Favorite Things--North Carolina

Unfortunately, our time in North Carolina is just about to come to an end. And, frankly, if we didn't have another month of beach fun to look forward to in Florida, I would probably cry. We have had such a wonderful time here, and we have discovered a few new favorites. Not all of these things are specific to North Carolina, but this is where our love for them began.

Based on the name of this place (The Beach Shop and Grill) and a few online descriptions,
we thought it would be good, but maybe not exceptional. We were pleasantly surprised.  

Though we have Soma stores near where we live in Texas,
I had never been in one until we went shopping in Wilmington,
and I didn't even realize they had actual clothes. I saw this dress and instantly loved it,
but when I realized it felt like the softest pajamas, I was completely sold!
(And, speaking of pajamas, I also brought home these super cozy ones--
but with the crop pants, instead of shorts!)

Every kid in our family has enjoyed digging in the sand with these awesome Handtrux backhoe diggers.

Jeff and the kids gave me this delightful little journal for Mother's Day, and I am enjoying it so much!

Clay got this Mickey "weegle woggle" for his birthday,
but all the kids have had fun playing with it in the pool.

We've been to all kinds of museums, all over the place, and this was, by far, one of our favorites!

The Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at UNC was so much fun!

I have always been skeptical of water wings and have never really trusted them,
but the Puddle Jumper is a game changer and has made both Clay's and my
pool experience so much more enjoyable.

Not all Sheratons are created equal, of course, but this one in Chapel Hill
had the perfect suite for all of us and was very nice.

It's not so much Food Lion grocery stores that we love,
but the store brand hearty grain bread (which I couldn't find a picture of)
has been a huge it with the whole family, even my normal white-bread-only lovers.

Inspired by our Science weekend in Raleigh/Chapel Hill,
we have been watching TED talks in the evenings.
The kids (and adults) are completely enthralled.

 I LOVE the flavor and fragrance of the doTerra toothpaste!