July Edition
Time to celebrate!
Inspirational Quote of the Month
“If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace.”
July is the month where we as Americans celebrate our independence! Summer has truly begun now and let us honor these United States with fireworks, family picnics, iffy potato salad, gratitude, and lots and lots of sunshine.
Here’s what SWELL is up to this month:
This month’s edition of SWELL Living has:
SWELL’s restaurant of the month
How to celebrate with fireworks safely
Quarterly Market Report
Interest rates from Daniel Pedroni
Exciting Wilmington Events!
Butterflies & ladybugs need homes, too!
Delicious cocktails recipes
A Fun Fact: Don’t bug out…
Downtown Riverwalk Fireworks
July 4th celebrations in Wilmington never disappoint!
The skies will light up after 9pm this July 4th along the downtown Wilmington Riverwalk.
Watch in amazement as bursts of light skip across the Cape Fear River bathing the Battleship in a multitude of colors. It’s truly a sight to behold!
Summer Wine Tasting at Soif de Vin
“Wine is sunlight held together by water”
Wilmington, NC’s best retail wine shop and wine bar now has a full kitchen and menu!
Soif de Vin invites you to join them as they serve up four delicious summer wines and pair them with equally delicious foods!
Get ready to taste some off-the-beaten-path wines, including a delicious Verdelho from Calistoga, a Picpoul from the Sierra Foothills, a Carbonic Carignan, and a Carbonic Grenache from Mendocino.
Price: $75
Old Crow Medicine Show
Greenfield Lake is proud to present OCMS this July 25.
Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their bluesy, old-time, folk, alternative country style will surely get your toes tapping.
Do you love butterflies?
Want to find out how to get more in your yard and garden?
Well, here are the best plants to attract butterflies and the houses you can build/buy to increase the butterfly population near you!
Butterflies
Butterflies are a diverse group of insects boasting around 20,000 different species. North America is home to more than 700 of these species.
Butterflies play an extremely important role in plant pollination. Like bees, pollen collects on the butterfly’s body as it is feeding on a flower’s nectar. As the butterfly moves on to a new flower, it carries the pollen with it.
Butterfly Favorites
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)
Blanket flower is a "plant and ignore" flower. It is drought-tolerant and can thrive in poor soil conditions. Once established, it will bloom right until the first frost!
Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata)
Coreopsis is one of the easiest perennials to grow, and with minimal effort, they will give you a show of summer flowers.
Once you’ve got their favorite beautiful foods going, it’s time to get your very own butterfly house!
Check out this list of ALL the plants that butterflies love!
Butterfly Houses
Encourage beautiful butterflies in your garden by providing them a safe shelter from the elements and their natural predators, like birds.
Whether you decide to follow these instructions on how to build your own, or buy one like this, the butterflies will love you and your garden forever!
Tip: Adding a water feature or a birdbath nearby will also help the flutter-bies stay hydrated!
Be sure to place their new home high on a pole or in a tree!
Butterfly Pea Flower
OR
The Clitoria Ternatea plant has the brightest indigo blue flowers that you’ve ever seen!
It also happens to make a tea that is equally indigo, beautiful, and healthy. However, something really cool happens when you add citrus juice, like lemon or lime, to this drink…
It turns bright pink!
While this tea may not taste like much, it has a whole host of health benefits that your body will love.
Butterfly Pea Flower Simple Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 TBSP Dried Butterfly Pea flower
Bring water to boil on the stovetop. Add pea flower and let steep overnight. Strain, bring back to boil, and stir in sugar. Let cool and store in the fridge up to 2 weeks!
Now for the really fun part!
You can use this syrup in teas, lemonades, and cocktails. Here are a few of SWELL’s favorite ways to enjoy Butterfly Pea Flower Simple!
Butter-fly Me to the Moon
1.5 oz. your favorite gin
0.5 oz St. Germain
0.25 oz lemon juice
0.45 oz Butterfly Simple
Add all ingredients to the shaker, add ice, and shake it!
Strain into a martini glass, add a cherry, and enjoy!
2. Monarch Mash-up
Garnish with a cucumber or mint sprig!
1.5 oz your favorite vodka
5 slices cucumber
0.75 oz butterfly simple
0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
Soda water
Muddle cucumber, lemon juice, and vodka in a shaker. Add ice, shake, and strain into rocks glass.
Add ice, a splash of soda on top, THEN add the butterfly simple syrup on top and watch the color change to bright pink as the syrup floats to the bottom through the citrus juice!
Combine all ingredients, and enjoy!
3. Jitter Bug
3 oz your favorite champagne!
0.25 oz lemon juice
0.75 oz butterfly simple
Now it’s time to sip and enjoy!
Did you know that butterflies can see ultraviolet light?
Some butterflies have ultraviolet pigments in their wings which are invisible to the human eye!
While they cannot close their eyes (because they don’t have eyelids!) butterflies see the world in a totally different way than humans do. Their eyes have multiple lenses and can see all around, but they are not able to perceive fine details.
Butterflies are awesome! Build or buy them a home to invite them into your garden and life. Become mesmerized as they float past you, sharing in your plants and flowers. You’ll be glad you did and they will be too.
Check out more fun facts about butterflies!
Café Chinois
Ever wonder what would happen if fine French cuisine combined the bold flavors of Asia?
No need for turmoil and struggle to bring the flavors of French Indochina, because the owners of Wilmington’s own Indochine have brought these flavors together beautifully in their newest enterprise: Café Chinois!
The food is clean, spicy if you want it to be, and delicious!
There are 50 or so appetizers, entrees, soups, and salads, all reasonably priced under $21.
The service was fantastic and the decor is tastefully colorful enough to transport you to another world…
Wilmington's newest Asian-Fusion restaurant featuring Thai food, Vietnamese-French, Korean, and Chinese.
Head over to Fulton Station…you won’t be disappointed!
Pro tip: MUST haves includes Thai Tea, Mootad Pork, and Crab Fried Rice!!
Check out this amazing new restaurant. Click the link below for more information about:
Café Chinois
Fireworks are so pretty!
They’re also kind of glorified bombs and the discovery of fireworks genuinely led to the discovery of gunpowder….
As such, they should be treated with care and respect!
Here’s how:
Choose the right location!
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), fireworks started an estimated 19,500 fires in 2018. In 2020, around 100 fires were started with fireworks in just a few days in California, not to mention the damage a gender reveal party caused…
Appropriate Weather Conditions
If it’s too windy, it’s too dangerous! Wilmington has seen a lot of rain lately, but that all comes in between some pretty epic droughts. When vegetation is extremely dry, then it is also more likely to catch fire.
Have a Plan B
If you plan on launching a whole host of fireworks, then consider having a fire extinguisher or a bucket of sand/water handy.
Don’t hang around once you’ve lit the fuse!
One of the more grizzly incidents happened in 2015 when a man died after using his head as a firework launch pad. Other accidental injuries involve burns, lacerations, and loss of limbs…not a great way to celebrate.
Have a DFS…designated fire starter
If you’ve been drinking, that’s great! It also means that you probably shouldn’t be the one to light the fireworks. Have a responsible, sober adult to handle the pyrotechnics for your celebrations.
Don’t let a trip to the hospital ruin your Independence Day!
Meet John
SWELL home & living helped John buy his first home in 2017 and we are so excited to now help him find his first investment property!
John lives near Greenfield Lake where he runs, listens to wildlife, and generally enjoys nature from his front porch. For his first investment property, he is searching for something close to home.
John is looking for an established home that needs little to no TLC. A lovely 2+ bedroom home that he can rent out to folks who want to see Wilmington at its finest.
SWELL is working hard to find him the perfect place to invest in.
If you know of a home that might be a good fit for him, please let us know.
Real estate markets are the Wild Wild West right now.
Check out the latest SWELL Market Report for Q2 2021 to find out why it’s important to you.
Interest Rates are still at historic lows!
Thanks to Daniel Pedroni from North State Bank for sharing his interest rate information with us.
Conventional 30 Year Fixed, 20% Down Payment:
Rate: 3.000%, APR: 3.080%
Conventional 15 Year Fixed, 20% Down Payment:
Rate: 2.500%, APR: 2.576%
FHA 30 Year Fixed, 3.5% Down Payment:
Rate: 2.500%, APR: 3.080%
VA 30 Year Fixed, $0 Down Payment:
Rate: 2.625%, APR: 2.832%
We love working with Daniel!
He’s a hardworking lender who will do what it takes to get you the home you deserve.
Contact Daniel today to see how he can work for you, click the button below for more information.
Every lender has their own rates for the loan types above, if offered. This is meant to show generally where interest rates are currently. Talk to Daniel Pedroni or your preferred lender to see what rates you can qualify for. All Rate Quotes assume top tier credit, 30 Rate Lock, Single Family Dwelling, Rates effective 6/28/2021:
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