I love four day weekends but it was rough getting going this morning. Now that I’ve had my coffee, let’s jump right in with the Luau on the Lake giveaway winner!

After removing one duplicate entry and placing the rest in Random.org, congratulations to entry #44, Holly, for winning 2 VIP tickets to Luau on the Lake! Please reply to my email by the end of Tuesday to confirm you can still attend.

If you didn’t win and don’t yet have your tickets for this Saturday’s Luau, what are you waiting for? Today’s the last day to get your tickets at the discounted price of $50 for general admission and $60 for Big Kahuna VIP.  On July 8, general admission goes up to $60 and VIP will no longer be available.

You can get your tickets here.

Scott and I enjoyed our own feast and beach-side adventures this weekend when my sister-in-law Laura and her husband Max flew into town so we could celebrate the Fourth of July and Scott’s grandmother’s 90th birthday.

Now, Max – besides being a great husband to Laura and brother-in-law to Scott and I – is a fantastic cook. And one of his many culinary loves and talents is roasting pigs.

So on Thursday afternoon, we all paid a visit to West Side Market (after a wonderful lunch at Town Hall) to pick up the suckling pig that Max had pre-ordered from Sebastian’s Meats.

Clockwise from left: Scott gets his hands dirty; Benepig Arnold is prepped on the grill; taking precautions so the pig doesn’t escape

The hard work that Max, Scott, and Scott’s dad put into prepping and roasting the pig over the next day and a half was worth it.

Left to right: Max with a drawn and quartered Benepig Arnold; Murphy is just waiting for Max to slip up and drop a piece of meat

Every part of that little guy was delicious, but I have to admit – the pig tongue was the tastiest part.

Caprese salad (plated in the shape of a pig), potato salad with pickles, gluten-free cornbread, and Laura’s ice-box cake were a refreshing complement to the pig’s richness.

Caprese Pig (Scott’s plating magic)

We followed all of that food up with a long bike ride around Avon Lake and then a trip to the beach for one of the most stunning sunsets I’ve seen on Lake Erie.

Red, white and beautiful – Lake Erie

It was such an incredible day that when we were sitting around the firepit later that night, the flames even gave it a thumbs up:

Scott getting a thumbs up from the fire

Hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July, too!

Disclosure: I was invited to host a giveaway for Luau on the Lake. Opinions are always my own.