Blue Bin Basics

Approximately 70% of the material dumped in landfills could be recycled or composted. We throw away a lot of things that could have another useful life, but aside from that lost potential, why is recycling so important, not only to environmentalists but also to local governments?   Recycling conserves resources and prevents pollution. It also…

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Blue Waves & Blue Bins

Wrightsville Beach native Miller Diggs grew up enjoying the waves and sand of the island. While the water and beach have remained beautiful, Diggs noticed the amount of plastic and trash increasing in his hometown, and he wanted to do something about it. New Hanover County operates a recycling collection center at the Wrightsville Beach…

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Thank You For Smoking

With so much time at home, the pandemic has turned many dubious, novice home cooks into battle-hardened chefs and some even into experts in particular cooking disciplines. From baking bread to sous vide prime rib, one positive outcome of the lockdowns is the resurgence of home cookery.  That extends from the kitchen to the garden.…

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Learn from the Stars of Design

Thom Filicia, a reality TV personality and interior design icon whose clients include celebrities Jennifer Lopez and Tina Fey as well as W Hotels and Delta Air Lines, headlines a star-studded lineup for this year’s Design NC event benefiting the Cameron Art Museum. Modernism to Maximalism: Form and Function Re-imagined will be a two-day virtual…

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Waterworld

Our earliest painting memories often involve watercolor, with sets containing blue, red, yellow, every color of the rainbow, plus a few sheets of paper and various brushes. It was a creative entrance for any young mind. Be it messily mixing the colors with water, or the delight of letting paint stream down and burst on…

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In Memory of the Girls in Dresses

For over 20 years Wrightsville Beach Magazine has featured Azalea week events and photos of girls in period dresses in its April issue. This feature and others were created for publication last April but was held when the 2020 Azalea Festival was canceled with the intention to publish it in 2021. No one could have…

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It Takes Two

When we hear the phrase “island hopping,” we tend to think there must be some sort of boat involved. Perhaps a cruise ship or locally, we might imagine cruising from island to island in a simple watercraft like a jon boat or a Carolina Skiff. But in this case, there is no boat. There are…

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Up Front

There’s been much discussion this past year about dresses.  Seven years ago, a trip to Hillsborough for a grouping of magazine features (search our archives for “Under the Hillsborough Sun,” May 2014) started me reading about the dressmaker of first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of one of my three favorite presidents. Just west…

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Contest winners: Finding the Light

Presenting the winners of the third annual Wrightsville Beach Magazine photography contest — including some amazing images taken after the sun went down. We asked for the best shots from area photographers and boy did you deliver! Our third annual photo contest drew nearly twice as many entries as last year’s, making it even more…

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The Pinnacle of River Place

At first glance, it may be hard to tell if this is a custom-designed art gallery overlooking the Cape Fear River, a showcase for an interior designer and local architect, or a chic urban penthouse filled with modern finishes and fixtures. The simple answer is all three, but in a residence that blurs the line…

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