Around Town

Retail Therapy Recap

alittlebitsquirrely

Ok y’all, I went to Retail Therapy hosted by The Women’s Club of Raleigh this past Saturday. I enjoyed strolling through the event sampling rum cake, pimento cheese and checking out all the retailers. I was waaaaay excited to stop at the Moon & Lola booth since I’m a HUGE fan of their jewelry.  Of course I didn’t leave empty handed!  I scored a gorgeous Lexington necklace that was 50% off (see below) and ordered some monogrammed earrings.

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The coral Lexington necklace I bought at the Moon & Lola booth at Retail Therapy. Their jewelry has been featured in People Style Watch!
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An assortment of amazing Moon & Lola jewelry on display at Retail Therapy. My next purchase will be an acrylic North Carolina necklace. Actually, I’ll take one of everything please!

Maybe once I get a better grasp on blogging I’ll do a giveaway… probably something from Moon & Lola so I can keep it local! 😉

Around Town

Retail Therapy

alittlebitsquirrely

This weekend the Woman’s Club of Raleigh is hosting Retail Therapy, it’s a collection of unique boutiques all in one area! There will be scores of vendors including a few of my favorites- Moon & Lola and Queen Bee Designs.  Not to mention there will be a nice selection of food trucks if you get hungry! Tickets are $7 at the door and they’re good for both Saturday & Sunday. It’s a great way to shop local and support area businesses while having fun!

xoxo

Travels

Cliff Notes of Jacksonville

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As soon as I landed in Jacksonville I was a happy gal for the following reasons…

  • I successfully flew somewhere by myself (woot, woot)
  • I made it to my destination in one piece
  • Helloooooooooo mini vacation!!

We were both pretty hungry so our first stop was lunch… she gave me the option of going to a chain restaurant or somewhere local.  Of course I chose somewhere local, duh!  We had lunch at a the Metro Diner (fun little tidbit… it was featured on the Food Network’s show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives).  Major noms!

Rather than bore y’all with our day to day activities, I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version of how I spent my “mini vacation.”

  • Anthropologie. I’m obsessed with Anthropologie.  If I could I would live there.  I think we spent close to an hour admiring all the clothes and home accessories. I left the store with a coffee mug and a squirrel candle (I have a slight obsession with squirrels, but that story is for another day).
  • Wine. When you’re on vacation you want to kick back, right? Y’all need to try Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler Riesling, it was ah-mah-zing.
  • Outdoor seating at Biscotti’s.  This was my favorite restaurant in Jacksonville. The peach bellini’s were delicious, the apple dill chicken salad wrap was unbelievably good and the triple chocolate cake knocked our socks off.  Not to mention they were featured in Southern Living and you can’t second guess Southern Living, right?!
  • Antiquing. Yes, you read correctly.  My friend and I both love finding vintage finds or finding items to bring new life to.  We ventured to Sugar Bears, the Antique Market and the Southern Crossing Antique Mall.
squirrels
I picked up these gems at one of the antique stores and spray painted them bright blue. Watch out West Elm!
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Triple chocolate cake at Biscotti’s.
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Had to try the peach bellini at Biscottis, it was ah-mah-zing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gorgeous live oaks with Spanish moss…. I’m pretty sure I fell in love.

All in all I had a fabulous time.  I could have slapped myself since it took me over 2 years to get down there and visit one of my best friends.  I’m already looking forward to my next trip to Jacksonville whenever that may be…

Travels

There’s Something Wrong With the Left Phalange

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I realized I never blogged about my travels from Charlotte to Jacksonville. It was VERY interesting. While waiting in the airport, my friend called to say she might not make her flight due to horrible traffic in West Palm.  Luckily before I boarded my plane she made it to the airport just in time.

So as I was sitting on the plane and we were leaving the gate, our pilot announces a mechanical issue so back to the gate we go! It is then announced that the repairs could take 15 to 45 minutes.  All I kept thinking was “there’s something wrong with the left phalange” from the very last episode of Friends when Phoebe tries to stall Rachel.

I’m not going to lie, when he announced mechanical issues I started to get jazz hands. Here I am on a sold out flight and I was about to spazz out.

30 minutes goes by and we have another announcement… we’re switching planes.

6 minutes later the pilot announces we’re staying on the plane… just kidding y’all, you can put your luggage back in the overhead bins and sit down!

Meanwhile I was trying to pass time by playing Words with Friends, texting friends, reading my new favorite book (Let’s Pretend This Never Happened) and taking pictures of miscellaneous things just to keep my jazz hands down to a minimum.

Finally at 11:15 we finally took off (over an hour later).  Turns out my friend’s flight was also delayed and we both got to Jacksonville about the same time!

I was soooo glad to finally get there so I could start my long weekend catching up with one of my best friends!

Travels

CLT to JAX

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Ok y’all, I made it to Charlotte in one piece. Not too bad for my first flight by myself! I thought I was going to have to apologize to the person sitting next to me in case I spazzed out, but that wasn’t the case… I had the whole row to myself! Had I needed to grab onto someone’s arm, I would have been SOL!

Now I wait for my connecting flight to Jacksonville, FL!  I wonder if someone will be sitting beside me or if I’ll be hanging out by myself again… only time will tell.

Stay tuned!

Around Town

Iceberg Ahead!

alittlebitsquirrely

A few weeks ago I went to see the Titanic exhibit at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences with some of my gal pals.  It was a rainy/ dreary day so of course it was a great day to go to the museum!  Turns out, everyone had the same idea to go to the museum as we did.

Before we entered the exhibit we were given a boarding pass (which had the bio of an actual passenger on the Titanic)… here’s what my pass looked like:

pass

It was truly an amazing exhibit filled with unusual artifacts and stories of passengers that were aboard the Titanic.  I highly recommend seeing this exhibit before it leaves Raleigh… you have until April 28th to get your tail to the museum and get some culture!

P.S. In case you were wondering, I survived!

Travels

Ready to Jet Set

alittlebitsquirrely

I’m pretty pumped to be jetting down to sunny Florida this Friday to see my old roommate. It’s been long overdue. Not to mention this is the first time flying by myself. Yeah I know, what 31-year old hasn’t flown by themselves?! To be honest, I get jazz hands and major anxiety when flying, so I’m going to go ahead and apologize in advance to the person who has to sit next to me on the airplane.  Maybe I should start researching techniques to avoid anxiety attacks or find a horse tranquilizer…

Did I also mention that I’m 5ft tall and I’ll be the one struggling with my suitcase in the overhead bin?  I can already see it now… angry passengers wanting to know what’s taking so long to board the plane, meanwhile I’m trying to lift my suitcase and can barely get it over my head.  I may just pay for the baggage check since I can already feel the anxiety coming on of having to deal with a suitcase.

I just need to get out of town for a long weekend to clear my head and to have fun.  I already told my friend that all I want to do is drink wine, relax, do a little shopping, and maybe check out some of the flea markets in Florida. We also might go out on their boat if the weather is nice, let’s just hope I don’t lose my hat.  Last time I was on a boat my hat went bye-bye!

Right now I’m trying to figure out what kind of gift to bring them for letting me stay at their house/ a long overdue house warming present. I thought about bringing them some North Carolina swag since they used to live here.  I only have until Thursday to figure it out!

Stay tuned for these nail biting questions once I arrive in Florida…

  • Will I spazz out on the airplane or break out my jazz hands?
  • Do I knock myself out trying to lift my suitcase into the overhead bin?
  • Can I even reach the overhead bin?
  • Will I run like Phoebe or Rachel from Friends trying to make my connecting flight?

So many questions!!! Wish me luck on Friday!!

xoxo

 

Around Town

A Modern Day St. Elmo’s Bar

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I’m not going to lie most of my favorite movies were made in the 80’s…

You catch my drift.

So once Coglin’s opened in downtown Raleigh I knew I would be in heaven. Who doesn’t love 80’s/ 90’s music? Not to mention the walls are adorned with pictures from popular movies and TV shows.  It’s a nice change of pace if you’re tired of hearing all the current music being played at area bars. They play everything from Billy Idol to Whitney Houston to Guns N’ Roses and the list goes on.  I just wish the venue was a bit bigger. If you don’t want to have to wait in a long line to get into the bar I suggest you arrive before 10pm.

Since there’s no “Hot Tub Time Machine” to take you back into the 80’s, Coglin’s is the next best thing.

Around Town

First Friday: March Edition

alittlebitsquirrely

I LOVE First Friday. If you’ve never ventured out in downtown Raleigh to attend First Friday, you’re missing out. Every first Friday of the month, downtown Raleigh showcases art, jewelry, apparel and anything else you can think of.

This past Friday was epic.

My friends and I ventured to Chuck’s for dinner (it was my first time there and it was amaze-balls).  That was the first burger I’ve completely demolished. Seriously. The menu may look a little intimidating, but don’t worry they can make a burger however you’d like. I have a feeling I’ll be back there soon.

There were vendors lined up right outside of The Raleigh Times selling shirts, jewelry, koozies, art prints, and the list goes on. My best purchase of the week came from House of Swank Clothing where I picked up 2 awesomely clever koozies.

House of Swank Koozies
House of Swank Koozies

First Friday is a great opportunity to support local businesses, so y’all better mark your calendar for the next one on April 5th!

My Bucket List of Bands

It’s Showtime!

alittlebitsquirrely

I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty excited about some of the shows coming to town this year. I just bought pre-sale tickets to see Fun. at Red Hat Amphitheater and Band of Horses at the Ritz in May.  I also learned that The Postal Service will be coming to town this summer too. The things I find out on Twitter is enough for me to spazz out at work.

I have a wish list of shows I’m itching to see and my fingers and toes will be crossed until they come to town.

Ok Raleigh… you’ve heard my requests, now let’s make this happen!

xoxo