Bonclarken

Beginning in the summer of 1994 and for every summer after that for the next 7 years I travelled south from my home in Lexington, Virginia to a small town called Flat Rock, North Carolina where I attended Bonclarken's Music Conference. Our church youth group made the trek down the valley and through the mountains for a week in July filled with singing, swimming, and socializing. 

I have many fond memories of camp: sleeping in bunk beds, making friends from the Carolinas that I would keep in touch with via snail mail throughout the year, trying new adventures like obstacle courses and rock wall climbing. I slow danced with a boy for the first time at one of the socials, looked up to the older girls in my group, had a major crush on a boy that I looked forward to seeing summer after summer. Many fond memories indeed.

Bonclarken has sort of been a family affair for the Smiths. My dad and uncle, along with Maw-maw used to attend various conferences in the 1970s. My uncle still visits frequently for Synod meetings and to open up the Virginia cottage for other groups attending camp. The same uncle, along with my aunt and mom chaperoned the conference my cousin, brother and I went to with the rest of our youth group.

On my recent road trip home with mom we took the route that would take us by Bonclarken. I have not been there in nearly fourteen years, and though some buildings are new and everything seemed closer together than my younger memory led me to believe, it still felt the same. So enjoy a photo dump of pictures from our drive down memory lane as well as some snap shots from days gone by!

The Virginia Cottage. We would climb out the dormer windows and sit on the roof because we were too cool for school :) A lot of time was spent hanging out on the porch swing and in rocking chairs

Map of the camp taped to the wall inside the cottage |  A sign inside that has probably been hanging there for 40+ years

Mom and I poked around in some of the registries from ages ago (the ones from my days were missing)

I found lots of familiar names (Chester Smith, John Smith, Mrs. Orville Smith) from the Junior High Conferences in 1971 and 1972

Mom & I squinting in front of the house.

A new apartment style lodging building | The chapel

 Memorial Hall where we stayed our first year attending the Music Conference

 Dining Hall | Hotel

 Cloudy view from the dining hall towards the lake

Oh the Nibble Nook. Possibly my favorite place at Bonclarken. Each night everyone attending the camp would gather together to sing songs, buy snacks, and make memories. You also got to watch people brave their way through the elevated obstacle course in the trees (it has been taken down and relocated). 

 The Swiss Cottage where you went if you needed a bandaid or got a bee sting!

Rock climbing wall

Our little group in 1994 outside of Memorial Hall (I am the first one on the left sitting)

My first year there I forgot to pack a dress for the final music performance at the end of the week. In a pinch my aunt's blouse + a belt made do! Hahaha!

Some of our group posing with our music teachers at the 1996 conference (far left)

Sliding Rock is a local attraction near Asheville and is just what the name says: a large flat rock surface waterfall that people slide their tushes down into a pool of water! I remember it being cold but fun! 

The group staying at the Virginia cottage (third row up, far left, sitting)

The girls all grown up a few years later! (middle, white shirt)

Possibly the same year with a few of the guy friends from South Carolina. (bottom row, far right, sitting)

While I distinctly remember detesting getting up early in the morning to go to music practice (I really have never been a morning person), I won't ever forget paddle boating in the lake, swimming in the pool, exploring the caboose at the playground, buying trinkets in the gift shop, or being terrified at the top of the pamper pole. Each year I looked forward to seeing friends I had made from other states and each year I was sad to leave. I am very thankful to have spent eight lovely summers at Bonclarken :)

Dinner Lab: Randall Denny

This "Holy Smokes" themed dinner showcased a variety of carnivorous treats prepared with French influences. I was especially excited about this Dinner Lab because my guest was my mom. She is a notoriously picky eater but I thought this menu should prove tame enough for even her palate. 

Cedar Smoked Redfish Crudo: caramelized red onion | shaved mirliton | leche de tigre

I really loved this dish. A perfect appetizer: cool, refreshing, crisp and acidic

Watercress Vichyssoise: pecan smoked rabbit confit | watercress oil

LOVED! This was my favorite dish of the night. The potato and leek soup was served chilled with pieces of warm rabbit floating among the watercress oil. Two thumbs up!

Hickory Bread Pudding: smoked pork & champignon mushrooms | pork & mushroom jus | green onion vinaigrette

Paired with: Txomin Etxaniz Getariako Txakolina 2014

 My first experience with a savory bread pudding was not bad. My particular portion did not contain much meat, but other than that this reminded me of a fancy European comfort food. The wine pairing was rather sweet but nice since the temperature in the actual building was warm.

Mesquite Chicken Roulade: crawfish duxelle | white bean puree | braised collards | étouffée sauce

Chicken packed with a crawfish, mushroom, shallot stuffing = yummy! The white bean puree was nice as well. I did not care for the collards; they were too vinegary and too spicy for my tongue!

Sweet Potato Poundcake: apple wood smoked sweet potatoes | potato hay | bourbon gastrique

Paired with: Campfire Float: apple brandy | smoked porter | ginger | cinnamon | charred marshmallow | vanilla ice cream

Yes yes yes! I was blown away by how much I enjoyed the Campfire Float! I am not much for dark beer, but with all of the added spices and the sweetness of the melted ice cream and marshmallow garnish, I could not put this down. The sweet potato poundcake was also a real winner. Thick and sweet with a great bourbon syrup on top. I could have done without the "hay" aspect.

Our dinner was presented at the eclectic Red Haus on the eastern cusp of the Marigny neighborhood. Overall I think that mom and I had a good time trying new things and mingling with our table mates. 

Six Feet Under

My binge watching skills are becoming pretty stellar if I do say so myself! Six Feet Under is available on Amazon Prime and the newly released HBO Now. Within a few weeks time I made it through all five seasons, all 61 episodes, all dozens and dozens of deaths (I don't know the exact number and a quick search of the world wide web has left me without a definitive answer). Watching the Fisher family and friends cope with death after death, funeral after funeral, drama after drama, left me feeling thankful for the places I find myself in life. The main characters' "normal" was surrounded by mortality and yet they continued to get hung up on small hiccups life threw their way, just like the rest of us. I found the show oddly comforting in normalcy. 

Sucre: 622 Conti

FINALLY! After years and years of planning followed by months and months of false opening dates, the newest Sucre location is open for business! (Located in the French Quarter between Royal and Chartres on Conti across the street from the Louisiana Supreme Court building.) Still waiting to open is Salon by Sucre, the restaurant that will be on the floor above the boutique.

On Friday the Fulfillment Department took a field trip down to admire the new space!

Black & gold sign hanging outside: Fancy. | One of the elegant window displays

The color/texture scheme is unlike the other two Sucre locations. The walls are a soft pink, the counter tops dark, the floor a marble chevron print. The overall layout is slightly different as well, with a larger focus on coffee and tea beverages. 

Flanking the walls on either side as you walk in the shop are large cabinets for displaying product and, in the future, other merchandise.

The case was filled with colorful petit entremets and entremets ready for all of the hungry tourist!

Along with a new store front, the company also recently acquired a new van, complete with branding and everything! Parked in front of 622 Conti, Ed is ready to roll in his smooth new ride!

Check out all of the latest news by following Sucre and Salon by Sucre on social media:

Instagram/Facebook/Twitter/SnapChat/Pinterest: sucreneworleans | salonbysucre 

Update

General update time. 

I have been making progress on my 1000 piece pencil puzzle. It is calming to sit down and focus on slowly putting the picture together. I usually listen to a podcast or have a show on that I have already seen while I work. As I get closer to completing the challenge I have been thinking about what one does with a puzzle once it is assembled? Do people re-work them later on? Or is the fun gone? Are puzzles a one-time-only form of entertainment? 

While surfing Pinterest I found a recipe for "Key Lime Pie Muddy Buddies" (some people call it "puppy chow"). It consisted of Chex, Golden Grahams, white chocolate, powdered sugar and lime jell-o. I made a big ol' batch and took it to work. I thought it was so-so…nothing that I need to make again.

"Clean inside of car" has been on my To Do list for MONTHS! I finally got around to making a valiant effort last weekend. Armed with spray cleaner, q-tips, paper towels and Windex, I attacked every nook and cranny I could get to! It feels good to have a decently clean vehicle finally! In my auto-improvement mode I also purchased windshield wiper blades (just need to install them) and ordered new floor mats. Now to drop off the boxes and bags of Goodwill donations that are taking up the back trunk space.  

Freshly painted toe nails that desperately needed some TLC since flip flop weather is here!