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Poppin’ Bottles

April 22, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

So yesterday I attended the Great Grapes Wine Festival in Cary. It was interesting… not what I expected. I learned a few things yesterday…

I don’t celebrate North Carolina wine. Nothing against it, but a majority of the wines I sampled were incredibly sweet. After about 30 minutes into the event I had enough samples because the wine was so sweet. In fact it gave me a headache. I’m not a fan of super sweet wines, I prefer a nice glass with dinner. I don’t think I’d be able to pair any of the wines I sampled with a meal.
Putting kids on leashes just isn’t for the fair, but it’s also for wine festivals. I saw a kid being monitored by their parents at the beginning, but as the wine festival progressed I noticed the kid was then put on a leash. Maybe next time the parents should find a babysitter. I should also mention that the people watching is incredible.
No big deal, just a kid on a leash.

The best part of the wine festival was the peach bellini wine slushy

I’m not sure if I’ll go back for next year’s wine festival.. I might try to hit up the Cuegrass Festival in downtown Raleigh.

Around Town

Did Somebody Say Wine?

April 17, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

This Saturday I’m going to the Great Grapes Wine Festival in Cary. There are 3 reasons why I’m amped about this event…

Wine. Duh! I love wine! Well…. not all wine, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. My goal is to find a red wine that I can tolerate and not cringe when I take a sip. In case you didn’t catch on, I don’t celebrate red wine. I’m really hoping I can find that one red wine that will sweep me off my feet! I guess you could say my beef with red wine is the fact that it tastes like vinegar to me. If I ever go on The Bachelor, I’d have to accept the red wine when it’s given to me otherwise you’ll see the cringed look on my face. If anyone has a favorite red wine that doesn’t have a vinegar taste to it I’m all ears!
Food. While I’m sure there will be a variety of food vendors I’m also interested in learning about food pairings with wine. Usually when I’ve entertained in the past with wine I’m all like, “here’s some hummus and pita chips, knock yourselves out” or “I hope you like Combos because that’s all I have.” I’m at that age now where I need to be a tad more elegant when it comes to serving light appetizers with wine. I figured I could say something along the lines of, “oh this luxurious cheese was imported from Finland… nothing but the best for my guests!” We’ll see what kind of handy information/ wine words I pick up on Saturday.
Crafts. I’m no Martha Stewart when it comes to crafts, but I love to see what other folks are doing. I also like to support the locals whether they are selling art, jewelry, etc. I’m sure once the wine starts flowing the cash out of my wallet will start to disappear.

If y’all live near the Raleigh-Durham area, you should check this event out & get your tickets to go!

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I was hoping I’d never have to see another terrorist attack unfold like on 9/11. Unfortunately I was wrong. I was attending the Digital Marketing for Business conference here in Raleigh when my co-worker showed me a “tweet” about an explosion at the Boston Marathon. My heart sank into my stomach and it was impossible for me to focus on the seminar. Running through my mind were the family + friends up in Boston, some of which were running in the marathon and others that lived there. Thankfully everyone I knew was safe, but not everyone was lucky. Three families lost loved ones yesterday… an 8 year old boy, a 29 year old woman, and a grad student at Boston University lost their lives. Several others lost their limbs. A senseless act.

One thing that always prevails is the human spirit. Seeing the runners + spectators run to the aid of those injured was remarkable. Watching the news and hearing the stories first hand from witnesses seems surreal. Hearing a mother try to put into words her grief for losing her daughter was heartbreaking.

My thoughts + prayers are with Boston, you’re resilient and you’ll overcome this horrific tragedy.

xoxo

My Bucket List of Bands

My Mini Bonaroo

April 15, 2013May 8, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

I’ve never been to Bonaroo or Coachella because I don’t think I could handle the insane crowds. I’m lucky if I can hang out at the NC State Fair for an hour without the crowd driving me nuts. In case y’all didn’t know I don’t celebrate massive crowds.

I’ve discovered a happy medium… go to three concerts in one week! Sounds reasonable, right?! On the upside I’ll be able to go home, sleep in my own bed, and take a shower in the comfort of my own home vs. camping out for multiple days in a row and probably get zero sleep. The only downside I can think of is having a terrible time getting out of bed the following day to go to work. I think I can do it! (Just as long is I live off of coffee and water).

For those of you curious as to what shows I’m going to…

6/10- The National at Red Hat Amphitheater. I bought seats for most of my concerts because frankly, I’m too old to be hanging out on the lawn.
6/11- Passion Pit at Koka Booth Amphitheater. Remember in the above statement when I said I was too old for lawn seats? Yeah, well I bought lawn seats for this show. Koka Booth is a small venue, so I think I should be able to see the actual performance (fingers crossed).
6/13- The Lumineers at Koka Booth Amphitheater. Ok, so I had jazz hands when I was purchasing pre-sale tickets and I meant to purchase lawn seats (again, Koka Booth is a small venue.. blah, blah, blah), but it turns out I bought pit tickets. Fail! I guess the upside is I can be super close to the band that’s if I don’t get trampled.

Needless to say I’ll have different views at each concert… lawn, seats and the pit. I wonder if I can score backstage passes to see the JoBros when they come to town…

xoxo

Around Town

Durham Bulls First Pitch Luncheon

April 11, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

Y’all, I had the opportunity to attend the Durham Bulls First Pitch Luncheon on Monday. Our sales rep from Theo Davis Printing graciously extended an invitation for “team marketing” to attend this awesome event.

Held in Bay 7 at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, the luncheon was hosted by Theo Davis Printing to mark the Durham Bulls opening night at the stadium. Even though there weren’t any baseball players sitting at our table, there were plenty scattered around us.

After an introduction of the 2013 players (I know nothing about baseball stats, as much as I tried to pay attention to their stats it went in one ear and out the other), there was a Q+A panel which consisted of 2 baseball players, the manager, the hitting coach, and pitching coach. Of course when it was the audience’s turn for asking the players questions, my coworker + rep wanted me to ask the players if they were single (don’t worry, I didn’t ask).

It was a really great event + I feel extremely lucky to have been invited. We didn’t walk away empty handed… I scored a Durham Bulls baseball hat (I’ll probably give that to my dad since baseball hats don’t flatter me), a magnet of the baseball schedule, + a massive cup that will require 2 hands for me to hold on to.

Now I’m officially ready for baseball season! Play ball! xoxo

Around Town

First Friday: April Edition

April 10, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

Finally! We had Spring weather for First Friday!

To kick off First Friday, we had the most delicious meal at Gravy in downtown Raleigh. This time I tried the spaghetti + meatballs (I’ve heard rave reviews about their famous meatballs, so I decided to give it a try). It was ah-mah-zing! The portion wasn’t overwhelming, yet I had enough leftovers to make another meal out of it.

Major noms!

It’s not a true First Friday event until we stop + visit the vendors outside The Raleigh Times. I’ve been wanting a North Carolina shirt from House of Swank Clothing, so what better time to buy one?! (Side note: I should really pay attention next time because I thought I bought a SMALL shirt, but instead I bought an XL!! Maybe it was the wine I had at dinner that impaired my ability to read tags on shirts, I don’t really know). So besides purchasing the wrong size shirt, I also bought an adorable Durham onesie in pink for one of my friends who is about to have a baby. I can’t wait to give it to her!

While perusing the various vendors, my eyes locked on to an oh-so-fabulous shirt. A squirrel shirt of Sir Walter Raleigh (y’all know I have a love for squirrels). Immediately I thought, I have to get this shirt. It was a whopping $25. I wasn’t up for negotiating with the vendor on the price, so I stepped away from that epic shirt. Looking back, I wish I would have bought it… but I’m confident I’ll see it again *fingers crossed*.

Until next month’s First Friday…

xoxo

Around Town

Polos + Pearls

April 7, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

The other night I attended the Modern Society’s annual event, Polos + Pearls event at
Solas to raise money for MS (Multiple Sclerosis). Despite the cold + rainy weather, I had an absolute ball!

Before I get into the highlights, I must say they had some amazing raffle prizes. Most of my tickets went towards a Tyler’s Taproom gift card + a gift card to Humble Pie. I also put a few tickets in to win $250 worth of Bobbi Brown cosmetics. Unfortunately I didn’t win, but all the money I spent on tickets went to a worthy cause.

Ok, to the highlights!

Miss Raleigh attended the event and she was super friendly. My friend Brad bet me $10 that I couldn’t get Miss Raleigh to let me wear her sash. It was a little after 8pm and he gave me until 10pm to get the sash… I had the sash on within 20 minutes. I took Brad’s money and donated it by purchasing raffle tickets for the prizes. Everybody won, including me… I was Miss Raleigh for about a hot minute!

DJ Q (who did a fabulous job) played a variety of tunes including “The Wobble” (Miss Raleigh taught me how to wobble), old school hip hop and my special request… “Problems” (confession, that’s my favorite hip-hop song of the moment). DJ Q was even gracious enough to allow me to DJ for a hot second and when I say “allow me to DJ” I mean he let me pretend I was making beats.

All I need now is a good DJ name… any suggestions?

The Modern Society put on a wonderful event + I was so glad I was able to attend to support an important cause, Multiple Sclerosis.

xoxo

Uncategorized

Trimming the Edges

April 4, 2013January 4, 2019 alittlebitsquirrely

Looks like the quilt I’m having worked on for my mom is coming along!

Megan has been doing an outstanding job preserving my grandmother’s squares for the quilt she is putting together. Not much has to be done with the squares itself, except for tidying up the edges. Out of all the quilts my grandmother has made, this one will have a white rectangle in each square with a different pattern outlining each rectangle. Most of her other squares usually contain 4-5 different patterns, so this one will be very unique (not to mention the patterns are vintage, which I LOVE). I wouldn’t be surprised if I try to take it from my mom after I give it to her!

Around Town

I Can’t Get Enough

March 31, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

Of Moon + Lola. While I know I could live in the Anthropologie store and I’m pretty sure my second home would be Moon + Lola. I took my mom to Moon + Lola yesterday so she could get a longer chain for a necklace I had given her for Christmas. I even told myself I wouldn’t buy anything. Yeah, that didn’t happen. As soon as I stepped in the store I knew I wouldn’t leave empty handed. The first item that caught my eye was a contemporary squirrel.

squirrel_1 — How fabulous is this modern, ceramic squirrel from Moon + Lola?! Of course I took it home!

On my wish list from Moon + Lola was an acrylic North Carolina necklace and I figured, why put off the inevitable? I ordered a hot pink North Carolina necklace with the heart cut out over Raleigh. Not a North Carolinian? No worries, they can make a necklace with any state (with a variety of colors to choose from) and cut the heart out of where your city is.

While in the store I managed to make a mental note of a few more items to add to my wish list! One of which is the Preston bracelet and in the picture below, a gorgeous stretch ring.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I go back to Moon + Lola for First Friday to pick up the ring I have my eyes on.

xoxo

Uncategorized

Pieces From the Past

March 28, 2013January 4, 2019 alittlebitsquirrely

So I was going through my old closet at my parent’s house and discovered a random bag of fabric. Upon further investigating, I found several quilt squares my grandmother had made. Immediately I knew I had to find someone to finish her quilt, if I didn’t then all the squares she had made would continue to just sit in the bag. If I knew anything about sewing I would attempt to do it myself, but knowing me I’d sew my arm to the table with the sewing machine. I should look into a sewing class.

Note to self: learn to sew and quilt.

I don’t know about y’all, but it was hard finding a local quilter that met within my budget. Thankfully one of my good friends has a sorority sister who does quilting and after looking at her work I knew she’d be perfect for the job!

photo(2) — Quilt squares my grandmother made + now I’m planning to surprise my mom with a complete quilt!

I love how vintage the fabric is and I want to say my grandmother started working on making the squares in the late 80’s or 90’s. This is one project I’m super excited about and Megan (the quilter) will be sending me pictures along the way which I’ll post. If y’all are looking for someone local in the Raleigh area to make a quilt using existing squares or even a custom quilt you need to contact Megan at A Crafty Handful.