The claim sounds cliché -- nature‘s rustlings often inspire -- but the trees’ message guided Walter to her creative home and the determined pursuit of her passions.

     Walter fashions pine needles into baskets. Some are large, others quite small. The various shapes incorporate coastal North Carolina’s natural bits -- spiked sweet gum balls, petite conchs, river cane rings, black walnut shells and, of course, pinecones. No matter the form or pattern, each basket showcases pine needles in all their glory. Read more...

Market stocks old-timey goodness
StarNews, Wilmington, N.C

     A certain sweetness saturates Eagle Island Fruit and Seafood. First-time shoppers might blame it on the candy. Goodies old and new crowd cash registers and surrounding shelves. Licorice and big, rainbow lollipops, Nerds and Neccos, Mary Janes, jawbreakers, sour gummies, jelly beans, taffy and Twizzlers galore.

     The treats make many people smile but none more so than Norris Flowers, the happy, humble center of this old-fashioned country market. Read more...


Tips for flaky, golden pastry
StarNews, Wilmington, N.C

     Fall bestows many rewards but the sweetest of them all is pie - assuming we don't mess it up.

     What is it about the simple work of making pie that causes so much fear? Whether we're pressing graham crackers into a tin for cream pie or rolling easy butter-flour-water dough into classic apple pie, terror veils our efforts. So much can and often does go wrong. Read more...

Review: Joey O's Pizzeria
StarNews, Wilmington, N.C

     Any of the three men pacing the Joey O's Pizzeria kitchen at dinnertime fits the restaurant's New York neighborhood-joe moniker.

     A stocky runner wears his ball cap backwards, the wiry pizza maker is in a yellow Steelers T-shirt, and another fellow has Brooklyn blazoned across his no-nonsense, sleeveless T-shirt, a style emphasizing his sturdy, tattooed arms.

     They look like the kinds of quick-witted, tough guys you want banging out your pizza, pounding your veal cutlets and using their big hands to grab copious clumps of ground beef for meatballs. Read more...