Tabletop’s Favorite Summer Traditions, Bites and Sips
Happy summer from Tabletop Media Group! ☀️ In this blog, our team is excited to share our favorite traditions, bites, and sips of the season. 🍹
Allie Nelson - Social Media Manager
My favorite summer activity is heading out to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains to beat the heat! We enjoy every season at our family cabin, but summer is especially fun for some lazy river tubing on the New River. After a day spent on the water, it’s nice to come home and grill up some burgers and corn on the cob. I love summer produce like peaches and zucchini. And there is nothing like a freshly picked tomato in the summertime - I will put them on everything!
Julia Poole - Social Media Manager
Summer to me is all about sunshine and smiles! No matter what or where I am, I always find myself next to a body of water, whether it be the beach, pool, or lake…must be the retired swimmer in me! Since I can remember, every July my family has beach week near the Surf City/Topsail Island area. We do all sorts of things from playing cards, body surfing, and sipping on our most tropical concoctions. The beach is 100% my happy place! If I’m not enjoying the sun, I’m usually spending time with my family and friends, sipping on a large iced coffee at my favorite coffee shop, strolling through a local festival/market, or perhaps indulging in a refreshing ice cream cone!
Joe Zonin - Director of Business Development
Either in the garden or working with our bees is where you’ll find me all summer! After starting plants from seeds and getting them in the ground, summer is all about keeping them happy and enjoying the fruits of our labor. The bees have been working the clover fields since March and soon it will be time for them to share a little bit of that sweet honey they’ve been making. Even though it’s awfully hot to stand next to a fire in July, we love to mix it up with some produce like peaches or split heads of Romaine on the grill in the summertime.
Anna McKenzie - Social Media Manager
Although I find it hard to function in temperatures above 80℉, I’ve learned to appreciate the small things that make North Carolina summers so special. My version of a perfect summer day is a day on the lake with my family complete with Pub Subs (IYKYK), a giant bowl of watermelon, and a cooler full of cold drinks. No summer night is complete for me without a competitive game of cornhole, a s’more (preferably burnt until nearly unrecognizable), and a late night Cook Out run for a Mocha Oreo milkshake (a must try!).
Quinn Bostic - Vice President
My favorite place to enjoy the scorching hot NC summer is Topsail Island. My family has a timeshare there and we look forward to it all year (so much so that we do a countdown in our family group chat). We sit in the sun, swim in the ocean, eat seafood, and stay up way too late watching movies the entire week we’re there - and it’s glorious. When I am not at the beach, I like being at the pool with my little fam and walking the farmer’s market for fresh summer veggies (hello, tomatoes, corn, peaches, and more)! It’s the season for sweet memories and I am here for all of them.
Chana Lynn - Website Designer
I am not a huge fan of the summer heat and humidity so our favorite thing is to escape each summer to the West Virginia mountains and spend time in Canaan Valley. We hike, explore, dine and gaze at the most amazing star filled skies. We always make a visit to Blackwater Falls state park to enjoy the falls and stunning views of the valley. Fabulous coffee from TipTop Coffee is something we look forward to each time. We enjoy sipping brews at the local ale house and dining at the variety of restaurants. It’s a small community and the food is always super fresh and grown locally and we have been pleasantly surprised by the many different delicious dishes we have regularly enjoyed or just discovered everytime we go!
Danielle Thomas - Digital Content Manager
While the summer may not be my cup of tea, there is one particular month I look forward to...July! July holds a special place in my heart as it’s a month full of family birthday celebrations, including mine, my husband's, my sister's, and my niece's. One tradition that my husband and I look forward to is our midnight gift exchange. As the clock strikes twelve on the night of July 2nd, we give each other our birthday presents, marking the perfect ending of his birthday and start for mine.
Brooke Parsons - Public Relations and Social Media Manager
Some think a North Carolina summer is way too hot, but it's my absolute favorite season! There’s nothing better than pool days with your friends, weekend weddings, refreshing drinks, country concerts, day trips to the ocean, and delicious bites enjoyed on the patio where my dog is able to join me. A summer tradition my family and I have is a week trip to Hilton Head Island- I look forward to it every year! My friends and I also made a pact to go to at least two concerts this summer. So far, we have one in the books… Luke Combs! I love trying new summer bites and sips, but my current favorites are a meat and cheese board paired with Aperol Spritz. Both are so perfect for the season!
Lewis Foreman - Social Media Director
I’m a huge fan of summertime and it flies by quicker every year! This summer has been full of squash and zucchini from our little garden, prepared like my Nanny used to make it- bundled up in tin foil with plenty of butter, salt + pepper, and baked in the oven. Perfect comfort food over a bowl of rice! Most weekends, we can be found at the pool (packs of Nabs a cooler full of juice boxes and Mom Water in tow) or at one of the Museum of Life and Science’s outdoor water exhibits. The shady treehouses and creek at Hideaway Woods are my son’s go-to spots. One last favorite summer sip: Biscuitville’s Watermelon Soda!