Nick and I have, for a long time, supported the idea of local shopping, homegrown and healthy cooking, homemade projects and thrifty spending. We've dedicated a little extra in our budget toward the consistent purchase of cage free eggs and chicken. Beef is next, though it is a bigger expenditure and harder to find. We support local farms when available. So it makes perfect sense that Nick's proposal to me on Wednesday night was with a ring from Sharbuno Jewelers of Port Washington and a conflict-free diamond from BrilliantEarth.com. The message between the lines on this one is: I got engaged…

I consider my decision to become a foster "parent" to dogs as part of the Tailwaggers 911 program one meant to enrich the lives of many. For starters, the fact that I am able to open my home on a temporary basis to this animal on Saturday will save the life of a 3-month-old labrador retriever mix otherwise fated to be put down because of a lack of space at the high-kill shelter it's currently housed in in Georgia. Secondly, Mara, my 1-1/2 year-old Vizsla dog — who has now finally given way to a nap out of sheer boredom after staring at me and whining to play for much of the afternoon — will …

After much anticipation, I was finally able to indulge in the "Original" Smith Bros. Fish Sandwich — now being served at Smith Brothers Coffee House thanks to the takeover by Duluth Trading Company. For the past two years of sitting in that coffee shop, Patching away, I had heard a number of visitors stumble in and beg the question, "Where'd the fish go?"  Alas, the coffee shop had focused on serving coffee and baked goods for years to that point, but people still wanted their seafood and were being sent elsewhere — until now. Duluth Trading Company has actually added a menu that includes …

  My house has been chaos for a couple of weeks now. There could ultimately be a lot of reasons chaos would occur in a two-bedroom upper half of a duplex, but the reason this time around is that my boyfriend and I have become homeowners. I'm surrounded by boxes as we speak. It's a bittersweet moment in life — I'm excited for our new pad (I even bought address labels that say that) but also nostalgic for the time I've had in this apartment.  While reminiscing, a thought flashed into my mind that I just couldn't ignore. I remembered doing a story about Port's Eric McLean, who died not even two …

This may come as a surprise to some of you, but those delicious tacos with ground beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa — the list goes on — are actually not exactly Mexican. Gasp. I know, to say a taco isn't a Mexican food seems like an oxymoron. But, consider this: the traditional way tacos are served in Mexico involve the tortilla shell, a portion of finely diced meet, onions and cilantro. That's it. No cheese. No lettuce. Maybe some hot sauce, otherwise appearing to be green salsa. Don't panic. I was first in shock when I learned this while studying abroad in Cuernavaca, …

I was in high school, sitting in English class. The principal came over the loud speaker, instructing teachers to turn on some news channel. My teacher said, "Well, we must finish X before we do that." Whatever X was, it definitely was not as memorable as the tragedy we all know took place on September 11. The rest of my classes that day involved watching the news. More news. No class. No homework. Though we did still move among our classrooms per usual. I remember going home and staring at the TV. My grandfather — who had died relatively recently — was on my mind, probably because of the …

My first trip to the newly opened Bird Sanctuary in Port Washington produced windy views of the lake, waves splashing and grass blowing — but the only birds I actually saw turned out to be plastic. The apparent finishing touch to the sanctuary was a group of fake, plastic, pink flamingos set up in a grazing pattern. From afar, my first glimpse of the bright color was, "What the ... " Fake birds aside, I'm overly excited about this addition to Port. While it's nothing too special — a gravel path with some grass sneaking up between the pebbles that wraps around a mound with a pond in the middle…

I was up to my neck in samples this week. On top of judging the Feasting for Felix event — and eating far more than I knew I was capable —  I also spent the week traveling between various local sandwich places as way to try the Readers' Choice Best Sandwich category on for size. Starting at Dockside Deli, with a deliciously dill-infused turkey sandwich, by Tuesday I was on to the Java Dock Cafe for the special sandwich of the day. The unique flavors of both sandwiches satisfied my rumbling belly, and I'm telling you — I really can't decide between the two. By Wednesday I was ready for …

I turned 26 on Sunday. I know, I know. Hold your applause. Actually — and this is how I decided I know I'm getting "old" — this was the first year that my birthday didn't feel like a "big deal." At midnight, I didn't look at the clock. In fact, I didn't realize it was my birthday until 12:16 a.m. Talk about a revelation. But the bigger deal about my birthday has always been that I'm not really alone. I was born on my grandmother's 40th birthday; my grandpa's birthday is July 13, and my sister's birthday is July 12. My first nephew was born last year, on July 7. It's Christmas in July — almost…

I didn't send my mom a Mother's Day card this year. Oh, hush — I am not a bad daughter ... we're celebrating the holiday as a family next Sunday after running 13.1 miles for the Green Bay Cellcom Half Marathon. Plus, I'm giving her this awesome shout out on Patch: Thanks for the being the best mom a girl could ask for, Mother. I hope your day is awesome. While I'm at it, this shout out also goes out to my baby sister, Elizabeth (Lizard) for being a great mom to Raiden, as well as to both of my grandmothers for bringing my parents into this world. I wouldn't be possible without you! Now, don't…

I have a confession to make that, despite contemplating the repercussions of such, I decided to tell you about anyway. On Wednesday, I took my first trip along the breakwall — walking the entire thing and finally stand under the old lighthouse. My first time ever making that complete walk since moving to Port in December 2010. I'll add a clarification/disclaimer to my statement: on the Fourth of July, I did walk part way out onto the breakwall to watch the fireworks display. But, alas, I have never gone out under the lighthouse. I feel like living in Port and not ever having visited the …

I'm an outdoor, active, adventure-seeking type of person. I like to go camping, and I don't mind spending a weekend in a place where showers are not included among the amenities (though I don't prefer it that way). I'm not afraid to go barefoot — dirt, sand, grass; I want it all between my toes. I enjoy long hikes, a mild amount of fishing and I'd rather spend a weekend exploring new terrain than hitting the shopping mall. (This is starting to sound like a personal ad, but, trust me — it's not.) So it wasn't out of the ordinary when my boyfriend Nick, our dog Mara and I decided to go for a 4-…

  I'm going to start this out with the disclaimer that this is not one of my happiest columns, though — in considering it to be about the celebration of life — perhaps it should be. This story starts out with a puppy face; not from a pouty child trying to get his or her way but rather with an actual puppy. A soft-coated wheaton terrior, to be exact, and the central focus of a recent tragedy brought upon my family. Wynie was a family dog that entered our lives about five years ago. She was just so cute at the pet store that my parents spent their "discretionary" dollars on adding a member to …

It's not often I get out of the house without one of three things attached to me: my dog, my boyfriend or my computer AKA mobile Patch office. So to be able to hit the town on a Tuesday night with just a girl friend and high spirits for the annual Kiss of Indulgence Ladies Night Out event was a pretty sweet treat. OK — not 100 percent sweet as I did still have election coverage to attend to that evening, and so I wasn't 100 percent free of my mobile office. But, the dog and the boyfriend were left at home. The other thing that was outside of the norm on this Tuesday night? Port Washington was…

I love this mild winter for a lot of reasons. Minimal car scraping has occurred, I have not once touched a shovel (my landlord plows the driveway) and the usual take-five-hours-to-bundle-up-before-heading-out practice has rarely been applied. It has also allowed me to get outside for more runs, rather than be strapped to a treadmill logging miles. And that's important, because I am training for my second half-marathon with plans to again participate in the Green Bay Cellcom event, this year on May 20. That being said, I'm still lacking in motivation to get enough runs in to properly train for…

This week, people nationwide began the first few pages of what is to be a shared adventure in the world of books. The movement of pages is part of a new mostly "virtual" book club started by The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post Books Editor Andrew Losowsky let HuffPo readers in on the club in December, and I'm hoping some local Patch readers will get involved, too. Here's what Losowsky told readers last month: The HuffPost Book Club wants to be a part of the way you read books. We invite you to join a special HP Book Club digital community, through your existing Twitter (#HPbookclub), …

It's taken a lot of convincing for me that Christmas is actually on Sunday. One, where the heck is the snow? Two, forget the fact that there is no snow — I have not yet had to use my scraper on my car. Mind you, I don't normally leave the house before 10 a.m. But, I also don't have a garage. Three, I took my dog on a walk and all I had to bundle in was a sweatshirt, jeans, hat and mittens. Isn't that like, early November? Plus, shortly after that walk, I saw my neighbor taking his dog for a walk wearing shorts. Yes, shorts. Wait, is it August? No, Christmas is not all about the weather — but …

During an interview for a story recently, conversation turned to places to eat breakfast in the Port Washington area. Harry's Restaurant was an obvious place to come to mind, given it's family-diner atmosphere and also the fact that I've only ever actually eaten breakfast there. Then, of course, there's Tellos Grill and Cafe. A quick breakfast can be enjoyed at Dockside Deli (omelets!), Java Dock (Sconuts!) or Smith Brothers Coffee House (bakery!) and the Port Hotel seems to only have a Sunday brunch. While food at these establishments may be delicious, this particular conversation focused …

Other than random ins and outs at a few downtown Port Washington businesses, I was relatively embarrassed as a Patch editor to say I have never shopped our local retail offerings. But comments from Fair Trade for All shop owners about possibly closing due to lack of business offered that extra boost I needed to get downtown and see what it was all about. So, Thursday night — bundled with a jacket, hat and mittens, as I picked the coldest day yet for this adventure — I hit the streets with some serious shopping on my brain. I headed downtown at about 3:30 p.m., and finished my shopping trip …

Day one of Sentry's first Oktober Tasting Event saw plenty of satisfied visitors — and I'm hoping day two will bring even more. The event went from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday, and will run from the same time on Tuesday just inside Sentry's main doors. Patch also has a table set up at the event, so please stop by and say, "hi." Visitors are welcome to a free sampling of Sentry's own Sanfilippo brand wine and seasonings, as well as samples from Vines to Cellar, New Port Shores, Beanies Mexican Restaurant, The Pasta Shoppe, Bernie's Fine Meats, Fireworks Popcorn, Taste of Africa, and more. I tried some …