I'm headed back to Charlotte from Roanoke today, before my flight to Minneapolis tomorrow. After this past week, it seriously feels like Rob and I are living in three places. It's been really nice hanging around my parents' house, going to CrossFit, having lunch out with my mom and our nextdoor neighbors, taking long walks, and meeting some friends for dinner at my favorite restaurant downtown (I went twice in two days, woops).

This trip really made me anxious to get to Charlotte full-time and start making a home there. I can't believe we're only two or three weeks away from the big move! It's going to be so good, even if there's still a lot of packing left to do.

Every summer, my family gathers 'round for a big seafood dinner at my parents' house on Smith Mountain Lake. We sit on the deck and drink wine and eat with our hands and watch the sun set. It's really good. I am so excited to be moving closer to home and making things like this just a quick three hour drive away.

The last time I was in Roanoke, I gathered my family and invited a couple of friends to come over for our annual seafood boil. It was a lovely evening and we all had a great time. I served La Crema Chardonnay--everyone's favorite--and we drank and ate and just enjoyed each other's company.

I was kind of surprised at how beautiful a table set with paper and covered with seafood ended up being, so I thought I'd share a few tips for throwing a great, shabby-chic seafood boil party:

• Use brown paper or newspaper as a table cloth--it looks festive and is super functional, since you'll be throwing it away after dinner. I cut up some brown grocery bags and topped it with a few sheets of newspaper. I think the combination looks really nice!
• White plates, crab claw crackers, and a couple rolls of paper towels are really all you need--unless you're serving a vegetable as well (we had steamed broccoli), you don't even need forks!
• Use a citronella candle to ward off mosquitos, and use some matching tea lights to fancy up the table a bit more if you wish.
• Finally, a simple vase of flowers (I cut some roses from our neighbor's yard...it's kind of an inside joke we have going) adds an extra pop of color to really make the table look put together.

One of my favorite things I've come to realize from working with La Crema over the past four months is this: details can often be really special, and nothing is so small that it isn't worth celebrating. Summer, friends, family, wine, and really huge shrimp all make life a little brighter. So get together with people you love and, for any or no reason at all, enjoy a fantastic meal together. Cheers!

This post is sponsored by La Crema. Thank you for your support as I continue to work with brands. Make sure to visit the La Crema Blog for the seafood boil recipe!

Photos by the lovely Sarah of Photo + Love.

One of Rob's college roommates got married in Williamsburg over the weekend, so we left a few days early to spend some time in Roanoke. Our flight from Charlotte got cancelled and we ended up renting a car and driving the quick three hours up 81 so we didn't have to wait any longer to be in Roanoke. Before leaving Charlotte, we stopped at Tenders, an awesome little chicken restaurant that my friend Shawna would take us all to when we visited her at Davidson for Spring Frolics every year. Then we were on the road, enjoying the gorgeous scenery that North Carolina and Virginia always has to offer in the spring and summer.

We finally made it to Roanoke and spent some time gathered around in my parents' kitchen, which is one of my favorite places to be. Our neighbor's dog (and Rocky's old best friend), Bentley, came over to say hi and it made me happy and sad at the same time. It's pretty hard to believe that Rocky's been gone almost half a year already. But it was lovely to spend time at home that didn't involve wedding planning. Rob and I each invited one friend over for dinner the next day and we all had such a great time catching up.

The next day I got my hair cut and hung out with my mom. We did some grocery shopping after lunch--it's not a Roanoke visit without at least one stop at Beamer's! My current favorite is the Reuben burger.

This weekend was one that was happy and fun and full of nostalgia--so many college friends, so many hilarious stories and memories shared over beers and glasses of wine on Saturday night and a hotel breakfast on Sunday morning. On our way to Williamsburg, we stopped for just a few minutes to see my friend Emma in Charlottesville.

It's always so nice to be home.