Sunset Cruises Are Fun

I really feel fortunate to have experienced some awesome things this summer but a huge highlight was celebrating Seafood's 30th in major style aboard a yacht at sunset, cruising around Manhattan until midnight. I've never done anything like that in the city before and it was absolutely tremendous.

Not only is Seafood (as we affectionately refer to him) the most generous person I know, he's also the best when it comes to celebrations. He knows how to have fun, that's for sure. It was so hard coming up with what to get him for his birthday until a lightbulb went off: Colleen! A group of us decided to pool funds together and hire Colleen to photograph the entire evening. It's honestly the best decision we could've made. Not only was Seafood ecstatic about the surprise but he told us several times how happy he was to have that memory documented.

We had gorgeous weather for the evening and I truly feel lucky to have spent such a special night with Seafood's good friends and family. I must share some of Colleen's beautiful photos as they capture much more than I can:

What a terrific, fun and memorable evening. I honestly love my life sometimes and the people in it are irreplaceable. I'm a very lucky lady.

It's Summertime!

After so many weekends being taken up recently, I was super excited to finally enjoy a weekend doing MY own thing. It's funny how that still includes a packed few days but hey, I'm not sweating to death working in the kitchen or traveling all over the place. I'm averaging a couple of weeks being late in my posts but, at the beginning of the month, lovely Suzanne invited us ladies over for drinks to enjoy her beautiful rooftop, hear about her and Jeff's trip to Spain and to kick off summer. I couldn't wait as visiting with Suzanne is always such a special time and so fun!

Earlier in the day, I'd gotten to go to the park and relax in the sun for a couple of hours. I'm getting better at listening to my body and knowing when I need to slow down which, as most of you know, is a big deal for me. It was time to do so, that's for sure. In conjunction with having other plans, I also took the weekend away from Hearth to kind of recharge. It was so nice! Being in the sun was perfect and it was such a beautiful day. I got a delicious margarita with Allison after the park and then it was time to head over to Suzanne's.

This woman is just amazing and so generous, I tell you. We walked in to a gorgeous spread of ricotta (that Suz made herself that day!) crostini with arugula and radishes and lovely melon-mozzarella-prosciutto skewers all on beautiful Spanish china she'd brought back from her trip. She'd also dressed marcona almonds, which I love, with fresh herbs, olive oil and salt. If that wasn't enough, she'd made watermelon cocktails with fresh watermelon that she'd pureed and strained. I can't re-cap it nearly as well as Colleen's fantastic photos do:

How beautiful is Suzanne:

If you think those are good, please take a moment to visit Colleen's website, Colleen Putman Photography, here. You'll see a tremendous showcase of her phenomenal work. I just had to share a couple of her photos here because they're so vibrant and summery.

We had an amazing time visiting, as usual. I'm so thankful to have met Suzanne and Jeff. My life has really been enhanced by their caring, warm, hospitable nature. They're rare, both as a couple, and as individuals. It's wonderful to spend time with a couple who is truly meant to be for all the right reasons. I so enjoy being with them and I'm a lucky gal to experience what I have with them. Thank you for introducing us all, Colleen! In addition to the lovely spread, Suz had gotten each of us beautiful Spanish bowls and she brought me salt from Mugaritz, ahhhh! I mean, how thoughtful is she? Such a special lady. It was a really great evening together with my very favorite girls!

Happy Summer, everyone! I think it's going to be a memorable one. :)