We have been so busy the past month that even though our apartment is set up and starting to feel like home, I still feel like this transition will end and we'll go back to Minneapolis.

Over the weekend I found myself feeling a bit melancholy and really missing Minnesota a lot, but it's nice to remember that, even though we've only been here less than two months, we've still managed to find a couple of regular spots to go out and feel like we're taking advantage of our new neighborhood. It's going to take time. Burgers help.

Pike's Old Fashioned Soda Shop is a sweet little burger/ice cream stop just a quick walk from our apartment. I always get a burger without the bun from the "Burger Bar" section of the menu. The last time we went, my brother was with us and he got the Black & Blue Burger; and Rob got the Buffalo Chicken sandwich, which looked awesome. The fries are really good and they have a $5 glass of rosé that I usually can't pass up.

As I'm going to hit "publish" on this post, I'm realizing that the two restaurant posts I've shared so far have been about burgers...I'm not sure if that says more about me or Charlotte, but I promise to branch out a bit here soon. Next up will be either my favorite brunch or happy hour spot!

My brother came to visit us in Charlotte last week and we made plans to cook a huge meal together. Sean is great at making even the most regular of things feel really special, and we love cooking together, so obviously I decided to go all out and attempt to roast a duck.

Even though it seemed a bit intimidating at first, everything came together into a beautiful meal and such a fun way to celebrate the beginning of fall in our new place! La Crema was nice enough to send us a few bottles of pinot noir, too, so that didn't hurt.

Thanks to La Crema for sponsoring this post. Visit their blog to get our roast duck recipe!

Rob and I are very passionate snackers, and we go through at least one bag of sweet potato chips every week (we like them with salsa or guacamole), so I was really excited to get an email from Food Should Taste Good about working together on some snack-inspired posts over the next couple of months. They have a huge selection of products, including kettle cooked sweet potato chips--hello! I hope you're excited about this too, because we're starting with a pretty awesome giveaway!

Food Should Taste Good will be sending one lucky reader a Nostalgia Electric Fondue Pot with six forks, a nine-piece dipping set, a stainless steel snack bowl, a variety of Food Should Taste Good products, and a $100 Visa Gift card. I think you could probably throw a pretty decent party with that haul II'll be throwing one of my own soon)!

Enter below to win, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is brought to you in partnership with Food Should Taste Good. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.