A week after our trip to Memphis, Nicki and Jeff got married at Bobo, in the West Village. It was muggy and hot that morning, but luckily the rain held off until after the ceremony and photographs. A wonderful celebration of a wonderful couple!

Nicki’s dad, Ron, and his mini-me, grandson Owen

Silly Owen!

The Carmello family

The parents

Happy couple, always laughing

My friend, Adam Swiderski, was the musician for the ceremony and pre-reception

Billy’s Bakery banana cake and cupcakes

Congratulations to my dear friends Nicki and Jeff! Wishing you a lifetime of laughter and happiness!

A couple of weeks ago, nine of us flew from NYC to Memphis to celebrate the end of Nicki’s single life, and the beginning of her life as a missus. Our weekend included a visit to Graceland, listening to live music on Beale Street, a little history lesson at the National Civil Rights Museum, and most of all, making sure our bride-to-be had a memorable weekend! We stayed at the Peabody, dined on BBQ, found some wonderful blues and jazz bands, and indulged in some culture and history. Good times with the girls!

Posing with law enforcement at the Memphis airport

Morning duck walk at the Peabody Hotel

Duckies in the fountain!

On our way to Graceland

Our bride

Graceland

Living room

Elvis’ bedroom

Lisa Marie and Priscilla

Kitchen

Jungle Room

Recording studio

Stable and pasture

Memorabilia

So. Many. Records.

Jumpsuits

Me, Elvis and Nicki

Elvis’ private plane, which had gold-plated seat belt buckles and other luxurious nuances inside

Taking Care of Business

Fans used to steal the street sign, so the city had to hang it on a live electrical wire!

View down Beale Street

Gladiator gear and cowboy hats

Dinner and fun live music at Rum Boogie Cafe

Fried catfish, fried green tomatoes, fried okra, and (fried) hush puppies. I hit my fried food quota for the year with this meal!

Line dancing

Michael impersonator

This 11-year-old had an amazing voice!

What’s a bachelorette party without a scavenger hunt? We got this guy to “propose” to Nicki.

Sunday breakfast at Denny’s. Grilled cheese sandwich stuffed with fried mozzarella sticks, with fries on the side. Heart attack on a plate?

Cheezy line (another of the bachelorette scavenger hunt tasks)

Pancake Puppies are yummy

Nady ate everything on her plate but the fruit

A little more Elvis

Stroll through downtown Memphis

The Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, is now the National Civil Rights Museum

Early dinner at Pearl’s

Crab cakes and catfish

Signage outside the ladies room at the Memphis airport (in honor of Jessica, who survived a hurricane earlier this year at the St. Louis airport!)

…I met someone who would turn out to be a lifelong friend. Alisa and I became friends at Meadowood Music Camp when we were about 12 years old. We became pen pals, and the following summer we were roommates at camp. Twenty-something years later, we keep in touch via email and Facebook. When she came to NYC recently for a visit with some other mom friends, I was excited to sneak in a little time with my dear friend. We had dinner at Peasant, one of my favorite restaurants, and the next day I showed her a few of my favorite spots around the city. Here we are on the Highline. I hope it’s not another 8 years before I see her again!

My final week of summer vacation started with a hurricane, which turned into a tropical storm, which knocked out power and water at Camp Fern for a few days, yet none of that could stop me from enjoying a gorgeous week in the Hamptons!

On Tuesday morning, Angela got up crazy early to go surfing with Dave. I went for a run to the beach, and when I returned, I saw this. Angela is hardcore!

We still had no power, so I got creative and made breakfast on the grill.

Hurricane McMuffins!

On the ferry, headed toward Shelter Island

Lovely beach in front of the Sunset Beach Hotel

On Wednesday, Nicki and I had dinner at Crow’s Nest in Montauk. This is the view from the restaurant, which feels a little like a treehouse.

Our power finally came back on around 2am Thursday morning, but we still had some amazing produce from the farm stand, perfect for lunch on the deck. Jess made a tomato and cucumber salad. So simple, so delicious.

I grilled corn, zucchini, yellow squash and green beans. Yummy!

On Friday, the rest of the Ferners came back, and we spent the afternoon at Ditch Plains, the Montauk beach most popular with surfers.

Happy hour at Cyril’s

Saturday was family dinner night - we started with Jess’ famous guacamole and Bonduritas (a.k.a. margaritas, or “happy juice”).

Grilled tilapia with mango-avocado salsa, corn and tomato salad with basil, and quinoa with chickpeas and red peppers

Jess, Heather, Angela and I went for casual fun - jukebox, ring game, darts, and plush (pronounced “ploosh”) at Murf’s. Nady and Amy opted to get gussied up and headed to Rushmeyer’s and Talkhouse.

Sunday was our last full day in the Hamptons for the summer. We ended with sunset in Sag Harbor.

And drinks with Nicole, Fernando and other friends at B. Smith’s. And pizza at Conca d’Oro.

Another amazing summer in the Hamptons, so many great stories and good times. See you next year, Camp Fern!

The day after the storm was a gorgeous day - bright, sunny and warm. Angela, Nicki and I walked to the beach to check out the neighborhood and visit the farm stand. The proprietor told me the salt from the ocean spray would have long-term affects on the crops, which made me sad.

When our power went out Sunday night, we discovered our house was on well water. No electricity, no water. So for the next few days, we pulled buckets of water from the pool to rinse dishes and flush the toilet. Showers came courtesy of friends whose houses were on town water. We bought a car charger for our iPhones, and we learned to get around at night by flashlight. We did our best to use up the food in the fridge, and even got creative with the grill. All in all, the storm made Camp Fern living a lot more rustic than we were used to, in fact, a lot more like camping. So much for the glam life in the Hamptons!

There was a giant puddle on the road, about 25 yards from the beach, which was likely a result of the ocean having washed up to the parking lot at some point. We found out later that the sand between Georgica pond and the beach had washed away, and most of the water drained out of the pond we had kayaked on only a few weeks before.

All of the corn at our local farm must have been blown in one direction for a while, because all of the stalks were leaning towards the fence.

After we got back to the house, we did our best to put everything back to normal and clean up the leaves. Breakfast was yogurt with peaches, blueberries and granola, and iced coffee from the previous day’s leftovers.

Montauk was one of the first areas to get power back, so we went to Navy Beach for sunset and dinner. At least I got to try some new restaurants!