cream I’ve ever had in my entire life. I’ve written about ice cream dates before because it’s my favorite place. It’s another one of the amazing establishments that started out as a truck and became so popular that they were able to open a brick-and-mortar. You can probably tell from the photo below that there’s a long line for their ice cream and their store is actually no different. There’s always a line outside the door each time we go there. If you’re ever in Durham, NC and find yourself in the mood for some ice cream, Th Parlour is the place to go.

The Parlour Ice Cream

This food truck (below) is Chirba Chirba and they have yummy dumplings. Any time they’re around, you can count on a line that stretches a mile long for their dumplings. The really disappointing the about them is that the line is super long and you have to wait forever. Even though they’re good, we don’t usually have the patience to wait.

Chirba Chirba

Chirba Chirba menu

How do you feel about food trucks? Do you or would you eat from them?